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Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

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"Mick? Is it alright if I talk with you?" Her hands grasped the edge of the door, her nails digging into the white wood. She didn't know why she chose him. Rationally, she should've chosen Jerome. But she knew that Mick had to come first. Really, how would she be able to focus on Jerome if all she was thinking about was Mick?

"Yeah, uh," he pushed himself up and made space for her on his bed," sure." As she closed the door, she could clearly see the marks she had left on it. Not so confident now, are we Mara? She strode quickly across the room to sit next to him. His room was always quite comforting. It wasn't too clean or too messy, and he had a pleasant view of the forest from his window. The room always smelt like dirty socks though, a definite minus.

She had expected that once she sat down that the words would flow and she would be able to say what she wanted to say. But as she looked at the hopeless blond boy next to her, drying tear marks on his cheeks, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She wondered if he thought she couldn't see the tears. Maybe he thought that he needed to be strong for her. She wanted nothing more than to hug him and tell him he was forgiven.

"Mara I... Oh God, I... I'm so sorry Mara, so sorry." He dug his head into his hands to wipe away oncoming tears that were threatening to spill over. She couldn't bring herself to cry, for she didn't feel anything of this. In fact, she felt confused. Reaching out, she peeled his hands away from his face and placed hers on top of his. The tops of his hands were warm and somewhat sweaty making this slightly uncomfortable.

"Mick, shh... I... I forgive you." And she did. The punch was not intended for her, but now he carried that burden. He was broken, no doubt, from his own demons, just like Jerome. It was strange that at their most vulnerable moments, they were the same. They did not have supportive parents, no one wanted to look under their stereotype facades, and when it mattered most to them, they went ignored. The only major difference? Mick had a rock to rely on.

He lifted his hand up to her face and traced the now visible bruise that was staining her face a deep blue-black. At this, she flinched slightly. The feeling was agonizingly painful. "Mara," he whispered, still tracing it," I... I don't ever want this to happen again." He stopped and looked her into the eyes. It was the most sincere look she ever had seen from him.

"I was a monster today, and now look at what I've done?" She remained silent, waiting for him to finish. He took his hand off of her face, cringing at how much pain he could inflict. She was fragile, like a delicate vase, and it would only take another slip for her to break. The one thing that scared him most? The possibility that he could be the one to break her in two, and not feel anything of it.

"Please, Mara, for your sake, please do not hang around with Jerome."

"But-" He anticipated her argument. But he's a good person underneath… But he's always like that… But he just can't help it…

"You've seen what he does to relationships, to everyone. He just loves pushing me to my breaking point, likes it's fun... I don't wanna be the monster I was today... Please don't give me any reason to become him."

They shared a moment of silence when Mara remembered something," What Jerome said about you and Alicia Hall... Was, is it true?"

"Do you really think I'd do that to you Mara? She's my mate Mara, not my date." He laughed incredulously, not even fathoming the possibility that he might ever end up with her. He loved Mara, he knew. He loved her too much to ever abandon her.

"You said that to Amber too..." She trailed off recalling the violent breakup of the power couple, the breakup that incited the most gossip of the year.

"Hey, hey, hey. Thing is Mara Jaffray... Thing is, I love you, not her."

"Really?" She asked her voice full of hope. Admittedly, this was not her first time to have heard of the famous Alicia Hall. Kids had spotted her with Mick multiple times, and the kids had always claimed they acted closer than just friends. But she needed to know from him. She needed the confirmation from him.

Sub-consciously, he knew he wasn't sure. Alicia always had a way with messing up his head, discombobulating him, making him think he liked her. Mara though, Mara was his girlfriend. They survived the good and the hard times. Surely he loved her to have gone through all of that, right? "Really."

He tilted her chin up and placed a long sweet kiss on her lips, a kiss that made her smile. Mick loved her, and in that precise moment, that was what mattered most to her. A small part of her longed for the spark that she had with Jerome. Don't compare, that was an accident, don't compare. She chanted this in her mind in hopes that she could forget the kiss. After all, Mick was her boyfriend. What kind of girlfriend compares kisses?

He broke the kiss and placed another one on her forehead. "I promise that I will never do anything to hurt you. I promise Mara... I promise..." I promise…

~0o0o0o0~

Jerome walked into breakfast, not particularly thrilled for another Monday. Today was worse seeing as the bruise on the side of his face was horrifying. There were reds, greens, purples, most any color imaginable all mixed together like a kindergarteners paint palette. This excluded the fact that it was swelling like crazy, and had made it hard to sleep, or do anything. His hair could only cover so much.

His presence wasn't really acknowledged when he walked in. In fact, they only looked at him when he sat down next to Trixie. Mara, of course sat with Mick, but something was off. He didn't get any hellos, or a,' Good morning Jerome.' She just sat there, swirling her beans around, staring at them blankly. The table was silent with his arrival. It was so sudden that he had to stop the urge to laugh out loud. Was their little spat that interesting?

"Why are we all so quiet?" He quipped, the laughter obvious in his voice. Mick glared at him and shot a look at Mara who was still looking at her beans.

"Am I that interesting? Do I just steal the show when I come in? You know what; I should consider a career in acting if I am."

"Oh, shut it," Trixie muttered, her mouth full with what looked like mulched wheat. But this was just more incentive to feed the flames. The whole group started their conversations back up again slowly, most of them starting in whispers, gradually turning into normal talk.

"So Mara, I guess we're matching today." A part of him kicked himself for digging on her. She wasn't supposed to be in the fight. And it didn't really help his chances with her by making fun of her.

"Clarke," Mick warned, his voice hinting at a growl.

"And we both got them from Mick! Isn't this just great?" Mick shot Jerome an evil look. It was fun pushing Mick. He had the biggest temper, as seen from his constant competitiveness, and nothing would stop Jerome from exploiting that, as if Mick were his punching bag.

"Twins for a day, who would've thought?" He smirked. The tension in the room rose. The housemates looked between each other, waiting for a response from one of them. It hadn't occurred to them that Mara would be the person to do just that. No one could blame her though. She understood his situation and all but he wouldn't get away with relentlessly insulting Mick for something he didn't intend to do. That wouldn't be fair.

"Jerome, stop it! Stop insulting Mick, It's not funny, it never was! I don't know why you do it, but just grow up and stop it." Mara's outburst shocked them, despite the fact that it was not ever exclamatory. Amber's mouth hung open, Fabian looked around the room, not entirely focusing on them, and the others stared at them, not caring if it was creepy.

"And what if I don't?" He asked, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"Then you become nothing to me, Jerome," Mara knew it was an empty threat seeing as if she didn't try to patch things up, her plan would have been for nothing, but she needed something to scare him momentarily. There was a flicker of fear, genuine fear that flashed in his eyes, before being masked once again by the all too familiar icy blue ones she had come to know. At least, she hoped this was scaring him.

"I guess I'll take my chances," he stood up, grabbed a muffin, and left the room, ignoring the harsh whispers that had erupted. Mara sat in her seat, head dug into her hands. Why had she done that? Why? For a girl who was earning top grades, she sure knew how to be one of the biggest dunces ever.

Mick was happy to say the least. Mara wouldn't dare talk to Jerome now, and Jerome had reaffirmed that he hated her, and he and Mara were back together. Everything was sailing smoothly. For the meanwhile, life was good. Jerome, however, had never felt any shittier.

Life just had a way to help him with that, and it did just that all with a simple call.

~0o0o0o0~

I was struggling to find a way to end this chapter. It just seemed impossible, you know? Even after multiple edits it still does not seem right. If you pay attention or assume, you might be able to guess what the next chapter is going to be about.

Oh well

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~kels