"Both you and your partner are going to have to go out and get the supplies for your project," Mrs. Winchester informed us as she continued to pace around the room. Great, I was going to have to go off the campgrounds and go shopping with Jesse? Worst project ever. And it was even worse since it's for chemistry.

I let out a sigh of annoyance, wishing that I could have just stayed in bed. Even though I wasn't sick anymore, I sure wished that I was. I didn't want to go shopping with Jesse Jacobsen! It seemed like it was going to be such a difficult time...

"Aw, cheer up, Emery," Jesse smirked, elbowing me in the side lightly. "I'm not that horrible to be around, am I?"

"Yes, you are," I muttered, resting my cheek in my palm. "You're unbearable."

"Love you, too, Emery."

I let out another breath, covering my face with my hands now. I couldn't wait until this year ended and I got as far away from him as possible. Though I didn't want him to die, I couldn't wait to get rid of him. When I called his teasing fun, I had been half asleep, and I had no idea what I was saying.

"I hate you."

"Hate you more."

He was seriously just trying to get on my nerves, wasn't he? Well, it was working, and I really just wanted to wring his neck. And I was supposed to go shopping with him later?

This wasn't going to go well at all.

When the time to go shopping rolled around, I seriously wasn't looking forward to it. The ride to the store was completely silent, but I knew that Jesse was amused as he drove us. The store was so far away from the camp, and we kept on passing forests and trees as we drove on the almost deserted road. There were a few houses here and there, but they looked more like vacation cabins or something. So it felt like I was pretty much utterly alone with Jesse Jacobsen.

And it sucked.

Majorly.

"I'm so glad it's Friday," I grumbled, placing my cheek in my hand as my elbow rested against the arm rest. I watched as trees flew by, and occasionally a house or a cabin as well. Even though I wasn't facing him, I knew that Jesse was smirking. I could just tell.

"Are you gonna start singing like Rebecca Black now?"

"No," I snapped, turning toward him now with a glare. "Just focus on the road, will you?"

"It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday," Jesse sang in a high-pitched voice, obviously trying to mock Rebecca Black's voice. Normally this would have been hilarious, but I seriously wasn't in a good mood and I wanted to just be in bed. When I clasped my hands over my ears, Jesse let out a strong bark of laughter.

"I think that song just may be the only thing that's more annoying than you," I informed him flatly. I removed my hands from my head and rested them in my lap. I didn't want to go shopping with Jesse. Right then, I didn't even want to go shopping with anyone. I didn't get why we had to go when it was dark out, but I didn't ask any questions about it. Jesse had just barged into my cabin and said that we were going.

But it was dark.

And, like I've said before, I hate the dark.

When we got to the store, I quickly shuffled inside while Jesse took his time coming in, smirking when he saw the impatient look on my face. One of these days I was going to slap that smirk of his face, no matter what it cost... He sure needed it.

Even though I tried to put a say into what we bought, Jesse just wouldn't let me. He bought everything that we needed for the project, and whenever I tried to put a word in, he would just cut me off and not let me do anything. Why did he get to do all of it? I wanted to be able to choose some things, too...

I let out a sigh, starting to not really care after a while. It was late, and I wanted to go to bed, and I wanted to get out of this store that was lit too brightly. Even though I'd rather be in here than outside in the dark, I still didn't like it. It was just way too bright for my liking.

"You ready to go?" Jesse asked when he saw me yawning like crazy. I nodded, rubbing my eyes. I always got so easily tired, but right then I didn't really care. I'd be lucky if I didn't fall asleep on the way back to the camp, since it took a good forty-five minutes to get back.

I clicked my seatbelt as quickly as I could, making sure to remind Jesse to put his on as well before he started driving. He rolled his eyes but pulled it over himself anyway, and I felt satisfied when I heard it click. Now, if we somehow crashed, he wasn't going to die. And, even though I was half asleep when I had said this, I really didn't want Jesse to die.

I didn't know how long we had been driving for, or if I had fallen asleep for a few minutes or not, but I knew that I was definitely half asleep when I felt us slow down. I heard  Jesse cuss under his breath a few times before we completely came to a stop.

"What is it?" I asked sleepily, rubbing my eyes as I tried to force them open. "Are we here? Why did we stop?"

"The car broke down," he informed me before opening the door and stepping out. "I'm going to go see if I can fix it. Just go back to sleep or something."

