Ride the Cyclone Stuff

Oneshot - I Will Protect You (Nischa)

(prequel to Anger and Passion)

(TW for su!cide mention and F slur)

Noel Gruber was not a stranger to bullying. I mean, being the only openly gay man in a small, rural high school means that you're an easy target. Noel had been through it all - physical bullying, verbal bullying, cyber bullying, and being hit with every homophobic slur in the book. And yet, he just took it all. He responded to the abuse with a stoic face, the silent treatment, and walking away.

This event began in Noel's science class. He was sat the second row from the back, next to Mischa, and in front of his bullies. While he was sat scribbling notes in his exercise book, or chatting quietly with Mischa, one of the bullies threw a crumpled-up ball of paper at him. It hit the back of Noel's head, causing him to flinch. As his bullies laughed and jeered at him, Noel picked up the crumpled-up paper to read what was on it. It was the worksheet they were working on, only with the words "KILL YOURSELF YOU FAGGOT" scrawled on it in marker pen. Sighing, Noel screwed up the paper again and threw it in the bin.

"Noel, this is third time this has happened." Mischa remarked. "Why not stand up for yourself for once in while?"
"There's no point." Noel replied in a dejected voice. "Even when I have confronted them or told a teacher, they just get worse."
"You can't keep putting up with this!" Mischa exclaimed. "You have been dealing with this ever since you came out!"
"It's just better to just leave it be." Noel sighed. "They're popular, I'm an outcast. They could crush me like a grape."

At lunch, the choir met up in the cafeteria to eat together. The place was crowded with ravenous teens waiting to get their food that barely passed the heath code. As the group tried to navigate their way through the corridor, they ended up walking past Noel's bullies unknowingly, and as they passed, one of them stuck their foot out, causing Noel to trip over. Ocean was able to grab him in time before he hit the floor, but all of his food was now a splattered mess on the floor.

Mischa, riddled with rage, handed Noel his tray and marched in front of the bullies.
"Okay, which one of you did that?!" he shouted. The anger in his voice turned the cafeteria from chaotic noise to silent.
"What's it to ya?" A bully smirked, making the other bullies snicker quietly.
"We all know you keep bullying Noel because he likes boys. Doing all this...homophobic stuff does not make you cool. It makes you douchebag. You ever bully him again, you have to deal with me. Understand?" Mischa ranted. Nobody dared to move an inch.

"I doubt you could do anything." The leader of the bullies piped up. He moved forward, inches away from Mischa. "You're all bark, no bite. Now, can you and your little homo group go away? You're blocking my view of the cheerleaders."
Mischa's eyes narrowed. In a quieter, more intimidating voice, he snarled, "You have just made yourself powerful enemy."
With a swift pivot, he marched away from the bullies and led the choir to an empty table. As they sat down, Noel attempted to hand the tray back to Mischa, he stopped him.
"I'm not hungry." Mischa responded. "I think you need this more than I do."

After school, Noel and Mischa headed to the park. They sat on a bench, watching the world go by.
"I really appreciate you standing up for me." Noel said, hands between his legs. "I've not had the courage to confront them, so I'm glad you did that."
"Hey, I gotta help where I can." Mischa responded. "Being bad boy means you gotta protect those you are close to."
The last sentence sent a shiver through Noel. With a comforted smile, he rested his head on Mischa's shoulder for a good minute or two. The world seemed perfect in that moment...before it was ruined by the obnoxious laughter Noel knew too well.

"Wow, this all makes sense now!" the leader jeered with mocking laughter. "I mean, why else would someone stand up for this loser?"
Noel immediately snapped back to his position. He felt quite pathetic and vulnerable, with him getting tormented in front of his lover. Mischa, on the other hand, just felt anger. His eye twitched as each word left the leader's mouth. Without a word, he stood up, took off his sweater, tossed it in Noel's lap, directly faced the leader, and punched him in the face.

One rage-fuelled brawl later, and Mischa was victorious. Sure, he had got a bit battered himself, but the bullies were much worse off. Even though Noel first marvelled at this spectacle, he eventually had to pull Mischa away before he put one of the kids in hospital. As the bullies scarpered, Mischa looked to the sky and laughed with triumph.
"Damn, that felt good." He felt around his nose, and noticed his finger had cone back bloody. "Shit. Noel, there is medical kit in my bag. Do you mind, er...patching me up?"
"Anytime." Noel replied, hastily pulling the kit out of the bag.