"And don't you forget it!" Damian growled at the teen boy he'd just shoved into the lockers.

     The other boy, Jacob, merely sat there on the floor by the lockers and took it. He made no sound, nor did he fight back, nor did he make an attempt to get away from them.

     "Hey, knock it off, you moron!" One of the other teens, a girl named Janette, yelled at him. "He did nothing to you, so leave him alone!"

     "I'm not gonna listen to some little _____!" Damian yelled back, rolling his eyes at her and turning around.

     "You better watch your mouth, you idiot!" Janette continued. "Who do you think you are?! What gives you the right to just push people around like that?!" She walked right up to him and shoved him. "How do you like it?!"

     Damian winced a little and grunted when she shoved him into the lockers, but he didn't say anything in reply.

     "What?" Janette hissed. "You can dish it but you can't take it, jerk? You go away and leave my friend alone, you big baby!"

     Damian said nothing still and walked off. He knew he had no right to push people around like that, but he had so much anger he found it hard not to take it out on those around him. And every time he tried to straighten up and be a better person, something bad always happened to make him angry and upset all over again.

     After class, Damian started walking home instead of taking the bus like the other kids. He didn't live that far away from home anyways, and he had to pick something up from the store.

~~~~~~~

     Janette noticed that he didn't take the bus, but she never questioned it. She didn't like him one bit. She knew that, as a Christian, she shouldn't be a bully back, but should be kind. But when he started pushing and hitting, punching and kicking her best friend around, she couldn't do it. He deserved to be yelled at for all the horrible things he did to the others at school. She rolled her eyes as she watched him walk off before hopping onto the bus.

     Jacob looked over at her when she sat down next to him. "You shouldn't have reacted that way, Jan." He said quietly. "I had it handled."

     Janette looked at him in disbelief. "Had it handled!? All you did was sit there and let him beat you up!"

     Jacob nodded. "I'm aware. And, if it were a life or death situation, I would've fought for my life. But he is just a bully with built up anger towards someone or something. For all we know, he's hurting inside so much that the only way he knows to express it is through anger. I would have been just fine. Besides, the Bible doesn't say to bully the bully."

     Janette made no reply, but just sighed, rolled her eyes, then looked out the window.

~~~~~~~

     Damian finally reached the store after about half an hour of walking. He stepped into the cool, air conditioned building, and headed to the back of the store. He opened up one of the fridges and pulled out a pack of beer before he headed to the counter to pay for it. Since he was pretty tall for a sixteen year old, he could easily pass as a young adult, so no questions were ever asked. Pretty soon he got the beer paid for and walked out after it was double bagged so no one else would see.

     After another ten minutes he arrived home and put a hand on the door. He stood outside a moment like that, his heart pounding. He tried to steady his shaking hands before he finally turned the knob and walked inside.

     "There ya are, ya _______. What took ya so long?!" His father, Howard, asked when he walked in.

     Damian didn't make direct eye contact and set the beer down on the table. "I had to walk from school, Dad."

     "Why don't you have a car by now?" Howard growled. "It's about time you got one."

     "It's because the other car broke down, Howard." Damian's mother, Helen, said softly as she walked into the room.

     "Well, why isn't it fixed yet?!"

     "You said you would do it." She replied quietly, sounding calm although her hands trembled. "But, maybe I could call the mechanic-"

     "Are you saying I can't get anything done?!" Howard shouted, turning to face her angrily.

     Helen's eyes widened a little and she tried to back away. "N-no, Howard, I-I-"

     "Liar!" He shouted before back handing her across the face, knocking her to the floor.

     A pit knotted in Damian's stomach and he started to tremble again. "D-dad, she didn't say that-"

     Howard turned to face his son now, glaring angrily and walking right up to him, grabbing him by his shirt collar. "Who said you had the right to back talk me!?" He growled.

