"I should phone my dad." I say, standing up. Letting Lincolns hand go, I pulled out my phone and called him. After 3 rings he finally picked up.
"Hey sweetheart." He said.
"Hi Dad. Umm- are you busy right now?" I asked hesitantly, my stomach clenching with nerves. I started to pace the room, needing to move. Peter and Marsha moved off to the side, getting out of the way.
"I'm never too busy for you, what did you need?" He answered.
"Well, there has been a bit of an incident here at school."
"Are you alright?"
"Not really. It wasn't a very good day today."
"What happened? Do you need me to come to the school?" Worry leaking into his voice.
"Well, it started off with an argument with Conner that ended with Ferg and Conner fighting and me falling into a panic attack. Then at lunch there was another fight, this time between Lincoln, Peter, Jake, Conner and a few of Conner's teammates... and one of the girls wasn't to friendly with me. I took off alone and was outside when-" I paused and closed my eyes not wanting to continue.
"When what? What happened?"
"I ran into Vic." I said softly, I heard dad take a deep breath in and release it slowly. "Don't worry dad, nothing happened. he was angry but Joe came by and chased him off. Nothing happened." I said.
"I'm coming to the school right now."
"There's more." I said, quickly. "Mr Garrow is trying to suspend me for 2 weeks."
"Why the hell are you getting suspended?"
"He blames me for the guys fighting Vic last month and now he is putting today's events on me as well. Ms Hall said that she is taking care of it, but she wanted me to call you and let you know now, instead of waiting until I get home."
"Where are you now?
"In the Nurses room."
"Is anyone with you?"
"Yeah, Lincoln, Peter, Ferg, Joe and Marsha. Jake was here, but he left."
"Put Peter on the phone."
"Okay." I said to my dad, before walking over to Peter and handing over my phone to him. "He wants to talk to you." He nods and takes the phone, pressing it to his ear. He walked over to the other side of the room and lowered his voice.
I walked back to the bed and sat down beside Lincoln and rested my forehead on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him. It amazes me how just being near him relaxes me, but at the same time makes my emotions go all haywire.
"So, does this mean I don't have a chance with you, or I should step up my game a notch?" Joe asked.
I didn't say anything, I just raises my arm and flipped him off. I heard Ferg and Lincoln chuckle.
"That was just Hurtful." Joe said dramatically.
"You are such a drama queen" I mumbled into Lincoln's shoulder.
"She's not wrong, you are a drama queen" Ferg deadpanned.
"Well, as entertaining as today was, Cameron and I need to get going. Don't want mom to turn on the crazy switch." Joe stated standing up. I lifted my head and gave them a small smile.
"I'll come over tonight." Ferg said returning the smile.
"I'll come with you, unless you want me to stay?" Marsha asked, looking uncomfortable.
"I'm okay." I reassured her with a smile. "Will you come over tonight with Ferg?"
"Of course." She responded, returning the smile. They left with a final wave at the door.
"Are you okay" Lincoln asked me softly, taking my hands in his own.
"I've been better, but I have also been worse." I answer, shrugging my shoulders.
"About what Marsha said-" Lincoln started.
"Don't worry about it." I cut him off.
"I do, worry about it I mean. I have been worrying about it since I saw you at the party with her. I figured that I lost my chance even before I really had one. After school started Peter told me that if I really wanted to be with you, I should man up and fight for you. To make you see the part of me that I buried years ago. I'm afraid that she is going to convince you that I'm a bad guy and you're going to shut me out like she did." He said softly looking down at our hands.
"Lincoln?" I let go of one of his hands to gently lift his head, so I am looking into his eyes. "I think that Marsha believes she is right, but what it comes down to is that she heard it from someone else. I don't know Karen, but I do know you. Ever since we met you have been kind to me. You protected me from Vic, not only at the party but also afterwards at school. You have been my friend this entire time and made me feel safe. I trust you Lincoln, so I believe you."
Lincoln leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. My heart skipped a beat and then started to race, my body heating up. I moved my hand from his chin to the side of his neck, as I started to move my lips in sync with his. It was a soft and gentle kiss. There was no rush or urgency to it. My hand trailed down from his neck to rest over his heart, which was beating furiously. I smiled into the kiss and pulled away, a blush heating up my cheeks at the thought that I might be the cause of the fast pace of his heart.
"Now that you are done, Kitten your dad wants us to stay with you. As in I'm not to leave your f*cking side for a second. I hope you don't need to go to the bathroom any time soon." He said smirking, looking smug.
"Excuse me?" I squeaked. There is no way in hell I would let Peter anywhere near the bathroom when I am using it.
"You heard me. No more running off on your f*cking own." He said, settling down on a chair, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Is that all he talked to you about? Just to stay with me?" I asked.
" Well, he did ask why Lincoln and I didn't follow you outside. We did try, but man Parkerson is stronger than he looks." He answered rubbing the back of his neck. "Then he made me promise that I won't let you out of my sight. A promise I intend on keeping."
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have runaway like that." I say softly, looking down at my lap, playing with the hem of my shirt.
I heard the chair scrape against the floor as Peter stood up, he walked over to me and crouched down in front off me. Gently gripping my chin and raising my head meeting my eyes with his intense ones.
"It isn't your fault." He said firmly, holding my gaze.
"That's not the popular opinion at the moment." I said sadly.
"It isn't your f*cking fault Kitten. I know you blame yourself, that b!tch of a mother conditioned you to believe that everything bad that happens is your fault, but she's wrong. You can't control the actions of the people around you. You can only control your own actions." He said.
"When did you become so wise? My mom would be so proud."
"Shut the f*ck up Lincoln." Peter said giving him a pointed look before turning back to me.
