IAN
I finally got out of Mike's room after promising that I don't have any worms twenty times. That guy was fucking crazy but he explained everything that I had been a nervous wreck about for weeks and more. I hadn't even noticed Ms Lynn's book was gone and I didn't have the slightest clue that Draven was being a sweetheart trying to protect me, not a selfish dick playing around with my feelings.

In his quest of attempting not to hurt me, he might've hurt me even more, but I would let it slide because fuck I wanted him so badly and now I had a valid reason why it wouldn't be totally crazy to be with him. It would still be insane, just slightly less. I'd take it.

I was dripping with excitement to see him again and make things right between us so that we could be together. I hadn't seen him since the incident with Xavier but the moment I did I'd go berserk.

"Faster!" Jake screamed as Nick pushed him back and forth on the swing. I suppressed a laugh when Miles started cackling, thinking it was the funniest thing in the world.

"You're so immature," I chuckled.

"Says the dude laughing."

"Harder!" Jake screamed even louder and the two of us couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Nick put his hands up in surrender. "I'm not pushing you anymore."

"Take a joke man!" he whined, kicking his feet to try to swing higher but failing.

"I can take a joke. What I can't take is your annoying moaning in my ear."

Jake wiggled his way out of the swing and came to sit down at the picnic table the rest of us were at. "Is there a slur for straight people?" He narrowed his eyes, "because you're a reverse faggot."

"You're the king of comedy." Nick faked amusement, "we have a true comedian right here!"

"Tell us a joke!" Miles demanded.

Jake didn't hesitate, "Ian's in love with Xavier."

Nick and Miles snickered as my cheeks heated up, "I was the only one not bullying you!"

He shrugged, "it was too easy."

"At least I'm not in love with a certain jesus-lookalike straight boy," I joked.

But then it went silent and I realized it wasn't a joke.

"Yo, what?" Miles spluttered and gawked at a furiously blushing Jake who looked ready to kill me.

All the blood drained from my face when I realized I had just accidentally completely revealed his crush to everyone.

"Jake..." Nick sat there with parted lips and a perplexed look. "Do you really have feelings for me?

"No!" he shouted, face red with embarrassment and rage.

"I'm so sorry Jake—"

I was cut off when the tiny boy lunged at me with the intent to kill. The two of us toppled off the picnic table and onto the grass with a thud as he clawed at me like a pissed off kitten.

"Another girl fight!"

Nick and Miles tried to interfere to stop us but the crowd that formed was blocking them out as they cheered with beady eyes.

"Jake, I didn't know!" I reasoned but it didn't matter because he was determined for blood.

I flipped the two of us over and easily pinned his dainty wrists above his head. "Fuck you!" he spat, squirming underneath me before kneeing me in the balls.

I grunted in pain, rolling over in pain when he got straddled me and continued his pathetic attack with his puny fists pounding on my chest. A pissed off kitten could probably do more damage than him.

"Get him, twink!"

"Beat his ass blondie!"

"I hope they fuck after this."

I resorted to blocking my face to save my face from his nails scratching me, giving up on trying to push him off because of the burning pain in my nuts. Maybe he couldn't punch, but he had one hell of a kick.

I sighed in relief when Nick got through the crowd and pulled Jake off of me, getting off the ground before brushing the dirt off of my knees. I was about to thank him until I realized there was a new crowd forming. Then I heard Jake screaming.

I scrambled through the crowd and tried to shove past everyone. I was almost to the front when some guy accidentally bumped into me so hard that I fell on the ground right in front of Jake and Draven.

Jake's nose was dripping blood as he convulsed in Draven's hold who had him dangling helplessly in the air by the back of his shirt. Jake was shouting bloody murder while Draven glared with his fist raised before noticing me on the ground.

His eyes softened for a moment and I could see a tiny bit of an actual person in there for a second before his head snapped back up as he glared at whoever had knocked me over. He dropped Jake who was shivering in fear on the ground, bounding toward the innocent man.

"Draven, stop killing everybody!" I screeched, hands attaching to his ankle but that didn't stop him like I hoped it would. Instead I dragged behind him, sliding against the grass on my stomach while I shouted for him to calm down.

My anxiety increased tenfold when Nick ran in front of Draven to block him like a fucking idiot.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Nick yelled, angrier than I'd ever seen him before.

Draven immediately decided Nick was his next prey and was about to punch him in the face but I managed to scramble off the grow in time to stop him. I grabbed his arm, trying to pull it back down with all of my weight so that my legs were dangling a few inches off the ground.

"Stop!" I begged, embarrassed when his arm stayed completely upright despite my efforts.

Draven paused and glanced down at me hanging onto his arm like a koala bear before slowly lowering his fist.

"What did we say about killing people?"

Draven looked at the ground guiltily, "Not to." He mumbled.

I was still tightly clutching onto him even though he was calmed down. I smiled at his childish frown and my breathing hitched when he reached out to run his fingers through my hair until we were cut off by Nick punching him in the gut.

"What the hell are you doing?!" I gasped when the two of them clambered onto the ground, Nick not standing a single chance against the beast.

"Alex deserved so much fucking better than you!" Nick grunted when Draven broke his nose with a sinister glare.

"Don't you tell me shit about Alex!" he bellowed so loudly that the entire hospital was shaking in their boots.

Nick laughed, "tell you shit like how it's your fault he's—"

Draven's clenched fists banged against Nick who tried to suppress his cries of pain but couldn't.

I, following suit in today's pattern of being a suicidal dumbass, jumped on Draven's back and grappled his hold on Nick. "Draven! I just told you to stop killing everybody!"

I desperately tried to yank the machine off of my friend but he was a man on a mission. I tried to pull his hands away but that just resulted in my body bobbing up and down with each of Draven's relentless attacks until I accidentally slipped over him and landed face first onto Nick.

"Move!" Draven barked at me but I used the position to my advantage, clinging onto Nick to cover his body, hoping Draven wouldn't hit me. I was pretty sure he wouldn't. Like ninety percent sure. Maybe eighty. Or seventy.

Draven's hands held onto my hips to pull me off. He was too strong for me to stay on Nick but I flipped around and clung onto Draven instead.

He didn't resist my embrace. He stayed still as I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his back. His chest was heaving up and down, anger slowly dissolving away.

"It's okay," I whispered into his ear, squeezing him tightly. "Everything's okay, Draven. Promise."

He completely let go of Nick and hugged me so much he left me breathless. Everyone around us stood in bewilderment as Draven, the man everyone saw as a heartless, ruthless beast cuddled me against his chest with his eyes squeezed shut. I buried my face in his neck and he gradually pulled us both off the ground. Now I really looked like a koala, hanging onto him the way I was. The whole crowd was staring but all that mattered to me was that Draven calmed down.

He carried me inside and headed toward his room wordlessly. His skin was so warm against my own and his muscles were hard against my trembling hands. It was beyond me how he was just beating the shit out of a guy seconds ago, now holding me delicately in his arms.