Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Duh.
Beauty and the Geek
Chapter 4- Lean On Me
Time had passed more quickly than I was used to, and I knew that was due to the friendship I had with Jasper. Before I had looked forward to Algebra 2 and Chemistry, but here I found myself trying to pass the time until English and History- the classes we shared. Schooldays were now built upon the foundation of lunch hours filled with laughter and jokes, while the hours between the final bell and sunset were spent with Jasper in the library or at one of our houses. I had never seen my mother and father so happy to see me socialize, and I could not blame them.
My new friend and myself were still the butt of many jokes, that had not changed, and I doubted if it ever would. The difference now, however, was that were we not alone, and found ourselves supporting each other, and picking up our counterpart after they got kicked to the ground. Of course, this was figuratively speaking, for our abuse was mental, until one day came when the pattern was broken.
The same, sterile white hallway surrounded us, thick crowds of students stifled our breaths, and all was considered to be normal. Normal, now I had no sense of the word. Jasper and I were walking side by side, talking about some subject that would soon become meaningless. Two minutes had passed since the bell had struck, and the history room awaited us. Smiling as we criticized the poorly written, modern-day version of Romeo and Juliet we had watched in home room, the corner of my eye revealed three female forms in the distance. Slowly, Jasper's head turned to face the source that caught my glance.
Alice Brandon stood beside Bella Swan fixing her hair. Her eyes sparkled with traces of the spirit and joy that resided inside her tiny body. Small fingers pulled through her black hair, adjusting her short, spiky locks into perfection, tucking strands here and there with a content look about her face. Her freshly glossed lips reflected the bright lights that floated above her amidst the white ceiling tiles, and her concentrated hazel eyes were fixed on her compact mirror. She had imprisoned my friend's heart, and every time she appeared into his view, she may as well have driven a knife into his chest; it would have been less painful.
Jasper gazed at her tiny frame, unable to release his stare. Grazing my eyes over the group that would be the only socialites that Forks would ever have, I noticed Rosalie Hale and her boyfriend Emmett Tucker were standing behind Alice and Bella. Rosalie leaned against a section of gray lockers, a wide smile stretched across her modelesque face. Long, blonde hair spilled over her shoulders as she flirted aimlessly with Emmett.
A large arm brimmed with muscle supported Emmett's weight as he leaned over Rosalie. A cocky grin graced his lips as he whispered in her ear. The very sight of it made my stomach turn. Their public displays of affection were the complaints that filled the teacher's lounge and fuel for gossip that swarmed the mouths of the petty people who spread the rumors both true and false.
Next to me, my friend was still locked in his fantasy. I elbowed him gently and hissed.
"Jazz, stop it. You look ridiculous. You're gonna creep her out you know." No response was spoken. "Jazz..." Worry spread through me. Many people stopped to gawk at the goddess-like beauty that brightened these dull halls for so many hormone-ridden boys, but he was taking this too far.
Alice's face was still focused on her reflection, unlike Rosalie. Her head was turned, looking at Jasper with a slightly frightened expression. Suddenly, my heart sank as Emmett's giant head began to turn toward us. "Jasper..." I warned under my breath. The giant, barrel-chested quarterback straightened his spine as his shoulders began to turn, with adrenaline filling his swollen veins. "Dude! Get a hold of yourself before we become indented in the wall!"
The southern blue eyes beside me flickered between Emmett and I, and I knew that he had realized the gravity of the situation. Alice had tucked away her mirror and asked Rosalie as to the source of the rage in his eyes, and Bella sheltered half of her torso behind her open locker door, as if she was concerned.
We stopped where we were, petrified to move. The throngs of people parted and formed a circle, in which Jasper, Emmett and I were in the middle of. This was it. I had witnessed it many times before, and it was well known that when a circle is formed, a fight is about to begin, and there was no way out of it. Jasper's invisible trembles were known not only to me, for his face was filled with worry and showed hints of terror.
Broad shoulders and ruthless eyes stormed towards us. His loud voice bellowed through the corridor.
"What's your problem, dweeb?" His face was mere inched from Jasper's, which was now facing the floor, avoiding the deadly glare in front of him.
"I said, WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM, DWEEB??" he yelled.
"N-n-no I don't have a problem." Jazz stammered nervously, not daring look into Emmett's eyes.
"What, just because you can't land a girl does that mean you have to gawk at other guy's girlfriends?" So that had been the cause. Rosalie had mistaken Jasper's crush for Alice for her instead. It made perfect sense-she had been standing directly behind Alice when he had been staring.
Confusion swept his face. "W-what? N-no I wasn't staring at, um, her..."
"So what, she's not pretty enough for you or something??" There was no escape in sight, and our graves were only being continued to be dug for us, and our tombstones inscribed.
"No, I mean yes, I mean no, I mean..."
"What do you mean?" He spat out angrily. A giant hand reached out from the massive bully, hitting my friend square in the chest, sending him backward. "You hear what I said?" Jasper was pushed back another half foot. Short, staccato jabs continued to strike his chest, each one harder than the first. I could not just stand back and allow the only person I related to get pummelled into a Jasper Whitlock pulp on the laminate floor, and I began to form a plan to intervene. No matter how many ideas ran through my mind, I was unable to command my cemented feet to move, and was forced to watch this hostile scene.
"It-it won't happen again." he spat out.
