Chapter 144: Bullied Already?

Standing, chin up, a young man stood, smirking maliciously. What's worse, he was staring me at of all people. Having noticed this, I couldn't help but put my head down as I inched closer to him; a single hand holding my tray, and the other clutched to my metal bat. 

The metal bat was something by which the person seemed not to be intimated. I knew this meant he had some sort of ability he was confident in. I continued walking nonetheless, hinting at the fact that I wanted no trouble. 

That, unfortunately, didn't suffice. I didn't know for sure, but it seemed to beckon more trouble. I felt a hand—fingers outstretched—rest upon my chest. My heartbeats quickened as I halted. Slowly, I looked up at him. 

He was a conspicuous alpha male. His green eyes were fierce. His black hair was slicked with gel, and trimmed in a fade at the sides. His chin was held high. And he was quite lean. As for the sartorial side of things, he wore a jeans pants and a black, highschool varsity jacket. He was an alpha male. And as such, one would expect him to be leading something akin to a pack. And that he was. 

An entourage of boys stood behind him. They all wore mischievous countenances. Looking at them, somehow I ended up getting a glimpse at the floor. The floor was littered in crushed plastic bowls of soup, and the liquid soup itself. There was also a slew of bread; all of which supposedly crushed by what might've been shoes.

I slowly looked at the confident guy in front of me again. 

He rekindled his smirk. "Hey," he said, "I heard you don't know your way around here."

I grimaced at him. "Wait ... what?"

"I'm just as confused as you — I never knew a heart could beat this fast," he kept his hand on his chest. 

The boys in the back tittered.

"You probably have a big one. A big heart. Would you," he grinned, "be so kind as to give that tray of yours to me?" He placed a hand upon his belly, rubbing it as he frowned pretentiously. "All these invasions are making me hungry. I'm sure you'd understand."

I looked down at the tray. "I'm sorry but I'm hungry as well. They did serve me chicken soup even after I told them I was vegan. So," I looked up at him, plastering a smile. "You're not touching my bread but you can have my soup since you're that hungry."

Bullshit. Judging by the condition of the floor, he wasn't hungry at all. 

"Awww," he raised his brows, "so cuteee and lovely of you. I appreciate it," he frowned, "but ... I don't feel for soup right now. I wanna bite on something. Chew on something. Something like ..." he widened his eyes and gaped his mouth in mock-shock, "Oh! Something like the bread on your tray!"

I heaved. "Look, I'm really hungry. I haven't eaten in over four days. If you want I can share it with you, but you need to understand that there are boundaries."

"Can I have half of the bread?" He asked, looking at me with pretentious begging eyes. 

I heaved again. "Fine," I took the bread off the tray and pushed it toward him; still holding it, "you can break half yourself."

He yanked the bread from my head, and deliberately dropped it on the floor. "Oops! Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

His friends in the back laughed.

In spite of having known what would have happened, suddenly I felt my heart sink in my blood like an ill-fated vessel in a fabled sea of rough waters and sea creatures.

I usually felt like this. I ussually felt the emptiness. The nuance on my face. All of my confidence was nabbed. Then came that feeling. The feeling of which I couldn't elucidate myself. That loathsome, ineffable feeling and the ensuing emptiness quailing at me. Powerless, I was. 

"I'm really sorry!" The guy shouted. "Stupid me, what have I done?" He took the soup from the tray, smirking. He slowly raised the bowl, covering it. Then he poured the soup all over my face, dousing my body in it.

Suddenly, moments of the past came back to me. The past when I used to get bullied. No! I thought to myself as I quickly locked them away. I furrowed my brows at the bully, shuddering. The festering rage within leaking out. The human body was too porous a container to accommodate it. 

But that was a blunder. 

The guy suddenly punched me to the face. The punch was enough to knock me to the floor. My back collided with the floor, my head hitting the ground hard, my metal bat pitching away. I winced. The guy towered over me. "Looking at me like that was a mistake. I'm Nate and you better remember it because I now run things here. Things of this new world. The new world is mine. And you all can't do anything to stop me from possessing it." He snapped on my stomach.

I curled up on the floor, wincing again. 

Nate walked away as I climbed to my knees. "See you around."

One of his friends suddenly approached me. It was a goblin in the same jacket as Nate. It looked at me and chortled. Then, it bent over and took up my bat. It roved at the weapon m, and then grinned. "Pretty cool. This will mesh well with my ability."

"That's mine!" I snapped.

"C'mon, Gackron, let's go!" Shouted Nate from afar. 

The goblin smirked, slinging the bat over his shoulder. "Not anymore." He turned his back on me, walking away cockily. 

I frowned as they walked away. 

I felt hopeless—weak—as always. 

I was about to be bullied again just when I thought it had come to an end.

But maybe ....

Maybe I deserved this fate. This unfortunate kismet. After all, I did betray my friends today.