█▓▒▒░░░ATTACK OF EMOTIONS░░░▒▒▓█

Jack, Kim, and Milton all poked their heads out as they looked down the shiny hallway. Jack walked out and dropped down to his knee and swiped two fingers across the floor, looking up with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, Waxy Wednesday. Where a plastic tray meets a freshly buffed floor and legends are born."

Eddie and Olivia both walked in. Eddie was carrying a red tray while Olivia bit her lip and nervously scratched her arm.

"Any problems getting by Marge the lunch lady?" Jack asked.

"Nah. She said they don't pay her enough to care." Eddie shrugged.

"Hey guys!"

Everyone turned to Jerry as he hopped down the set of stairs and pushed his upper body onto the wall that worked as a railing.

"Did I miss anything?"

"Not yet." Kim dismissed, "Hey, shouldn't you be in detention for putting a tollbooth in the boys' bathroom?"

Jerry smirked with pride, "I should be, but when you sit me in the back and leave a window open... I'm what you call a flight risk."

"Jack, a new record's about to be broken. Prepare for Milton “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦” Krupnick. "

Olivia shifted as she chewed her lip harder. No one seemed to notice her breathing becoming uneven.

Milton unzipped his jacket before ripping off his pants, revealing a skin-tight purple leotard of some kind. Everybody made sounds of complaint as Olivia kept her eyes on the floor.

"Dude, eat a sandwich." Jerry insulted from where he sat on the second wall.

"Oh, look at this! I'm in the middle of a loser palooza!"

Olivia tensed at the voice and took a step back. Jerry hopped off the wall with a glare and moved in front of her, his arm crossed protectively in front of him.

"What do you want, Truman?" Jack asked with distaste.

"I thought I'd just hang out."

"Do you have to do it here?" Jerry asked as he looked at him, as if he was a bag of rotten trash.

"It's a free hallway, Jerry. And I get to see my angel, Olivia." Truman swooned as his eyes locked with the blonde.

Jerry moved in front of Truman's view as Jack took a step forward, his nose wrinkled in instant distaste for the comment and muscles tense. He could tell, just by the way the air shifted from Truman's presence that his friends did 𝘯𝘰𝘵 have a good history with him.

"Truman, if you'll excuse me, I have a date with destiny." Milton smiled as he turned to the hallway with his helmet on.

"Well, that'll be your first date ever." Truman scoffed before letting out an obnoxiously loud laugh.

Milton fake laughed before his face fell, "Very funny. You're about to see my scid marks."

Olivia turned to Milton as he muttered something about 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵.

Olivia ignored Kim's voice as her nails scratched harder, slowly clawing off the skin.

Milton let out a war cry as he took off and dropped onto the tray. His purple suited body slid and slid and slid until he crashed through the cafeteria doors.

Jack, Jerry, and Eddie all ran down the hallway and stopped by Kim. They muttered to each other as Olivia remained in her spot.

Two fingers pulled on her hair, making her jump. Truman looked at her with a smirk as guilt churned in her stomach, the feeling taking over her mind and heart.

"Good job, Angel. One down, four to go."

A tear rolled out of her eye and down her cheek as her bottom lip trembled. Truman reached up and wiped it away, his hand gripping her bicep as she tried to step back.

"I'll be back. Don't worry."

He grinned at her.

"I'll be back."

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Everyone stood in the dojo, practicing when a high-pitched scream cut through the air.

Jerry rushed out with pink hair and legs. Everyone laughed as Jerry screamed.

"Hold on. Something's different. Wait, don't tell me." Kim teased, "New bathrobe!"

"It's my hair. This is what I get for showering."

Olivia quietly giggled and looked down as Jerry looked at the bottle.

"Rudy, what kind of shampoo are we using?"

"That's the same shampoo we always use." Rudy smiled as he looked at the object in Jerry's hand.

Jerry suddenly ripped off the label, stuttering as he read the bolded words.

"Wha–this isn't shampoo! It's pink hair dye."

Milton and Rudy exchanged a look as Olivia captured her lip again and fiddled with her finger. Her arm still burned from scratching the already red skin.

"Dude, do you shampoo your leg hair?"

"Bro," Jerry smirked as he placed his leg on the bench that Jack straddled, "When I shampoo, I'm all in."

Kim gave a look of 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺? and 𝘸𝘵𝘧 in one.

