**AN- Hello everyone, I have risen what I have decided to dub "Hiatus 2: Electric Boogaloo'. So, for some context as to where I've been a few things have happened. For starters I have a new job now, which is great. Unfortunately it will require me to work 40-50 hours a week Monday through Friday. Meaning I only have weekends free anymore. Also I've recently moved in with a friend and we just got private internet, since the public shit provided for us was absolutely abysmal and didn't work half the time. But, grievances aside, I hope you all enjoy!

Laying in bed was something of a pastime for me. It was what I'd do when I was tired enough to go to bed, but not tired enough to actually go to sleep. Usually I'd just browse my twitter or Snapchat, and when that got boring I'd find something read. A webcomic or fanfiction is what I'd usually end up on.

Jason: Yo hutch what are you doing?

Getting texts from Jason this late wasn't a surprise. He could stay up late and wake up early without being effected. Within the last few years he'd become a bit of a night owl. He loved the night life. And honestly, I couldn't blame him. It was so peaceful at night, especially right at the edge of town; where I lived.

Hutch: I just have laid down. What are you up to?

Jason: I'm not tired and I'm looking for something to do. Want to go for a drive?

Hutch: Uh, I mean, I guess it couldn't hurt.

Jason: Good because I'm outside.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. Just like Jason to show up without an announcement. I didn't mind though. It was never at a bad time and he never overstayed his welcome. He knew I had a weakness for night time drives, my grandpa would always take me on them when I was a kid and it would knock me right out. They still affected me, and it was nice for nostalgia as well. I would've said something to Percy, but as I approached the guest room I could hear him snoring. So I just grabbed my keys and slid on my shoes before heading out.

Parked right beside my Ranger was Jason's Silverado. His dads parents were really well off and loved him and his sister to death. The truck was his birthday present from them last year, brand new and fully paid for. It was solid white, and he washed it almost every other day to keep it looking beautiful. He smiled at me as I opened the door.

"Thought you'd be interested in going for a ride," he said as he cranked down his radio. From the interior light I could see the silver fur on his head was shaggy, as though he'd tossed and turned for a while before leaving. I climbed in quickly to escape the frigid night air.

"You know I can't say no to one. So what's got you up this late," I asked blushing in. He backed us onto the road and headed off towards the winding maze of dirt roads that lived beyond my house.

"Sis has been crying for mom a lot lately. Me and dad do what we can, but she wants mom. It's exhausting. But I mean what can we do, she's just a little girl. She doesn't really understand what happened. How do you explain to a 6 year old her mom didn't want her anymore?" I could practically feel the malice in his voice. Jason loved his family, his dad and sister were everything to him. When they hurt, he hurt. I couldn't imagine how hard it was to deal with what he was. From what I'd been told his mom just didn't love them anymore. To the point that she's told him she wished she'd never had him.

"..." I didn't know what to say. What was I supposed to say? His question was rhetorical but still I felt the need to say anything that might help him feel better.

"Enough about my grievances though, how's Percy doing?"

I was relieved he'd decided to change he subject. Jason was good about doing that to avoid awkward situations.

"Much better. Perked up a lot since yesterday. I think he just needed out of the house for a day or two. You know how he and his dad are."

"Yeah, his dads a dick, always has been always will be. I can't stand people like him. Leon's parents were the same way. I helped him move when they kicked him out. Wouldn't say a word to him. Took everything in me not to say something to them. Leon didn't seem to mind though. Guess he'd sorta expected it from them. I'd like to say that's better than being dead beats, but honesty I'm not sure which is worse."

"Kinda hard to pick from two evils when both options are pretty shitty."

"Tell me about it..." there was something about the way he said that which hinted at something being wrong.

"Something the matter?" I asked cautiously.

"Hutch, what would've done in this situation,"

"Oh boy."

"So me and Janice have been dating for around three years now right?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"And you know that after high school we both plan on going to college."

"Yeah?"

