So...I know everyone must hate me for not updating any of my stories & i'd like to say im so,so,so sorry.

Anyway heres a new one-shot for y'all :)

"Carson… I just want to clean my locker, get my stuff, and leave. I'm really not in the mood for your harassment today," I warned as I stopped fiddling with my books in my locker, taking a moment out of my day to cock my head to the side and glare hatefully at the perverted nuisance behind me.

Carson Yates: the (very perverted) arch enemy of my ex-best friend and I. He was a playboy, his looks and supposed-charm made it easy for him. He had brown, flippy hair and cold blue eyes. I can see the sex appeal – but horny assholes had the tendency to turn me off – so I kept my distance.

Though, he never kept his.

I felt Carson's arm slide around my waist fully just before he pulled my back into his chest. His head was on my shoulder and he had an innocent expression on his face, ignoring my glare altogether. I scoffed and glanced downward, trying to take his hands off me with my own.

His grip was too strong for me to shake off, though I still pried at his hands. After struggling enough and giving it some thought – he had never done more than whisper in my ear while he had a hold on me – so I just let it be.

My hands retracted from his and I huffed, going back to cleaning out my locker before packing up to leave. It had become quite a mess in the past week or so, I had been having trouble grabbing things before my lessons, and I sadly didn't have any time to clean it up until now.

The words Carson murmured in my ears disgusted me, his grotesque thoughts on the subject of him and I ever being alone together always made my stomach churn in distaste.

I scoffed and my eyes flickered back to Carson, catching the blurred image of Jack leaning up against his locker across the hall staring at us.

Even after I had broken my friendship off with Jack, he watched Carson intensely as Carson tried to pull a fast one. When Jack and I were best-friends, Carson had the sense to stay away because Jack was always so protective over me.

Now that Jack and I are no longer on speaking-terms, Carson swooped in much to my misfortune. What Jack did was bad enough and now I had to put up with a horny playboy that didn't understand the concept of personal space or rejection.

Speaking of personal space, Carson's hands were beginning to stray from my waistline. One hand was advancing north while the other was advancing south in correspondence to where they were before.

He was trying to make the act sexy and alluring, but it only repulsed me more. A scowl appeared on my face as I tried again to tear his hands away, but when my hands reached out, there were no opposing hands to grab. My eyes furrowed in confusion and I turned around swiftly.

What I saw didn't really surprise me. Jack had marched over here fast enough and had appeared to have grabbed the back of Carson's shirt and pull him off of me, a rough but effective technique. I was grateful, yes, but I could have handled it myself. Even if I couldn't have, I didn't want Jack' help.

Jack then swiveled Carson around and grabbed the front of his shirt instead of its back. Jack, newly belonging in a gang much to my disdain, was built from head to toe. He was fit, as far as anyone was concerned. Carson only played basketball and it was currently not playing season. To put it simply, Carson didn't stand a chance against a stud like Jack.

"You will not touch her like that, ever again. You hear me?" Jack growled, the muscles in his arm flexing as he squeezed Carson's shirt in his fist.

Carson glared at Jack and Jack returned the gesture easily, if not more intensely. A crowd was beginning to form around the two, circling and chanting for a fight. It wasn't long before one of the two spoke up again.

The smirk could be heard through Carson's words, "Awh, big Jack is still watching over little Kim? How cute… I thought she did away with you? Hm, it was probably for a real man like me."

Whispers could be heard from the crowd, but specifics words could not be made out. There was no doubt that the entire school would catch wind of this by tomorrow morning, there was no time for rumors to spread now that the day had ended.

I didn't notice that I had begun to advance towards them until Jack spoke through his clenched teeth, "Kim, stay out of this…I'll take care of it."

I scoffed and placed my hand on my hip, narrowing my eyes at Jack who was still looking at Carson. He was starting to really piss me off.

"You know what? No, I'm not going to stay out of it. The last time I checked, it was my business and this is my life and you aren't a part of either anymore," I snapped, not thinking before I spoke.

When Jack flinched at the words I said and the tone that held them, I knew that I had gone too far and that I shouldn't have spoken out of anger. Carson smiled at the vulnerable state that I had put Jack in and took advantage of it almost immediately, grabbing Jack by the shoulders and pulling him towards him while lifting his knee up.

I thought that Jack was a goner until his left hand caught Carson's knee before it did any damage to his private parts. I was amazed at his speed until I realized that he had probably gotten the training from one of his fellow gang members. The thought made me frown and hate Jack all over again: knowing that he joined a gang despite how he knew how I felt about them.

