"Too much time has passed," I sighed, "What is he planning? The date is tomorrow and I still don't know what we're doing."

Uriah chuckled as I stood next to him in the hallway while we waited for Jenny to get her books. "What makes you think I know?" He asked. I rolled my eyes and nudged his shoulder. It was so funny how easy it was to talk to Uriah, despite the fact that he was a senior.

"You're his best friend," I told him, "Why wouldn't you know?"

"Fair point," he mumbled, giving Jenny a small wink. "I have been sworn into secrecy. It's the literal bro code."

"Come on babe," Jenny tugged at his arm, "You're not gonna tell me?"

"Nope," he said, kissing her nose. I smiled at the two of them. It was funny how it didn't feel awkward being around them. They were together and that was beautiful and  easy to accept.

"Eh Uriah!" A red haired boy stopped in front of us, a big smile on his face as he clapped Uriah on the back. He was quite huge but in more of a football player  kind of way. He grinned at the couple before his eyes fell on me and his smile faded slightly. I shifted on my feet. He held out his hand towards me. He cleared his throat, "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting. I'm Hector."

I shook his hand. He squeezed mine gently for a moment longer before he slowly let go. "Nice to meet you. I'm Maddie," I told him. He nodded slowly, seemingly dazed. Uriah seemed to notice the awkwardness because he intervened.

"What can we do for you Hector?" He asked. Reluctantly looking away from me, he turned to Uriah and seemed to remember then why he had approached us.

"I just wanted to see if you were still coming to my party tonight?" He said, "Of course the ladies are welcome."

"Of course we are," Jenny chuckled, her hand on her locker door. "We'll be there."

I inwardly groaned. I did not feel like going to this guy's party. He gave me an off vibe I couldn't put my finger on just yet. He turned to me, "You'll be there too?"

I knew I would. Jenny had already agreed for the both of us. I nodded and he gave me a small smile that was actually....kind of cute? Was I being too harsh on him?

"Great. Great," he bobbed his head at me. "I'll see you there."

I watched him walk away before I turned my gaze back to Uriah and Jenny, who also watched him suspiciously. "What was that?" I asked.

"He likes you," Jenny said.

"Shit," Uriah said. "This isn't going to end well."

I raised an eyebrow. Yeah, it was unsettling but I didn't know why he saw it as so bad. "What's wrong?" I asked. Jenny and him shared a look before she finally slammed her locker door shut.

"Hector is Christina's brother," she explained, "as well as Jaden's sworn enemy. Those two hate each other."

"And if Jaden finds out that Hector's into you?" Uriah scoffed bitterly, "If Hector finds out that Jaden is into you? This is not going to end well."

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"You know, I hate this guy so much," Jaden said, leaning back in the seat of Uriah's car, "but he sure does know how to throw a party."

"Jaden, you hate parties," Jenny said from the passenger seat. She was checking her make up in her pocket mirror, pouting her lips as she tilted her head to see clearly.

"I think parties are the lowest on the list of ways to entertain people," he replied, "I don't hate them."

Uriah scoffed. He had been silent the entire car ride and I knew what he was thinking. I had been thinking about it too. It was nice to know that Jaden kind of did feel the same way about me but I was worried about what would change when he realised Hector had a thing for me. Uriah had explained that Jaden didn't like being hurt, so he often gave things up to avoid that.

I didn't want to be given up.

Jaden glanced at me and gave me a small smile, "Earth to Maddie. You okay? You've been quiet the entire drive over here."

I nodded silently before realizing that that didn't make anything better. "I'm fine," I told him. "Just have a lot on my mind."

He slipped his hand into mine casually and I squeezed it. "You know what?" He asked me, "I usually find a hiding spot to chill in during these parties but I'm feeling generous. How about we go in there, I find us some snacks and we go hide together?"

Away from everyone. I nodded. Jenny caught my eye and she smiled. It was a grateful smile. I wondered what she had to be grateful for.

Once we were inside though, I felt my panic swell. I hadn't been to a house party since the incident and the loud music and crowded room reminded me of that night. I shivered slightly and Jaden noticed, gripping my elbow from behind me.

"You okay?" He whispered, his lips by my ear. I nodded.

"Yeah. The music is just loud," I told him, turning to face him. "Snacks?"

He gave me a long look, a clear sign that he didn't believe me before he nodded. "I'll meet you here. Don't move," he told me before he disappeared into the crowd. I hugged myself, trying to force the thoughts away. So much time had passed but I still thought about it.

"Hey," a voice said from in front of me. I opened my eyes. I didn't realize that they had been shut. Hector stood in front of me, "You came."

"Yes I did," I said with a small nod. I blushed at that the fact that he had found me standing in his house with my eyes shut like some weirdo but I didn't dwell on that for too long. I said the first thing that came to mind. "Your house is nice."

