"Jessie! Calm down!" Shock said as I sat on the floor, shaking, until he flew in front of me. When he couldn't get through to me, Shock sent a very mild charge at my hand. I yelped and suddenly glared at him, furious.
"Why did you zap me?" I growled as I climbed to my feet. "I didn't attack you." Shock just glared back at me until Forge spoke.
"Will you two stop bickering?" He told us and after a moment I walked out. "Could someone go after her?" He asked as he ran a hand through his hair. With a nod Max and Steel went after their friend, closely followed by Shock. As I walked, no clear destination in mind, I tried to stop shaking. Soon I came to a stop and leant against a nearby wall, breathing hard.
"Jessie wait up!" Max called out and I stayed put, too exhausted to move. "What happened back there?" He asked me and, getting no response, he tried again. "Seriously you're scaring everyone."
"I'm scared because Berto almost…I messed up and we could have lost him forever. I could have lost him forever. Just leave me alone." I answered, managing to push against the wall and stand. Surprised by my cold personality Max and Steel didn't stop me from walking away. Giving me some space they went back to the Medical Bay. But Shock still went after me and when he caught up with me, I was once again standing in Berto's lab.
"Why is it, out of all of N-Tek, you always wind up here?" Shock asked me and I shrugged. "Maybe it's because it's Berto's lab."
"Maybe it's as simple as that. I can't believe I messed up so badly." I answered in a small voice and Shock flew over to me. "I almost got the guy I care about…what is wrong with me?"
"Hey there's nothing wrong with you. You made a mistake, that's all." Shock said, trying to comfort his friend. "Toxzon hurt him, not you. Oh I shouldn't have said that." He added and that's when I shook my head.
"That's it. I'm done being J-Shock. All I do is get the people I care about hurt. I quit." I told him and he stared at me then. After a moment I left the room and this time Shock didn't follow me right away. When I got back to the Medical Bay I found no one except Berto was still sleeping and I walked over. Standing beside him, I watched him sleep.
"I am so sorry for what I've done. I keep messing things up and you almost…left me. So I have to go. This way you'll stay safe and I won't be a nuisance to you anymore. Please forgive me." I whispered as I felt the first few tears running down my face. Then I leaned down and whispered something that only he could hear. Somehow I managed to call out to Shock to take me home. Wanting to help his friend, Shock linked with me and now in Flight mode we left. It wasn't until a few minutes after they left that Berto opened his eyes for a few moments. "I thought I heard Jessie." He muttered and then his eyes closed again as he fell asleep.
As soon as I landed on the roof I quickly climbed inside via my window and changed back to my camouflage mode. When Shock detached he took one look at my face and sighed. Now that I was back inside my apartment I let out a sob and, just for a split second, I waited for Berto to comfort me and when he didn't show up I remembered why and that made me cry harder. Running into my room I lay down on my bed and sobbed into my pillow, leaving Shock to wonder what he could do to help me. Flying over to the door he knocked, even though the door was partly ajar. Getting no response he flew inside and found his friend fast asleep on the bed. "What am I going to do with you?" He whispered as he landed beside her.
When the next morning came I woke up and tried to remember how I'd gotten home after yesterday. I could remember a little but I gave up when I started to tear up and I rubbed at my eyes. Glancing at the clock I realized that it was just after 6:30am and that it was Monday so after giving it some thought, I decided to get to school. Standing up I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and hair as I wondered what to tell my friends. In the end I had no idea so I decided to tell them only if they actually asked. After walking into the kitchen I found Shock already awake and he looked at me for a few moments.
"What's up?" I asked, smiling even though I didn't feel very happy at the moment. And Shock could sense my emotions when he flew over to me.
"I can tell you're still upset. Are you sure about going to school?" He asked me and I took a deep breath.
"Yeah I'm okay. Besides I need a distraction and what better one than school?" I answered and he crossed his arms for a few minutes. Then he shook his head and flew into my bag.
"Whatever you say. Just promise you won't get upset again." Shock said as I reached down and slipped the bag on my shoulders.
"Alright I promise." I replied as I left the apartment. When I did get to school Max and Steel were already waiting.
"Why did you leave yesterday? Everyone went looking for you." Max asked and I frowned at him.
"They didn't look very far because I went home." I replied and he rolled his eyes at me.
