I feel like crab because I've been writing my brains out for you guys..
You thank this chapter to chibiyugixyami because she wrote a part of it and made me totally like, inspired again :)
Enjoy and beware for the heavy themes (though not as bad as last chapter) and the crappyness…
"Tosh."
"Leslie."
I stared at the jock in front of me. His eyes on me too, filled with curiosity. I smiled. Leslie you are brilliant!
"I have like, a problem." I told him. Swinging my hair out of my face.
"And now what, you run to big brother hoping he will solve it?" He asked, his jacket lazily swung over his shoulders.
"No, I can solve it. With like, a little help from you. You're like, perfect, because out of all people, you annoy the Lucas boys the most." I said, tiding his jacket.
"I thought you hated me for that?" He said, full attention now, but very confused.
"Normally. Yes. But this is like, way more important."
He sighed. "Fine. You got me, spill it."
"There's this girl. She's weird, like, a freak. And she steals all my attention." I said, slapping imaginary dust from my skirt, glaring at my older brother as if he could help it. "All Nick's attention that is like, supposed to go to his future-girlfriend. Me."
"And I fill in, where exactly?"
"In the way that you are going to ask her out, in front of Nick. She will say yes, Nick is heartbroken, wants a shoulder to cry on, you humiliate the girl and everyone's like, happy." I said, humming and feeling very pleased with me.
"How do you know she will say yes, who is she anyway?" He said, a very stupid expression on his face.
"Her name is Jay, and I know because she's pathetic enough, believe me."
"What's in it for me?"
"The return of biggy-boo." I said casually.
"You have him! Where is he!?" He screamed, as I dodged his arms.
"Safe and sound and back before you can say Teddy-Pig. If you do what I say."
"Fine." He grumbled. "I'll do it. But I want a contract after last time."
"Sure, like, sure."
My brother was so stupid. Nick was mine.
Nick PoV
I had been anxious all morning, not sure what to suspect, but this, I certainly hadn't.
Jay walked, completely normal and without injuries, through the school entrance. No spot to be seen. For the unsuspecting eye…
I fingered the strings of my guitar, looking at Jay, who seemed to walk in slow motion.
The look in her eyes was dead, pained. I winced from just seeing it, puzzled by the absence of injuries that should've been there. Her movements weren't her normal vivid ones. Seemed to drag, like they were carrying a heavy load.
I watched her as she walked through the crowd, ripped shirt and baggy Jeans low on her hips as said crowd immediately parted for her. Like the red sea did for Moses.
Not listening to the warning coming from both Joe and Kevin, I walked up to her. Fighting my way through the loads of people. I had to talk with her, needed my suspicions to be confirmed, I wanted to help after running off like a coward.
"Hey." I breathed. Running my hands through my curls, just to have something to do. The red-headed girl turning around in a swift, but slightly scared movement.
"Relax, it's just me." I said, trying not to scare her. I know how vulnerable she must be…
"Well yeah, like you are good news." She said, raising her eyebrow. "What's it now?"
"We need to talk." I told her. "Privately, I think."
In response I got a slightly suspicious look, an eyeroll and a nudge from her head. "Fine. Come with."
We ended up in the Outside-inside-outside -Kevin's getting into my head- where she turned around, dumping her bag on the ground indifferently, crossing her arms around her body protectively. "Spill what's on your mind, pretty face." She said, smirking.
"I know." I said, swallowing. Grabbing the neck of my guitar and putting it down, carefully.
"Know what?"
"I can't tell…" I sighed, turning back to her.
"Great, then I'm free to go!" She said happy, standing up from the bench.
"NO! I meant I can't tell it here, because it's your…" I hesitated.
God she was impossible! What was up with that? She was being raped and abused and still, she was like this. Independent, hard and painfully honest. I really respected that, but really couldn't use it right now.
"I mean that… I know."
"We've been through this. Know what?" Jay asked, I noticed she wore her different coloured converse again.
I moved closer to her, my nose almost touching hers, staring into her now dull green eyes. She shied away from me at an instant. Staring at me, finally a glint of the pain I was searching for in her eyes.
"I. Know." I told her and realisation hit her.
