No One Puts Annie In The Corner! (tag Phil, any)

[Hunter Lodge III]

Hunter was hunting.

Not one for any sort of social activity, Hunter had no desire to attend the previous night's park clean-up, even though he appreciated that someone was interested in keep Gaia healthy. And it was a good thing he hadn't, for if he had actually seen what made Annie cry, he might have been even more vengeful than he was now.

It didn't take long for the rumors of what happened to reach even the most solitary of students. Hunter happened to overhear the news while he was hiding in a stall in the boys bathroom, and while he guessed it was a little exaggerated (he doubted Philip Lim would ever slap Annie) he saw the results for himself when he happened upon Annie sobbing into the arms of that actor guy from Silver. Seeing Annie cry coupled with the slight twinge of jealousy he felt watching the other boy was enough to drive Hunter to seek out the one who had caused all this.

He figured the Asian boy would need to go to his locker before lunch. His anger was such that he decided to skip his class previous to stake out a spot near the end of the hall. As the bell rang and students swarmed past, Hunter gave all his attention to the one locker. He ignored the stares from students that realized he had obviously skipped, and only moved once he saw his prey enter from the other end of the hallway. He strode through the crowd, bumping and shoving as needed, as he came up behind Phil at his locker.

With one swift motion he spun the skinnier boy around and grabbed him by the shirt, pushing him back against the lockers with a clang. Hunter was too short to lift the taller boy off his feet, so he had to settle with his surprise and aggression. His beady brown eyes stared up at Phil, his teeth clenched as he spoke.

“Never talk to Annie again, got it? You make her cry once more and you'll regret ever being alive!” The words growled from the back of Hunter's throat, and he brought his face as close as possible to Phil's. “You hear me?”

[Phil Lim]

Phil had seriously debated staying home from school that morning. He felt sick; he knew he shouldn't have exploded at Annie, but he still felt very strongly that she shouldn't have just assumed he would so quickly reject all his most heart-felt beliefs. He had thought she understood him better than that, but apparently she was so caught up in trying to enforce her own opinions on other people that she hadn't stopped to consider that not everyone agreed with her. She'd done one valuable thing for him, though, and that was reminding him that it was dangerous to remain friends with anyone he really would rather date. He'd allowed himself to get too comfortable. It couldn't happen again.

Of course, it hadn't been fun telling the one person he most wanted to make happy that they couldn't talk again, but it had been necessary. Necessity, it seemed, was determined to torment him with such duties. He would really be so much better off if he didn't befriend people in the first place, but he always managed to convince himself that he would be able to control his desires. Apparently not, if Annie had noticed so easily.

He was busy wallowing in his misery when someone grabbed him from behind, and he was forced around and against the locker by....that loner kid in Junior year; Phil couldn't bring a name to mind, but everyone at least knew of the boy who said he was a wolf. Apparently he was friends with Annie, but then who wasn't friends with Annie? If he'd ever had any doubts about Annie's popularity, today had washed all of it away. The entire freakin' school was aligned against him! As though, somehow, it was perfectly okay for her to impose her views on other people, while he couldn't even voice his without frowns cast in his direction. And it wasn't as if he really brought his up frequently. In fact, he'd never once said anything in public until yesterday, and that was only because Annie had essentially forced his hand.

Phil was angry that everyone was ganging up against him (they had yesterday, too!) and also a little (maybe more) nervous that Hunter would punch him. After all, the younger boy was known for a certain aggression. "I believe we have shared goals, then." He ground out, "I don't want to talk to her again." Certainly not if she was going to be persistent in her attempts to convert him.

[Hunter Lodge III]

Hunter's face went slack as he searched for an answer to Phil. That certainly was not what he was expecting to hear from the boy. His hands slowly uncleanched, and Phil's shirt fell back down slightly, though Hunter's mitts still remained at chest level. “You... you better not be fuckin' with me,” he sputtered, trying to understand the taller guy. Him and Annie were friends, weren't they? Hunter watched people, and he'd seen the pair together quite often and they usually looked happy. But there was nothing about the older one that gave Hunter any reason to disbelieve him. His reputation was that of a good, upstanding young man. He was a Young Republican, which no doubt Hunter's grandfather would admire. And he seemed more cal and less scared than Hunter expected.

Phil seemed serious, and Hunter had no other choice but to assume Phil's honesty. “Then you're lucky. But you better not change your mind!” His voice rose, became more intimidating, and he gave Phil a solid push to reinforce the threat. He began to walk backwards, keeping his eyes on the enemy and going to so far as to point directly at him. “I'll be watching you...” he sneered, starting to feel quite positive about the encounter. Perhaps he should try to find Annie and relate to her his success? The thought of seeking out the girl brought a nervousness to Hunter, but he wanted her to know that he helped her to never have to deal with Philip Lim ever again.