6

                                    

                                          
"You got beat up?" Michael says as soon as I walk into the school doors the next day. "You went to give Dee her backpack, what happened? How could you have gotten beaten up?" 
                          
"Good to see you, too, buddy." I grumble and walk down the crowded hallway to my locker. 
                          
"Are you okay?"
                          
"I'm great, I have a black eye and my face hurts. Did you know her brother is Reese? Yeah, me neither." I say sharply and pull the crappy yellow door open. I stuff my bag inside and toss my skateboard to the top of the lockers, not bothering to make sure it landed okay.
                          
"If I had known you were looking for a fight, I'd have went with you." He says, ignoring my question, which means yes, he did. I continue to walk down the hallway as he follows. "You want to stay over tonight?" He asks me. "I got Skyrim and the graphics give me a boner. I can't wait for you to see it." 
                          
"You got the new one?" I ask him.
                          
"Yeah." He says happily.
                          
"We'll see later." I say. I didn't want to tell him I wanted to stay home to see if Calum would show up like he promised he would. That would make him mad. But, something about Calum makes my chest ache and quiet frankly, I like it. I enjoyed having him around, he made me happy.
                          
"It's really fun." He says, trying to tempt me. I see Calum stand from his spot in the back and slowly walk over to the table I sit at and he places himself there and perches his head on his hands.
                          
"Okay, so I'll see you later." 
                          
Michael stands awkwardly as I stop a few feet ahead of him. "Love ya, Molls." 
                          
"You too, Mikey." I say and walk over to Calum.
                          
"Oh, love, you have quiet the bruise." Calum says, tilting my face to see the bruise in the light.
                          
"I'm telling anyone who asks that I was beat up by a door." I say and he smiles.
                          
"I'd like to kick Reese's ass." He says angrily and turns my face to the other side to inspect it. "How bad does it hurt?"
                          
"It only hurts to touch it or move my mouth, so don't do that or I may cry aggressively." I say and gently pull his hand away.
                          
"I won't." He says with a laugh, which causes me to smile.
                          
Later on in class, I sit in the back as the teacher drones on about a paper we have to write. She says we have to write it over something we love. With my topic already in mind, I just sit I and  wish she'd hurry up and stop talking. I hear the chair next to mine scrape across the ground and I look over. Ashton sits there and he smiles. "You're smart, aren't you?" He asks. "How do you do this problem?" He slides a math paper over and I sigh.
                          
"Let me see it." I say and take the pencil. 
                          
"Wait, I want you to show me how to do it. Not do it for me. I need to know how." He says and draws his eyebrows together. That's not usually how this goes.
                          
"Oh, okay." I frown and I slowly show him how to work it out. 
                          
"Oh wow, that's so easy. A lot easier than how the teacher showed us." He says and shorts. "Thanks a lot, babe." 
                          
I almost cringe at the pet name. "You can call me Molls, Molly, or Carpenter. Not babe, makes me feel a little uncomfy." I say awkwardly and he nods.
                          
"I like you're name. Molly. It's almost as pretty as you are." He gets up and goes back to his spot and I don't know how to think or respond. I was shocked enough that he knew me, and now he is calling me pretty? Something is definitely wrong.
                          
"I'm gonna sit here." I look up again and see Calum sitting beside me. "What did he want?" 
                          
"He needed help with a math problem." I say and he rolls his eyes.
                          
"More like he just wanted a reason to talk to a pretty girl," He grumbles. I look over at him and he has his face leaning on his fist and his eyebrows knit tightly together and he looks like an angry puppy with too much on his mind. "That's the only reason they talk to anyone outside of their group.


                          
"It's fine, Cal" I say. "He isn't that bad most times." 
                          
"Sometimes he is a real dick." He says.
                          
"That's also what people say about you." I point out and look up at him again and he grins.
                          
"That's because it's true." He says.
                          
"How so? I don't think so." I ask him and he flicks my pencil out of my hand and it flies across the room. I raise an eyebrow at him and he waits five seconds before walking over and picking it up. He walks back and hands it to me. 
                          
"I felt bad." He says and I laugh.
                          
"Yeah, you're a real dick. Just crushed my poor little soul." He smiles proudly like that was his plan all along.
                          

~~~

                          

I walk into the cafeteria and sit in the very back like I always do. But, something seemed wrong, everyone was quiet and whispering to each other. I see Jasper quickly run over to me and he sits beside me. "You're friend got in a fight and hurt Reese." He says and sighs like it was a bother to tell me about it.
                          
"Michael?" I ask him, suddenly afraid. 
                          
"No. Hood," He says. "He is in the bathroom, no teachers got involved, no one wants to be suspended. I think you should go talk to him, though. It was bad." Jasper says, looking a little freaked out after saying it.
                          
"Me? Why me? I'm not sure I want to be in the middle of that." I say and rub my hands together. 
                          
"It was over you, dumb ass." Jasper says. 
                          
"Oh, this is why I hate guys. They are stupid and reckless." I say. "I just wanted to eat my pizza in peace. Who started it?" 
                          
"Reese, of course." He says. I quickly stand and walk out. 
                          
My heart is beating out of my chest and I feel like I'm gonna vomit. What do I say? Is he gonna be mad at me, yell at me? I desperately don't want that.
                          
I look around before I push open the door to the bathroom.
                          
"Get out, I hear Calum say and I'm tempted to do exactly that. I step in and he growls, slamming his fists down. "I said to get the fuck out." He turns around and I step back, my heart beating painfully. "Oh... What are you doing in here?" 
                          
"They said you beat some one up." I say softly.
                          
"No one important." He says. His knuckles on his left hand are a bit red and they look like they are bleeding. 
                          
"Are you okay?" 
                          
"Oh yeah, I'm fine," He says. "I got a cut lip and a bloody nose, not bad." He says and looks away from me.
                          
I take baby steps toward him. His lip looks like he was hit with something, but just a small split. "What did this?" I ask him and he smirks.
                          
"A class ring. I hope it broke his fucking finger," He says. "You should see him, though." 
                          
"Why did he start a fight?" I ask. 
                          
"Because I helped you," He says. "Said I need to mind my own business. I told him to suck a dick and he didn't like that much." 
                          
"I'm sorry, Cal," I say and he smiles softly. He surprises me by leaning in ad giving me a hug. "I didn't want you to get hurt."
                          
"Don't worry about. I think you're worth it."