"A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve."

- Joseph Joubert –

Marley took a quick look around before she approached his locker holding a little gift bag filled with his favorite candy. Most of it, she bought this morning but the other night her mom came home with some Skittles that she really had no interest in eating, so Marley stuffed them in the bag. It wasn't much but she hoped it was enough to get him to acknowledge her.

"Hey." She greeted cheerfully, holding the bag behind her back. He looked over at her and frowned before slamming his locker shut. "Jake, you can't be mad at me forever."

"You went to that movie with him; I think I have the right to be pissed." He was all too quick to reply.

Marley raised her eyebrows even though he was no longer looking at her face. She wondered why he always seemed to avoid eye contact when he was angry. When Ryder was upset with her, he searched her eyes, making her feel like her feelings were important. Jake just seemed to ignore them.

But she dealt with his flaws because she loved him.

"Excuse me for thinking you didn't want to see it after you spent half the day yelling at me for your brother's relationship, an illegal relationship if I might add."

After taking a deep breath, she shut her eyes and put her hand to her head. Why was she ruining this? Why was she bringing up the past that she had already gotten over? Or maybe she wasn't over it. Maybe the thought of Jake being jealous of his brother ate her alive, made her stay up at night wondering when he'd call and break up with her. But Jake was good and at the moment she was making it worse.

"Don't be a bitch!" Jake screamed, stepping dangerously close to her so he could tower over her being. She backed up into a locker and dropped the gift bag. Her eyes drifted to the other kids in the hallway who now seemed consumed with her and Jake's personal drama than their own. "You've been acting like a bitch ever since Valentine's Day and I'm fucking sick of it."

"I-I'm sorry, I just-."

"You're not fucking sorry!" The words stung because she had been trying to make it up to him since it happened. She had been trying to make him see how truly sorry she was. "You're just a slut."

His hand raised and she couldn't help but flinch, afraid that maybe he'd hit her again, terrified that he'd make this scene even worse than it was. Maybe this time he'd use his fist and not just slap her like a little girl. The thought gave her strength. He was a coward. She was stronger. She would always be stronger.

She looked up at him ready to respond, ready to tell him off and hurt him like he had just hurt her. But she never got the chance because another boy was currently pulling Jake away from her.

"Come on, dude. Cool off." Ryder advised lowly, patting the boy on the back as Sam waved his hands at the crowd of students that had just formed.

Marley released a shaky breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. It was weird. None of this felt as real as it truly was. She felt like she was in a movie and that pretty soon the director would yell 'cut', or maybe she was in her favorite book and pretty soon the author would give her a happy ending, one that was filled with Jake and love. But as she watched Jake pull away from Ryder and punch him in the face, she slowly began to get a grip on the reality of the situation.

This wasn't a dream. This wasn't a movie. This wasn't a book.

This was real.

And Jake was really pissed at her. Ryder was really on the floor holding his bleeding nose. Teenagers were really gasping and chanting 'fight'. And she was really doing nothing but standing there watching the scene unfold like an idiot.

Almost as if something snapped within her, she pushed Jake back and knelt on the floor beside Ryder. As she grabbed his hand and moved it so she could see his nose, she noticed how calm he was. It was as if he expected to be punched, as if he wanted it. Maybe he did. Maybe Jake punching him gave him a feeling of forgiveness. What he did to Jake by kissing Marley had just been disregarded because now the playing field was even. He hurt Jake. Jake hurt him.

But it didn't make sense to Marley because she was the one who did wrong by both of these boys. She was the one who led Ryder on heartlessly and then selfishly tore him down. She built his feeling up as high as the Empire State building and then grabbed a wrecking ball and made sure they fell to the floor with a loud bang. And she was the one who had done all of that while dating Jake.

Did they feel as guilty as she did?

"It doesn't look broken." Marley whispered as she took her cardigan off and handed it to him. Reluctantly and with some persistence from Marley, he grabbed the article of clothing and held it to his nose. It didn't appear to make him feel any better. In fact, he grimaced slightly. But at the moment, that was the least of her concerns.

