Little Life of Nolan Parks - 25. A Warrior Without Armor - If Everyone Cared

Tobi's POV

Sterling and I sat in the principal’s office in silence. We both hard our arms crossed and weren't sitting properly. It was almost a contest who could lean the most in his chair without falling.

When the principle walked back in he looked at us, gave a little hand motion and we were both sitting straight up in no time. Mr. Kyles sighed. “As things stand now, both of you have detention.”

“What!?” I was shocked. “I was defending myself and Connor!” Sterling rolled his eyes; I glared at him in return.

“I understand your frustration Tobi, but that is how things are done around here. Any fights that happen, any participants are punished. I will inform you two of your punishments when your respective parents have arrived.” He called my parents!? Shit.

My parents aren't going to be happy with me at all. 'Violence is never the answer' is like my dad's slogan. He should invest in copyrighting it. Mom always put me in timeout whenever I hit someone. She was very against me going into karate. What am I going to do?

“Did my parents say when they would get here?” I asked Mr. Kyles.

“Yes, they should be here in a few minutes.” Oh great...

Sure enough, they were here in less than ten minutes. Sterling was sent outside the office while we were talking. Mr. Kyles told my parents both the stories that we told him.

My dad turned to me as if telling me to speak without saying a word. “I defended my friend. You can ask them and anyone else who was there.” I stayed on the path of truth.

“I tend to believe my son Mr. Kyles. He is not one to pick fights for no reason.” Awesome my dad is on my side!

“Normally I would inform you that your view could be based on your parental bias,” Oh great, you’re not helping me, Mr. Kyles. “But I also tend to believe Tobi over Mr. Williams. Nonetheless, Tobi still participated in a fight, and that cannot go unpunished. He will have to have detention for a week after school.”

“No good deed goes unpunished,” I mumbled to myself.

Mom spoke up. “That's not it Tobi. When you do a good thing, like defending your friend, you must accept that there may be consequences. You did a good thing here Tobi.”

“Then why am I being punished?”

Mr. Kyles sighed. “I understand where you're coming from Tobi. Schools, unfortunately, have a zero tolerance for fighting. Just trust me okay?” I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, you two can go on with your day. Tobi will be going to his next class shortly. Oh, and if you skip detention that's an extra two days on your punishment.” Well, now I'm definitely going to detention.

“What about if we supply a note for the reason for missing the detention?” My dad asked.

“If you pick him up and inform me, or whoever is working detention that day, we will not have a problem.”

“Fair enough. Well good day Mr. Kyles, thank you for being so understanding.” With that, we walked out of the office, and Sterling and his parents were asked to go inside. My dad looked at me, proud. “I truly believe you, Tobi, so don't be lying. I'm proud of what you did; it's what I would have done in a situation like that.” So much for 'violence is never the answer'.

“I promise you, dad, I'm not lying. Connor is a friend.”

Mom sighed. “Isn't Sterling also your friend?”

“That's complicated mom... I gotta get to class, I'll see you after school.” I gave my parents each a hug, and I rushed off to my next class. I have this sneaking feeling though Sterling is planning something... and it won't be nice for me.

Liam's POV

Lunch time! The time where we eat like... pizza kings! Pizza at this school is super greasy, and we teenagers eat it up like it's the next fab diet. It's just really good!

Enough about pizza, though, what I have on my mind is Tobi. He acts all weird when Sterling is around or when we talk about him. If we talk about him, Tobi becomes as silent as a ghost. When he's around you can see that he's angry at the guy and then he explodes. There is something up, and I want to get to the bottom of it.

Tobi sat down across from me, couldn't help myself from taking looks at him. He caught me every time I did. Eventually, he got fed up with me. “Why are you always looking at me, Liam?” definitely irritated.

“What's up with you and Sterling?”

Tobi raised his eyebrow. “He was picking on Connor...”

“Not that.” I cut him off. The group all looked at me as I continued. “You always seem to be able to fend him off for some reason. The way you act around him is different than anything else. I just wanna know why.”