"Love your new look!" A new voice called, "Awesome. Just awesome."

An arm wrapped around her waist as Jack stood up. He pulled her close and gently nudged her behind him. With a sigh, she lowered her head between his shoulder blades and rested her eyes.

The warmth that radiated from his back was soothing and helped the headache that was forming behind her eyes.

His arm reached back and gracefully rubbed her hip. Sparks lingered as they touched, neither wanting nothing more than anything but to hold each other.

Truman glared at him, and his jaw locked. His eyes followed the arm on her hip.

"I know you did this, Truman. Somehow, you snuck in here and switched out that shampoo for pink hair dye."

Olivia looked up at Jack's accusation. Her eyes locked with Trumans over as he cheekily smirked.

"No, it wasn't Truman. I've been here all day, and I never once saw him ooze his way in here." Rudy denied.

"Looks like I've got an airtight alibi." Truman smirked to Jack.

Truman's gaze once again shifted as his hand reached out to brush one of Olivia's pale strands of hair.

Jack hand shot out, and he twisted it. His jaw clenched as Truman cried out in pain. Jack turned and kicked him in the side, making him stumble away.

"Get. Out."

Shivers covered her skin as Jack glared, his voice lower than normal. The unsaid threat lingered in the air as Truman tried to take a look at Olivia.

Jack clutched Truman's shirt in his hands and slammed him against the green support beam. Everyone gasped at the violent act while Jack released one hand and used it to shield Truman's view.

"I'm only going to say this one more time. Get out!"

Jack snapped as he shoved him to the door. His hands clenched into fists as he watched Truman's movements with a glare. Despite only being an inch taller, Jack towered over him.

Truman stumbled back, squealing in surprise when his back hit the glass door before turning around and running.

Jack released a small breath as Olivia fiddled with her fingers.

Jack turned around, his face softening as he looked at her. She avoided everywhere but him as she shifted from foot to foot.

He took slow steps up to her until he was standing in front of her. They were oblivious to Rudy's yell about 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 as his finger touched her jaw.

She slightly recoiled as the last memory of Truman hands. Her breath left her lungs as she let out a small gasp, almost unable to take in air.

Jack bent his head down to look into her eyes. He paused as he noticed the hidden tears and hand pressed onto her sternum, as if the pressure would release the anxiety that built up like a dam in her chest.

Jack's arms slowly moved around her and pulled her into a hug. His hands gently held her, despite the way she didn't hug back, just standing still like a statue.

But he didn't let go. He held her close as she realized what was happening. She slowly moved her head into his chest, still struggling to breathe.

With one hand on her back, he pulled her closer, her arms instinctively wrapping around him.

His hand rubbed against her arm, noticing how ice cold they were to the touch.

"Out."

His voice was a whisper in the wind, almost going unnoticed. Her body remained stiff, and she shook, reminding him of a leaf that was barely holding out from flying in the wind.

He pushed her closer, if that was even possible, and bent his head down to her temple.

"Breath, Olive. Out."

Olivia followed his demand and released everything with a sigh, her shoulders caving from the pressure.

"That's my girl. Now in."

She blushed from the praise but slowly breathed in as asked.

"Out."

Her body relaxed as she leaned into him, his other hand rising to stroke her hair. It brought a sense of comfort to her, and she didn't know what to do without it.

"In."

She breathed in his scent, savoring the smell of vanilla, blueberries, and cologne.

"Out."

Olivia soon relaxed, breathing on her own. Her body swayed as she leaned into him, her knees shaking from the weight.

Jack pressed a kiss to her forehead, whispering sweet nothings as her hands continued to shake.

But with him, she could breathe.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Come on, people! Let's make some noise! As our captain of our cheer squad, Kim Crawford, leads out our championship girls' basketball team. The Seaford, lady whales!"

While Olivia appreciated the teacher's energy, she didn't appreciate what was going to happen. She watched as Kim waved and smiled at the other girls as she emerged from the doors.

Sure, she didn't like Kim all that much, but that didn't mean she deserved it.

Olivia winced as everyone followed along with Kim's cheers. Two cheerleaders brought out the banner with a killer whale on it.

Kim yelled and rushed through the paper. She let out a screech and tumbled as the paper clung to her like a dying dog.

The basketball team, with the help of her friends, tried to peel it off but failed.

A loud laugh sounded through the air.

"Looks like you got yourself into a sticky situation."

