Yes we know. We took long to update. It's been a while, yada yada.

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own Jessie.

Chapter 7: Unspoken Promises

Ravi can feel the hush that falls on the halls of Walden Academy as the Ross family walks through the main entrance. The difference in the noise level before and after the family enters the school is almost disturbing. Prior to their entry, the students of Walden Academy buzzed with life, running from one section of the school to the next in hopes of catching up with their friends after the long weekend. Chatter filled the building from wall to wall as the children talked and laughed and gossiped. But once they caught sight of Ravi, Luke, Emma, and Zuri, they all quieted down as if an off switch was hit. It's almost eerie, as though it were out of a horror film. It's as though a silent demon sweeps among the students, taking away their ability to converse with their peers and forcing them to stare down the Ross'. All eyes land on the Ross siblings, and more specifically, on Ravi.

It would be a lie if Ravi said that this isn't creeping him out. It is more than creeping him out. All those eyes watching him as he walks down the hall, eyeing his arm. It feels like their eyes are seeing straight through him, staring right through his soul, revealing his secrets. It makes him feel naked and vulnerable. More vulnerable than he already is. He can almost hear their thoughts starting to judge him and mentally devour him as he walks by. He can just imagine what they must be thinking about him.

Luke instantly senses Ravi's discomfort as they enter the school. Eyeing the rest of the students irately, he snarls, "What is everyone looking at? Just mind your own business!" This seems to snap everyone out of their trances as they start to busy themselves with something other than the Ross family. The chatter slowly begins to fill the hallways again.

Ravi signs in relief as he turns to Luke. "Thanks for that." Luke, who seems oddly angered, could only nod in response as he looks around him.

The family had already known how the school would react to Ravi's return. Emma, Zuri, and Luke had discussed it amongst themselves prior to Ravi's release from the hospital. The night before Ravi was scheduled to return home, the three Ross siblings gathered in Luke's bedroom. None of them had agreed to meet with each other, yet something caused Emma and Zuri to leave their rooms at midnight and head to Luke's room. It was like an unspoken promise had passed between them, calling them to each other.

They sat in the Lukes room, somewhat feeling comforted by being near each other. It took a while before they started to address the elephant in the room. For a while, they just sat in the silent darkness of Luke's room, enjoying each other's company.

After a few moments, Luke finally broke the silence. "You guys know nothing will be the same, right?" He looked at his sisters who couldn't bring themselves to look him in the eyes without feeling ashamed. "Ravi. Us. Our whole family. It will never be the same."

Emma shook her head. "I'm not even sure how I should act around him now." She confessed as she pulled her blanket tighter around her. "I'm afraid I might say or do something wrong and it will trigger him to hurt himself again and…" she trailed off, unable to finish.

"What are we gonna do?" Zuri asked her two older siblings, chewing her bottom lip. Usually Zuri is one to hold her own. She has grown to become a very independent person who didn't need a hand to hold and guide her all the time. She's taken pride in being able to fend for herself and take care of herself. Yet in this situation, she felt completely clueless, and longed for a hand to hold her and to help her figure out what to do.

Luke sighed. "One thing we can't do is act weird around Ravi. We can't make it seem obvious that we're scared of upsetting him or that we feel awkward around him because that might make things worse." He knew that Ravi wouldn't want them to be uncomfortable around him. He would want his siblings to go back to being their happy selves and to not worry about him (which is impossible at this point).

"I agree." Zuri added as she picked the lint off of Luke's comforter. "The last thing we need is for him to feel guilty because we're idiots."

"Yeah. And we have to you know be there for him, and make sure he doesn't feel alone." Luke chewed his bottom lip as he thought. "Like walking him to class."

Emma shrugged. "Or making sure that nobody at school bothers him."

Luke nodded. "Yeah definitely." He was honestly prepared to do whatever it would take to protect his brother from whatever outer demons he would face. "We need to do everything we can to show him we care. We need to make sure we don't screw up again."

That last thing Luke said seemed to trigger something in them as they thought about everything they might have said or done to Ravi that would make him so depressed. Almost every day has been spent belittling him because of his size, style, nerdiness, accent. And for what? What was the point of it all anyway? Just because he seemed like an easy target? Because it didn't directly affect them when they were tormenting him? They almost lost their brother because of their selfish, stupid ways. Why had it not occurred to them before that maybe, just maybe Ravi was hurting on the inside?

"We really messed up, didn't we?" Emma whispered, hugging her knees. "We've failed as siblings."

"I can't stop replaying what happened in my head." Zuri stared out the window into the darkness of the night. "I just keeps playing over and over like some terrible nightmare I can't wake up from." She felt a lump form in her throat as she thinks about Ravi's near dead body splayed out on his bathroom floor. It was the most traumatizing thing she's ever seen in her life. She couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe had she considered his feelings more and been less of a bully to him, none of this would have happened. She sighed as she crossed her arms and stared into her lap. "I just want to take back everything I've done to him so this would've never happened."

Luke swallowed back an identical lump in his throat before he speaks. "It's not your fault Zuri. Had I not been such an ass to him in the first place he would have never tried to kill himself." He scoffed as he ran a hand through his curly tresses. "All because of a stupid tablet."

