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Clemont was slammed against the locker, the hard metal hurting the boy's back. His glasses slipped off of his face and fell to the ground. Before Clemont could even pick them up, the bully picked them up first, holding them high in the air and taunting him with it.
"Leave him alone!" Ash shouted, pushing the bully grabbing the glasses, and handing them back to his boyfriend. "What's your problem?!"
The taller boy squinted, before shoving Ash to the side. "I can't believe you come to this school, happy with yourself that you flaunt your weird relationship with him"
"I don't flaunt anything, we have a normal relationship just like other people do!" Ash argued back. "You're just making it out to be that bad since you have a problem with us!"
"You're damn right I have a problem with you, keep your disgusting relationship away from the rest of us normal kids at school" the bully asserted.
As far as open relationships, Ash and Clemont were the only LGBTQ couple in the entire school, but most other kids didn't even have a problem with them. In fact, Ash and Clemont were friends with a lot of people in the school. But this group of new kids showed up, and they were the complete opposite.
"What right do you have to even say that?!" Clemont shot back. "How are we affecting you in any way?!"
"Just you existing makes me uncomfortable, it's not natural what you're doing!" the bully shouted.
"Oh I'll show you natural" Ash clenched his hand into a fist, but before he could do anything, he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt.
"What, huh?" the bully tilted his head with a sick smile. "You'll do what?"
But then, the bully felt something on the back of his collar, something tight. He dropped Ash and turned around to see the face of a tall, mahogany-haired boy, Gary, and the fist of a short-haired, honey-blonde girl, Serena. She brought him in closer to make it known that they weren't messing around.
Gary walked over and leaned in. "I don't ever want to see you in the same hallway as Ash and Clemont ever, and if we do?" he asked, before answering his own question. "Well let's just say that the school nurse will get a lot of visits from you and your friends"
"Now get out of here!" Serena shouted, pushing the bully.
He grimaced, before stomping away. "You're cowards, needing help from your older friends..."
Serena walked over to Clemont, helping him up, as Gary turned to Ash. "Those are the new kids, right?" he asked.
Ash nodded. "Yeah, and I guess they're not from anywhere around here considering, well...you know..."
Clemont adjusted his glasses and rubbed his back. "Damn it..."
"Clemont, how are you holding up?" Serena asked.
But the bespeckled boy just shook his head, sighing. "You shouldn't have helped me back up, they're just going to come back and do it again soon"
"Clemont, don't say that" Ash put his hand on Clemont's shoulder. "Don't let this get you down, those kids don't know what they're talking about, each time it's always the same spiel about how we're not 'normal'"
"Wait, this has happened multiple times?" Gary asked. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Well we didn't know this would become a recurring thing, it's all happened so quickly" Ash mentioned.
Serena scowled. "I'm glad we know now then, those kids will think twice before doing something like that again"
"Guess it's good to have a grandfather in high places too, huh?" Gary joked. "And a girlfriend who's pretty scary sometimes!"
Clemont chuckled lightly. "Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. I just...I was getting bullied before I even came here, and each time it happens I hate it more and more"
"Look, as long as those kids think we're older than you, they shouldn't be doing anything like that soon" Gary said.
The truth was, that Ash and Clemont were actually a bit older than their more popular friends, although it didn't seem that way since the two just naturally looked younger, Gary was taller, and plus, everyone just assumed that the more popular kids were older. Gary was on the football team, Serena was on the cheerleading team, and most of the others there were on the older side.
And on top of that, those new kids didn't really expect people on the football and cheerleading teams to be friend with kids like Ash and Clemont. They weren't 'popular kids', more like in the middle since they had a bunch of friends throughout the school.
"Yeah, I'm older and still give better relationship advice than you" Ash quipped, making Serena laugh.
Serena wrapped her arm around Gary's shoulder, grinning. "And it was the best thing we could've asked for!"
Gary scoffed. "Okay buddy, whatever you say..."
"Hey, we were the ones that helped you get with Serena in the first place!" Ash mentioned. "I don't know, I think Barry said that I 'had rizz' or something like that?"
The bell then rung, signaling that class was to start soon. Ash and Clemont needed to head in one direction, while Gary and Serena needed to go in the other.
"Don't listen to everything he says, every other word is nonsense coming from him" Gary shook his head.
Clemont wagged his finger. "Oh, don't let Paul hear you say that, he's older than you and Ash!"
"Whatever" Gary said, as he grabbed Serena's hand. "Stay out of trouble you two!"
Ash saluted. "Will do!"
Ash and Clemont walked in the other direction down the hall, glad to have friends like them!