☾THE MECHANIC☽

10. Trouble

The door of the classroom opens showing the principal and Barron. "I need [Y/N] Morgan for a few minutes," The principal says. "[Y-Y/N]..." Logan stutters out your name, noticing Barron. "This oughta be fun..." You mutter, standing from your seat. You grab your bag and head into the hallway. The walk to the principal's office is silent, feeling Barron's glare now and then. "Sit. Both of you" The principal opens his office door. The both of you do as told and sit in the two chairs in front of his desk. "I heard the two of you got in a fight. What's the meaning of this?" The man glances from Barron to you. You open your mouth to say something but Barron beats you to it, "I was helping my science partner up after he tripped in the hallway. She must've misunderstood the situation and grabbed my hair to slam my face into a locker". You glare at Barron, "Are you serio—". The principal interrupts you, "Is this true [Y/N]?". "Yes but that—" You're interrupted by the principal again. "I've heard enough. You have detention today after school". You stand up, grab your bag, and head out of the room while mumbling, "Sorry excuse for a principal...".

You walk down the hallway toward the lunch room, pissed off by the fact that the principal wouldn't let you speak. What pissed you off even more was Barron. Your phone vibrates in your pocket a few times and as you go to grab it a hand grabs your wrist. You turn around to see Barron with a smirk playing across his lips. "Don't fucking touch me" You yank your wrist away from him and begin to walk away again. "You remember what I said earlier? About if I see you alone" Barron says. You stop and face him, "You'd be smart enough not to start anything by his office". "Yeah about that... Let's chat outside" Barron steps toward you. "Get away from me" You take a few steps back. Barron is able to back you up into a wall and you mentally curse at yourself for not being aware of your surroundings. "If you don't want me to mess with that nerd again then I suggest you follow me" His tone is harsh. You glare at him as you ponder over his words.

"Fine, but if I see you near him again—" You're interrupted by Barron. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go" He nods to the left. You glance over to see double doors that lead out to the track. Seeing that Barron isn't going to go first, you do. He leads you to the bleachers, glancing over his shoulder to see if you're still following him. Suddenly, a hand covers your mouth as you're put into a headlock. You look up to see a girl with dark brown hair. "Do whatever, I'll keep watch" Barron sighs. You try to get out of the girl's grasp but her hold on you is tight. She pushes you to the ground and you quickly get up. The dark-haired female is quick to attack first, throwing a right hook.

☾☾MEANWHILE AT LUNCH☽☽

The group just finished listening to Aiden talk about Ben's anger issues. "H-hey, have any of you guys heard from [Y/N]? She hasn't answered any of my texts..." Logan questions, looking at his unanswered messages. "She hasn't answered mine either" Ashlyn glances at her phone. "Do you think something happened between her and Barron..?" Taylor questions. "What? No. There's no way. Didn't you see how she fought Barron earlier? The principal's probably having her do something" Tyler answers. "But you heard him earlier...! About if he—". Tyler interrupts Logan, "I know what he said". Logan furrows his eyebrows, "I'm going to go look for her...". "I'll go too" Taylor places a hand on his shoulder. "No need" Aiden speaks up. "She's right there. Hey, [Y/N]!" Aiden shouts. You flinch hearing your friend's voice. They watch as you exit the cafeteria. Ashlyn's eyebrows furrow noticing your scuffed up arm. She stands from her seat, "C'mon". The rest of the group follows her lead.

Ashlyn catches up to you, grabbing your wrist, "Hey, wait—". Her eyes widen as she notices the beat-up state you're in. "Did he do this to you?" Ashlyn questions. "No" You yank your arm away, "I have detention thanks to him though". You start to walk away only to be spun around by Logan. Your breath hitches as he hugs you, clearly not aware of your injuries.

"What the hell?" You hear Tyler's voice. "Logan... Please, let go..." You groan. "Oh, sor...ry..." Logan lets go, eyes trailing over your body, "What happened?!". "Did Barron do this to you?" His hand cups your non-injured cheek. You grab his hand, "I'm okay". You offer him a soft smile but he doesn't return it. "Like hell you are. Did he do that to you?" Tyler speaks up. You glance up to see Tyler and Ben's angered yet slightly worried faces. You notice Aiden trying to relax Ben and Taylor looking at you with worried eyes. You sigh, "No". "Then who?" He asks. "I don't know" You answer. "You don't know? How do you not know who beat the shit out of you?" His tone comes out harsh although he doesn't mean for it to be. "Tyler..." Taylor glances at her brother.

"You don't have any idea what they look like?" Ashlyn raises an eyebrow. "Only that they're stronger and have a faster reaction time" You shrug. Tyler scoffs, "How can you be so calm over this?". "I'm not. I'm pissed off. But I have better things to do like cleaning my wounds than fussing over it. What's done is done" Your voice is stern, catching most of them off guard. "This is all my fault..." Logan mumbles, "I should've done his work—". "No. Don't blame yourself for my actions and consequences. I'd do it all over again if I had to," You tell Logan. "Now, I need to go clean myself up... I'll see everyone after my detention is over" You wave goodbye and walk into the family bathroom. You go to lock the door behind you but it opens again, revealing your friend group. "What are you guys doing?" You raise an eyebrow. "Helping and filling you in" Ashlyn walks past you, along with the rest of the group. You feel your angered state being replaced by happiness. You let out a short chuckle while locking the door, "How sweet".

You pull out your first-aid kit from your bag and place it on the counter. Ben takes his opportunity to help, grabbing the kit to find the right supplies. You close your eyes as he cleans up your face before moving to your arm. You feel a tug on your sleeve so you open your eyes. "I think he's trying to tell you to take your arm out of your shirt" Logan mutters. Ben nods. You slip your arms out from your long-sleeved shirt, letting the shirt rest on your shoulders. "Damn, your back got it good" Aiden speaks up. "Aiden!" Ashlyn glares at him.

Tyler is leaning against the wall in front of you. Logan and Ashlyn stand to your right as Taylor sits on the counter beside them. Aiden and Ben are to your left. Tyler's eyes your back in the mirror with his eyebrows furrowed. His eyes travel to your face. Your eyes are closed as Ben starts taking care of your back. His eyes trail over your split lip and bruising cheek before going over the rest of your body. He takes notice of your toned body as he feels his face heat up. His eyes pause on your bruised abdomen. Without thinking he kneels in front of you and gently touches your abdomen. Your eyes shoot open, seeing Tyler inspecting your bruises. You immediately focus on his touch and your face heats up. "Tyler..?" You glance away from the boy. Tyler quickly stands up, looking everywhere but anyone's eyes. "Do they hurt?" He questions. "No..." You answer, looking down at your abdomen. "What are you— Oh my gosh!" Taylor stands beside her brother, "Are you sure they don't hurt?". "Only when you apply pressure..." You answer, glancing at her, "I'll take care of them later".

Your eyes meet Tyler's before you glance away again. Taylor notices a pink hue on your face before eyeing her brother. She nudges Tyler, making the boy glare at her. She brushes his glare off as she wiggles his eyebrows at him. Tyler clicks his tongue, nudging his sister back.

During detention, Ashlyn, Ben, and Aiden stay with you until you're out. You take a ride to her house and wait for the others to arrive. It's time to learn self-defense.