not like you → c . barton

[3]

I received three days out of school suspension. Along with that, I got a week's worth of detention, but no one was mad at me. Mom was actually pretty proud of me, and dad gave me a high five. Diamond got off the hook, but her mom got a note saying that her daughter was wearing inappropriate clothes. My mom suggested that I write a letter to the school board or whatever, but I shook my head.

"I'm just a fourteen year old girl, mom. They won't take me seriously," I sighed, and my dad shook his head.

"Then make them take you seriously," was all he said to me before standing and leaving the room. I stared after my dad, and we heard a knock at the door. I went to go get it, and Jeb was on the other side. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house, down the porch steps, and onto the lawn.

"Dude, what the hell?" I asked, but he shook his head and grabbed my hand. He pulled me along and ran to the woods behind my house, and I knew where we were going. Jeb was taking me to the clearing where we kept our bikes. It was clear that we were going out into town today. He let go of me and we both ran through the woods, hurdling fallen trees and dodging loose branches until we made it to the clearing, where Diamond was already waiting. She had all of our bikes ready to go, and I grinned. I jogged over and took my black Redline BMX bike from her and hopped on, pushing on the pedals and riding in circles around my friends.

"Well, come on then!" I laughed, and they soon joined me on their bikes. We left the clearing, pedaling as fast as we could on bikes not really meant for off-roading, and we pulled out on the roads. I'm not going to lie, when the wind is in your face, pushing your hair back on a warm May day, you feel like you're on top of the world. We rode into town and stopped in front of the convenience store, where Jeb pulled out his wallet and produced a twenty.

"Come on, let's get one of those slushies," he said, and we went inside. We went to the back of the room and grabbed a medium sized cup and walked to the slushie machines. I filled mine up with half red half blue, meanwhile Jeb went with red, and Diamond went with blue.

"You guys are boring," I chuckled, and the both nudged me gently. We went to pay for our drinks, and when we finished with that, we went outside to sit on the curb. We sipped our drinks in silence, and I kept spinning my pedals.

"You're gonna break somethin' if you keep on doing that," Jeb warned, but I shook my head.

"You've known me for how long? How many bikes have I had?" I asked.

"Four. You've had four bikes," Jeb sipped his drink, and I gave him 'the look'. He shrugged and Diamond fought back her own laughter.

"Oh hush you two," I muttered, sipping my mixed freezy. They laughed, and I couldn't help the smile on my face. We watched as other people went into the store, talking amongst themselves. some adults gave us this look, which we returned, making them look away. When we finished our drinks, we hopped on our bikes and took off down the street again. We only came to a stop when something splattered all over the road in front of us. The three of us all swerved and crashed onto the grass, groaning.

"Nice one Patrick," Ryan laughed, high-fiving Patrick and Brian. I sat up first, and I glared at them. They ceased their laughter and walked over, and I stood up, shaking slightly. Diamond went to get up, but Jeb pulled her back.

"Well, if it ain't pretty titty," Brian laughed, and I balled my hand into a fist. I grit my teeth, and they stepped closer.

"Aw, is pretty titty gonna fight back? You don't have the guts," Brian sneered, and I actually growled. Brian stepped closer, and so did I, daring him to say or do anything to me.

"You think you're so tough, don't you? Prove it, pretty tit- Ow!" Brian yelled after my fist made contact with his jaw. Behind me, Jeb and Diamond had stood our bikes back up, and he had mine ready.

"C'mon Alex!" he yelled, but before I could get over to him, Ryan had slapped me across the face. With a stinging face, I staggered backwards and fell off of the curb, hitting my head on the street. I tried to keep my eyes open because I saw Jeb with his phone out, and Diamond rushed to my side. She tried to prop my head up and keep me awake, which was working for the most part, until I heard my mom yelling my name.

"Alex!" that wasn't my mom that time. No, that was the voice of a concerned, yet angry father who also happens to be an Avenger. My vision was fading pretty quickly, and there was a ringing in my ears.

"Alex, stay awake," my mom whispered, but I couldn't help it. I let my eyes close, and the last thing I heard was my dad, yelling louder than he'd ever yelled before.