Lunch time found Alex, Bug and I sitting outside under a tree in the school quad. I rested with my head in Alex's lap as he and Bug went over what they would be doing for their Biology presentation. Usually we all worked together on such things but this time I'd worked with Penelope and given a report on doves. I was pretty excited to see their California Condor.

"And so then I'll just puke all over O'Neil," Alex finished explaining the master plan to Bug, his hands running absently through my hair as Ii let my droopy eyes blink slowly. I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. "It's gonna be so fucking great."

"I don't know if you should puke on Brandon," Bug whispered, thinking I was asleep. Alex threw his hands up, bending his knees at the same time and causing my head to fall to the grass.

"Come on, Bug, this is our moment!" he exclaimed as I rolled to rest my head by the base of the tree. He touched my shoulder lightly once he'd calmed down and muttered a quick apology for throwing me off. I waved him away with a groan as he leaned down to kiss my ear.

"Well…I guess so," Bug conceded, giving in with minimal effort. I rolled onto my stomach and buried my head in my arms. Did these two ever stop talking?

"Yes! That's what I like to hear!" Alex cheered, lowering himself to my level and moving so that he was resting slightly on top of me. I huffed as his weight was placed over me.

"Ge'off, Alex," I mumbled into the sleeves of the hoodie he'd given me. "I'm sleeping."

"It's bad luck to take naps on Ripper Day," he warned in a sing-song voice, as he moved to press his lips to my neck. I swatted at him.

"It is?" Bug asked worriedly, not seeming to mind what we were up to. I rolled over with a sigh, elbowing Alex in the face gently as I looked up at Bug. He could be so gullible. It was endearing.

"No, Bug, it isn't," I assured as Alex came back to cover my body with his own again.

"Yeah, I just wanted you to get up," he laughed, kissing the side of my face. I rubbed my eyes tiredly, bending my legs at the knees to encircle him slightly.

"But I'm tired," I said through a yawn as his arms snaked around my back. I could feel us getting detention for PDA any moment now. The thought left my head slightly however as he ground his hips against mine. "Alex!"

"Yes?" he asked coyly, raising his head from my neck. I glared at him playfully, pushing myself up on my elbows.

"Seriously, we're in public, put it away," I laughed, faking that I hadn't been totally surprised by his movement and how it'd made me feel. He pouted, rolling off me as Bug cleared his throat awkwardly. He was pretty used to us, but sometimes Alex liked to push the envelope.

"You're no fun," he sighed, resting his hands over his chest. I just rolled my eyes and turned so that my back was to him and I was curled up facing Bug. Pulling up my hood, I feigned returning to my cat nap.

In actuality I just laid there playing possum while my mind reeled over what had happened. Despite how close we were, how long we'd been together, and Alex's seemingly piggish attitude, we'd never had sex. It wasn't that I was a prude or anything; it just never felt like the right time. Alex had never pressured me in any way and never even pretended to take it too far, but truth be told I was beginning to get slightly impatient. I mean, didn't he want to do it?

We were young I guess but like Alex said, he and Bug were men now. Wasn't sex supposed to be the first thing on their agenda? I didn't want to ask for it and Alex get the wrong idea about me but really, it's perfectly natural. Or at least that's what all the sex ed teachers said. Lately I'd been getting a bit more bold with him and he with I, so when he'd just ground his hips into mind it caused an odd feeling to shoot through me. I'm smart enough to know it was the same feeling as when he said he loved me, but it was definitely something.

I was so wrapped up in my own dirty thoughts that I didn't even hear the bell ring. Alex had to shake me 'awake' before I snapped out of it and pulled myself to my feet, cheeks burning red. Alex tilted his head at me in amusement, waving Bug on ahead as he circled me slowly. He could always tell what I was thinking.

"Good dreams about me?" he asked, stepping up behind me and resting his chin over my shoulder. I snickered good-naturedly, reaching up to stroke the side of his face. He hummed and rested his hands at my waist.

