Lunch finally arrived. I wanted to have it outside, but it was still raining! I packed my own lunch this time so I just went straight to my table where Heather was already sitting with her headphones in. 

I smiled when I saw her tapping her pencil on the table while eating. 

I sat down and she took her headphones off, "Okay so! Rose is a total bitch." Heather stated. 

I snorted, "You do know that's common knowledge right?" 

She took a bite of her sandwich and said with a full mouth, "I know, but sometimes I forget and then she does something that refreshes my memory and I'm like 'oh yes that's right, you're a fucking bitch!'"

I laughed, "What'd she do this time?"

"She cut a piece of this girl's ponytail off while we were in class!" She exclaimed, "I swear if she ever does anything to me or you, I'm going to lose my shit."

My brows raised, "Okay that's next level!" I said a little surprised at Rose's maliciousness. 

"Maybe Jax is rubbing off on her." She mumbled. 

I sighed and looked in my bag. I groaned in annoyance, "I'll be right back, I forgot my lunch is in my locker."

I got up and went out of the cafeteria. I walked down the hallways mindless as I went to retrieve my food. I spun the lock and opened up my locker. I grabbed my lunch and shut my locker to reveal a face on the other side. My heart spiked and I jumped in fright as I screamed. 

Jake stood there leaning against the lockers. 

"What the hell is wrong with you Jake! Why would you do that?" I said.

"I-I-I'm sorry! I just was walking by and I saw you were the only one in the hallways so I though-" He stopped mid-sentence, as if he was thinking himself as to why he even wanted to talk to me in the first place. 

I sighed and gulped. No one has ever seen my hip, not even Heather. So knowing that someone like Jake saw it...and remembering his face, turning from one of complete passion...to one of shock and disgust. I was scared. 

"What happened to your face?" I asked. 

Jake raised his hand to his cheek, "Oh...yeah my face. I fell down my stairs during the night while getting a glass of water."

I raised a brow at the obvious lie, "Right."

"About that night-" He said, but I stopped him. 

I shook my head, "No, stop. Just forget about it. It never happened. We didn't do anything. You never picked me up from that sidewalk that day, okay?"

His bruised face looked guilty as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Look it's not that you weren't attractive, because you are! It's just that...I just..."

I sighed. I hated this. The look of complete and utter pity. The look of 'how do I tell this girl I couldn't hook up because of her mutilated hip was so disgusting and disfigured, "Jake. Please stop. This was my fault. I should've been more careful. I was lost in the moment and I forgot to...stop. So please just forget about. I get it, I really do. I don't blame you for not wanting...to go there with me, okay?"

His shoulders relaxed and he released a breath of relief, "Oh thank goodness. Thanks Milly. I'm real sorry. But thank you for understanding."

I gulped and felt my eyes drop to the floor as I nodded my head, "Of course." He left, leaving me alone in the hall. 

This was a perfect opportunity to feel sorry for myself. I just had to comfort the most popular guy in school because he was traumatised from almost hooking up with someone with a body like mine. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. 

"Don't you dare feel fucking sorry for yourself." I told myself, "You got no right. It ain't gonna help shit."

I took exactly 60 seconds and three deep breaths for me open my eyes and walk down that hallways as if nothing happened. But that's the reality. Nothing happened. It's just the normal day for someone like me I guess. 

***

School finished and I went outside straight away. It was still raining and I didn't feel like walking in the rain. 

How the hell did he get there so fast? Jax was leaning against his car having a smoke. I approached him, holding my books. 

He just silently unlocked the car and got in, expecting me to do the same. I got in and did up my seat belt. 

"Did you see Jake's face?" I asked. 

"Yeah." Jax said bored. 

I looked out the window, "He said that he fell down some stairs."

"You talked to that pathetic piece of shit?" Jax growled. 

I turned to look at him, "Yeah? I was in the hall grabbing my lunch from my locker and he was there at the same time. It was just a coincidence."

Jax shook my head and mumbled, "Coincidence my ass."

