A Student’s Agony

“That isn't funny Drake.”

A warm voice sipped into Eren’s ears pulling him out of his head. He looked up and standing before him with cherry red hair and enthralling violet eyes was Tiana Taylor, his long-time crush.

'Damn it.'

There was a difference between getting humiliated before a couple of dozen mindless students and getting humiliated before the only girl you could ever see yourself with.

Eren would have preferred to be shot a hundred times over rather than to have been in his current situation.

'What was she even doing here?'

"I don't understand, and what exactly have I done?" Drake said feigning ignorance with an eerie grin. He had his hands held up in innocence like he had nothing to do with the situation.

"Listen red-hair, Eren and I are just having some harmless fun, right buddy?"

Eren raised his head at the mention of his name. Drake had a wicked grin on his face as he searched Eren’s eyes for any form of defiance.

Eren stared right back immediately reading the bully's thoughts like he had spoken them out loud.

'Speak out of line and I'll hurt you even more.'

It was written clear as day on Drake’s smile, it seemed all he had to do was not answer and he'd get to keep his head.

It didn't matter if Tiana– his crush was there or not, it wasn't like she would be there when Drake and his goons would beat him, it would be better if he simply just went along and saved his skin.

In anger and humiliation, Eren dropped his head unable to answer. There was a short pause in the hallway as Tiana searched for Eren’s eyes, wondering if he was truly going to sit by and watch them mock his mother's memory.

"Yeah, we're just playing around." Tears threatened to fall out of Eren’s eyes as he uttered those words.

He had let these bastards trample on his mother's memory just so he could save his skin, it felt like his heart was about to split in two.

Involuntary tears escaped his eyelids.

"You hear that Tiana...we're just kidding around. And besides what did we say that was so wrong did you not see his mum. Damn she was smoking hot, both before and after the explosion."

As Drake said that there was another eruption of laughter, the hallway breaking out into hysteria once again, while Eren stood at its centre tears falling out of his eyes.

He hated them for that. He wished nothing than to make them beg for mercy but there was nothing he could do. He was weak and powerless, he had learned a long time ago that the weak would always be nothing but the soil beneath the feet of the strong.

All he could do was watch in pain while he suited himself and his weakness.

Tiana stood watching as Eren released whimpers, his silent scream shrouded by the roars of laughter the hallway made at his expense.

Standing there while they mocked him all Tiana could feel for him was disgust and pity, knowing she had at least tried her best she walked away not turning to face him even once.

Eren watched as she walked away with teary eyes, wishing the earth would come alive and swallow him whole right at that moment.

But unfortunately, he was left to deal with Drake.

When the brute had gotten enough, he and his goons dragged Eren out of the school premises.

After some time, Eren desperately asked; "Where are you all taking me?"

It was only natural. They had never taken him this far from the school premises just to beat him up.

"If I were you, I'd be memorizing the way back so you can drag yourself home when we're done with you."

One of the goons said as they snickered.

It wasn't long before Eren could see a massive metal gate slightly opened from the side. Above the gate sat a signboard with ‘Junkyard’ written boldly on it.

As they walked into the junk site, dismantled cars and scraps of metal littered the ground, the site had this eerie atmosphere as the sun slowly began to set.

They soon appeared in a clearing of sorts surrounded by broken-down vehicles.

Drake shoved Eren roughly sending him to the ground with a loud thud. There was no decorum as both goons rushed him like he was an injured lamb.

Fist and feet came flying hitting Eren in all the wrong places. There was no pause between their punches, each one carrying just as much weight as the last.

Then Drake released a soft whistling sound from his lips and both thugs immediately held back their fists.

While Eren lay sprawled on the ground holding onto his aching sides, Drake made slow strides towards him a wicked grin etched on his rather handsome face.

He squatted till he was eye level with Eren, then in one fluid motion pulled back his lustrous locks of weather blonde hair so his dark eyes were staring right into Eren.

With a thud, Drake struck Eren’s nose with his head shattering his nostrils.

Eren pulled back in agony as blood streaked out of his broken nose. He had barely regained himself before Drake struck him against the side of his head.

Eren had always dreaded Drake's hands. It felt almost like they were made for just hurting, maybe it was because he always let his goons start before joining in or maybe it was simply because he had been doing this for far too long.

Either way, Drake held a dark understanding of how to hurt a man and he never shied away from using it on Eren.

Still, Eren endured. He had faced this before, in fact, he had gotten his ass beaten up more times than he had taken a shit so he was used to it.

But there was something that bugged Eren, and that was the fact that Drake had long since passed the usual time limit of his beatings.

How long were they planning on beating him?

It wasn't long till Drake finally spoke; "I'm so happy today Eren, you have no idea... I mean I've finally gotten accepted into the Winchester school for awakened. Isn’t that great?"

Eren looked up at him his brows raised in agony as he wordlessly begged for an end to this torture.

He didn't give a shit if Drake was accepted into Congress all he wanted was for him to stop, but that wasn't up to him.

"I'll become an awakened hero, defending our nation... while you'll end up mopping floors, how strange is fate."

As he said that he stood to his feet, pulled down his pants and peed all over Eren’s bleeding head.

At least now it seemed it was over.

"The only thing that feels wrong now is the fact that I can't fuck your slut of a mum. Too bad she had to die so young and without any action."

Drake said, chuckling as he walked away.

Suddenly he could hear footsteps approaching him and when he turned he could see Eren running at him with a metal pipe held tightly in his hands.

He swung at Drake but the bastard dodged with relative ease immediately grabbing the pipe and sticking Eren right in the head.

The force he used shattered Eren’s skull, the white of his eyes turning blood red before he fell.

Drake froze in panic, he tried to reach out for Eren but his goons had already begun fleeing the scene.

Eren lay in a pool of his blood dying a slow painful death. When his blood touched his mother's amulet, the dim red crystal began to brighten, sucking up all of Eren's blood and instantly killing him before combusting into a ray of sparks.

Then in his unconscious state, Eren heard some strange words.

[System alert: You have died!]

[System alert: Your blood has been absorbed!].

[Blood refining in process]

[Blood refining halted!]

[You have entered the Dream state]