Torn Between Two Worlds

by Alex Barkhorn

Chapter 15

"Wait, what'd you call her?" Twilight asked with wide eyes, looking at Pinkie, then Dana, then Pinkie, and so on.

"Pinkie Pie. That is her name, isn't it?" Dana asked with a smart grin.

"Wha...How'd you...?" I stammered, completely dumbfounded.

"She told me during algebra." Dana replied with a shrug.

"Pinkie! I thought we agreed that - wait. She did? And you believed her?" I questioned, turning my attention from Pinkie to Dana. She simply shrugged.

"May sound dumb, but it was too outrageous not to believe." She replied in honesty, pulling out her phone. "So, I looked up the show and the characters, sure enough, they looked, sounded, and acted just like themselves." She finished.

"So, it doesn't bother you?" Gray asked. Dana gave him a quizzical look.

"Why would it?" She asked.

"Well, I mean...Cartoon characters, coming to our world. Can't be easy to take in." I explained. I then looked around for a moment, before walking to our front door. "Let's take this inside." I said, allowing them all to enter.

We talked for a little while, and Dana seemed to be very accepting of the whole situation. To be expected, she was a generally accepting person, to people, and...Pony. Human. People. You get what I mean.

"At any rate, how long have they been here?" Dana asked, after having actual introductions out of the way.

"Since Friday night." I answered.

"Huh." She replied in a hum, looking at the girls. She then looked over though the door behind her that leads to the washroom, seeing six sundresses hanging up next to the dryer. "Did you get them those clothes?" She asked.

"The ones they're wearing. They came in those dresses," I replied.

"That was very sweet of you." Dana said with a small smile. I only shrugged modestly in reply.

"Couldn't let them wear just those." I said.

"And how'd you get them in school?" She asked.

"I have my ways, Dana." I replied quickly. I could tell by the look on her face that my answer didn't satiate her many questions, but, honestly, I didn't care.

She stayed for a few more hours, and was nice enough to offer her help as well. Mainly by teaching the girls the essentials of female...Issues, let's just say. A wide spectrum of issues. And, since her sister was in college and had a closet full of clothes she didn't take with her, she'd also sneak over some clothing and such for the girls.

"Dana, I can't tell you how much this means to me. To us." I said, walking her to the door.

"Ah, think nothing of it. You're always giving and giving, so I thought I'd give back." She replied with a sweet smile. I returned it, and gave her an affectionate hug. She happily returned it. A minute later, she pulled away, and walked outside. Grayson chuckled from behind me, giving me a slight nudge.

"Smooth, Alex." He said with a sly wink, stepping outside and getting in the car with Dana, driving off. I scoffed, and turned around. I could see, by the shadows, the girls leave the room to go to the tv room, but Rarity and Fluttershy remained.

"Something the matter, girls?" I asked, to which they shook their heads.

"It's nothing," Rarity said, turning and joining the others. Fluttershy hesitated, but gave me a small smile, before following Rarity.

A couple days passed, and the girls seemed to be adjusting a bit more. Naturally, not everyone was completely buddy-buddy to them. The girls had just exited first period, when I heard a commotion. Rarity, Dana and I looked over to see Rainbow, Fluttershy, AJ and Twilight walking down the hall, with Jake and Aaron close behind, and it seemed like Jake was bothering one of them, talking to them...By the look on Fluttershy's face, and the annoyance on RD's and AJ's, my hunch was correct. I managed to hear a bit of it.

"...don't you just let me take you out, huh?" Jake asked with a smirk, going to take hold of Fluttershy's arm. She quickly jerked her arm away.

"Um, no thank you." She said quietly, walking faster. I furrowed my brow in anger, and clenched my teeth.

"Alex, what is it?" Gray asked, standing up, and looking over in their direction.

"Why don't you take the hint an' get lost, Jake? She wants nothin' to do with ya, ya hear?" AJ said in anger, earning a scoff from the creep.

"Calm down, Calamity Jane. Be nice, and maybe Aaron here'll ask you out." He mocked, earning a chuckle and a lecherous wink from Aaron. Jake slipped in front of Fluttershy, and put an extended hand against the locker, stopping Fluttershy in her tracks. I began to walk towards them.

