Chapter XII

For the second time in less than twenty four hours, Lilly Harper was making her way through the third floor hallways and toward the school’s library. It was seven o’clock in the morning so the sun was barely over the horizon and there weren’t any students in the halls. The only ones at the school would be those who had zero period classes. School wouldn’t start until eight-fifteen so that meant they would have a little over an hour for their tutoring session.

Lilly yawned, turning a corner as she tried to blink the sleepiness from her eyes. She still couldn’t believe she was actually going to be tutoring somebody, let alone Brad Fischer. She didn’t know the first thing about teaching and so, after asking her sister for advice, she decided she would just have to wing it. If she couldn’t do it then the worst thing she would have to do is give Brad his money back and go on her way.

Assuming that’s an option, she thought nervously.

There was still no guarantee that the boy wouldn’t try to use the incident after club rush against her. For all she knew, he was saving it for a reason she couldn’t even begin to guess at. Though she was relatively confident he wouldn’t after their interaction the previous day, she simply couldn’t help but to be weary.

Well I’m already committed so at least I can try and make the most out of it, she thought bitterly. I’m making money, after all.

The girl sighed, hoping for the tenth time that morning that Brad would actually be in the library when she showed up. She realized after he left that the big boy had forgotten to give her his phone number and had left her with the only information about their meetup being that it would be before school in the library at some point. She had no way to get ahold of him since she guessed none of the Magic Club members had his number so she was simply assuming that he would already be in the library.

Oh well… If he isn’t there then I’ll just have to wait until he eventually shows up.

She shrugged to herself as she approached the closed doors of the library. Fearing they might be locked, she gave one a soft pull and was thankful when the door started to open. Lilly then pulled it all the way before stepping into the large room. She immediately noticed an elderly librarian at the desk to her right who she was pretty sure hadn’t been present the day before. The old woman looked up and smiled at her, whispering a soft “good morning, dear” before going back to the book she was reading.

Great. Well at least it’s open.

“Hey, Harper.”

Just as she was about to start scanning the rather empty room, she heard somebody softly call out to her from her right. When she turned to look, she saw Brad sitting at one of the tables with his textbook open before him, an irritated look on his face.

Oh, so he is here. He looks pissed though.

Not particularly comfortable with being around the boy if he was angry, Lilly nevertheless approached the table, taking a seat across from him like she had the previous day.

“What the hell, Harper?” Brad hissed the moment she sat down. “Do you, like, not exist online or something?”

She frowned, having no idea where that question even came from. “Huh?”

“Your social media,” he snapped. “I went to look you up so we could plan a time, but I couldn’t find any accounts. Do you just not use your name or something?”

Realization immediately dawned on her at his response.

So that’s why he didn’t give me his number. He thought he could just find me online?

In truth, she didn’t actually have any social media accounts. There was nothing that happened in her life that she felt like sharing and she didn’t ever care enough about any of her classmates to follow them and see what they were up to. It never even occurred to her that Brad might try to get ahold of her that way instead of just texting her.

“Uh…well…” she stuttered. “No…I don’t have any accounts. Sorry.”

He looked at her in clear bafflement. “Really? Nothing?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Why not?” he pressed. “Do you just not have friends or something?”

Yup. Pretty much.

However, since that suddenly sounded really pathetic, she instead replied with, “No, that’s not it. I just don’t have anything I feel like sharing. If you want to get a hold of me then just text me.”

Brad cocked an eyebrow as if he thought she were lying to him.

Is it really that inconceivable that I’m not on social media? Why’s he looking at me like I’m crazy?

Though even as she asked herself the question, she realized that it wasn’t terribly unlikely that he already did think that. Luckily, however, he did press the issue any further and instead turned his attention to the book laying open before him.

“Alright, whatever. I’ll just get your number later,” he muttered. “Anyway, let’s get started. I don’t want to waste any time. We’ve only got three days until the test.”