"You choose him?" Jake asked lowly, shaking his head in disgust at the two. By this time, most of the kids had found something better to do with their time, like go to class, and except for a few stragglers they were alone in the hallway. "After everything we've been through you choose him?"

His words made her wrinkle her brow in confusion. When did she choose Ryder? What did that even mean? Standing, she shook her head and watched as he took a small step back. "I didn't choose Ryder, Jake. You hit him for no reason."

"He kissed you!" Jake bellowed unable to hold in his anger any more, not that he had particularly been doing a good job of that recently. "He fucking made out with you and you fucking let him!"

"He was just trying to help."

"By teaching you the proper place to put your tongue?" Jake spat back and both Ryder and Marley winced. That's not what it was like, not at all.

"I'm talking about today." Marley replied coolly, taking a deep breath even though she just wanted to scream. She wanted Jake to know that she loved him but she also wanted to yell at him for victimizing himself. "He was stopping you from doing something you know you were going to regret."

Jake narrowed his eyebrows and Marley could tell he was embarrassed but why the hell should she care? "Yeah? Well then thank you man." He mumbled as he redirected his attention to his ex-best friend who was sitting against a locker looking up at the two. "You made me realize that the only thing I'm going to regret from this year is dating this slut."

What surprised Marley wasn't what he said. In fact, she expected them. What surprised her was how unaffected she seemed to be. His words were supposed to hurt and she assumed they would have if they had been said a week ago. But she was numb; numb to the insults. Turning back towards Ryder, she knelt down beside him and made him lift her cardigan from her face. He looked guilty, maybe even guiltier than she felt at the moment.

"Your eye is bruising." She mumbled as she bit her lip. With one last look, she stood up and held her hands out from him to grab. He didn't even seem to think about it before grabbing them and following her down the hallway towards the bathroom. "You should be fine if you put some cold water on it."

As she continued to drag him into the girl's bathroom, he pulled back and shook his head. "You're joking right? I can't go in there."

"What? Are you a girl?" She asked with her eyebrows raised. She meant it in the you're-really-this-scared kind of way; only after letting them leave her mouth did she decide it'd be best to think through her words next time she tried to make a joke.

"No, that's why I can't go in there." He mumbled in a tone that made it seem like he thought he knew everything. Tugging a little bit harder, she managed to pull him through the door and over to the sink. "Just for the record, I totally could have fought harder and would not be standing in the middle of the girls' bathroom if I didn't want to be here."

She laughed a little as she motioned for him to sit down on one of the trashcans. She would have suggested the counter but she was already shorter than him, no need to add a counter into the mix. Grabbing a paper towel and soaking it, she looked over to see him rubbing his nose and then looking at his bloody fingers.

As she approached him, he gave her a nervous smile and pushed her hand gently away. "Please don't hurt me."

"I won't." She mumbled as she again tried to apply the paper towel to his face. Once more, he pushed her away. "Ryder, it's going to bruise worse if you don't let me help."

"That's fine." He stood up, forcing her to push him back down. "I guess we're done here."

"Ryder, please." She whimpered, putting her hands together and pouting. He sighed and nodded his head. "Here, I'll distract you with my killer moves."

"Killer moves?" He asked as he cocked his head to the side.

She nodded her head and bit her lip, gently placing the paper towel against his eye, which she now noticed was slightly cut. "So…." She started, trying her best to appear seductive. "Come here often?"

As their laughter filled the room, she couldn't help but feel content. Never had Jake laughed at one of her stupid jokes. The only time he laughed was when she pointed out how stupid her jokes were. Ryder was different. Ryder laughed with her. Jake laughed at her.

But she loved Jake and she knew that if she tried hard enough, he'd be her girlfriend again. He wouldn't think she was a slut, even though at this point she wasn't sure if she was or wasn't.

"You deserve better than him Marley." Ryder whispered as he shut his eyes. Licking her lips, she tried to smile but she couldn't.

She didn't deserve better than Jake. Jake deserved better than her.

X X X

So another moment of Marley's denial but I'm hoping you appreciated the Ryley bathroom scene because I liked writing it. :)

Thanks for reviewing and please keep reviewing! It makes me want to write more. Plus, it really helps me improve my writing.

Love always, Kaylie

PS: I love you all :)