"You know you're being really stubborn. No one blames you for Berto getting sick except you." Steel added and I gritted my teeth.
"Look I'm through putting everyone in danger. Besides Copper Canyon has Max Steel to protect it. They don't need me." I answered as we reached the school grounds. "So stop trying to make me come back because I'm not needed." With that I walked ahead and Max stared after me.
"Wow Berto getting hurt really took a toll on her." Steel said and Max had to agree. Still reeling from my boyfriend, maybe even ex-boyfriend, getting hurt I almost walked into Sydney and Kirby. At first they grinned then when they saw the look in my eyes, they both looked confused.
"Did something happen?" Sydney asked as Kirby scratched his head. I didn't want to tell them but keeping it to myself wasn't helping so I soon told them what I could. As they listened, their eyes on me all the time, I told them that Berto had been attacked while we were outside and that he'd been struck down while protecting me. Then I told them that Max Steel had managed to get the antidote from Toxzon and save my boyfriend just in time. As I finished I could feel my eyes tearing up again so I hurriedly excused myself and ran into the girls' bathroom. Splashing water on my face I forced myself to stay calm. As they waited for me, both Sydney and Kirby looked at each other.
"Man that's messed up. No wonder she's upset." Kirby said and Sydney nodded.
"Maybe I should go and talk to her." Sydney said as she walked towards the bathroom, only for the bell to ring. "Oh not now."
"Hey guys we'd better get to class. Like now." Max said as he ran in. "Jessie just needs her space right now."
"If you say so dude." Kirby said as they started for their class. By the time I emerged from the bathroom I found the hallway empty.
"I think that was the bell." Shock said as I looked around. "Are you going in?" He asked. I wanted to but knowing I'd get yelled at for being late, and in my current frame of mind, I decided to wait until my next class. But when it was time for Science I suddenly couldn't face anyone so I ended up looking for my friends at lunch. When I wandered into the cafeteria I saw them sitting together. Not sure if I should join them or not, Max called me over and putting on a brave face I walked over. Only for Butch to step into my path and I glared up at him.
"What do you want?" I asked and he grinned, making me want to knock him flying.
"I wanna know why you're hanging out with that McGrath loser and not me. Well?" He asked and as I tried to come up with a reason, I saw Max start to head towards me. Not happy with me taking too long to answer him, Butch put his hand on my shoulder. "Thought so. Come on and hang with us." He said as he went to herd me towards his friends. Noticing the angry look I was giving Butch, Max mouthed something at me probably 'no, don't' before I took hold of Butch's arm. Before he could process what I was doing I threw him into a nearby table. Thankfully he wasn't hurt, just a little dumbfounded by what a girl had done. As everyone stared at me in shock I backed away and when I walked into the door, I turned and ran.
"Jessie!" Max called out as I ran for the nearest exit. "Wait up!" Instead of stopping I rushed outside and disappeared around the corner. He looked around for a while and when he couldn't find me, he went back inside.
"Did you find her?" Sydney asked and Max just shook his head. "I hope she's okay."
"Did you see what she did to Butch? That was awesome!" Kirby said and Sydney rolled her eyes at him. "What?"
"I hope she's okay. She hasn't been herself since Berto got hurt." Steel said and Max agreed, leaving his friends to wonder what he was agreeing about. As they went back to the cafeteria I was wandering around Copper Canyon. My eyes stinging I knew I couldn't handle returning to class so I decided to go for a walk and clear my head.
"Before you say anything I know that was a stupid thing to do to Butch but I couldn't help it. Not a good excuse huh?" I said sitting on a bench.
"Maybe it wasn't. Still it's not like he didn't have it coming. You should go back." When I stared at him, he rolled his eye. "Not school, N-Tek." When I swallowed, nervous about facing my friends, he sighed and told me he'd be there if I needed him. "Of course we're kind of stuck together so I have to be." He added and I managed to laugh at that. Slipping my bag on my shoulder I headed for the alley entrance. Once there I fired a shot of Turbo energy at the wall to show the car. As the car sped inside I tried to steady my nerves. It didn't help and when I climbed out I was almost going to turn around and go home. Thankfully Shock flew between the chair and me, preventing me from leaving.
"You'll be fine." He said as I chewed my lower lip before I gave him a nod. "Now let's find your boyfriend." He went first and I followed, still worried about what he'd say.