I frowned. "What you think he was waiting for me to get there? How would he even know I was there, huh?"

"No, not there in particular anyway. He was probably following you all day and was waiting until you were alone." 

"You're ridiculous. He wouldn't do that!"

"Yeah and I'm a guy and I know how guys think."

"I know Jake, he wouldn't-"

Jax scoffs, "Right and within 24 hours of you meeting him, you thought he would never do the things that he actually really did to you or whatever the hell happened between you two. So I can't take you saying 'I know Jake wouldn't do that,' seriously because you know fuck all about what he's really like."

 "Well he isn't a psychopath. So just because that's something you'd do doesn't mean Jake or any other guy would do that."

Jax casually said, "Or maybe it just takes a psychopath to know a psychopath," He shrugs, "Food for thought."

"Or maybe-"

"Look, Hunt. I really don't give a fuck. If you're defending him so much go fuck him. I really don't care."

I growled, "I hate how you talk! You make a simple sentence sound so vulgar!"

Jax turns on his car and backs up, "Get used to it babe, you're gonna be living with this until mummy and daddy come home."

I shook my head, crossed my arms and looked out the window. Fucking asshole. He doesn't know what he's even talking about. 

We finally got the house and he parked in the driveway. I saw Jax's hand tighten around the steering wheel when we saw there was a black car in the driveway. 

I got out immediately and went inside to see Mrs Reed cooking, what I'm assuming, is dinner.

She smiled to me sweetly, "Well hello there, dear! How was school?" What came to my mind straight away was my conversation with Jake. But I just smiled and said, "It was great! Just another normal school day ya know?"

"Oh well that sounds good, dear. Mr Reed is home early so why don't you go on upstairs and study or do whatever you wanna do and then I'll call you down for dinner, okay?"

"Oh okay. Yeah sure." Mr Reed was home early? Weird. I went upstairs and laid on my bed. Processing the day. 

Was Jax right? Was Jake really following me all day? 

I shook my head. Don't take anything Jax says seriously. He's crazy anyway. He doesn't know what he's talking about. And besides, he doesn't like me anyway, maybe he's just trying to mess with my head? 

I sigh. I shake all thoughts of our conversations. It seems whenever Jax and I talk, even it's something little, it never ends positively. 

I looked around my room and saw I still have some unpacking and organising to do. So I began to unpack, pick up and put away. But all of a sudden, the devil's room next door decided to boom his music. 

"You have got to be freaking kidding me." I marched out of the room and banged on his door. He never answered. The music was so loud that he probably couldn't hear it. 

I opened the door only to see Jax's very shirtless and very sweaty body doing some weights. He turns around with a scowl, "Do you always want to wreck my peace?"

My brows raised at the injustice he just spoke through his pink lips, "Wreck your peace?! All you've done is disrupt my life!"

He turns around and crosses his arms, "Not much of a life to disrupt."

"And not much peace to disrupt when you have this demonic music on!"

"Ohhh good one." He mocks.

I rolled my eyes, "I want to listen to my own music too. So can you please just turn yours down?"

He stares at me blankly for a moment before continuing with his workout. I felt my breathing become shallow when I saw the tensing of his rippling muscles on his back. Well shit. I gulped as I imagined my hand running over-I shook my head...what the fuck Milly! I shouted at myself in my head. 

"Jax! Can you please turn it down?" I said politely. 

But he just ignored me. I scowled at his sculpted back, "Asshole! Turn it the fuck down!"

He slams his weights down and turns around, marching toward me. I frowned as I nervously took a step back. Jax grabbed my forearm, "Hey let go of me!" I shouted. 

He drags me to my room and throws me inside. Then he pointed his finger at me and says, "You don't get to tell me what to do, Hunt."

I pulled the finger at him, "Fuck you! Why can't you just be normal!"

He smirks, "Because honey, I ain't normal. Deal with it." He slams the door shut and just sit there scowling at the where he stood. Why does he do this! 

I got up and rummaged through my things to get my earphones. I put them in and scrolled through my phone. I chose a song and began cleaning...quite aggressively while muttering my problems to myself...maybe I'm not normal either? 

