Surviving Depression

Chapter 4

Here I am, leaning against my locker, getting bullied by Ashley and Brad along with their backup.

"Why do you even come to school? Do you enjoy us teasing you?" Ashley asks. She's absolutely idiotic.

"No." I respond.

"Aww, that's too bad, because we enjoy 'teasing' you." She said putting quotes around the word 'teasing'.

"We noticed you weren't here yesterday. Where were you exactly?" She asks after a short silence.

"N-No where." I stutter. Ashley glares at me as Brad smirks at me.

"Answer the question, Willow." Brad says as he walks closer to me. I'm not giving my hiding place away. Although, I guess I could just tell them and change my hiding place.

"The library." I answer honestly.

"That's more like it. Now, we need a favor from you." He says as he continues to smirk at me.

"We need you to finish our homework and basically be our slave all day. Can you do that?" Ashley asks.

"No. I'm not being your slave or doing your homework. Do it yourself." I answer, looking straight into Ashley's eyes.

"No? Well, we'll just have to fix that. Won't we?" Brad asks, cracking his knuckles. I lean myself against the lockers more, terrified. They might be idiots, but I don't stand a chance against Brad. He could punch me unconscious in a split second.

As he raises his fist, someone taps on his shoulder, making him turn around. The person who I can't quite see yet punches Brad in the face and Ashley gasps.

"What the hell?!" Brad exclaims.

"Leave her alone." Jeremy says and my eyes widen. Brad pushes Jeremy against the wall and punches him in the gut. Jeremy wheezes, but punches Brad in the face again. Brad punches Jeremy in the face twice and I know I have to do something. Before I can do anything, Jeremy pushes Brad into the lockers and starts punching him. Ashley tackles Jeremy's back, making him tip over, but keeps his balance as he backs away from Brad. I rush over to Ashley and pull her hair, making her scream. She falls off of Jeremy and holds onto her hair as if it would fall off if she let go. Both Brad and Ashley's friends have fled from the fight.

"Don't you dare touch her, you bitch!" Brad exclaims as he pushes Jeremy off of him and stocks towards me. I glare at him and stay where I am, not wanting to run. As Brad grabs my arm tightly, I slap him in the face. His eyes widen as he stares at me. His glare returns as he raises his fist that's not holding me. I brace myself for a hard impact since this is sure to knock me out. Before Brad can punch me, he receives a hard punch to the side of the head, knocking him out.

"Brad!" Ashley shouts as she holds him close to her on the hallway floor.

"Willow." Jeremy says as he walks towards me. My eyes widen when I see his face. He's got a few bruises and a bloody nose. I run into his arms and he wraps them around me tightly.

"This is why I told you not to get involved." I whisper as a few tears roll down my cheeks.

"I won't let them hurt you. I can't just stand by and watch you get hurt like that." He says, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

"Jeremy-"

"What is going on here?!" Our principal, Ms. Heartwell asks angrily.

"That boy knocked out my boyfriend!" Ashley shouts as she points to Jeremy.

"It was only to protect me from him. Jeremy would never do anything like that for no reason." I defend Jeremy as he tightens his arms around me.

"Bullshit!" Ashley shouts at me.