"Very good dreams," I conceded, rubbing my cheek on his. He beamed at me, leaning over to plant a kiss on my temple before stepping forward again.

"That's what I like to hear," he growled, taking my hand in his as we started towards the building. It was time to see his and Bug's Condor presentation. We hurried through the quad, laughing to ourselves. Stepping into the air conditioned building was a relief for my flaming face and Alex hurried me along towards our Bio class.

When going into high school, I'd asked for a placement test and qualified for advanced classes. So even though I was only a freshman, I qualified for Alex and Bug's math and science classes. This was a relief to me since I hadn't bothered making friends with anyone in my grade since I was around twelve. I'd never needed to since I'd had Alex, Bug, Jerome and Jay. My eighth grade year after they'd all gone to hig school was hell. So I'd applied for advanced classes so that I wasn't alone all the time; science and math with Alex and Bug, and then my elective class with Jerome and Jay.

As we reached the classroom, Alex yanked the door open and waved me inside gallantly. I faked a curtsy before heading in and spotting Bug in his usual seat at the back of the class, I hurried over, careful to avoid Brandon's hand which was stretched out in front of his desk, I took my seat in front of Bug.

"This had better be an amazing project, Hellermen," I joked, turning to face him. Just as Alex slid into his seat, I noticed that Bug seemed to be in pain, his fingers pressed to his temples.

"Don't worry it will be," Alex promise, not noticing his friend's plight. I was about to say something but our teacher began speaking and I was forced to turn around. I just hoped Bug's migraine wasn't too severe.

He was prone to them, which was a worry. Alex had told me about how his father Abel had been diagnosed with split personalities and how a violent one was the one that went around killing all those young people. Supposedly things like frequent migraines were a warning sign for such diseases. That and severe memory loss. I was worried about Bug constantly. He was so strange without the murderer for a father.

I was brought back from my thoughts as Alex and Bug suddenly walked passed, each tapping my shoulder in turned. I guessed that they had been called on and sat up straighter. It was time to see this California Condor. "Good luck," I whispered so that only Alex heard as he passed. He smiled down at me, throwing in a playful wink for my benefit.

True to his word, Jose had had Bug's mysterious duffle bag delivered to the classroom and Alex grabbed it now, retreating to the corner to dig around inside it. I watched him curiously for a second before turning around in my seat to face Penelope. She had her eyes trained out the window however and she looked worried about something.

"Back From the Brink by Adam Hellermen and Alex Dunkelmen," I heard Bug mumble from the front of the class. Reluctantly I turned away from Penelope to give the two boys my undivided attention, sneering as Brandon said something nasty behind his hand. "Our subject today…is about a bird…"

I frowned as Bug continued to massage his temple, glancing down at Alex who had whispered something up at him. Mr. Kaiser leaned forward, asking him straight out if he was having a migraine which he denied, his arms going limp at his sides. He seemed to be lost in a trance before suddenly he snapped out of it and turned to face us.

"Our subject today is the largest bird in North America." We all jumped collectively at the change in his voice. He sounded like…a man. "Unchanged since the Pleistocene Epoch and only recently brought back from the brink of extinction. I present to you Gymnogyps californianus."

Alex swirled around then, dragging what looked to be a large feathery coat over his shoulders and flipping his head down so that a beak like helmet fell over his head. "The California Condor!" Alex stood straight now with a screech and spread out his 'wings' for us all to see. If anyone hadn't jumped before, they jumped now as the costume revealed itself to be what looked like an exact replica of a terrifying bird.

"Are you ready?" I ripped my eyes from Alex to see Bug staring right at me. I almost wanted to tell him to stop but restrained myself as he gripped Alex's feather covered shoulders. "Fly now!"

