Gumball was at a loss of words...
'Is...is this really happening right now?' He thought in shock.
Jamie raised her brow. "Yeah, of course I'm your tutor..." she then narrowed her eyes to glare at him. "What, you think I'm too stupid to not know anything about poetry?"
"N-No!" Gumball said in a panic. Miss Welty shushed him. "I-I just-I was just...um..." he cleared his throat, calmed down and acted as casual as he could while sitting in his seat.
"Wow, so, uh, you're my tutor, huh?"
Jamie just rolled her eyes at him and scoffed. "Tch, nice save."
Gumball cringed. "No, seriously, I-I'm not saying you're stupid or anything!" he defended himself. "I-I was just saying-"
Miss Welty shushed him once more.
Gumball turned to the librarian at the desk with an irritated look. "Oh come on, Miss Welty, we're the only ones here!" he exclaimed exasperatedly.
Miss Welty glared at Gumball for his outburst, but soon sighed, shaking her head. She went back to reading her romance novel.
Gumball turned back to Jamie. "Look, I was just...surprised, because I was actually trying to catch up to you without many people seeing us. I wanted to talk to you."
Jamie looked at him oddly, "Really?"
"Yeah, and uh...since you're my tutor, I thought it was good timing."
Jamie studied him for a moment, almost as if trying to see if he was lying or not. Gumball sat there, stiff as a board and starting to sweat from her gaze...
Miss Welty looked up from her book to peek at the scene playing out between the two teenagers.
Jamie stood there... She harrumphed and mumbled, "Okay then." She went around the rectangular table to get a seat next to Gumball; plopping down on it and crossing her legs as well as crossing her arms under her chest. She gave him a look that told him to continue.
"Well? Talk."
Gumball gulped, "Um..." he turned over to where Miss Welty was. He spotted the librarian watching, but she quickly went back to reading her novel. He frowned at her, but soon turned back to Jamie. "Look, um..." he then whispered, "I just want to make sure that you kept your word."
Jamie raised an eyebrow. She also whispered, "Seriously? In case you haven't noticed, Gumbutt, no one gave you a hard time during the whole school day."
"Uh...yeah, I...kind of realized that before you came in..." Gumball said sheepishly.
'Well, I realized it a lot earlier in school, but I'm not gonna tell her that...'
Jamie snickered and rolled her eyes. "Wow, well, whoop-dee-doo to you dork. You get an A+ in observation."
"Heh, uh, yeah..." Gumball rubbed the back of his neck, feeling weird.
"So, is that all you wanted to pointlessly ask me?" Jamie asked bluntly.
"Um, actually..." Gumball paused for a moment until he continued, "In addition to keeping your word, are you...really...gonna go easy on me?" he winced, hoping the answer was a resounding 'yes'.
Jamie's expression changed from amusement to...mild surprise? Her expression then quickly shifted back into a more casual look.
"Yeah," she shrugged.
Gumball blinked in shock. 'Wow...and she said it so nonchalantly...'
"Wait, so...y-you...are...gonna go easy on me?"
"What, you want me to bother you again? Cause if you do..." Jamie teased with a smirk.
"U-Uh, n-no, no, no. I was just...wondering..." Gumball sat there feeling a little bit awkward.
There was one last thing he wanted to mention...
The kiss on the cheek.
"Uh..."
Jamie raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "What, there's more?"
"Well..." He was about to mention it, when something in his mind came to a halt.
'Wait a minute...if I ask that, then what would the answer be? Did she kiss me on the cheek for a reason, or was it just because she wanted to mess with me? She couldn't possibly have...well, THOSE type of feelings for me. I mean, she probably did it just to confuse me. Besides, we're on school grounds and Miss Welty is right there at her desk, probably trying to overhear everything...she acts like she's reading, but she's basically the ears of this library. ...Yeah, maybe I shouldn't ask that question. I mean, that's the smart thing to do...right?'
"Yo Gums, everything working in that head of yours?" Jamie bluntly said, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Um...yeah. Never-mind, that's all," Gumball mumbled.
