D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 428: How I met My Best Friend Part 2

”Surely that canʼt be it though?” said the triplets.

Kat raised an eyebrow and glanced at Kamiko who shrugged before saying, ”I really donʼt know what they mean it seems like you covered everything…”

The triplets shook their heads violently, their aquamarine hair bobbing from side to side as they did it. ”No, no no. Thatʼs how you met her sure, but what did it take for her to become your best friend?”

Kat tapped her mouth a few times with a finger as she went over the question. *Itʼs a little sad how easy it is to answer that question. They probably want a bit more… and Iʼll give it to them but…* ”Really, she was my only friend, so she became my best friend by default”

The triplets frowned at Katʼs response while Kamiko pouted off to the side. Kat saw this and grinned before continuing ”Ok, so it was actually a bit longer of a journey then that. First is, we didnʼt magically become friends, and the bullies didnʼt stop then and there. Lily mostly avoided me for… a week? I want to say?

”During that time though, the three bullies would still do little things to Lily when I wasnʼt around. I caught them at the tail end of slamming her into a locker. Not hard, not really, but it nocked her glasses off and gave her a bruise the next day.

”So I did two things. I think it was… It was Tuesday when I said Iʼd take the bullying instead, and it was next Monday I caught them. Lily actually had a large bruise on the side of her face that next day, but anyway weʼre getting ahead of ourselves.

”Seeing what they did, I was tempted to just beat them up, but they were being a bit smarter then normal. They only went places as a group of three at the time, and they stuck to well travelled areas. Theyʼd pick on Lily if they could, but they wouldnʼt go away from the crowds. I think they? knew I was on the look out for issues.

”So, I took to spending time with Lily. Iʼd sit next to her at lunch, follow her to classes that sort of thing. At the beginning she was terrified of me. I was some scary girl that could take on three other teens my age without backing down. Which… made me scarier then the bullies just because of that. If I scared them, I must be worse.”

Kat could see that neither Kamiko nor the triplets were happy hearing this. To Kat it just seemed reasonable, and tried to explain for her now best friend. ”Look, she was terrified. Sheʼd just moved to a new school and the first thing that happens to her is she gets bullied and picked on, then some super tall girl threatens to beat up the bullies if they keep at it.

”For us, back on Earth… there is sort of an understanding between females. Well, not all of us, I certainly didnʼt care, but the others did. It was that we donʼt get into brawls. Spread all the horrible rumours you like, a bit of pushing and shoving is fine, sticking things to peopleʼs hair is probably the only one that would be considered over the line most of the time.”

”Why?”? to Katʼs surprise that question was asked by Kamiko and the triplets together.

”Um well… itʼs… itʼs sort of regarded as a cheap shot? Like… bruises are easily hidden, either with make up or clothes and they arenʼt that painful but ruining someoneʼs hair, especially if itʼs long is basically the same as punching them every day for a few months because your appearance has been ruined. Do… do you guys not have that issue?” asked Kat

Kamiko shook her head. ”Um… not really? A lot of demonsʼ hair grows to the length we want it then it stops. For the ones that donʼt… there are plenty of people with the ability to manipulate hair, so even if you shaved it all off, or grew it down to your knees, just an afternoon at the hairdressers can fix it up.”

*That… that makes an awful lot of sense actually. The whole reason that was something avoided and the bullies only did to me like… twice? Once? It wasnʼt much considering all the other shit they tried. Anyway, my point Iʼm making to myself is if you can have your hair however you like all the time and itʼs an easy fix it really isnʼt an issue.*

”Can you colour peopleʼs hair?” asked Kat

Kamiko bit her lips and looked to the triplets. The triplets all turned their eyes specifically to Kerra, who sighed. ”Ok fine I do know the most about it. Changing hair colour around is actually a pretty weird subject. Some hair is considered part of your demonic features and itʼs VERY hard to change. Other demonsʼ hair is easily changeable and can go through a unique colour a day… and then there are dyes, which… they tend to need to be specifically made for the demon in question and donʼt last long so if youʼre going that route itʼs expensive.”

Once Kerraʼs explanation was over, all the eyes in the room drifted to Kat, clearly wanting her to continue the story. ”Right, ok, so terrified Lily, bullies kept coming, I started following her around. This helped a lot with the bullying. They saw me around and didnʼt really know what to do. That lasted two weeks before they started doing things to me, and I just… let it happen, because I didnʼt care.

”Lily… she didnʼt really start opening up to me for a while. She also didnʼt hit her growth spurt until later on in her life, and sheʼs always been a bit small. So this short, shy girl, with glasses that hides behind her hair all the time… she just kept herself in corners with me blocking the way. Well, she went to the corners, I joined her there… but half the time she made it look like I was keeping her there rather then it being her choice of where to sit.

”It took… three or four weeks? My memories a bit hazy on that, for her to finally talk to me. I remember it because the bullies threatened to lock her in a locker, and I said they werenʼt, they said ʼwell weʼll just lock you in instead. That was the deal right?ʼ to everyoneʼs surprise, including Lilyʼs I said yes and walked straight into the locker.

”Once they walked away, Lily looked so scared, still, but she worked up her courage to ask me ʼwhyʼ. It was the only word she could get out. She clearly tried a few others but thatʼs the one she eventually got out. I said ʼwell, you needed a bit of help, and I really donʼt mindʼ.

”That was the big turning point for us I think. See, Lily doesnʼt mind dark spaces, but sheʼs hopeless with locks. She realised that I was trapped in their until someone let me out and she didnʼt know the combination to the locker. It was one of the bullies actually, which was rather funny if Iʼm honest.

”They actually got in trouble for that one, because the janitor found me real quick and asked what I was doing. Anyway, we donʼt need to get into that part. From then on Lily started to talk to me more and more. She was actually really good conversation. I was smart sure but Lily was, and still is brilliant. Sheʼs top of the class in practically everything and even that doesnʼt do her justice.

”Sheʼs always so nervous on tests. I personally think, if sheʼd gotten over her nerves earlier, she would have been able to apply for a scholarship anywhere she wanted with top grades in the state if not the country. Still, it didnʼt happen. She did open up a bit, and she chatted to me and the teachers, but basically nobody else.

”One of the bravest things she did… was that sheʼd accept one form of bullying from the other three. She said she was fine getting stuck in either her locker or my own. I… I think it was both a way to stand up for me a little and to throw the bullies for a loop. Having her in those lockers meant I knew the combination so I could let her out…

”And if they chose that form over something else, they wouldnʼt get in trouble for it. Iʼd let her out so the school wouldnʼt care, and it was part of the deal so I didnʼt strike back at the bullies for doing it. Still annoyed me of course, but it was just so much easier to keep them focused on me with Lily taking a little of the heat. The one time after that deal was made they poured a drink on Lilyʼs homework I gave the girl a black eye. Never tried anything too bad with Lily ever again.”