I nodded, almost curling up into a ball as I heard him lift the front hood. Jesse was good with cars, he always had been, so I was sure he was going to be able to fix it, and then we would be back at the cabin and I would be in my bed, sleeping peacefully.

Again, I had no idea if I had fallen asleep or not, but the next thing I knew I was being pulled from the passenger's seat. I squawked out in surprise, scared that it was some murderer or something, and I was getting ready to take a swing at him until the person cried, "Idiot, it's me!"

"Sorry," I apologized grumpily, rubbing my eyes once again. I was seriously tired, and I wanted to go to sleep. I was so close to falling asleep when Jesse pulled me out of my cabin earlier that night... Stupid Jesse for disturbing me. I was tired!

"Well, I can't fix it," Jesse explained with a shake of his head. "I left my phone in my cabin..."

"Idiot," I started, shoving my hand in my pocket to take my phone out. "At least I was smart enough to--"

I stopped short when I felt that there was nothing in my pocket. I shoved my other hand into my other pocket, but there wasn't anything there either. There was no way that I had left my phone in my cabin, right? When did I ever leave my phone anywhere? I always had it with me!

Jesse smirked smugly. "You go off calling me an idiot, but you don't have your phone either, right?"                            

I glared up at him through the darkness. "Shut up. What are we supposed to do? Neither of us have our phones and the car's dead. And if you can't fix it, there's no way in hell that I can... We're still pretty far away from the camp, aren't we? How are we supposed to get back?"

Jesse let out a sigh, and he seemed to think for a minute. "We could always just walk the rest of the way, but I don't think that's exactly the smartest thing to do in the dark... Why don't we just camp out in the back out of the car for the night?"

"Me? Sleep in the backseat of a car with you?" I asked, my eyebrows rising on my forehead. "No thanks. Do you know what everyone would think if they found out we spent all night together, all alone, in the backseat of your car? Besides, since the car's dead there's no heater, so it'll be freezing..."

"We can use each other's body heat," Jesse teased, sticking his tongue out at me. "Just imagine... Me, with my arm around you..."

"You covered in my vomit."

"Isn't that from a movie?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Ten Things I Hate About You, right? Shows how original you are, Emery. You can't even come up with your own comebacks... Pitiful," Jesse chuckled, causing my eye to twitch ever so slightly. So what if I quoted a movie? He pretty much set me up for it!

Jesse shook his head, ignoring me as he looked around. "Come on, there's a few houses around here, why don't we just go around and ask someone if we could use the phone?"

He turned around, walking down the side of the road in search of a house. But what if they were all just vacation cabins or something, like I had thought they were? It was still the middle of the year, not even close to summer yet, so who would be vacationing? And spring break wasn't even for another week...

"Is that safe?" I inquired, falling into step with him. "What if they're psychopathic killers or something? What are we going to do then?"

Jesse only glanced at me, shrugging as he did so. "Tough it out, I guess. Come on, Emery, who's not going to help a couple of kids whose car broke down?"

"They're probably going to think that we were out on a date or something," I complained, my face scrunching up as I did so. "I don't want anyone to think that we're a couple or something, even someone that we'll never see again. People that we actually know already tease me enough about you."

"Right back at you, Emery."

Why did I have to be partnered with him? Why did the car have to break down? Why did I have to have such bad luck?

"There's a house," Jesse pointed out, jogging toward it before I could stop him. The house was old and huge, and it looked like it could have fallen apart at any moment. Who would be living there? I'd be afraid that I'd fall through the floor...

"The lights are off," I told Jesse, running as fast as I could to catch up with him. He sure was fast, even when he was only jogging. "There's probably no one even here. Let's just walk back to the camp or look for a house with the light on."

"There's someone inside," Jesse told me, looking back at me for a quick moment when he had stopped running. He smirked back at me, and then cocked his head to the right. "There's a motorcycle right there. Now why would someone leave a brand new motorcycle like that at an old house like this if they weren't staying here?"

"The keys are still in the ignition," I informed him, bending over and peering through the darkness at it. The helmet was even still on one of the handlebars. "Why would someone leave the keys in the ignition?"

"It's probably stolen," Jesse said, shrugging as if it was nothing. My eyes widened and I straightened up, looking back at him like he was insane. Why had he said that so casually, as if it was nothing at all? This thing looked like it had cost a lot of money, and it was probably stolen? Why was he so calm?

