Chapter 1 – Bullied
–LIA’S POV–
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My books fell to the ground with a loud thud, a few loose sheets of roughly scribbled notes flying out. Some people turned towards me, others walking by nonchalantly. But no one stepped in to help.
Of course not.
Why would they?
After all, it was an everyday occurrence for them to watch me being tested by a group of dashing boys—The Hounds, as they liked to call themselves. Pretty corny, I know. But somehow, the
title fit them well.
All four of them were tall, handsome boys, built like literal werewolves would be, if those existed. Bulging muscles, ripped physique, strong as tanks… with a tendency for violence. Even teachers were afraid of them.
The leader of their group, Zane Adams, was a dark haired hottie, a total heartthrob wanted by almost every girl in our school. He had the shiniest blue eyes and the sharpest jawline, along with a pair of perfect pink lips. The kind that made you daydream about kissing him for long hours. Zane was the quiet one, the one who kept to himself and his three friends, the untouchable Alpha male.
Chapter 1 – Bullied
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His second in command, Aaron Smith, possessed light brown eyes and matching hair. He was the golden boy of the group, dating the queen bee Sheila. The two of them made a gorgeous, inseparable couple, and everyone wished they could be them.
Finally, Warner and Ajax Hale were twin brothers, almost identical with grey eyes and blonde hair, except Warner maintained short cropped hair, while Ajax’s always reached below his shoulders. They were the pranksters and troublemakers of their group, Warner getting into the most. fights, and Ajax causing the most havoc. It was customary for the school’s alarm to sound because of them; either due to Warner beating a fellow student to pulp, or Ajax starting a fire.
Ever since grade 1, when I accidentally spilled a glass of orange juice onto Zane Adams’s white dress shirt, his crew—or should I say ‘pack‘—of friends decided they should live to make my life hell. No matter what I did, I could not get them to leave me alone.
“Oops,” Ajax chuckled, bending down and picking up a few of
my papers.
I squeezed my eyes shut, biting my tongue to prevent myself from cursing. He was the last person whose hands I wanted on
my notes.
“Wow, how do you even read these?” he said, studying them. “It’s like ants on paper.”
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Chapter 1 – Bullied
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I walked up to him, too used to them at this point. The fear and nervousness one would feel when being bullied had left me a long time back. I’d been tripped, pushed around, had my bag set on fire, gum stuck on my hair, humiliated, locked in a store room, a washroom and everything else you could think of. At this point, nothing really affected me.
“You’d be able to, if you could actually read. Can I have them. back now?” I asked.
Ajax smirked, before tearing the page down the middle.
I released a slow breath as he handed the pieces back to me.
“Anything you say, Lia.”
“You know you’re a huge jerk,” I said through gritted teeth, bending down to pick up the rest of the papers.
“What did you say?” A hand grabbed my arm and turned me around, pulling me close. I gasped, clutching my things to my chest. “Say it again if you dare.”
“Let me go, Warner.” I tried to pull free, of course in vain.
“Or what?” he asked. “Aren’t you gaining some nerve, Snow?”
The bell rang, marking the start of the first period. This would be the third time I’d be late for class this week.
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Chapter 1 – Bullied
“Let me go, Warner,” I repeated, pushing at his chest.
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He obliged when I was using my maximum force to pull away from him, which sent me stumbling backwards, bumping into a hard chest.
I quickly turned around, and my eyes met a pair of clear blue ones, my heart immediately giving a loud thump.
Whilst I was no longer particularly afraid of Ajax, Warner or Aaron, Zane Adams somehow always made me shiver. His presence, his aura, his entire demeanour—all of it screamed danger. He was easily 6“4 tall, if not more, and the way he was built, he looked like he could crush me with his bare hands. He was the one I’d actually spilled the juice on when we were kids, but Zane had never laid a hand on me. He had never directly hurt me, and yet, he was the only one who made me want to run for the hills.
His presence usually enabled his friends to bully me, because the second he stepped into the scene, my mind somehow stopped working.
I quickly took a couple of steps back, my face falling.
“Look who finally showed,” Ajax said, walking past me to give Zane a bro hug.
Zane looked away from me, giving Ajax a half smile.
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Chapter 1 – Bullied
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“Where were you guys?” Warner asked as Aaron and Sheila stepped forward to join the group. I was now awkwardly standing in the middle as the five of them completely ignored my existence.
“We got held up,” Sheila replied with an eye roll, shooting her boyfriend a look.
Aaron looked somewhat pissed. “I left her alone for two minutes. and a dude tried to hit on her.”
Ajax snorted. “Is he still alive?”
“Barely,” Sheila sighed. “Ron acts like I can’t handle myself. It’s so demeaning.”
“Tch tch, you shouldn’t underestimate our tigress, Ron,” Warner smirked.
“Shut up,” Aaron snapped, fixing him a glare. He then glanced at Sheila, his gaze softening. “My love, you can’t blame me for protecting what’s mine.”
What’s mine. Was she a possession? I thought.
“I don’t need protection, Aaron. I can handle a human on my
own.”
And once again, they’re talking like they aren’t human beings.
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These people didn’t just call themselves The Hounds, they acted like it. If you heard them talk to each other, you would think they were a part of a cult or something. It was almost like they really believed they were supernatural creatures, superior to flimsy humans like me.