Jamie raised an eyebrow, staring at him for a moment. She shrugged casually. "Okay. Whatever, Gumbutt." She then got her backpack off her shoulders, and laid it down on her lap. "By the way, is that makeup you're wearing?"
Gumball blushed as he scowled, "Yes, okay? I applied makeup from the bruise that I made on my face."
Jamie chuckled as she unzipped her backpack. "Just asking. Looks good on you."
He glared at her, "Hah. Thanks." He turned to his poem sheet that was on the table. He stared at the poem for a second...and made the realization that Jamie will be his tutor.
"Huh..."
Jamie rummaged through her backpack. "What?" she asked without looking at him.
"I...never knew you like poems." Gumball looked at his right at Jamie.
Jamie paused for a moment... "Yeah. It passes the time." She then continued to find what she was searching for.
"Oh...sooo...that doesn't affect your, um...bully cred or anything?" Gumball asked, turning his head a little to look at her.
"Not really. They know when to shut up about it." Jamie stopped once more and turned her attention to Gumball, giving him an intense stare that looked...unsure?
"What? You think it's strange that I write poems?"
Gumball blinked at the question. "Uh, no...actually, I...I think it's pretty cool that you write poems."
Jamie blinked at him, uncertain how to react to that. Feeling a little self-conscious all of a sudden, but not saying anything, she went back to rummaging through her backpack; putting her face deeper into it to find what she's looking for. Gumball could also see that her face was a little...red?
He looked at her in confusion. "Um..."
Jamie then got out a piece of paper, and slammed it on the table in front of him. Startled, Gumball quickly turned his attention to the paper.
What he saw, made his eyes slightly widened in surprise.
It was a poem...written by Jamie.
"Study this poem for a moment," Jamie instructed him.
"Uh...okay," Gumball said, looking at her written work.
-Loss-
Deep within me, I feel a void
What I don't have, I can't avoid
Laughter is always a gift
It comes and goes, as it sees fit
Much like life, we treasure that laughter more and more
However, what I used to have is gone, forevermore.
Gumball stared at the poem, quite impressed with what was written. "Wow..."
"Yeah...that's how you write a good poem," Jamie told Gumball rather confidently.
"Um...yeah, that's...a pretty good poem." Gumball complimented as he glanced back at Jamie.
Jamie harrumphed, looking away from him as she mumbled, "You bet it is..." She turned her head to look at Gumball. "Okay, now show me yours."
Gumball got his book-bag on the table, zipped it open, and took the poem out. "Here it is," he said, showing it to Jamie.
She took it out of his hand and observed it...
"...Wow...only two lines."
Gumball winced, "Um...yeah."
Jamie looked at it some more, reading the lines carefully...she turned her head to him, eyebrow raised, "This poem wouldn't happen to be about Penny, would it?"
Gumball's eyes widened at the claim.
'Ah, come on! I'm not that easy to read, am I?'
"What? Pfft, come on, how pathetic do you think I am?" He said nonchalantly, feigning ignorance.
Jamie just stared at him with a 'really?' look.
Gumball deeply sighed, "Yes..."
She kept staring at him, until she shook her head at him in pity. "Damn, Gumbutt, move on already."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Gumball said annoyed, "I can't just move on from a breakup!"
"That happened almost a year ago!" Jamie reminded him in irritation, emphasizing the word 'year'.
"How would you like it if someone you love goes off somewhere far away?" Gumball said to her frustrated.
The buffalo-lion girl blinked at the question. She frowned, glaring at him. "Well, gee, I guess I wouldn't know. Although, I do happen to have a friend that moved away."
...Eyes widening, Gumball instantly felt stupid for what he just said.
"Oh...u-um..."
'Crap. Okay, maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to say.'
Jamie kept glaring at him, waiting for an answer.
Gumball was starting to shift uncomfortably in his seat. "Um..." He took a quick breath. "Okay, look, um...I-I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking...as usual. I'm a complete moron for saying that. Please don't be mad at me..."
...Jamie turned back to his poem in her hands, not saying anything.
"Uh..." Gumball trailed off in silence.
