Love's Like That

#5- She Hates Bullies

No, it was nothing romantic. Technically, at least.

Zac always thought she was pretty. Like, she was stunning. Beautiful. But you know, there are different pretty. There's the badass kind of pretty, like Scarlett Johansson, and the cute, docile kind of pretty, the ones who looked like they needed to be protected.

Astra was the second kind of pretty.

With her blond hair and bright blue eyes, Astra was definitely quite a specimen. Being on 5ft 6' and on the petite side, she looked a lot more tiny and innocent than she actually was. And the way her dimples flashed when she smiled...

Anyways, she looked more or less like an introvert. She would usually hang out with only three girls, and could often be found in the library. She didn't talk much, burlt when she did, she could easily come off as charming.

Unless somebody wronged her. Or her friends. Astra wouldn't remain quiet then. She would yell, create a scene, and was famous for kicking a boy in the shins after he called her friend names while she was still in middle school.

First impressions aren't always true, are they?

All of Zac's observation skills failed when a guy told him on his fifth day of high school that the girl he thought was sweet and innocent was actually anything but that. Astra had once, apparently, tripped a boy in the hallway, denied the charge when he tried to frame her, and proceeded to trip him again when he tried to walk away. Why so? Because he had shouted a dirty pickup line at her sister.

So yeah.

Maybe that was the reason he wasn't surprised to see the girl surrounded by a gang of rowdy- looking boys within the second week of joining his new school.

Inching closer to the scene, he noticed Astra glaring at one of the boys, who looked like the leader of the pathetic group, while talking rapidly. She was on the verge of saying something more, when one of them cut her off with a, "look at the mouse squeaking."

One look at the girl's face, and Zac immediately knew that the dude was going to get booted in his family jewels. But then he saw a teacher walking towards the group, perhaps after hearing their voices.

Unaware of what he was doing, he quickly ran upto the group and positioned himself between the two of them. Astra stopped mid-way of her attack, but fixed him with a murderous look.

"Now," Zac said as smoothly as he could, while she glared daggers at him. "Let's not fight here, guys. Why create an unnecessary scene?"

Out of the corner of his eyes, he sees the teacher pass them after shooting them a curious look.

"Get lost," Astra said. "This doesn't involve you."

"The newbie's right," one of the boys smirked. "Do you want detention that badly?"

The girl tried to step up, but Zac stopped her.

"Hey-" he tried, but decides not to go ahead with it.

"Knock some sense into her, bro. That girl's gone nuts," the leader said, before walking away with his friends.

Zac sighed with relief, but the biggest problem hadn't been solved yet.

"Why the hell did you step in?" Astra said angrily. "If Jordan thinks he can call Hannah a slut and walk away with it, then he's very wrong. And now, thanks to you, that is EXACTLY what he thinks!"

"There was a teacher coming," Zac explained. "You would have ended up in detention, or even worse, the principal's office. Did you want that?"

She mutters something under her breath, but says nothing.

"I understand you're angry, and that this guy- Jordan? needs to be taught a lesson," Zac continued. "But not like this. So as an apology for stopping you, how about I help you get your revenge?"

Her bright, blue eyes lighting up was all the reply he needed. Needless to say, when Jordan and two of his boys appeared in school one day with a black eye each, Astra and Zac were the last people in the suspect list.

And that, folks, was the day when both of them got their first crush.