"Luke stop placing all the blame on yourself!" Zuri exclaimed, catching Luke off guard. She's had just about enough of his pity party. He wasn't the only Ross sibling involved in this. "It's not only unfair to you, but to me and Emma. And Ravi too.

"We are each responsible for this. The three of us have done many things to Ravi for him to believe we don't care. Not just you." She stared down Luke, making sure the point got across to him. He stared back at her wide eyed, looking like a little boy being reprimanded. "Blaming yourself doesn't do anything to help us. It just makes yourself feel guiltier."

A tear rolled down Luke's cheek. He hadn't even realized his eyes started tearing up. He quickly reached to wipe his face with the back of his hand and looked away from his sisters.

"Can we just all agree to do better?" Emma suggested after a moment of silence. "The least we can do is treat him better, and make things easier for him."

So they all agreed. The three of them agreed to take better care of Ravi and to treat him more like a sibling. They agreed to protect him from any others who would torment him or make him feel unwanted. Just because they failed once doesn't mean they have to fail again.

Needless to say, Emma, Zuri, and Luke were more than prepared to deal with the entire judgmental Walden Academy student body. It was almost no surprise to them when the whole school became quiet upon their arrival, but it was still infuriating as hell.

After Ravi got his necessary books from his locker, the four of them walk to Ravi's first period class, making sure to barricade him from the rest of the school. Though a little strange, Ravi is thankful for them being so close to him. It's helping to lessen the anxiety of being among so many people at once and so soon.

"You sure you're okay to go in there?" Emma askes once they're in front of his first period door. "You don't have to go to class if you don't feel up to it."

"Yeah. It's not too late to change your mind." Luke adds, seemingly hovering over Ravi.

Ravi steps back and forces a small smile. "Guys I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me." It feels like he's trying to convince himself of that more than he's trying to convince them. But he doesn't want them to worry about him too much. Or maybe he does but he doesn't want to seem like he's begging for attention. He's not too sure yet.

"Well, I've got to get to class." Zuri states, leaving out the fact that her class is on the other side of the school and she's already going to be late because of their little detour. Whatever it takes to help Ravi, she keeps reminding herself internally. "I'll see you guys later."

They wave bye to her as she heads off in the opposite direction. "I gotta go too." Emma says. She can't be late to English or Mr. Fredricks will give her a detention. Normally she wouldn't stress it, but she's already had four tardys'. She can't afford a fifth one. "I'll see you guys at lunch?" The boys nod as she walks away.

Once Emma is out of site, Luke turns to Ravi placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know if you want I can skip class and stay here with you." Skipping class is nothing new to Luke. He does it on an everyday bases for his own amusement. This would be the first time he would ever skip class to attend a different class. It made absolutely no sense. But, he is willing to do it for Ravi.

However, being the always-follow-the-rules person he is, Ravi declines Luke's offer. "Thanks Luke but I think it's best if you go to class. I'll be fine." He will be fine. He knows he will. He has to be fine. He swallows hard and tries to fight against the anxious thoughts bubbling at the back of his mind.

He might throw up. Or pass out. Or explode. Or combust. Or maybe all of the above.

Ravi does his best to show Luke that he can handle first period on his own. Luke eyes him uncertainly. "Are you sure?" Ravi nods quickly. Luke sighs. He's definitely not convinced that Ravi can be without his family for the next forty-five minutes, but he doesn't want to overwhelm him by attaching himself to Ravi's hip. He has to give him some space too. Protect him, but also give him space.

There has to be some balance to that.

"Alright bro. If you say so. But I'll meet you out here when class is done." Ravi nods an 'okay' to Luke before he heads down the hall to his class. Luke is out of Ravi's site way too soon, and he's suddenly alone in the hallway. Although he's around hundreds of students, he's alone.

Ravi stands there unmoved. He watches as students walk past him. Some are staring back at him. What could they be thinking? Do they know that he tried to kill himself? That's a stupid question. Of course they know. The whole freaking school knows. They're all probably talking about it right now. It must be the number one topic of interest in the boy's locker room. The jocks must be getting a real kick out of Ravi's misery like they usually do.

Ravi can practically hear them all laughing at him as they walk past him in the hall. He can see them point their fingers at him in amusement as if he were the world's best clown in some ridiculous circus. They're unsaid tormenting words swarm around him, deafening and blinding him, suffocating him. He suddenly can't breathe. He can't think. His mind is crowded. Overflowing with darkness. There's no escaping it. It follows him everywhere he goes. It won't leave him alone. There's only one way out, a voice keeps telling him. Is it the darkness? Is something in the dark room telling him this? There's only one escape. He can't take it. He wants out. He wants the voice to leave him alone. He wants everyone to leave him alone. Every one of them.

The sudden sound of the warning bell breaks Ravi out of his panic attack. Or anxiety attack. He can't differentiate between the two. He feels cold sweat trickling down his spine, causing him to shiver. No wait. He was already shaking before. His hands are trembling as goosebumps overtake his body, making every inch of hair on him stand up. His heart races and his breaths are shallow.

Ravi grips his hair in his hands and closes his eyes as he starts to count backwards from 10. He takes deep breath in and out with each number. He's still shaken when he gets to 1, but at least his breathing is slowing down.

With every little bit of strength he has in him, Ravi collects himself, turns around, and walks into the class, praying that he can make it through the next 45 minutes without any trouble.

The odds however are not in his favor.