TopSpot

2.

“Tommy.”

A tall and broad-shouldered teenager leaned nonchalantly against Ryan’s car. His hair was brown with iced tips. Of all the people Ryan knew, Tommy was definitely the one with ‘movie star looks’. His eyes were a clear blue, and his square jaw line made him look several years older than his actual age.

The sight of him was enough to throw Ryan into a rage.

“What are you doing here?” Ryan asked darkly.

The thug smiled; there was not a single hint of malice in his eyes. His demeanor was breezy.

“I followed you from the mall.” He pushed off of the car and sauntered over to Ryan, their height bringing them eye-to-eye. “I have to say buddy, you always no how to surprise me. What’s with saving that punk?”

“He’s one of mine.” Ryan was calm now. He always found it hard to keep his emotions under control around Tommy, and now the guy had done something completely against the rules.

“He…challenged you to a fight.”

Ryan sighed. “Look, that’s my own problem. What are you? A dog? Stop following me around.”

“Ryan.” Tommy’s voice was veering towards coddling, as if Ryan were a kid. “You know that I’m willing to leave you alone if you just follow our agreement.”

He gripped Ryan’s shoulder with a meat hook of a hand. “If you send Shelby to make excuses one more time, I’m going to start hunting down your freshmen one by one.”

“Fine,” Ryan growled, “Just stay out of my way.” He pushed aside Tommy’s hand and walked over to his car.

“So I’ll see you tonight?”

Ryan ignored him and slammed the door shut as he climbed into his car. ‘I can’t wait for graduation,’ he thought to himself morbidly.

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

“Are you telling me that ungrateful punk-ass bitch is still planning on fighting you again?”

Ryan closed his eyes, and tilted his chair back. “Shelby, we have bigger things to deal with…for instance how can I get out of seeing Tommy this weekend.”

Shelby choked on the soda he was drinking, and slammed the can down on his desk. “Ryan, that guy is like a minor disturbance, you used to hang out with him every day. We have to deal with the problem that’s going on now, at THIS school!”

Ryan cracked a single eyelid to glance stubbornly at Shelby. “Do you think he can beat me?”

The classroom became silent. Everyone was staring at Shelby apprehensively, waiting for his answer. It was unwise to insult the person in Topspot, even if you were his close friend.

“Of..of course not,” Shelby said cautiously, “I was just thinking maybe…you should be careful.”

Ryan chuckled and closed his eye. “Loser.”

“Is that anyway to talk to your best friend?”

Everyone in the classroom, including Ryan, turned around upon hearing the condescending words. There, standing in the doorway as if he owned the place, was Devin Meers.

He deliberately made his way over to the empty desk next to Ryan’s and sat down. “It’s amazing how big of an asshole you can be.”

Ryan stared at him silently for several seconds. “You certainly have balls,” he said flatly.

“Why? For barging into the Topspot’s classroom and insulting him?” Devin sneered, “So then why haven’t you started kicking my ass? Why aren’t I a bloody mess on the floor yet?”

“This…punk…” Shelby hissed through clenched teeth. He was about to jump when Ryan waved him back down.

“Look Meers, I have to admit, you have offered some amusement for the seniors before we embark into the real world,” Ryan said lightly. Suddenly, he grabbed Devin’s collar and dragged the junior up to his feet. “However, if you think this retarded act of looking brave is somehow going to impress me, make me want to take you under my wing, than you’re wrong punk.”

Devin was snickered, about to reply when he noticed something on Ryan’s neck. “Is that…is that a hickey?”

What happened next could be labeled as sheer lunacy. The classroom erupted into shouts of “Who did it?” and “Oh My God!” Meanwhile, Ryan threw Devin aside, and had turned to face Shelby.

“Is he serious?” the teenager hissed quietly, “Is there a hickey on my neck?”

Shelby leant forward to look. “Well…”

“GODDAMNITALLTOHELLI’MGOINGTOKILLTHATBITCH!”

Before Shelby could react, Ryan swung around like a tornado and slammed his way out of the classroom, pushing aside obstructing objects with rage, whether they be desk or human.

“Shit. Shit. Shit.” Shelby muttered as he gathered his and Ryan’s things and made his way out of the tumultuous classroom. The hallway was empty, the sounds of Shelby’s foot steps wringing out into the silent corridor.

