"Kindness is the language which the
deaf can hear and the blind can see." ~ Mark Twain

~O~O~O~

Hailey Borah hated school with every bone in his body. He hated the stares that followed him everywhere. He hated his hair and his skin and his eyes, but at the same time, he would never wish for anything else. 

Normally, the albino boy would keep to himself, reading a book or listening to whatever he felt at the moment. And on most days, that was that. He was fine. Sure, there were the occasional whispers of "Freak!" and the like in the halls or in-between classes, but after the freshman had socked a guy who had verbally attacked him, he was left alone on most days. And that suited him just fine.

However, it would seem that today was not one of those days.

Lucifer Witherell was infamous the moment he step foot in the school. It wasn't just his name or his "bad boy" appearance, as it was put. No, what made him so notorious was the way he spoke his thoughts about everything, and loudly too. It was how he shoved the star quarterback out of the way and told him off for insulting Hailey because of "sometime he couldn't control". Everything about him made Hailey's blood boil.

Everything. From his snarky attitude to his brilliant grades to his unrivaled and unflinching confidence to his good looks. And that wasn't an opinion anymore. It was a widely accepted fact the Luci was the best looking boy in school.

With dark hair that fell perfect every time he ran a hand through it, his whiskey eyes, the three piercings that ran up his left ear to his cocky smirk that never left, he had easily won over the hearts of every girl in the school. And yet, the most aggravating thing about him was how he didn't seem to notice.

Instead of acknowledging the giggles and blushing smiles from girls, he sat in the corner reading a book. Rather than joining in with the "popular kids" in all sorts of things they invited him too, he seated himself next to Hailey, grinning. In lieu of socializing with others, he proclaimed himself Hailey's "new best friend", despite how openly Hailey despised him.

But he was also just a human, and as expected, his novelty wore off within a month of him starting at Blakely High School, and soon enough everyone was glaring at him and annoyed by his loud mouth. That, however, didn't deter him.

The problem was that by the time six weeks had passed, the entire school was hostile towards the grinning boy. And that was what had caused Hailey's foul mood today. He had only wanted to get to his class quickly and with minimal interruptions, if possible. Apparently, it was not.

Hailey had five minutes to get to his fourth period Math class, and at the rate this was going, he was going to be late. A large crowd had gathered in the hall near Hailey's locker and he was forced to push towards the center of the throng of students to get to the bottom of the clog. Both surprising and expected, Luci was the one at the center of it all. Of course it would be him causing the commotion, Hailey thought as he rolled his eyes

What surprised him though was the fact that it seemed that this time, Luci was the victim instead of the instigator. He sat on the ground, as though shoved down, in front of Michael Parker, the school's quarterback. And Michael seemed pissed. His fist was balled up and he looked like he had been shouting, face tinted pink and absolutely livid.

Putting two and two together, Hailey realized he must've punched Lucifer. The next thing the red-eyed boy did was take a look at Luci, who was in utter disarray. His hair was more mussed than normal - though that was to be expected after being punched - and his shirt was wrinkled. Hailey guessed that Michael had grabbed him by the front of his collar. Luci's face was twisted in shock, confusion, and pain. Michael must of hit him hard and hit him good, because when the amber-eyed reached his hand to is mouth, it came away bloodied. Probably a split lip.

"You know what?" Michael growled, lifting Luci by his shirt again. "I am fed up and so done with you, Witherell. You're getting on my nerves, so it's about time you learn your place here. And you know what else I heard? You're an orphan, abandoned by your parents. Understandable, I guess. I mean, who'd want a demon like you for a kid?" he laughed harshly and Luci looked truly hurt by the words. Or maybe it was just the sting of the punch, though Hailey doubted that. He raised a hand to slam his fist back into Luci's face, but before it could fall, Hailey jumped into action.

"Stop it, Michael," he said lowly, a promise of pain if Michael continued in his brutality. He had grabbed Michael's fist just in time and Lucifer had a hilariously comic look of shock gracing his face.

"Or what, freak?" Michael snarled back at the pale boy. "You think you can do something? Well, you're wrong, you fuc-" He cut off to hiss in pain as Hailey tightened his grip and dug his foot into the blonde's.

"I. Said. Stop." Hailey ground out. Growling, Michael did stop, surprising Hailey. He dropped Lucifer into a rumpled pile on the cool, white tiles and jerked his hand out of Hailey's grip. "Don't think this is over yet," he warned, before turning on his heal and storming away.

Hailey smiled to himself before squatting down next to Lucifer, handing him a tissue he had pulled from his bag. Standing back up, he reached out a hand to help the injured boy up. Glancing around, he was glad that the crowd had dispersed quickly. He helped Luci up and offered a small smile. They were even now. After all, Luci had stood up for him, so Hailey was just returning the favor. Right? What ever helps you sleep a night. But we both know that's not true, a small part of him whispered. Hailey ignored it.

"I.... Um.... Thank you? I think?" Luci thanked Hailey doubtfully. However, there was still a small smile dancing on his  lips, and this one seemed so much more natural and right than the large grin he usually sported. It made him look nice, handsomer, if possible, Hailey mused. "Does this mean we can actually be friends now?"

Hailey tossed his head back in laughter and smiled, "Sure, why not? But first, we should probably get to class." Lucifer lit up and beamed at Hailey and dusted himself off, one hand keeping the tissue to his bleeding lip the whole time.

"Ok, then. I'm glad," he said somewhat quietly as the two set off for class at a quick and easy pace, smiling that brilliant, perfect smile all the way to the classroom.

Maybe school wouldn't be so bad from now on, Hailey thought to himself. Yeah, that sounded about right.