AN: School started today :( but I'll still try and keep up with the daily updates for as long as I can
Disclaimer: All TMI characters belong to Cassandra Clare :)
Chapter Songs:
**The Weight by Shawn Mendes
**Something Big by Shawn Mendes
**Harps by Max and the Moon
Monday morning, Kyle sat at the kitchen table eating cereal. Maryse and Robert had taken Imogen home the day before. They also had to go back to work that week so Max was gone too. After Maya left for her date on Sunday, he just went back home. He really didn't want to talk to Jon about what happened. All he could think about was their kiss. He'd kissed a lot of girls, but no kiss had ever felt like that. It felt like he was on fire everywhere they touched. Her lips were soft and the taste of them was like heaven; he just couldn't control himself. He just couldn't take her not knowing anymore. She obviously felt something or she wouldn't have kissed him back. He knew that it wasn't the right time to admit those things to her. She was going out with Jack and he still had to find a way to break up with Ash, but he'd already waited for way too long. He couldn't get her out of his head and everything that they've been through.
She didn't want to ruin their friendship and lose him completely, he knew that. He didn't want to lose her either, but he thought that they would be good for each other. There were certain things that he wanted to do for her that would definitely go beyond the friend zone. They've already done things that definitely didn't go in the friendship category. Of course he wanted to be her friend, but sometimes he just felt like they could be more than that. He wanted her to understand that they could be both and that he wasn't going to just stop caring.
Alex came downstairs and grabbed a pop-tart from the counter and looked over at him.
"You're oddly quiet this morning."
He sighed and closed his eyes. "I'm just not in the mood today."
She walked over to the table. "You've been acting weird lately. What's up?"
How could he tell his sister that he kissed her best friend when he was still with Ash and Maya was going out with Jack?
"Just forget about it." He said.
Alex huffed. "You know, maybe if you opened up more, people wouldn't just assume that you're an ass."
He didn't feel like arguing with her. "Maybe I'm okay with that."
She crossed her arms. "Can we just go? You know I hate being late."
He put his bowl in the sink and grabbed his keys and book bag. When they got outside, Kyle couldn't help but glance over at her house. Him and Alex always beat them to the school so he knew that they were still inside. He wondered if her date with Jack went well. In some ways he hoped that it didn't go too well, but he wanted her to be happy also. He really needed to find a way to break up with Ash. Hopefully she wont make it into a big deal. Their relationship was never going to go anywhere, he realized that now.
The ride to school was short and quiet. He was still trapped in his own thoughts and Alex was probably thinking about shopping or something. It was still a mystery as to why her and Maya were friends. They were like complete opposites, but maybe that's why they're such good friends.
Once he parked, Alex got out and headed towards the school. He let out a breath then began walking towards the front doors and when he got to his locker, he quickly put one of his books inside. He glanced around and saw Jack walking towards him with Chris and Mike.
Kyle sighed and closed his locker. If Jack was going to brag, he would rather not listen.
"Hey dude."
Kyle gave them a quick nod of his head and started walking to class. Sadly, they started walking with him.
"So how was Fray's sister?" Mike asked.
Kyle rolled his eyes. Sometimes his friends were assholes, but he had to admit that he was one too.
"Dude. Don't even bring it up. That girl is such a stiff, she didn't want to do anything."
"What happened to the Jack charm?" Chris asked.
"Oh I gave that to her, trust me, but she acted like she didn't want it. Just teased me all night and I don't do that shit."
Kyle stopped walking and glared at his best friend. "What the hell did you do to her?"
Jack smirked. "Just taught the tease a little lesson. I don't play around."
Kyle was about to give Jack a piece of his mind when Jack was yanked from in front of him. The guys watched as Jon slammed Jack into the lockers. Jack's eyes grew wide.
"What the hell man?!"
Jon narrowed his eyes at him. "So what? You take my sister out then leave her out in the dark, alone, after you fucking assault her. Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."
Kyle looked around to see if Maya was around. He really needed to talk to her and see if she was okay because there was no telling what Jack did to her. He should have tried harder to stop her from going.
Jack didn't say anything so Jon tightened his grip on his collar.
"How many goddamn cowards do I have to beat the shit out of for them to leave my sister alone?"