People cried out as Alex swooped down over the seats, his 'wings' dragging across peoples' heads even when they dove to avoid them. I barely even heard what Bug was saying as I gripped the edges of my desk agitatedly. For some reason, even though I knew it was just Alex under there, I was afraid. I leaned away as he 'flew' over me, avoiding looking into the mask. Straightening up I watched as Alex 'soared' through the room, until coming to rest beside Bug again, hunched over like a gargoyle.

I finally turned back to Bug who was busy talking about carrion. "A dead, stinking body crawling with maggots is ice-cream to him!" I felt my stomach lurch as Mr. Kaiser interrupted Bug for his crudeness. As he turned back to our teacher, Bug was suddenly himself again, his timid voice returning as he assured Mr. Kaiser it was all for show. But then the other voice was back and I was afraid again. "The California Condor can consume the carcass of a cow in one day."

"Bullshit," Brandon scoffed. The entire of the class gasped as the Alex Condor snapped it's head around to face the star athlete. Snapping forward, Alex forced peoples' desks back until he stood directly in front of Brandon, hovering over him like death itself.

"Stop," I whispered, under my breath. No one heard me.

"And if anyone tries to harm it," Bug continued, looking completely unlike himself as he stared warningly at Brandon. "If anyone so much as even touches one of its feathers…just one…!"

We all watched with bated breath as Brandon reached out and plucked one of the feathers from the costume. I could feel my stomach drop dramatically as Brandon just scoffed. "What're you gonna do?" he asked my boyfriend. "You gonna bite me, asshole?"

The Alex Condor shook its head in the negative before the bottom half of the beak suddenly fell open and a thick, green slime sprayed from its mouth. The classroom was in shambles after that as a collective scream went up, even from me and everyone vacated their desks to avoid the 'vomit'. I stood slowly, in awe as Bug continued with his speech, looking delighted as Brandon tossed his desk aside and tackled Alex.

"STOP!" I screamed it this time, running forward as Brandon began beating on Alex who only laughed and grunted with every blow. I grabbed Brandon's fist as he pulled it back to strike again, crying for Bug –who was being held back by Mr. Kaiser- to stop the speech. "STOP IT!

Spinning around, Brandon shoved me roughly off him causing me to slip in the imitation vomit. I fell back with a scream, hitting my head roughly on a desk that had been pushed out its usual spot. I saw stars as I landed hard on my side and groaned in pain, tears springing to my eyes.

"BOTTLE TWO, ALEX!" I heard Bug yell as I tried to push myself up on my palms. There was a squirting noise and another cry went up in the classroom. A pair of hands rested on my shoulders and I looked up to find Penelope crouched in front of me looking frightened. "And that is why no one should ever mess with the California Condor!"

I turned in time to see Brandon get one last kick in with Alex before being dragged off of him by Mr. Kaiser. "Thank you, Brandon, that felt so good!" More tears started to well in my eyes at Alex's words. What did he think he was doing? Did he like getting hurt, was that it? I reached up a hand to touch to back of my head and gasped as I felt a warm liquid seeping through my hair. Bringing my hand back, Penelope paled at the sight of blood.

"Alex and I would like to thank you all your kind attention," Bug concluded as Penelope helped me into a sitting position. Turning my head, I noticed him start gagging and Mr. Kaiser rushing behind his desk to grab a hall pass. He practically ordered him out, Alex following with his eyes, before leaning against the desk. The door had just shut behind Bug when he noticed me with my bloodied hand held out in front of me and the other pressed to the back of my head.

"Hayley, are you alright?" he asked alarmed, hurrying over and trying to avoid the vomit and whatever the other brown liquid was. His question seemed to alert Alex for the first time that I had been trying to pry Brandon off him. When he saw the teacher hunched down examining the back of my bloody head he went into full on panicked boyfriend mode.

"Is she ok? What the fuck happened?" he asked rushing over, the costumes feathers dragging over the soiled tile. "Hayley-"

"Take off that stupid fucking costume," I grit out as Mr. Kaiser helped me to my feet. The older man didn't even warn us about language as he helped me over to his desk where he quickly began writing an injury report to send me to the nurse with. Alex looked taken aback but still yanked the thing off, tossing it beside the desk. He quickly took me into his arms, leaning my head over his shoulder and straining his neck to see the base of my skull. I could feel him pushing aside my hair to get a better look at the back of my head.

