Part 6

“How does he look?”

“He’ll be alright, after a while. Beaten up pretty bad though. I’d say it was one hell of a fight.” The aging doctor finished checking David’s chart and handed it to a nurse, rubbing his tired face.

“A fight? Looks more like a massacre.” The young nurse, starch clean in her white pressed outfit, flipped through David’s papers. The boy was sleeping in the Recovery Room, cleaned up, but still bruised. He had come in only a half-hour before, barley consciences. They had cleaned him up right quick though, checked him out, given him something to help ease the pain. He hadn’t said a word during the entire ordeal, too weak and barley awake to understand what was going on.

*“David Levitt,”* she read. Moving her eyes down the line a little, the nurse came across his vitals, *"sixteen years of age, injuries: one broken arm, possible internal bruising in the stomach area..."*

The woman sighed. *Poor David, you're going to get one hell of a wake up call.*

She dropped his file back into the pocket on the white bed. Walking over to his purple spotted face, she brushed some hair out of his eyes. “Damn kids…why did they have to be so cruel?”

**** It seemed like the day would never end for Roxanne. She was slumped down in her chair, watching the rain slam on the ground outside and ignoring her 7th period math teacher. If someone had asked her what exactly they were learning that day, she would have come up blank.

Mercifully, the bell sounded, clearing the room of students and teacher alike. Everyone just wanted to go to 8th period and get it over with.

She gathered her books up slowly, dropping each article one by one into her open bag. 8th period meant facing Mr. Williams, and Nicholas. One of whom she was scared stiff of, the other she was scared *for*.

The hallway was crowded with kids, as always. She took the long rout, up the stairs, around the hall, past the bathrooms and five doors down from the gym. With each step her stomach inched up in her chest, threatening to trade places with her lungs. Roxanne was concentrating so hard on keeping the butterflies from escaping, that she almost stepped right into a group of six boys coming from the opposite direction.

“Dude, did you hear about David?”

The group stopped against a wall just ahead of Roxanne, the tall, sturdy Nike-clad teammate of David’s in the middle, eyeing his friends seriously. Most shook their heads.

“He went to the hospital last night. A damn *ambulance* had to take him away.”

“Oh my…”

“*Shit*…”

The group exchanged emotional words, which for a group of boys is very uncommon. Roxanne watched as they shook their heads and asked the Nike Boy more questions.

“What the hell happened?”

“I don’t really know,” Nike Boy sighed. The information had really shaken David’s good friend. “All I know is that someone beat him really bad, a couple of people…I think.”

“Why, man? Did he do something?”

“Not that I know about. I don’t know anything else, I haven’t heard a word. Shit, he’s in the *hospital*…” The big kid rubbed his face before turning towards the classroom. That’s when he noticed Roxanne for the first time.

“Hey, Roxy…” he smiled, almost apologetically. He hadn’t really meant for her to hear all of that. Girls didn’t take bad news very well, and Nike knew that David was one of her friends.

“Hi…”

She watched the group of guys as they filed into the room, still shaking their heads and commenting on David’s bad luck.

Her day was progressively getting worse by the minute. *David in the hospital?* Just yesterday he had been fine, sitting in his usual place, cheering Nicholas on…As she walked by the empty seat, his voice seemed to echo. *“Go get him, California…”*

For the life of her Roxanne couldn’t figure out who would hurt David. All she could picture was his wide smile as he lugged the over-sized bag down the steps, his enthusiasm for any school event, his brown eyes lighting up at the mere mention of a sporting event. David Levitt was not a mean kid, not an angry one, he gave everyone a chance and would rather tell a joke then get into a fistfight. He was well liked, people had fun and always found something to laugh about with him.

Well, maybe not everyone.

The only person who had ever shown complete distaste for the boy was Mr. Williams. The teacher seemed to take it as a personal insult that the athlete couldn’t understand English well. Daily the two would have some sort of confrontation, David always at the receiving end of a nagging or reprimand. *“Take that hat off, David!” “Could you listen for once?” “Shakespeare is not pointless, getting you to understand it is.” “Stop complaining, if you don’t get it, ask someone else. The whole class is waiting on you.” *

Roxanne sat down, early into the class in spite of her winding trail. Tilting her eyes up a little, she snuck a glance at the tall, smartly dressed teacher writing on the board. His back was to her, but the outlines of his arm muscles were easily seen through the cotton shirt. He could take on many a kid in this school, probably coming out on top. Especially against a boy who was shorter then him, and who would rather tell a joke then get into a fight. *Maybe…what if…?*

No. He wouldn’t have, he *couldn’t*. He would be risking his job, not to mention a fingerprinting. There was no way that David could have gotten the teacher angry enough to go after him blow for blow. No way.