     Damian swallowed, a lump in his throat. He felt too choked up to answer, and the smell of beer on his father's breath made him nauseous. He bit his lip when he was hit across the face and knocked onto the floor, but then cried out when he felt the all too familiar stinging sensation across his back. The more he cried out, however, the harder and longer he was beaten with that dreaded belt, so he bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think about something else to try and block out the pain. After awhile, he felt something hard hit the back of his head, then everything went black.

~~~~~~~

     The next day at school, Janette looked out for Damian. She wasn't even sure why, but she always seemed to...she brushed it off as just making sure he didn't hurt anyone, but deep down, she knew there was something more. Did she actually feel sorry for this jerk? She didn't think she did...though she was sorry for how she bullied right back. She was going to take Jacob's advice and tell him she was sorry, but she couldn't seem to find him.

     Finally, at the end of the school day, she went home, grabbed a small snack, did her chores, her homework, then she got into her pajamas and relaxed in front of the TV for a bit before she went to bed. She turned it on and it happened to be on the news. Normally, she didn't watch it; it was depressing. But, for some reason, she didn't change the channel.

     "Mr. Howard Clarkson, husband to Mrs. Helen Clarkson and father to Damian Clarkson, was arrested early this morning," The announcer announced, making Janette's eyes widen and choke on her water. She turned the volume up to hear better. "for murdering his wife and beating his son in a drunken rage last night."

     Janette turned it off after hearing the story; apparently he had beaten his wife to death, and Damian was in the hospital right now. She felt all the blood drain from her face, and the guilt for bullying him back made her feel sick to her stomach. Why he bullied others didn't justify it, but now it made so much sense. Who knew how many times he had gone home to see his father beat his mother? How many times he'd gotten beaten himself? And because of all the pain of just wanting to please his father, and all the pain of seeing that done to his mother and of having that done to him, all he knew was bullying. She, at least, knew better than to bully someone because they made her mad or hurt her friend.

     Janette, now in tears, got on her knees right then and there, and prayed to God for forgiveness. She prayed for Damian that night, too, for the first time since she had met him. Then she went to her bedroom and drifted into a restless sleep.

~~~~~~~

     Damian laid awake in the hospital bed, reading a book, though he was lost in thought as he read, so he eventually closed the book and just stared at the ceiling. After a moment, when he heard footsteps, he looked up.

     "There's someone here to see you." A nurse said kindly before she left.

     Damian furrowed his brow. Someone was here to see him? But who? He had no friends or family left...he blinked when he saw Janette walk through the door. "J....Janette?" He asked as if making sure he wasn't seeing things.

     Janette smiled at him softly. "Hey...I saw what happened on the news..."

     Damian sighed and looked away. "And now you pity me; feel bad just because of that."

     Janette stepped closer. "Not just because of that. I was...actually concerned when you didn't show up at school. I wanted to apologize then."

     Damian looked at her again, this time in confusion. "Apologize? To me? What for? You did nothing wrong. I'm the one that bullied others for stupid reasons."

     Janette looked down at her hands. "I apologize for bullying back. I had no right to; especially when I had no idea what you went through, where you'd been. No, not even that justifies it, but it is understandable. Plus, I believe in doing unto others as you would have others do unto you, though I was being a hypocrite by bullying back." She sighed softly before she looked back up at him. "Will you please forgive me?"

     Damian looked at her, almost tearing up and getting a little choked up. After all the nasty things he'd called her, after all the things he'd said, after all he'd done, she was asking him for forgiveness? "I f-orgive you." He managed to get out.

     Janette smiled at him, holding tears of her own back. "Thank you.." She whispered.

     Damian looked at her for a moment before he slowly sat up, wincing a little from all his scratches, scars, and bruises. He looked down at his hands before he looked back at her. "I'm sorry, too." He said quietly. "For taking all of my pain and anger out on you and your friends."

     Janette smiled at him. "I forgive you." She replied softly. She then looked down again before she looked back at him. "My parents and I were talking this morning, and we were thinking that if you have nowhere else to go....you could stay with us? I'm sure my brother would enjoy male company." She chuckled softly. He was the only boy other than dad among four girls.

     Damian blinked, shocked that they would take him in, but then he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that." He paused, glancing down before looking back at her again. "I'd like that very much." 

~~~~~~~

Author's Note: So, I'm hoping that the lesson in this is clear...this is my first short story with biblical principles in it, so I may have to do some more work on it to improve it. Anyways, the lesson is to turn the other cheek, and to be kind to even those who are jerks to you and your friends, even when it isn't easy. You don't know where they've been or what they've seen; or what's been done to them. No, it doesn't justify it, but oftentimes they just need someone to show love to them. Thanks to those who read it, and God bless! :D <3 :)