A/N: Time to turn back time...

~ Dex ~

I sped up, tilting my neck sideways a little so I could watch the reflections of the two boys in the windows of the shops I went by. They hurried as well, making sure to keep themselves only a few paces behind me. Now I was sure of it: they were following me.

They kept grinning at my back, their eyes only leaving me to look about every now and then. This had started maybe ten minutes ago and didn't appear like it would end until... What?

They made sure no one was around and attacked me?

My grip tightened on the strap of my backpack, and I had to restrain the urge to try and run away from them.

I had never seen the two before and I had no idea why they'd target me. Maybe it was just a sport to them to torment younger, smaller boys. Maybe they got a kick out of bullying them. Or maybe they wouldn't do anything but chase me for another few blocks, then pass by me, and then I would hear them laughing at my expense.

I was praying for that last option.

Sure, it would be humiliating, but at least things wouldn't get physical. Not that they could right now, in broad daylight, and with grownups around.

My foot collided with an empty can from some unknown beverage, sending the object scraping against the concrete, the noise echoing in the empty alley.

I'd been so focused on the boys that I hadn't been paying attention to where I went, and somehow... Somehow, I'd ended up in the worst possible place to be with those two around. And I knew they were here. I could hear them snickering behind me.

My pulse racing, I turned, my gaze falling on the safety of the sidewalk I'd strayed from, but alas, to get to it, I needed to move through the alley's narrow entrance which was behind the two boys.

They seemed very much alike: in their mid-teens, not very tall, but bulky, like the players of my school's football team. And both snarling predatorily at me.

I gulped, wiping my hands on the pants of my uniform. The two exchanged an amused glance but said nothing. Perhaps they wanted me to speak, but I had no idea what to say. Living in a loving environment in an upper-middle-class neighborhood, I'd never been in a situation like this before. Disagreements with others - yes; afraid things would get violent - no.

I thought about what my friends would do. Both Julian and Caleb - the former especially - would stand up to the aggressors. Julian by straitening his back and coolly staring them down, and Caleb by first trying to calmly talk them out of whatever they had planned.

But I didn't feel like I could channel neither Julian's determined superiority nor Caleb's apparent tranquility in the face of hardship.

I felt more like Caleb's younger brother - Misha: insecure and completely lost at what to do.

But as frightened as I was, at least I wasn't shaking in my shoes. With that in mind, I decided to imitate Jules to the best of my ability, straightening up and loosening my fists.

My attempt at appearing calm, confident, or preferably both, was a complete failure, with the darker-haired boy snorting and the other one right out laughing.

"There you are. I was wondering where you got to." The steady voice came from behind them and a boy closer to my age moved between the older ones until he reached me. He paused before me just for a moment, intense grey eyes conveying something I couldn't decipher, then grabbed my wrist firmly, turned around, and walked towards the alley's entrance. "The others are searching for you too."

Others?

What others?

And who was he?

I was so confused that I didn't even think to protest as he dragged me to walk behind him and right past the older guys.

And then another hand clamped around my free wrist hard enough to leave a bruise.

"We're not done with him." The lighter-haired boy was no longer smiling, his eyes narrowed at the newcomer. The grey-eyed boy lightly shook his arm, the one he wasn't holding me with, as if he was testing its ability to move, then suddenly pulled it back and brought his fist to the light-haired boy's face.

"Run!" The grey-eyed one shouted jerking me after him, a string of cusses bellowing behind us.

And so we ran.

Him faster than me, but never letting go of my wrist, adding his speed to mine.

We ran, and ran, and ran, random people, shouting at us if we jostled against them, the backpack with my books and notebooks weighing me down until I had to stop for air.

The grey-eyed boy halted as well, scanning our surroundings while I panted, bent in two, with my hands on my knees. His chest also heaved, but he recovered much more quickly than me and offered to take my bag. I shook my head and stood up.

"You're bleeding," I said. Dark eyebrows furrowed over the grey eyes and he looked at the back of his hand. There, between his reddened knuckles, was the tiniest trickle of blood.

"Huh," the boy exclaimed impassively. "I thought I'd caught that guy's tooth when I punched him. I guess I really did."

"Thank you," I said, rummaging in my backpack until I found the paper tissues my mom had insisted I carried. "You don't even know me, but you stood up to them for me."

I took his hand in mine and lightly pressed a tissue to where his wound was. The boy huffed and I thought he'd pull away, but apparently, his irritation wasn't aimed at me.

"Those guys were looking to start trouble. I hate their type." The formidable glare he'd aimed at the boy before he'd hit him was gone, but he was frowning and somehow I found that adorable.

"I'm meeting up with a couple of friends. Do you want to join us?" I offered, keeping my fingers crossed that the boy would agree.

He looked down at his worn-out jeans and old, muddy sneakers, then stared at my attire - a pristine private school uniform and brand new shiny sneakers - and his frown deepened.

"My friends are really nice," I prompted. "And we have one hell of a story to tell them. I bet they'd be impressed."

"I just punched a guy; he wasn't even that big. No big deal."

I could disagree with that statement - in fact, I did disagree, but I held my tongue, my attention on another matter.

I could tell this boy was ashamed or at least felt awkward about being from what I assumed was a lower social class, but I really wanted to introduce him to Caleb and Julian. And then it hit me that I didn't know his name.

"I'm Dexter Bailey. My friends call me Dex." I was still pressing the tissue to his wound, so shaking hands was not an option. The boy hesitated for a heartbeat, then sighed and said:

"Asher Johnson." After another brief pause, he added: "Ash will do."

"So, Ash, will you come with me? We'll just hang around the park," I added. Maybe going somewhere we didn't have to spend money would make him say yes.

Apparently, it did, because after another brief silence he slowly nodded.

I would've preferred an enthusiastic verbal reply, but I'd take what he gave me, so I smiled at him and asked:

"Trashcan?" I lifted my hand with the paper tissue. He pointed behind me and we walked that way side by side, my fear of the boys replaced with a hint of anxious enthusiasm as if my intuition was telling me that what happened today would lead to something big in the future.

Not something with those two boys - with any luck, I'd never see them again - but with the one who'd literally bled for me the first time we'd met, who'd stood up to the others with no fear, and yet somehow looked nervous about meeting my friends.

"What are you smiling about?" He grumbled, his eyes aimed ahead, not at me.

'You' would be an honest answer, but I didn't think he'd like it, so I went for another truth:

"I wish you and I will become friends."

He shrugged as if he didn't care one way or the other, but the corners of his lips twitched up.

Yeah, we would become friends.

The best of friends.

I was going to make sure of that.

-----

When I was creating the characters for this series, I wanted Ash to help Dex the first time they met. It seemed like a good start to a relationship where the two (then boys, now) guys kept helping each other out. But after writing this, I realized I've put Dex in the role of the damsel in distress.

Dex meets Ash; Ash saves him from bullies. Dex meets Noah; Noah saves him from a speeding car.

Not my intention, but hey, I've got some material to tease Dex with 😉

Give a vote or drop a comment if you enjoyed the extra!

PS: In case you forgot: Julian is Dex's ex who broke Dex's heart. It was his text that Dex was staring at in Ch. 1 when the car almost ran him over. And he'll be showing up later on...