What made the scenario worse was that he hadn't even told me himself that he had joined – I had found out when one of his gang members had approached us.

Jack broke me out of my thoughts by mumbling, "You know why I can't just stop, it is my business and it will always be. I made a promise to your brother and I intend on keeping it, Kim. Give me a couple seconds, a minute tops."

I couldn't even ponder the mention of my brother before he got to it, his movements slightly blurry with his speed. Jack squeezed Carson's knee tightly and didn't release until Carson flinched. He also subconsciously released his grip on Jack' shoulders to retreat to his knee.

While Carson was bent down and covering his knee, Jack pushed Carson's head into his knee forcefully, and a crunch was heard.

We all heard Carson shout, we all saw him reach for his nose and we all saw the blood that began to pour out of it when Jack pulled him up to stand up straight. Jack had no mercy as he slammed Carson up against the lockers, got up close, and whispered something in his ear.

Carson's eyes had widened a few seconds later and he began to vigorously nod his head. Jack released Carson a second later and Carson ran away, pushing through the crowd and leaving my sight.

He was right...it had took no more than a minute.

Jack stood in the center of the circle, all eyes resting on him. Everyone seemed to be afraid but I knew better than to be fearful of Jack – he had beaten up plenty of guys for hurting me in the past – and I knew he wouldn't lay a finger on me. My eyes lingered on Jack for another moment, his eyes locked on mine, his eyes almost pleading.

I averted my eyes from Jack' and turned towards my locker. I grabbed my backpack quickly and didn't hesitate when I slammed my locker shut. It caught everyone in the crowd's attention like I had wanted it to.

"There's nothing to see here," I exclaimed as I strode over to Jack without making eye-contact.

I didn't look to see if anyone had dispersed from the crowd, hell, I hardly cared at that point. Everyone knew by that time that Jack and I had stopped being friends and they all knew that it pissed Jack off to see Carson act like that towards me – they should have seen that fight coming.

I shrugged my backpack onto my shoulder and continued advancing towards him. When I reached Jack, my hand stretched out and grasped his, pulling him along with me. I forced my way through the crowd that was remaining and walked straight out of school with Jack' hand in mine. I didn't want him to get in trouble for protecting me, thus taking him out of the scene of the crime before the teachers would find out or could investigate.

I continued to walk with Jack' hand in mine; slowing down once we hit the sidewalk about two blocks away from school. At that point Jack was holding my hand back and I could feel him staring at me, much less see him do it from the corner of my eye. It was starting to make me anxious, though I was already riled up enough from the previous events.

Jack stopped walking moments later, halting me in my stride. I turned my head to him, raising my eyebrow in question. He looked down at me with sad eyes and I really took at look at him then, for the first time in weeks.

His brown hair was usually put up a bit and clean, but now it was just loosely tousled and a bit greasy. His Brown eyes were put to shame with the dark circles and bags that they were adorned with. And in general… he just looks gloomy.

I sighed and lifted my free hand to his face, stroking his cheek gently. He closed his eyes in exhaust and leaned into my touch, relaxing as he let out a breath. A small smile came on my face as I continued to brush his skin and look up at him.

His eyes fluttered open moments later and locked with mine, holding me in an unbreakable gaze. I missed the light that shone in his eyes and the smile he used to give me when he saw me. I missed the hugs he would wrap me in just because he knew that I loved them so much. I missed the little things he did for me to make me smile or make me happy after my brother died.

That was why I was so mad at Jack for joining a gang.

I didn't even care which one it was, it was the very fact that a gang shooting had taken the life of my brother.

It had happened a little over a year ago. My brother, Chase, was out running errands late one night. I worried about him every time he went out because the sounds of gunshots, screaming, and sirens were frequent in our area. I couldn't help but to worry about him, he was my big brother and I didn't want to lose him. Jack and I were the last ones to see him before he left the house. I tackled him with a hug and he gave me a kiss on the forehead. Chase had also made Jack promise to take care of me and protect me while he was gone. Then, Chase left the house. At first, Jack was there to distract me from worrying so much and had even offered to stay until Chase came back home because I had been so worried from all the sounds of distress I was hearing outside.

At 4:25am in the morning, the phone began to ring.

Jack and I had still been awake – I was worried out of my mind and he had stayed awake holding me, comforting me, and reassuring me that everything was alright and that Chase had just gotten caught up with something important.

But things were not alright.

And Chase had got caught up.

That very phone call had confirmed it.

Chase, my older brother, had been caught up in a crossfire that was started by local gangs. His gunshot wound was not fatal – meaning he had suffered. He received a shot to the abdomen and was left on the ground until the policeman showed up. The paramedics were too late: he had lost far too much blood and ultimately died from blood loss.