"Thank you," he told me, "I wish I could live in it forever but this town is shit."

I raised an eyebrow, "Oh? You want to live in a city now?"

"You ask me like I'm making a mistake," he chuckled.

I shrugged with a small smile on my face, "Take it from a city girl; this town is perfect."

He was silent for a moment, thinking about my words before he spoke again. "How come I haven't seen you around? How long have you been in town for?"

"About a week," I answered, "I've been helped by Jenny so I don't have the usual confused new girl look on my face."

He laughed at that and sipped his can of beer. I cringed at the sight of the can and tore my gaze away from it, staring instead at the shag carpeting in his living room. "Jenny is cool. So is Uriah," he paused before adding as an afterthought, "His brother though...."

"What about him?" I asked, my voice adopting a defensive tone.

"He's just....weird. You know?" He shrugged.

"No," I said stiffly, "I don't. He's my friend."

He seemed genuinely shocked by this news. He blinked at me before he sighed. "I know he's attractive and all," he began, "but you can honestly do better."

"And who, pray I ask, do you suggest she goes to?" Jaden's voice came from behind me. I turned. He was empty handed. And angry.

Hector laughed loudly, getting the attention of the people around us. I had a feeling that was on purpose. "I'm just saying, Cross," He said, "Going around with you is a health hazard. We never know when you'll explode and hurt her."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Jaden explode? He seemed way too calm to do that.

"Shut up Hector," Jaden said slowly, his jaw clenched. "We don't have to get into this. Not tonight. Let's just let it end here."

"No we can't," the taller of the two spat, "I just don't think it's fair that you're the psychopath but she still wants to be around you."

I swallowed thickly. The tension in the air was suffocating and I could feel people watching. Great. Just great.

"Life isn't fair," Jaden replied, his voice dead. He looked at me and jerked his head in the direction of the door. He wanted us to get out of there. I wanted us to get out of there. I began moving in that direction but stopped when Hector spoke again.

"You would know about unfairness," he spat, "Your mom let your dad go and you had to live with her dumbass decision."

Jaden made a move towards him, his fists clenched but paused when from nowhere, a fist flew into Hector's face. He groaned and clutched it, stumbling away from us. I gasped in shock. Uriah flexed his fingers, his face calm but his eyes angry.

"Let's go," he said silently. He didn't wait for us. Hector was on the floor groaning and Jaden wouldn't take his eyes off him until I held onto his hand. People were watching but I didn't care. I needed to know that he was okay. I realised that hand holding was our way of calming each other down because he looked at me and nodded, showing me that he was okay.

The car ride back was silent. Jenny held her hand over Uriah's free one, giving him worried glances we all pretended not to notice. Jaden sat closer to me this time, his hand still in mine as he leaned against me with his shoulder. I looked out the window, trying to erase Hector's cruel words from my mind.

What had happened between Jaden and Uriah's parents?

The car stopped in front of my house and Jaden followed me out. Uriah drove away, to the house at the end. It was unsettling seeing both Jaden and his brother mad. Especially Uriah. He seemed so happy all the time.

"I'm sorry about tonight," Jaden told me.

I shrugged, "It couldn't be helped."

He nodded, not even giving me a smile. I tried not to let that get to my head but I couldn't help but think about how I was maybe losing him.
Just like I had feared. I let out a deep breath and tugged at the sleeves of my jersey before I spoke again. "Is Uriah gonna be okay? He seemed pretty angry back there."

"Oh he wasn't," Jaden answered, his eyes moving to the house at the end of the street where Uriah and Jenny were talking in his driveway. The night air was chilly and I momentarily wondered how Jenny was managing to be outside in her dress. Jaden's words though, distracted me from that thought.

"What?" I asked, confused. "He punched a guy. How isn't that angry?"

"Uriah doesn't lose his temper like that. He's respected enough that nobody tries to make him angry," Jaden shrugged, tugging at the bunch of dreadlocks on his head. He sighed. "He did that because he saw that I was going to lose it. He stopped me because....."

"Because?" I asked.

I didn't know why I bothered. He was silent for a bit, glancing at the sidewalk before he sighed. "Are you still in a date mood?" He asked, completely disregarding my question.

Letting out a small sigh, I nodded and gave him a small smile. "Always," I said.

He smiled at me. A part of me couldn't help but be happy that I hadn't lost him, even though a part of me was angry that he felt like he couldn't talk to me. I decided not to dwell on the bad. Like mom said, he just needed more time.

"Great," he said grinning, "I'll come get you tomorrow. Wear something you don't mind getting wet."

And with that, the conversation was done.

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This chapter is 2000+ words long. Not much but the amount of words is an improvement. Thank you to anyone who's reading for actually giving this book a try. I haven't seriously written in a while and this book is my way of getting back into it. I'd appreciate any shares, votes and comments.

Lots of love
Musawa