Malcolm hovered over Brynn's torso, knees resting on either side of her as he tried to get a punch in.

Brynn, herself, was trying to wiggle out of it, holding said boy's wrists in her hands to prevent them coming further down.

"What, you scared?" Malcolm sneered from up top.

"Gonna call your brothers?" he leant his face further down after another failed attempt at bringing his fists closer to her face. Brynn was mustering up all her strength to hold his wrists away, flashbacks of Milo fluttering around her mind.

She dug her nails further into his wrists not sure whether or not she was looking at a petulant young boy or a daunting Milo on top of her.

Aubrey ran over and tried to push his right shoulder, not being successful as Malcolm shoved his left fist into her stomach and caused her to fall back. Penny went to assist straight after, stopping when Malcolm opened his mouth again.

"What are they gonna do, huh?" he proceeded trying to push his fists further down to make contact with Brynn's face.

"Nothing, aren't they? Do you know why? Because they're just a bunch of bastards!" his face got right up close to hers and she winced when his voice made direct contact with her eardrums.

But then, the same fiery protectiveness feeling that took over her before flared up like it never had before.

She tightened her grips on his wrists and brought her right knee up fast, making direct contact with his things.

All of Malcolm's attempts to make contact with her with his fist and her face ended abruptly. He groaned in pain and it looked like his eyes welled up in tears as he basically screamed, bringing his hands to cover the abused area. "Fuck!"

He fell to his left, his left forearm holding him up and he removed his knees from either side of Brynn to crawl away slightly. He was on his knees, his right hand trying to protect that area from any more damage and his left arm was shaking a little trying to hold him up.

Brynn breathed shakily and sat up, looking at him. She honestly couldn't believe there was something to make contact with.

"You bitch!" Malcolm screamed, looking at where she now sat. Brynn glared, daring him to say something about her brothers again.

Malcolm got up, a little shaky at his knees and his two fists on either side of him. Brynn got up too, simultaneously. She wasn't going to be on the floor if he made another move for her.

Which he did, he charged once again clearly not getting the hint to leave her alone. Brynn's mind flicked through nearly everything that was in there.

Thoughts and memories of Milo doing the same thing flashed across numerous times and when Malcolm was barely two away, her left fist clenched shut and tight.

She recalled watching the people in Ezra's boxing ring spar once. And she also recalled walking past the gym at home once, seeing Ezra and Zach in there; Zach punching a punching bag and Ezra standing behind him, with his arms crossed and watching his every move with narrowed eyes.

"You know to keep your thumb outside your fist, Zach, unless you want to break it."

Brynn slid her thumb over her fist, tightening her fingers and brought it up to swing it at him just as he got one foot away.

A low, audible sound of her fist making contact with his bare skin sounded and his face whipped to the left. He whipped it back, wincing at the burning pain in his nose. Bringing his hand up to it, he pulled it away looking at the crimson liquid which now covered it.

Brynn's eyes widened, she hadn't meant to do that. She just wanted to get him away-

Malcolm slowly looked back up at her menacingly, then raised his right hand to rag the left side of her hair down. She fell down, not wanting to resist against it knowing it would hurt more if her hair was pulled that hard.

Malcolm resumed his position from earlier on, trying to return her punch, but he didn't get far. A large hand gripped the back of his P.E shirt. He grunted, getting pulled back off Brynn and up, gulping when his eyes met his P.E teacher's.

Meanwhile, two hands made their way under Brynn's arms, pulling her towards them and off the floor. She flinched at the unfamiliar grip and being turned around to her brothers' coach.

The man had salt and pepper slicked back hair, matched stubble and light green eyes and furrowed eyebrows.

"What was that all about, Verlice?" he asked, similarly to how he speaks to her brothers when they're practicing, but a little less stern.

Brynn didn't know what to say, she hadn't spoken to this man before and she had just had her first fight. She had a fight. Oh my god she had a fight!

Her lips remained slightly parted, but no words came out the trembling things. Instead Penny chipped in, "Malcolm came over and said things then pushed her over."

"That's not true!" Attention was turned to Malcolm who had a firm hand pushed against his chest by Mr C to prevent him doing more.

"Yeah it is!" Aubrey snapped as Brynn winced because no, it was not true. Brynn said things too.

"She said my brother was a druggie!" The boy retaliated, his right pointer finger aimed at Brynn she felt as though she could feel it.

Mr C looked shock, "is this true, Miss Verlice?"

Brynn felt pale with this atmosphere around them, most of the class were around the field, slowly creeping closer to see and hear what was going on.

"He said things first."