Her eyes widened, as did her nostrils. "You followed me." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You little…"
"Look," I interrupted her. "I know it was wrong."
"Then why did you do it! I told you to stay out of my business!" She spat, her eyes shining now. With fury. I guess that was better then the nothingness.
"I know that! I'm sorry, but that doesn't distract me of the things I heard!"
Now she got downright cold. "You heard. Well then, there's nothing more to say now is there?" She grabbed her bag and wanted to walk away, but I grabbed her wrist, knowingly crossing the lines.
"I want to help!"
"Where have I heard that before? Please! Will you stay away from me and what I am or am not going through! I don't want your help, not anyone's concern!" She yelled. Thank god for the glass walls being sound proof.
"He abuses you, He- he raped you!" I screamed, my eyes wide and pleading as I stared at her face, searching for the emotions I was looking for. Now that the words were out.
"And I can handle that, with or without you!" She countered, hands on her slim hips, eyes narrowed very dangerously.
"What? You can't be serious; the guy belongs in jail, locked away. You don't have to put up with this and definitely not alone!"
"If it has to be anyone, it better be me! I'm not going to sue him; I'm not going to do anything, because he will find another victim! Multiple even and I am not willing to do that. And you know? It's people like you that make me miserable. Just please, leave me alone! You're getting yourself into danger!"
"No. I'm the nice guy, remember? I don't just leave, or give up!" I told her, Joe called that being stubborn.
"I call that being stubborn." She said, causing me to raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Your concern is touching, really, but I don't want friends. Because you know what really hurts, more then what he does to me?"
"What?" I whispered, a lump in my throat, feeling only half as strong as she seemed.
"Saying goodbye."
I tried to say something, but was once again cut of words. Her face, was now open, every part of her screamed; lonely, pain! Her shirt had sunk down one of her shoulders, revealing seemingly untouched skin.
"What makes you think I'll say goodbye?" I asked her, dreading the answer, but needing to know at the same time.
She shifted and avoided my gaze. "I've been through it too many times to know how so called caring people, promising forever love, drift apart, fight, and become enemies. I want to avoid that pain again, thank you very much."
I was shocked; to say the least, at her completely unexpected answer. What could someone say to that? "What if I promise you I won't say goodbye?"
She looked sadly at me. "You will, they all do."
"I would never."
"You would and you know it. I can bare it; I have for the last six years. Get yourself out before it's too late!"
We stared at each other, obviously at a tie. I wanted to help her, but I never thought she would not want it.
""Um, hi!" A happy voice suddenly interrupted our staring contest. I looked up with a shot and saw Van Dyke.
"Am I interrupting something?" He asked, smiling his typical dumb smile.
"No. Perfect timing." I said, sarcastically. Feeling myself move to stand in front of Jay, almost protectively.
"I actually came to talk to the girl. Hi!" He said, leaning around me as I surprisingly bared my teeth in almost a snarl, but kept it in.
"Be polite, Nick and get out of the way." She said, only me getting the double meaning in her words.
Unwillingly, I stepped aside to let the jock pass.
"I was wondering, I think you are very cute. Would you like to go out with me?" He asked bluntly and somehow, confident.
I snorted, picking up my guitar again. Feeling the familiar touches of melodies and words in my head already.
Like Jay would actually agree to that. She was already staring at him like he was some sort of disgusting bug.
"Sure."
And yet, she had to surprise me once again.
I stared at her in disbelieve. Receiving a loving smirk.
"You have PE last period, right?" she asked, friendlier then I had ever seen her. Was she actually flirting with him?
"Yeah." He answered, looking at me quickly for a second and I knew Jay would've caught that, but she only said: "I'll wait for you there." And walked away.
That girl is mystery itself and somehow, it fascinates me. Her voice hypnotised me.
I shook my head and walked past Van Dyke Tosh without giving him even a glance. My teeth gritted.
{End of last period}
The whole day, Jay had been ghosting through my mind, what she had said, what she was doing. Actually sacrificing herself. To protect others.
The girl had spine and rock-hard nerves. And those eyes, the depths of those. Like I could look straight into her soul.