Olivia turned and walked away. God, how she hated this.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Olivia sat on the park bench. Her breathing was rugged, and tears spilled from her eyes. She had already heard the rumors about how Jack puked during their period change, making a girl named Heather puke and lots of other people.

She couldn't be there for that like she was with Eddie's.

Eddie.

A sob finally fell out of her mouth. The prank against him was vile and overall cruel. She couldn't even speak of it.

They were her friends, and she was giving them a life of misery. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the footsteps behind her.

"What's wrong, Angel?"

She cried even more at the sound of his voice. Her knuckles grew white as she gripped the bench, hunched over to curl into herself. Her blurry vision remained on the patch of grass in front of her.

His shoes invaded her sight as he bent down.

"Tell me who did this, and they'll regret it."

Olivia shook her head and pulled back as Truman went to place his hands on her knees.

"I don't want to do this." She sobbed. "It makes me sick to my stomach! I'm a bad friend! Good people don't try to hurt their friends!"

Her voice cracked, and her hands shook. All she wanted right now was to have arms wrapped around. Have a voice whisper and sooth her. She wanted fingers to comb through her hair and have a kiss pressed to her forehead. To have a heavenly scent completely consumes her.

And that's what Truman did. His arms wrapped around her waist, but it made her skin crawl.

No, she wanted Truman gone. As far away from her as possible. She wanted him to drop the obsession that he's had since preschool.

Sadness and guilt quickly turned to anger as she shoved him back with all her might, “Just leave me alone!” she yelled.

Truman gasped as he was pushed into the dirt, and mud splattered on his face. And Olivia didn't turn back as she ran.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Olivia sat isolated from her friends. They all sat on the blue matt's as she sat on the red bench.

"Guys, we all know Truman is behind these pranks. We just got to figure out how he's doing it." Milton finally announced.

"Grease, hair dye, sticky paper, paintballs, blue cheese. Sounds like my grandmother's medicine cabinet." Jerry realized.

"Trumans picking us off, one by one. He's got all of us! Except for..." Jack trailed off as he looked at Olivia. She looked up from her lap as everyone directed their attention to her.

"Olive."

Her heart would have skipped a beat at the nickname if it wasn't already speeding at the sound of light.

"You're next." Milton stood up and sat beside her. "If I were you, I'd roll myself up in bubble wrap and sit in the basement."

Olivia tuned out Miltons rant about birth as she bit her lip. Her nails scratched her arm as her leg bounced as she tuned the ginger out.

"What Olivia needs to know is that we'll be there for her."

"No, I-I don't need anything. I can take care of myself." She stood up and took a few steps back.

"No, don't worry, Liv. We'll protect you." Eddie smiled as he stood up, paint and bruises covering his body.

The sight made tears well in her eyes.

"Yeah, we'll walk you to school in the morning."

"And after school, we'll walk you back home."

"We'll be the last thing you see at night and the first thing you'll see in the morning."

"And you won't have to worry about him hurting Estelle. We'll make sure she's with Miss O'Lerry."

"Just stop!" She suddenly yelled, standing up. "Stop, it wasn't Truman who hurt you." Her voice broke as she turned to them.

"Then who was it?'

For a moment, she remained silent.

"Me."

Kim asked her in confusion, "What?"

Jerry looked at her, almost grossed out, "What?"

Eddie's jaw dropped, "What?"

Milton looked at her in disbelief, "What?"

Jack's face showed anger as his posture slumped, "What?"

Olivia looked away as a tear fell.

"Olivia, why would you prank us like that?" She couldn't bring herself to meet Jack's eyes as he asked her.

"Do you know what you did to me? That paper was so sticky I lost four freckles and half an eyebrow." Kim complained.

"And a clown keeps following me around asking me where I get my hair done."

Olivia's lip twitched up at the thought.

"I'm sorry, okay!"

"You're sorry?" Milton asked.

"I didn't want to! I- he..." Olivia stuttered, "He made me." She whispered.

"Who?" Eddie asked.

"Truman. He... he's blackmailing me."

"How's he blackmailing you?" Milton asked.

"Truman's father owns the security company that watches the mall." Olivia looked down, not wanting to explain.

"So?" Jerry asked as he guided her to sit.

"The night that Kim was... welcomed to the dojo, I forgot something here. So I came back to get it. But I was alone..."