Tobi sat there silent, processing what I have just said. Everyone was in an awkward silence. No one wanted to say anything and Tobi wasn't saying anything. I mean, if this doesn't confirm that there is something I don't know what does.

Connor tried to change the topic. “We should go work on our Science project. Getting those finishing touches on it is important.” He awkwardly tried to get up, attempting to get Tobi to go along with him.

Tobi didn't budge. Instead, he spoke. “Sterling was the first friend I made when I moved here. We live on the same street, and I hung out with him during summer and in the first few weeks of school. That's what's up between him and me.”

“Not to side with Liam on this Tobi,” Dylan broke another silence. “But you seem to have an effect on Sterling that no one else has. Like you have something on him that others don't know.” Tobi gave Dylan one of the best death stares I have ever seen.

“Is it something to do with Grace?” Nolan asked. Looking over at her sitting with her friends and Justin, she looked stressed out. Like Sterling's fight, this morning is affecting her in some way.

Tobi shook his head. “It has nothing to do with Grace. You are right though Dylan; I do have something on him. It's not something I can bring up in a school cafeteria, though.” He got up from his chair, joining Connor in standing. “We should go finish our project, Connor.”

As they went to leave, I got up blocking them. “Why didn't you tell us, Tobi? Don't you think this information would have been useful for all of us to know?” I mean he's picking a fight, not only with Connor but Nolan and the rest of the group as well. Why wouldn't he say anything?

“It's personal Liam. I understand you're protective of Nolan, and if it came down to it, trust me, I would do something. This isn't something I can just wave in front of him every time he's an ass to us. Just at the worst of them.”

“So if it came to Nolan getting his ass kicked you'd do something but not before?” At this point, I was speaking quite loudly. Some of the kids in the cafeteria were looking at me.

Justin and Grace came over to us. “You should keep your voice down right now Liam.” Grace started. “I don't know what's happening here, but it may just make things worse with Sterling.”

“Apparently Tobi has something that can make Sterling go away forever but is too afraid to use it,” was the only reply I could think of.

Grace shot her attention to Tobi. “How about we go somewhere private to continue this conversation? Just the four of us, Tobi, Connor, Liam and me.”

“Fine, let's go.” Whatever I'm about to learn... it better clear things up.

Henry's POV

Once Grace, Liam, Tobi, and Connor were out of sight, I turned to the group and whispered. “Tobi and Sterling have hooked up!”

Richie and Dylan looked at me like I was an idiot. “What?” They spoke together.

Randy laughed. “What would make you peg Sterling as someone up for that?”

I shook my head. “It's not Sterling, I'm pegging, it's Tobi. One day at the pool while we were both underwater he kissed me. I told him that I wasn't into him, but he was definitely into me. It's possible that it could have happened.”

Justin shook his head. “But how does Connor get pulled into that conversation too? I mean Liam is wanting to get to the bottom of it all but why Connor?”

“Grace and Connor used to be friends...” Nolan spoke extremely quietly. No one but Justin and I heard.

Justin had a fitting reaction, though. “Nonsense that would mean she wouldn't hang out with us. That or would have always hung out with us and we all know which one is true.”

Okay... so Connor and Grace used to be friends... and Tobi and Sterling MIGHT have gotten together. But what does that mean for us against Sterling?

Nolan pulled on my shirt. “Can... can we go somewhere else?” I looked over; he was breathing rapidly, and deeply. I grabbed his hand, not even thinking about it and made our way outside. Sure it was still kinda cold but it wasn't too bad.

We forgot both of our backpacks inside, but we could just go get them or I'm sure someone will bring them to us. Right now it's about Nolan calming down.

“What's wrong Nolan?” His breathing had settled down a little bit, but he wasn't talking. “I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong...” I rubbed his shoulder.

Nolan looked at me, straight in the eyes. I could see he really wanted to tell me something. Something that hurts him to keep inside him. He's too afraid. Afraid of what I might think of him once I knew...