"Let's walk back," I suggested, grabbing onto his arm. "I'd rather be hit by a car than deal with some thief!"

Jesse rolled his eyes, prying his arm from my grasp. I thought he'd look at me in disgust because of the way I had touched him, but I was definitely surprised when I felt his fingers entwine with mine. Even though I would normally pull away, this time I didn't. Because I felt safer this way.

"We'll just ask if we can make a phone call, and we'll call one of your friends. I'm sure they're worried sick about you right now. Unless you want to call Dallas," Jesse told me, sneering as he said Dallas's name. This caused my eyebrows to raise, and I couldn't help but grow curious.

"Why do you and Dallas hate each other?" I asked.

"It isn't obvious?"

"No."

"Then you're stupid."

I rolled my eyes, not surprised by Jesse's comeback. Of course he'd find a way to call me names... I shouldn't have been surprised. Stupid idiot.

"But really," I pressed on, almost glued onto his arm like I belonged there. "You guys seem like you can't stand each other. Why?"

"Let's just say that Dally and I both want something that only one of us can have."

"What?"

"Never mind."

My eyebrows furrowed, and I really just wanted to yank away from him and hit him. He was giving me pretty half-assed answers. But what did they both want that only one of them could have? My stomach dropped and my face became pale when I thought that maybe he was talking about Yolanda...

"Come on, hurry up," Jesse said, tugging on my arm lightly. "Your friends are probably worried sick."

"And yours aren't?"

"They know I can take care of myself," Jesse shrugged, walking up onto the porch, still holding my hand and leading me as well. "And I'm sure they're just joking around saying how we probably ran off and eloped."

"Stupid," I grumbled just as he rang the doorbell.

We waited for a minute, but there was no response. Jesse rang the doorbell again, but there was still nothing.

"No one's here," I said, almost desperately. "Can we please go now?"

"Wait," he muttered, not even glancing back at me. "Something isn't right..."

My eyes widened when he reached for the doorknob, pushing the door open a second later. He walked inside, yanking me after him. What they hell was he doing? Couldn't I just wait in the car? I didn't want to be in a place like this!

"Something isn't right, and yet you yank us inside anyway?" I whispered harshly at him, terrified now. The house was quiet; too quiet, if I had to admit it. It felt like one of those scenes in the movies where the victim is in a quiet place, thinking that they're safe, but then the bad guy jumps out and kills them.

"Jesse," I gulped, looking around the dark foyer of the house. "Wh--what are you doing? C--can we please leave?"

"Scared, Emery?" Jesse asked, glancing back at me with a smirk.

"Y--yes," I answered truthfully, obviously catching Jesse off guard because he stared at me for a moment without saying anything. Usually when Jesse asked me a question like this one, I would lie and say that I was fine or that I wasn't bothered or something. But now I was really scared. Because something was definitely off about this house, and I didn't want to be around to find out what.

Before either Jesse or I could say or do anything, we heard a gruff voice say from above us, "Who the hell's in here?"

My eyes widened, and I would have screamed if I wasn't paralyzed with fear. Much to my surprise, Jesse was frozen next to me as well. But it didn't seem like it was because he was scared, but it seemed like it was because of something else...

Before Jesse and I could say anything or run for our lives, a dim light filled the gigantic foyer. It was bad lighting, but it was good enough so that we could see. I blinked, squinting for a few moments as I tried to get used to the light again. I had gotten so used to the dark...

I looked up to where I had heard the voice to see a guy, he didn't look any older than Jesse, staring down at us from the top of the staircase. I glanced over at Jesse, who was staring up at the guy in shock. He didn't seem scared, but surprised...

This guy was handsome, he definitely was, but I found myself drawn to his eyes. One was blue, and then the other was green. I hadn't ever seen anything like that before in my entire life... I knew that it was possible to have two different eye colors, but I hadn't seen anyone with it before...

The guy's surprised face quickly faded away, turning into a smirk. For some reason, this scared me more than his eyes did. Though they were unique and pretty, they were so cold...

"Well, if it isn't the one person that I thought I'd never see again."

What?

I looked over at Jesse to see that he was glaring up at the guy, who continued to smirk. He knew Jesse? How could he have known Jesse? Jesse had lived in California his entire life, along with me, so how could some guy in Maine know who he was?

I was clutching onto Jesse's arm now, terrified for my life, and Jesse's as well. This guy did not seem friendly at all, and I definitely didn't like the way he was eyeing me right then.