A crowd started to form around them. If Jon was going to do something, he wasn't going to stop him this time.
Where the hell was–
"Jonathan!"
Kyle turned to see Maya pushing through the crowd of people. Once she got through, she walked up to Jon. He was still giving a murderous glare to Jack. Kyle looked at her and it didn't look like she was hurt or anything, but he would still have to ask when he got the chance.
"Jon..." She sounded annoyed.
Jon slowly let go of Jack's collar. "I swear to God, if you ever touch my sister again, I won't think twice before I kill you."
Kyle could see the slight fear in Jack's eyes. Maya grabbed Jon's arm. "Let's just go." His fists were still clenched, but he nodded.
Jack fixed his collar, trying to redeem himself. Everyone continued to stare and Kyle was about to walk away when Jack spoke again.
"Well maybe your sister should loosen up a bit and stop being such a bitch." There were a few "oohs" in the crowd.
Maya stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. She shook her head at Jon, who looked like he wanted to kill Jack at the moment. Kyle balled up his fists to refrain from doing something that could get him into a lot of trouble. Jack was really testing his self control.
She walked up to Jack. "So I'm the bitch because I didn't allow you to force yourself on me?"
Kyle was disgusted. "You did what?" He stood next to Maya, ready to give Jack what he deserved.
Jack rolled his eyes. "Don't act like you didn't want–"
One minute he was standing then another he was on the floor gripping his nose. Maya gripped her hand and let out a small wince. Kyle's eyebrows shot up as others gasped.
"No. I didn't want it asshole." She said. The crowd started to get louder.
A teacher rounded the corner. "What's going on here? Get to class."
The students scattered like nothing happened. Maya scowled at Jack then turned to Kyle, still gripping her hand. He looked down and took her hand in his to look at it. She winced again and he realized she used the same hand that she hurt on Friday.
"Are you okay?" He asked, still holding her hand.
She didn't remove her hand from his, just nodded. "I guess I should've used my other hand."
Jack was still on the floor, holding his nose. Kyle looked down at him then back to Maya.
"I'm sorry about him."
She shook her head. "No need to apologize for him. You didn't do anything."
He realized that he was still holding her hand and let go. She rubbed it again and looked back down at Jack. Kyle saw more teachers come with an administrator. Jon walked over to them.
Maya looked back up at him. "You should go to class before they think you did it. I don't want to get you in trouble."
He smiled and shook his head. "I would gladly take the fall for you." And he wasn't just talking about the punch.
She just stared at him before she spoke. "You don't have to do that for me. Besides, there's no way I'm letting anyone else take credit for knocking that asshole to the ground."
Kyle wasn't surprised that her punch was able to send Jack to the floor. She was tough and definitely packed a punch in that tiny fist of hers. He was glad that she stuck up for herself, because if she didn't, he would've.
"You sure you're okay?" He wanted to make sure.
She nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead."
"Okay." He gave a quick nod to Jon before going around them.
"And Kyle?"
He turned to her and raised his brows. She bit her lip.
"I'll probably get suspended for this, totally worth it though. So I'll probably just see you around."
Kyle nodded. "Keep in touch."
She nodded and he headed to class after giving Jack a look of disgust. He had some serious refining to do.
Kyle knew that there was a good chance that she would be suspended. He couldn't even count the number of times he'd been suspended for fighting. It was only for two or three days, but it still went on your record. That's why he had no problem with taking the fall for her. It's not like his record could get any worse.
The thought of not being able to see her made him somewhat uninterested in the days to come. He liked having her around, even if they didn't really talk all that much during school. It wasn't exactly easy when they were in two different years and hung out with different crowds.
If someone would have told him a couple of months ago that he would have real feelings for a girl like her, he probably would've laughed. He would admit that Maya wasn't exactly the kind of girl that he was usually interested in. His type was normally tall, blonde, dumb, and hot. Maya was definitely not tall, blonde, or dumb, and he didn't think of her as just hot. She wasn't the kind of girl that you just called hot, she was more than that. The word beautiful sometimes didn't feel like enough to him.
He really needed to stop thinking like that.
She obviously just wanted to be friends with him even if he could tell that she needed someone. Sometimes he just wanted to be able to hold her or comfort her when she needed it. He could tell that she wasn't okay even when she smiled.
