I chuckled and nodded my head, deciding to go along with him. It was then that my gaze fell on the hand which held mine. I gasped at the sight of blood and picked it up for closer inspection.

His hand had already begun to swell and turn a gruesome yellowish purple around his bruised, bleeding knuckles. The skin on his knuckles had split open in a very gruesome way, making me cringe at the sight.

"It looks like it might have broken," I murmured silently, feeling guilty.

He came to rescue me, got a broken hand and had to console me rather than go to his hand's aid.

"We need to get you to a doctor." I state the obvious, still observing the battered hand. I looked up at him to see him staring down at me intently. Blushing deliriously, I turned to my locker, trying to salvage what I could until we made it to the doctor.

I quickly opened my locker and got out a first-aid kit.

"You've got a first-aid kit in your locker?" I heard him ask disbelievingly.

My lips thinned into a straight line as I opened the kit and took out the cotton and antiseptic to clean the wounds.

Truthfully, I always despised having to keep that kit in my locker, but it was a real lifesaver. With my encounters with people half as ruthless as Brody, I needed one to avoid going to the nurse's office and having my aunt worried that I'm bullied. Sure, a trip or two to a nurse's quarter don't hurt a person, but for me, getting injured was a routine. I didn't want the nurse to get suspicious and start asking questions.

It would then become only about a matter of time before the news reaches my aunt's ears.

"It comes really handy, what with me being man-handled around here almost everyday," I answered honestly with a bitter chuckle, beginning to clean his wounds.

I felt his fingertips twitch on the first lick of the cotton but then it was like he wasn't feeling the pain at all. It wasn't the case however, for I knew from experience that antiseptic hurt like fire penetrating into the wound and burning it inside out viciously.

"You shouldn't stay quiet about this, you know. People get the impression you're weak, when I can clearly see you're anything but," he mumbled after awhile, bringing a mild beam on my face.

"And you should've argued with me more before giving into me bandaging you. People get the impression you're a softy when I can clearly see you're anything but."

He laughed heartily at my mild taunting and shook his head. My grin stretched further, if possible. The sound of his laugh was really rich and deep.

"My lack of arguing doesn't have anything to do with me being a softy or not being manly as boys 'round here like to put it," he smirked, clearly amused. For a minute, I thought he was just putting up a front as a nerd here and was a top model out of school, something like Hannah Montana, you know?

"It's about being rational and logical. I know not getting my hand any sort of medical attention can cause me more harm and possibly severely bad, lasting effects." he then explained a bit seriously.

"So, I'd rather get my hand fixed like a sensible person would, than bear it like the many, stuck up Hercules 'round here, who're dying of pain on the inside, but God so help them they get it checked. All in the name of manliness and hardcore."

His words and the sarcasm dripping off his tone did it for me. I burst out laughing, so hard and long, I thought I was going to die because of the lack of air. It felt like forever since I laughed like the way I was at that moment. It felt good —freeing. The last of the after effects with Brody's encounter had vanished by the time I regained composure.

I let out a loud exhale and gave a small chuckle, shaking my head as I taped up the last of the gauze, having bandaged up all of his hand.

"There, all good." I announced, satisfied. I threw the bloodied cotton in the trash can across from me and kept the kit back in my locker.

"We're still going to the doctor though, okay?" I asked, with my bag over my shoulder and my board in my other hand.

I gazed up to see him nodding with a grin.

"Thank you."

"I should be the one saying that. If it weren't for you..." I trailed off, my mood dimming. The prospect of him not having reached on time really did a number on my nerves —I could feel the goosebumps rising all over my body.

Sensing this, he rushed to lighten my thoughts in a haughty tone, "I know, I know, comes with the job description."

I gawked at his mock smug face incredulously and cackled when I saw him kidding with me.

"Job description? Oh please!" I scoffed as I played along, shaking my head like I'd heard the most absurd thing on earth. "If that's the case, then you should've been in the spot good ol' Brody's sprawled on at the moment."

Abruptly, that clicked something in my brain. Humor flickered through his gaze but before Conner could say something, I cut him off. "Hey that reminds me, what about him?"

I jabbed my thumb at the still, pretty immobile Brody. He looked dead. The blood had crawled in rivulets all over the lower half of his face, continuing down his jaw and neck. It was starting to drip on the floor in small droplets. One could see that his nose had broken and his left eye was beginning to swell along his cheekbone.

All in all, it was obvious that its going to take longer than awhile to heal.