"And you brought me something to play with?"

Jesse suddenly stepped in front of me, shielding me as the guy made his way down the stairs so that he was only a few feet in front of us. I found myself being pressed against Jesse's back, but it wasn't him that had caused it, it was me. I didn't want to be away from him. I only felt safe with Jesse next to me.

In this situation only, of course. I didn't need Jesse all the time...

"Stay away from her, Hunter," Jesse growled, stepping back into me just a little. So this guy's name was Hunter? Why did I have a feeling that it fit him so well...?

Hunter cocked his head to the side, his dark brown hair falling over his eyes ever so slightly, but he was still smirking as he continue to stare at us. "Did you get yourself a girlfriend, Jesse? Did you finally forget about that other girl that didn't give you the time of day?"

Jesse's grip on my arm tightened, but not enough to hurt me. Was Hunter talking about Yolanda? How did he know about Yolanda? Had he and Jesse once... been friends?

This guy was definitely not from Cambridge. I would have seen him, I knew I would have. He was the same age as Jesse, probably, so if they were friends, he would have been one of the idiots that had pranked me so many times before, and then he would have been at the camp, where I would have seen him. So he couldn't have gone to Cambridge. So then how did Jesse know him?

Hunter took a step forward, causing Jesse to take a step back, which forced me to as well. "Jordan," Jesse started, sounding like he was speaking through clenched teeth. "Get out of here. Now."

"Jordan?" Hunter asked, his eyes widening ever so slightly as his eyebrows rose on his forehead, sounding amused. "Jordan Emery? The Jordan?"

Oh, my God... How did he know my name?

I started shaking, and Jesse immediately noticed. "Jordan, get out of here!"

I couldn't move, but Jesse let go of my arm. I could have run away if I wanted, but something wasn't letting me. I was starting to think that my body just wouldn't let me, but when I heard a deep chuckle from behind me, my eyes widened and I shrieked. It wasn't my body that wouldn't allow me to move, it was someone else's arms around my waist.

"Good job, Butch," Hunter smirked from a few feet away, Jesse whipping around once he had heard me scream. "I didn't even have to call you this time."

"Let her go," Jesse demanded, looking between Hunter and Butch angrily. "Don't touch her."

Hunter continued to smirk that evil smirk of his, his different colored eyes sparkling in the little light we had. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Jesse. You see, she's something important to you. And this is just the start of the revenge. You're going to regret ever leaving, Jacobsen."

Leaving? What did he mean by that?

And me? Important to Jesse? Sure, whatever. Like I was going to believe that.

Before I could even blink, I felt something cold against my throat. Hunter continue to smile evilly as Jesse's eyes widened. I could feel Butch's big, rough hand against the side of my neck as he held a blade to my throat, as if daring me to scream.

What was going on...? Who were these people? How did they know Jesse?

"I swear to God, if you touch her, I'll fucking kill you," Jesse threatened, and I didn't know if he was talking to Hunter or Butch. Butch was a pretty big guy, and Hunter was a little bigger than Jesse, but I had seen Jesse fight four guys off before back in junior year. He was a really good fighter.

Jesse's hands balled into fists, and he took a step closer to Hunter. This only caused Butch to push the knife a little closer to my throat, but not enough for it to break the skin. I let out a small yelp, tears brimming my eyes. I didn't want to die... I was too young to die!

"Come any closer to me, or even try to hit me, your precious little Jordy will be gone," Hunter sneered, taking a step away from Jesse. "The smart thing to do would be to back away, Jacobsen. You don't want Jordan's death to be your fault, now do you?"

Jesse looked back at me, and there was a look I hadn't ever seen before in his eyes. I couldn't really tell what it was, but I knew that he was going to try everything in his power to save me, no matter what it cost.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I let out a long scream, as if I had been hurt or something. This terrified Jesse, and it even made Hunter furrow his eyebrows, but it completely took Butch off guard. He dropped the knife in surprise, even letting go of me as well.

What a stupid minion...

Now that I was free, Jesse suddenly turned, kicking Hunter straight in the jaw. He obviously got that I was just faking when I had screamed, so he went to beating the crap out of Hunter. But Hunter could fight well, I noticed, maybe even better than Jesse.

Butch was reaching for my hair, but I had picked the knife up from the ground and was now waving it in front of him. I didn't really think that I had the guts to stab someone, but Butch didn't know that. And he had been threatening my life, so if I had to...

