After sitting down at one of the tables and dispersing the crowd, Finn turned to look at James.
James had brown hair with bangs covering his jade-green eyes. He was 160cm tall, quite small for someone who was 19. This made his family and friends feel like they needed to protect him. Unfortunately, he didn't have friends.
It also made him seem weak, which was one of the reasons he was chosen as a target by the bullies. The other was that his parents were loaded with money.
James started talking about everything that had happened so far and how every day of his life had been nothing but misery.
Finn attentively listened to him and patted him on the shoulder whenever he looked like he was about to cry.
He would never help James in the past, but when Finn saw him on the floor, he saw his broken past self in him and he instantly knew that if he didn't help James, there would only be two outcomes.
James would either become distrustful and close himself off just like Finn did, or he would decide to run away by killing himself. After all, nobody can bully a dead man.
After listening to his story, Finn decided to befriend James. On the one hand, he didn't want to see him bullied, but he also thought about the future.
He knew that defeating the other champions and their guilds would be impossible for him if he chose to do it alone, so gathering trustworthy allies was one of the ways for him to become stronger.
"Don't worry, from now on we are friends, and nothing bad will happen to our friends, right Leo?"
Finn put his hand on James' shoulder as he turned to look at Leo.
Leo, who now knew just how bad school was for James and that the main reason he didn't fight back was because they would always bully him in a trio, was now boiling with rage.
James told them that one time he even punched one of them, which did almost nothing due to his small build, and after that he just got beat up twice as hard.
"Yeah, we are friends now, and nobody bullies my friends."
Leo nodded while imagining beating Josh's face in with his fist.
James looked down and let out a soft sniffle.
He never thought he would make friends or escape from his bullying. He even came to the school today, ready to give up his life just to escape from it all.
But now there were people willing to stand up for him, so he proudly looked up.
"Th… *sniff* Thanks guys, it means a lot to me."
James was looking at Leo and Finn like they were the hope he was wishing for every night.
---
Their next class was art class. When they all sat together, some people around them started whispering to each other, but after one glare from Leo, they shut their mouths.
When the teacher entered, everyone stood up to greet her. She put down her things and clapped her hands.
"Today we are doing a group project. Everyone, make groups consisting of 3 people."
After she said that, James felt like his heart was being gripped.
He always detested participating in group activities because he would either end up by himself or in a group that ignored him so that Josh wouldn't target them for hanging out with him.
James felt like the laughter of the other students started to turn quieter, and the only thing he could hear was his beating heart.
Suddenly he felt a big hand on his shoulder, and when he turned around, he saw Leo smiling at him.
"What are you waiting for? Let's put the tables together so we can start working. Just so you know, I'm like Picasso in painting."
"Yeah, if Picasso was using his broken left hand while being blind in both of his eyes."
Finn nonchalantly added from the side while setting up their paints. Leo's smile stiffened, and he turned to glare at him.
"Hey, I'm not that bad. My mom even told me that I am the best painter out of all her sons!"
"Yeah? And how many brothers do you have?"
Leo was confused, but he still answered.
"Huh? Zero, of course. I only have a little sister."
"Yeah, so can you see what's wrong with what you said?"
"No? You are just too embarrassed to admit I'm right."
"…"
Leo proudly puffed out his chest, and Finn was speechless at how someone could be this dense.
James was watching their little argument from the side while smiling.
'Those are my friends. I finally have friends. There is no longer a need to be scared of group activities.'
---
After class, Finn and Leo exchanged numbers with James and offered to walk him home, but he refused, saying his house was close by and he would just text them if he needed help.
Smiling, he waved at them and ran home. He wanted to finally tell his parents about everything that had been happening in school. How he was being bullied, but now he had friends that would protect him.
While running home, he was suddenly pulled into an alley and thrown to the ground. Josh and his friends were looking at him with pissed-off expressions.
James wanted to quickly call Leo and Finn, but his phone fell out when his body hit the ground, and he couldn't reach it.
"So, you decided to become friends with those two fuckers, huh? You think that's going to stop us from bullying you? You are just a piece of trash who will end up being bullied anywhere he goes, so there is no point in struggling, just accept your fate."
Josh frowned and spat on James's jacket.
After finding friends, James thought he had become more courageous, but being faced with his bullies, all the traumas came back, and he started to shake while looking down.
