A/N: Here's the next chapter, I hope I didn't make you wait too long :) You know I update as soon as I possibly can.
Chapter 14.
Mal had a mission. She needed to talk to Jay and he was going to explain himself to her, and if his explanation for making Evie bawl her eyes out the previous night turned out to be anything but completely reasonable, so help her, she would end him. She very consciously left her spell book under her pillow before leaving the dorm room this morning, lest she be tempted to use it to harm one of her closest friends, a thing she certainly did not wish to do no matter how he had acted. But, boy, did he have some serious explaining to do.
She caught Jay right after fourth period, when there was a bigger break between classes, and marched up to him, reminding herself with a deep calming breath that she had to at least hear him out before transforming him into a frog. He was just turning around when Mal spoke and he spotted her at the same time he heard her voice.
„What happened yesterday?" The purplehead asked with just a slight hint of demand to her tone but her jade eyes gleamed threateningly, which Jay immediately noticed. They had known each other since childhood after all and he was familiar with her facial expressions, as she was with his (though Evie was the only one who recognised them all without an exception), so he knew well when Mal was not to be messed with. He sighed, looking away somewhat pained as well as frustrated, as his head registered exactly what his friend was inquiring about and the memories of yesterday's confrontation entered his mind.
„Mal, you know I love you, but that was between me and Evie." Jay said with a solemn expression. He still couldn't get over what had happened (he knew he wouldn't anytime soon). The hurt and sense of betrayal were so strong and fresh in his mind that he felt them clamping his chest like a vice.
„Actually, I think it's my damn business as well, seeing as I was the one who almost drowned in the ocean of tears she spilled." Mal retorted, anger creeping into her voice, as a stern expression crossed her features.
Jay's face immediately fell. It came as a real shock to him, but the news of Evie's distress (and even worse, the fact that he had been the one to cause it) wounded him even more deeply than the thought of her being with Chad. He was the reason for her tears, for the disappearance of the beautiful smile that he had always thrived to put on her face when someone else had made it fade. Now that 'someone else' was him and Jay felt ashamed and downright disgusted with himself. He truly was not worthy of her. The knowledge that Evie was suffering made his heart twist and wring itself painfully inside his chest.
But what she did with Chad… Jay just couldn't get himself to shake it off. Right in this moment he craved more than ever to go to Evie, to tug her in his arms and comfort her, to dry her tears and put all of this behind them. It made him almost bolt, but he just couldn't bend his will to turn his back to her actions. He wanted to, desperately, he really did, but he just couldn't let it go.
„Did she tell you what happened?" He asked Mal, unable to keep the bitterness from seeping into his tone.
„Yeah, she did and I really don't see what could've gotten into you as to take out your anger towards Chad on Evie. I mean, I know you must've been furious, hell, I know I was, but that doesn't give you the right to treat her like that." Mal replied, her fury flaring just below the surface of her composure.
„She had a part in it too, you know!" Jay exclaimed, hurt and anger vibrating through his tone, as an image of Chad's lips on Evie's flashed through his mind and he had to clench his fists very hard to stop himself from punching the wall beside him.
„She did what she had to! How could you put the blame on her!" Mal fumed, unable to comprehend how or why in the world Jay would turn this all around and put the blame on Evie. Chad was the sick bastard here! Jay wouldn't do this, in fact even if something were to happen and every single evidence were to point against Evie (which was certainly not the case here), Jay would still defend her with claws out and teeth bared, spilling blood along the way, Mal was more than certain of it. Or at least she had been until now.
„How could you defend her?! I thought you hated Chad as much as me!" Jay shouted incredulous. How could Mal be so accepting if she knew what had gone down?
„I do! I don't get what you're on about!" Mal yelled, incredibly distraught at this point. Wasn't this exactly what they were arguing about? Chad was to blame! He had attacked Evie, what more was there to it?
„Just forget it, Mal." Jay gave up with a defeated sigh. He didn't want to fight or discuss this anymore, he was so tired. This whole situation was taking a huge toll on him; usually when something of this gravity occured, he went straight to Evie, she was the only one who could fully understand him, not to mention solely her presence brought him comfort and calmed him, no matter what the problem was. She was his sanctuary, his refuge, without being near her, he couldn't get through this. But he couldn't go to her. Not this time.
Jay's shoulders sagged and his eyes screamed sadness and exhaustion. They reminded Mal a lot of the look which had been in Evie's eyes the previous night. Before she could question him any further, Jay brushed past her and down the hall. Mal just stared after his retreating form before letting out a small frustrated yell and slamming the back of her head against the lockers.
