Petty Boys

October 26th 2010.

It had been two days since Jay and his father had come back. Lee had secured a contract with Ruby, but hadn't told him the specifics of it. Which was fine, Jay thought.

Lou had been overjoyed at his coming back, and as a way of apologizing to her, he had showed her how to make friendship bracelets with the cotton yarn he had bought. She had loved it. They had made a few and their mom had also joined on the fun, which they were glad about. Her bracelets had ended up being the better made ones.

Yesterday he had gone to the hairdresser and had dyed his hair back to black, to the absolute delight of his mother. Jay caught her staring at him and smiling foolishly multiple times, though she would adamantly deny that fact.

Today, he had broken the news of his leaving to Em and Leah during lunch at the cafeteria.

"A month and a half? To Cali? Why?" was their response.

He looked left and right, making sure no one was in earshot, before leaning towards them and whispering, "I'm gonna act in a movie."

He was greeted by silence, and when he looked up at the girls, realized they were staring at him with worry.

"Hey, do you think there are still some after-effects of the accident?..." Em whispered to Leah.

"I don't know… Looks like it?" the latter answered back in the same hushed tone.

"... Seriously? I'm like a foot away from you guys, I can hear." Jay rolled his eyes at them.

Em cleared her throat. "Yeah, it's great Jay. We're… happy for you." she looked meaningfully at Leah who followed right up.

"Yep! Really happy for you." she dittoed while nodding her head.

Jay sighed. Just when he was about to clear up the misunderstanding, he saw Em's face pale a little.

"Bucky, what's up?" he asked, and before the girl could reply, Jay felt something bump into him from behind. He frowned, it stung a little.

He turned around to see a guy sprawled on the ground, and looked at him oddly.

The school cafeteria turned silent, but it only lasted a second before raucous laughter broke out from every corner.

"Puhahahahaha! Did you see that?"

"Oh my God! Someone, someone tell me you got that on camera!"

"Isn't that Josh Mercer?"

"Hahahahah, I can't…breathe hahaha, someone hold me!"

"Serves him right. What is he, a rhino? Why would he rush towards someone like that?"

"No but… Am I the only one thinking something is wrong here? He ran into a human, not a concrete wall! What's up with that?"

***

Amy Brooks and the other girls were sitting at their usual spot. As it had become a habit recently, some of them would always pay attention to Jay Aslan.

Alexa was the first to react with a startled cry when she had seen Josh rush towards him, head first.

This had, in turn, alerted the other girls and some people in their surroundings who had first shifted their sights to her, then to where she had been looking.

They had seen everything, the impact, the fall, and the comical aftermath.

While people were still busy laughing, they saw Jay get up and squat down near the guy.

They then saw him shook his head towards Emily and Leah, before grabbing Josh and swinging him above his shoulder.

***

"H-hey! What are you doing?! Put him down!" Mark Dawson stuttered.

He was someone who knew the backstory behind what had happened, since he'd been the one to trigger it.

He was the halfback of the football team, and a lot of the girls in high school admired him, but not the one he was actually fond of. He had had a crush on Leah Parson since seventh grade, and the more time passed, the more he felt himself ruefully sigh at his misfortune.

She would never even acknowledge him, but that in itself was fine. He knew he wasn't on the same level as her.

This school year though, he had seen with his own eyes the girl who never smiled to anyone but the succubi's queen, actually smile towards a guy. Not only that, she would stick to him like glue anytime she got the chance.

He had been annoyed at first, but had let it pass since the guy used to be her best friend when they were nine. It was also said that he had been in a coma for six years, and was still a kid deep down. That information had served to placate him.

But everything had changed after Homecoming. It was clear to everyone who had been at that concert that Jay Aslan was no kid. And Mark had felt threatened.

He knew Josh Mercer had never truly let go of his obsession with Emily, so he had made use of that fact.

He had told his teammate that he had seen the two of them making out behind the school, and had also insinuated that their relationship was possibly more physical than that.

It was all the encouragement Josh had needed. Mark honestly thought the guy was a moron. He used his fists every occasion he got, and that was bad in itself, but who the fuck rushes to someone in that way?!

When Mark thought about the whole event again, he started paling. He, more than anyone else, knew how strong Josh was. He was a 6'2" mountain of pure muscles.

And that mountain… hadn't been able to budge Jay Aslan in the slightest.

When Mark saw the sophomore lift his teammate and carry him on his shoulder like it was nothing, he felt like maybe his life was a lie.

Josh weighed 260 pounds okay! Two hundred and sixty freaking pounds!

***

Jay turned to the guy who had spoken up, "Is he your friend?"