'Am I off the hook? I can never tell with her...' he thought to himself. He felt really pretty bad for what he said; he didn't mean to come off as a jerk.
He turned back to look at Jamie's poem on the table in front of him while thinking, 'Should I compliment on the poem again? It is pretty good...no, that'll sound like I'm trying to be in good graces with her again. Ugh, what do I do...'
Gumball blinked as he realized something while rereading Jamie's lines in her poem.
"...Wait..."
Jamie turned her head to Gumball with a raised curious eyebrow.
Gumball read the poem again with a look of realization. He turned his head to Jamie.
"...Is...is this poem about Tina?"
Jamie expression was replaced by a look of eye-widened shock. She stared at him for a couple of seconds, blinking with the same expression on her face, until it changed back into a frown. She turned her head to Gumball's poem once more and mumbled.
"Let's just get back to the assignment."
Gumball gave her a melancholy look. "Jamie-"
"Look, I don't want to talk to you about my problems, alright?" Jamie said abruptly, glancing at him with narrowed eyes. "I'm just here to help you with your stupid poem, make it sound good, and to let it be finished so you can have your grade, okay?"
Gumball's eyes were filled with sympathy as he stared at her for a moment. He then turned his head back to her poem, feeling quite ashamed.
"...I really am sorry."
Jamie stared at him in silence, her glare softening into a neutral expression. Turning her attention to his poem, she stared at it...until she sighed.
"Don't worry about it," she mumbled, "...and I'm sorry too."
Gumball turned to her in slight surprise after hearing the apology. "What?"
"You heard me," she said bluntly, not looking at Gumball.
The blue cat boy just stared at her in shock. 'What the...did...did she just apologize to me again?' He turned away from her and blinked.
'Am I in the Twilight Zone or something?'
"So," Jamie started, breaking Gumball from his thoughts. "I heard from Mr. Douglas that you were writing about a poem for your dog that supposedly passed away..." She looked at him with a knowingly raised brow and a smirk.
"But, since you flat out admitted that it was about Penny, this changes everything."
Gumball cringed and muttered. "I didn't really admit it, you just already figured it out..."
"Still, trying to hide your pride, huh?"
He sighed audibly as he rest his elbow on the table, planting his face onto his hand.
Jamie looked at his unfinished poem. "...You know, you could've finished it."
"And embarrass myself? Yeah right," Gumball said sardonically into his hand as he rolled his eyes.
Jamie smirk went a little wider. "You know, on a regular daily bullying basis, I would never let you live this down."
Gumball lift his head off of his hand and looked at her oddly. "Say what now?"
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, I meant it when I say I'd go easy on ya."
"Wha...wait, really?" Gumball questioned with blinking eyes.
"Yeah, I would like to think we're cool now."
Gumball looked at her in shock. 'Is this the same Jamie that kicked my butt whenever I wasn't looking?'
"So..." Gumball turned around in his seat to see that Miss Welty was still supposedly reading her book. He turned back to Jamie, whispering, "we're...friends?"
Jamie rolled her eyes. "If you're worried about Miss Welty over there, don't be. She's cool, she can keep secrets." She diverted her attention to the librarian, Gumball turned his head back to her.
"Right, Miss Welty?"
Without looking, Miss Welty gave her a thumbs up while she was reading her book.
"Oh...well...that's something," Gumball said in surprise. He then blinked and turned back to Jamie.
"Wait, what kind of secrets?"
"Tch, nice try. Like I tell you," she scoffed. She smirked, "but to answer your question: yes, we are somewhat friends now. Keep that between us- along with me not hitting you- and we'll be fine."
Gumball looked at her with his mouth partly opened, shocked at this revelation.
"Wait...we are friends?"
"What's the big deal? If you want a straight up answer, then yeah, we're friends," Jamie said nonchalantly as she shrugged.
"...Okay seriously, who are you and what have you done with Jamie?" Gumball asked, a little suspicious.
Jamie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Look, seriously, if you kept your end of the bargain, then we're cool." She then gave him a quick glare, "If you haven't, then I'll go back to kicking your scrawny ass."
