Chapter 2

Derek released Bryan's arm and turned to face Ryder properly. The hallway seemed to hold its breath as students pressed themselves together, phones half-hidden in their palms, ready to record.

No one intervened. No one ever did.

Bryan stood frozen, heart slamming against his ribs. His arm still tingled where Derek had touched him. Derek had grabbed his arm. Derek had pulled him up. Derek had saved him.

It was the best and worst day of his life.

Because now, he realized, his crush was no longer a quiet fantasy hidden in the dark corners of his notebook. It was a living, breathing person standing inches away...someone who had just watched him nearly kneel for the school monster. And Bryan had no idea if Derek had acted out of kindness or simply to spite Ryder.

Either way, he was grateful.

"What if I buy you new pants and sneakers?" Derek's voice cut through Bryan's spiraling thoughts, calmly. "Just let him be."

The hallway went still again.

Ryder let out a low humorless chuckle and bit down on his lower lip...that deeply bowed cupid's bow, the rose-tinted flesh that seemed painted by an artist who had taken their time. When he ran his tongue along the curve of his bottom lip, the pink deepened, the surface glistened, contrasting with the harshness on his face.

His lips always looked unusually moist and full, almost too delicate for him… like something from a painting or a dream that didn’t quite feel real. Angelic, until he smirked.

And smirk he did.

"Buy me new pants?" Ryder's voice was barely audible, "what are you, my dad?"

Derek didn't rise to the bait. He didn't even look at Ryder. Instead, he turned his back on him and faced Bryan. That simple act of dismissal was more insulting than any words. Ryder's smirk faltered for a fraction of a second.

This was new. Other days, Derek had always involved professors. Today… today, Derek had challenged him himself.

"are you okay? " Derek asked Bryan, his brown eyes warm and genuinely concerned… nothing like Ryder's frozen blue.

Bryan nodded slowly, unable to speak. His hero...no, his crush, was standing in front of him, looking at him like he mattered, like he was a person and not just a wallpaper.

"I'm fine," Bryan managed, his voice cracking on the last word.

Derek nodded once, then he turned to face Ryder again.

Ryder looked between them, and let out a quiet scoff, "How touching."

Derek took a step closer to Ryder...close enough that only Ryder could hear what came next. 

"You're just making yourself look pathetic," Derek said quietly. "Your bastard sick sister might even regret having a brother like you."

The word hung in the air heavily.

Before anyone could blink, Ryder's fist slammed into Derek's cheek with a sickening sound. Derek staggered sideways, blood blooming across his lower lip. He wiped it with the back of his hand and stared at the red smear.

Then he punched Ryder back.

It landed solidly on Ryder's jaw, snapping his head to the side. A thin line of blood trickled from a fresh split in his lip. He touched the wound with his fingertips and looked at the blood.

"What the hell…” a student whispered. 

Shock rippled through the crowd instantly. No one had ever seen Derek fight back, and no one had ever seen anyone draw blood from Ryder either.

Bryan's mouth hung open. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

Ryder wiped the blood from his lip, his eyes darkening. Then he delivered another punch...harder this time, meaner, and aimed lower. It caught Derek in the ribs and sent him stumbling backward. His heel caught on someone's a backpack and he fell hard, his elbow cracking against the tile floor.

Bryan moved before his brain caught up. He rushed to Derek and dropped to his knees beside him.

"Are you okay?" Bryan asked, concerned.

Derek nodded, wincing as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. Bryan stared at that small red line and felt something hot rise in his chest. It wasn’t fear…. Something else. Something that tasted like anger.

He stood up sharply, turning to look at Ryder.

And then he did something no one expected.

He grabbed the hem of his own shirt and pulled it over his head. Now he stood in only a thin white tank top. He bent down, shirt in hand, and wiped Ryder's shoes clean of the spilled coffee. Every speck, every drop.

Then he straightened his back and looked Ryder in the eye.

"You can take off your pants. I'll get them cleaned and bring them back to you. I’ll even buy you new sneakers if you insist." He paused for a second, swallowing hard before continuing. “Not everything has to end in violence. Maybe that's why you'll never truly have anyone around you."

Ripples of disbelief spread through the crowd.

"What the hell? Did he just speak to Ryder like that?"

"He's done for. Seriously done for."

Bryan heard every whisper. His legs were shaking, and his heart was beating wildly against his ribs like a trapped bird desperate to escape. But he didn't look away from Ryder's intimidating blue eyes.

Ryder stared at him for a long, terrible moment, and no one in the hallway seemed willing to breathe.

Then Ryder started walking toward him.

The steps were slow and unhurried, and each one made Bryan’s stomach twist harder. His knees trembled violently even though he tried to hide it, and he swallowed against the dryness in his throat.

Will he kill me?

The thought flashed through his mind as he stood frozen in place, waiting for whatever was about to come.

Ryder stopped only inches from his face, close enough for Bryan to see the faint split in Ryder’s lip, close enough to make Bryan feel his cold presence.

Then Ryder tilted his head slightly… and smiled.

It was beautiful and terrible at the same time, that soft angelic smile twisted into something dangerous enough to make Bryan’s pulse stumble.

“Interesting,” Ryder said quietly.

And then he walked away.