Truth be told, Caelum wasn't thinking straight. In fact, he hadn't been thinking at all when he got into the car and drove all the way to the party again. While on the car ride to the Collin twin's place, he realised that he would not be able to do this all on his own. After all, what was one scrawny fifteen-year-old against seven varsity team nineteen-year-olds?

He remembered his promise to Astrid for a tiny moment but how could he keep his cool when someone had just called her a wet needy slut for standing up for herself? Nobody was getting away with something like that.

One hand on the steering wheel, he dialled up his best friend and pressed his ear to the flat screen.

"Hey, Trevor?"

It took him five minutes to talk but when he was done, he was pulling into the park on the other side of the twin's place that most people had used as their parking lot. He opened the boot of his grey car and stood over it. He felt for a toolbox and when he got it, he took it out in the open and knelt beside it.

He knew that he was a wicked person when he took out the wrenches he had in there.

And just for good measure, he took out the other two he had stashed as extras.

He had just stood up when he noticed another car pulling over and his lips stretched out in a godawful huge smile. Out climbed a dark-skinned kid with his head shaved and he pulled him into a side hug.

The secret handshake they did for years was never going to go out of style.

"Hey man, it's good to see you," smiled another.

And Cal gave a charming smile as he told them. "Good to see y'all honestly. I would have never thought I'd need the help to beat up a guy."

They all nodded as they one by one gave him a side hug as part of a tradition they did. As Caelum bumped into a very lean boy, he almost didn't recognize him.

"My god, Jordan?"

"Hey man," he smiled. "How long has it been?"

"Been a hot minute," Cal replied pushing his glasses up his nose higher.

Caelum explained to the others looking between them curiously, "We were playschool buddies when we were kids."

"Yo, hear that?" Trever asked the rest of the four boys. "My man here, knows Jordan- Say Cal, have any cringe tales of young Jordan?"

Caelum broke into a shit-eating grin, "Oh quite a few to be honest-"

"Uh, shouldn't we get ready to, you know, beat a few guys up?" Jordan interrupted, his eye twitching a tiny bit.

Cal mouthed 'later' to the rest of the gang as they readied their 'weapons'. It wasn't long before, the boys had baseball bats in their hands and Cal's blood boiled remembering how Ryan had treated Astrid.

He held the wrench tighter in his hands.

It was around three-forty in the morning and a few of the boys were getting whiny suggesting breaking into the party and causing a scene but Caelum knew better. Walking into that party and busting the older guys' would not end well with anyone and probably end a few of them in jail. He would be patient.

Trevor was losing faith, he needed to go out for practice at around four AM but right when he was about to tell Cal that he was heading home, the group of older boys' exited the Collins' place.

Caelum could not wait any longer. He slung the wrench over his shoulder and swaggered his way towards the gang.

Life had never dealt greater odds for Caelum than at that moment. His jet black hair getting all messed up by the sweet morning breeze, a wrench in his hand and his jacket flapping backwards, he was almost half a foot shorter than Ryan. But he was fearless.

Ryan had been laughing at something one of his friends had said and he looked like he was about to tell Caelum to fuck off from standing in his way but he never got to say a word because Cal had slammed the wrench into his stomach.

It felt as though time had slowed down because when Ryan bent over, Cal would never be able to forget the look of bafflement and amusement all of Ryan's ten varsity buddies had on their faces.

Trevor yelled, "CHARGE!"

And as if it was a battle scene in an old movie, the five other boys followed his lead and baseball bats were raised in unison as they all marched on, each attacking multiple of the older guys. Ryan's friends had not expected such an entrance but they were quick on their feet and soon, punches were being thrown and a lot of 'fuckkkkk' was heard.

Cal was going for blood and he was not going to back down because it was Astrid. How dare Ryan think that he would let him go?

Ryan was going to show his face, but Cal wouldn't give him that.

Ryan had an edge over the younger boy. He was taller, well-built, a lot of muscle power and experience, but Cal had brains and he was going to use that to his advantage.

He grabbed the back of Ryan's head, those blonde curls between his hands and brought his knee up. Slamming the douche's nose into his knee was one of the most satisfying things Caelum had ever done.

"Fuck," Ryan screamed as he stood right up, clutching his nose in agony.

Caelum took a quick glance around himself and through all the violence and blur, one thing was clear, there were bruises everyone would get and a lot of screaming in the middle of the road at four AM.

But he realized he should've been paying attention to Ryan instead when he was hit right in between his eyebrows by the older guy's clenched fist. Cal's glasses broke from the middle and he realized that they wouldn't be of much use when he stumbled backward and stamped on them, shattered in the glass.

He looked at Ryan again, but this time, he had blood flowing down his nostril and his hands clenched. With a smug grin, he said, "Ah, you must be Astrid's new fuck toy then."

Caelum's eyes narrowed into slits, "Leave Astrid alone, that's all I'm telling."

"Or what? You're going to come and attack me with a wrench?" Ryan mocked him, leaning down at him to intimidate Cal.

"Nah," Caelum replied saltily.

At that very same moment, Trevor slammed the baseball bat to the back of Ryan's knees and he fell to the ground as Caelum dealt another blow on his pretty lips and grabbed the baseball bat that lay on the ground.

He wanted to wipe off that stupid smirk off Ryan's face once and for all.

And wham! went the bat right on his smug face and the blonde went limp as he fell backwards.

It wasn't until Caelum was standing over Ryan's body that he realized that he was breathing heavily and that everything around him was silent. He looked around and the boys were all sitting in the middle of the road, heaving. Jordan laid his head on the shoulder of another guy, his eyes closed and Caelum asked if he was alright.

"He's just passed out of exhaustion, he's alright," Trevor assured and Cal looked around a bit confused.

Another one of the guys supplied to him, "We scared them off. When they realized that we had come prepared they had nothing left but to make a run for it."

Caelum pointed to the bat still in his hand, "What about him?"

"Just leav' 'im there," said the redhead with a Scottish accent. "The others will come to get him later."

Caelum went to where the five of them were huddled up and sat down next to them. He looked at them and with his eyes gleamed and conveyed his emotions far beyond what his words would ever be able to express to them.

"Thank you. All of you, I really couldn't have done it without you."

"'Course bud," Trevor patted his back. "We'll always be there for you when you need us, and besides, it seems like this Astrid girl is really worth it."

Caelum's smile changed into one that was reserved only for whenever he spoke about Astrid, "She is. She really is."

And so, it was around four-thirty they had set out. Trevor having missed his morning exercises at four, the rest of the boys were lacking sleep, to a coffee-joint-slash-bakery on the end of the block where Jordan's boyfriend, Luis, worked around the clock.

It was Caelum's treat and he paid for even the most sugary drinks the boys wanted to order even though he himself could not bear the thought of that much sugar going inside one's system.

When he had pulled up into his own driveway, he thought about Astrid and how she would be sleeping soundly in his bed. He opened the door of his own house as quietly as he could, not wanting to wake her up.

As he took off his shoes and placed them on the rack next to the door, he hummed a little tune that had been stuck in his mind for a few days under his breath when he heard her clear her throat.

He looked up and she was standing in the middle of the doorway to the kitchen, her hands on her waist, she looked at him anticipatingly, "So, where were you?"

Maybe if he wasn't so in love with her, he would actually be terrified of her, but either way, it was Astrid.

And for Astrid, even getting stabbed just to see her face one last time would be worth it.