Theodore sat in the classroom in the middle of a lesson, rereading a letter his college crush sent him, wondering if he was just reading it wrong or if it was really true.
The letter said;
Dear, Theo
I have liked you for a long time. Your brown eyes hypnotize me, and your hair is amazing. I'm sorry for embarrassing you in front of the football team when you last asked me out. I was embarrassed to say yes to you.
You are a geek, and I am the most popular girl in school. I had a reputation to uphold.
However, despite the clear differences between us, I like you so much, and I've had a crush on you since like forever. If you still feel the same way about me, I am willing to meet up at Anderson Park at 8 pm tonight.
Xoxo, Rachael
There was no way Rachael had a crush on him. He had asked her out a total of three times, and every single time, she had rejected him. The last time she rejected him, she did it in front of almost the whole school, and he became a laughing stock for a week.
Despite attending the same community college as her in a small town, there were groups.
There were the groups of the popular people, aka the ones who had influential parents in the small town, and the groups of people who didn't. If you were smart enough to kiss the feet of the popular kids, your existence was spared, and your life was peaceful.
The unpopular group was composed of people who were unattractive, poor, and constantly bullied. Theo was among them.
He had braces and acne even at the ripe age of twenty-one. He was tall, but scrawny, and he lived in the slums. His father was a heroin addict, and his mother was barely able to make ends meet.
The only reason he was in college was that he was smart enough to get a scholarship.
Rachael was the opposite. Her parents owned a chain of factories in their small town of Dreamsville and other neighboring towns.
Theo looked behind, and Rachael winked at him. He blushed, looked forward immediately, and fixed his huge, round glasses.
Chris, his childhood friend, who was sitting behind him, looked over Theo's shoulder and read the letter.
"Theo, are you sure Rachael is into you? I think she's trolling you."
Chris was just like Theo. They were both nerds and unpopular in school. They were also neighbors, which meant they grew up together.
"She's not. She has no reason to troll me."
"Don't meet her in a park at night. What if she has something bad planned for you?" Chris asked.
Theo didn't want to believe the sweet Rachael would do something like that. She seemed like a really nice girl. If she said she liked Theo, then Theo believed she liked him. She wasn't a liar.
"I'm going."
"Fine, but I'm going with you. I don't trust her."
Theo thought Chris was overreacting, but he didn't argue. They would go together, and Chris would go with him and remain in the corner while Theo talked to Rachael.
After class, Theo's bully, James, was waiting for him at the entrance of the school with his other friends from the football team. Theo tried to turn around and go back to school, but James grabbed him by the neck and shoved him against the wall.
James had been Theo's bully since high school. Living in a small town made James know everything about Theo and use that information to bully him.
Like the fact that Theo's mother had cheated on his father multiple times with almost half the town. She had a reputation of being labelled the town slut, and Theo suffered so much for that that it made him resent her.
"Hey dipshit, why the fuck were you smiling?" James asked as he lifted Theo off the wall and thrust him against it again.
Theo had so many bruises from being bullied, but he never did anything about it. Everyone in town knew James was a bully, but no one dared to do anything because he was the mayor's son.
James shoved Theo to the ground and stepped on his hand as he laughed along with his friends.
"Stop!" Chris yelled as he rushed to help Theo.
He was also grabbed and beaten until blood came out of his mouth, and he could barely stand. Theo tried to defend Chris, but all he did was get beaten more.
"Aww, look at these two lovebirds trying to protect each other. How cute!" James teased, and his friends laughed right along with him.
"Leave him alone, James," Rachael said as she approached James with her friends. They were giggling, but Rachael didn't look impressed.
"Don't tell me you're defending this piece of shit," James said as he threw a kick at Theo.
"James, don't be an idiot. Leave him alone."
James hesitated, but he listened to Rachael. There were rumors that the two were dating, but they never announced it officially. That was the only reason James listened to her. He wanted to remain on her good side.
"Fine," James said. "I'll teach you a lesson soon, asshole."
When he walked away with his friends, Rachael helped Theo up and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'm sorry for what he did. You don't deserve it." She said sweetly. "I'll see you tonight."
She walked away, her friends giggling behind her as they disappeared.
Theo helped Chris up, and they limped back home together. They were used to it. Theo was particularly angry and embarrassed. He didn't like that he was rescued by the woman he had been in love with since middle school.
He wished she would look at him, and when she finally did, he got bullied and she had to rescue him.
"I'm going to get James back for all he has done to us someday," Theo said.
"Only one year is left, and we can finally get out of this town," Chris said. "Twelve more months of endurance and we can finally be free."
Theo wasn't sure he could endure twelve more months of constant bullying and broken bones. He was tired. He had tried working out so he could defend himself, but his body couldn't handle it.
He quit during the first week of trying. He was a nerd. He was more into books than he was into anything else. He thought he would attend a better school out of town, but his father wouldn't let him.
He threatened his sister in an effort to keep him in the small town. Theo always thought about what his life would have been like had he left the small town of Dreamsville and been free. Unfortunately, he was tethered there.
"The only good thing about today is my date with Rachael tonight."
Chris didn't agree, but he didn't tell his friend. The two mates parted ways, and each went to their homes. Theo got to the house, and hell was waiting for him. He barely dodged a cup that had been thrown at him.