As they kept cursing him, he thought about what Finn or Leo would have done if they were in this situation.
James knew that they wouldn't just take this lying down. Wanting to be braver from now on, he stood up, and after gathering all his remaining courage, he looked at Josh.
"Do- Don't badmouth my friends!"
Josh was stunned at first that the midget decided to fight back, and after gritting his teeth, he looked murderously at James.
"You fucking midget, you think that just because you have that gorilla walking around with you in school, you can just-"
Before Josh could finish speaking, a hand grabbed him by the back of his neck and lifted him up from the ground. He then heard a voice filled with murderous intent.
"Who the fuck are you calling a gorilla?!"
Leo squeezed Josh's neck harder and smashed his head into the ground. Josh instantly fainted without even flailing around, and his two friends were too stunned to notice that Leo switched his gaze to them.
When they noticed it was too late, Leo's fists were already a centimeter away from their faces.
CRACK CRACK
With two loud bangs, both their noses were broken by the impact of Leo's fists, and they kept screaming while holding their bloody noses.
"That's what you get for messing with my friend, you little shits!"
Leo wiped his hands from the blood on Josh's clothes and walked up to James. Finn, who was standing a little further away from the fight, soon followed behind him.
He knew that it would be difficult to take care of those three just as easily as Leo had done. He knew this, but it still pissed him off. He clenched his fists, wanting to also become stronger.
'Relax kid, once Second Life releases, you will have your chance to shine.'
When Loki noticed that Finn was angry at himself for being weak, he tried to give him some words of encouragement.
Finn immediately relaxed his hands and nodded.
"You are right."
---
After helping James up, they called an ambulance so that they wouldn't be arrested for murdering someone in broad daylight and walked James home.
"How did you find me here when I didn't even get to call you?"
"I thought that someone stupid like Josh would probably try to ambush you if you separated from us, so I decided to follow you just in case."
"I just went with Finn, 'cause a true friend would never leave his friend in a pinch."
Leo gave James a thumbs up and Finn smiled at him.
"Thanks, guys, I really mean it."
After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived in front of James's house.
Well, calling it a house would be an insult. It was more like a modern-looking mansion. There was a large black gate and a paved road leading to the mansion. Not only was the mansion big enough by itself, but it also had a gigantic front yard with a large pool.
"This is my house. Normally I would invite you in, but I have to talk to my parents about everything that happened, so maybe next time, okay?"
Finn and Leo were both stunned looking at the mansion, as they had never seen such a large house in their lives.
They had seen some mansions like this in the movies, but they didn't know that there was someone who actually lived in a mansion like this in real life.
After gathering his wits, Finn nodded at James, and after some small talk, he grabbed Leo, who was still shellshocked by the mansion, and dragged him away.
---
When James got home, his parents were already home. They worked as lawyers and were normally very busy, but it just so happened that both of them had some free time today.
They were sitting together on a sofa watching a movie when James walked in front of them, blocking the TV.
"Mom, Dad I have something to tell you."
Seeing his serious expression, they turned the TV off and went to sit at the dinner table. Noticing the serious situation, James's older sister also joined them at the table.
James first started telling them how lonely and depressed he felt, having to go to school with no friends, but as he progressed with his story, he started to describe the bullying.
His father's expression became more and more twisted. His mother and sister just hugged James while crying, blaming themselves for not helping him.
He finished his story with how he became friends with Leo and Finn and how they saved him from Josh by beating him up.
His father's expression eased up a bit after hearing the end, but his knuckles were still white from how hard he tightened his fists while he was listening to what his son James had to go through.
"That's all… I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I was scared and embarrassed, so I could have never brought myself to talk to you, but after meeting Finn and Leo, I decided to tell you everything."
When he was done, his father just stood up, hugged him, and called someone on the phone. When the phone connected, a woman's voice sounded from the other side.
"Hello, sir, how can I help you?"
His secretary, Emily, immediately responded to his call.
"There are three kids that made my son's life a living hell. Find out who their parents are and send me any information you can find on them!"
James's father angrily raised his voice while also mentioning the boy's names.
Emily realized the situation had to be dire after hearing his enraged voice and went to work right away. She was excellent at her job, so she immediately found all the information.
Before James's father could even put the phone down after ending the call, Emily had already sent him an email with the parents' information.
He looked at their faces and spoke through his gritted teeth.
"I will show you what happens when you piss off a lawyer!"