Meeting the Bully

Chapter One:

Meeting The Bully

“You're fired.”

The first time Artemis McAlester met Professor Lucian Meyers, he fired him on the spot.

Lucian, halfway through adjusting the sleeves of his wrinkled shirt, didn’t even look up. “I’m not taking orders from an overgrown toddler throwing tantrums in human skin.”

That silenced the room.

But let’s rewind.

Lucian Meyers was a very punctual man. He was never late for anything, no matter how insignificant. But the goddamn storm had other plans, his car had broken down two blocks away, and his umbrella had surrendered to the wind like a paper crane. He was soaked, pissed, and running up to Kingston College.

One look at the buildings and he could tell it was the hive of the rich, powerful and influential. A fucking sea of rich spoiled brats.

He prayed for the patience to deal with it as he hurried up the stairs and that was when it happened.

A body slammed into him.

Lucian stumbled back, grabbing the rail to steady himself, only to find a trembling student in front of him, barefoot, dressed in nothing but boxer shorts, with inked words scrawled across his pale skin in red marker: “Property of A.M.” “Slut.” “Speak and you’ll bleed.”

The boy’s eyes were wide and tear-stained, his chest heaving as if he’d run miles.

“Help me…” he sobbed. “Please help me, he's going to kill me…”

Lucian froze. The students just stood there, watching. Like it was normal.

Lucian’s instincts kicked in. He threw his blazer around the boy’s shoulders, helped him off the floor and guided him down the hall, ignoring the startled looks from passing students.

It wasn't surprising.

He was soaked to the bone, late, and now holding a half-naked, sobbing boy. Kingston College was already starting to feel like hell.

“What’s your name?”

“Sh-Shawn,” the boy stammered, his frightened eyes scattering around frantically as if searching for someone. “Please don’t take me back… he’ll hurt me again.”

Lucian didn't know who this “he” was. He just took the boy before the disciplinary committee.

The board members were beyond shocked to see a student in that state and Lucian was almost certain that Shawn was going to get the help he needed.

“Who did this to you, kid?” one of the board members asked.

Shawn trembled, glancing warily at Lucian who gave him an encouraging nod.

“A…Artemis… M… McAlester….”

The room temperature immediately dropped by twenty degrees as eyes widened and bodies stiffened. They exchanged glances, and Lucian could already feel something was not right. It was there in the way they tensed, their parted lips and the visible fear in their eyes.

“Artemis did this to you?” The chairman asked. Shawn nodded and the man walked forward. He placed a hand on Shawn's shoulder. “Look, kid, I'm sorry this happened to you, but… there is really nothing we can do in this matter, you know that.”

Lucian was dumbfounded. What did the disciplinary board mean by there was nothing they could do about a student being bullied?

“I'm sorry, what?” Lucian stepped forward. “What do you mean by there is nothing you can do.”

His blue eyes had gone ice-cold now and his stance had gone from laid-back to terrifying. The Chairman strutted backwards.

“I think it’s best if we drop this, Professor Meyers,” said one of the board members, already sweating beneath his collar. “This kind of thing… it’s delicate.”

“Delicate?” Lucian repeated in disbelief. “The boy was assaulted! Take a look at him!” Lucian pointed at the markings on his body. “What is so delicate about that?”

“His father is one of our most… generous benefactors and a co-founder of the college,” another added nervously. “You’re new here, you don’t understand how things work…”

“I understand very well,” Lucian interrupted. “You’re afraid of a spoiled brat because his daddy writes the checks.”

Before anyone could respond, the office door swung open.

And in walked the problem.

Artemis McAlester.

Shawn was visibly trembling on the spot now. And he wasn't the only one with that terrified look in his eyes. Even the board members were petrified. The one closest to Artemis strutted backwards to avoid any form of contact; the other stared at the floor as if his life depended on it, and the chairman… the man was literally trembling on his toes.

Lucian hadn't expected him to be so… beautiful.

A mess of dark curls framed a dangerously sharp face. His stunning grey eyes were lazy, arrogant, and framed with lashes too long for someone so cruel. He moved like a cat who knew it ruled the house, dressed in black-on-black, silver rings glinting on his fingers.

He didn't look at anyone except Shawn.

“What an odd place to find you, little mouse,” his voice was almost honey-like, deceptively sweet. “I thought we were playing hide-and-seek.”

Shawn paled out, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as his heart slammed heavily against his rib cage. Tears gathered in his eyes.

“Please…”

“Don't beg. Come here,” Artemis licked his lips with a psychotic smile on his face. “Let's have fun.”

Shawn flinched. No one even dared to breathe as he spoke, talk less of speak.

Lucian stepped between them, having had enough. “He’s not going anywhere.”

That’s when Artemis finally saw him. And paused.

No one ever talked back to him. Not the professors. Not the Dean. And definitely not some red-haired stranger with haunted eyes and a voice like winter.

Who the hell did he think he was?

Still... there was something about the man’s calm, the silence he commanded without a threat or a blade.

Interesting.

Lucian didn’t miss the flash of interest in those eyes. The boy’s gaze dropped to Lucian’s damp shirt, his broad frame, his red hair still dripping from the rain.

“You’re new,” Artemis noted, lips quirking as he took in every inch of Lucian's exposed skin once again. “A little too handsome to be a professor.”

Lucian’s jaw tensed. The boy wasn’t just unhinged, he was playing with fire like he owned the flame.

He glanced at the other adults in the room but they didn't seem to have anything to say about a student openly flirting with a professor.

“I'll tell you this for free, professor. If you want to stay pretty, you should keep away from me,” Artemis drawled, his eyes glinting with mischief as he stepped closer. “I'm very rough with handling delicate things.”

Then he walked past Lucian, his distinct smell of vanilla and smoke teasing Lucian's nostrils, and grabbed Shawn by the hair. “I'll take my friend now.”

Almost as soon as he did that, Lucian caught his arm, tightening his grip around Artemis's wrist.

“Did I stutter when I said he wasn't going anywhere?” Lucian asked coldly and gasps erupted.

Artemis merely smiled as Lucian shoved his hand away.

Lucian flashed him a cold smile in return.

“According to Kingston’s student handbook, bullying and public humiliation warrant a two-week suspension,” he said, pulling the manual from his satchel and tossing it on the desk. “Consider this your official notice.”

The board members looked like they were about to faint.

Artemis stared for a few seconds as something flickered in those grey eyes. A mix of shock and irritation… then his laughter broke out in rich deep chuckles, echoing throughout the room.

“You are so adorable, Professor,” His lips curled in amusement. “I'm almost tempted to let you punish me. Unfortunately, I do not have time for this nonsense so don't try to stop me again, unless…” His eyes dropped from Lucian's eyes to his lips, then down to his throat. “... you want to replace him.”