"Oh fuck," he cursed as I buried my face in his shoulder so that I wouldn't start bawling. Why had they done that? I wrapped my arms around his middle, holding him tightly as I started to tear up.

"Penelope, please take Hayley to the nurses-"

"No!" Alex cut across Mr. Kaiser. "Please, sir, can I take her?" he begged cradling the back of my head in his hand lightly. I knew he must be really worried and desperate to take me because he never called any of his teachers sir or ma'am. The man seemed to think over it for a moment before deciding my blood loss wasn't worth the argument.

"Ok fine, but hurry," he said, passing the report to my boyfriend who actually gave a sincere 'thank you' before rushing me out the door. As soon as we were slightly away from the door I yanked away from him and buried my face in my hands.

"Why did you do that?" I whimpered, the pain in my head making me dizzy. Alex tried to hug me to him again but I resisted, pulling away.

"Hayley, I am so sorry," he said, sounding traumatized himself. "That was never supposed to-"

"My head hurts," I sniffled, unable to help it any longer as I began to cry openly. I was in a lot of pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Alex murmured again and again, pulling me back into his arms. I cried into his chest as he cradled my head again, his hand probably already smeared with blood. Hurrying now, he ushered me through the hallways, whispering heart felt apologies and shushing my cries until we reached the nurses office. When we finally did he yanked the door open, smearing my blood across the handle and ushered me inside. "Help! We need help!"

I usually would've laughed at his franticness but my head hurt too badly and as I lifted it up, I winced in the brightness of the office's lights. Almost immediately I heard the school nurse, who just so happened to be an old friend of Bug's mom, rushing over, recognizing me from my purple hair, though I was sure it probably looked nearly black from where she was standing.

"What did you do to her, Alex Dunkelmen?" she snapped accusingly as she turned me around and let me rest an arm on her shoulder to steady myself.

"I'm so sorry," Alex stammered, his voice cracking in worry as she hurried me over to sit on the bed. The old black woman hurried around, mumbling under her breath as she gather alcohol, gauze, bandages and medical tape from their various places in her office. Alex came and stood by me and as I looked up he seemed about ready to cry. I squeezed his hand comfortingly.

"Move, move," the woman scolded, brushing him aside as she put all the items down on the opposite side of the bed. "We've got to stop the bleeding." She snatched up some gauze and quickly pressed it to the back of my head. I cried out in pain and saw Alex stick his fist in front of his mouth. "Hold that there," she ordered him. Reaching out he did as told, only easy up slightly as I winced in pain. "Where's the injury report?" He handed it to her, smeared with blood and she frowned, walking into a separate room to read over it.

"This is my fault," Alex sighed, pulling the gauze back slightly to see if my blood had clotted yet. Apparently it hadn't as he quickly pressed it back down. I winced again.

"Hardly," I disagreed with him. "You were planning on doing socket puppets before all this." Now that I was less hysterical, I felt bad for snapping at him the way I had.

"I'm so fucking sorry, Hayley," he whispered, his voice tight. Reaching out blinding since my head was lowered, I found his hand and squeezed it again.

"I forgive you," I mumbled truthfully starting to feel a bit sleepy. Just then the nurse came back and shooed Alex away.

"Go back to class," she huffed, taking over as she switched out the gauze.

"What?" Alex asked, shocked. "You can't expect me to leave her-"

"As a matter of fact I do," she cut in, turning to glare at him. "She's had enough trouble today with your antics and all you'll do is get in the way here. You can come pick her up when your seventh period is over at the end of the day."

"I have an open seventh period," Alex said immediately. "Can't I just come back after sixth?" The nurse huffed in annoyance, lifting the gauze to check my head before lowering her hand slowly. The bleeding must have stopped.