"Did not!"

"He did."

"Shut up, Ver-"

"Okay, enough!" the coach bellowed, effectively silencing the entire field.

"Head's office both of you, come on," he ordered, placing a gentle hand on Brynn's right shoulder, still making her tense anyway. He pushed slightly leading her away, Malcolm looking towards Mr C for helping, but only finding a disappointed look, and begrudgingly following after the two.

They walked past the furthest bleachers, Brynn's head on the spare trainers she was wearing the whole time.

Once they were past them, Brynn looked back towards the field, feeling eyes on her. She saw Penny and Aubrey giving her sympathetic looks and reassuring nods which didn't really do anything to calm her.

Then she saw Mr C trying to draw the students' attention away from her so he could continue the lesson. Then as she went to face forward again, she looked under the bleachers and caught sight of a group under there.

Three boys, smoking underneath. One Brynn recognised as Silas' friend he talked with at lunch, Luke. He was sat on the floor with one leg spread out and the other bent as he read from this textbook, puffing out some smoke. The other two were leant against the poles holding the bleacher up from underneath, smoking too. On the left was Zaiden and on the left was Silas.

Silas chuckled at something Luke said as he brought the toxic stick to his mouth again, simultaneously looking to where Brynn was. He looked for a millisecond and then looked back to Zaiden saying something, then comprehended it. He shot his head right back and narrowed his eyes.

Brynn's eyes bulged out of her sockets as she turned back, picking up her pace momentarily startling the coach. He matched her speed as Malcolm kept his own gut-wrenching slow speed.

The three were in the main building and there was no sign of Silas and Zaiden which was good news for Brynn. Being led to the headmaster's office was what she had to worry about now. She'd never been in trouble like this before. What if she gets expelled?

The headmaster's office was a large brown door with a large blurred window on it. It had two larger windows with similar windows on the either side and a plaque above on the wood of the door in the center read: "Headmaster P. Leonard".

Brynn visibly gulped, stringing her hands behind her back to play with them in a furious-anxious- frenzy. She became more hyper-aware of things, including the stinging cut under her left eye and burning left cheek.

Malcolm seemed as aware as she was as well. His wrists ached from her grips and he couldn't feel his lower region or nose.

Coach stepped forward and knocked twice on the glass, waiting for the "come in." He reached down with the same hand for the round door knob, slowly turning it left. The click signifying it was open was the loudest thing Brynn had ever heard.

The man opened it fully, pushing it open the whole way. The opening revealed quite a big office, with a large mahogany desk in the middle. Many things were littered on it such as a computer, stapler and paperwork and behind it was a large window with a view of the school car park and on either side of the window were bookshelves. The floor was carpeted a dark purple- almost black- and two chairs were in front of the desk. Behind the desk sat a man typing something on his computer.

He was bald with black glasses, he had slight stubble and a curious, stern look as coach stepped further in, signalling for the two behind him to come in shutting the door behind them.

He saw the condition of the two children and his attention deterred completely away from the computer. "My god, what on earth happened?" he asked shocked.

The coach winced a little, "bit of a fight on the field today." He pulled the two chairs in front of the desk away from each other and gestured for Brynn to take the right one and Malcolm left.

The man behind the desk shook his head, disappointedly causing Brynn to wince. She hated disappointing people, no matter who they were, especially if they were teachers. An incessant need to receive academic validation which rooted ever since she stopped receiving kind words at home.

"Names?" the headmaster asked, still shaking head whilst coach reached forward the the box of tissues on the desk; he pulled two out and handed them to Malcolm to clean his face up.

Coach answered, "Malcolm Donover and Brynn Verlice."

The headmaster's head whipped back to him then at Brynn from where she was in the chair. Ankles crossed swinging under the seat and hands twisted on her lap with her head down, eyes focused on them.

Coach nodded as the headmaster wanted to make sure he had heard him right, "Verlice?"

He gulped, "well we'll have to phone home then. Violence will not be tolerated in this school."

Brynn's breath hitched. No, no, no, no-

"I think we both know that Zayne Verlice is on his way."

The headmaster's breath almost hitched too after the coach's statement which was far from wrong.

He cleared his throat. "Well then, If you could please call Malcolm's parents to get them to come down so we can resolve this whole problem," with those instructions, coach looked towards Brynn and then a bit hesitantly walked toward the door, opening it, leaving and shutting it behind him.

"Now," Mr Leonard started, joining his hands together atop his desk and leaning forward, "what on earth happened to provoke this."

