"Fuck you, you little freak!"
Ashley saw the muscular guy slam a skinny, little goth kid against a locker. His eyes flinched as he awaited a swift punch in the face…again. The other guy delievered, slamming his fist into the little guys lip, bursting the skin around his lip ring. He inhaled deeply and dropped to the ground. The other jocks surrounding the two laughed hysterically. "That'll teach you to bump into me, loser," he remarked smartly.
Ashley ran over to the scene and lifted the skinny kid off of the ground, helping him stand.
"Ah, yes, freaks helping freaks," he said as she approached him.
"Fuck off, dude! What the hell's your problem?!" she screamed about an inch away from his face.
"You and your little friends that are trying to take over this school. Your nothing but a waste of space!" he screamed back, pushing her slightly.
"Go to class, NOW!" he screamed, and everyone scattered. "Mr. Michaels, go to the nurse and get that looked at. Miss Boyd, Mister Martin, come with me. "You okay?" she asked, turning to him and inspecting his face.
"Yeah…I guess," he replied softly. His hand reached up and dabbed the blood away from his lip, wiping it on his black jeans. They followed the teacher down the long hallway and into Office 2, where the 'troublemakers' were sent. They were sat in the principal's office, and the door was closed. "We meet again, Billy Martin," she said, crossing her arms in front of her. His head dropped and his eyes hit the floor. "And you are?" she asked Ashley. "Ashley Boyd," she replied confidently. "Mrs. Plitt, if I may have a say in this?" she asked. She nodded her head. "Okay, go on." Ashley squeezed Billy's knee to reassure him, and started pleading her case. "The occurance of these fights is becoming ridiculous. At least three times a week, another kid is injured because of their differences. Now, I assure you, because I saw the entire event, that Billy was not a part of this. It was between me and Brad, and Billy just got caught in the crossfire. If any punishment should be bestowed on anyone, it's me." Mrs. Plitt nodded, and smiled a little. "I admire your courage to stand up for your peers, Ashley." Ashley nodded and shifted in the oversized chair. Billy's eyes looked over to her in amazement, and his mouth even opened a little. "Now, from what Ashley tells me, I can let you go back to class. But because Ashley injured another student, we will have to determine her punishment." She wrote Billy a pass back to class, and Ashley remained seated. Billy walked out of the office, but didn't go to class. He wanted to wait for her to see what happened. "Now, what should we do here?" she asked Ashley. She shrugged and sat back. "I don't know, Mrs. Plitt. Brad did touch me first, so it was only in self defense." Mrs. Plitt nodded. "Well, in that case, I suggest you steer clear of any fighting from now on. I'll let you go this time…" she said with watchful eyes. Ashley sighed with relief. The bell rang and school let out, and Ashley was free to go. As she exited the office, she was surprised to see that Billy had waited for her. "Hi," he said, almost in a whisper. "Hey, I didn't get anything, if that's what your gonna ask." He nodded. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble," he replied. "You didn't get me in trouble, I got me in trouble." They walked down the hallway and were met with a kind of chubby punky guy, with blonde spiked hair and a lip ring like Billy's. He looked at Billy with concern. Ashley kept walking, down the hall, and out the double doors to begin her walk home.