"That's assuming she's even still here," she went on, tossing the bloodied bits of gauze into a bag and tying it up tight. "I might call her mother to take her home, or to the hospital."

"Home?" I asked concerned at the same time Alex asked, "Hospital?"

"Look, sweetie," she said, motioning for me to lift my head up at last. "At best you have a concussion, at worst a linear skull fracture."

"Fracture?" Alex asked, his voice sounding strangled.

"I don't have a fracture," I spoke up, shaking my head lightly. "I've had one before, this isn't that bad, I'd be able to tell."

"Are you a certified nurse?" she asked, obviously ruffled by my assumption. Again I shook my head lightly, not interested in giving myself a concussion if I didn't already have one.

"No, but really I don't think this would seem so bad if not for the cut," I said, sniffling slightly. I knew that head wounds bled a lot more than any other kind, and could sometimes seem a bit more serious. "And even if it was a linear skull fracture, those don't need any medical care, they heal over by themselves. But really I think at worst, it's a concussion."

She still looked bristled but decided to take it out on Alex. "Well you still have to leave," she snapped. The young man looked disturbed at the very idea.

"Oh, please, can't you just-"

"No," she cut across him, snatching up a cotton ball and the bottle of alcohol. "It's against school rules to let you stay here anyway and if she does stay here, she's going to need rest."

I shivered as she brought her hand to the side of my head. I knew the alcohol being rubbed against the cut would burn. When the cotton touched down I hissed, writhing in my seat but not daring to pull away. I squeezed my eyes shut as she began to wipe it now, not roughly but none too gently either. I opened them again when I felt Alex's hands come to rest on my knees. I looked up at him, and my heart went out to him.

He looked so insanely guilty. I didn't want to think what was going on in his head as he watched her clean away the blood, using cotton ball after cotton ball. I knew Alex was quick to blame himself when it came to me but really he'd done nothing wrong here. Brandon had pushed me, not him. Reaching up I touched the side of his face, drawing his attention. His big eyes turned down to me and I attempted to smile. It was cut off however as the nurse racked another bit of gauze over the wound, getting the last bits of blood.

"It's all over your neck and back, but I can't help you there," she said, honestly sounding regretful. "And I'm afraid I don't have any spare clothes for you either," she went on.

"I do," Alex spoke up then, not taking his eyes from my face.

"Do what?" the woman huffed, already passed the point of annoyed with his presence.

"Have spare clothes," he clarified, glancing at her momentarily as he pinched the sleeve of his long sleeve undershirt. "She can wear this." The nurse looked down at me as if to ask if I were comfortable with this arrangement. I nodded and she sighed, nodding her okay to Alex before pointing us to the door on the opposite side of the room. The bathroom.

Alex helped me slide off the tall table like bed and ushered me over to the bathroom. Switching on the light, he shut the door behind us and motioned to my hoodie and tank top. "I'll take them to your locker for you," he said, sounding a bit nervous.

I nodded my agreement before turning away from him and beginning to unzip the hoodie. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed he had turned away as well and was currently pulling off his two shirts. I turned back around and let the hoodie fall to the floor. Reaching down I grabbed the edge of my tank top and began pulling it over my head. When it was just covering my face, I heard Alex cough and knew he had turned around. A blush spread over my entire body, and I yanked the top off quickly, wincing as it snapped over the back of my head.

"Want me to get the blood off your back?" Alex asked, his voice seeming to change octave every few words. Clasping my hands in front of me, I nodded jerkily, barely looking over my shoulder at him. He'd never seen me without a shirt on. Even with my bra on, I felt totally naked.

Turning my face back to the tiled wall, I twiddled my thumbs as I listened to him grab a few paper towels and turn the faucet on. I was somehow able to hold back from jumping when his hand rested on my bare shoulder. Unfortunately I couldn't hold back the shiver that racked my body when he pressed the wet paper towel to the back of my neck.