Well, he definitely doesn’t beat around the bush, she silently remarked. I guess we’re just doing this.

From there, the two of them got right right work. However, it was immediately apparent just how hard of a task she had signed herself up for. Aside from Brad’s clear struggle to understand most of the content, she realized that attempting to wing her teaching had been a bad idea. She wasn’t good at articulating her thoughts to begin with so trying to explain calculus to somebody with hardly any understanding was completely beyond her. She was constantly stumbling over her words and correcting herself which she was sure only confused Brad even more. Yet, for some reason, he wasn’t complaining or getting irritated by her blatant failure to explain the content. He simply listened and waited when she had to stop and think.

At the same time, she was already slightly on edge just being in his presence. She knew almost nothing about him aside from how violent he was toward Eric and that the Magic Club despised him. So the fact that he was both being relatively nice to her and not bringing up the incident had her completely thrown through a loop. Being so on edge and confused didn’t help her concentration at all and made her explanations way more complicated than they had any right to be.

God damn, I’m so bad at this.

As time went on, a few students wandered into the library, with some even glancing over at the two of them, as if curious why they were together. Brad didn’t seem to care but she couldn’t help but cringe at once again drawing attention from those around her. Though she knew she shouldn’t be surprised. She was, after all, tutoring the school’s star football player early in the morning. There was no doubt that would draw attention from anybody who noticed.

I hope this doesn’t start any rumors from spreading about us, she thought irritably. I’m doing this to stop rumors, not create them!

After a while, she told Brad to work on some problems from the book on his own so she could gather her own thoughts, but watching him struggling to solve the first one, which was by far the easiest, only made her more nervous.

He probably hates me now. I’m the worst tutor he’s probably ever had…assuming he’s ever had a tutor before.

Lilly sighed, turning to look out the window to her right. The light from the sunrise was already shining through the glass and casting its glow into the library. She could hear the sounds of students off in the hallway and knew that school would be starting soon. A glance at the library’s wall clock confirmed that they had about twenty minutes left.

I guess I should wrap things up soon.

“Hey, Harper,” Brad suddenly said, drawing her attention away from the window and toward him.

“Yeah?” she replied hesitantly. She knew he hadn’t finished the problems yet so there was no doubt he wanted to talk about something else.

“Are you doing alright?” he asked softly. “You’ve seemed stressed out this whole time. Are you really that afraid of me?”

Taken aback by his question, she struggled to find a response. Her hesitation seemed to only confirm his question for him.

“W-well…” she managed to get out. “It’s not that I’m afraid of you but…”

“What’ve Reiner and Mickelson told you?” he interrupted.

He was looking at her not with an accusing stare but with one that almost seemed sad. She was once again taken aback, but this time, she decided she should just be honest with him. He didn’t seem like he was blaming her, and after how reasonable he had been behaving, she felt as if she at least owed him that much.

“Well…admittedly, they did warn me to be careful,” she replied softly, looking down at her desk nervously. “And I mean, can you really blame them? I saw you and Eric that afternoon after club rush. He clearly has a reason not to like you.”

Brad sighed. “Yeah…fair enough, I guess.”

She looked up in surprise at the dejected tone in his voice.

“I didn’t mean to push him so hard, you know,” he continued. “It was an accident. I was already pissed off and combined with his stupid declarations about magic and I…” He stopped suddenly and grimaced. “Sorry. I’m just making excuses. I shouldn’t have shoved him.”

Lilly frowned. He actually seemed to genuinely regret getting physical with Eric. After watching their interactions, she had been certain that Brad hated the club members but now she wasn’t so sure. The more she interacted with him, the less she realized she knew about the boy sitting across from her.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“What…was going on that made you sure mad, if you don’t mind my asking?” she said softly.

He shrugged. “Oh nothing important. Evan, a friend of mine, was just getting on my nerves, is all. Kept going on about how stupid all the clubs were. He was just making fun of everybody in sight like he was better than them all and it just got under my skin. Eventually, I figured I’d leave and I ran into Reiner getting my stuff from my locker.”