Gumball's eyes widened at the threat. "Hey, hey, no worries! I'm a man of my word, really!"
Jamie nodded, "Good." She then went back to Gumball's poem. "So, you still gonna go with that dog story, or are you gonna tell Mr. Douglas and the whole English class what your poem is really about?"
"That's suicide, you know I can't do that," Gumball said glumly.
"Why not?" Jamie asked turning to him. "It's what the poem is about."
"And let people go down the halls saying: 'Look, it's Gumball, the guy who can't learn to let go'? I'll pass."
"Well, if there really wasn't a dog you owned one time, then I think you're one screwed individual," she said sarcastically with a smirk.
Gumball sighed. "My family did actually owned a dog one time when I was thirteen, but he was...kind of prejudice against me and my mom."
Jamie raised a brow. "Really? What happened to him?"
"We gave him away, and I never looked back that day."
"Wow..." She snickered "Well gee, you should've bought a cat. Maybe then you can relate to it more."
Gumball narrowed his eyes at her. "Ha, very funny."
"Thank you, I thought so," Jamie said with a satisfied smirk. "But seriously, what are you gonna do?"
"Ugh, I don't know," Gumball groaned, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Well, I gotta teach you something to get your 'inner poet' out," Jamie explained.
Gumball groaned again, pitifully this time.
Jamie rolled her eyes. "Look, you big baby, the subject can be about your dog in the poem. But you can make it sound like it's from...Penny." She mumbled the last part, looking away and sounding almost irritated to mention Gumball's ex-girlfriend.
Gumball however, noticed this. "Um...okay..."
'Should I ask this? Might as well...'
He decided to ask and hope for the best. "Do you...have something against Penny?"
Jamie sat still for a moment, until she scoffed. "Tch, other than the fact that she's little Miss Priss and Miss Popular back here, then no, not really."
"Oh..." Gumball looked at her with a bemused expression. What he was about to say would confirm whether or not they were friends...he just hoped he'd be able to have his face intact.
'Well, here goes nothing.'
"Are you...jealous of Penny?"
Jamie turned her head to Gumball, briefly having a somewhat surprised expression. She gave him a 'the fudge you talking about' look."
"Jealous? What are you, kidding me or something? Why would I be jealous of her?"
"Well...you kind of stated that she was popular, so...maybe because of that?" Gumball speculated.
She gave him a deadpan look, with a tone to match it. "Do you really think I'm that shallow?"
"Wha-no! I just-I don't know! Is there a reason you kind of don't like her? Cause I feel like you don't." He felt pretty brave right now for talking about this topic.
She was silent for a bit, until she snorted. "Fine, you asked for it. I don't like her because she acts too nice to everyone, and the guys always act like she's some sort of goddess. It's annoying as hell, it makes me want to vomit. Like being nice and good-looking is ever gonna help her in life."
Gumball frowned. "Hey, don't insult her. She's just being herself," he said, a little offended.
"Yeah, well, people are gonna step on her if she keeps going down that route of being Miss Goody-Two Shoes."
"You know, she can get by. She knows judo," Gumball informed her, a little annoyed that Jamie would think that Penny was a pushover.
"Oh, well ex-cuse me! Didn't know she had it in her," Jamie said irritably as she glared a hole into Gumball's paper.
Gumball blinked in perplexity. "What's your deal? She's not a bad person."
"Oh yeah, she's not a quote unquote 'bad person' at all," she said sardonically. "Even though she dumps you, all because of a stupid long distant relationship," she muttered disdainfully.
...Everything went silent.
Miss Welty looked up slightly from her book to watch the scene in interest.
Gumball looked at her in shock. Jamie just sat there, not taking a glance at him and was very still, not saying anything...
"So, about the poem-"
"Wait a minute, put the poem on hold for a second."
Jamie moaned exasperatedly. "Look, don't cry me a river, will ya? I'm sorry, okay?"
"Actually, what you said gave me some good insight on you," he said.
She turned her head to him with a confused expression, but her eyes looked hesitant.
"What do you mean by 'good insight'?"