Butch stepped back away from the knife, obviously taking my bluff. I smirked to myself, but let out a squawk when I felt arms wrap around my waist from behind, and I was suddenly being carried toward the door.

Before I could scream, the person who had picked me up cut me off. "It's me, it's Jesse! Calm down, we're getting out of here!"

I felt my body relax, and Jesse put me down and we started to run. When we had burst through the front door, he grabbed onto my arm and yanked me toward the motorcycle, pushing the only helmet onto my head once we had got there.

"What about you?" I asked, almost out of breath as I tossed the knife onto the ground.

"I don't need one."

"Yes you do! I'm not getting on unless you have a helmet!"

Jesse rolled his eyes, grabbing onto my wrist quickly and forcing me onto the back. I tried to wiggle off, but he started it up and was off before I could. I was still breathing heavily, and so was Jesse, but not as badly as I was. And that was kind of bad, since he had fought and all I had done was scream.

"We're going to get pulled over!" I shouted over the roaring engine after we were miles away from the house. "If this thing was stolen like you said it was, then we're going to get in trouble. And anyway, we kind of just stole it again right now! Not to mention you're going to get in trouble for not wearing a helmet!"

"Well, you know, Emery, I'd much rather deal with the cops than Hunter and his goons."

I hated it when Jesse was right.

We were going so fast, and I couldn't believe that Jesse wasn't wearing a helmet. If we had crashed... We were going so fast! And he didn't even seem scared at all.

I held onto his waist tightly, praying silently that we wouldn't crash. When I opened my eyes again to see a strip mall and people and lights, I felt myself breathe again. We were safe.

Jesse parked in the parking lot of the strip mall, letting me get off the motorcycle first before him. My legs felt like jelly, and I almost fell over until Jesse caught me. "Careful, Emery," he said, taking the helmet off slowly. "I don't want you hurting yourself after you got out of that without a scratch."

I could tell he was trying to be funny, but I still just wanted to cry. I wasn't tired anymore, but terrified now. Who were those people?

"I did get a scratch," I told him, showing him the side of my neck. It wasn't from the knife, but Butch's fingernail when he was pulling away from me.

Jesse bent over, examining the small scratch. "I think you'll live."

"But what about you?"

Now that I looked at him, I couldn't help but let a few tears fall. There was a blood stain from it trickling from his mouth, and he had bruises on his face. I didn't even want to see what was under his clothing. I was sure it was ten times worse.

"I'm fine," Jesse shrugged, taking my hand and leading me toward one of the stores. "I'm used to it."

"You're used to it?"

"I'll explain it to you when we're inside," he promised, leading me up the curb and into the shop. This was another store that was too bright, but I didn't think much of it after we had entered. Jesse told me to go sit in one of the booths, and I did as I was told as he disappeared off somewhere.

I was still spooked from what had happened just twenty minutes before, and my breath stayed jagged as I sat there. Every movement that was made around me made me jump, causing people to give me strange looks. They would be acting the same way if they had almost died...

Jesse came back a few minutes later, pushing something in front of me. My eyes widened ever so slightly when I saw it was ice cream. I hadn't even noticed that this place was an ice cream parlor... That was just how out of it I was, and that scared me as well.

He slipped into the booth across from me, but he didn't have anything for himself but a water bottle. Why hadn't he gotten himself something?

"Why didn't you get anything?" I asked him, voicing my thoughts. He shrugged, slipping his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. Jeez, I swear he wore that thing all the time. "I don't want to feel like a pig or anything, eating something all by myself..."

He smirked, but I could tell that it was forced. I had been trying to be funny, but I guess that it didn't work. If this was any other normal time, Jesse would have smirked and made some obnoxious comeback, but now he just smirked a forceful smirk.

I looked down at the ice cream and my eyes widened once again. "How did you know Oreo was my favorite?"

Jesse smiled now. Not a smirk, but an actual smile. "Can you remember the first time we met?" he asked, his head cocking to the side. "Do you remember what happened?"

I fingered the spoon lightly, dipping it in and out of the ice cream slightly. "I remember," I chuckled quietly, smiling myself. "I thought that I was on my first date with Dallas, but it turned out he just thought it was an outing between two best friends. I wore my favorite shirt... and you ruined it by running into me and making me drop my ice cream all over it. I was angry with you, and I immediately pinned you as annoying and rude. I didn't even give you a chance, did I? I was so obsessed with Dallas back then... But now that I think of it, you were giving me such a strange look. Your eyes were wide, and your mouth was open slightly. To this day I still don't know what it means..."