“But…” she began, trying to find some way to phrase her next question without sounding like a jerk. “Why would that make you so mad?”

Brad scoffed. “Why wouldn’t it? The jackass thinks that cause we’re the football kids that everyone else is just pathetic. I mean, none of those clubs are my thing, sure, but if other people enjoy it then more power to them. I just don’t get why he needs to belittle everybody else.”

Lilly couldn’t help but frown once again. His words and actions weren’t adding up and she couldn’t help but to be a bit skeptical.

“With all due respect,” she said. “If you’re so against belittling people then why do you fight with Eric and Vinny all the time? I mean, you tend to be the aggressor whenever I’ve been around.”

Brad glanced away, as if embarrassed. “Look…my relationship with them is complicated. Back in freshman year, my friends on the team always seemed to try to antagonize them. I think they were looking for a fight. They figured that if one of them reacted then they could get a chance to beat the shit out of them. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were trying to get a rise out of Clark just to see if the rumors were true.”

Right, she thought. He means those rumors Jay was telling me about a while ago.

He had said that the reason the Magic Club didn’t get targeted very often was because Damien acted as a deterrent. However, in her time spent with the club, she found Damien to be the most rational and calm of the bunch so she wasn’t sure how much she believed the rumors. But regardless, she could see what Brad meant.

“But Reiner and Mickelson never lashed out,” he continued, picking up his pencil and beginning to fiddle with it. “They would insult us and say stupid shit but they never got violent. And, since I was the big rising star on the team, the two dumbasses seemed to decide I was the head of the group and started targeting me specially.”

He smiled a self-deprecating grin. “Funny thing I’ve noticed, Harper. When you’re the one who everybody has their eyes on, people just kinda assume that you’re the leader of your group of friends. If my buddies are causing trouble then it must be me instigating it.” He set the pencil back down on the desk and shook his head. “After a while, I got sick of their constant teasing and so I started firing back. That’s how we got to the present day.”

Lilly didn’t immediately respond as she tried to process everything he was saying. It all suddenly made sense to her. He wasn’t the asshole Eric and Vinny seemed to think he was. They had simply misunderstood who it was they should blame for the constant insults. Brad wasn’t a bad guy. He was just caught up in a bad crowd.

“So why are you friends with these people if they irritate you so much?” Lilly finally asked.

He shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, Harper. Evan and the other guys aren’t bad people. They just get caught up in their social status sometimes. They’re good guys at heart though.” He then smirked. “It’s because they get carried away that I promised Mendez and Brooks that I wouldn’t tell anybody about your little trip into the guy’s room. You’d never live that down.”

She immediately turned red at his smirk, having hoped that situation wouldn’t ever get brought up. However, she found herself grateful that he was looking out for her despite the strange course of events that had no doubt left him utterly confused.

“Thanks,” she mumbled.

He chuckled. “Well, seeing as I’ve spilled my guts out to you, would you care to explain exactly why it was that you did that? When I asked you for help, I was prepared to deal with somebody potentially stranger than Reiner yet…you seem normal. What happened?”

“Er…” she looked away out of embarrassment. “How about we save that for another time. It’s…hard to explain.”

She expected him to protest but was surprised once again when he merely shrugged.

“Fine. But you do owe me one, Harper,” he replied.

“Lilly,” she corrected. “Call me, Lilly. I don’t know why everybody here uses my last name all the time.”

Brad laughed. “Well, I guess we’re just more polite around here, Lilly.”

She smirked. “I guess so, huh?”

Well, I can’t say I’m not surprised. He’s a very different person than I expected him to be. I guess…I should put a bit more effort into trying to teach him. I want him to pass this test after all. So…I’ll do what I can to make that happen…as a thanks for not telling anybody about what happened.