“What was that about?” asked a voice that was following closely behind him.

“Meers, I swear…are you a fly? Go to class.”

“Does this have to do with that ice-tip hair guy?”

Shelby stopped dead in his tracks, causing Devin to run into him. Without looking back, he said slowly, “I’m getting the impression that you think this is any of your business. Well, its not. Ryan is not your friend, you don’t know anything about him, so Leave. It. Alone.”

Devin watched as the other teenager sped off towards the parking lot. His expression was unreadable, but his fists were clenched slightly. “I don’t want to be his friend.”

“Oh darn, arrow through my heart.”

Leaning against the water fountain was Ryan Delary. Water was dripping down his face, over his lips. A small drop of crystal clear water clung to his eyelashes.

“Why is your face wet?”

Delary smiled sardonically, and crossed his arms. “I needed to cool off.”

“Shelby…is looking for you.” Devin shuffled his feet, growing unnerved by how calm Ryan was all of sudden compared to how he was several minutes ago.

“I know…he thinks I’m about to go do something very stupid.”

Devin nodded. “I think he’s in love with you, he’s like super possessive.”

This caused Ryan to chuckle. “He’s a good friend, that doesn’t always have to mean that he’s in love with me. As for what he said, it’s true. You’re not my friend.”

“If he’s such a great friend, than why are you such a dickweed?” Devin’s expression was returning to its usual haughty arrogance. “He acts like a fucking servant to you.”

Ryan was silent, his eyes calculating. “Why do you care so much Devin Meers…I almost feel like you have a personal vendetta against me.”

“No!” Devin shouted unexpectedly, causing Ryan to raise his eyebrows in surprise. I…I just hate how everyone treats you, as if you were some shining god. It’s obnoxious.”

The hallway was silent as the two teenagers stared at each other, facing off as if they were in a western film, prepared to draw guns at any moment. Devin was breathing heavily from his dramatic outburst, which did not go unnoticed by Ryan.

“Didn’t you transfer to King’s only a few months ago? It’s not like I’m going to be here much longer to annoy you with my obnoxious presence.”

Devin smirked at Ryan’s words. “That’s why I have to beat you now…I have to be Topspot before you graduate.”

The determination in Devin’s eyes unsettled Ryan. Maybe he would take more heed of Shelby’s advice and put the Tommy issue on a backburner. This kid was causing more of a drama than he anticipated.

“Because you hate me?”

Devin nodded.

“So I’m really so detestable, that you are absolutely determined to beat me?”

Another nod.

“You do realize that if you get Topspot, than this same exact thing will happen to you next year?”

“I’m going to abolish Topspot the minute after you bow to me.”

This gave Ryan pause. Then, he smiled. “I see…you want to be one of those kids who come out of nowhere and changes the entire school, gets rid of its oldest traditions, and makes everything just hunky-dory.”

He walked up to Devin, and wrapped a friendly arm around the younger boy’s shoulder. “Let me explain something Meers. The kids at this school are not sheep. They like it this way…if they didn’t, there would be no way for me to be Topspot. I wouldn’t be able to control an entire school of kids if they turned against me.”

He turned his head down to look into Devin’s eyes. “In any school, there is a hierarchy…jocks, nerds…what ever. It may be a cliché, but it is a cliché for a reason. Teenagers need a leader, it’s intrinsic, if they didn’t, than there wouldn’t be one.”

Devin was silent. “Even if that were true…I’m still going to beat you.”

“So this is about me, and not about Topspot.”

Before Devin could reply, a sophomore suddenly appeared before them, completely out of breath.

“Regers…kids…have…freshman…” he huffed, clutching his side.

Devin was pushed aside by Ryan for the second time that day as the older teenager clutched on to the sophomore. “Where?!”

“By the woods next to the back exit…their Topspot is with them.”

Devin thought Ryan’s eyes were going to pop out from how wide they opened with rage. The older teenager pushed the sophomore away and started running down the hall.

“I’MGOINGTOKILLTHATBASTARDTHISTIMEFORREALWHEREISSHELBY?!”

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

“Tommy, how long do we have to wait?”

“Shut up, he’ll be here soon.”

The muscular teenager was lounging against a rock as he tossed a ball languidly from one hand to another. Stopping suddenly, he turned to look at the King’s High freshman. “Hey. You. Stop crying.”