Malcolm started right away, feigning innocence, "literally nothing, sir! Everyone likes to blame me for everything! I was just running around the field because Mr C told us to, and then Brynn decided to put her foot out and trip me!I landed on my nose," he pointed to said thing that was still bloody. He hadn't wiped anything for effect.

"And then she pinned me down and insulted my brother calling him a druggie, which he is not! And look she's marked my wrists!" he held them up showing them the discoloured, purple and blue skin with noticeable nail marks.

Brynn watched him the whole time he was telling his story, deadpanned, because it was all bullshit. But it also sounded believable especially with his proof.

"There's no point in calling my parents sir. They're very high up on the school board and this will only end bad for Brynn and I don't think that's fair. She just had an episode," he fake smiled with a nod of "understanding".

Mr Leonard looked like he was processing all of this information, taking his eyes of Malcolm's face and to Brynn's slightly panicky one. "Miss Verlice, what is your point of view?"

"I gave back everything he did to me," she stated, quietly, because that was the truth.

"Even if Malcolm started things, that was no place for you to retaliate the way you did. You walk away from problems like this and tell a teacher, they'll sort it," Mr Leonard stated, concluding that Malcolm teased and Brynn fought because it's what she's seen her brothers do.

Her brothers. Footsteps became audible from outside the office, drawing his attention to the glass window where two dark, blurred figures were getting closer and closer.

Brynn furrowed her eyebrows and followed his gaze, as did Malcolm.

The figures got closer until the door opened with quite a force, revealing a pissed-off Callan behind a stern Zayne who was quite literally physically restraining himself from tearing the door off its hinges. It was clear they were both just in work too and now they were being interrupted by this stupid situation.

Their eyes were on Brynn sat in the chair, who was now turned around not wanting to look at them directly. They're going to be so disappointed in her.

Taking long strides towards their sister, Zayne was, at the next second, kneeled in front of her as was Callan on her right.

Zayne's right pointer finger creeped to her chin, sternly lifting her head up, rage overtaking his entire being having view of the marks on his sorellina's skin. Brynn stared at him, terrified.

Callan gasped, lifting his left hand to lightly hold her right cheek, turning her head so he could get a better look himself. The scratch under her eye and her left red cheek were prominent as ever. Her eye contact was moved to Callan and she looked just as petrified as she did with Zayne.

The latter breathed heavily through his nose, looking towards the guilty culprit in the seat over who physically flinched into his seat, the consequences of his actions punching him in the face with full force- much like Brynn did.

"Get me his parents."

He wasn't looking at the headmaster straight on but it was commanded to him. Mr Leonard's hands violently shook under the table where he had hidden them.

"They are on there way Mr Verlice-"

"You better be really with what's coming to you Paul," Callan seethed, turning his head over his right shoulder to the intimidated man cowering behind his desk while rubbing his thumb back and forth over his sister's cheek, the soft action contradicting the harshness of his feelings and words.

Mr Leonard's mouth opened a few times, not knowing what to say. "Well- well- Mr Donover here," he gestured his right hand to said boy who was anxiously picking at his nails, "has stated everything that happened and all the events that have led up to this and I assure you-"

With his finger still holding Brynn's head in place, Zayne's head turned over his left shoulder to the man trying to explain. "Only his? What kind of story did he come up with?"

Mr Leonard explained the story Malcolm had said, "well Mr Donover was doing his laps and Miss Verlice decided to trip him and I believe she said some hurtful about Mr Donover's brother. As you can see he has a bleeding nose and I was told Miss Verlice had pinned him down and bruised his wrists."

Zayne's head turned to look as Malcolm.

Malcolm looked to his left, avoiding the seering gazes. Luckily for him, loud voices were heard from outside the office and not a second after hearing them was the door flung open and his parents entering.

His father slammed the door behind them as his mother frantically made his way over, leaning over his right shoulder and cupping his left cheek to look at his face. "Oh, my baby."

Brynn's face became furrowed, so much for his mum leaving him, his brother and father as Sid stated.

The woman reached for the tissue in his lap and started dabbing his nose with it as her son made a pained face. His father came closer and stood behind Malcolm's chair, placing his left hand on his son's left shoulder.

They both looked like they'd had time to get ready. The woman had a long beige coat covering her outfit with matching coloured heels, her blonde hair intricately curled. The man was wearing a dress shirt with a thick black coat and he had black pants. The couple stood at similar height of five ten and five nine.

"My boy hasn't done nothing I assure you, Paul. Just look at his face," the man insisted, gesturing to his son's face.

The woman continued babying the boy and his injury, "what kind of monster does such a thing?"

