Derek always used to take it slow while starting a fight. And in most cases, the enemy would take it slow in the beginning as well. After all, most people need time to find their groove. And since most people usually begin a fight with a bit of distance between them already, it made sense that Derek would have time to slowly get ready, especially if the enemy is a cautious person.
"What the-" But what he didn't expect was that the trash talking worm that was sitting right in front of him would be so quick in his attack. In fact, he was so quick that by the time Derek had noticed it, the desk was already flying at him with an incredible speed. And with his reflexes, there was absolutely no way that he would've been able to block that attack.
WHAM!
The desk smashed against Derek's shoulder, sending him flying sideways in the air before he slammed onto the wall and crash landed.
"Urgh!" Derek groaned in pain and he began coughing violently as he wiggled around on the ground. His gaze, although blurry, could identify Mark, whom he could see walking towards him.
'What the fuck..' Derek couldn't believe what was happening to him. He was getting beaten up by this, this… this weakling? The loser Mark?
"Hey, get up now. You can't give up so easily.." Mark crouched in front of Derek, grabbed his hair and pulled his head up, and as he looked into his eyes, he continued, "After all, the punishment has only just begun.."
"Kuaah!" Derek screamed loudly as he desperately swung his fist, aiming right for Mark's face, who immediately dodged the attack by pulling back his head.
Mark shook his head and waved his finger around, speaking with a disappointed tone. "Hey, that's rude."
WHAM!
Mark attacked back in an instant, kicking right underneath Derek's lower jaw, causing him to flip back and slam his head against the wall once again.
"You shouldn't interrupt someone when they're talking," Mark said as he wiped his pants and shirt while getting up from the floor.
"AHHHH! AHHH!" Derek screamed in pain as his gaze darted around the classroom, finally landing on two young boys, Jaxon and Ritchie, who were both staring at the beat up Derek's face.
"What the fuck are you looking at? Take him down!" Derek screamed loudly at the two boys while pointing his finger at Mark, and the two boys turned to look at each other for a second before leaping out of their chairs and walking up to Mark.
"Oh, what's this?" Mark, curious as to whom the beat up Derek was talking to, turned around and found the two boys standing behind him, and one of his eyebrows rose up in response.
"Are these two your minions, Derek? Oh, how cute is that?" Mark spoke in a mocking tone. "Don't tell me you also named your little evil group? I wonder what the name is- Wait, don't tell me!"
Mark closed his eyes and placed his finger on his forehead as he acted as though he was thinking hard, and the two boys stared at him confused.
"Uh, dude.. like, are we going to fight or not?" Jaxon asked, and Ritchie nodded his head.
"Psst! Can't you see that I'm busy thinking?" Mark waved his hands in a dismissive manner in response, and Derek shouted at the two boys, "Why're you asking him for permission, you dumb fucks? He's obviously stalling for time! Just attack him!"
The two boys shrugged, and immediately dashed forward.
Whoosh!
Jaxon, who was in front, leapt into the air and swung his leg, aiming straight for Mark's head.
"Ah! I've got one!" Right then, Mark opened his eyes and yelled out loudly, and within seconds after finishing his words…
WHAM!
Mark grabbed Jaxon's leg right before it could make contact with his face, and without losing the momentum, he instantly swung him around, completing a full 360° spin before letting him go.
BAM!
Jaxon was sent flying right in the direction of the fast approaching Ritchie, who couldn't avoid the surprise attack, causing him to collide with Jaxon's body and the two crash landed onto the floor with a loud noise.
"It's called 'The Three Pussies', right?" Mark said as he let out a snicker, and he then turned to look at Derek, who had now gotten up from the floor, and continued, "I got the name right, didn't I, Derek?"
"You bastard! I'll kill you!" Derek screamed once again before charging towards Mark, who clicked his tongue. "Now Derek, I know that seeing your mother be in a relationship with someone else must be hard for you. But to threaten someone because of that is just not right!"
"AHHH!" Derek continued yelling loudly as he reached Mark and tried punching him, but Mark simply evaded the attack before sweeping his left leg, getting him off balance, right after which he leapt up and kneed him on his face.
WHAM!
The kick made Derek faint, and he fell backwards, onto the floor while making a loud noise.
"Jesus Christ…" Melissa, who was watching the fight from the hallway, whispered softly under her breath. "He was actually not a loser?"
"You can say that again.." Selina replied almost immediately, her gaze still stuck on the calm and collected Mark, who was staring at the unconscious body of Derek.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, he turned around and his gaze fell on Melissa, who flinched in response.
"Ah, shit! He saw us!" Selina, who realized that Mark saw them, pulled on Melissa's sleeves, and Melissa slapped her hand away. "I know, I know!"
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Mark began walking towards Melissa, whose heart immediately began pounding like crazy, and her whole face started turning pink.
'Oh, shit! He's coming here! What do I do?' Melissa, who didn't feel a thing towards Mark until right now, was now completely nervous. 'Why on earth did I reject him? He wasn't actually a loser! And he's not really a bad looking guy either!'
"Melissa!" Mark's words snapped Melissa out of her mind, and she replied nervously, "Wha- What?!"
Mark gently placed his hand on Melissa's shoulder, which made her even more flustered, and spoke in a soothing voice, "I want to thank you."
"Th- Thank me? Thank me for what?" Melissa replied nervously, her gaze shifting left and right, unable to look Mark in the eyes as they spoke.
"You know, I actually felt dejected after getting rejected by you. I actually thought about never coming to school again," Mark spoke with a voice that seemed to imply that he was saying something deep and philosophical, and both Melissa and Selina listened closely. "But after thinking about it for a while, I got up and looked in the mirror, and I realized something.."
"..What did you realize?" Melissa asked. Mark paused for a second for dramatic effect, before continuing. "I realized… I realized that I'm kinda good looking. In fact, with a bit of workout, I'd say I could even be considered hot."
"... Huh?" Melissa and Selina were caught off-guard by the sudden revelation, but Mark ignored their reactions and continued, "And that's when I realized that.. that I could do way better than you, Melissa. Like, you're pretty and all, but I've seen girls that are way hotter than you. I'm talking Victoria's Secret Angels supermodel hot. And now that I know I have the capability of becoming a hot guy, I just think that I was settling by trying to ask you out."
"... Huh?" Melissa still couldn't believe what was happening. Mark gently tapped on her shoulder a couple of times before continuing, "So thank you, Melissa, for rejecting me. Because if you didn't, I'm sure you would've ended up becoming bitter and jealous; a resentful old woman who stopped looking good in her early twenties and just plateaued. It simply wouldn't have worked out."
Mark smiled at the still confused Melissa and said, "So thank you once again, for understanding that you're just not good enough to be in my league."
He tapped Melissa's shoulder once again and then walked away from the classroom, leaving a still stupefied Melissa standing in the hallway.
"Um, Melissa…" Selina, who didn't know what to say, pulled Melissa's sleeve once again.
"Did I…" Melissa whispered softly under her breath, making Selina lean closer to hear what she said. But she would soon regret her actions, as Melissa screamed out loud..
"Did I just get fucking rejected?!"