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He beamed at me, the hurt feelings from his interaction with the demon disappearing. One of the best things about Ollie was that he could bounce back from anything. He was the happiest kid I knew, and nothing kept him down for long. The kid could be stuck at home with the flu and still be chattering and smiling.

When we got back to my parents’ place, Ollie darted inside before I could say bye. As far as I knew, he was unaware about the awkwardness between me and our parents. He didn't even know I was gay. Not that I hid it from him, I just hadn’t dated in a while. It was too much work. I stood outside, debating going in to make sure my parents knew he was back, when the screen door cracked open and my dad poked his head outside.

“I, uh… I got as much energy out of him as I could. He’s hungry now. If you need me to take him tomorrow–”

Dad shook his head. “We’re going to my mom’s for the day tomorrow.”

“Ah. Okay. Well, I guess I’ll see him on Monday then.”

Dad dipped his chin to acknowledge me and disappeared back inside. It wasn’t an invitation to follow. He shut the front door firmly behind him, which was as clear as he could get. I could come over to pick up Ollie, but I wasn’t welcome inside. Not unless I was willing to stop dating men. Shaking my head, I shoved my hands into my pockets and headed home.

I got a call from the school two weeks later. They only ever called me if they couldn’t get ahold of my folks. The second they said the word fight, I was out the door, leaving Ben in charge while I raced to get to my brother. I drove a motorcycle, and I made sure to grab Ollie’s stuff before heading over there. I probably looked like a mad man when I showed up, booking it to the office without a backwards glance towards the other teachers inthe hallway. I almost fell when my feet slid, trying to come to a stop, and I had to grab onto the doorframe to the office to stop myself from eating it.

The secretary looked up, startled, at my arrival. She sighed when she saw it was me. “Mr. Gray. Didn’t you learn when you went here not to run in the halls?”

Mrs. Robertson had been the secretary at this school when I went here. She was an institution. I’d had trouble the first year or so of Ollie going here getting them to let me pick him up, but she vouched for me until my parents finally put in the paperwork to let me without a note from them.

“They said Ollie had been in a fight?”

She pursed her lips, tipping her head to where Ollie sat in a chair against the wall. He had tissues pressed to his nose and what looked like a black eye forming. My heart thundered in my chest as I kneeled in front of him, gently pulling his hand away so I could see the damage.

“What happened, buddy?”

He shrugged, but refused to say any more. When I glanced over my shoulder at Mrs. Robertson, she shook her head with a sigh.

“He overheard one of the new transfers say some choice words to one of his friends and decided to confront him. Principal Castillo is still trying to get the whole account of it, but I don’t think he swung first. He shouldn’t have been involved in the first place, though. He should’ve gotten a teacher instead.” She gave Ollie a pointed look, like she’d already had this conversation with him in the past. I never heard anything from my parents about Ollie fighting, but I didn’t trust them to keep me in the loop, either. Mrs. Robertson had no reason to lie to me.

“Alright. I’ll talk to him and update my parents. Can I take him with me?”

She nodded. “He’s good. Might have a black eye, but the nurse said some ice will do him fine. She’s not worried about anything more severe.”

Letting out a heavy breath, I guided Ollie out of the office with my hand on his shoulder. He didn’t have many friends, but he was loyal to the few he had. He wouldn’t say anything that he thought might get them into trouble until we were out of earshot of the teachers.

When we got outside, I stopped him with my hands on his shoulders, leveling him with a look.

“Alright, out with it. What happened?”

He scrunched his nose and winced for the effort. “Dante was being mean to Sophie. She was just asking him to play. He didn’t have to call her names. I told him off and he punched me. You told me if someone hits me, I can hit them back.”

True, I did say that. I got tired of him getting bullied. Ignoring them didn’t work, so I taught him how to throw a decent punch to protect himself.

“That doesn’t mean you can butt into other people’s issues and start a fight. You and Sophie should’ve walked away. Or gotten a teacher if you had to. How many times have you done something like this before?”

His eyes dropped to the ground, which was all the information I needed. I didn't want to be angry with him, especially not for sticking up for someone, but I didn’t want to encourage him to stick his nose where it didn't belong either. That’s what got him bullied in the first place.

“Come on. We’ll get some frozen peas on that eye and I’ll call Mom and Dad. I hope you at least got a good hit in. That shiner is gonna be there for days.”

He smirked at me, and despite the severity of the situation, I felt a small amount of pride for what he did. He used to cower from bullies. At least now he had enough confidence to protect himself. I just hoped the paranormal he had picked a fight with wasn’t that demon boy. That kid made me nervous.

CHAPTER SIX

AZIEL

I’d been pickingup a few things for my uncle when I got a call from the school. It didn’t really surprise me that Dante was getting into fights. He’d had a few good weeks after I gave him that info for his dad and he avoided an ass kicking, but I knew it wouldn’t last. The school asked that I come in for a meeting, so I finished my shopping, dumped the bags into the backseat of my truck, and headed for the school.

When I stepped into the main office, the secretary looked up from her computer, her lips pressed into a thin line. She pointed to a chair opposite her desk and spoke to me directly, not even a hint of trepidation in her voice.

“Have a seat. I’ll let Principal Castillo know you’re here. She’s speaking with Dante right now.”