I believed they all needed a good psychiatrist, but of course, I couldn’t be the one to tell them that.
Noticing that they were too busy bickering amongst themselves, I decided to calmly take my leave. I could make new notes. It wasn’t too big a deal.
But the second I took the quietest step away, Zane’s eyes fell upon me. And like always, his gaze froze me in place.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Ajax also noticed, walking up to me. I was almost grateful as he’d blocked my view of Zane.
I held my ground, looking up at him in defiance.
“To class,” I replied, turning away from him.
Warner blocked my way.
“Not yet,” he said. “You called my brother something you shouldn’t have.”
“What? A jerk?”
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“Apologise,” Warner said.
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“No,” I stated. “That’s not even an insult. It was just a fact.”
Warner stepped closer to me, his huge form towering over mine. “Apologise, Lia.”
It wasn’t worth it. I was late for class.
“I’m sorry,” I stated. “Happy? Now get out of my way.”
Ajax hummed behind me. “I don’t think you meant it,” he said.
I clenched my jaw.
“Apologise properly, Little Lia,” he said.
I turned to face him. “Ajax, I am so so sorry for calling you a jerk. Would you please be a sweetheart and forgive me? I will forever be grateful to you.”
“Nah,” Aaron said now, frowning. “That had way too much. sarcasm.”
Sheila laughed.
I pursed my lips. “I’m sorry, Ajax. I shouldn’t have called you a jerk,” I tried again.
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“Too simple,” Warner said. “You know what? Try getting on your knees.”
Oh hell no.
“Yeah, that would really make me feel like you’re genuinely apologetic,” Ajax said.
“I’m not getting on my knees,” I stated.
“Did it sound like I’m giving you an option?” Warner asked.
“I am done with this,” I declared, trying to walk off.
But Warner and Ajax quickly blocked me, stepping in my way. “You’re not going anywhere until you do as we say.”
“Guys, this is getting old now,” I said. “Just leave me alone.”
“Or what?” Warner asked.
“She’ll cry,” Aaron cooed, chuckling.
Sheila watched with amusement, while Zane stared on with an odd curiosity in his gaze. As if he wanted to see what I’d do. It was always the look on his face whenever Ajax and Warner would bully me.
“Or I’m going to report you guys again,” I said with exasperation.
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Warner raised a brow and stepped closer to me, making me back away into Ajax. I was sandwiched between the two boys.
“You remember what happened last time you did that?”
A shiver crawled through me.
Ajax had held me against a wall while Warner threatened to cut my hair. They only let go of me when I cried..
“You wanna try that again, Lia?” he asked, flicking my hair with his finger.
I swallowed. “Just let me go, please,” I whispered.
“Lia?” My best friend, Christine’s voice came from a distance. She entered the hallway, out of breath, and froze when she saw me. “Oh… Lia, Mrs. Dylon is taking a test. You need to get to class or she’ll lock the doors. I was calling you but you didn’t. pick up.”
The boys‘ smirks widened.
“You go,” I said to her. “I’ll be right there.”
Ajax scoffed, making my heart sink slightly.
“Are—are you sure?” Chris asked, her voice low.
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“Yeah,” I nodded, hoping to reassure her.
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“Okay.” She hesitantly turned away, glancing back multiple times before she turned the corner.
That girl had been bullied enough for being my best friend. I tried to keep her safe now. Not wanting to lose my only friend, I’d made her promise to never step in to help me unless I explicitly asked her to.
“And we’re all alone,” Ajax announced.
I glanced around, realising he was right. Everyone had left for their classes now, except the six of us. They didn’t really care about their grades, and not even the teachers or the principal ever said anything to them. Perks of being filthy rich, probably. They didn’t have anywhere to be. Whilst I was about to miss an important test.
“You get on your knees and you can be on your way, Lia,” Aaron said, stepping closer to join in on the fun. Sheila walked up to us as well, a smirk on her face. Zane, on the other hand, made his way to the wall and leaned his back against it, crossing his arms across his chest. Our gazes met, and a shiver crawled through me, making me quickly look away.
“What do you guys get out of humiliating me like this?” I asked, pushing up my glasses. “It’s been like ten years to what happened. Find someone else to bully, just let me be now.”
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Chapter 1 – Bullied
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“And here we thought Little Lia was a good person,” Sheila said. “But she’d gladly throw someone under the bus to save herself. How typical.”
I ignored her remark. “I have a test. Please. Let me go,” I begged.
“Okay, we’ll speed this up,” Warner said. “I’ll count till five. If
and apologise, you can leave. If not, you’ll
you get on your
be punished.”
“What do you–”
“One,” Warner began, not giving me a chance to argue.
“What punishment?” I cried.
“Two!”
Zane pushed away from the wall. “I’m going to class,” he announced and walked away.
“Three,” Warner smirked, as I watched Zane retreat.
“I wouldn’t want to find out, Lia,” Sheila said.
“Four!” Warner practically yelled, making me flinch.
“Alright!” I said, dropping to my knees.
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“Five,” Warner said.
“I’m sorry, Ajax. I shouldn’t have said that,” I muttered.
“Uh–oh. Too late, Little Lia.”
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