Chapter 9: Chapter 9

At school, I passed by Jesse's car – parked in front and flashier than the others around it. I hadn't noticed it stood out until my dad asked about it, which was scary – the last thing I wanted in this world was my family to have a soft spot for him.

Being the idiot I was – I didn't think about how far I was from the school when I jumped out of his car. I admit, I was being...complicated, but...I would suppose he deserved it...in a way of revenge...right?

I earned the annoyed look from my English teacher when I walked in late, but in depth, Jesse was nowhere to be found in the class. I was irritated – obviously – because where else could he have gone with his car parked right outside? He was just asking for me to punch him in the face, but in a way, I found that I wasn't as mad as I should be, since Lauren wasn't in class either. Worry seemed to fill me, but I what kept me sane was that he was off with her and not someone random.

Right after this hour, I planned on giving each and every janitor's closet a visit. And then...maybe later I could start a riot or something to make them lock the doors.

While at my locker, I felt someone nudge me – and I turned to see Katrina, leaning against the locker beside mine. "What happened to you yesterday?"

"I had stuff to do."

She sighed, most likely misgiving my answer, and let it go – obviously, since I wasn't in the jolliest mood ever.

It was then, when the halls quieted down – I heard crying. Acting out of instinct, I immediately stared at the nearest janitor's closet. Surprisingly, that wasn't the location I heard the noise.

I glanced back at Katrina, who was staring past me. I followed her gaze, and instantly regretted it.

There, against the lockers with a few friends by her side, was Lauren. She looked a lot like the girl who came into class late right after Jesse had left her – and I had no doubt that that's what happened to her.

"When did it happen?" My voice croaked, not wanting to believe that he had the nerve.

"He missed class to do it. Probably as soon as he showed up, he wasn't in the courtyard this morning." Judging by all the mixed signals about Jesse, to Katrina, it most likely seemed as if I had the most furtive crush on him. It didn't serve my thoughts any justice, because just by looking at Lauren, my mind wasn't picturing Jesse and I on a lovely getaway – just a lot of pain and brass knuckles.

I shoved the remaining things in my locker, and shut it – louder than necessary, and walked blindly to Lauren. Somehow, I was relieved to find that Katrina stayed at the locker, no bothering to get in a way of a rampage.

"What happened?" I knew already, but asking for details wouldn't kill anyone.

It seemed as if she couldn't even talk at all, but she pulled through when she met my eyes – I suppose the annoyed yet impatient look scared the life out of her.

"He...said, that he didn't even like me. That...he only asked me out to get someone jealous—"

I didn't let her finish, since I knew enough, and clenched my fists and stomped through the halls.

It didn't take long to reach him, but when I did – I could have sworn I felt my nails seep into the skin of my palm. In front of him, was a girl – petite but all the while not bad looking at all. The worst thing about the scene was that they were far from talking.

They were against the lockers beside the exit, and it didn't take a complete mastermind to figure out what they were doing.

I stood beside them, but what angered me to a point where I imagined myself driving through the halls in a go-cart, was that they didn't even take the time to notice my presence. After a solid thirty seconds, I had enough.

My fist came down hard against the lockers, creating a loud bang that echoed throughout the empty hall. Judging by how the halls appeared empty in the first place made me aware that I was late for class, very late. Luckily for me, they jumped apart – shock exposed on both of their faces. Jesse's, however, turned smug – and he leaned back against the lockers, staring at me.

"May I help you?" His voice was smooth, laced with nothing but a sound that related to accomplishment.

I crossed my arms, looking nowhere else but at him. "You sure as hell can."

His expression didn't falter, but actually tensed – as if he were challenging me. It was then that I saw the girl ruffle her hair awkwardly, and back up as if she caught the message in my face. "I should go anyway, the bell already rang."

She gathered her stuff and walked off, leaving us there.

"Did you come here to replace her or what? It's okay Carson, you don't need to stay in denial for so long."

I straightened up, glancing sideways – fighting the murderous urge to jump on him. "What's wrong with you?"

The step he took toward me was as noticeable as a grown adult screaming for no particular reason dead center in a shopping mall – just the peculiar look in his eyes was evident, the rare shade of sapphire that gave me shivers.

"I could ask you the same thing. This morning you said you'd rather not be seen with me, yet here you are."

"I just came to do something."

He half smiled, and took another step. "What was that?"

I wasn't a fighter – I didn't know martial arts, kickboxing, or even wrestling for that matter. But having a father and brother as protective as they come, taught me a lot of things. That was to knee someone – and even though my dad said kneeing boys in certain areas was a major no-no, I went for the next thing.

I brought my knee up to his stomach, and earned a grunt – making me know that I hit him right. He fell back against the lockers forcefully, clutching towards his ribs.

Too much in a state of bliss for finally hitting him, I stayed there, watching him with a smile on my face. "Okay, I guess I deserved that."

"To say the least. I've wanted to do that ever since I met you." I looked like a little girl, smiling for something I've always wanted to do.

He seemed to have composed himself, but still held onto his abdomen. I gave him one last look, before turning around quickly. I highly doubt the teacher would let me off this time for being tardy, considering the bell had rung quite a while ago.

A hand clasped onto my elbow, and I stumbled backwards. In utter disbelief, I met the eyes of Jesse, again. "Aren't you going to at least help me get to the nurse's office?"

I glared at his hand. "If you don't let go, you're going to need someone to help you get to the hospital."

