Lean on me

Chapter 6

A month passed and things were the same. The Padaleckis would have breakfast at the Ackles house before Grayson and Sloan left for school. After school, the teenagers would go to McDonald's before going to one of their houses to do homework and hang out. Whichever house they were at was where they would eat dinner that night. On the days that Sloan ate at Jared's house, she would either spend the night there or Grayson would drive her home after dinner.

Today was just like any day. Sloan woke up from her dad yelling up the stairs to get ready. She fell out of the bed like she does every morning and rushed to get ready, seeing everyone already at the table when she gets there. Give Tom a kiss before sitting on the bench seat next to Grayson. Playful banter between the members of the families. Play with Tom for five minutes. Give him another kiss. Go to school. 

School was the same too. Say goodbye to Grayson at the front. First period English. Second period math. Third period History. Lunch. Usually, the duo would leave lunch early and Grayson would walk Sloan to her fourth period art class. He knew Ryan liked to corner her when she was alone so he always tried to walk her to her classes when he could to make sure she got there safely. 

But today was different. Grayson had to go to his math teacher for extra help so he wasn't at lunch. Which meant Sloan had to eat by herself. No problem. The cafeteria was crowded, there were plenty of teachers and other students that could be witnesses if Ryan decided to try something. 

A minute before the bell rang, Sloan gathers her books and stands up, walking out of the cafeteria, starting her journey to the other side of the school for her class. She heard the footsteps behind her as she walked down the empty hallway, but she just assumed it was someone else trying to beat the rush of the halls or a teacher walking back to their classroom. 

What she didn't expect was to be grabbed by shoulders and slammed into the wall of lockers, a loud bang echoing through the empty hallways as her head connects with the metal behind her. Sloan blinks a few times to clear the dark spots from her vision. She sees Ryan in front of her, sneering at her. 

"Where's your little friend?" He asks, looking up and down the hallway like he was searching for the older boy. 

"Leave me alone, Ryan." Sloan says, shoving his hands off of her and trying to shove passed him. Ryan grabs her again and throws her back against the lockers, making Sloan's bag fall off her shoulder and onto the ground. 

"What's wrong, Sloan?" He sneers. "Not so tough without your body guard, are you?" He shoves her again and Sloan closes her eyes to keep herself from lashing out. "Maybe you should call your daddy. Oh, wait. He doesn't actually do all those fights, does he? They're just fake." He shoves her again and Sloan opens her eyes, glaring at him. "I would say call your mom, but, uh, you don't have one. Guess you don't really have a daddy either. That actor isn't your real father. Just someone who felt sorry for you." He shoves her again and Sloan's finally had enough. 

Letting out a frustrated yell, Sloan brings her leg up and connects her foot with Ryan's stomach, pushing him away from her. He grunts and throws a punch at the girl, who catches his arm and punches him twice in the stomach. Once he's recovered, Ryan throws another punch too fast for Sloan to dodge, his fist connecting with her jaw. The force of the impact makes her fall to the ground and Ryan crouches over her, hitting her again, this time in the eye, splitting the skin on her left cheekbone. 

Sloan kicks Ryan below the belt and scrambles to her feet as he falls to her knees. She doesn't care that the bell has rung and students are crowding around the two, watching the fight. She just knows she's not gonna walk away from this fight without landing at least one good hit. 

Sloan balls her fist and punches the boy once in the eye, then again in the nose, breaking it and making blood flow from it. She crouches down in front of him and grips the back of his head, pulling his face up to hers.