Besides, David hadn’t done anything recently to particularly aggravate Mr. Williams. Nicholas had taken all the teacher’s attention. The only time David had gotten involved at all these past three days was when he had –

“Okay guys, settle down…”

Stuck his head into the hallway yesterday.

“Alright, ladies and gents, the bell’s set to ring any second…”

Stuck his head into something he shouldn’t have.

“Settle down…take out Macbeth and turn to page 45.”

Stuck his head into some heavy words.

“Nicholas, so good you could join us.”

Between sworn enemies.

You weren’t supposed to do that, at least not do it and expect to come out Scott Free. Maybe David had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and Mr. Williams hadn’t liked that…

The desk shook a little as Nicholas slid in behind her. Roxanne felt her brain immediately clank to a halt as her senses picked up the boy’s presence. It was hard to think about anything but Nicholas when Nicholas was around, even if it was serious. And David *was* serious, but the person behind her suddenly took over her entire concentration and pushed every other thought away.

Should she turn around? What if he didn’t want to talk? She couldn’t bare that hurtful awkwardness again. What if –

“Roxy?”

He solved the whole problem with one sweet whisper?

She turned almost automatically. Last night had been horrible, she hadn’t slept much and wasn’t able to get that split second of sadness in his eyes from her memory. She had been planning what to say the minute her head had hit the pillow, but now that she was looking at his perfect face, the words were no where to be found.

Some of Nicholas’s hair fell into his face as he smiled lopsidedly at her. He ran fingers through it and leaned on his elbow, cupping his chin with a free hand. His eyes held not even a trace of the haunting sadness they had the night before, and were bright as ever, seeming to glow in the dim light of the classroom. The dark green shirt he wore brought out his dark tan and Roxanne couldn’t unglue her eyes from his flawless grin. His white teeth weren’t even showing, but it didn’t matter. Nicholas possessed the *original* one hundred-dollar smile.

“I haven’t really been sticking to the strict reading schedule solider boy has us on, what have I missed?” He tapped Macbeth.

“You’re asking me?”

“Of course, you’re the English major here…”

She giggled a little at his mock surprised expression. His eyebrows raised and the left corner of his mouth snaked into a crooked grin, exposing his dimple.

*God*, Roxanne sighed inwardly, *when they were handing out the good genes in Heaven, Nicholas must have been at the head of the line.*

“Hey,” Nicholas lifted his chin a little towards the front of the classroom; “you’d better turn around. Gel-head is starting class.”

Roxanne did, but with a chuckle. It seemed as though last night had never happened. No awkwardness, no strangled words…everything was back to the way it should be. Just how it should be.

Leafing through her book, Roxanne decided that maybe she didn’t want to know everything about Nicholas. Maybe it was better not to dive into something that wasn’t really her business at all. Her brain advised it.

But her gut told her to hold on, to stay with this and find out what was wrong, even if it hurt. Only she didn’t want to listen to that feeling, not now, she didn’t have to, because everything was fine. *Fine*. Why put herself through torture if she didn’t have to?

So she pushed the warning away, taping over it with daydreams of the golden boy behind her; his face, his smile, his laugh…

“Mr. Williams?” A small, skinny hand shot up from the back of the class. “Is it true David got the crap kicked out of him yesterday?”

Roxanne cringed along with the rest of the class. Even though he had been shoved into the back of the room, Jack Staples managed to always be the center of attention. The boy did anything to get a rise out of people, from poking them to shouting moronic questions halfway across the class.

“Jack, this isn’t the time, nor the place to-“

“You know what I heard, Mr. W?” Jack grinned secretly, looking around at his classmates who were now all swiveled in their chairs, facing him. “I heard that the three guys who did it said something about you.”

Jake Williams pressed his lips together, tightening his grip on his book, working hard to keep his expression under control. He eyed the skinny, big-mouthed boy, and began to walk towards the back of the room. Where kids these days getting more and more annoying, it was it just his imagination? As if that interfering Levitt wasn’t enough, now he had another kid sticking his big fat nose into places they shouldn’t go.

Roxanne felt the tape on her thoughts loosen with each step Mr. Williams took towards Jack. Nicholas had to know what was going on, he had to help her decide if her idea and Jack’s ridiculous words had a connection. *There you go again*, her brain scolded, *throwing him into another problem*. For a second time she ignored her feelings and quietly got out a piece of paper.

“Jack, I think maybe it’s your turn to read out loud.” Mr. Williams was next to the boy now. A very, *very* tense smile resting on his lips.

“You don’t believe me? I’m serious…” Jack was obviously dodging warning signals, “David identified the three guys in the hospital this morning and they’re all talking to the principal right now. They mentioned your name a couple of times.” Rubbing his arm absently, the skinny boy continued to shove his head deeper into the lion’s throat. “It was on the news, you should know.”