***

"Dinner time!" I heard Mrs Reed shout. I was on my bed as I looked around my room. It was spotless. Wow. I must've been really angry to get my room this clean. 

I got up off the bed and out of my room. Jax came out at the same time. He was wearing a singlet and was still sweaty and...muscly. Damn you!

He side glanced me and scoffed as he went down the stairs and me, following after him. We entered the dining room. I saw Jax's back go rigid and his step faltered when we saw his father was sitting at the head of the table. 

"Dad, I didn't know you were home early," Jax said in a voice I didn't recognise. He sounded like a boy from prep school or something. 

"You got a problem with me being home early, Jackson?" Mr Reed said. He eyes Jax closely. 

He quickly shook his head, "No sir."

Mr Reed turns to me and smiles. His smile was rigid and hard, as if it was painful to even do a normal, polite action, "Nice to see you, Milly."

I smile, "Good to see you too, Mr Reed."

I sat down at the table next to Jax. Mrs Reed came and sat down with her usual bright smile, "Well don't just sit there! Dig in!" She laughs.

I was about to lift my hand to grab a scoop of the mashed potato, but I feel Jax quickly grab it and kept it under the table. I side glanced him and frowned in confusion. What? He's going to try starve me as well? 

Jax subtly shook his head at me. I looked at Mr Reed as he took the first scoop of the mashed potato. No one served themselves at all until Mr Reed was done first. 

Mrs Reed got herself food with her bright smile as if that fact that Mr Reed having to get food first before all others was normal and not fucked up at all. It was like a beast asserting his dominance. I didn't like that. 

"So Milly, you're a senior right?" Mr Reed asked while eating. 

I felt myself shuffle in my seat slightly and smiled, "Yes, that's right."

"Which makes you 18? Correct?" He asks curiously. 

From the corner of my eye I saw Jax's chest begin to rise and fall quicker. His jaw was clinching as his father continued to talk. 

"Well you've grown into a beautiful woman," Mr Reed said with a soft smile. 

Mrs Reed laughed, I noticed it didn't reach her eyes. It seemed strained, "Yes you're so right, honey. Milly is such a beautiful young woman." She glances at her husband for a moment before continuing to eat. 

Am I reading into this too much or is this getting a little....weird? It feels off. 

"So what's your plans after high school, Milly?" Mrs Reed asked. 

"Oh ummm...My plan is to go to New York. My father is friends with some people in the university there. He asked for some favours and So I'm pretty much already accepted."

"New York huh? Impressive." said Mr Reed. 

"What're you studying?" To my surprise, Jax asked me that question. 

"I'm going into Business, my dad wants me to walk in his footsteps so..."

Mr Reed smiles at me, "Looks like you'll have a bright future." I didn't know why but, I didn't like it when Mr Reed smiled at me...it felt weird...like there was some hidden meaning, an inside joke he has playing in his head. 

"Maybe if Jax hangs out around you long enough, he might get smarter too." Mr Reed laughs harshly. 

I looked at Jax he was sitting there tensely in his seat. It felt strange to see someone like Jax, who was known to be this crazy, wildly confident and dominating presence, acting like a little beaten up puppy. 

"Actually," I cut into Mr Reed laughing, "Jax is one of the top in his class. He gets really high marks in most of his classes."

"How do you know that?" Jax asked me, looking at me from the side. 

"I-uhh-" I felt my cheeks heat up, "I-It's common knowledge. Everyone t-talks about it. It's not a big deal or anything."

"Exactly," Mr Reed laughs darkly with no humor as he looked at his son as if he was a bug he's wanting to squish, "It's not a big deal."

For the rest of the dinner, Mr and Mrs Reed were making polite conversation with me and I would respond in the same manner. Politely, even though being in Mr Reed's presence was making my stomach twist. 

However, I did notice one thing about tonight. I never got to eat...and Jax never let go of my hand. He was holding it for the whole of dinner. And he was holding it tight.