Luke clenched his fists by his side as his classmates crowded him like he was an exhibit in a zoo. He was backed up against a wall towards the area in the school where the teachers didn't ever go. He was practically trapped.

"Just leave me alone." The blonde haired boy said lowly, keeping his eyes on the ground. "I didn't do anything."

"What are you going to do if we don't? Cry like a girl again?" A boy with messy brown hair taunted, an arrogant smirk on his face. His name was Aiden.

Aiden was practically the 'leader' of the group of kids who had tormenting Luke for the past month. Everyday they'd push him around, steal or ruin his books or call him names. Everyday was torture.

Aiden walked up to Luke, a carton of milk in his hand.

"Dude don't get too close to him, he might kiss you!" One of the other boys behind him called out causing Aiden and a lot of the other kids to burst out in laughter.

Luke swallowed the lump in his throat and as much as he tried not to, he couldn't help but feel the tears brim his eyes.

"Freak." Aiden said before he poured the milk all over the blonde boy's head. With the milk still dripping down Luke's face, Aiden pushed him to the ground where he fell with a thud. "You know everyone hates being around you. I don't know why you still show up."

Another student threw Luke's backpack at him at full force, hitting the boy hard in the stomach.

"Cmon, let's get out of here before a teacher sees." Aiden said to the rest of the kids. Before he left, he gave Luke a swift kick to the gut. "You're not so tough without your boyfriend to protect you."

With that, the group walked away from him, yelling out and calling Luke names as they past him.

When they were finally gone, Luke sat there hugging his backpack close to his chest as the tears started to spill down his cheeks.

He hated school. He hated everyone around him. He just wanted to disappear. He just wanted to stop feeling so helpless.

All of this happened because of a stupid kiss. A stupid kiss that should have never ever happened.

___________

"Luke, hurry up! We have to leave like now!" Nashi called out from the bottom of the stairs.

Luke stared into the mirror with a frown. He leaned in close, analysing every part of himself to make sure there were no visible bruises.

All hell would break loose if Nashi found out about the bullying. She'd march right into his school and burn down the entire classroom if she knew and he couldn't afford for that to happen.

With a sigh, the young boy slipped on his red hoodie, pulling the hood over his blonde mess of hair. Satisfied enough with his look, he grabbed his backpack and made his way down the stairs to his impatient older sister.

"We can leave now." Luke mumbled when he reached the bottom.

Nashi frowned at her little brother. "Hey..." she said. The pink haired girl placed two firm hands on his shoulders. "Is something the matter?" She asked raising her brows in curiosity.

Luke shook his head. "I just have a test today and I don't think I'm prepared." He lied, acting pretty indifferent.

Suddenly Nashi's demeanour changed and she looked as if she was going crazy. "Same! I have a math exam today and I can't fail for the fifth time in a row." She grumbled with a childlike pout.

"What was that, Nashi? You're gonna fail what for the fifth time?" Their mom's voice said from the other room.

Nashi paled, eyes lit up with panic. "N-Nothing! I think you're hearing things due to your old age." She replied back to her mother.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU BRAT!?"

"I made it worse didn't I?" Nashi said glancing at her brother.

Luke nodded. "Wayyy worse."

Nashi quickly grabbed Luke by the arm, dragging him to the door. "Love you, mom! Bye!" She yelled before slamming it shut behind her.

The two Dragneel siblings started their journey to school, walking side by side on the pavement.

Once they got a considerable distance from home, Luke lagged behind, walking slower than his sister who seemed to be in a rush. She was rambling to herself about formulas and other math stuff that he didn't understand at all in an effort to memorise them.

It was the first time he'd actually seen her care about school.

Luke walked behind her, keeping his eyes on the ground. He could feel his heart rate increase with every step that got him closer and closer to school. Yanking at the strings of his hoodie, he hoped it'd just swallow him up so that he didn't have to face Aiden and his minions.

"Yoo Nashi!"

Luke froze at the sound of that familiar voice. Instantly, his cheeks heated up.

It was Raiden. The boy he kissed right on the lips.

"Raiden!" Nashi said excitedly. "Got any muffins for me?"

Raiden shook his head. "Nah sorry, my mom didn't bake any today."

Nashi seemed genuinely disappointed. "Well that's too bad." She glanced back at Luke. "Since your friend's here, I'm gonna go straight to school okay?" She said.

No. No. No. Luke didn't want to be alone with Raiden. He didn't even know what to do or say or even if they were friends.

Luke stammered. "W-Wait, Nashi-"

"Okay, bye. I have to meet up with Ice Princess before the exam." Nashi quickly said before she began running off in the direction of Fairy Tail High.

"Damn, she's fast." Raiden said watching her disappear into the distance. "Anyways..." He turned back to Luke with his signature warm carefree smile spread across his lips. "Hey."

