Connor was the average teenage boy. He hadn't quite grown to his full height and was a little bit on the heavier side. He laughed and joked with his friends about things that didn't matter to him. He played sports, he got good grades, and his greatest worry was being grounded by his mom. Life was normal for Connor. That's all it would ever be. He would grow old and die like every other human on the planet. Connor had his chance to be remembered as a hero, forever. He let it slip through his fingertips. He had regretted not going after her every day since.
The day it began was a Tuesday. It wasn't as horrible as Mondays, but Tuesdays were days that teachers scheduled tests, so it wasn't a particularly liked day either. Connor trudged along the hallways like every other teenager at his High School. Connor was a junior. He was three quarters of the way done with high school, and like many others, he wasn't in any particular rush to finish.
Connor's intelligence level was average. He would be able to go to college, and get a higher education. This was important to Connor because it was important to his parents. It was important because getting a job and making money insured that Connor would be happy.
School, friends, and sports should have made Connor happy, and it did. It didn't take much to please him.

"Hi Connor." his friends would say. Some were girls and some were boys. Connor didn't discriminate between the two groups. He liked girls, but he liked being with his friends too.

"Hey." Connor would reply with no particular interest in his voice. There was only one thing that Connor really cared for. His eyes picked up as he spotted her in the hallway. There, putting stuff into her locker was Maggie. She tucked a piece of her curly brown hair between her ears. She wasn't the prettiest, or smartest girl at the school. She had a mousy look to her with brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was the person that was nice to everybody. She was selfless, compassionate, and Connor's girlfriend.
Connor walked up to her and smiled. She smiled back and put some books in her locker.
"Good morning, beautiful." Connor said. Maggie blushed and looked down at her feet.
"Hi Connor." Maggie whispered. She smiled sheepishly up at him. It was the smile that made Connor's insides tickle. Maggie shut her locker and Conner walked her to class.
In the crowded hallways of a high school, many things could happen at once. Around Connor and Maggie, people were spreading rumors, destroying lives, building relationships, smiling, laughing, and talking all at once. There was too much going on for Connor to focus on all of it at the same time.
The bells rang and Connor rushed off to class. He walked passed people saying and doing the right things, or the wrong things. It all depended on where you stood, who your friends were and what you wanted. Connor wanted to float by, and survive high school. That's what Connor was, a survivor. He stayed between the lines, and never asked too many questions.
This was how he got by in academics as well. He focused, but not too much, and worked just enough to get good grades. This made Connor a very likable person because if your friends with a survivor, you are likely to survive as well.

Like his other classes, Connor didn't try extremely hard in gym. He was good at sports, but not good enough to be recognized. Gym was easy for him. Don't pass the ball to the wrong people, don't show off, and don't be competitive. It was the secret to surviving, and Connor had it narrowed down to an art.

"Nobody move!" a voice called out. Connor froze, and turned his head slowly towards the sound of the voice. The basketball tumbled out of his hands as he saw the man in black clothing. They carried shiny weapons, which caught Connor's eye. It looked dangerous, and that made Connor's ears pound. His head hurt and he wanted to run. The weapons caused the gym teachers to react immediately.
"You can't be in here." one teacher said. He was an overweight man with little to no fitness level. He wasn't much of a threat.

"We will not harm anyone, if the girl, Maggie, is turned over to us." the intruder said. His voice was rough and scratchy like rubbing two pieces of sand paper together. Every head turned to look at one girl. Her small face tightened with fear. Connor's insides flipped around in his stomach.

"Maggie, we know you are in this room. If you do not turn yourself over to us, we will kill all of the men in the room starting with your teacher." the attacker said as he pointed his gun at the teacher. Behind him, two more men in entered the gym through the door. They each had guns aimed at a male in the room.
"You can't do this." the teacher sputtered. The man was not fazed by this. He had a cold glint in his eye. The teacher who was practically on his last life started to turn red. He began to sweat like a pig, and act like a teacher should not. He fell to his knees and started sobbing, and with no other adult in the room to look up to the kids started panicking too. Some screamed, and others slumped to the floor. Connor remain motionless, and stared at the attackers. "Was this a joke?" he wondered. He realized it wasn't a joke, when the gun in the man's hand made a little clicking noise. Connor's muscles tightened.
"You have to the count of three, Maggie." the man said. Connor began to shiver with fear where he was standing. Would Maggie really step forward? Would those men harm her? Would Connor be next? His mind was in a panic.
"One." the man counted. "Two." and just as he was about to say the final number. Maggie stepped forward. Connor's heart fell to his feet. She was giving herself up.
"Alright, drop your weapons." Maggie said. Her voice was calm and strong as if she was trying to scare the attackers. Connor was scared. He was very scared.
"Not likely, princess." the man said. All three men pointed their weapons at Maggie. She sighed like she expected this. "Come stand over here by my friends." the man demanded. Maggie walked slowly towards the men like she didn't expect anything bad from them. The guns followed Maggie as she stood next to the men. One man graved Maggie by the hair and hoisted her up into the air. She screamed out with pain, yet nobody moved to help her. Connor felt his legs like wet noodles underneath him. He wanted to do something. He wanted to help Maggie, but he couldn't bring himself to. Not even for someone as important to him as Maggie.
"Alright, that's all we need. See ya later folks." the man said. The intruders walked out of the room carrying Maggie by her precious locks of brown hair. Her blue eyes connected with Connor's for a second. The sapphire orbs pleaded for help. He felt his legs take one-step forward. His mouth formed in the shape of a word, but no sound came out. His arm reached out towards Maggie who just stared at Connor. She looked amazed that he would even try to save her. Connor's insides shriveled up inside his stomach as the men walked away carrying Maggie.
The teachers and students watched with horror, but no one moved. No one cared enough for Maggie to risk their own life for her. Not even Connor. The men were gone with Maggie. Nobody ever saw her again. Over the next few days, everybody stopped looking for her. Nobody talked about her anymore. It was like she had never been there in the first place. Of course, Connor couldn't get her out of his mind. Those blue eyes pleading for the help he didn't give. He let her be taken, and it was all his fault.
He tried talking to his friends about it, but whenever he did, they would give him blank looks and ask him what he was talking about. It didn't take Connor long to realize that he was the only one that remembered Maggie. It scared Connor so much that he promised himself never to forget about her. He couldn't let Maggie slip away. After all, he was the one that almost cared enough to save her. Almost.