„Don't do that." A soft male voice sounded, causing Mal to open her eyes and glance to her left, spotting Ben and Carlos as they reached her. Ben's fingers came up to caress the nape of her neck, tenderly inching upwards towards the place where she had banged her head, calming her instantly. Damn, the effect this boy had on her.
„What's going on? We saw Jay storm off…" Carlos recounted, glancing at Mal curiously and the girl sighed, shaking her head. She didn't really have the patience to go over everything, so she just settled for the shorter version.
„Jay and Evie had a quarrel and now they're both angry and hurt and not speaking to each other." Mal declared, also somewhat drained, as she leaned into Ben and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning her head on his chest, but at an angle at which she could look at her friend as they talked. Carlos's eyebrows shot up in suprise at the news, which led Mal to wonder about something. „Didn't he tell you?" She asked him curiously, figuring that if Jay was to confide in anybody about what had happened between him and Evie (as Evie herself was not an option), it would most definitely be Carlos.
„No, he didn't." The boy answered and then after a moment he furrowed his eyebrows and squinted his eyes slightly in realisation. „But that sure explains a lot." He said, causing Mal to raise a questioning eyebrow.
„What do you mean?" Ben asked, his fingers toying with the small side braid plaited into Mal's purple hair as an accent.
„Well, he didn't tell me anything but something was definitely off about him." Carlos started, remembering the state Jay had been in when he had returned to their dorm room the previous day, obviously right after the fight with Evie. „I mean, he didn't speak to me at all and he was so…" The blond trailed off, searching for the right word. "…ferocious. When he came in, I swear, I was afraid he had ripped the door off its hinges." Carlos paused a bit before continuing. „I don't think he even realised I was in the room at first, it was like he was blind with fury. I just figured something had happened at the tourney field or something, like a run-in with one of his teammates, you know? So I didn't bother him, I just let him cool off." The boy said, shrugging his shoulders. „But then when his anger wore off, it was like someone had sucked the life right out of him. It was kind of scary to watch actually, to tell you the truth." Carlos added, worry lacing his voice. „You know what Jay's like, nothing gets him down. But last night… Man, he was like a kicked puppy, he just laid down on his bed and didn't get up until this morning when it was time for lessons. And even then he was very reluctant." Carlos stressed, becoming more alarmed the more he talked.
Man, it must've been something incredibly serious, Carlos thought. If Jay's reaction had really been the outcome of a confrontation with a teammate, the blond wouldn't be nearly as worried, he knew it would blow over, no big deal. But knowing it had something to do with Evie, he knew that whatever had gone on between them must've been as grave as a matter could possibly be.
Mal and Ben's thoughts were similar. Mal was both shocked and unsurprised at Jay's reaction, since she had been fairly certain that he must've taken it hard, but the gravity of just how hard it had hit him stunned her. It didn't astonish her, however, how similar his and Evie's backlashes had been. They were so alike, it was uncanny. If they could only work out their differences and be together!
„So, uh…" Carlos began after a while. „Should we cancel tomorrow then?" He asked, a little unsure of himself.
„Cancel what?" Mal looked at him strangely. Carlos's eyes shifted between her and Ben a couple of times.
„Movie night, remember? All of us?" The boy reminded and realisation quickly dawned on Mal's face as well as Ben's. A plan rapidly formed in the girl's mind as she shook her head.
„No." She stated firmly and Ben immediately recognised the determined glint in her eyes. She was definitely up to something. „We will have our movie night. And we will drag Evie and Jay to come, even if they don't want to be around each other. And we will force them to spend some time together and work things through until they get along again." Mal demanded, unwilling to take no for an answer. „I don't care what we have to do, but we will fix this." She insisted, looking at Ben and then at Carlos for confirmation. „Yeah?"
„Yeah." Both boys agreed with a small nod and Mal nodded back satisfied. She wasn't letting this go. And there was another thing too. „Ben," The purple-haired girl turned to her boyfriend, whose full attention focused on her the second she called him. „I need to speak to you about something." She told him and from the look on her face he could tell it was something important.
„I'll leave you two to talk then." Carlos inserted, recieving a thankful look from Mal. „'Till tomorrow night." He waved at the two, turning around to leave.
„Don't let Jay wriggle out of it!" Mal called out after him, recieving a „Don't worry, I won't" in return before the boy was gone. Turning her head to face Ben, Mal opened her mouth to speak.