Luke's face burned an even brighter shade of red. He averted his eyes elsewhere and promptly strode past Raiden not saying a word. To his dismay, Raiden jogged up next to him so that they were walking side by side.

"Sorry I didn't talk to you for the whole month." Raiden said, ignoring the fact that Luke was desperately trying to avoid him. "After I got suspended for the whole fight thing at school, my dad took all my gaming consoles, electronics and my rights to my mom's baked goods." The white haired boy seemed more upset at the last punishment. "How are you feeling?"

Luke didn't say a word. Instead, he just kept walking straight ahead.

Raiden waved a hand in front of the blonde's face. "Heyyy Lukeee. I feel like you're ignoring me."

Finally, he got the hint, Luke thought to himself. Maybe if he ignored him long enough, Raiden would just go away and not bother him.

Raiden furrowed his brow, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "You know, during the past month that I was suspended, I thought a lot about the kiss and when I asked my mom-"

Luke stopped dead in his tracks. "You told your mom!?" He yelled, a sudden burst of anger surging through him.

Raiden looked confused. "Of course I did. She's the smartest person I know. Don't tell my dad I said that though." He added with a chuckle.

Luke's breathing started becoming erratic, the panic in him increased tenfold. "What if she tells my mom?"

Raiden could see Luke losing his mind so on instinct he reached for him. "Don't worry she would never-"

Luke shoved him away. "You know this is all your fault!" He shouted angrily.

The sudden outburst left Raiden stunned.

"Thanks to you beating up everyone who made fun of me, it's just gotten worst!" Luke glared at the boy across from him. "Every single day, it's been torture. Everyone either outright avoids me or just torments me. They think I'm a freak!" Luke hadn't noticed but hot tears were steaming down his cheeks. "Every time I'm around you, I just feel... I feel... weird. And I hate it... so from now on we're not friends anymore!"

Raiden was silent for a moment. He rubbed his chin as he thought deeply about Luke's words. It wasn't until a few moments later that he finally got a word out.

"No."

Luke wiped his tears with the back of his sleeve. "What do you mean no?" He sniffled.

"No, I'm not letting you end our friendship." Raiden said simply.

"I wasn't giving you a choice."

Raiden shrugged. "I don't care you're still my best friend." He insisted.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

Luke groaned in frustration. "You're making this so difficult."

Raiden scratched the back of his head with a chuckle. "You can't get rid of me that easy." He teased. When Luke didn't find it amusing, the smile slowly faded from Raiden's face. "Luke, do you like like me or something?"

Luke felt a lump form in his throat. It was a question that he avoided thinking about. Deep down , he knew the answer. "I..." He took a deep breath. "I don't know..." He said, feeling his hands become clammy. "Maybe..."

"You don't have to be ashamed or afraid if you do. I won't hate you." Raiden reassured, trying to make sure Luke didn't feel pressured. "It's just... I don't think I'll be able to return those feelings if you do." He admitted running a hand through his hair.

"Oh." Luke didn't like how a part of heart ached at those words. He fidgeted with his fingers, just wanting the whole conversation to end.

"But I still want to be your best friend. Because you're the most awesome cool and funny best friend anyone could ask for! And when we're older, we're gonna rule Fairy Tail High together." Raiden added with a giant grin. "I don't care what everyone else thinks. I'm gonna be by your side no matter what."

Luke couldn't help but feel a warm fuzziness in his stomach. A smile crept onto his lips. "Fine." He said, feeling himself rose from the gloomy mood he'd been in for the past month. "We're still friends."

"Yes!" Raiden cheered.

Luke giggled at his excitement before he felt guilt whirling around in his stomach. "I'm sorry for blaming you."

"It's fine, man. I forgive you." Raiden replied. "Now, let's get to school. If I'm late, my dad will probably kill me."

"Race you there?" Luke challenged with a grin.

"Hell yea! Let's do it!"

___________

At lunchtime...

"We're really sorry for the way we treated you, Luke." Aiden was shaking with fear as he stood in front of the Dragneel. "It won't happen again."

His group of friends frantically nodded their heads behind him while Luke just stared at them in bewilderment.

"Uh... okay..." Luke said hesitantly.   He couldn't ignore the fact that the boy's clothes were singed at the edges or the fact that they didn't dare look in Raiden's direction.

Aiden held out a carton of milk to Luke. "And if you want to pour this on my head, you can."

"No, I'm fine." Luke said, still really confused.

Aiden just nodded and walked away, looking as if he was going to cry.

Luke shook his head still trying to wrap his head around the whole thing. He looked up at Raiden who was happily eating his lunch across from him. He took a bite of his burger and chewed his burger until he realized Luke was staring at him.

"What?" Raiden said with his mouth still full of burger.

__________

i wouldn't say this is the end of Raiden and Luke's story just yet

im still trying to get the hang of writing again so i apologise if the writing is bad

anyways comment what y'all thought

im planning to have the next chapter center around Storm!

#unedited

peace out ✌🏽