Gary had had such an amazing time at the arcade with the nerds, and he was actually better than quite a few of them! It wasn't really a surprise when they had called him over to their table at breakfast the next morning. He was actually starting to feel like he was part of the school now, and he had so many new friends. He had been having so much fun that he hadn't even noticed the Aimes and Barry had not come to breakfast so far.
As the group left to go back upstairs to prepare for their lessons, Gary noticed the Aimes and Barry coming down the stairs in the opposite direction to them. The Aimes had her arms crossed and he started to wonder what had happened. His thoughts were interrupted when Bradley and the other populars saw them and started conversing.
"Did you do the wrong hole?" Bradley joked gesturing to the Aimes, who was still frowning. Barry smirked and the Aimes shoved Bradley. Gary simply rolled his eyes at the dirty joke. As he turned around, he realised the nerds had all started to go upstairs, trying their best to get away from the populars quickly. Gary quickly tried to follow them but noticed that Barry had caught sight of them.
"Ready RB?" Barry asked, once again taking the Aimes's hand. The populars started to follow them after the Aimes's meek nod. Gary wondered what they were going to do. Were they going to beat them up in front of all these people? "Hey, nerds! Where do you think you're going?" Called Barry's voice. Gary saw a smirk spread across his face. Oscar turned to Gary.
"Great... Barry always makes fun of us before the day starts so that 'we know our place' or something" Oscar explained to him and then led the group of nerds down the stairs again. Gary watched the behaviour of all the others. The nerds were nervous, Barry seemed overly confident, the other populars seemed to be bored and waiting for some entertainment. But the Aimes was different. She seemed nervous too, almost in a hesitant way...
"You forget your place again?" Barry asked, placing his hands on his hips and walking up and down them like a drill Sargent. He narrowed his eyes, noticing Gary in the group, and then his usual smirk spread across his face again. "It's like you guys don't even try to look good... I mean look at specs here!" He taunted, making the Aimes squirm. Gary grit his teeth, how could these guys just take this? Everyday?
A few of the other populars joined in with the slurs, including the girl he'd seen with Barry that night. The Aimes looked at Gary, they locked eyes and she quickly broke eye contact, likely because of the 'do something' look plastered on his face.
"Didn't you have something to say to Sheffield, RB?" Barry asked, the Aimes tensed up and shook her head quickly. His eyes narrowed slightly and her gaze dropped. She stepped forward slowly and Gary wondered what she was going to say. She seemed really nervous, but suddenly her whole persona changed. Her eyes lifted and she was smirking like Barry.
"Of course, you'd join the nerds Sheffield... I suppose they'd be the only ones that would accept a pervert like you!" She harassed, making Barry smile and Bradley sigh. Gary's eyes widened, he had told her that he hadn't made that photo... why would she bring that up?
"I told you, I didn't make that photo!" He cried out, confused at her actions. "I told you it was Barry!" He continued. Her gaze dropped to the floor again and then her eyes met his. She opened her mouth to say something but Barry stepped in front of the Aimes before she could.
"Are you picking a fight Sheffield? I guess I didn't break your bones enough before..." Barry threatened, cracking his knuckles intimidatingly. The Aimes gave Gary a look saying 'don't do this' but Gary ignored her. How could she join in with Barry's harassing? In his anger, he'd forgotten about the fact that he was supposed to be becoming her friend and instead cracked his own knuckles.
The Aimes grabbed Barry's arm, "don't do this!" She whispered, panicked by his anger. He frowned and pushed her behind him like a dog or small child. She frowned.
"Loyalty." He muttered, grinning as she stepped back and let him fight. Loyalty? What about loyalty? Gary wondered as he came to the front of the nerds. Oscar was telling him not to fight Barry, but he was already prepared to fight him. Properly this time. He didn't want his group to be hurt, over and over, by this bully. He had his own loyalty.
A girl suddenly stepped in between the guys who were preparing to fight. "Seriously boys? It's not even half past nine and you're already fighting?" She asked, imitating the headteacher. She was actually really pretty. Gary thought, noticing how her golden hair flowed down her back in waves.
"Fuck off Gabrielle." Barry retorted, pushing her behind him as well. Gabrielle gasped and frowned, crossing her arms. Gary grit his teeth, how could he treat her like that?Then Bradley stepped forward to catch her and he placed a hand on Barry's arm.
"Barry, the objective is complete... Let's just go! You proved your right! Okay?" Bradley reasoned trying to pull Barry into the cafeteria, so that he could finally eat something. Barry gave Gary a stern look and then muttered "fine" to Bradley. The populars started to leave and Gary noticed that the Aimes was the first to leave.
"I'm so sorry Gary, he's a bit grouchy before he's eaten..." Bradley apologised gesturing to Barry. It made Gary smile slightly and then wonder how Bradley was connected to Barry. It certainly seemed like he looked out for him a lot. But Barry often bossed him around...