"Derrick" "Derrick stop" "Derrick!" Vivian's voice echoed as Derrick kept landing blows on Kyle's face . As his head was covered in blood, Kyle's eyes widened in surprise and fear.
"No!" Derrick yelled as Vivian kicked him. He stumbled back from her, holding Kyle's shirt getting ready to pummel his face once more before he was stopped by a hand that pulled him away from Kyle. "That's enough Mr Taylor!" Mr Hannington the school principal said with a firm tone of voice as Derrick regained total control of his body. He turned his attention towards Kyle who was still groaning and turning. "You're all right Kyle?"
Kyle shook his head slightly, still trying to recover from the bruises he accumulated on his face as he laid almost lifeless on the floor. A small whimper was heard and Mr Hannington turned around and saw Vanessa running towards them with the school nurse. Her hands were pressed against her mouth as she watched the sight in front of her.
Mr Hannington looked at the Derrick then back at the students who already filled the hallway as they watched the spectacle before them. "Oh Wrath, what did you do?" Derrick said as he looked around the hallway, then his hands, they were covered in blood and small cuts. "I said takeover not completely destroy his chances of going to prom!" "In my defense, he had it coming and I wasn't going to let him just get off the hook like that, not today, not ever." Wrath replied. "Mr Taylor, my office. Now!" Mr Hannington said to Derrick as he pointed towards the direction of his office which was down the hallway from where they had been standing. Derrick looked at Vivian who was still shocked from the event that transpired before her as he said "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He glanced at Vanessa before following Mr Hannington.
~*~
The door of Mr Hannington's office clicked shut behind them as he walked over to his desk and sat down. He looked up at Derrick waiting for an explanation. Derrick looked back nervously but decided to speak up anyway. "I didn't know Mr Hannington, one moment he was hitting me and next thing I knew, my fist was connecting with his face and he fell on the floor, hitting his head pretty bad on the way down. I mean, if you ask me I'd say he had it coming." Derrick said as he fidgeted nervously.
"I understand the situation Derrick but you cannot go around beating people half dead because of their mistakes. What is your relationship with Mr Mackey?" The principal asked as he looked down on his desk.
"We used to be bestfriends sir, and we had a little bit of falling off and we've never spoken since then." Derrick replied almost instantly. "Do you think I would hurt anyone else?" He asked as he tried to make sense of what happened. His gaze fell on Mr Hannington hoping that this man would understand his position.
Mr Hannington sighed. "Of course not son, but it doesn't matter now. Following the school's protocol I'd have to suspend you for three days, that should be enough to make you think about what you did." Derrick closed his eyes. It was always about what he did instead of what everyone else did. "But I think you should know that this isn't the end of the matter. I'll inform the teacher of how you acted and see what they think about it after classes are dismissed." Derrick nodded as Mr Hannington began gathering his things. He grabbed his keys as he prepared to lock his office.
Derrick stayed sitting on the edge of his chair feeling defeated. Three days? That was only the beginning. He could feel his stomach churning in nervousness as he thought about how long suspension would take. He felt guilty about what had happened but couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for hurting Kyle, not when everything else was so much worse.
He got up and opened the door, making his way through the hallway. Once he reached the parking lot, he heard a quite familiar voice call out his name. "Hey, you're leaving already? What did Mr Hannington say?" Vivian asked as Derrick adjusted his backpack. "Oh well, I'm suspended for three days starting now so... I best get going, I'm really sorry for how I acted and I can promise you I'm not like that at all, I just... I just got son angry and confused and I acted on impul-" Derrick was cut short as Vivian shut him up with a kiss, catching him unaware. "It's okay, I know plus Kyle can be such a jerk too so he also had it coming. I gotta get back to class so we'll talk when I'm dismissed?" Vivian said as she withdrew from the kiss. He nodded his agreement before pulling her into another hug, letting out some of the tension that had built up.
After several seconds, he reluctantly let her go as she pulled away. She gave him another quick peck before walking off to class and Derrick stood there staring blankly until she was finally in the school building. Once alone again Derrick opened the driver side door as he fastened his seat belt and started his car . He looked at his phone for the time and noticed that he still had two hours till his next class and that meant plenty of time to drive home, shower, get a bite to eat and watch TV until he finally went to sleep.
As he made his way to the freeway, he checked the news sites and saw that someone had already uploaded the video of his fight with Kyle online. After watching it four times he finally put his headphones on his phone and listened to music as he drove.
***
When he finally arrived home, he dropped his backpack on the floor as he said "I know you guys are here, we need to talk!" Derrick said as his seven companions appeared before him. "Wrath, what the hell man? I almost killed that guy." Derrick said as he raised his fists. "Yeah, if he hadn't knocked you into a locker you wouldn't have to worry about that!" Wrath added. "What the hell does that mean? I'm the one who broke his nose!" "And who gave you permission to hit him? You shouldn't have done that without talking first!" Pride snapped back at Wrath as he clenched his fist.
"Guys please, calm down. Look I just want to apologize for what I did. I lost it, it wasn't like me. Please forgive me, Kyle will too."
"I don't think Kyle will agree with you, dude." Derrick said as he crossed his arms across his chest and glared at Wrath." "Look, I agreed to let you guys possess me whenever I want because I wanted a shot at a better high school life, notice how I emphasise on I, if this is gonna work I need to know you guys aren't just going to take over my mind all of a sudden. There is need for me to be in control." Derrick said as he let out a sigh.
Everyone remained silent except for the sound of their breathing. Finally Wrath spoke up. "Fine I'll go easy on ya but the next time Kyle crosses a line, he's catching these hands." He said as Derrick took a deep breath. The seven of them including Derrick stared at each other in silence before bursting into laughter.
*****
Once Derrick was inside his bedroom, he stripped down and headed to the bathroom. He washed the dried blood off his fists and took a quick shower, washing the sweat off his body. His skin glistened as his dark hair hung loosely against his forehead. After taking a good look at his reflection he finally decided that he looked presentable enough to the human eye.
"Hey brotha, where the hell have you been?!"
Pride said as he appeared before Derrick. "You're looking really hot you know? You ever wanna model?" Pride teased. "No, no thanks, my skin is kind of sensitive." He said as he placed his towel against the back of his neck wiping it quickly.
"Okay then, I guess thats what you want. Speaking of 'Wants' when do I get to take over? I mean most of them already had their chance." Pride said as he played with the lights. "Sure why not yours? I could use an esteem boost and you sound like the perfect option." Derrick said as he turned his attention to his closet. He was trying to decide what pajamas to wear.
Pride stopped playing with the light bulbs. "Are you serious?" "Yep." He said as he grabbed one of his shirts and started dressing. "That sounds awesome! Prepare for the time of yo life bro!" Pride said as he prepared to possess Derrick. "Woah woah, not right now, I'm tired and would appreciate some shut eye." Derrick said as he put on his pants, leaving the bathroom. "Alright then, sounds like a plan." Pride said before disappearing once more. "It's gonna be a long suspension period with you guys around. Derrick said as he shut his eyes for some sleep.