Jesse was looking away from me after I had added the last thing I had said, and it was obvious that he didn't want to talk about it, so I let it go. But that was how Jesse and I had met. Back in freshman year, Dallas had asked me if I wanted to go out, and I thought he meant on a date. I spent hours getting ready, but I wasn't that disappointed when I found out we were only going out as friends, because I was still able to be with him.

Dallas and I had went to an ice cream parlor, and as we were leaving, someone had opened the door and ran into me, causing me to dump all my ice cream onto my shirt. I glared up at the person to see it was Jesse, who was giving me the strangest look. He was breathing rather heavily, too, and I assumed that he had been running. Why, though, I never figured out.

I told myself that I hated him for making a fool out of me in front of Dallas, and if I ever saw him again, we were going to become enemies. But only a week later, he had told Dallas that I liked him. And we had been enemies ever since that moment.

"Why were you running that day?" I asked, growing more and more curious. "Who was that guy, Hunter? How do you know him? Were you friends?"

Jesse let out a long sigh. "You could say that, I guess," he shrugged, frowning as he did so. "I'll tell you, Emery, I definitely will, but you have to promise me something."

I nodded, swallowing a gulp of ice cream. "Okay. What is it?"

"Promise you won't look at me any differently."

I blinked, not expecting this to come from his mouth. Don't look at him any differently? What did he mean?

"And don't think of me any differently, either."

I nodded, taking another gulp of ice cream. "Okay, I promise, I won't. Now tell me everything. How do you know Hunter, and what was he talking about revenge for? And what did you leave that caused him to want revenge? And how did he know my name?"

I sounded so desperate, like a scared little child. But that was definitely what I was.

"Hunter..." Jessed started with a sigh, not even looking at me. He was too focused with staring at the table. "Hunter's the leader of the gang I used to be in."

My eyes widened, and I reached over the table and cupped his cheek, forcing him to look up at me. "What?" I demanded. "Did you just say gang?"

Jesse nodded, turning to look away from me. "Hunter Drax has been the ruthless and cold leader ever since I entered right before freshman year started. He doesn't give up on anything, and he's got people that are willing to do anything for him... So I guess you can say I'm afraid. Not for me, but for you..."

I dropped my hand, leaning back in in the booth a little. My whole body felt numb as I just sat there, staring at him. Jesse had been in a gang? A gang that fought, and... killed? Had Jesse ever killed someone before? Oh, my gosh... If he did... That meant...

"You were in a gang..." I blinked, as if I was in a trance. I never thought that Jesse would be in a gang... He just didn't seem like the type.

"And that's how I know Erica," Jesse continued with another sigh, shaking his head as he did so. "She was in the gang, too. Well, it was more like she was Hunter's girlfriend and she just came along for everything we did, but she broke up with him for me..."

"For you?" I now asked, my eyes widening. So Erica had been Jesse's girlfriend then? But he had said that he didn't like older women... But that didn't mean he couldn't have made an exception. Erica was one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen...

"She broke up with him for me, but we never went out or anything," Jesse made sure to explain, a small smirk on his face. "That's just another reason why Hunter hates me so much. I technically stole his girl, even though I never did anything with Erica. I never saw her that way, but she definitely did... It was obvious to everyone, even Hunter, that she liked me and not him."

My mind went blank as I tried to take everything that I had just learned in. But there was still one question that I had that bothered me more than anything else... Had Jesse killed before?

"I didn't kill anyone, if that's what you're freaking out about," Jesse sighed, as if reading my mind. "If I had killed someone, I would have been a hypocrite about Marnie's boyfriend, that Seth guy. He's killed before... I've had plenty of opportunities to, and I was so close to doing it, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't end someone's life. And every time I was about to, the one person I could see... was you."

I blinked, my eyes getting a little wider. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

I stared down at the ice cream that sat before me, now melted, and I pushed it away. I had lost my appetite, and I wondered if I was ever going to get it back. I was the one that stopped Jesse from killing people? How did I do that? Shouldn't it have been Marnie... or Yolanda?

"But..." I really had no idea what I was supposed to say. I didn't get how I was the one that had stopped Jesse...