"Well, she wants to go to JPU and I want to travel abroad in Europe. Well it took a lot of thinking but-" he trailed off as we rolled up on the scene of what looked like a party. I hadn't really been paying attention to where we'd been driving, and it didn't seem like he had either. It was a kind of out of the way spot where people could make as much noise as they wanted without disturbing anyone. It wasn't much, basically a few logs for benches around a fire pit, but there was a lot of open space for tents and cars to park. And there were plenty of them.

I recognized a few of the guys sitting around the fire, a lot of them were Jasper High jocks. Some were older looking guys who looked like they'd graduated maybe a year or two earlier. Where there were guys, there were also girls, the usual crowd of girls who you kinda figured would end up pregnant before they graduated. The area was littered with discarded beer bottles, cans, and other sorts of trash. Fortunately it seemed like everyone was too busy trying to hook up to notice us drive up.

As we rolled up behind the rows of cars, Jason slammed on the breaks and fixated his gaze on a certain car; a black Impala. I could see him tense up as he eyed the license plate.

"You okay?" I asked finally.

"That's Janice's car," he hissed, holding back an angry growl.

"I...I'm sure this isn't what it seems like."

Jason hadn't even hesitated. He placed the truck in park and immediately sprang from the vehicle. I didn't now know what would happen if he found her. So I leapt from my seat and ran off behind him. Jason rushed between the cars and into the camp area which immediately grew ominously quiet. Jason may not have been a sports star, but he was a contender for the "scariest mother fucker" award at Jasper High. At nearly 6'7" with broad shoulders and bulky arms, he'd have made a good Arnold Schwarzenegger stand in. Clearly everyone there knew something he didn't.

One of the smaller guys around the campfire stood up and walked over to him. Surprisingly I recognized him. Aaron Perez was his name. He wasn't a bad guy to be a jock, he had a big heart and was really nice to everyone. Never really expected him to be at a party like this though.

"Jason...I'm sorry man. She's in there with Garth," he said pointing out a tent at the back of the area. Some of the jocks shifted uneasily when Jason looked that direction. I expected them to be pissed at Aaron for calling out Garth so quickly, but then again I'd have hated to be on the end of an ass beating from Jason for holding out info like that. Guess it was just how he was, up front and honest.

"...thanks Perez," Jason said giving him a pat on the shoulder. Jason took a step as if he were going to head towards the tent before a pair of figures emerged. It wasn't hard to tell who it was. As soon as Janice saw Jason she gasped and started running towards him but he held up a hand for her to stop.

"Jason I-"

"Just...don't. I don't need or want any excuses," he dug into his coat pocket and removed an envelope. I just managed to catch a glimpse of the JPU stamp on it before he flashed it to her. It didn't take much to figure out it was an acceptance letter.

"I cancelled my flight to London for this. I hope he was worth it." he said before tossing the envelope into the fire. Garth just smirked, but didn't dare stray close enough to the group to make himself obvious. Janice started to cry and beg Jason to forgive her, but her sobs fell on deaf ears. Jason looked straight towards Garth with a piercing glare.

"Hey, don't look at me, she asked me for it," Garth shrugged as though he were innocent.

"Shut the fuck up," Jason snarled as he took a few steps towards Garth. I knew I needed to intervene, but getting in Jason's way was like stepping in front of a freight train. Garth's confidence seemed to waiver as Jason got closer. Tension filled the air so thickly you could've cut it with a knife. I saw a few people get out their phones in anticipation of a fight.

As Jason grew within arms reach of Garth, the football captain took a seemingly nervous step back. I felt a lump in my throat. Garth was a tall guy, but Jason practically towered over him. One punch, I knew that's all it would take. I wanted to say something, anything, to stop it. Jason grabbed Garth by the collar and lifted him up; causing a few people, myself included, to gasp.

"You're not worth it," Jason hissed before letting go and dropping Garth. It was practically a sigh of relief. Jason turned and walked away from the man who'd just slept with his girlfriend of three years.

"Maybe she wouldn't have cheated on you if you weren't such a pussy," Garth smirked, wiping the dust from his jacket.

*CRACK*

The punch was loud.