“You can tell me anything Nolan; it won't make me think of you any other way than I do now. I promise you that.”

It was then that it came pouring out. “The day we met Connor, my brother made me have sex with a senior buddy of his. Tracy is his name. Every time I see him, I get flashes of the day mom came in, the day that I was put into the hospital.” Nolan was crying.

“He raped you?” I held onto my friend for what felt like dear life.

He shook his head, “No... I enjoyed the sex. It was the first time I ever did. That's what scares me, that the sex I was forced to have, I enjoyed it. What if I can only be pleasured by being forced to have sex with someone? What if I need to...” He began sobbing into my shoulder.

I gave him the biggest bear hug I could. “Listen... you were forced, meaning you were raped. If you liked it or not, that doesn't matter.”

“I asked for more...” He was barely audible. I couldn't think of anything to say. So I just hugged him tighter. Every once in a while I would kiss his neck as reassurance. It seemed to help him settle down.

We were outside for who knows how long when Dylan, and the twins came out with our bags. “How's he doing?” Dylan asked rubbing Nolan's back.

“Oh, I don't know, they've been crying for hours now.” Sterling... “Did I not let you know I was here? Oh no, I'm sorry.”

I turned Nolan away from him. “What the fuck did you hear?”

He got this smug look on his face. “Nothing really. But since I've seen you kiss his neck like a hundred times, you faggots must be close.” I went to move towards Sterling when Nolan held me there. “And look it, he doesn't want your ass to be beat!”

Dylan walked up to Sterling. They are about the same height, but Dylan has a good forty pounds of muscle on him. “How about you back the fuck off Williams? I don't know what kind of beef you have with us, but fuck you.”

“And what are you gonna do if I don't? I'm already getting detention for a month. My parents aren't happy either; they are fighting to get Tobi expelled actually. You've got nothing on me Dylan, and if you want your father to keep you on the swim team, you won't touch me.” The cockiness in his voice made me want to punch him even more.

I tried to break free once more, but Nolan had a tight hold on me. “Please don't.” Was all it took from Nolan to calm me down.

“I'm sorry...” I whispered back to him.

“Dylan might not be able to touch you, but I can destroy your status at this school.” Tobi!

Connor's POV

Liam, Tobi, Grace and I found our privacy just outside the drama wing, behind the theater. We were about to get down to the whole story of Sterling.

“So what is up with you and Sterling, honestly?” Liam asked again.

Tobi sighed. “He's into me, at the very least, and we've hooked up a couple of times.” He looked away from the group.

“When was the last time you hooked up with him?” I asked him. Tobi is my friend, and... well I really like him. He seems to like me, but I don't know.

Tobi didn't answer; Grace did. “The day you went over to Tobi's to work on your Science project.”

I looked over at him; He nodded. “You hooked up with the guy who is attacking us while he's been attacking us!?” Liam shouted.

“Can I explain myself before you freak the fuck out Liam?” Liam let out a snort and leaned against the wall. “When I first moved here he was the first friend I made. One night it just sorta happened, and we did some stuff. Every once in a while he advances on me and sometimes, I'm really horny when he asks...”

“That's a shit excuse.”

“Agreed, but it's all that there is to it, honest. Every time he fucks with us he knows it's another step closer to me freaking and exposing him. I think today he got a good scare on that, though. He should lay low for a while.” Hopefully... I don't like Sterling.

Liam nodded. “Grace, why did we bring Connor out here if this is between Tobi and Sterling?”

I blushed. “Cause it's not just Tobi and Sterling...”

“Before you freak out more Liam,” Grace spoke quite quickly. “Connor and I were friends; nothing happened between him and Sterling like 'that.'” Ya, no thanks. Sterling is a dick. Not the good kind.

I went on to explain more. “Grace and I were really good friends. Like we hung out every day after school and weekends at each others houses. I was picked on then but not as bad. Sterling actually protected me in a way. Since I was always with his sister, no one wanted to make fun of me when she was around.