She trailed off as her breathing faltered.

"And I was having a bad day. And–and I…" She gulped as she stuttered.

"You what?" Jack asked.

"I had an anxiety attack."

Everyone tensed and took a deep breath. Neither Kim nor Jack officially knew about her anxiety. Olivia figured Jack would have theorized the idea when he stopped one of them, but apparently, he hadn't.

His lips parted as his eyebrow rose.

"Liv–" Milton started

"I hadn't dealt with Jack being a part of the dojo yet, and then suddenly another girl who's pretty and popular comes along and is immediately welcomed to our group. The small group that never changed. 𝘔𝘺 small group that I took comfort it." Tears started falling as her hands shook, hands weakly covering her mouth.

"And it–it was just too much, but I was too scared to say it, so I kept quiet. And then it all hit me at once. And... And suddenly, I couldn't breathe, and my hands shook, and I was sweating. I just–I felt like I was dying."

Olivia's lip quivered as she spoke, hands falling into her lap.

"And then it all started spinning, and I was dizzy. And I started panicking. And I tried–I tried so hard to get outside, but I tripped and then..."

Her voice stopped as a hand laced with hers. Its familiar warmth soothed her. He didn't seem to mind the fact that her hands were shaking and wet.

"And then I blacked out."

Jack whipped the tears that rolled down her cheeks, and Jerry rubbed her back.

"And Truman saw everything. He put it on a flashdrive and said... He said if I pranked you, then you wouldn't want to be my friend. And then I could find some better ones that would always be there for me." Her voice shook.

"And if I didn't... If I didn't, he'd post it online. He said he'd make sure everyone saw it." Her lip quivered as she squeezed her eyes together.

"I'm already a freak as it is... I don't want to be a helpless one that's a safety hazard."

"You're not a freak, Liv." Milton smiled.

"And you're not helpless either." Eddie chimed in.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"It's okay, Olive." Jack smiled.

"Yeah, we understand." Jerry bumped her shoulder with a smile.

A grin crept up her face as she shoved him back. Jerry dramatically fell off the bench with a girlish scream. It made a giggle fall from her lips.

"And he's not gonna get away with it." Kim smiled, nodding along with the conversation.

"Yeah, Truman's gonna be sorry he messed with us." Jack grinned up at her.

"When you poke a bear, do you know what happens?" Milton asked. Olivia shook her head as she waited for an answer.

Milton spoke up again, genuinely confused, "Seriously, does anybody know?" Olivia laughed and shook her head.

"There's that smile." Jack grinned.

Olivia looked down at him as she bit her lip.

But this time, it wasn't from guilt.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

Olivia wore her normal karate gi as she walked down a hallway. She was supposed to crack a safe containing the hard drive with Jack. Milton was back up in case something went wrong, Kim was stalling the guard, Jerry was talking with the guard dog, and Eddie was letting Truman shoot paintballs at him.

They reached the end of the hall, freezing in shock when blue lasers appeared and moved back and forth.

"Okay, that I did not expect." Jack admitted.

Olivia nodded, still shy due to guilt. "You see that tablet attached to the wall? Milton said that's the kill switch."

Jack muttered an 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺 as he easily jumped up, and he grabbed the pipe above the doorway. For a moment, be hovered in the air before jumping over the first laser and backflipping over another one. He twisted his body as he flipped over the third one.

He jumped back and pressed himself into the wall as a laser passed him. He could hear Olivia gasp from where she watched but tried to ignore her so he could focus. He had no clue what would happen if he touched the bright 3D lines, but finding out was the last thing he wanted to do.

Jack rushed up and grabbed a sprinkler from the roof. He pulled his legs up and hopped over another laser.

He went to stand up, but Olivas cried out, "𝘋𝘰𝘸𝘯!”

Jack didn't hesitate to drop to the ground, her warning the only thing preventing him from getting caught. The blue laser skimmed over his hair, barely missing.

He front flips over a laser only to backflip again to dodge an upcoming beam. He slipped to the left and turned back, freezing as another laser passed less than an inch in front of him.

Hopping over the last one, he hit the tablet's green button. It beeped as the lasers disappeared, and Olivia jogged over.

Jack opened the door and went to step in when he was suddenly pulled back by the shoulders. His back bumped into her as he turned around.

"Whoa! What?"

"Look." She pointed, "Those are weight sensors."