If she could just understand that, it would be great.
.o.O.o.
Three days.
She was suspended for three days for punching a douchebag that deserved a lot worse. Turns out, she broke the idiots nose. It seemed as though the school only cared about the physical altercation and not what led up to it. Jack only got detention because he was the so called "victim".
Which was complete bullshit.
Jon also got detention for the threat. He wasn't happy about it, but he didn't protest out of respect. She was trying to avoid Jon getting in trouble, now they both were. Jack just had to antagonize her.
Now she had to miss three days of school, including today. Maybe she would be able to beat Patch and Olivia to the studio for a change. She also didn't want to disappoint Jocelyn or become a problem for her. Hopefully she would let her explain what happened today and on Sunday.
After saying bye to Jon, Maya made her way to the parking lot. She hopped onto her bike yet again that morning to go home. At least it wasn't Jon that had to go home. He had a big game on Friday and he needed to practice for it. Another reason why she didn't want Jon or Kyle taking credit for her actions. They were some of the best players on that team so it was important for them to play.
Alex would probably give her an earful about the rumors that were going around. If she knew anything about high school, it was that rumors spread fast. There was no telling how dramatic and overblown the story would become throughout the day. She couldn't really care less about what they were saying. It's not like they knew the entire story.
Maya would probably have to tell Jocelyn the entire story in order for her to understand, not that she really wanted to. There was no way Jack was making her change her class. She was so tired of running away from people who made her somewhat uncomfortable. If he had a problem with her, he could change classes.
She knew now that most guys only wanted one thing; sex. It was disgusting how they would do just about anything to get it.
God forbid a guy actually liked a girl for other reasons.
These guys really needed some morals...or a brain.
.o.O.o.
"So, the school called earlier."
Maya knew this was coming. It would be stupid for her and Jon to try and avoid the subject. Jocelyn's voice was calm which Maya was thankful for.
She and Jon both looked at each other before looking at their mother.
"What did they say?" Jon asked.
Jocelyn gave him a look. "I think you already know. Apparently you and Maya 'threatened and physically assaulted' one of the students. So, care to explain?" She didn't sound angry, just curious.
Maya sighed. "Mom it was all me so please don't blame Jon, he was just trying to protect me."
Jon shook his head."Tenshi–"
"No, Jon. It was my fault."
"No. It was Jack's fault for doing what he did."
Jocelyn raised a brow. "The Jack you went out with? What did he do?"
Maya looked down and Jon looked at her. "If you don't tell her, I will."
She sighed. "After our date, Jack tried to . . . persuade me to do things with him."
"Persuade?" Jon scoffed, "More like force."
Jocelyn gasped. "He tried to force himself on you?"
Maya closed her eyes. "Yeah, but I stopped him. He ended up leaving me there at the theater. Jon had to pick me up."
Jocelyn looked at them. "And you're just telling me this now?"
Maya sighed. "I didn't want to keep it from you. It's just . . . I was embarrassed. This was the first guy that asked me out and you were so excited . . ." She trailed off.
Jocelyn reached across the table to grab her hand. "You can tell me anything, especially stuff like this. A guy trying to force himself on someone is unacceptable. If you want, we can tell someone–"
Maya cut her off with a quick shake of her head. "No, it's okay. I dealt with him already."
"And I already threatened to kill him if he ever touched her again." Jon added.
Jocelyn shook her head. "Okay. I trust that you guys can handle it on your own. Just make sure there is absolutely no killing involved."
Jon smirked. "No promises."
Maya couldn't help but smile. Jon always had her back. He treated her like she was his sister by blood and sometimes she felt like she was. They all sat in silence until Jocelyn broke it.
"So, where'd you get him?"
Maya smiled. "Right on the nose, just like Jon taught me."
Jocelyn looked satisfied with that.
"Awesome."
They all laughed.
"How long have you been suspended for?" Jocelyn asked.
"For two more days. I can go back on Thursday."
She nodded then looked to Jon. "What about you?"
He shook his head. "I just got detention today."
"Okay then." She shrugged. "Well to me you guys aren't in the wrong. So enjoy your days off sweetie."