This only caused the boy to burst into even louder sobs.

“Here they are.”

The group of boys looked up to see Ryan Delary and his faction striding towards them. Tommy snickered happily with anticipation.

Shelby was the first to speak, as he stood next to Ryan. “Tommy, hand over the freshman.”

Tommy smiled brightly. “Hey Shelby!” he said with amusement, and then looked at Ryan deliberately. “You shouldn’t be mad, I caught this punk at the mall, trying to ditch school.”

“Why weren’t you in class either?” Ryan replied with a snarl.

“Aw, are you worried about me?” Tommy stepped closer to Ryan, “I thought I would do the honorable thing and return this wayward brat.” The blue-eyed teenager was now so close to Ryan that he could feel the other’s breath. He reached out and placed his hand around the back of Ryan’s warm neck. To an outside observer it looked like an act of aggression.

Which is why Tommy should not have been surprised when he felt a fist connect with his jaw. The impact was hard, much stronger than he had dealt with in a long time. Whoever had just punched him was freakishly strong. The punch had knocked him to the ground.

Ryan was just as shocked, for standing next to him was Devin Meers. “What are you doing?” he hissed at the younger teenager. Devin looked at him with expressionless eyes, and shrugged.

In the meantime, Tommy had clambered to his feet. Wiping away the blood on his lip, he looked at Devin with a calculating gaze. ‘He looks familiar…’ he thought to himself. “Ryan, your kid here just made a huge mistake. Since when did you start letting such drooling idiots into your gang?”

“You’re the drooling idiot, you stupid thug,” Devin snapped, “You don’t even go to this school.”

“You. Little…” Tommy growled as he advanced on Devin, only to find himself blocked by Ryan, who had stepped in front of the younger boy.

“Go back to Regers Tommy.” Ryan’s tone was darkly commanding, his eyes serious.

Tommy glared at Ryan, his tone biting. “This is the punk who wants to beat you Ryan, why won’t you let me crush him?”

“Go. Back. To. Regers. Tommy.”

“Why are you protecting him!?” Tommy shouted, grabbing on to Ryan’s forearm and dragging the teenager closer, “Do you like him?” The blue-eyed teenager’s voice was quieter, but Devin had heard.

Ryan’s expression was blank, but he turned to look at Shelby as if to say ‘Help me deal with this.’ The friend rushed forward, and locked his hands around the arm clasping onto Ryan. “Let go of him Tommy.”

The other teenager ignored the command, “Ryan, this whole thing is pissing me off. You can’t even answer me?”

Finally Ryan looked Tommy straight in the eyes and spoke, “He’s new Tommy, he doesn’t get the rules. Just let it go this time.”

Then, he leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Tommy’s lips.

Devin looked around wildly. It appeared as if the sudden spectacle of Ryan kissing Tommy was only surprising to him…and the freshman, who had stopped sobbing, and was now staring opened mouth at the scene in front of him. The Regers kids and the gang from King’s High all had painfully passive expressions on their faces.

Tommy smiled goofily as he let go of Ryan’s arm, all anger gone. “Yeah, he’s new…no problem.” He looked over at Devin, “Hey punk, you better not to fight Ryan anymore, or I’ll kill you.”

“Tommy.” Ryan was frowning, his arms crossed.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” The perfect looking thug waved at his group to follow, and the whole Regers gang marched off towards the back exit. Everyone else remained silent until they were out of sight.

Then the mumbling started. “That was embarrassing Ryan,” one extremely brave gang member said caustically.

Shelby shoved him, “Shut up.”

Meanwhile, Devin was staring disbelievingly at Ryan. “You…kissed him.”

“Hey,” another senior growled, “Who invited this punk? …That wouldn’t have even happened if you weren’t here, you stupid prick.”

More shouts erupted. Shelby was trying to calm everyone down as Devin made a move towards the kid who insulted him.

“Enough.”

All of the boys quieted. “You,” Ryan said, pointing at the freshman, “Get out of here.”

The kid nodded quickly, and took off.

“Now,” Ryan continued, “Shelby…which is more important, the Tommy issue, or the Devin issue?”

The group was silent. “I’m an issue?” Devin asked heatedly, earning himself a smack upside the head.

