BEST SERVED COLD: THE ULTIMATE REVENGE SYSTEM

Three Arc-Nemesis

Those eyes were watching and waiting…waiting like a vulture sizing up a dying thing in the desert.

Sabito swallowed hard, his throat dry as sandpaper. His feet felt glued to the floor, his limbs tight with the awful push-and-pull of fight-or-flight.

But Sabito knew that flight wasn't an option just like the other times. Not when their shadows stretched long before him, cutting off every possible escape. Moreover, he knew how his flight decisions ended. Injured and more punishment than they had intended.

His fingers twitched as his sides. Stupid, useless things. His breath turned shallow and fast. His chest felt too tight, his ribs suddenly a cage locking him in his very own terror.

Sabito's eyes widened when Jasper took a slow, lazy step forward, dragging out the moment and making it turn into an eternity.

“Where ya going, Sabito?” His voice was sickly sweet, almost gentle. But Sabito knew better to let down his guard because his smile—his smile was sharp enough to cut him.

Sabito felt his heart finally leave him entirely, vanishing into the pit of his stomach. And when he tried to speak, his own voice totally abandoned him too. Another useless thing after his fingers.

Jasper chuckled, the sound low and dripping with an infuriating amusement. “Cat got your tongue? Or…” he leaned in just enough that Sabito could feel the heat of his breath. “Did you finally figure out that running won't help?” His voice was low this time.

Ethan snickered behind him. “Maybe he thought today would be different.” He flexed his fingers, the metal ring catching the dim hallway light, again. People may not know, but Sabito knew it was another kind of warning. “He thought that maybe, we'd just let him walk away.”

Mike let out a slow breath, tilting his head to his left. “Look, he's sweating already. Bet you five bucks he bolts.”

Sabito's fingers twitched again. He had lost count of how many times he had given a thought to that possiblity of running, or vanishing if he could, but his body had long thought otherwise, staying frozen and rooted to the spot. It was always like this.

Jasper's arms reached out in a slow, deliberate motion, tapping a single finger against Sabito's chest. “You don't look so good, man. Feeling sick? Or just scared?” His grin widened, his eyes flickering over Sabito's face, drinking and reveling in every sign of his fear.

Sabito swallowed hard, forcing himself to do something. Maybe he should step back, but the damn lockers dug into his spine. And that was when his pulse roared in his ears.

Jasper, whose face turned into an agitated frown, clicked his tongue. “Tsk. Tsk. Wrong move, loser.”

And then, with a flicker of motion, his fingers gripped Sabito's collar, yanking him forward. Sabito barely had to choke on his breath before Jasper's voice was right in his ear, a whisper meant just for him.

“You know the rules, don't you? Taking a step back like that now, that isn't one of them.” Jasper's voice was smooth and casual, but there was an edge beneath it—something dangerously sharp and waiting. “You don't get to ignore us, Sabito. You don't get to walk past like we don't see you.”

Ethan sighed loudly, drawing everyone's attention. “Hah. He's taking too long. I say we just skip to the fun part.”

Sabito's whole body was shaking and trembling from fear, but he finally forced his lips to move.

“P-please…” Like a puppy drenched in the rain, he whimpered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Jasper pulled back slightly, just enough to look him in the eyes. Sabito thought that his plea had been granted. He tried to breathe out, but before he could, Jasper's shoulders began to shake as he laughed out loud.

“Oh, that's cute.” His fingers tightened in Sabito's shirt before shoving him back against the lockers with a dull thud making the locker creak. “But you know what I like better?” He glanced at Ethan, then Mike, his grin widening.

“The sound of you begging properly.”

Sabito's skull rattled against the mental lockers when Jasper slammed him against it.

A dull ring echoed in his ears, his eyes swirling from the impact. Stars swarm like ducks in a riverbed in his vision for a second, but the worst part wasn't the physical pain.

It was the way they were watching him. Like he was nothing more than a bug pinned under their fingers, twitching and waiting for them to decide how much fun they wanted to have before crushing it completely.

Jasper tilted his head, eyes gleaming with a malicious mockery. “Come on, Sabito. You can do better than that.” He dragged his grip down from Sabito's collar, clamping his fingers just below his jaw, pressing it…not choking.

Of course; he was going to choke it, but not just yet…for now, he just reminded him of who was in control. “Let's hear it. Beg properly, and maybe we'll go easy on you.”

Ethan chuckled. “Yeah, maybe we'll even let you keep your lunch money too.”

Mike, still leaning against the lockers like this was just another boring event in his day, exhaled through his nose and not his mouth this time. “Doubt it.”

Sabito's breath hitched. His chest heaved as he fought to keep the panic from swallowing him whole. His fingers curled at his sides, his nails biting into his skin.

His stomach twisted at the thought of begging. They were the ones bullying him and he was the one to beg them? Pathetic! Yes, he knew he was pathetic. But if he didn't…

Jasper's grip tightened slightly. “Tick tock, Sabito.”

A sharp lump of humiliation lodged itself in his throat, surrounding him and mocking him in every way possible.

His body trembled, a mixture of shame and fear tangling into something awful, something that made him suddenly feel sick.

His lips parted… but then…

Footsteps!

Not theirs. It was someone else's.

Jasper's fingers stilled. Ethan and Miles turned their heads slightly, their easy confidence flickering just enough for Sabito to see it.

Someone was coming.

And that was when it dawned on Sabito. Maybe he should decide? Call for help and risk making it worse later?

Or…

Stay silent, let them have their way, and hope they get bored before they really, truly hurt him?

Everyone became more tense as the footsteps became louder, just like Sabito's heartbeat…