His hand shot out, grabbing Ash by the front of his shirt and yanking him closer. “You think you’re funny, huh?”

Ash could hear the murmurs around him grow louder, and for a moment, his mind wandered to the idea of just punching Blake.

‘Bad idea.’ he thought.

‘Blake’s reputation isn’t just built on intimidation; he is tough, and he has numbers on his side. And I am…just some normal kid, who hasn’t even punched anyone his entire life.’

Blake's lackeys, Liam and Carter, snickered from behind him. “Dude, this kid’s got a death wish,” one of them muttered.

“I’m waiting for you to beg for mercy, dude.” Blake’s voice had dropped to a low growl, his grip tightening.

Ash’s heart pounded in his chest, but he kept his cool exterior.

He wasn’t about to give this guy the satisfaction of seeing him break.

“You think you’re the one people ‘respect’ because of what you do? Let me clear that for you. People don’t respect you, they are afraid of you, you doofus.” Ash replied, now mentally praying that Blake leaves him be.

‘I only wished for a normal day.’ Ash let out a sigh.

Ash felt Blake’s grip tighten on his shirt, pulling him closer, his breath catching in his throat.

“You think you’re clever, don’t you?” Blake growled, his voice low, dripping with menace.

Ash tried to keep his cool, but his chest started to burn.

Blake wasn’t just yanking him around anymore—he was squeezing, his knuckles digging in, making it harder to breathe.

The crowd’s murmurs faded into background noise as Ash's mind focused on one thing: getting air.

‘What is with all these people these days trying to suffocate me? Man, I hate this.’

His heartbeat quickened. His head started to spin. Every muscle in his body tensed up, screaming for oxygen.

‘I’m not going down like this. I’ve had enough.’

Before he could overthink it, Ash’s fist shot up.

He didn’t plan it.

It wasn’t some grand move.

It was pure instinct.

His knuckles connected hard with Blake’s jaw, the sound sharp enough to cut through the murmurs.

For a split second, everything froze.

Blake’s eyes widened in shock as his head jerked to the side, and his grip on Ash’s shirt loosened.

Ash gasped, stumbling back a step, his chest heaved, and the pounding in his head started to fade.

‘I’m done for.’ Ash thought, catching his breath.

Blake, clutching his jaw, was stunned.

The crowd, which had been murmuring moments ago, went completely silent.

No one expected that.

Not from Ash.

Not from the quiet, keep-to-himself kid.

Ash stood there, panting, his fists still clenched, adrenaline surging through him.

For the first time, Blake didn’t look as invincible as he always did.

He blinked, still processing what just happened, before slowly straightening up.

“You little—” Blake spat, rage visible in his eyes now.

‘Bullying in American schools is common. No one talks about it openly, but everyone knows the rules.

There’s always a Blake in every school. It’s like the system’s designed that way. They push, shove, beat you down with words or fists, and half the time, teachers pretend they don’t see it.

They tell you to ignore it or walk away, but I know it. It's like survival of the fittest, and if you don’t stand up, even if it’s just once, you drown in it.’ Ash knew what he was getting himself into, but Blake started it.

This wasn’t going to end well.

But Ash didn’t flinch.

The students around them stared in disbelief, whispering now.

“He really punched him…”

“No way, Asher actually-”

“Blake’s gonna lose it!”

Blake wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes locking onto Ash’s with a cold intensity. “You’re dead,” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Ash to hear.

“Hey, hey, fellas, what’s wrong here, eh?” A cheerful voice interrupted.

Everyone’s eyes shot up to the voice.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

And Ash was almost grateful for it.

He needed a distraction.

“You’ve got better things to do than start a fight with him,” It was Lucas. He was standing in front of the gate too.

His eyes flicked toward the school gates. “There’s always a teacher hanging around outside after classes, isn’t there?”

‘Wow, Lucas is kinda smart. Blake might have the upper hand here, but the last thing he would want is to get busted in front of everyone. Why didn’t I say something like this?’ Ash scolded himself, while equally impressed by Lucas.

For a moment, Blake stood there, but then a smirk positioned itself back on his face.

‘His feet are pointing towards the gate, and he has stopped rolling his shoulders like before as if he was getting ready for round two. This actually worked.’

“You’re lucky I’m in a good mood today, runt,” Blake sneered. “But don’t think you’re off the hook. I’ll see you around.”

With that, Blake turned on his heel, motioning for his gang to follow him. They scurried off, laughing like they’d already won.

The crowd that had gathered began to disperse, whispering and exchanging glances, clearly disappointed they didn’t get the brawl they were expecting.

Ash let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. His hands were still shaking slightly from the adrenaline.

‘Crisis averted… for now,’ he thought, watching Blake disappear through the gate.

“Man, that was crazy close. Say, why did you make him mad?” Lucas asked, now coming closer to Asher.

‘Oh right, he’s still here.’ Ash thought while looking over to him.

“I’m sorry for the trouble I caused. And thank you for your help.” Ash said, while keeping his voice steady.

Lucas chuckled.