“Yes punk,” Shelby hissed, “You’ve now been upgraded to issue. In fact, you’ve become like a cancerous problem, attaching yourself to the Tommy issue…”

Ryan nodded at Shelby’s words. “Neither problem will go away.” He looked at Devin, “This kid said he would keep fighting me no matter what.”

Devin looked down towards his feet.

“What?” Ryan said nonchalantly, “Is all that bravado gone?”

“No…I still mean it, I’m going to beat you.”

Ryan stared at him quietly for several moments. “Fine. Shelby, the biggest problem is Tommy. Someone, go after the freshman and make sure he doesn’t say anything.”

A senior nodded and ran off in the direction of the school.

“Everyone else, go back to class.”

There was a round of “Yes’s” as the group trudged back. Devin stopped as he noticed that Ryan was not with them. Darting back to the spot by the woods, he found the leader leaning against a tree, quietly smoking a cigarette.

“Why did you kiss him?”

Ryan looked up and smiled serenely at Devin. “It was the only way to stop him.”

“He was outside my apartment that day, wasn’t he? I saw you guys through my window.”

Ryan nodded slowly. “Well, he had orchestrated that mess…I shouldn’t have been surprised that he had actually been there.”

“I don’t want you to kiss him anymore.”

The expression on Ryan’s face was one of bemusement. “Why?”

Devin stumbled at Ryan’s response. “Why?! …How often exactly do you guys kiss?”

“I mean, why do you care kid?”

Biting his lip, Devin crossed his arms and kicked a rock that was sitting near his feet. “I just think…that…well…” He looked up, and became annoyed at the amusement in Ryan’s eyes. “It’s embarrassing! You should fight him to stop him, not kiss him!”

“But I can’t fight him.”

“What?” Devin stuttered, “Why not?”

Ryan stared at him quietly, his gaze unnervingly serious. The older teenager seemed to be pondering something. Finally, he tossed his cigarette to the side, and walked up to Devin. “Listen punk…I don’t know how you manage to get me into these little Q and A sessions, but I’m tired of it. When I say that none of this is your business, I mean it.”

He leaned in closer, wrapping a hand around Devin’s neck, much in the same way that Tommy had, and brought their faces closer. “From now on, we don’t have these little conversations. I’m not going to speak to someone who can’t be loyal to Topspot.”

Drawing away, he shoved Devin aside and strode off. The younger teenager stared at Ryan’s retreating back, and tried to rationalize the reasons for his heart beating faster, and for his blushing face.

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

At the end of the day, Devin found Shelby waiting for him at his classroom.

“Can we talk?”

Devin nodded, and followed the older teenager to the library, where they sat next to each other in a secluded study area.

Shelby was quick to get to the point. “Leave Ryan alone until he graduates. With your fighting skills, it’s obvious that you could get Topspot for next year.”

“That’s not why I want it.”

The older teenager sighed. “I know, I know, you want to make Ryan bow down to you or whatever. Listen, can’t you be happy knowing that he already has problems to deal with…”

“You mean Tommy?”

Shelby nodded silently.

Devin considered this for a moment. “What is it between them? Why does Ryan kiss him? Are they dating?”

Shelby’s face paled from all of the questions. “Christ…why do you care?”

Devin was faced with the same question for the second time that day.

“Because I do, ok? So if you want me to consider leaving Ryan alone, than you have to answer all of them.”

Shelby glared at the little upstart, but acquiesced. “Fine, what do you want to know?”

“How do they even know each other?”

Sighing, Shelby leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. “They used to be best friends, since kindergarten.”

“Why doesn’t Ryan just fight Tommy?”

“Tommy’s the better fighter.”

Devin stopped up short. “What?”

Shelby stared at the younger teenager for a moment, and then said, “Here’s the whole story, alright? They came to King’s High as the best of friends. Around halfway through sophomore year, it became apparent that Tommy would be a shoo-in for Topspot. He was already a friend with Skylar because of basketball camp, so the transition would be smooth. Riding high on the confidence wave, he decided to confess to Ryan that he loved him.”

“What?!” Devin squeaked. Shelby held up a hand to silence him.