"C'mon, Faith, just lemme take you out sometime. It'll be fun." He said with another smirk. This time, Fluttershy avoided his gaze ,and didn't respond.

"Get away from her!" Twilight said, trying to firmly push Jake away. He simply shrugged her off, a bit roughly, causing her books to tumble. I tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around.

"Leave her the hell alone, Jake. She obviously wants nothing to do with you." I said, my voice cold and menacing.

"And who're you to tell me what to do?" Jake asked with an annoyed scoff, turning and standing up at full posture. He may have been just an inch taller than me, but the only thing that worked in his favor was when Aaron approached my flank. I quickly glanced over my shoulder, and Fluttershy used the small amount of time to slink away.

"Because, she obviously isn't giving in to those lame lines you call "charm". Just go on your merry way, and move on to some easier girl." I said with a glare. He scoffed and shoved me back into Aaron, but I retaliated with a shove of my own. Next thing I knew, he swung a powerful, yet sloppy fist at me. I stepped back to avoid it, but got caught in a lock from Aaron. Jake used a few seconds to give me a few blows to my ribs, before aiming for my face. I quickly whipped my head back, smacking Aaron, and, in a split second, turned the tables on him. Instead of Jake's punch connecting with my face, it connected with Aaron's. Though, Jake was quick to switch targets, giving me a clean hit to the jaw, connecting with a slight snap. Thinking fluidly, I retaliated with a kick to the back of his knee, dropping him to his knees, and spinning, extending a leg to Aaron's throat, and pinning him against the lockers. Teachers and administrators suddenly rushed to the scene, keeping me away from the two. I wiped blood from my mouth and nose, looking at the two, who were returning the glare. They escorted all three of us to the administrator's office, and I turned back, seeing the confident looks on AJ and RD's faces, but the scared and worried looks on Rarity, Pinkie, Twilight and Fluttershy.

Second Period Psych...

Twilight sat in utter suspense during class as Alex had not returned from the office. Minutes passed, and finally an hour, when the door opened. Alex walked through, with a swollen cheek and a slight limp, holding his midsection. He glanced at Twilight, and gave a note to the teacher, who gave him a very confused look. He only ignored, and sat next to Twilight.

"Alex, are you alright? What happened?" She asked. Alex replied, ignoring the whispering and stares from the other students.

"I'll explain later," He replied absently. She nodded in understanding, continuing her work.

Lunch Break...

I limped out of class with Twilight, holding onto my bruised ribs, slightly wincing in pain. The two of us walked to our usual spot, meeting the others who beat us there. "Took ya long enough," Gray said with a slight smirk.

"I'm injured, leave me alone." I retorted with a slight smirk of my own.

"So, what happened?" Dana asked, looking at my small injuries.

"Basically, it was my first offense, and their...What, second? Third? They're going lenient on me and giving me detention after break, but they're giving those two pricks in-house detention and they have to clean the hallways for the next month." I replied.

"Doesn't seem harsh enough," Rainbow muttered, crossing her arms.

"It's a pretty lame school. The worst they'll do is suspend you for a couple days, and that's usually if you do something terribly wrong. A fight isn't really common here. Doesn't make sense, but, hey. Nothing does.." I muttered.

"True." Was all Dana added, shaking her head in annoyance. I noticed Fluttershy was looking the opposite way, and I followed her gaze. Jake and Aaron were roaming the halls on clean-up duty, and they noticed us, giving us a glare. I returned the glare, and almost growled, when I felt something tug at my sleeve.

"It's alright, Alex. They're not going to bother us." Fluttershy said with a sweet smile.

"Yeah, she's right! So, c'mon, siddown and rest, Alex!" Pinkie said, popping up and urging me to sit down, this time, effectively using her hands.

"If you insist." I said, struggling to sit. The pain in my ribs was reverberating throughout most of my body, so it didn't feel too nice.

"Are you going to be alright, darling?" Rarity asked, taking a seat to my left.