"You ok?" he asked, his voice no more steady than mine. I nodded, attempting to shrug my shoulders.

"It's cold," I muttered. He apologized before beginning to wipe down the area between my shoulder blades.

He scrubbed in some places where the blood had dried and used his nails to scratch at the bottom of my hair where it had caked it. I knew he could probably feel my heart pounding but he was nice enough not to make a joke about it at this point. When he finished, I continued facing the wall and listened as he tossed the paper towels away, taking a second to wipe a dry one down my back. Before too long he was holding his grey undershirt just in front of my face.

"Thanks," I murmured, taking it from him and rushing to slip in on over my head. It was warm and smelt like him. I liked it. I said as much as I turned to face his, and found him with his black shirt already on again as he appraised me. The shirt hung off my shoulders, the sleeves reaching way past my fingertips.

"You look cute," he said, leaning forward to kiss the tip of my nose. And just like that the awkwardness was broken and I laughed, waving him off. Bending down, I scooped up my top and hoodie before turning back to him.

"Whatever, I'm a hot mess," I said, moving passed him to open the door.

"Key word being hot," he teased, helping me back on to the table. I settled at the edge with him standing slightly between my knees. He leaned forward, resting his forehead against mine as he sighed. "I really fucked up this time," he mumbled, letting his eyes fall closed as he leaned against the table edge.

"No, I'm fine," I said, glancing at the nurses closed office door. "I'll be fine here til the end of the day."

"I don't want to leave you here," he said, frowning at me as he pulled away. I rolled my eyes, pulling him forward again by the front of his shirt.

"You have too," I told him seriously, starting to hand him my things. "You've got to go check on Bug and get the Condor costume."

"Fuck them both," he argued, leaning over me to rest his chin on my shoulder. I pet the back of his head lighting and kissed his shoulder.

"Go, I'll be fine," I assured, pulling away slightly to face the separate office. "Okay I'm done," I called to the nurse making Alex curse under his breath. She came from behind the door, barely sparing my new threads a glanced before she picked up more gauze and bandages.

"I'm going to wrap your head," she informed me, motioning me to hold the gauze pad to the back of my head. "In a few minutes, if you're not showing any signs of a concussion, I'll let you sleep."

The mention of sleep had me beaming at Alex who was watching her dress my head worriedly. She wound the bandages tightly over my hair, strapping the gauze in place. Finally she cut the end and secured it with a tiny metal hook. I blinked up at Alex, wondering how the bandages made me look. They must've made me look pretty ridiculous because he found it in himself to crack the smallest of smiles before leaning over to kiss the side of my bandaged head.

"I thought I told you to leave!" the nurse exclaimed as if just noticing he was still there for the first time. It was going on two o'clock and I knew she had other things to do than worry about Alex worrying about me. "Get to class!"

Alex looked down at me, his head tilted and I knew that if I asked him to stay, he would fight the school nurse tooth and nail to do so. As it were I just nodded and smiled up at him reassuringly. I could go for one class period without him. "I'm fine."

He looked unconvinced, and even shot a glare at the nurse before pulling me into a fierce hug. I could feel his face pressed to my bandages and I wound my arms tightly around his waist. "I love you," he breathed, kissing my cheek as he pulled away.

"I love you," I replied, lifting myself back onto the bed. He gathered my clothes and gave me one last kiss before heading towards the door. "Alex?"

"Yeah?" he asked, stopping with his hand reached out towards the handle. I could see in his eyes that he was hoping I'd ask him to stay.

"Don't tell Bug about this," I said thoughtfully. "Just act like nothing happened after he left the room. And bring me the hat hanging in my locker when you come back." His face grew troubled as he stepped back towards the bed. I heard the nurse grumble under her breath and suppressed a laugh.

"How am I supposed to keep this from him?" he asked as if I were crazy, holding my bloodied clothes up for me to see. I shrugged at him, not really caring how he protected Bug from the truth, just that he did.

"Just…fake it."