"Justine, you can't let what happened with Conner ruin everything you have built here." Peter said, surprising me when he used my actual name. I don't think he has ever used it.
"Was it all a lie? Just a way to sleep with me? I thought he was my friend, now I don't know. Was he just pretending to be my friend? I don't even know the difference between someone who is my actual friend and someone who is just pretending. How pathetic is that."
"I don't know, Kitten. I have no idea what goes on in that f*ckers head. All I know is that I am your friend. Jake, Eric, Brian, Alex, Emily, Ferg and Marsha, as delusional as she is, are all your friends." Peter looked over at Lincoln with a smirk. "Lincoln would like to be more than just your friend. But we can discuss that later."
"How can I be sure anymore. I don't really have any experience to fall back on."
"We don't want anything from you. We want to be around you because you have an adorably innocent charm that lights up the room." Peter said with a gentle smile.
"Plus it's fun to watch Lincoln blush whenever you are around." Jake cut in. I jumped, startled, I didn't even hear him come in.
"F*ck off, Jake." Lincoln snapped, rolling his eyes as Jake walked over to us and lounged on the bed next to me. He leaned against the wall and locked his hands behind his head.
"Where did you go?" I asked.
"To hunt down that douchebag and beat the hell out of him." Jake said, glancing over at me. I looked away unsure of how I felt. On the one hand I felt guilty that he would get into a fight because of me, but on the other hand I really didn't care if Vic was hurt.
"Did you find him?" Lincoln asked, is voice hard with obvious anger.
"No, the Bast*rd left school." He said in a slightly annoyed voice.
"Probably left when Joe chased him off."
"I don't want you guys to get into fights because of me." I said softly, guilt washing over me at the thought of them getting hurt.
"Yeah, we know. That's why we don't tell you until it is over." Jake said, smirking. I let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that it would be pointless to argue with the stubborn jack*ss.
The sudden blaring of music startles me, making me jump. Lincoln pulls out his phone and groans irritably. He stands up and answers it, while walking out of the room.
"Five bucks says it's his dad." Jake says to Peter.
"F*ck that, definitely his mom. He was annoyed, not pissed." Peter scoffs.
"Touche." Jake answers nodding his head. We all look up when the door opens, expecting to see Lincoln coming back in. Instead Ms Hall waltzes in with a satisfied grin on her face.
"Not to worry Justine, you are not suspended nor will you be. Also, after what happened, you are no longer allowed to have a meeting with Mr Garrow without either Mrs Fitchett, Mr Ferris, or myself. You are not even allowed to wait in his office understood?" She said smiling brightly.
"Understood." I responded.
"Did you call your dad?" She asked.
"Yes, he is on his way to pick me up." I answered.
"I'm not to leave her side." Peter cut in smirking.
"Good to know." She smiled.
"Georgina Hall what the hell possessed you to tell my mom that I was in a fight? Do you want me to die?" Lincoln snapped bursting into the room. Peter and Jake started laughing which made Lincoln turn and glare at them.
"It wasn't my fault. Can you imagine the damage she would have inflicted on me if she found out about it from someone else. When it comes to your mom, it's all for themselves. Sorry kid but she scares me when she brings out her crazy!" Ms Hall exclaimed, wide eyed with her arms up in surrender.
"Dude, you threw me under the bus!"
"She is crazy!" Ms Hall said, fighting a smile from forming.
"Isn't she a Therapist?" I ask Peter, who has a huge grin on his face, clearly enjoying the banter.
"Yup. She's more eccentric than crazy though. Very blunt, she'll f*cking tell you what she thinks of you." Peter said fondly.
Ms Hall left the room after a few minutes and we fell into silence, we were all lost in our own thoughts. I know I was at least. Today was definitely a long day and it was barely past noon. It wasn't long before the door opened again. Glancing up I saw my dad walk into the room, I immediately jumped up from the bed and crossed the room to meet him midway. He pulled me into a hug as soon as I reached him. I felt my body relax as I sunk into his embrace.
"Are you alright?" Dad asked, his arms tightening around me.
"I'm okay now." I breathed out. It was true, I felt safest with my dad.
"Come on, let's go home." He said as he released me. "Peter are you coming home, or do you want to stay here?"
"We're coming back to your place." Peter said. Dad raised his eyebrows at him and Peter just smirked. "You really think that Lincoln isn't going to follow your daughter home?"
"Shut up, Peter." Lincoln said, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. Jake laughed at Lincoln's obvious discomfort.
"Am I wrong?" Peter shot back, a huge grin on his face.
"Not really." Lincoln muttered, standing up and shoving his hands in his pocket. Jake bounced off the bed clearly amused and sauntered over to me.
"Told you he blushes whenever you are around." He whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. I grinned at Lincoln as he hid his face behind his hands.
"I'm going to seriously kill you for that Jake." Lincoln said through his hands, causing Dad, Peter, and Jake to laugh. I smacked Jake on the arm and walked over to Lincoln, pulling his hands down and smiling at him.
"Come on, ignore them." I said softly, taking his hand and leading him out the door. Leaving the others to follow us.
"Is that a thing now?" I heard my dad ask, his voice dripping with excitement.
"I f*cking hope so." Jake responded.
"Pretty sure we can start planning the wedding now." Peter said. I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.
I peeked over at Lincoln and saw a small grin brightening his face. I allowed a small smile to escape as well. We walked to the parking lot in silence.
"Do you want to ride with me to your place?" Lincoln asked, gazing down at me.
"Sure." I answered, smiling up at him, before getting in the car.
I sent a quick text to Emily inviting her over to my house after school, before Lincoln captured my hand in his. He held onto my hand the entire way back to my house causing butterflies to erupt in my stomach.