A murmur rose from the class. What exactly was going on here?

“That’s a little out of line, Mr. Staples.” The smile disappeared.

Behind her, Nicholas tapped his pencil, watching closely the situation in the rear of the room. Roxanne folded her note carefully and bent her arm backwards. She felt the familiar tingle as he touched her open palm, taking the paper without a word. His pencil continued it’s rhythmic pulse.

“I just thought you might like to know that they’re…talking about you and stuff…just in case…um…” Finally, Jack caught a whiff of his teacher’s anger and tried to save himself. Raising his eyes, the boy smiled sheepishly.

“Who’s talking?” Jake Williams felt his head begin to throb. It did that when stress became stronger then usual. *Damn*, he really should have checked the news this morning. How was he going to explain this one…? They were talking to the principal? Shit, he had to catch them before they leaked the entire plot. They weren’t supposed to let the kid see their faces…they promised… he *hated* teenagers!

She saw his eyes flicker upward for an instant and then over to the right. His mouth stayed taunt, but somehow his features had a certain urgency to them. *He’s afraid*, Roxanne realized. *He did something impulsive, tried to take care of business without worrying about the consequences, and now he was paying the price.*

“Jack, let’s take a little walk to the office, shall we?” *Get the kid out of here fast, get him down to the office, shut him up. Clear up the little misunderstanding…*

“*What*? What did I do?”

“That little monologue of yours was more then enough for a Saturday detention, wouldn’t you say?” Yanking Jack by the arm, Mr. Williams started to pull all 102 pounds of him towards the door.

“I just said-“

“I *heard* what you said, everyone did. And it was more then enough.”

Nicholas’s pencil stopped tapping. Roxanne knew he had gotten to the bottom of the note and was reading her rationale. About the connections, the absurd connection that might just be right.

“Mr. Williams-” The boy grabbed the side of the door and hung on, half of his body still sticking out from the opening. The teacher was outside, undoubtedly pulling one of his arms and trying to look as casual as possible.

“David, let’s go.”

The voice drifted in, and everyone caught the slip of tongue.

“He called me David!” Jack’s eyes widened and he looked around the class, proving his point. “He called me-“

With a violent jerk Jack disappeared from his door frame stage. Obviously, Mr. Williams had had enough. The loudmouth’s voice could still be heard traveling down the hallway, yelling at the teacher and at any passerby that would listen. An embarrassing last attempt to save himself before entering the clutches of the office, and his teacher’s.

“Geez, do we ever learn in this class?”

A kid from the back of the room vented his distaste with the situation. “We’ve stayed on the same page for practically three days! First that kid-“ he pointed to Nicholas, “then David, and now Jack. What does he have against us guys?”

“Probably wants all the girls to himself.” Someone else piped up.

The rest of the boy population in the class joined in, venting their own disgruntled opinions. The girls meanwhile tried to convince them otherwise, each hoping Mr. Williams was clearing the room out for *her*.

*Probably wants all the girls*…or just one.

Roxanne shuddered. For three days Nicholas had taken the teacher’s hold over her and loosened it, giving her time to breathe while he fought Mr. Williams himself. But now…*getting rid of all the guys…*

“Roxy,” Nicholas tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned, seeing and hearing nothing but him, which was a feat in itself considering they were in a classroom with no teacher.

“Is this what you really think? That Mr. Williams had something to do with David getting hurt?”

His sapphire gaze was serious as he clutched the note in three perfect fingers. She knew it was neither the time nor the place, still Roxanne couldn’t help but notice how beautiful he looked when his features were straight. Like James Dean or something. When he wanted to, Nicholas was able to look very mysterious and debonair.

“Yes. I know it sounds way out of left field, but –“

“He really hated that kid to begin with-“

“And remember when he stuck his head into the hallway while you two were talking? Maybe Mr. Williams thought he heard something he shouldn’t have.” Roxanne watched as Nicholas eyes flipped to the right, remembering. “What…um…what exactly went on out there?”

*Heard something he shouldn’t have…he probably *saw* something he shouldn’t have.* Nicholas didn’t want Roxanne to know what went on yesterday out in the quiet hallway. He didn’t want her to know about the threats, or the iron grip, or the strange change of emotions. It would worry her, scare her, cause more pain and anxiety then she needed. She clearly understood something bad had transpired, but that’s where the information had to end.

“He doesn’t like me. He thinks I’m…rubbing off on you. In a bad way. That was pretty much it. We didn’t even talk about…him…and you.”

“Oh.”

She didn’t buy that, it was obvious to both, but neither said another word about it. Nicholas just changed the subject as quickly as possible.

“You heard what that idiot said though, right?” The boy looked towards the door where Jack, only moments before, had been hanging on for dear life. “He said there were three senior guys who were charged with the beating.”