Maya definitely was. Especially if Jocelyn wasn't mad at her or Jon. That's all she was really worried about.
"Thanks mom."
Jon gave her a fist bump and he mouthed 'nice'. She smiled before turning back to her dinner.
"So you teenagers usually record these things right?"
The two teenagers looked at their mom. "I guess."
She smiled. "Good. Jon, be a dear and get me a video. I need to see this."
Maya laughed just as Jon yelled.
"Mom!"
She just shrugged, then everyone started laughing.
.o.O.o.
When Kyle got home from practice, he practically passed out. Today had to be the most stressful day of his school year. His day was bad from the beginning and just got worse throughout the day.
When he had gotten to art class, Alex ran up to him and asked him like a million questions that he didn't have the answers to. After the class finally got quiet enough for the teacher to talk, Jon walked in, looking pissed. Kyle didn't see Jack or Maya with him. Jon took his seat next to Kyle.
"Where's Maya?" He asked.
"She got suspended until Thursday."
Kyle knew there was a possibility. "That's fucked up."
Jon nodded just as Stephanie walked over to him. Kyle let the two talk.
Finding out that Maya got suspended wasn't the worst part of his day. He thought that it was really shitty of the school to let Jack off with only detention. It's not like she punched him for no reason.
Anyways, that wasn't the worst part. When it came time for lunch, Ash was already in his face.
"So babe, rumor has it that that freak punched your best friend in the face."
Ash walked over to his table with her usual entourage. They really never said anything, just followed Ash around. It's she drained them of their personality. She was doing the exact same thing to him and he was sick of it.
"She's not a freak, she's a person, and Jack isn't my best friend anymore."
"Are you...choosing her over your friend, who you've known since freshman year?" She gaped at him.
Kyle was really over it. "Yeah I am. Jack was being an asshole."
She rolled her eyes. "I told you that I didn't like her. She messes up everything."
Kyle stood up from his seat and looked at her with annoyance. "I really don't care whether you like her or not. You don't know one thing about her. I'm so tired of you attacking anyone that gets close to me. I should be able to decide who I hang out with. You're just so controlling all the time and I just can't take it anymore."
She looked wide eyed. "What are you saying Kyle?" She put a hand on her hip.
He shook his head. "I'm saying that I'm tired of pretending that this relationship is real. We don't love each other and we've broken up so many times that I've lost count. I'm not happy with you, and sometimes I feel like you're suffocating me and I just want to breathe. So let's just do what we should've done a long time ago and end this, permanently."
She scoffed. "You're not breaking up with me! You can't!" She screamed, getting the attention of the school.
Kyle rolled his eyes. She was always so dramatic.
"Well I am. We're done Ash. Have been for a long time."
He moved around her and started towards the door. She let out a loud frustrated sound.
"Well fuck you! You'll never find anyone like me, ever!"
He turned around. "That's the plan."
She screamed again in frustration. "Well, just to let you know, I fucked Jack last month." She looked smug.
He wasn't really surprised. "Not surprising." He started walking again, but turned back around. "And just to let you know, those girls you call your 'friends'...yeah, most of them had no problem with giving me a little something when we were broken up." He knew all he ever did was make-out with one or two of them, but he let Ash think what she wanted.
She gaped at him them turned to yell at the girls behind her. Most of them had guilty expressions. "You skanks!"
Kyle took that chance to slip out of the cafeteria. It felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders.
He still felt that way. It was unbelievable how long it took for him to do that. He knew that she wouldn't just let him off so easily. She had to go out with a big bang and involve the entire school. Make it into this big dramatic scene. It really wasn't that big of a deal to him. He didn't love her and she practically bragged about fucking his former best friend.
Kyle was just glad that he got it out of the way. He didn't even want to think about it anymore. Today had just been way too much and he still hasn't heard from Maya yet. Coach really worked them at practice so he was definitely sore from that. They had a game against their rival school on Friday so he wanted to make sure they beat them. They weren't able to beat them last year so Coach was extra hard on them.
He hasn't been at the best of his abilities lately. It's like he gets trapped in his own mind and he can't focus. Coach didn't really seem to notice as much, mostly focusing on the slackers of the team. He'll have to stay focused during the game or he'll screw it up for his team.