The guy he'd ask nodded, and before he could say anything more, Jay threw the body he was holding to him. "Great. You take him to the infirmary then. He passed out."

He turned around and grabbed his bag, before waving his hand in front of Em and Leah's faces.

"Girls? Let's go." he said and, without waiting for them to snap out of their daze, exited the cafeteria.

Em and Leah gathered their stuff, before hurriedly following, still unsure of what had happened.

"Uh… Jay? What… what was that?" Leah opened when they were in the hallway.

"What was what?"

"Josh… he ran into you, right? Are you okay?" Em worriedly asked.

"I'm fine. I think he hit the bench before getting to me." he lied.

Before the girls could ask more he raised his hands and started backing away, "Gotta go, I've got P.E."

***

Jay went to the boys locker room in order to change. He barely had his jacket off that Leah burst into the room.

"Woah, Leah? This is the boys locker room!" Jay exclaimed as he saw his friend lock the door behind her.

"Show me your back." she said.

"What?"

She was wearing her brown hair down and her grey eyes were locked on his. Her loose white t-shirt was tucked inside her classic jeans, and he could hear her white tennis shoes squeaking on the floor as she approached him.

She stopped right in front of his nose, and he could smell her perfume. She gently grabbed his forearm and turned him around before lifting his t-shirt and taking a look at his back.

"It's gonna bruise." she softly let out after a moment. She then paused again and asked, "Em might not have been able to see everything from where she was sitting, but I did. Why did you lie?"

"... Didn't want to worry you guys. It's nothing." he shrugged. He gave himself an inward pat on the back for his foresight at reducing the system's healing rate.

Leah came in front of him. "Is that really all?" she asked, her piercing eyes searching through his.

"Yeah."

She let out a sigh. "I worry about you, Jay."

"Why? There's nothing to worry about, it's just a bruise." Jay smiled at her.

"That, right there. That worries me." she suddenly said.

"What?"

"Your smile… It's fake, Jay. It's like you're trying to build this wall between us. At first, I thought it was because you were trying to find your marks back, but it isn't. Ever since you came back, you've been keeping Em and I at bay. You avoid us outside of school, and the way you smile at us… I don't know, it just doesn't feel right. So, I'm asking you, as your friend; what gives?" she blurted out.

Jay was caught by surprise. He looked back at the girl in front of him, realizing she'd been keeping all this bottled up until now.

He sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel… neglected."

She followed and sat next to him. "I… Em and I, we just want our best friend back. Remember how we would spend entire nights watching movie marathons and binge eating on unhealthy food? Or just stay in bed and make up stories about what we would be when we grow up? I miss that. I miss my best friend." she croaked, her voice hoarse.

Jay looked at her in silence for a moment, before softly whispering. "Leah… I, I know what Em and you were fighting about back then."

The girl froze and her eyes widened. "Wha-what?"

"I might've been nine, but I wasn't stupid. You and Em-"

"Don't say it!" she blurted out in fright. "Please, Jay. Don't." she pleaded before grabbing his hands and looking at him in the eyes. "It was… we were kids, okay? Everything is different now. Em and I are different. You are different. We're all friends, and that's it. Alright?"

She was genuinely scared, it wasn't fake. What Jay had been about to say would've changed the dynamic of their entire relationship, and she dreaded that. Both her and Em had just gotten him back, there was no way they'd risk losing him again.

Jay stayed silent for a second before softly smiling. It was a sincere one, full of warmth. He hugged her.

"You know," he whispered, "I think maybe you should lay off of junk food. You'll become a fat kitty at this rate."

Leah who was about to hug him back, slapped his shoulder instead. "Seriously?"

Jay grinned and got up. "Let's talk later, the boys are about to come here and change, you should leave." he said after eying the door.

He paused, and looked playfully at her before adding, "I'm also about to strip; so unless you plan on getting an eyeful…"

She laughed and gave him the finger as she backed out of the room, "You're full of shit is what you are!"

Jay waited until she was gone before he started changing. Part of him was glad that conversation was over and done with, though he felt a little guilty at manipulating its ending. He, of course, knew how she would react at his confession.

He had Jay Aslan's memories… no, he was Jay Aslan. But the hang ups from his past life hadn't disappeared. The pain of betrayal was still here. Yes, he smiled and laughed and teased, but it was rarely wholly genuine. And Leah had seen right through that, effectively scaring the wits out of him.

He sighed and looked at his watch. He still had time to warm up, so he started running laps around the gym.

When he had broken a slight sweat, his classmates started trickling in, and Kasim and Tiny made a beeline for him.

"Dude, what did you do to Mercer?" "Bro, you're so sick!"