With a sigh, he released me, but made no intention on completely letting me walk away. I squinted my eyes, unsure.

"You look perfectly capable of walking by yourself."

He tilted his head, walking up beside me – all the while giving me a look that was odd to see on his face. Without anything – not even a warning – he leaned on me, throwing his arm out to wrap around my shoulder. "I don't think so, they've gone numb all of a sudden."

"I can break them all of sudden," I said under my breath as we started walking.

In my peripheral vision, I saw his hand had slid downwards on my shoulder. "What are you doing?"

He reached more and caught my hand, so that it looked as if I was helping him walk. "That's how you walk an injured person, Carson."

"I'm aware." Nevertheless, I tried to pull my hand out of his. "But it doesn't mean I want to."

"You owe me, since you came in out of nowhere and attacked me."

I scoffed. "Attacked you? Let's see you run that by the nurse, I bet she'll be laughing for the rest of the day."

In fact, that's exactly what she had done when we showed up. I took the 'wanting to kill him' part out of the story, and said we were just playing – with deliberation, she bought it and sat Jesse on a chair and gave me an excuse to class.

As I was about to walk out, I turned to Jesse. "Starting now, don't bother talking to me, alright?"

Regardless that I had helped him to the nurse's office because he was whiny eight year old, it didn't change the fact that he left Lauren and went to a corner with another girl right after. The thought made me want to hit him again, but with adult supervision, it wouldn't be my wisest idea.

He spoke up; leaning forward, and winced– automatically sitting back when he realized doing so would just hurt him more. "You still need a ride after school."

"I can walk," I muttered, walking out of the door.

I heard his voice from inside the room, even though I was already walking down the hall. "The news said it would rain!"

After school, I was far from pleased when I saw that it started to drizzle. When I met Katrina at my locker, she seemed to have already known what I did – and looked happier than I suspected.

"So, there's this thing tomorrow."

Not only do I always ignore these requests to go to parties, but also, I always have to find an excuse for my absence. Katrina was my best friend – there wasn't a single doubt about it – but sometimes she liked getting out of the house, and being social. I'd be jumping around, excited that she brought it up, but there was one particular person who went also.

He was a person I didn't want to see anymore, anytime soon – unless he'd like another knee in the rib cage.

"Can't go. My dad...is taking my mom and me to see my brother," I lied.

"Alright. See you later." With a sigh, she leaned off the lockers and went toward the back of the school. She rode on the bus – so my ride with a best friend was off.

As I walked out, the rain picked up – aiming for drenching my hair as fast as it possibly could. I picked up my bag to shield my head, and walked through the parking lot, kicking puddles that had already began to form.

When I was watching cars pass me in the pouring rain, while walking on the sidewalk, I started to think that I would be home by now if I waited for Jesse. Then again, all I wanted was time away from him. Only God knew what he would have done if I hadn't hit him.

I shuddered. And then looked up angrily at the sky, feeling the raindrops slide down my face.

I jumped a foot in the air, when a loud honk erupted from beside me. Turning, I saw that stupid car.

The window rolled down, and he leaned over to the passenger side. "Get in."

"No."

"Get in!"

I smiled. "No!"

"Come on, Carson. I'll beg if I have to."

"You already are."

The sound of the car brakes screeching to a halt made me stop in my tracks and stare at him. As I paid more attention, I could tell that when he had jerked forward it had hurt. He reached over to the passenger side and swung open the door, obviously not caring if the rain dripped on his seats.

"It's raining. And if you don't get in the car, I'll run you over."

My mouth dropped open, and I raised my eyebrows. "Run me over?"

"You kicked me, so you owe me. Now, get in."

I eyed the distance ahead of me – calculating how long I'd have to be walking in the rain to get home, and how easily it would be to outrun Jesse on foot. With him in that car, I'd get nowhere.

Calling myself an absolute moron, I gave in. I threw my stuff on the floor of the car, and waited – letting the water drench my hair more as I stared him down. "After this, we won't talk ever again."

When he gave a slight nod, I got in, and closed to door.

It was quiet, but like everything with Jesse around, it didn't stay that way.

"There's a party tomorrow." I was staring out the window, although there was nothing to see with the rain raging against it.

"I've heard."

I saw that he had glanced at me. "Are you going?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I have better things to do."

"Like what?"

I shot him a look, making him narrow his eyes. "I said I had better things to do, not that you should know what they are."

He sighed, clearly frustrated. His hands gripped the steering wheel like the last time. "I was just asking."

"Then don't," I snapped, looking out the window like a kid – who had just left a store without something she wanted.

Once we were in front of my house, I immediately picked up my stuff and jumped out of the car. Like this morning, Jesse reached to stop me by grabbing my bag. "Just consider going, it's not as if whatever you have to do is important anyway."

"And going to a party is?"

He smiled, and held onto his stomach again. "Depends on who you're going with."

Catching the memo, I yanked my bag and slammed the door shut. I sprinted inside the house, doing my best as to not get more wet than I already was. Passing the archway of the living room, I heard the TV mute.

"How was school, Carson?"

"I beat up the most annoying idiot in school."

"Who won?"

"I did."

Before I walked into my room, I heard a barely audible 'good girl' before I shut the door.

The most devious plot for revenge ran through my mind when I collapsed on the bed, before I actually dreamt about it. I had to admit it was one of the most deceitful plans I've ever thought of, and I knew it would put an end to my rather childish ways of hurting him.