"What about him?" He inquired casually in reply.

"Conner, the guy's nose is broken and probably sunken in his brain or something. Plus the bruises really don't look promising. He needs help."

He shrugged indifferently. "So what, he's done worse to other people, he can handle a small taste of his own medicine as well."

I was about to retort when he took my hand and began to drag me away from my tormentor.

"Conner! We can't just leave him!" I exclaimed, panicking.

"Relax," he assured, and I was surprised by the calm and off-handedness his tone carried. "The bell's about to ring in five minutes, he'll get all the help he would want and more."

I silently contemplated for a minute and agreed. But I made him stop by tugging my hand back. He turned to me expectantly.

"Wait a minute." I said and put down my board. I got on and was about to wheel away when his grip came back on my hand.

"Let me do the navigating," he said with a wide grin, beginning to walk.

The board began to wheel me forward, making me beam brightly myself. He suddenly broke out in a run, making me squeal with excitement and thrill as I began to glide by his side really fast. We entwined our fingers together and ran out the school doors —me jumping over the stairs with my board while our hands remaining together.

Conner gave out a loud whoop as soon as the board and I landed safely on the ground and we both burst out cackling, making our way through and out of the parking lot. I had never done this with anyone and it was the most fun I'd had in years.

Just as we got out of the school premises, Conner took a left and continued running down the pavement bordering the parking lot of the school. We made it to the backside of the school where there were usually dumpsters, loads of trees and bushes and other useless junk. But out of all that, the one thing that stood out the most, was the beautiful, shiny black and brand new Range Rover.

"Oh boy..." Was all I could say as I admired the beast of a car before me. As much as I loved flashy, sports cars or  other expensive, posh vehicles, I'd never seen one out of the computer screen and it was like a dream come true.

"Like it?" Conner asked playfully, bumping shoulders with me before dropping my hand and going to unlock the car with the remote.

"It's yours?!" I shrieked slightly, surprised out of my mind. Trust me, Conner and the Range Rover looked like they belonged to completely different realms.

"Jeez, I know I'm nothing close to a jock or something, but I didn't know it was that unbelievable." He said leisurely with the teasing lacing just beneath the surface, grinning to himself as he opened the door to the passenger side. I still felt bad though —it was very rude of me and I knew it.

I turned sheepish. I cupped the joint of my right elbow behind my back, a pet peeve I had for when I was extremely shy or embarrassed. And in the current situation it was more so the latter than the former.

"I-I'm sorry I... It's just that... it's a little stupid of me, but having spent two years in high school, I guess I too grew home to stereotypes, even though I despise them myself. I didn't mean to offend, I-"

"Hey, it's okay!" He chuckled, now walking back to me again. "I was just messing around." He said kindly with a gentle grin and soft, sparkling eyes glimmering the colour of the jade green leaves under the summer sun.

I was mesmerized by just the glimpse of his sheer beauty, simply begging to be let out of the cover over him he had put on. He was right when he said he was nothing close to a jock. Jocks -or anyone for that matter- didn't hold a candle to him.

I was forced to wonder once again what was going through his brain when he was shopping for his wardrobe, when he chose those cute, black-rimmed, square-glassed spectacles and when he never really tried his hand at a bit of hair-styling.

"Hello..." I heard his voice drag out with a hand waving inches away from my hooded face. "Earth to Lucille?"

I blinked repeatedly, becoming flustered by the minute as I got aware of the discomfiting fact that I'd been standing there, just staring at him.

"Sorry, I was just thinking..." I trailed off when I glimpsed the laughter shining in his exotic, deep green eyes.

I grabbed his arm and began to skate hurriedly towards the car with him keeping up. "Come on! We better not be late to get that hand checked out."

Anything to hide my embarrassment.

He seemed to understand because he didn't comment and obliged silently. Still, I could sense the little tremors that went through him as he tried to his chuckles.

He helped me into the car and then climbed into the driver's seat.

"Ready?" He asked with a sly grin, making me wonder what he was on to.

"Sure." Though I definitely wasn't at all sure.

And I was proven right to not be so sure when he started the car, revved up the engine until it began to roar like an angry beast that it really was, and sped off like there was no tomorrow.

Author's Note:

Well, this was the best I could bring myself to write. Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate, have loads of fun and family-bonding time. Dedicated to an awesome friend, @RidaRahim93. I love you forever, hon! And I miss you, dearly so.