***

Despite trusting that Lilly could handle herself, Vinny couldn’t help but to be a little nervous knowing that she was helping out somebody as potentially dangerous as Bradley Fischer. Part of him had wanted to rush to the library the moment he got to school and make sure she was okay but he knew the potential repercussions of doing so if Brad saw him. So, he opted to do the more sensible thing and simply wait until he saw Lilly in first period.

A quick glance to his left to where Eric and Damien were walking told him that they, too, didn’t like the idea of Lilly associating with Brad. When Vinny had returned from the library the previous afternoon and filled them in, Liz had been immediately prepared to go and talk some sense into Lilly for accepting the football player’s offer. Damien hadn’t been as emotional but he clearly had been worried about it. Eric, however, while making it clear that he didn’t like it, didn’t seem to be as bothered as the rest of them.

Even now, as Vinny walked with his taller friend, Eric seemed as if it was only a minor problem.

Well, I guess that’s just Eric. I don’t think I’ve ever really seen him get nervous or angry anyway. But regardless of whether he’s worried about the situation or not, I sure am. Hopefully Brad is being serious and he only wants help with math, Vinny thought. Cause if he lays even a finger on Lilly, I’ll beat the shit out of him myself.

He then smirked, recalling the little gem tucked away in Eric’s pocket.

Then again, there are always far worse things we could do to him if he forces us to. With something like The Switch, it would be easy to fuck over his reputation…

He let the thought hang, not wanting to think it would have to go that far. However, in the few days he’d known her, Lilly had become somebody he sincerely liked and wanted to get to know better. He wouldn’t stand for anything happening to any of his friends and he now considered her one of them.

“Well, here’s where we part ways,” Vinny said as they came to the top of the second floor staircase. “Until later, Damien.”

The other boy nodded. “Yeah, I’ll see you guys later. And let me know how things went with Brad after you talk to Lilly.”

Vinny smirked. “Of course. But like hell he’s actually gonna do anything. Not with you around, that is.”

Damien’s mouth twitched and the blonde boy immediately regretted making the joke.

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” his friend muttered.

Vinny nodded. “Sorry. Bad joke.”

“It’s fine,” Damien replied, the momentary discomfort gone almost as quick as it had appeared. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Bidding them goodbye, he then turned and made his way down the opposite hall from where Mrs. Kentz’s classroom was. Vinny watched him go, regretting how little he thought before speaking. He knew Damien’s reputation was a sore subject for him and it was usually taboo to bring it up. He had just hoped that trying to be lighthearted would make his friend less anxious about Brad. After all, if anything was going to deter Brad from hurting Lilly in any way then it was certainly Damien’s presence. If Brad thought for even a second that Damien might retaliate then it was likely Lilly would be safe. Yet, he realized he should have just kept his mouth shut as he was almost certain Damien was already aware of that fact. There wasn’t a point to saying it aloud.

“Vinny?”

Eric’s call pulled him from his thoughts and he realized that the boy was already heading to the classroom.

“Coming,” he called back, rushing up alongside his friend.

Together, the two of them made their way down the hall and into their first period English class, anxious to talk to Lilly and see how everything had gone. However, when they arrived through the door of Mrs. Kentz’s classroom, they found Lilly’s seat to be empty. For a moment, Vinny wondered if she might still be in the library with Brad when he realized there was only seven minutes until class started. If she was, she would be cutting it real close. However, he got his answer moments later from somebody sitting in the back left corner.

“She went to her locker.”

Both Eric and Vinny turned in surprise to see Brad sitting with his friends, eyeing them with clear irritation. His other football buddies looked equally as disgusted by their presence, a fact that always made Vinny want to laugh. The amount of hate he managed to have from the football team was something he considered should be an accomplishment rather than a problem, especially given the fact that none of the supposed “tough guys” had the balls to actually do anything to them.

“Oh? Did she?” Vinny replied with a grin. “Fair enough, then.”