Gumball smiled. "I meant that you actually do care about people, don't you?"
Jamie gave him a dumbfounded look. "What?"
"I mean, during all these years at school, I think you've really had...well, started maturing. You may still be a bully, but you weren't as bad as before. And when it comes to friends- which I'm starting to think we are now- you don't want to see the other get hurt." Gumball smirked, "And I think you viewed me as a friend even when you bullied me."
Jamie stared at him with a flabbergasted look on her face. "...Damn, Gumball, when did you become a psychiatrist all of a sudden?"
Gumball shrugged with the same smirk. "I have a sister whose nine that's going to college. We have engaging conversations from time to time."
Jamie pouted in aggravation, she turned away to hide the tiny blush on her face. "Ah, what do you know?"
"Not a lot," he joked, but then thought briefly on how he acted towards her yesterday. She was only bullying him so she could help him 'forget about Penny'...
"Hey, um..."
She turned to him once more.
"...Whether or not you were actually trying to make me forget about Penny, or you were really just bullying me...thanks for doing so to make me forget about it."
Jamie stared at him oddly. "You're...thanking me for letting me harass you?"
Gumball chuckled. "I guess when you say it that way, then yeah I am."
She blinked, not knowing how to reply to that.
"Oh, and also...sorry again for insulting you yesterday," Gumball muttered diffidently.
She just looked at him weirdly. "Why do you have to be sorry about that again? We already apologized."
"Well, yeah, but-" his phone vibrated in his pocket making him pause for a bit. He kept going, "I felt like I should say it again to really let you know that I really am sorry for my jackassery. Not that I didn't mean it the first time! I just...wanted to let you know again that I really am...well, sorry," he said with a smile.
Jamie stared at him, a mix of emotions stirring within her, but one emotion came popping up...gratitude.
"Um..." She snapped out of her trance, and went back to focusing on his poem. "W-Whatever, just don't get all sappy on me. We may be friends now, but know that I call the shots, alright?"
Gumball still smiled with a roll of his eyes, "Okay, sure." He fished out his cellphone and checked the text that was on the screen; thinking it was from someone like Darwin or Anais.
...What he saw made his heart stop and his eyes widen in shock.
On his phone...was a picture of Jamie from yesterday, standing frigid with her shorts down, her pink panties being revealed to the world. The picture was solely focused on her, but on the left side of the frame, Gumball's body could be seen and and was cut off, but it didn't hide his shocked expression.
Gumball blushed at the image presented to him.
The culprit who sent it to him however, sent him a text.
Tobias: Hey man, just want to give you this! We know you wanna, no matter how much she beat you up ;D
"So, you need to imagine about-" Jamie's voice pierced through his thoughts.
"No! I wasn't, I swear!" Gumball exclaimed in a panic, quickly trying to shove the phone back in his left jean pocket, but it slipped out of his grip and hit the floor.
Jamie blinked dumbly. Miss Welty, who was watching the exchange, glared at Gumball and shushed him.
Gumball briefly glared at her back. He then briskly leaned to his left, holding onto the chair to try to grab his phone with his left hand. Once he got it from underneath his chair, he got up from his seat in a rush, turning away from her to once again try to put his phone in his pocket. But he was doing so unsuccessfully, as he kept missing it while standing.
Why did Anais even suggest to buy these pair of jeans that day at the clothing store!? Because she knew what was in!? Heck, why did he even buy semi-tight (he refused to call them skinny) jeans in the first place!?
"What's gotten into you?" Jamie asked in confusion. Gumball could feel her eyebrow raising.
"N-Nothing! I just...um..." He trailed off, still trying to put the damn phone in his pocket, but kept missing.
"...Why are you in such a hurry to put your phone in your pocket?" Jamie asked, her tone low in dreadful suspicion.
He finally put the phone in his pocket, and turned around to face her.
"W-What do you mean?" he said with an unconvincing grin.
Jamie stared at him, studying his expression, and his posture... "Are you hiding your phone from me for some reason?"
'CRAP!'
Gumball tried to keep his cool. "What? Oh come on, why would I do that?"
