Frank met up with his friend Ray after school at the JV football game. Ray was a pretty cool guy, or at least he seemed to be. He was into a lot of the same bands and movies Frank was interested in. The only thing is he was kind of a jerk. Earlier, Frank had seen Ray knock over some wiry kid with glasses perched on the end of his nose in the hallway. But Frank couldn’t afford to pass up anyone who wanted to be his friend. Frank was used to being that weird, annoying kid that would get really angry when you provoked him. He could finally be…. Normal? Even if it meant being friends with a dick.
Ray introduced Frank to Bob, who was probably the manliest person Frank had ever met. The kid was a sophomore and he already had a beard going. Frank rubbed self-consciously at his peach fuzz, which was blond even though the hair on his head was black.
The cheerleaders trotted out onto the field, and Frank was contemplating if any of them would lower their standards enough to date him when Gerard pranced out alongside them.
“GIVE ME AN R!” they shouted. Gerard’s voice stood out highly amongst all of his female cheermates.
“Look at the faggot with the Ronald McDonald hair,” Ray sneered, pointing a finger in the direction of Gerard.
“Oh my God!” Bob laughed. He got up and stood on two feet. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted, “YO, WAY! SHOW ME YOUR TITS!”
Frank laughed along unsurely. They were really being pretty mean.
Other than some disapproving glares from a couple parents, nobody else really noticed- or showed that they noticed- Bob’s taunting.
Ray nudged Frank. “Do you see that gangly motherfucker with the glasses?”
Frank easily spotted the boy Ray was talking about; he was sitting in the front row totally secluded from the rest of the crowd. It was the one that Ray had shoved over earlier. Frank nodded.
“That’s the red haired kid’s younger brother, Mikey. If you touch him, oh my god, the red head freaks,” Ray explained. With that, he scooped up a rock from the bleacher floor and flung it at Mikey’s head.
It hit Mikey hard in the back of the head, and Frank winced, but Mikey didn’t respond. With that, he threw another. And another. And another.
“Hey, kid!” Ray yelled at Mikey. He tossed another rock. “Turn around!”
Mikey turned around and gave Ray a middle finger, his expression stoic.
“That little bitch!” Ray cursed. With that, he ran down the bleachers and threw himself onto Mikey, who protectively covered his head with his arms. Bob sprang into action, separating Mikey’s arms from his head so Ray could pop him in the nose.
Ray continued punching the smaller teen, hitting him hard in the stomach. Frank sat, frozen, not knowing what to do. All he knew was, he wanted them to stop.
Gerard saw what was going on and sprinted over, head butting Ray in the chest. Ray toppled over and Gerard fell on top of him. Before Gerard could move, Bob yanked him off of Ray, tossing him to the ground like a rag doll.
Gerard shrieked out in pain as Bob sharply kicked him in the ribs. Frank clasped his hands together and dug his nails into his skin, trying to keep himself from joining the fight and protecting Gerard and Mikey. He couldn’t get kicked out of this school, he just couldn’t.
So Frank sat there, biting his tongue and watching Ray and Bob attack Gerard while Mikey lay on the ground, too weak to move. Frank screwed his eyes shut, unable to hear anymore.
He heard somebody break up the fight, heard Gerard’s combat boots clunk against the bleachers as he was dragged by the collar to the office. When he opened his eyes, he saw the bleachers stained with dark red blood.