"Thanks for the ride." Ebony said getting out of the car.
"I told you I'd be back." Jay said looking at her through the open door.
Ebony sighed and looked down. "We've got a lot to talk about, huh?" She said closing the door.
"Yeah, I guess so." Jay said following her into the house.
Ebony sat up and looked him in the eye. "Why were you with them this morning?" she asked.
"Because they're my friends." Jay said. "Ebony what do you want me to do? Drop my friends?"
"No. I want you to do what you think is right. And I'll do what I think is right." She said getting up.
"Okay." Jay said reaching for her hand.
Ebony pulled her hand away and looked down at Jay. "That means that this ends here." She said in a very calm voice.
"What?" Jay asked even more confused.
"You heard me." Ebony said simply. "I don't want to be friends with someone that can go back to being friends with people that pulled that kinda shit on me."
Jay stood up. "You want me to pick between you and my friends." Jay said looking at her.
"No, yes, maybe, I don't know." Ebony said.
"What would you do if I told you to pick between me and your friends?" Jay asked.
"I would pick my friends. Because I know that they would always pick me." Ebony said.
"Fine you want me to pick you. Than I pick you Ebony. I won't hang out with my friends anymore. I won't talk to them at school or at football. I'll become a loner because your friends won't want to hang out with me and I can't be friends with my friend because it will upset you. So I'll be a loner and just pick you." Jay said looking down in her eyes.
"You can't say that. You don't know what my friends would do." Ebony said feeling herself getting ready to give in to him.
Jay just looked at her for a moment. "Ebony tell me what you want?" Jay asked after a long silence.
"I want this to be easier." Ebony said in a quite voice. "I just want life to be easier."
Jack sat looking at his computer screen. He looked at all the names of people that were signed in on MSN IM. He was relived to see that either she wasn't signed on or she had already blocked him on her list. He turned around in his chair and looked at his reflection in the mirror his eye was already bruised and swollen. He looked at his clock. It read 10:34. In just a matter of hours he would have to face her at school. He wasn't sure how that was going to work but he was sure that either way he wouldn't give in and he would make sure that Mackenzie knew what he saw.
Ved woke up with a pain in his eye. When he rolled out of bed he looked in the mirror hanging on his door. His eye was swollen and bruised. His top lip was split open and fat. He sighed and got dressed. When he got to the kitchen he tried to hide his face as much as possible from his parents and brother.
"Ved? Sweetie are you okay?" his mother asked when she gave him his food.
"Yeah fine mom." Ved said looking down.
"Ved look at me." Jay said from across the table.
Ved looked up. He saw the shock and surprises come across his brother's face.
"What happened?" Jay asked.
"Oh like Ebony didn't tell you last night." Ved said annoyed.
"Ved who were you fighting with?" their mother shrieked.
"No one mom. It was just a thing over skating. Nothing to worry about." Ved said getting up. "I gotta go if I want to get to school on time."
"No I'll take you." Jay said getting up. "We've got to go by and get Ebony."
"Ebony?" their mother asked. "I thought she was a friend of Ved's."
"She is….well was." Ved said looking at his mom. "Look I've just got to go." He said before hurrying out of the house.
"Jay dear please tell me what's going on." His mother said with confusion in her eyes.
"Nothing mom. I just promised Ebony I'd give her a ride to school." Jay said looking at her mother.
"Jay I don't want you to fall into the same crowd of friends as your brother. We've already had to bail him out of jail twice because of Ebony. I don't want to have you bail both of you out." She said.
"Mom I'm not going to end up in jail. Look just trust me." Jay said smiling. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and then left the house.
Jack rode with KC to school the next morning.
"How's your eye?" KC asked looking over at Jack.
"Fine." Jack answered without looking over at him.
"Man, you're not gonna do anything rash today are you?" KC asked after a while.
"Like what?" Jack asked.
"I don't know like trying to finish off Ved." KC said.
"No I'm not planning on touching Ved." Jack said. "But as for what Mackenzie does, I don't know."
"What do you mean?" KC asked.
"I mean she's gonna know what happened." Jack said when the pulled up to the school.
"So you're gonna cause her all the pain just because of a dumb kiss?" KC asked.
"KC what would you do if I kissed Patsy and you saw it? Would you have went and told Cloe?" Jack asked looking over at him.
KC though for a moment. He knew he should say no but he didn't want to lie. "Yeah I guess I would." He finally said.
"She has the right to know." Jack said when he got out of the car.
KC didn't say anything he just followed Jack. "I just hope this doesn't break us." KC said softly.