The bull-lion girl stared at him skeptically. "...Okay then. Hand me your phone."
"...Huh?"
"Hand me the phone," Jamie repeated.
"W-What!? Why!? It's my phone! It's full of my private stuff that I don't want to reveal!" Gumball exclaimed.
Miss Welty shushed him.
Gumball turned to the librarian with a scowl. "Seriously!? Are you still going to keep doing that!?"
Miss Welty glared and pointed at a tag on the librarian desk that read 'PLEASE BE QUIET IN LIBRARY'.
"We're the only ones here!" he groaned. He felt an arm wrap around his neck, giving him the choke-hold.
"ACK!"
Caught by surprise from this sneak attack, he tried to struggle the arm off of his neck. But the strength and force of the arm around his neck was too strong (but not strong enough to actually choke him, only to constrict his ability to move) He also felt a nice comfy pair of clothed mounds on his back...which he desperately tried not to think about.
But then he felt a hand go into his left pocket.
"WHA-HEY! WHOA, WHA-WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!?" Gumball exclaimed in shock.
Miss Welty didn't even shush him that time. She was quite intrigued at what was happening in front of her; her eyebrow raised peculiarly for good measure.
The perpetrator, which was Jamie, didn't answer Gumball's protests as she dug her hand in to his pocket to grab his phone. Once she did, she let go of his neck, got the phone out, and quickly push the power button on it...
...to see a text picture of her with her pants down.
Gumball coughed a bit, and turned his attention to Jamie. "HEY! Just what the crap were you trying to-" he paused as he saw her with his phone in her hand, staring at the screen. He could see the blank expression on her face, but most oddly enough, he could see that her face was a shade of red.
Either way, Gumball knew he was screwed. "Uh..." He gulped, eyes dilated in terror as he started to sweat.
Jamie stared at the picture for a few more ominous seconds...until she said, "Tobias, huh?"
Gumball blinked at the question. "Uh...y-yes?" he answered.
"...Hm. So he took the picture?" she asked Gumball.
"Um...actually, I think it was Joe. He shared it with Tobias. B-But, I had nothing to do with it! He just sent it to me! I even told them to erase it!" He quickly defended himself, hoping she would believe him.
Jamie was unnaturally silent for a few more seconds, still staring at the picture...until she growled. "Damn those stupid perverts," she glanced up at Gumball. "Here," she lightly tossed his phone back to him.
Gumball caught the phone with both of his hands, a confused look spread on his face.
"Wait, so...you're not mad at me?"
"For what? You explained that it was those idiot pervs Tobias and Joe that took the picture," Jamie said nonchalantly. "I'll just have to catch them tomorrow and teach them a lesson about respecting a girl's secrets."
"Oh..." Gumball winced. "You're not gonna...like, kill them or anything, are you?"
"Heh, tempting, but no. I'll just let them walk with limps," Jamie said with a smirk.
Gumball cringed, "Oh...ow."
Jamie chuckled...until her smirk turned into a small thoughtful frown. "Just wondering though...why would you want to hide that from me?"
Gumball's eyes widened at the question. "Uh, w-well...I just...I didn't want you to think I was...well, you know, a..." he mumbled the last part, "a perv."
Jamie looked at him oddly. "And yet you tried to hide the picture away from me?"
Realizing how that sounded, he turned defensive. "I mean, well, I just-uh, I-I-I didn't want you to think I was involved! Also, I-I didn't want you to be mad at me and misunderstand the situation! You're kind of...you know, scary when you're mad." 'And hot.' Gumball blinked at the added thought, he shook his head.
"So...y-yeah..."
Jamie stared at him after he finished talking, looking bemused as she studied him. She shrugged, "Eh, fair enough."
Gumball blinked in shock. "Really? Y-You're not mad at me? Um...again?"
She rolled her eyes. "Of course not. You seem to be honest about the whole thing. Besides, I should be directing my anger at Tobias and Joe."
"Oh..." Gumball smiled in relief. "Wow, thanks."
"Eh, don't mention it," she said, turning back to the table. "Now come on, we got a poem to finish."