She turned to the girl who sat in the other seat, looking less nervous than she actually felt. "What have you done to my son?" she seethed, taking a step towards Brynn clearly not taking notice of her face.

Zayne and Callan shot up from their crouched positions. Callan pulled the chair towards him using his left hand as his other hand remained preoccupied on Brynn's face. He glared and scowled whilst Zayne stood in front of Brynn, covering her entirely as the woman nearly walked into his chest.

"I suggest you step back." Her anger disappeared from her face and she flushed slightly, retreating a bit.

Her husband placed a hand on her waist and turned back to the headmaster. "I presume an appropriate punishment has been given to the girl?"

Callan removed his hand and took a threatening step forward, stopped when Zayne's hand was placed firmly against his shoulder, preventing any further movement.

"Well we can see where she gets her violent streak from, can't we? Do you really want student's like this in your school?" Malcolm's mum scoffed, taking small steps away from the men with her husband.

"Malcolm, go wait in the car," his father ordered and Malcolm did as he said, not wanting to be in the suffocating room any longer. He ran to the car faster than he did when he was showing off in P.E.

"Go wait outside, Brynn," ordered Zayne next. Brynn looked up at him but he wasn't looking at her. She looked to Callan who also wasn't looking at her, fully focused on Malcolm's parents and the headmaster.

She reluctantly placed her hands on the chair handles and pulled herself up, walking to the door and opening it, taking one last glance back. Callan now looked to her, giving a reassuring nod.

She stepped out and shut the door behind her, staring at where her hand rested on the handle for a few moments. Those moments being interrupted by a quick hand on her right shoulder spinning her around.

She flinched back into the door coming face to face with Brayden, Ezra, Silas, Zaiden and Zach.

Ezra's rough hand remained on her shoulder, holding her in place as he inspected her face, his grip tightening looking at it and face hardening. It looked like he was home all day with his black sweatpants on and white hooded jumper. Silas, Zaiden and Zach were still in their school uniforms and Brayden was dressed in black jeans and a navy blue t-shirt.

The latter's hand cupped her chin as he was kneeled in front of her. Ezra kept his hand where it was on her right and Silas crouched on her left. Zach and Zaiden were behind Brayden, doing their best to be as close as they could.

Brayden moved her face to get a proper look, giving the others a good look too. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows and reaching his free hand to his back pocket, where he had the small packet of antiseptic wipes he brought.

He managed to get one out with one hand as Brynn stared in utter shock. When the hell did they all get here?

He brought one wipe up to the cut under her eye, holding her chin more firmly when she tried to move back from it.

"Stay still," Silas reprimanded, moving his hand to the back of her head to ensure it stayed where it was as Ezra pulled her shoulder forward a bit more.

Brynn tried to resist some more, feeling a little overwhelmed with everything going on. She tried pulling her head back some more causing her brothers to tighten their grips. Zach moved his hand to the top of her head and Zaiden held his fingers under her left cheek trying to get a clearer look.

"Stop moving, Brynn," Ezra ordered deeply as Zaiden muttered, "ucciderò lui"

"What the hell has he done to you?" Zach muttered, really focusing on the mark.

The wipe made contact with her cut, causing the stinging sensation to rise. Brynn hissed, bringing her left hand up to place on Brayden's hand to stop him, bringing their attention to the bruised knuckles clearly from punching someone.

They all stared at it a while until Ezra inhaled, "good."

Meanwhile, loud muffled voices from the office were heard and inside the office, the voices were much louder and much less muffled.

Zayne was leant forward over the headmaster's desk, face deadly serious. "I want him at least suspended. Not a single mark is going on her record. I want his future demolished. After hearing from me no colleges would even think about having him. I want every opportunity given to him ripped away. That, will be him getting off easy."

The boy's parents were stuttering, shocked at such a display. The father raged, "he can't just do that! My boy is innocent! It's your daughter who needs to learn to keep her hands to herself! It's her we should be focusing on! We should-"

Zayne lifted himself off the desk and gripped the man by his shirt collar. "Finish that sentence. Do it."

The man's wife yelped, gripping her husband's shoulder, "Charlie!"

Mr Leonard stood straight up from his seat, "Mr Verlice, please!"

Callan remained where he was, arms crossed with a hard face behind Zayne. Even when the headmaster turned to him pleadingly to stop this.

Zayne pulled the man closer, face infuriated and lips shaking with anger. "My girl did nothing. It's your fuck-up son that constantly needs his ass wiped, that's the problem."

He let go of the strangling hold he had on the man's collar and pushed him back into his wife, turning to the trembling man opposite him behind the desk once again.