"A little rest, and he'll be good as new," Fluttershy said, sitting at my right. Gray, Dana, and the others all sat down as well, and we began talking, ignoring the fiasco that happened just hours ago. The bell for third period rang, and we all stood up, though Gray and Fluttershy helped me up, and we made our way to Speech and Debate. Twilight and Rarity were stopped by a couple girls, who I were assuming were some friends, and the guy from Rainbow and AJ's fitness class approached Gray, RD and AJ. They both talked about some party tomorrow that Bianca, one of our friends, was throwing to kick off spring.

"Alex?" Fluttershy said, before we entered the classroom.

"Yeah, Fluttershy?" I asked, looking down at her. She remained silent for a few moments, before speaking again.

"Thank you." She said quietly, letting her hair fall and cover the right side of her face.

"For what?" I asked with a soft chuckle and a small smile.

"Well, for defending me from those two earlier." She replied shyly.

"Oh. Well, don't worry about it. I couldn't let those jerks bother you, they got what was coming to them." I said, giving her a reassuring smile. She nodded in reply, and embraced me in a hug, one that I happily returned. We entered the class, and I only laughed off all of the teasing I got from my slightly swollen jaw and bruises from my morning scuffle.

"Well, I think it was sweet of you to defend your woman's honor," One of the girls in the back said.

"Whoa, my woman?" I said quickly, staring at Fluttershy. We quickly averted our gazes elsewhere, and Mr. Donnovan saved me from further ribbing.

"Alright, let's give Alex some breathing room, I'm sure he's gotten heat for it all morning. Alright, let's get started on our debates!" He announced, earning groans from everyone except me and the girls. Fluttershy and I exchanged glances one last time, before looking to the front of the room. The more I thought of it, the more I realized. I didn't just beat those two jerk-asses because I despised the two. I did it because I was defending someone. Someone close to me, despite the injuries I received. We learned about that, in Psychology, I remembered talking about that with Twilight. What was it...?

...Altruism. That's the word. Whatever it's official definition, it meant the same to me. Being a good friend, that defends the friends he loves.

( A/N
Hey, guys. Sorry for the lack of chapter updates. I've just been absolutely exhausted recently, but, hey. I love you guys too much to keep ya hanging :P Anywho, as previously mentioned, I have new titles ready and waiting. I've now narrowed it down to two, and they are;

Torn Between Two Worlds
Waking Up

Kinda leaning towards Waking Up, but, hey. Anything can happen. Anyway, don't forget to follow me on tumblr at alexbarkhorn(dot)tumblr(dot)com It'd mean a lot, and don't forget to tell your friends about this fic! Thanks for reading, and have a great day! )

Comments

[Discount Irish]

Just started reading today, and im now on this chapter.
Time to read!

EDIT: First (always wanted to say that)
And i'd say "Between Two Worlds" :3

[Iron Sides]

I am gonna say "Torn Between Two Worlds"

[Discount Irish]

fun,fun,fun, I remember MY first 1v2 fight. Sorta happened just like this, I was defending a friend, helped him get away, took a beating, and threw one of the assholes off the school roof after the other was already being carried away by the janitor, who opened the roof access for me :3

[Silver Sea]

Nice chapter!

[Primordial Deomontus]

490748 I agree

My first fight was when a kid broke my arm in 3rd grade and when I came back I hit him the face with my cast, broke his nose, he's crying when I'm on the floor laughing my ass off !

[Spiffers]

Twilight sat in utters suspense as she sat in class, seeing Alex still wasn't back from the office - Just need to reword it a bit (and change "utters" into "utter") eg. Twilight sat in utter suspense during class as Alex had not returned from the office

I limped out if class with - should be of

Ok, well since my original title vote is gone, I vote for Torn Between Two Worlds

[Guardian]

Torn between two worlds.

[Guardian]

I also think Alex and Fluttershy make a cute couple.

[Alex Barkhorn]

491750

That's it. Send me your ruttin' email, I want you to be my editor >.>

[Spiffers]

491821 It's all right there on my profile

And you've got good timing, I just finished my recent major editing

[Insanity X]

my first fight was in kindergarten, i was defending my friend from someone in grade 2
i go in two fights in grades 3 and 6, but i don't remember why

i like fighting, and i'm kind of a violent person when i get pissed off