“Mr. Williams is big with seniors-“

Nicholas made a face.

“Well, with *most* of them. He lets them off without hall passes, writes them early dismissal notes, ignores them while they terrorize freshman…” Roxanne scrunched up her nose. Personally, she thought he acted disgracefully when he was around the senior guys and she couldn’t understand why no one else picked up on it. “They probably owe him more then one favor.”

“A favor.” Nicholas let the words sink into his brain, tasting them to see if they made sense. “What I don’t get is why he would ask three guys to take on one. Seems a little risky to me.” He touched his fingers to his lips in thought, “and why would they let David see their faces?”

“Maybe he didn’t ask all three.” She felt her heart quicken. Things were falling into place now. “Maybe he only asked one, and maybe he asked that one to keep it small.” Without thinking, Roxanne grabbed Nicholas’s arm, two excited to worry about modesty. “But that *one* asked some of his friends, and when you put three against one –“

“They probably didn’t plan on hurting David as bad as they did, but once you start going 80 miles an hour, it’s real hard to slow down.” His eyes shown as he spoke, feeling the same adrenaline rush. Around them, kids laughed and moved and yelled, but they noticed none of that. It was the second time Nicholas and Roxanne were in the same place, at the same time, with the same thoughts. The connection was made again.

And was broke again, too soon.

“Alright, this circus is *over*!”

Mr. Williams burst through the doorway, startling everyone. His raven hair was falling into this face, shrouding his eyes so emotion was impossible to figure. He walked quickly to his desk and rapped his fist against the wood.

“Quiet *down*!”

Down rang like a foghorn and stopped even the rowdiest kid in his tracks. The class froze, eyes sliding in the teacher’s direction, waiting for what might come next.

“Take out your books, open to the right page, and start reading.”

No one moved.

“*Now*!”

So they did, in a hurry. As quickly and quietly as possible, the twenty five plus kids in the room slid into their seats, tentatively picked up their books and shoved their faces deep enough inside to smell the ink on the pages.

Jake Williams waited a minute before he sat down himself. Massaging his temples, the man sifted aimlessly through papers. God, that had been close. It was a miracle he wasn’t signing his regeneration documents right now.

The little jerk had put up one hell of a fight, screaming at every Tom, Dick and Harry who happened to pass them in the hall that he was “wrongly accused” and was “being unfairly treated.” They had finally made it to the Lobby office, but not before the thought of breaking the kid’s neck had run it’s course through the teacher’s head.

After dumping Dead Man Walking into a waiting seat, Jake had made his way to the door marked, 'Paul Maroose, Principal.'

Getting inside the office hadn’t been too hard, but stealing Mr. Maroose from the three boys for a second had been effortless. The man looked like a stressed housewife with one too many children, and the way he eyed McEnzie showed exactly who was causing the deep exasperated lines on his forehead.

“Paul, about this…situation…”

Jake had planned an entire sermon on why the boys might be using him in their awful scheme, but as it turned out, he needn’t have wasted the effort.

The lanky, forty-five-going-on-ninety year old principal leaned against a wall and gave his most sincere apology. He had explained that McEnzie had a history of violent behavior, as did his two accomplices. They also had a history of lying about their behavior, blaming it on other kids, or even teachers.

“When David was questioned in the hospital, he identified over and over again those three boys. And while they resist any attempt to get the truth out, they aren’t putting a good picture in for their defense.” Mr. Maroose had looked so tired, straightening his tie and wincing every time one of the boys shouted inside the closed off office. “They claim you told them to teach David a lesson, to beat him up for knowing too much –“

Jake opened his mouth to protest, but the principal had stopped him, reassuringly.

“But I don’t believe any of it. We’ve interviewed some other students who personally vouch for you and disregard anything those three say. But since the police are involved now, we need to look at every possibility. No matter how outlandish.”

*Thank God for those early dismissal notes and blank hall passes.* Jake had tried to keep his sigh of relief to a minimal. His good old senior buddies hadn’t forgotten.

The principal went on to ask his co-worker if he minded being interviewed in front of an officer later that week. Jake had waved his hand and completely agreed. McEnzie was going to be throwing punches at the air, as were his two little friends. The school was behind Jake Williams. There was no definite proof linking him to the crime except the word of a distrusted troublemaker, and David had no way of knowing he had sent McEnzie after him.

He had gotten away with it. Even though things had gone a little haywire, he had slipped by without so much as a scratch. Oh, the pleasure of high school politics, those fantastic, moldable rules could work wonders if you knew how to manipulate them.

Looking over his quiet classroom, at all the heads shoved into books, all the heads he controlled, Jake Williams smiled to himself.

He was one hell of a sculptor.

Part 7