The blonde boy prepared himself for some form of insult but, much to his surprise, Brad then turned back and resumed chatting with his friends. For a moment, he just stood there, contemplating whether he was missing something as it was quite unusual for Brad to refrain from saying anything rude to them. Vinny frowned and was about to say something when somebody else beat him to it.

“What the fuck do you need, Mickelson? Brad already told you where Harper is so stop standing there like a dumbass and go to your fucking desk.”

The one who spoke so harshly was a tall, broad-shouldered friend of Brad’s named Evan Wright. His slightly curled up bangs and sharp brown eyes made him look like somebody Vinny would never want anything to do with in the first place, and his personality was easily the most grating and arrogant of the football guys, even over Brad. Wright was the only one who he was slightly weary of as he was infamous for getting into fights with other students both older and younger. In addition, there were many who even suspected Evan enjoyed fighting and so, Vinny had always gotten the impression that he actually wanted to take on Damien. The only guess Vinny had as to why Evan hadn’t yet was probably due to urgings from his friends to not antagonize Damien.

Therefore, despite his usual love for screwing around with the football team, since Brad and the others were laying off him for the time being, Vinny opted to back out peacefully. Evan was not somebody he wanted to piss off since he was the only one who might retaliate. Therefore, Vinny simply shrugged.

“Just thinking about things,” he replied. “Don’t mind me, my friend.”

Wright scoffed but, after exchanging a quick look with Brad, he rolled his eyes and turned away. Vinny smirked and, with the still silent Eric, made his way to his desk.

“That was interesting,” Eric muttered as he set his backpack under his desk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Brad act so passive. I wonder if Lilly said something to him.”

Vinny laughed. “Well, if she did then I have to bow to her. I never thought anybody could tame Bradley Fischer.” Then, noticing the door swing open to admit another pair of students, the blonde boy couldn’t help but to chuckle once again. “Speak of the devil.”

When Lilly noticed the two of them looking at her, she sighed, said something to Alice who was standing beside her, then made her way over to the two of them.

“And so she survives her first day of the ordeal,” Vinny said with a sly smirk. “Good to see you still in one piece, Lilly.”

She rolled her eyes but Vinny could see a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.

“How did everything go?” Eric asked softly, lowering his voice so that the football players in the back couldn’t hear them. “Did Brad do anything or did everything go smoothly?”

Lilly glanced back over her shoulder and, when she seemed to decide that Brad and his friends weren’t paying them any attention, she shook her head. “No. He was actually really nice. He wasn’t anything like the guy I see arguing with you two.”

Vinny cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Was he, like, acting like a gentleman or something?” The boy couldn’t help but to laugh at the ridiculousness of the thought.

“N-no...nothing like that,” she replied. “It’s just...I don’t think he’s as much of a jerk as he might come across.”

Eric frowned, turning a glance back in Brad’s direction as if trying to size him up. As for Vinny, he couldn’t help but to internally scowl. While he was happy to hear that Brad had been treating Lilly well, he knew with almost certainty that it was simply an act in the presence of an attractive girl. In fact, he realized that Brad putting on a nice-guy act was not terribly surprising now that he thought about it. If he was serious about actually doing better in class, like he had seemed when he spoke to Lilly the day before, then he was assuredly going to act as nice as possible to ensure that Lilly helped him.

“Anyway, I’ll tell you more later,” Lilly said after a moment with a glance up to the classroom’s wall clock. “School’s starting soon.”

“Alrighty then,” Eric replied. “See you after class.”

The two boys watched her head back to her desk in silence and Vinny could immediately tell that Eric was deep in thought. The blonde boy looked up at his friend and couldn’t help but to smile wryly.

“So? What do you make of that?” he asked quietly. “You think Fischer’s manipulating her?”

He had expected Eric to immediately agree since it seemed like the most logical explanation. So, when his old friend simply frowned, Vinny was taken by surprise. With a sigh, Eric turned another look back towards Brad, his brows furrowed in contemplation.

“Honestly, Vin’...who knows.”