[Navier Barr's POV]
Before I met her, I was inches away from taking my own life. But her light descended upon me, like an angel lighting the way in a dark forest.
Tenth grade was hell. I was smaller, shorter, and weaker than all the other boys. It didn't matter that my grades were stellar and that all the teachers liked me. I was tormented until I thought I might drown in tears I shed quietly at night.
In 11th grade, she descended upon me like a fairy amidst a storm. I hadn't noticed her at first.
She came to my class one day. I hadn't thought much. She looked like everyone else here. Silently, she sat in front of me, blocking my view of the board.
When the lunch bell rang, I instinctively shrank, hoping the Grimm brothers would ignore me for once. Ah, but they never did.
I saw Viktor Grimm, Pablo Grimm, and Turner Grimm approach me from the corner of my eye. Chills slithered up my spine, tightening my chest and laboring my breathing. A cold sweat broke out on my forehead, and I desperately wanted to hide under my desk.
Helplessly, I stared at her back, hoping she wouldn't be like the others. I wanted her to turn around to say something. But I knew she wouldn't. No one ever did.
Viktor Grimm's black shoes stopped at the side of my desk. Hot air tickled the shell of my ear as he whispered, "Meet us in the bathroom, yeah?"
The color drained from my face, and I meekly nodded in response. Viktor smirked and strolled out of the classroom with Pablo and Turner firmly behind him.
My legs were jello, and I couldn't bring myself to stand from my desk. I was sure I'd die this time. Viktor would be furious. I could already imagine the steam escaping his ears and his tormenting smile.
I squeezed my eyes shut, gathering the courage to face him. Abruptly, I stood from my seat and rushed to the bathroom. The same bathroom they tormented me in every lunch period.
As I rushed in, Viktor, Pablo, and Turner were already there waiting for me. Viktor leaned against the sink while his two brothers leaned against the bathroom stalls. Although they were triplets, they looked markedly different.
Viktor's features were rugged and harsh compared to the idol-like features of Pablo and Turner.
I came to a halt, crossing my hands in front of me and lowering my head. I didn't dare to meet their eyes.
"Got what we asked for?" Turner asked. His tone was gentle, but it wouldn't be for long.
"One more week," I meekly begged, tears swarming in my eyes.
"One more week?" Viktor cackled as he approached me. I could see his feet in my line of vision, and fear paralyzed me.
Trembling, I reached into my pocket, taking out the wad of cash I planned to use to pay my rent. "Wait. Here! I got it!"
Thud!
Pain exploded in my gut, burning me from the inside out. My hands loosened, and the wad of cash in my hands fell to the piss-covered floors.
I collapsed to my knees, holding in the sobs that threatened to wrack my body. But the dams broke, and tears streamed down my cheeks.
Ah, someone help me, I meekly thought. But I knew no one would.
Viktor's hand grabbed a fistful of my hair, and he leaned down to look me in the eye. "Navier~ You had the guts to lie?"
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Had someone come? I looked to see Rem, the transfer student. My heart fell when I saw her. I didn't want her to get caught up in my mess. I shook my head at her, but she wasn't looking at me.
Rem's eyes were dark, nearly coal black, and her face was emotionless. Her long hair cascaded to her waist, and her soft features were pleasing to the eye.
"Ho, what's a rat doing in here? Come to play?" Pablo cackled.
Turner snickered, and chills instinctively ran down my spine. They'd trained me like Pavlov's dogs. The mere sight of them would make me stick my hands in my pockets to fork up any cash I had.
"She looks decent enough," Turner said.
Navier released my head and strode to Turner, smirking. "Rem Oaks was it?" His hands squeezed her cheeks. "Aww, how cute."
I silently sobbed even harder, and the rivers on my cheeks thickened. Rem should go while she still had the chance. Before she ended up like me.
I lowered my head, staring at the germ-covered bathroom floors and my trousers. I didn't want to see what the Grimm brothers would do to her.
Bam!
Viktor's shoes stumbled back into my vision. Confused, I raised my head. Coughs wracked Viktor's body as he stumbled back, crashing into his two brothers.
No… she shouldn't have done that. There was no way the Grimm brothers would let her go now!
"Bitch!" Viktor cursed as she rushed toward Rem.
My eyes widened to saucers. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. My eyes remained fixated on Rem and her expressionless face.
Viktor charged at her, but she refused to move. What was she doing? She was going to get hit!
"Dodge!" I tried to croak, but the words remained lodged in my throat, and I could only watch in terror as the distance between Viktor and Rem decreased.
Bam!
She moved so fast, I could hardly register her movements. But before I knew it, Viktor knelt before her, blood pooling before him. Her hand gripped his hair, and her stare was unforgiving.
I could hardly register what had happened. She… pulled out his piercing?! I winced, touching my lips, feeling sympathetic . As much as I hated him, the open gash on his lips looked tremendously painful.
"Didn't your mother teach you not to hit a woman?" Rem's face remained frozen as she spoke, her eyes cold and unmoving.
Warmth filled my chest. She was strong. She was who I wanted to be. Could I be as strong as her one day?
"What are you standing there for? Do something, you pricks!" Viktor shrieked. Anguish and pain were etched into the crease lines on his forehead and drops of sweat running down his temples.
Pablo and Turner obediently ran toward her, their fists raised. They charged at the same time, much like wild bulls.
Pa! Pa!
I stared in shock as Pablo and Turner stumbled back and clutched their cheeks. Rem had slapped them with her shoe?!
Was Rem beating the Grimm brothers, the strongest boys in the grade?
She released Viktor's hair, and he slumped to the ground, devoid of his previous vigor. Using her shoeless foot, she nudged his collapsed form.
Ah, how demeaning. Navier almost felt embarrassed for him.
"Three on one? That's not very nice."
I had dreamed of fighting back against the Grimm brothers. But when it came to it, my knees shook harder than an earthquake, and the previous courage that I once had disappeared into a bottomless sinkhole.
But Rem. She was fearless. How was she so brave? Was she an angel descended from the sky?
Pablo and Turner helplessly whimpered in front of her.
"Scram," Rem spat.
Obediently, Pablo, and Turner rushed forward, dragged Viktor out the door, escaping from her sight. Each one took one of his legs and ran from the bathroom.
Viktor's face dragged against the floor, leaving a river of blood in his wake.
Only then did Rem turn to look at me. I expected her eyes to be sympathetic and pitiful like the gazes of all my other classmates. But her gaze was cold. She looked at me the way she did the Grimm brothers: unforgiving and emotionless.
For a second, I was scared my hero might beat me up as well.
"I'm Rem," she said.
I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but only a choked sob escaped my lips.
Suddenly, a smile broke out on her face, and I froze.
Warmth bloomed in my chest. She was amazing. Kinder than anyone I'd ever met. She was the first person to stand up for me in a world where everyone's selfishness overpowered everything else.
I was sure her smile would part the heavens and bring God to his knees. Her cold glare had disappeared from her features and had been replaced with the sun itself.
My glasses fogged up from my tears, and I could no longer see her clearly.
Rem turned away, and I watched her back retreat, almost as if she were returning to the heavens, where she rightfully belonged.
My heart was lodged in my throat. Ah, she's my hero, I admiringly thought. She must be a goddess that descended to the earth.