“Then one day when I walked in on Sterling in the bathroom with a boner. I kinda stood there and stared at him. He kicked me out of the bathroom and from that day on he would call me names too.

“When it happened at school the other kids started doing it too. When I told my parents, they spoke to Grace's parents but they claimed 'Sterling would never do such a thing, he's a good boy.' We all know that's not true. As a result, Grace and I weren't allowed to hang out anymore. We've just drifted apart since then.”

“So what can we gather from all this information?” Liam asked the group of us.

Grace had a sly smile on her face. “He's, minimally, bisexual. Sterling is into guys; that's a one hundred percent fact! And based on statistics, I would say he's afraid of his feelings and lashing out on Connor for it.”

“Makes sense to me.” Tobi nodded his approval of the theory. “But how does this help us?”

“Sterling is afraid of being found out. More than likely, he's afraid of mom and dad finding out the most. Place that in front of him and he'll start acting cocky, thinking that we won't actually do it. But he'll bend when it comes down to it.”

“You're evil.” Was Liam's only reply to Grace's plan. It's a pretty devious plan if I do say so myself.

It was then that Justin came out of the school. “Liam, sorry to interrupt but Nolan is freaking out for some reason.” Liam was up those steps in just a few seconds. “He's outside the cafeteria right now.”

Tobi, Grace and I were not far behind him. He was almost stopped by the lunch monitor telling him to slow down. Liam just said it was an emergency and kept on going.

Once we got outside the cafeteria, Sterling was in the middle of speaking. “You've got nothing on me Dylan, and if you want your father to keep you on the swim team, you won't touch me.”

Tobi's face went fire red, and he marched forward. “Dylan might not be able to touch you, but I can destroy your status at this school.” The anger in his voice was showing through.

Liam went up to Nolan, who was hugging Henry tightly. “You okay?”

Nolan nodded. “If I let go of Henry, he's gonna get himself hurt.”

“I promise that I won't go after him, Nolan. You can let go.” Nolan looked up from Henry's chest, tears in his eyes. After a few seconds, Nolan let him go, and Henry stayed there. He didn't look away from Nolan, just smiled and stood there.

Sterling wrecked their moment, though. “Wow, Tobi what the fuck do you want?”

Tobi rolled his eyes. “Stop acting like your all high and mighty. In one swift motion, I can tell everyone here your dirty little secret.”

Sterling lost his ‘cool’; you could tell that what Tobi said threw him off. He tried to act like nothing happened. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Sure you do Sterling. And for the next little while I'm going to remind you every day we have detention together.” Tobi continued to glare at Sterling. “Now fuck off,” Sterling grumbled under his breath and went on his way.

Henry screamed at Sterling as we left. “If you say anything about what you heard, I'll make sure whatever Tobi has on you gets out!” Henry was dead serious about it too.

Liam looked down at Nolan. “What did you say?” Nolan couldn't look at his cousin. “Nolan, what did you say that Sterling overheard?”

“I don't know what he heard, but I don't want to talk about it right now. Okay, Liam?” The look in Liam's eyes told me he wanted to press the issue, but he didn't. He just gave his cousin a hug. “Thanks...”

“We're talking about it tonight.” Nolan nodded against Liam's chest. It was then that the bell went, and the entire situation defused.

I was heading towards my next class when Tobi came up and pulled me into the bathroom. “Listen, I'm sorry for kicking you out of my house the other day. It was just supremely awkward for me to have you in my room after that.”

“I should be apologizing... I kinda went looking for it.” The blush on his face made Tobi look really really cute.

Before thinking, I pressed my lips against his. He kissed me back, placing his hands on my hips as he did. I leaned right into him as we finished kissing. “Wow...” Tobi managed to say. I stayed quiet. “I... you wanna hang out sometime?”

“I'd like that.” A loud buzzer filled the school. The last bell! “I should get to class. I'll see you later!” I gave him another peck on his lips before leaving him.

I just kissed Tobi! I really and truly just kissed Tobias Grey!! I'm freaking out right now! How did this happen!?

Chapter end.