He guessed that he should probably take a shower and get out of his practice clothes. Maybe he would text Maya later so they could have another window talk.
He was starting to like those.
.o.O.o.
Later that night, Kyle was playing his guitar when he got a text. He hoped to God that it wasn't Ash or Jack because now was not the time. When he picked his phone up and opened the message, he let out a sigh of relief.
Window?~M
Kyleset down his guitar and walked over to the window. He definitely picked the right room when they moved there. When he looked out of his window, he saw that she was already sitting in hers. He followed suit and sat in his. Maya looked up when she saw him sit down.
"Hey."
"Hey." He eyed her carefully.
She sighed. "So do you want the short version or the long version?"
His brows raised. "You're going to tell me everything?"
She nodded slightly. "I guess...unless you don't want me to. I would understand since he's your best friend."
Kyle shook his head. "He's not my best friend anymore."
Her eyes grew wide. "You don't have to stop being friends with him because of me." She shook her head. "I don't want to mess up your friendship."
"You didn't. Jack did. He's just an asshole who knows how to cover it up well."
She nodded. "That's for sure. It was like he was a completely different person."
"So what exactly happened and I want the long version to decide how much of a beating I should give him."
She smiled. "You and Jon are out of control and cannot be trusted."
"We just care about you. That's all."
He heard her breath hitch, but he didn't even think about taking back what he said.
"I know." She whispered.
They were silent for a bit before she cleared her throat.
"Okay. So, he picked me up and he drove us to where we were supposed to be having our date. I could tell that there was something off by the way he was acting. He was being really confident and arrogant, but I just ignored it. That was my first mistake. He ended up taking us to the movies, which was completely cliché. Is that all an American teenage boy can come up with? The movies? Like are we in a tv show? Anyways...when we got there, he just picked out the movie without getting my opinion first. Frankly I think a movie for a first date isn't that smart because you don't get to talk to the person and get to know them. The movie was okay, but he ruined it by doing 'the move' halfway through. As if the date could get any more cliché."
Kyle noticed that nothing too bad happened yet and he didn't know if he wanted to know now. He knew it had to be something bad or today wouldn't have gone the way it did.
"After the date, I was ready to go because we obviously didn't connect in any way. Jack apparently thought differently and had different plans. He took me outside and asked if I had a good time. I lied and said yes, trying not to be rude." She sighed. "That's where it all went downhill. He tried to kiss me and when I stopped him, he got mad. He said that he paid for the date so he should get some 'action'."
Kyle clenched his fists, but stayed quiet and let her finish.
"I stopped him from trying again, but he still tried to convince me that I should do it. He wanted me to go back to his place or something. I told him no, but he grabbed me and kissed me anyway. It was disgusting."
Kyle scoffed. "He kissed you?" He knew he sounded angry.
She shook her head. "Not on the lips, just my neck. You're the only one whose done that." Her eyes widened at her last sentence as if she didn't mean to say it.
His eyebrows shot up. "Only me?"
The thought of him being her first kiss made him a little surprised. It definitely didn't feel like she'd never kissed anyone.
Even in the dark, he could see the slight blush on her cheeks. "No guy has ever wanted to." She shrugged.
He had no idea why. It was unimaginable that no one was ever interested in her. They must have been looking at a completely different girl.
"Not possible."
She just shrugged. "It doesn't really matter."
He could tell that she wanted to change the subject. "So what happened next?"
"I pushed him off of me and told him to stop. I guess he didn't like that so he just left me there and got into his car. After he left, I just called Jon. That's basically it. He's no better than Josh, only not as extreme, but still an asshole. Most guys are anyway so, not surprising." She played with a strand of her hair.
"Did you tell your mom?
She nodded. "Yeah. She understood that I could handle it, but she still thinks that all guys are from the devil and shouldn't be trusted." She smiled.
Kyle shook his head. "Well she's right about that. We can't be trusted."
She looked at him and turned her head to the side. "There are some guys that I trust."
He hoped that he was one of them.
"I hope so."
She smiled again. "Thanks for the talk, Goldie."
"Anytime."
They both went back into their rooms after saying goodnight to each other. Kyle went back to his bed and picked his guitar back up as ideas flowed into his head for Thursday.