He held up a hand, feeling a headache coming. He had almost forgotten about that incident, what with his conversation with Leah and all. "I don't know what you heard, but the guy just KO'd himself. I didn't do anything."

"What? Bro, you playin'! How does someone KOs himself?" Kasim dismissed disdainfully.

"He ran into the bench I was sitting on, head first."

Both the guys gaped at that, before Tiny helpfully commented "Estúpido."

Jay couldn't have agreed more.

***

When P.E was about to end, Coach Rendall burst into the gym.

"ASLAN! In my office. NOW!" he yelled.

Jay looked at the ceiling, before exhaling a breath and following him. He'd heard about the guy's reputation and wasn't particularly looking forward to that conversation.

Once they were alone, the man opened, "What have you done to Mercer?"

"I haven't done anything to him, sir." Jay simply answered.

"He was knocked out after your little scuffle in the cafeteria. What's the meaning of this?"

"With all due respect, there was no scuffle, and he did that to himself." Jay replied.

"That's not what Dawson tells me."

"Dawson?" Jay muttered out loud, "Is that the curly brown haired guy who was with him?"

"That's him."

Jay chuckled, "So let me get this straight. Out of the hundreds of students that were in the cafeteria at the time, you asked Dawson what happened?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Yeah, actually, it is. If you'd asked anyone else, and I mean anyone, what had happened, you'd have heard the truth of the matter. I'm the victim here, not the aggressor."

"Now you listen to me you-" Rendall started but was cut off midway.

"Mike! What are you doing?!" Coach Javez said after entering the office.

"I'm having a talk with Aslan."

Javez looked at the man in disbelief before shaking his head and bringing a CD over to him.

"What's that?" Rendall asked.

"That's a copy of the school's cafeteria security footage." Javez replied before inserting it into the nearby computer.

He played the video and watched it with Rendall, before they both fell silent. They turned around and looked at Jay oddly. The latter had a foreboding feeling.

Javez eyed him up and down for a second. "Hey, Aslan. How much do you weigh?"

"I don't know. Haven't weighed myself recently."

"Do you do any kind of sports?"

"I do calisthenics."

Javez nodded thoughtfully before he looked back at his colleague.

Rendall groaned, "Look, sorry. Dawson's usually a pretty decent guy, no idea why he lied."

"Whatever. I can go now, right?" Jay honestly didn't care about the guy's flimsy excuse. He should've checked his facts before cornering him in his office. He made for the door but was interrupted by Javez.

"Wait. Have you ever thought about playing football?" the coach asked, and even Rendall seemed to perk up a that.

Jay stopped on the door's threshold, and looked back. "No." was all he dropped before leaving.

***

October 28th 2010.

The Mercer incident died down. Jay wasn't sure what the coaches had told the football team, but they didn't try to make it hard for him. It was clear they didn't like him still, but they went out of their way to avoid him. He was sure that wouldn't last though, it was only a matter of time before they started something else.

Today he had gotten out of school early, and was picking Lou up from school.

The little girl lit up when she saw him outside the gates, "JAY!"

She ran to him and he squatted down to hug her. "Hey, sweetie."

"You came!" she happily smiled at him.

"Hm, I did. Let's go?"

"Okay! Bye Anna, bye Haven!" she waved at her friends before grabbing her brother's hand.

They were about to go on their merry way, when they were rudely interrupted.

"Ooooh cry baby Lou is here!"

Jay stopped his footsteps and turned around. He was faced with a ginger kid with freckles all over his face. The kid had a smirk on and was pointing at his sister.

"Tim! You… you're a meanie!" Lou angrily exclaimed.

"Hahahaha, and you're ugly!" Tim said before sticking his tongue out.

Jay frowned. "Hey, you."

The kid turned to Jay, and pointed at himself, "Me?"

"Yeah, you. The male version of Pippi Longstockings."

"Peepee? What?"

Jay clicked his tongue. "... Nevermind." he said, before turning to Lou, "Let's go, don't mind him. Does he annoy you a lot?"

Lou puffed up her cheeks, "Um. He says I'm ugly and last time he tried to pull my hair, but Anna kicked him before he could."

Jay did an inward fist pump; nicely done, Anna, he thought.

"Tell me if he does it again, I'll get a shovel-... I mean, have a talk with his parents."

"Okay!" Lou nodded and they went on their merry way.

Jay had thought of slapping the kid, but that's not how a mature and reasonable adult was expected to behave.

He'd better find a way to scare the daylights out of him instead. Preferably in a permanent and everlasting way.

Right, wasn't Halloween in three days? It was gonna be fun.

Tim, who had gone back to wait for his mom, felt a slight chill down his spine.