"And he wants revenge on me for leaving the gang at the beginning of senior year," Jesse continued to explain, shaking his head and taking a small sip of his water bottle. "Let's just say the gang I was a part of isn't exactly the easiest to get out of... Remember that one time I came to harass you one day all beat up and sore and I said I was mugged?"

"... Yeah."

"That was them."

I felt tears form in my eyes, but I quickly scrubbed them away. I couldn't cry, not then. I had to be strong. I had to be strong for Jesse. I didn't want him to think that I was a huge cry baby... Because, even though he was my enemy, Jesse had been beaten badly that day. And even I felt bad for him then.

"I'm sorry, Jordan, for bringing you into this," Jesse breathed, looking down at the table and not at me. "I never would have brought you into this... I never should have went into that house. I knew something wasn't right, I could just feel it, and yet I still dragged you inside. I'm so sorry."

I shook my head, not wanting him to feel guilty. What did he mean by dragging me into it? Did that mean that... it wasn't over?

"But how did he know my name?" I asked, sounding a lot more desperate than I had meant to.

Jesse sighed, leaning back in the booth. "I... I told some of them about you. How... how you were the one that was distracting me."

"Distracting you?" I asked again, not understanding. "How would I distract you? And how would I stop you from killing anyone? Wouldn't Yolanda be the one distracting you?"

Oh, my gosh. I did not just say that.

Unfortunately, Jesse had been drinking while I had been saying this, so now he almost choked and spit the water all out over the table. Usually spit takes were funny, but I didn't think anything was very funny right then as I was sitting and waiting for him to answer me.

"Yolanda?" he asked in disbelief, wiping his mouth. "That shy blonde you hang around with?"

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest. "Don't lie to me, Jesse, I know you know exactly who she is. You love her."

Jesse's eyes widened. "Where do you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Don't you remember the night Headmistress Belladonna and Headmaster Solomon said we were going to Camp Kingston?" I reminded him, leaning forward now. "You said you only cared about two people. Marnie, and then you cut yourself off before you could say the other person. I heard that it started with a Y, and Yolanda was the only person I could think of. And then when you learned that Yolanda had been asked out, you went and punched the wall and told Marnie that you loved her."

Jesse placed both of his hands on the table, letting out a frustrated sigh. He was obviously angry with the fact that I had found out about his love for Yolanda. Well, I wasn't the smartest girl in Adeline for nothing.

"For a smart girl, Emery, you're really stupid."

I blinked, my eyebrows rising. "Excuse me?"

"You're the smartest girl in Adeline, right?" Jesse asked, playing with the cap on his water bottle now. The only thing I could do was nod, not knowing what else I was supposed to do. How was I stupid? Was that just some kind of insult that he was shooting at me for finding out his secret? "I guess you're only smart when it comes to academics..."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" I demanded, my eyebrows furrowing in anger. "Just how am I so stupid? Don't just call me stupid, tell me how I am! How am I stupid for figuring out that you love Yolanda? It's so obvious! You punched a wall when you were told that she had been asked out!"

Jesse buried his face in his hands, chuckling as he shook his head. "How did we go from talking about Hunter and a gang to love and Yolanda?"

"You told me that I had stopped you from killing and that I was a distraction for you, and I said it should have been Yolanda," I answered him flatly, even though I knew that it was a rhetorical question.

"You really are stupid, Emery," Jesse sighed, shaking his head and standing up. "I'll tell you want you want to hear. The reason you distracted me? You were annoying and we were always fighting and bickering, so I couldn't concentrate. The reason why you stopped me from killing? Maybe I just wanted to do it to you. Now, even though those are both lies, that's the only thing you'd believe, right?"

I blinked up at him, not knowing what to say. I wasn't about to press on anymore, so I only stood up and followed him out of the ice cream parlor in complete silence.

"I'm not stupid," I grumbled as I got onto the back of the motorcycle. "I'm not the one riding a motorcycle with no helmet. That's stupid. You could get yourself killed, you idiot."

"Better me than you."

"What's that supposed to--" I started, but as cut off by the loud roar of the engine. And before I knew it, we were off once again.

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Happy birthday to me! x)

I love how a bunch of people noticed how Jordan's so clueless and oblivious and said that they loved it. ^_^ Jesse has noticed it, too. But he definitely doesn't love it. ;O

And, if you've read the cast list before I changed it, Hunter's name was originally going to be Eric. But I changed it because it was too close to Erica. So if I accidentally call him Eric (which I've done a lot, but caught), I apologize. :)

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :D