~Mark

"Mark, what did you do to your arm?" Arin turned around in his seat to look at me. We were in the middle of our math teacher's boring lecture about getting to know each other and all of the rules I already knew. "Nothing." I lied. "Is there something you would like to share with the class Mr. Fischbach?" The teacher stopped lecturing to glare at me. "No Mrs. Whitmore." I plastered on a fake smile. She seemed only slightly convinced, but went back to her lecture anyway. As much as I loved math and wanted to be an engineer, Mrs. Whitmore was one of the most boring strict teachers on the planet. "Dude I know you're lying." Arin accused. "No I'm not!" I defended quietly. "You're holding it close to you like a child and it certainly doesn't look like it's supposed to bend that way." He pointed out. "Mr. Hansen, do you know the answer?" Arin's face turned bright red. "No ma'am." He said meekly. She sighed in disappointment and wrote something out on the board. Arin didn't talk to me for the rest of class, making me feel a little guilty but also relieved. As soon as the bell rang, I took off like a shot to my next class, which was physical education with Danny and Brian. Only instead of receiving a lecture, we just jumped straight into playing kickball. I was lucky it wasn't baseball, but I still knew I had to be careful. "Dude, what did you do to your arm? It looks broken." Danny remarked. We were both in the line to kick while Jack and Brian were on the opposite team. "It's fine." I muttered, watching the person in front of us kick the ball straight into Brian's hands. One out. Danny was next, watching the ball intently as it rolled towards him. He managed to kick it on the ground past everyone, allowing him to make it to first base before stopping. I walked up to base, making eye contact with Jack. He mouthed something to me, but I couldn't tell what as the ball rolled towards me. I kicked it far and high, nearly taking out a light as it landed on the upper deck with the track. Perfect. I easily lightly jogged the four base, earning two home runs as Danny ran ahead. The game continued, teams switching sides once we got two more strikes. I hung towards the back, only moving when the ball was close to me. What made it harder was that I tried catching with only my left hand. I felt kinda bad for looking like a show off, but it was either that, avoiding the game completely to make me look like a wimp, or break my arm further, which I definitely didn't want to do. What I did when I could not catch it is smack it to the person closest to me, and they would with catch it or drop it, most of the time drop it. My eyes widened when I recognized the boy from the bus that sat behind me step up. He did a little wave to me, turning his attention back to the ball. Instead of kicking it out of reach of people, he kicked it directly at my face. I had no time to react as it hit me in the face with enough force to hit my head on the black support beam I was standing in front of. There was an unbearable moment of pain before I was enveloped in blissful darkness.

~Sean

I tried mouthing to Mark when I first spotted him that the kid from the bus was in our class, but I didn't know for sure if he understood. Apparently he didn't, because when he stepped up to kick, his eyes widened in surprise. The boy kicked it, causing it to sail through the air. Only it was headed right for Mark. He tried to block it, but wasn't fast enough as he got hit right in the face, causing his head to hit the black support beam behind him before he collapsed to the ground. "Mark!" I ran over to him, followed by Danny and Brian. There was a small bruise already forming on his forehead and a lump on the back of his head, dripping with blood that matted his hair. The teacher ushered us back, calling in the nurse with a walkie talkie. The nurse arrived after a couple of tense minutes waiting. Mark's eyes fluttered open, staring in confusion at us. "What happened?" He started to stand up, but was forced to sit down by the teacher. I pushed through the crowd and knelt down by him, keeping him awake by talking about my classes, how I met Felix, and any other topic I could think of. Danny and Brian chimed in, also helping by keeping other people off of him. When the nurse finally arrived, I helped him into the wheelchair, watching him be carried out. Thankfully the game didn't continue since the bell rang. I practically ran to the nurse's office after getting directions from the teacher to check on Mark. He was lying on a cot, arm wrapped in bandages and an ice pack under his head. He waved feebly. "Ye could've gotten a concussion ye idiot!" I hissed. "Hello to you to." He grinned, his sense of humor still intact. "Hi." I huffed. "Hey man, you doing alright?" Danny and Brian entered. "Oh yeah I'm fine." He waved off their concern. "His arm's broken." I told them. "How'd you do that?" Danny prompted. "I-" "A kid sitting behind us on the bus broke it." I interrupted him. They were his friends, they deserved to know the truth. "It's fine!" He retaliated. "Cut the tough guy bullshit!" I sighed in exasperation. I immediately regretted what I said when his smile faded away. "You guys should go." He insisted. "Shit I gotta get to class! See you later!" Danny ran to whatever his next class. I didn't care of I was late, but judging by the expression on Mark, he would prefer if I left him alone. I looked back over my shoulder at him one last time before walking to history.

