Corey
Fshhh. He always thought the sound of running water was a fairly soothing sound. Most people probably wouldn't agree with him, but then again, most people tended to get on his nerves. So he didn't really give a damn what they thought. Corey washed his hands, letting the water run a few seconds longer to enjoy the quick rhythm of the faucet before turning it off and shaking his hands dry. How come this school never seemed to have any paper towels in the bathroom? The toilet paper was always stocked up, but they couldn't be bothered to even leave a roll of paper towels out?
Sighing, he moved to exit the bathroom. With any luck, the vending machine wouldn't be too busy. It was about halfway through lunch, so as long as he got there within the next like seven or so minutes, he'd be fine. As long as nobody got in his way. As soon as he rounded the corner from the bathrooms, though, all hopes of quickly and quietly making his way to the vending machine were dashed. Just great.
He instantly recognized three of the people involved; he didn't know their names or nearly anything about them, nor did he care, but he knew what they were. Bullies. Not just any bullies, though. They'd picked on him before back in freshman year. At least he thought so, they all mostly looked the same to him. Homophobic losers with nothing better to do with their lives. The very definition of pathetic itself.
And now they were surrounding this girl who seemed to shrink further with every word they said. Her hair was starkly black, so black in fact, that Corey thought the adjective was lacking. It would be more accurate to call it ebony rather than simply "black" with just how pure and dark it was. It was straight, falling down to about her waist, but her fringed bangs that fell just above her eyes gave her an appearance typical of some sort of gothic character in a manga series. She totally rocked it, though.
The morons surrounding her were laughing, no doubt mocking her. With an internal sigh, Corey cracked his knuckles, walking a few steps closer, fully intent on stopping this. He knew just how to deal with bullies. He wasn't nicknamed the "Yolk Cracker" for nothing, after all. The silly nickname was well deserved, even if it made Corey snort in amusement every time he heard it. It was so ridiculous, how could he not? Once he got closer, Corey could properly hear what they were saying.
"Demon girl, demon girl. Hey, hey, demon girl! C'mon, don't ignore us, demon girl." They mocked, sneering and poking her.
The girl flinched and stared hard at the floor, mumbling so softly that Corey could hardly hear her. "I-it's demigirl." She corrected, although Corey thought it was much too pitiful a tone to be using to correct anyone. Now he understood the full picture. She was queer and out, and that made her an easy target. All the more reason to help her out. If anyone knew the struggles of being out in a small community where seventy five percent of the population were homophobic assholes, it was him.
"Are you gonna possess us if we don't call you by the right 'pronouns'?" The tone they used was openly condescending, saying the word with such exaggerated emphasis that just oozed arrogance and ignorance. Corey felt his blood boiling as he took another step forward, about to call out the group when suddenly the ringleader was drenched in water. Corey faultered, pausing as he blinked. It took his mind a moment to process what had just happened, so focused on stopping the bullying that he hadn't even noticed the chestnut haired newcomer.
The tall brunette boy grinned, an uncapped, empty water bottle in his hand. "Oops, sorry. My hand must've slipped. I thought you might need a drink but it looks like I gave you a shower instead!" He laughed, his eyes full of way more mirth than the situation — or that joke — demanded. Corey could only watch with a raised eyebrow, thoroughly perplexed by this strange new turn of events.
The bully clearly didn't find it very funny either. "Why, you..!" He growled, sounding enough like a rabid dog that Corey was convinced he'd need a rabies shot if that dude bit him. He was half expecting him to start foaming at the mouth any moment now. The bully grabbed the brunette by the collar, and by the brief flash of panic in Prince Charming's eyes, Corey was fairly confident he lacked a backup plan. Great.
"Hey!" He called, breaching the gap between himself and the group. Damn, he was definitely going to be late getting to the vending machine. His call grabbed everyone's attention, allowing Prince Charming to shove the bully away. Although, based on how little distance was put between them, Corey was hesitant to even call it a shove. More like a struggle. For how tall and athletic he looked, he was pitifully useless. Two of the boys seemed to instantly recognize him. He could tell by the absolute look of fear in their eyes. The third one, the ringleader, just looked at him with mild annoyance. How fun, he was going to be able to teach this douche a lesson.
"Ah, shit! It's Hunter!"