Straightening his tie then fixing his cuffs, he removed the expression on his face, deadpanning as always. "Sort it. Or I will. You have five minutes."

He turned his attention back to the pissed couple, "and consider yourselves out of a job."

The two gasped and had unbelievable looks on their faces, "you can't do that," the woman exasperated.

"We are very important members of the board, you can't just fire us," the man- Charlie- explained rather smugly. Zayne stepped closer to the man, degrading his confidence with every step until he was entirely up by his face.

"I am the board."

---

Brayden got Brynn into his own car, taking the slightly shaken girl home and to the small medic room to clean the cut further.

It was deja-vu for Brynn, sat on the counter whilst Brayden cleaned her wounds.

"I am so proud of you for standing up for yourself, Brynn."

Brynn's self-pity party paused listening to Brayden's words. She lifted her head up to look at Brayden in front of her, holding a cold compress to her cheek.

"Why?" she whispered because how could anybody be proud of what she's just done.

"Because I know why you did it, bambina," how did he- "and I also know that the way you reacted was entirely expected from anyone in your position."

"I reacted like Milo would have," her eyes built up with tears, hit with the harsh reality that she was just like him. She hit someone.

Brayden paused pressing the ice pack on her cheek, jaw tensing and eyes darkening a little. He looked down and them back up, a little teary, "god Brynn you're nothing like him. You are so far from it. Malcolm got what he deserved. You didn't deserve anything given to you Brynn and you never have." He removed the ice pack from her cheek and gently kissed the red skin, dumping the ice pack to the side. His left hand found its way to the right side of her face, stroking the hair out of the way back and forth.

"But- but- I should've-"

"Shhh," Brayden interrupted, "oh, my darling. You defended yourself all alone which, by itself is one of the bravest things you could have done." Brynn kept quiet as he took a few seconds, going a little sterner.

"But, by no means make a habit of this, okay? Only when necessary." Because they were there to do it.

Brynn nodded, huffing the tiniest of laughs because by no means did she want to do it again. It felt good, giving Malcolm what he deserved but it didn't feel good knowing that she had to hurt him for it. The only reason her guilt was repressed was because she knew that he fought her first. She just gave back the same energy.

Suddenly, the front door opened and slammed shut making Brynn shift her attention to the resounding footsteps making their way up the stairs.

"I think that's your sign to go to Zayne's office, hm?" Brayden said softly.

Brynn didn't want to do, she really didn't. But she didn't really have a choice. So she made her way up.

Right the way up until she was at Zayne's office, where the door was already open like it was waiting for her.

She entered, seeing Zayne at his desk, right arm crossed against his chest, his left elbow resting on it as he rubbed his forehead.

Brynn quietly made her way to the seat in front of his desk, sitting it and trying her best to remain silent and not make any leather squeaky noises.

After a few moments of picking at the skin by her nails, she spoke up. "I'm really sorry, Zayne."

"There's nothing to apologise for, Brynn."

Brynn's eyebrows creased in between and her nose scrunched a tad, "but I-"

"Stood up for yourself and put a bully in his place," he lifted his head from his hand and unfolded his arms, joining them together on his desk, "as long as you're aware that it isn't acceptable in general then I see no reason for a punishment or apology. You know that, I trust?"

Brynn nodded, rather insistent, "yes, I promise."

Zayne gave a firm nod, "good girl."

The oldest and youngest stared at each other a little longer, the atmosphere shifting a little. Brynn gulped and proceeded to play with her hangnails.

"Stop playing with your hangnails, you're going to hurt yourself."

Brynn stopped playing with them, shoving her hands underneath her thighs straight away, "sorry."

Another twelve seconds passed, Brynn wiggling her fingers under thighs wanting to pick at them and Zayne remaining emotionlessly expressionless. And after those twelve seconds, Zayne inquired, "dress or suit?"

Brynn's face masked her utter confusion in no way, "pardon?"

"Do you prefer a dress or suit?"

"I've never really thought about it," she admitted, still confused.

Zayne nodded slowly, "we'll figure it out."

Not sure as to what they were "figure out", Brynn remained quiet. Then she shuffled forward in the seat, "can I be excused, please?"

Zayne nodded, letting the girl exit stopping her when she got right to the door.

"Brynn."

"Yeah?" she turned around, unsure of what he was going to say now, she never knew.

He thought about it.

"Nevermind."

Brynn's eyes looked from him to the desk to the floor, wondering what he was going to say. Then she looked back at him, giving a small smile and nodded, turning around to exit properly this time.

---

k now leave me alone needy little bitches.

<3