"Hello Nick!" An enthusiastic voice interrupted my thoughts about how much pain she must've been through in those six years.
"Hello." I reacted, not really caring who it was.
What more was there to her? Why couldn't I get her off my mind? She did not want my help, something that seemed so irrational to me. She did not want my friendship, not even a little bit of comfort, no, she just chose to bare it all and carry it around on those exposed shoulders of hers!
"Why are you like, scowling, Nicky?"
That got my attention, nobody called me Nicky. So I looked up. Seeing a pair of pale blue eyes.
"Um... Hi Leslie. Nothing." I answered. Unconsciously noticing how different this girl was from Jay. Her whole attitude.
"It's that girl Jay, isn't it? She dumped you for my brother." Leslie said knowingly.
My head shot up and the images of Jay flirting with Van Dyke came up for a second and I had to admit I did not like it. But the images of what that creep at her home did to her suppressed that.
"It's okay to feel sad about that." She continued.
Yeah, sad I couldn't help her. Because she wouldn't let me!
"But I'll be like, always there!" Leslie told me, patting her shoulder, nodding her head.
Like he would always be there to hurt her.
"And don't worry; I've got the freak covered."
She hated that word, freak. The guy had called her that. Was he her brother, I couldn't imagine it. How had she got into his hands?
"My big bro is taking care of her."
No way a brother would do that, that's simply siblingwise impossible and…
"what?" I asked, finally paying attention. Making Leslie smile brightly.
"She will be humiliated, like she has you." She informed me smugly.
"What!?" I screamed, imagining the cruel things this cheerleader, because there was no way Van Dyke would've come up with this, would do to the already hurt and now that I thought about it, very small Jay.
With the speed of what I assumed to be lightning, leaving my precious guitar next to the bleach-blonde girl, I shot towards the gymnasium. Being exactly on time of hearing a yell.
I groaned, before I realised it wasn't Jay's scream, it was, masculine?
A quite large group of people had formed outside the boys-changing-room. Curious and still scared for Jay, I walked closer.
I saw the familiar blonde head of Van Dyke, but not as I really wanted to see it, not that I ever wanted to see him, because he was only wearing a towel as he came running out the changing-room.
"Who took our clothes?" He yelled, as he was being followed by half the football-team. Who all screamed as they saw what the people standing around had already noticed; all of their clothes, lying all over the hallway, some of them, mostly embarrassing underwear, were hung up.
I noticed Joe and Stella, along with Kevin and Macy and ran up to them, hearing a familiar voice say: "oh, I'm sorry, are these yours?"
"What's happening?" I asked, pushing myself between Macy and Joe.
"Your girlfriends got the whole football-team in their, well not even underwear." Kevin snickered. For a pep-squad-member, he seemed to care awfully less about the football-team.
"YOU!" Van Dyke yelled. "What the hell?"
I looked past Joe's arm and noticed Jay, leaning against the opposite wall. "I'm sorry." She told him calmly. "I just thought you would like your laundry getting washed after I heard your plans of throwing me into the fountain, so my emo-make-up would get ruined and the freakiness of my clothes would be made clear." She said, tilting her head to the side.
"Remind me to never make your girlfriend angry." Joe whispered.
"She's not my girlfriend." I told him; though she was a girl I highly underestimated.
"Oh and Van Dyke. I believe that is yours?" She said, pointing up.
We all followed her gaze and everyone snickered as we saw a half-teddy-bear, half stuffed-pig in a boxer with heart-motive.
"Biggy-boo!" Van Dyke howled. Making even me laugh as everyone else around me burst out laughing.
"Thanks for the date-with-the-fountain invite, Tosh. But I have better things to do then going out with stuck-up-jocks." Jay told him, giving him the sweetest and most devilish smile I had ever seen.
"That's what would happen if you wore your supersquirrel-underwear Kevin." Stella remarked as I stared at Jay, who casually walked away as the team embarrassed gathered their clothes.
Apparently, she was stronger then I had given her credit for. I saw that now, impressed by her little stunt.
But she also hadn't given me enough credit. I would prove to her I wouldn't say goodbye.
I was three points shy of a genius, how hard could it be?