"So you were looking at her!" Uh oh, I thought to myself. Wrong answer. An evil laugh erupted from the bully as he turned back to face the girls. "You hear that, Rose? The little perv was staring at you!" He turned back and stomped toward Jasper once more. The same, gigantic hand reached out to his throat, grabbing his shirt in his mammoth fist, and pulling him toward his face. Another fist was formed in the air beside him, and the time had come to force myself out of my present location.
Slowly, I approached the two. Creeping behind Emmett, I did the unthinkable. My hand smacked his bear-like shoulder as I began to yell.
"Lay off, man! He didn't hurt anyone, did he? Just let him go, you creep!" Rage ensnared his brown eyes as he whipped his head back, and slowly began to recoil his fist. Jasper's face crinkled in anticipation.
A blunt force sent pain rushing toward my cheekbone and eye as my glasses dug into my cheek. The blast had knocked my legs from beneath me, gravity snatching me to the ground where I remained. Supporting myself on one arm as I lay face to the laminate floor, a drop of scarlet blood dripped from the left side of my nose; a teardrop of crimson misery. Touching my fingers to my stinging cheek, I looked to see wet fingers turned cherry-red below my face.
Looking up at the cause of my disposition, I had learned that I received the blow intended for the boy now held against the lockers.
Shock was read all over Jazz' face, worry clouded his eyes and his mouth was agape with surprise, whether it was due to the attack from Emmett or me, I was unsure. While I was trapped inside my frozen body, Emmett had not forgotten the student he held by the shirt. He slammed him against the gray lockers and threatened him quietly.
"I never want you looking in her direction again, do you hear me?" Another slam to the lockers was heard. Jasper nodded in obeying his order. Metallic screeches echoed through the premises as the southerner's head was slammed into the locker he was pressed against. He slid down the side, his eyes were closed and his mouth was gasping for air for his heaving lungs. The bell had rung upon the impact of the brute's fist to my face, and the audience had cleared.
I stayed where I was, and said not a word. Leaning on my right arm with the upper half of my aching body lifted above the ground, I let my head fall toward the floor with my swollen eyes shut. My glasses had been knocked clear off my face and lay crooked with cracked lenses beside me, and droplets of maroon blood would fall from time to time. Silence spread through the dismal setting, leaving plenty of space for pain and degradation.
A balding man in a brown suit jogged around the corner as I wallowed in self-pity.
"Oh my god, boys, what happened here?" Jasper and I exchanged glances, communicating with our eyes in such a way that told the other that our thoughts were one and the same.
The principal helped us up as we retold the vague outline of the story, wincing occasionally.We hobbled down the hallway looking like ragged drunks with our swaying steps. My left eye, cheek, and side of my side swelled beneath my hand; I could almost feel it turning purple. Jasper was dizzier than I by far, however.
The blow to his head had left him dazed and unable to balance and required the Principal's hold for stability. Following closely behind the pair, my eyes wandered to the window of my Chemistry class as we passed by. Mr. Erickson was conducting a lecture when he saw me pass with my face bruised and bleeding. Our glances met for one long second, and disappointment filled his eyes. His gaze traveled back to his desk, but I could not help but feel ashamed after our glance broke.
The principal sat us inside the health office where we held ice packs to our aching skulls. We sipped water from paper cups and laid on paper-covered beds, waiting for the pain to subside. The school nurse had stepped out to take a phone call, and we were left alone.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you Jazz." I released the hint of guilt that gnawed at me.
"Hmm? Oh, that, you did all you could, man, and you still ended up getting punched in the face. He would have done what he did either way. Don't beat yourself up about it, especially since he already did."
I ignored his sarcasm and continued.
"Hey, when are your parents gonna be home?"
"Umm, I dunno. Late, I think."
"Look, if you want, I can take go with you to the hospital, I'm sure my dad would be happy to see you." Confusion struck his dazed face.
"Why would your dad be happy to see me?"
"He's a doctor, Jazz. You might have a concussion." I replied, rolling my eyes, well, eye.
"Oh." I decided then and there that I would not let him out of my sight. The nurse came back in with a clipboard in her hand.
"How are you boys feeling?" Her sticky sweet voice hurt my ears.
"I'm alright, just hurts a lot. Him on the other hand is a little out of it." I answered for the both of us.
"Well, I don't think it would be a problem if you two wanted to leave early." I pondered the question, and told her we would leave early, missing only the last two classes of the day and getting off campus before Emmett could find us. Suddenly, voices rose from the room next to us, the Principal's office. The door opened a sliver by the hand of the brute allowing us in their earshot.
"You have four days suspension for hitting Mr. Cullen and Mr. Whitlock, Mr. Tucker!" The principal called after him.
"It was worth it." Emmett glared at us with a smug smile as he passed the window he hid behind.
Fifteen minutes and two ice packs later, we made our way out the front door of Forks High. My arm was around Jasper to keep him walking in a straight line as we stepped down the concrete stairs. We had crossed the lawn and were stumbling through the parking lot when Jazz made a realization.
"Hey, Edward, what about your bike?"
"Just leave it. No one would want to steal it, and I can't walk the both of you, especially without my glasses." I said as I stuffed the twisted metal and glass into my backpack pocket.
Green trees stretch before us, as if greeting us after a hard day. They stood silent and still beneath soft, clouded skies hovered as they had before, and offered us a hint of comfort. Fulfillment was what I gained with helping Jasper, and someday he would do the same for me. This was when I realized what friendship meant, that the other would always have someone to lean on when they are torn by sadness...or just really dizzy.