Jason had done a full 180 and slammed into Garth's face with a nasty looking right hook. The red furred jock spun twice and landed face first on the ground. Despite the earlier anticipation, a few of the bigger guys immediately began to swarm Jason, ready to hold him back. But my long time friend simply followed the momentum of his punch, turning his 180 into a 360 and continued on his way as if it had never happened. The jocks who had jumped to aid Garth now parted ways and made sure Jason stayed well away from them, instead going to check on Garth.

"Come on Hutch, let's get out of here," he said as he walked by me. I turned and followed, terrified of saying anything. "You mind driving? I'm not really in the mindset for it."

"S-sure."

I knew Jason would never hurt me. Despite his anger, his tone with me was soft, almost casual. Watching him drop Garth like that was both the single most satisfying and terrifying things I'd ever seen. It exemplified one of the reasons I liked having him on my side. The guy was a powerhouse. Garth was easily between 180 and 200 pounds, yet Jason had both picked him up and downed him with a single punch. Don't get me wrong Garth deserved it, but actually watching it go down reminded me of why it was best not to cross Jason.

I'd never known Jason to be angry before. I'd seen him get a little frustrated or upset, but I'd never seen him angry. Even then he didn't seem all that mad, his expression was calm but distant like he was deep in thought. You could tell something was bothering him.

As we climbed in I took one last look at the party we'd unintentionally crashed. Garth was being brought over to the campfire, blood running from his nose. Everyone who wasn't helping him either stood by or shifted uneasily, most likely trying to determine if the party was over or not. In the distance a few people had gone over to comfort Janice who seemed to be bawling her eyes out.

I wasted no time in pulling away.

"Sorry you had to see that Hutch, I know you don't like conflict, didn't realize until after I hit him that I shouldn't do that in front of you." I almost felt choked up. I knew the guy had to be hurting, and he still took my emotions into consideration.

"It's okay, honestly it was pretty nice to watch Garth get laid out like that. I'm sorry about Janice though. Like, if you need anything I'm here for you."

"Don't sweat it. These things happen. Though a few things do make sense now. Hiding her phone from me, not replying for a long time, other things I will spare the details of. Although, I am a little peeved about this," he opened his glove compartment and produced a small black box. He opened it and, thanks to the light of the headlights, I was able to make out a ring.

"Oh god Jason..." another lump formed in my throat.

"I bought this a couple days ago, when I got my acceptance letter to JPU. It was going to be a promise ring. I had planned to give it to her at graduation. I saved up a long time to buy this. Just kind of a shame I wasted all that money on it. Say, Janice and Lilly have about the same sized hand don't they?"

Immediately I knew where he was heading "No, Jason you really don't have to do that."

"We'll see the thing about that is, it's not a request," he chuckled. "Give it to Lilly. You and her, you two have real chemistry. Plus I can't take it back, I don't have the receipt. Alternatively, you can leave it with me, I'll give it to her and say it's from you."

I glanced over at him beaming a devious smirk. "You're really tying my hands on this one aren't you?"

"Sure am. You don't have to use it as a promise ring. Not saying I couldn't see you two getting married, but I don't think that would be a good way to start a relationship. Just make it a little gift. Alex told me about the concert tickets, and I know that's hard to top, but I think she'd like this."

I must've been blushing like crazy by that point. Reluctantly I accepted the ring and slid the box into my coat pocket.

"Honestly Jason, I don't know how to thank you," I said as we pulled back into my driveway.

"You don't have to thank me Hutch. Holding onto that thing definitely wouldn't have been a good idea for me."

"You sure you're okay, right? I mean, you're taking this awfully well all things considered."

"Honestly there's no point on dwelling on it longer than I need to. Point is she didn't love me as much as she claimed to, if at all. I mean yeah I could mope and cry, wonder why she did it, but it's not going to change anything. Besides," he flexed his fist "punching Garth felt good."

We parted ways and I watched him drive off around the curve below my house. I couldn't help but feel bad for him as I clutched the ring case in my hand. He'd spent years with Janice. They were sweethearts, and in a flash it was over. To think that if we hadn't gone for that drive he'd have never known. I guess it was better to have found out then rather than a few years down the line.

I headed back inside and once again lay in bed.