"Sure thing," he agreed as they went back to their chairs. "You know, you didn't have to...well, you know, put your hand in my pocket to get my phone out."
Jamie turned her head with a sly smirk. "Ah come on, you know you liked it."
Gumball blinked and blushed a shade of red. "Wha-um..." he cleared his throat.
"S-So, about the poem..."
Jamie chuckled, and began explaining the basics of poetry.
Meanwhile, Miss Welty just looked on at the two with a smirk of her own.
"Okay, let's see what you got," Jamie said.
"Okay..." Gumball cleared his throat and read his poem.
"I have lost something dear
Something that was very near
The lost was great, it made me weep
But as time goes by, it made me think
I could wallow, I could cry, I could mope
Or I could live again, succeeding enough to give myself hope."
Gumball looked at the poem, impressed by how it sounded. "Wow, this isn't bad." He turned to Jamie, "Do you think it would matter if the last words in the third and fourth lines don't look like they rhymed?"
"Eh, don't worry about it. Not every poem has to be a perfect rhyme. But still, not bad for a poem that's about your dog," she said with a smirk.
Gumball rolled his eyes, but smirked as well. "Heh, thanks."
"No prob," Jamie said as she stretched her arms above her head, "Welp, it seems you got your 'inner poet' out. Think you can do poems now that aren't about Penny?"
"I'll try," he answered. He sat there in thought while Jamie was putting her poem in her backpack.
"Hey, uh..."
Jamie turned her attention to him.
"I just...want to say thanks for...you know, helping me out with my poem," he said with a red hue on his face.
The bull-lion girl smirked mischievously. "Well hey, I have to do my part as your tutor, Gumbutt."
Gumball chuckled. "Yeah...you're a good tutor."
"You better damn well believe it," she said as she stood up and swung her backpack on her shoulders. "Well, see you later."
"Whoa, hey, uh..." Gumball stood up as well. "Do you want me to, um...walk you out of school?"
Jamie turned to him, a little startled that he would ask that. "Wh...why?"
Gumball shrugged sheepishly. "Well, we are kind of friends now...aren't we?"
Jamie blinked. "Well...yeah, but..." She looked at the library entrance, and back to him. "I kind of have a reputation to keep, you know?"
Gumball looked at her sadly. "Hey, you can still have friends and be tough."
She sighed, glancing at the floor. "Look, it's just...I don't want people to think I'm some pansy-ass softy, alright?"
Gumball looked at her strangely. "First of all, you're nowhere near a pansy. Secondly, since when did you start caring about what people think of you?"
Jamie glanced up at him in surprise.
Gumball continued. "Look, I know it must be hard to...you know, lose a close friend over long distances, but you can still make new friends. You just gotta open up more. Like I said, you don't have to be a bully."
She bit the bottom of her lip in apprehension. "I..." she sighed again. "Look, I just...I just built up a reputation during the years along with Tina, and people were, and still are afraid of us. But now...I'm the only one left. And I don't want people to think I'm...just like everyone else."
Gumball looked at Jamie for a good moment in sympathy. "You know...feeling just like everyone else doesn't make you weak."
"Yeah, well..." she faltered there.
Just then, someone came walking into the library entrance...
It was none other than Darwin; dried off and back to wearing the same clothes from today, as well as carrying a bag in his hand that held his swimwear. He came in looking for Gumball, however once he saw his bro and Jamie standing in front of each other, he stopped and froze with his mouth hanging open in horror. Obviously misinterpreting what he was seeing, he exclaimed in terror.
"GUMBALL, NO! HANG ON BUDDY!"
Gumball and Jamie jumped at the exclamation. Miss Welty, who was startled beyond belief, fumbled with the book in her hands and turned to Darwin, glaring at him and harshly shushing at him. But the fish boy didn't pay too much attention to the librarian as he sprint forward to where they were. He went as far as jumping on the table they once occupied and leaping in between them to try and prevent whatever he thought was gonna happen.