“I’m not done yet. Ryan rejected him, and things got kind of awkward. They stopped speaking to each other. Around the same time, Ryan was starting to look like a contender for the Topspot. He was only a sophomore, but juniors and seniors were worried that he would try to take the title from Skylar, who had only just received it himself. A bunch of kids jumped Ryan in an empty classroom. Tommy got wind of what was going on, and fought all of them. He caused some pretty heavy damage, not just to the students, but also to school property. Even if he was defending Ryan, he had to be expelled.”

“So…Ryan feels like he owes Tommy?”

Shelby sighed. “It’s way beyond that now. Tommy is a much better fighter. He should have been Topspot at King’s High, and he also feels that Ryan should have accepted his feelings. The kid had this grand vision of he and Ryan strolling the hallways, reigning over all they surveyed. Instead, he’s stuck at Regers, which is known for it’s thugs, and that’s about it. Yet, he’s started to use this to his advantage, having the punks at Regers threatening our kids, making Ryan spend time with him.”

Devin sneered. “He should just get over himself. Ryan doesn’t have to like him.”

Shelby quickly looked at Devin with a jerk of his neck. “I didn’t tell you all of this so you could pass judgment on Tommy, I told you so that you could understand that the last thing Ryan needs right now is some upstart trying to usurp his throne.”

“Well…maybe it would be better for Ryan if he wasn’t Topspot?”

“What?”

“If I were leader, I would crush Tommy and make sure Ryan would never have to see him again.”

This statement caused Shelby to laugh. “You…your naivety is always amusing. What? You think you’re going to be Ryan’s knight in shining armor?”

Devin frowned. “Why not? Ryan needs one….needs me.”

“How do you know? Ryan isn’t a damsel in distress. He’s conflicted. Tommy and he used to be best friends, feelings like that don’t just disappear. He hates that Tommy likes him, because it means that things can’t ever be the same again.”

Shelby leaned forward. “I am positive that if you tried to lay a single finger on Tommy, Ryan would kill you in cold blood.”

“Besides,” he continued, “I thought you hated Ryan?”

“I have a problem with him…” Devin said quietly, “But if I win Topspot…then I won’t anymore.”

Shelby shrugged. “Personal grudges are not a good reason to get into this game…just think about that.” He stood up, and grabbed his backpack, “Don’t think Ryan would forgive you so easily if you took Topspot.”

Devin sat quietly in the library for several minutes, contemplating Shelby’s words. It was almost as if Ryan was Tommy’s pet, held into obedience because of guilt and responsibility. Devin felt the pit of his stomach roiling, and he frowned. He was going to change things.

Outside, the parking lot was empty, all of the students having left for the day. Devin glanced around at the desert of pavement where he and Ryan had fought. It was almost infuriating thinking about how someone who was so powerful, could fight so well, was being controlled by an idiot like Tommy.

“Even after today, you think it’s safe to be walking around alone?”

Devin looked up from his musings to find Tommy standing in front of him. The younger teenager immediately jumped into a defensive position.

This made the older teenager laugh. “Life isn’t about constant fights. You should just blend into the background, and wait for the seniors to graduate before appearing again.”

Devin sneered, “I’m not going to sit back and let you tame Ryan into some weakling!”

This gave Tommy pause. “Tame him? I guess you could call it that…” he crossed his arms, “Look kid, Ryan was mine from the beginning. No punk is going to show up at the eleventh hour to steal him.”

“I’m not stealing him, he doesn’t belong to anyone,” Devin growled, “But I’m going to make sure that he never has to see your ugly face again.”

Tommy snapped his fingers suddenly. “I knew you looked familiar.”

Devin felt a sudden tinge of nerves. “What…what do you mean?”

“I know who you are,” Tommy said happily, as if he just realized that he held the trump card. He walked up closer to Devin, and placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder.

“I wonder how Ryan would feel if he knew Skylar’s younger brother was attending King’s High.”

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

(Author Note)

DuUuUuUdes, I am so happy because I know this story will be SHORT! It will END, unlike that behemoth known as DOTH! Or the other stories floating around in limbo –cough- The Farmer’s Grandson, Unrelated Royalty –cough-

Anyway, Thank you for reading! Please leave any critique you want, I always want to know how to make the story better.

Oh and thanks to phlen for correcting me on the name of the song/ song writer that inspired this story…Zero by Alan Kuo. It’s not in English, so I don’t understand a single word of it..but whatever lol.