As these memories rushed back into my head, I felt a pressure grow in the corners of my eyes, growing each second. There was a tingle in my nose, my lips began to quiver, and a somber expression took over my face. I couldn't blink away the tears that were welling up, and because of that, my vision became blurry and cloudy.

Without hesitation Jack pulled me into his arms and spoke in hushed tones, "Kim, I'm sorry… I'm so, so sorry."

I hugged Jack closer to me and sobbed into his chest, shaking as I did. Jack – knowing me better than anyone else – knew that when I started crying, I didn't stop until I fell asleep. Since we were stood outside on a sidewalk, he pulled back from our embrace and quickly slipped my backpack from my shoulders and slipped it onto his.

I looked up at his blurry figure and tried to contain myself enough to walk home, but he knew me enough to know that I wasn't able to. I could try all I want, but I'd still sob all the way home and so on. So when he lifted my arms and scooped me up to carry me like a child; I didn't hesitate to wrap my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist, and to bury my head in the crook of his neck.

I felt myself being rocked up and down because of how Jack was walking – but I didn't reject the feeling, I embraced it. I squeezed my eyes shut and focused on Jack' heartbeat and breathing pattern, trying to match mine to it. The rocking pattern and sound of his breathing and heartbeat were enough to lull me to sleep.

Immediately as I woke up, I noticed the warmth that was below me and that encircled around me. I felt relaxed, at peace, and at ease. My muscles were relaxed into the warmth that greeted me. I sighed and snuggled into the warmth more, wrapping my legs around another source of heat.

There was a slight rumble below me and my ears caught the sound of a chuckle – a very familiar chuckle – the chuckle that Jack always used when he found something silly or adorable.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I lifted my head up, resting my chin on the warmth that was below me. As my vision cleared, I saw Jack' face no more than five inches away from mine. He was smiling down at me, his Brown eyes bright, and the bags and dark circles gone. He looked refreshed, but most importantly, he looked happy.

"Good morning sunshine," he murmured, his smile growing a little with each word.

I smiled back sleepily and whispered slowly, "Morning."

Suddenly, Jack heaved me up onto his chest so that I was straddling him, before sitting up in a seated position. I was still straddling him when he had sat up, but we were closer than before. I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around his midsection, slowly sinking into his shoulder.

His heartbeat sounded through my ears while he caressed the skin that was showing from my risen t-shirt. It sent tingles up my spine and brought a smile to my face.

"Kim... Hear me out?" he timidly asked.

I nodded my head without hesitation and pulled back from his shoulder, facing him fully. One of his hands retracted from around my waist and slithered up my arm, resting on my face gently. His thumb stroked my cheek lightly and his eyes stared into mine happily.

"I... I know you can't stand the fact that I'm in a gang, but that's not what's important right now, that's not what I want this to be about… Even if I hadn't made that promise to Chase before he passed, I would still protect you with my life and care for you as if you were mine because there's nothing more in the world that I want than for you to be safe. I know I'm supposed to be your used-to-be best-friend, but I can't help it anymore. I can't help but to love everything about you and to want to keep you safe and sound," he admitted, a crooked-grin on his face.

Our faces inched closer together as he continued on, "It's really hard to not fall in love with someone like you. Someone as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, someone as strong as you are, someone as selfless – god, I'm rambling… The point is, no one can compare to you, and no one ever will. I'm too far in love with you to notice anyone else, let anyone get to know them as well as I have gotten to know you. I just… I just love you so much, Kim, it's killing me to stay away from you."

By now, I could feel Jack's unsteady breath on my lips. We were only a centimeter or two apart, still looking into each other's eyes. His words had touched my heart, made it skip a beat, and filled me with more warmth than his body heat did.

I couldn't help but to smile as I gazed at Jack and thought of how he was in love with me, it made me happier than I had ever been – even before my brother died.

And that's how I knew that I was in love with him, too.

He was my best friend. He was there when things got rough, he stuck through me through thick and thin, and he even stuck around when I pushed him to the ends of the Earth. He was loyal to me, he was sweet to me, he cared for me, and he loved me more than anything. I would never find anyone better than him.

I moved my head forward and caught his lips with mine. My lips began to tingle and I swear I was seeing stars in my head. I had never experienced anything like this before – this kiss was out of this world. I leaned into him more, pushing him back down on the bed.

I was already running low on oxygen, so I had to pull away after we fell against the bed, though our lips weren't apart for long because they soon collided again.

But only after whispering, "I love you, too."