Jack looked around before he let out a cry and hopped up with his feet in the doorframe. He grabbed the top of the door and moved his feet to the desk.

He turned to her as she looked around the room.

Rolling her shoulder, she silently jumped just as Jack did and repeated his moves, easily landing on the tables.

She bumped into Jack as she turned around, almost falling off the desk. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close.

She pressed her hands into his chest as he loomed over her.

She looked up and met his eyes. Her blue eyes reflected against his, and she couldn't help but admire his features. His doe brown eyes, shaggy hair, the one mole on his face.

𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭, she thought as his eyes flickered to her lips. They breathed the same air, and their hearts beat in sync.

One of her hands glided up his chest, and her thumb traced the beauty mark on his cheek.

Her eyes fluttered as his nose brushed her.

"We... we should–the safe." Olivia interrupted in a whisper before their lips could touch.

Jack let out a sigh and pressed his forehead against her. His hand reached up and grabbed some of her hair. She nervously licked her lips, gasping as her tongue touched his lips.

She didn't know they had gotten that close.

"Please." He begged as his lips brushed hers.

For a moment, she didn't react.

Until she pushed her lips against his. He kissed back, soaking in the lush of her lips.

She tasted of caramel and honey as her rose scent blessed his nose, the faint smell of paint underneath. It was almost like a dream, the feeling of pure bliss with previous adrenaline making their minds buzz.

Her thumbs caressed his cheekbones as she sighed against his silken lips. They would have kissed until they lost their breath, had the air not disappeared from their lungs at the first touch of the others lips. Each wanted nothing more than to stay in that moment forever, knowing for once they could remain close without judgment or passing eyes.

She slowly pulled off his black belt as her chest begged for air.

"Olive-"

"I like it when you call me that." She admitted.

His eyes shined like a billion stars as he brightened and softly smiled. Olivia turned and threw his belt over the support bar.

"Now we need to get across."

Jack didn't move, only admiring her from his spot.

"Jack?"

"Mhmm?"

She blushed at his drunken state. "Alright, I'll give you another kiss-"

His hands reached up to grab her face before she could finish. She squealed and turned her face. She giggled as he kissed her cheek, a pout instantly forming on his lip.

"-if we can open that safe and get out of here."

Jack quickly nodded but didn't move.

Olivia grinned, "Simp."

He blinked twice before snapping out of his trance. He took the belt from her hands and turned her around.

He jumped and wrapped his legs around her waist. Olivia pushed them forward as they swung back and forth in the air, needing to get to the safe without touching the group.

She pushed off the desk and punched in four.

She pushed off again and quickly hit seven and three. They swung back, and she opened the safe, grabbing the drive from inside.

"Yes!" Jack cheered.

She laughed as she looked up.

"Okay, now how do we get down?"

"That's a good question."

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇

"Breaking into my father's office? You guys are in so much trouble!"

Olivia took a step back as Truman stormed into the dojo. Jack wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"We'll take whatever comes, but we had to help our girl out."

"Your girl? She's mine, alright? She belongs with me!"

"She's not an object!" Jack snapped, going to take a step forward before a hand grabbed his arm, effectively stopping him.

"Jack," Olivia whispered and pulled him back. He turned to her, eyes reconnecting. He took a subtle glance at her lips before her hands trailed down his arm and laced with his hands.

He relaxed slightly but still stood tall.

"I want that flashdrive, and I want it now!" Truman whined, slightly stomping his foot like a child.

"Okay, alright. But there's something else we want you to see."

Olivia didn't care to listen to the rest. She wrapped her arms around Jack's waist from the side and pressed her ear against his chest, eyes fluttering closed.

The sound of his heartbeat skipping made her blush before she focused on it again. A minute later, his chest rumbled as he spoke, but she didn't care for the words, just the feeling of his chest shaking.

He couldn't help but feel the need to protect her.

"Yeah, but I–I only broke down like that because I knew the camera was there. I was just putting on a show."

Jack pulled her closer and covered the ear that wasn't pressed to his shirt.

"I would leave before the next 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 is me beating you to a pulp."

Truman awkwardly laughed before he realized Jack was serious. Truman quickly nodded and rushed to the door.

"Oh, and Truman!" Jack called out.

The boy quickly turned around.

"Come near Olivia again, and you'll see 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 what I can do."

▒▓▆▅▃▂▁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒▁▂▃▅▆▓▒