"The homo twig looking kid? Psh, what's he gonna do? Cry like a little girl?" The ringleader smirked, pushing Prince Charming away to take a step closer to him. Corey smirked, chuckling to himself. This would be fun. It wasn't often that people bothered him, his reputation far preceding him for those who took enjoyment out of other's pain. This moron hadn't got the memo though, and Corey was more than happy to elaborate for him.
"I won't be the one in tears. You picking on girls now because you can't get one to look in your direction? I guess you could try growing your hair out. You've all had that identical buzz cut for like what, eight years now? It wasn't cute when we were younger, still not cute now, fellas. Or I guess you could try plastic surgery! Even if they messed up, nothing would be as bad as how you look now, Jason." He paused for dramatic effect, pretending to be deep in thought as he scrunched his face up, a finger pressed against his chin. "Or were you John? I can't remember. Stupidity all looks the same to me, and I try not to look at you too long if I can help it. Who knows, your idiocy might be contagious."
It had the desired effect, as the idiot was now nearly exploding with rage. His face was red and sweaty, teeth gritting harshly against each other. One of his buddies panicked, hurrying over to his side. The ringleader was obviously known for his temper, then. How typical. He could at least be an original bully. It was just lame if he checked nearly every stereotype available. Did he have daddy issues, too? Or maybe it was mommy issues. Corey rolled his eyes, crossing his arms against his chest.
"T-man, buddy, you don't wanna fuck with that kid, he'll—" His buddy was cut off as "T-man" brushed him aside, curling his fists tight before throwing a punch right at him. Corey had tensed and prepared for it though, nimbly dodging the blow. Damn, this dude was slow. Most other guys could've retaliated after he'd dodged, or at the very least had turned to face him. Oh well, it worked in Corey's favor, so he wasn't upset about it. One of T-man's buddies shrank away, clearly knowing what was next.
Corey smirked, grabbing the dude's shoulders and shoving downwards at the same moment as he brought his knee up as fast as possible and kneed the ringleader in that spot with as much force as he could muster. Which was surprisingly a lot. He watched with satisfaction as the guy crumpled with a groan, grabbing his wrist as he shifted his center of gravity, throwing the loser clear over his shoulder, his knee pressed firmly into the center of T-man's back. Both his henchmen, and even Prince Charming, winced and looked away, while the girl just looked at him with awe. Looking over at the other two bullies, Corey couldn't keep the smile off his face as he cracked his knuckles. That might've been his most well known tactic, but Corey had taken a myriad of self defense classes, and certainly wasn't afraid to let it be known. "Well? Anyone else feel like joining 'T-man' on the ground?" He smirked as he stepped off of the arrogant punk. The pair were quick to shake their heads, helping their ringleader off the ground.
"H-hey, pal, we're sorry. We'll uh.. we'll leave you alone."
"Mess with the girl again," Corey pointed at her, "and I'll do a hell of a lot worse. Got it?" He instructed, his tone sharp and icy. The two both nodded rapidly in sync before scurrying off, bringing their leader along with them.
Corey huffed triumphantly, turning to look at the girl and her failed knight in shining armor. Just a few more words, and he could be out of here. About time. This interaction took way too long. "Hey, short, dark, and mysterious, next time anyone messes with you, fight back. Just kick 'em where it hurts most," he shrugged, smirking at her as he continued, "Nobody said you have to fight fair. And you, Prince Charming," Corey turned to the brunette, crossing his arms. "Next time you rush to someone's rescue, have a backup plan, eh? And no stupid jokes. You looked super lame. Just do what I did and get it over quickly. Water only pisses 'em off. And so do lame jokes."
"Th-thank you..!" The ebony haired girl exclaimed timidly. She clutched her chest with both hands, looking at him with such mesmerizing awe that he felt a little embarrassed by it. Sure, he was cool and all, but he wasn't that cool. Anyone could've done with he did just as easy. He scratched his neck, trying to play off his embarrassment by clearing his throat.
"Sure, sure, whatever." He mumbled, waving his hand dismissively as he strolled past her. Prince Charming was still wide-eyed, looking at him with even more amazement than anime girl was, which Corey didn't even think was possible until he caught a sideways glimpse of his expression. He coughed and walked away quickly, not sparing a glance back at them. Looking down at his phone to check the time, Corey groaned. That took nearly eight minutes. "Fuck, the line at the vending machine's probably packed." He groaned to himself, rolling his eyes as his pace quickened.
He clearly wasn't known for his good fortune, but maybe, just this one, Lady Luck would grant him one small mercy. I just want a bag of chips, man.