"Whoa, Darwin!" Gumball exclaimed as Darwin was now in front of him. "Dude, what are you-"
"Stay back, you witch!" Darwin exclaimed, holding up his swimwear bag in front of Jamie to ward her off.
Jamie just looked at him like he grew a second head. "What's your problem?"
"You just can't stop messing with Gumball, can you!?" Darwin shouted, feeling brave to stand up to Jamie. "Here he is, day in and out trying to live his life through a breakup, and you're just making it worse for him!"
"Darwin, wait-" Gumball tried to intervene.
"And you're saying what's MY problem!? What is your problem!? Don't you have any other people to bully!? Why my bro!?" Darwin exclaimed in anger.
"Hey, look-" Jamie tried to explain.
"No, you look! How would you like it if you got dumped by someone you loved!? Granted, it was back at sophomore year, and he could have moved on-"
"Hey!" Gumball remarked defensively.
"But that's no reason to keep picking on him because of it! How would you like it, huh!? Of course like you would know, you force relationships on people! Like me for instance back at junior high! Seriously, how would someone ever like you from the way you act!? I dread to think who the so called 'lucky' guy would be that you actually like!"
"Hey!" Jamie exclaimed in offense.
"Darwin, whoa, timeout-"
"But this isn't about your love life, it's about you not leaving my bro alone! He suffered enough already and you just keep coming back to torture him! So what is your deal!?"
"Darwin seriously, chill-"
"Chill!? Chill!? You're gonna let her get away with this!? She's been doing this for too long! She needs to know now that enough is enough! You got to stand up for yourself, man! Tell her like it is! Don't let her dictate you! You gotta-"
"SHUT UP ALREADY!"
...All three of the teens turned to Miss Welty in shock.
The librarian just glared at them. "Seriously, I ask one thing, and no one does it," she grumbled as she returned to her book.
All three of them still stood there, the shock waning. Jamie shook her head and muttered, "Thank you," she then looked at Darwin with an irritated look. "Did it ever occur to you that I was actually Gumball's English tutor?"
Darwin, snapping out of it, looked at her in confusion. "What?"
"Uh, yeah, Darwin, Jamie's...my tutor," Gumball explained awkwardly.
Darwin turned to Gumball. "Really!?"
"Yeah, really," Jamie said, annoyed. "And for your information, Gumball and I have reached an understanding."
Darwin turned back to Jamie oddly. "Huh? You did?"
Even Gumball looked at her with wide eyes as he blinked. 'What the? What is she doing?'
"Yeah. Besides, he was the one who punched himself, not me," Jamie confirmed.
"What!?" Darwin exclaimed at this bombshell of information. Gumball's eyes widened even further in surprise.
"Why do I even bother," Miss Welty sighed into her book.
"Yeah. In fact, now that I revealed that bit of info, Gumball will fill you in the rest." Jamie then glared at Darwin, "And when he tells you, you better keep quiet about it if you yourself know what's good for you. Got it?"
Darwin's confidence faded, his face blanching at the threat. "U-Uh..."
Jamie snorted. She turned her attention to Gumball, "I'll trust you on explaining it to Darwin here, but he better not say a word."
"Um...o-okay..." He stuttered in a stunned daze.
"Good. Well, see you around, Gumbutt." She nodded and walked off with her backpack on, making her way out of the library.
Gumball watched her go, astonished at what Jamie just did...
"Gumball?" Darwin's voice broke him out his thoughts and he glanced back at his bro, who was baffled beyond belief. "What did she mean by you punched yourself in the face?"
Gumball stood there for a moment, contemplating what to say... "Would you like to sit down for a moment, Dar?"
Miss Welty sighed again and muttered into her book. "I'm never gonna get this read..."
There you go! Chapter 4! How was it? :D And once again, thanks to "Heart of Writing" for being my beta! You rock, girl! ^_^
As for the story, I think I got a good outline of what I'm gonna do with this. So be hyped, folks! XD
Well, as per-usual, if you like it, give me a follow, a fave, or heck, even a review! I really do appreciate those! :D
Anyways, I hope you all keep reading, and everyone keeps on rocking! 8D
See y'all later! ;D
-TSP
