How To Build A Flower Shop

Chapter SIXTEEN

Loud cheering catches Bobbi's attention on her walk to class, mentally preparing herself to face Nicholas. She ignores it, seeing it isn't her business to pry. It's probably the cheerleaders practicing. She hasn't seen Nicholas around since their break-up and she can freeze him out -she did it before- but she knows she's going to feel a particular pang in her chest when she sees him.

'Beat 'em, Fenzo!' a student cheers.

Her eyes widen that those cheers come from students circulating a fight. Okay, it becomes her business. No one should resolve to fights and she doesn't want anyone to get seriously hurt. Over to the crowd, after she jostles her way through people, she scampers to the two guys fighting. One is on top of the other, throwing punches at the other guy's jaw repeatedly.

'Hey! Hey, stop it!' Bobbi commands, sick in her stomach from the fact that instead of helping the boys, people are just standing there to watch. What happened to society? She can hate people sometimes and she hates violence, mostly blood. She grabs the guy's shoulder and pulls him back. Peers over his shoulder to see how the other guy is, and it's Roberto. It shouldn't have been a surprise to her, but she's disappointed. She isn't sure why she expects to see a change in his character just because they started getting along, so she tells herself to stop.

Roberto's lip bleeds and there's a small drop of blood from his nose. Bobbi almost hurls. Her stomach churns at the sight of the blood, and she thinks she's about to faint.

The guy on top punches Roberto's jaw again, and it snaps Bobbi away from her thoughts of throwing up. Her eyes averting from Roberto, she yells, 'Stop! Tom stop it! That's enough!'

'Why? He ruined your mom's shop. You should be all for this!' A guy shouts over from the crowd.

Bobbi looks over with her brows knit together. There's only a couple of students around. Recognizes the guy from a class they share. She keeps a hold of Tom's shoulder in case he throws a punch. He stopped but won't get off Roberto, who has his eyes closed and he covers his nose with his arm. Bobbi wonders if this is what the fight is about. If the fight is about something else entirely, are some people here satisfied to see Roberto get hurt for burning down Bobbi's dead mother's shop? Does Roberto get insulted regularly for what he did?

Tom gets off Roberto, who is breathing heavy on the ground, not hitting back, eyes still closed. Bobbi stands straight and frowns while looking down at Roberto. Although there's a small amount of blood on his face, the sick feeling in her stomach is from something else. It's weird, she kind of feels for him. She shouldn't, but for whatever reason she does. Just a little.

Tom puts his hands on his knees and takes a deep breath. His blond hair is in a mess, his green eyes full of hate for Roberto, and his lip bleeds as he clutches onto his stomach.

What was Roberto doing getting into a fight with Tom? Tom is a big guy; Bobbi would like to think he is twice his size but that's exaggerating. He plays in the field with Nicholas, holding the position Defense Tackle, and Roberto thought to fight him? And why is Tom fighting Roberto? He's only ever aggressive on the field.

'Tom, what are you doing? You could seriously injure him,' she scolds.

If Kylemore High had wrestling as a school sport, she's positive Tom would be star champion. Thank goodness they didn't; he'd probably break Roberto's bones.

'So you actually care about him now? Wait 'till I tell Nick.'

'No! I just want you to understand that you sometimes can't control yourself.'