hey everyone sorry for not posting for a while but this was my first year of exams and I really had a lot to do so I haven't really been feeling very writy lately (yes I just made that word up) and I don't really know but this seems a little crappy to me but I think I just needed to get that first thing out to get back to myself. if you are a little confused or thinking "what? he would never do that!" while reading this, I am just saying I came up with this accidently wile attempting to get tosleep and I remembered a fanfic I read where it mentioned that bracken his jez just once and then came up with this (in some random guy's pov for some unknown reason) anyway I'm done rambling so enjoy :)

disclaimer: I do not own these lovely characters ;) who I've decided are going to be 13 and 14 here by the way

Just This Once

"Hey, isn't that Jez up there?"

Dylan looked up to where Cory was pointing and saw that he was right. Jez was sitting with her back against an old maple tree and a hand pressed to one side of her face.

"Yeah, it is."

The boys watched for a minute as Jez stared off towards the horizon blankly.

"She's all by herself?" Cory gave Dylan a strange look out of the corner of his eye. "Isn't she always with that Morgead guy?"

"Yeah…I wonder why?"

Cory took a sip from his can of coke and turned his attention back to Jez. She had been still as long as they'd watched, her only movement the stirring of her hair in the wind. But as they watched now, she ducked her head and hugged herself tightly. Dylan was sure she was biting her lip, and he could see her nails biting into her arms.

Cory gaped at her. "Is she…crying?"

Both boys stared with their mouths agape as Jez's shoulders shook and she buried her face in her hands. Dylan watched her curl her legs up to her chest and press herself back harder against the tree trunk. "I guess that's why she's alone."

"Yeah…do you think – hey wait isn't that Morgead there?" Cory pointed to a black clad figure trudging up the path in their direction. Dylan peered closer. Yup, no doubt about it, that was Morgead all right. And he could hear the heavy scuffing from his biker boots from where they stood.

Morgead was walking with his head down and his hands pressing deep into his pockets, and didn't seem to be paying much attention to where he was walking. A few more steps though, and his head shot up and he was staring at the tree Jez was crying under. Morgead's steps faltered for a moment, and just for that second, Dylan could have sworn Morgead looked as if he were suffering. But then Dylan blinked and the expression was gone, and Morgead was running off the path and up the small hill not twenty feet from where Dylan and Cory stood watching.

Morgead dropped to one knee in front of Jez. And at first, she shied away from him, turning her head to the side and scuttling around the tree. But Morgead reached out and grabbed her chin, and she jerked to a stop.

A shadow crossed Morgead's face as he stared at Jez's face. But…was it only one side he was focussing on? Yes, it was. He had Jez's head tilted so that she faced in their direction, and Morgead was examining the left side of her face. He opened his mouth, and Cory whispered, "Let's get closer so we can hear!"

Dylan and Cory crept along the path until they were close enough to hear Morgead.

"– the hell happened?"

"Nothing, I –"

"Don't freaking lie to me Jez," Morgead snarled. "tell me what happened."

"I'm not lying."

"Tell me!"

Jez glared at the ground and muttered, "He hit me."

Dylan and Cory exchanged glances as Morgead hissed out a breath.

"How many times has this happened?" Morgead asked darkly.

"Just this once."

"What happened?"

"I deserved it."

"Jez –"

"I did!"

There was a heavy pause, then, "That's not an answer."

Jez batted Morgead's hand away. "Can we just not talk about this?" she snapped.

Morgead and Jez glared at each other for a long moment before Morgead growled, "Fine, but you should get cleaned up."

Dylan thought he was talking about her tears. He could see from where he and Cory stood near the base of the grassy hill that her eyes were red and she was flushed. But then Morgead murmured something and brought a hand up to her face. Jez's hands clenched into tight fists and she glared at the horizon as Morgead whipped at the skin under her nose and around her mouth.

When he brought his hand away, his fingers were stained red.

Dylan blinked and watched as Morgead wiped his fingers on his jeans. Beside him, Cory muttered, "Is that blood?"

"C'mon," Morgead climbed to his feet and held out a hand to Jez. "let's go back home."

Jez reached up and took Morgead's hand and pulled herself to her feet. They didn't let go of each other as they turned towards Dylan and Cory and the path home. And when they turned, Dylan caught sight of Jez's face.

Her upper lip as well as half of her lower was swollen and split, and there was a red stain all around one side and down her chin. There was blood still dripping from her nose, and a dark spot underneath her eye.

Jez's silvery eyes locked on the pair at the edge of the path and narrowed. Cory made a nervous sound in the back of his throat and Dylan gulped loudly. But that was before Morgead's eyes met theirs. First Dylan's, and then Cory's.

Cory dropped his coke can and shoved Dylan back the way they'd come. Both boys took off running. The message from those predatory eyes had been clear enough: Tell anyone, and you'll regret it!

thanks for reading and really, it's not so hard to review, is it?