~Mark

"Some kid did what?!?" My mom screeched when she entered the nurse's office, examining my arm. "Mom-" "No, I need to know who this boy is!" "I don't know!" I shouted back, my head throbbing with pain. "Look, I'll be fine until school's out. Please." I begged. "I don't know." Mom frowned, lightly touching the bruise on my forehead. I winced, but otherwise didn't react. "Right after school, I'm taking you to the hospital." She grudgingly agreed on letting me stay. I slid off of the cot, getting a note from the nurse before walking to choir. All of my classes seemed to drag on forever, especially since everyone kept asking what happened to me, the only thing distracting me being the pain in my head and arm. I was beyond glad when it was lunch. I shared it with Bob, Wade, Felix, Ken, Jack, Matt, and Ryan. As soon as I sat down at the table, I was bombarded by the same questions I've answered all day from all sides. "What happened?" "Is your arm broken?" "Are you okay?" "Does it hurt?" "How-" " "Everyone just shut up!" I snapped, cutting off Matt's question. A tense silence fell over the table, absent mindlessly looking around the room. "Sorry....I've had a rough day." I shook my head, running a hand through my hair in exasperation. "It's alright." Felix patted my shoulder reassuringly. Matt handed me a cookie from his backpack for consolation. "I know something that'll cheer ya up." Ken interjected. "My girlfriend and I are having a party at our place tonight. Wanna come?" "Sure!" I agreed instantly, brightening up. I love hanging out with my friends, and it would be a good chance to introduce Jack to everyone. "See ya then." Ken winked, getting up to grab lunch with everyone. "Wait." I grabbed onto Jack's arm as he got up. "I'm really sorry about earlier, you're right that I have a tough guy act, but it's not really an act," I was rambling, but I couldn't stop the waterfall of words flowing from my mouth. I had only meant to be a short, quick apology, but now it was quickly becoming a confession that I've wanted to say for a long time. "It's just part of me and..." I rested my head in my hands. "I miss my dad." I was barely audible to even myself. I hadn't said those words since the day he died about a year ago, but it still holds true. I feel like my life is dangling on by a thread, that I need to be smart and get the best job like Thomas to really make him proud. Without even realizing it, Jack was holding me in his arms as I sobbed into his chest, crying in front of someone else for the first time since my dad's funeral. It felt good as he soothingly rubbed my back. "Everything may be bad now, but things will get better. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday." He promised me. I managed to pull myself together when my friends came back, wiping away the remaining tears with the back of my hand and splashing cold water on my face in the bathroom. Wade opened his mouth to say something when he sat down with everyone else. "Shut up Wade." I said jokingly, earning a laugh from everyone else. Everyone ate quickly since the bell was going to ring in a couple of minutes. Just as I finished dumping my tray, the bell rang, signaling our next class. I spaced off during the classes since they all felt the same with lectures I've heard a dozen times, thinking about what I said to Jack. I hadn't even told Bob or Wade, my two closest friends, yet I just told my neighbor that I met yesterday. It wasn't long until school was done, and I ran out front to meet Jack by the bus. We both boarded, choosing a different seat from this morning, only to find someone similar to him sitting behind us. He had dark emerald green hair with one green eye and the other blue, dressed in all black like the guy from the morning. I prayed he would leave us alone as we sat down. I sat closest to the window, resting my head against it and almost instantly falling asleep.