• "There he is. That kid.... The Freak" The girl on the left said snidely to her friends. They thought he couldn't hear them, but he could. He always heard.

    He knew why they were so horrible to him. He wouldn't follow their rules. He wouldn't dress the way they said he should. He wouldn't 'bow down' to those 'superior' to him.

    He wasn't the smartest, the fastest, or the strongest kid around. He wasn't a sport star. He didn't have a nice car, or any car, for that matter.

    He sat alone whenever he could. Truthfully, he preferred the company of a good book, to the company of his classmates.

    "I heard that he stabbed one of the teachers at his old school, twice!" "Yeah, well I heard that his parents were so scared of him, they sent him away to his crazy aunt who lives up in those hills six miles out of town." They whispered. None of them knew that his parents had both died. None of them cared.

    The bell for class rang, and he went to his last class of the day, where his classmates stared, whispered about and pointed about him all class period. When the final bell rang, he slowly rose out of his seat, opened his favorite book, and left the room, trying desperately to block out the other students.

    He walked out of the school, his slightly unkempt hair blowing around in the small breeze. By luck, or divine punishment for some deed he wasn't aware of committing, he ended up behind his biggest tormentor. She was the popular girl, the cheerleader, the one who would only date the most popular boys. And one of her favorite things ever was to pick on him. She was now walking backwards while ripping into him about his clothes.

    "You think you're sooo cool, don't you? Ripped pants, dirty shirt?! Ha! You just look like the poor little b*****d you are!" She jumped right into the poor thing, knowing it bothered him the most. "And your hair..." However, she had not been paying attention to where she had been going, and walked right out into the street... right into the path of a car.

    He didn't stop to think, nor to consider the repercussions of his actions. He jumped into the street and pushed her out of the path of the car. However in doing this, he eliminated any chance to get out the way himself. There was a screech of brakes, screaming, and a bright red flash. Then pain, and he knew no more.

    ******


    When he woke up, it was to the steady beating of a heart monitor. He was in the hospital. Immediately, he panicked, his family didn't have the money for him to be in the hospital.

    "Calm down boy." His aunts said from beside his bed. He started, not having known she was there. He began to take stock of his situation. His aunt was on his left side, and in the corner was...

    "What is she doing here?!" He snarled. It was
    her
    . Why was she here.

    "She hasn't left since you were cleared for visitors. You saved her. You almost died you know. That was a fool thing to do boy!" His aunt said.

    "I know it was foolish, but in the heat of the moment, I didn't think. I saw a life in danger, and I acted." He said.

    "And if it wasn't for that girls parents, you wouldn't have a place to sleep anymore!" His aunt said in a voice that said she thought he was a fool. A lucky fool, but a fool either way.

    "I won't apolo... wait what?" He said as her statement processed.

    "You saved their daughters life. Her parent's said the least they could do, is cover the cost of your medical bills." His aunt said, shocking the boy. Nobody had ever shown that kind of help to his family before. His aunt's statement didn't help him understand, it merely confused him even more. He just couldn't understand it. He began to take stock of himself, and groaned as he noticed the bandages all over him. And the cast on his left leg and right arm....

    His aunt left then, and he was left alone with her. He didn't know why, but for some reason, the thought that she looked... different, sleeping there, than she usually did. However, when she began to stir, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He figured she was there to pick on him for his need for help from her parents. He almost stiffened as he felt her coming towards his bed. He expected hard words, insults, and other nasty things, instead he heard an almost inaudible sob. Then a single tear fell onto his face. Then he heard a door open, then close. She was gone. He opened his eyes. He was alone, and for some reason, that bothered him.

    ******


    When he got back to school, his confusion merely got worse. People were suddenly nice to him. Downright friendly really. Some volunteered to carry his books, since he was having trouble. They helped him carry his lunch tray. Doors were opened for him.

    While this should have made him happy... it didn't. Sure it felt good, but quite frankly, it scared the crap out of him. For one, he couldn't figure out why the sudden kindness. Another reason, was that the rumors still flew around him. The whispers were even more numerous now. He, however, just blocked them out, convinced he would enjoy this while it lasted.

    The strangest part of the week came on his third day back. She had been absent until then. However, that day, at lunch, he saw her. He noticed that she was coming right towards him.... He stood up, slowly and painfully, and supported himself with his left arm on the table. He had decided, this week, that when all this ended, and everyone was horrible to him again, he would be strong. He wouldn't let anyone get to him anymore, and he was going to prove that right then. When she started in on him, he would show how much he had grown by telling her exactly what he thought of her...

    So, when she grabbed him into a hug, he was, quite understandably, confused. So shocked was he, that he almost fell over because he forgot to support himself. He felt someone's hands on his back, helping him steady himself, keeping him up. Steadying himself, he had just started to wonder what was happening when he felt it.

    A wet spot on his shirt, small, but spreading. And a jolt of realization hit him... she was crying. He awkwardly wrapped his uninjured around her on impulse, and felt that same strange feeling from the hospital room hit him. Then he noticed she was saying something.

    Apologies? And thanks? His confusion shot up again, nearly knocking him back. However, he merely wrapped his arm tighter around her, until she had cried herself out. She hiccuped once, and looked up at him, but made no attempt to pull herself from his arm. Finally, he had a chance to ask the question that was eating at him.

    "What was that for?" He asked. Not that he didn't secretly enjoy it.

    "What do you mean?" She asked, and seemed to hug him tighter.

    "I mean, why did you hug me? Why do you thank me? Why is everyone so nice to me all of a sudden?! It's all a trick isn't it? You just want to see me break, all of you, don't you!" He nearly yelled. He still didn't move out of her arms though.

    As for her, she felt her heart plummet straight through the ground, and a burning guilt set root. Was this what they had reduced this poor boy to? Would he never trust anyone again. She made it her mission, then and there, to right that wrong. She might never succeed, she thought, but she'd never stop trying. What she didn't know was that there were quite a few people making that same pledge behind her.

    She finally found her voice again, and, so everyone listening could hear her, said. "You saved me, and you nearly died because of it." Several people gasped, not knowing how bad it had been. "You saved me, and I, like everyone else here, had just been insulting you. I'm sorry, so so sorry, for that. I know you'll probably never forgive me for that, nor do i deserve forgiveness. But know that I am sorry.

    "I thanked you, because you saved my horrid life." She finished.

    "I just did what came natural. You were in danger, and I pushed you out of it." He said.

    She ignored his downplay of his heroism, and pulled herself out of his arms (missing his almost inaudible groan of protest) and looked forlornly out of the cafeteria window. "Did you know, they're all talking about you..." 'And me' But she didn't tell him she'd taken his position at the bottom of the social ladder. "Even now, it's the main topic of conversation around the school... what you did." The sad look almost broke him to look at. "Anyway, I'd better go now..." She walked away slowly, like someone who was broken.

    That same feeling once again came over him, and he asked, in the still silent cafeteria. "Would you like to sit here... with me?" A gasp was heard around the cafeteria.

    She turned around, surprise etched on her face. However, she got the wits enough to say.

    "Yes, yes I'd like that very much."

    ******


    As he walked to his next class, she was beside him. He was still a little jumpy, half expecting the rug to be yanked out from under him and forced to return to the hell that was his life. However, he was trying.

    Remembering what she had said, he tried to pay attention to the rumors now circulating around him. This is what he heard.

    "There he is.... That kid... The Hero."