Ash opened his mouth to say thank you again, but before he could say anything, Lucas’s expression shifted.

In a flash, Lucas stepped forward, and with a swift, unexpected motion, he punched Ash across the face.

Ash stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock. “What the-?”

“Hey, listen!” Lucas said, his voice firm. “You need to chill out. You can’t just go around picking fights with guys like Blake. It’s not worth it. This isn’t some action movie. You think this makes you tough?”

For a moment, Ash felt a mix of frustration and appreciation.

‘Maybe Lucas has a point. I can’t fight every battle, especially not with someone like Blake lurking around. Still, he hit me. And he’s gonna pay.’

“Okay.” Ash replied, forcing not to look like a maniac.

With that, Lucas nodded and continued, “Ash, next time I won’t save your butt out there, got it?”

Ash was dumbfounded.

“Ash is not my name.” Ash replied.

“You did say it earlier.” Lucas said, just stating facts.

.

.

“I am Ash-”

.

.

‘That was because you didn’t listen, idiot.’ Ash was a bit annoyed.

“Well, my real name is Ash-” Asher stopped when he saw Lucas sprinting towards the door, waving good-bye at him.

‘Here he goes again. Well, isn't he a good listener?’ Ash thought, while making his way to the door.

As he was waiting for the bus, he recalled what happened between him and Blake.

He knew Blake wasn’t the type to let go. He was the type to hold grudges.

And he knew Blake wasn’t going to let him off this easily as he did today.

‘Guess I’ll keep my head lower these days.’ Ash sighed, as he heard the loud honking of the bus.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Honey, will you get the groceries?”

“Okay mom. Just let me clean my study table.” Ash replied loudly, hoping Noah wouldn’t listen.

Noah was home today, as his friends said they won’t be going to the playground together to play, as they were busy.

And whenever he was home, heaven knows he would be as restless and upset as a kid who has no toys.

Ash was now sitting on the couch and tying his shoes. He was acting very silent so Noah doesn’t listen or he will want to go too.

“Honey, the list of the groceries is on the dining table, take it and don’t forget to bring all of them!” His mom exclaimed from the kitchen.

‘So much for being silent. Noah will come out any minute now-’ He sighed.

“Big brother!” Noah shrieked, grinning widely, and running towards him.

Ash looked over to him.

“Big brother, take me, take me!” Noah requested, standing next to the doorstep.

“Noah, it’s hot outside. Besides, I won’t take long.” Ash replied, trying to toll Noah away.

“Ash, it’s not hot outside, and the list is pretty long. If Noah wants to go, take him too.” His mom, now wiping the water off of her hands with her apron, said smiling.

“ Yeah, mommy, you tell big brother!” Noah exclaimed, fist bumping the air.

“No Noah, I am going alone. That’s final.” Ash replied, crossing his arms.

“Awww, big brother, I’ll behave, I promise! Please, preetttty please?” Noah requested, stopping the way to the main door.

“..Fine. Go get ready. If you take long, I’ll go without you.” Ash finally gave up.

“I won’t take long. Don’t go without me!” Noah said while running towards his room.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Man, that’s trouble walking.’

Ash was now walking towards the supermarket, with Noah happily skidding beside him.

When he saw Carter and Liam, Blake’s lackeys, walking towards them.

‘Man, this is trouble, if they see me, they’re probably going to shove me into an alley or beat me up or something like that, but with Noah, I can’t risk it. I need to come up with a plan.’ Ash thought, his mind running wild from all the choices he can make at the time.

“Big brother, ugh, my shoelace is….stupid!” Noah shouted, jumping up and down, furious at his shoes.

‘Shoelace…? Ah, what a perfect plan!’ Ash thought, while looking at Noah’s shoes.

The difference between Blake’s lackeys and Ash was only a few meters.

‘I’ll just sit down and bend to tie Noah’s shoes, and my face will be out of their view. They’ll pass by and I’ll stand up.” Ash mentally praised himself.

It wasn’t that he was scared of Blake’s lackeys.

Although they were trouble, and really good at beating people up, both physically and emotionally, Ash had heard they were the top brawlers after Blake.

Not that Ash was scared of them, of course he wasn’t.

But Noah was there with him too. He couldn’t risk his life. He couldn’t imagine what they would do to Noah if they found out he was his little brother. After all, they had no mercy.

Ash was sitting in front of Noah, and bending his head lower, so that his features were out of anyone’s view.

Liam and Carter could only see his back, and they didn’t know who he was.

‘Nothing is gonna go wrong. If only they don’t see my face after passing by me, I’ll live. And luckily, I’m gonna tilt my face the moment their eyes dart towards me.’ Ash internally smirked at what an amazing plan he had come up with.

He was tying Noah’s shoelaces, while mentally counting seconds Liam and Carter would pass by him and Noah.

‘One…, Two…, Three…, Four…,’ Ash saw Blake’s lackeys pass by him and Noah, at the same moment, Ash tied the final knot on Noah’s shoes, and stood up.

Only that he didn’t.