Chapter 2-P1

Aiden's body locked in front of her, and Marley involuntarily blushed. "Where do you get off being such a piece of shit all the time, Jamieson?" He snarled, his fists balling. Marley wondered if they knew each other before this moment, and her suspicions were definitely spot on. "You don't get a monopoly on the only goddamn bathroom in a bus full of people to who'll be stuck in it for hours. Do I need to make a sign, fuckhead, or maybe talk a little slower so you'll understand?"

Marley could see, much to her horror, a couple of guys who had been intently watching the confrontation, stand from their seats and glare at Aiden. They were probably from Jordan's school. Leo stood as a reaction to the others, his eyes drifting from Aiden to Marley. This was going downhill, fast.

"Ple-please stop it," Marley found her voice, begging for Aiden to stop making a scene, "Please stop now."

Her knuckles were white as they curled around the handle. Aiden's back muscles relaxed, slowly backing away from Jordan, who was now annoyed and flustered. "You won't be talking at all when I knock you on your ass." He shoved Aiden's shoulders. "I clearly fucked up your learning skills, considering every time you've fought me in the past the only one on their ass is you. Walk away, Jamieson. You need all the brain cells you can get." Aiden shot back, his voice icy now, his stance unmoved and unperturbed. Marley wished for some of his courage, shaking like a leaf behind his back. Jordan's eyes lit up, and he looked absolutely murderous now. It seemed as if both of the boys forgot the real purpose of this conversation, forgot that this was just about freeing up the bathroom for a desperate bladder. There was a deeper grudge here that clearly meant both of them were eager to aggravate each other at every turn.

Marley was rendered mute watching Jordan take a step closer to Aiden. She held her breath, having no idea how to deal with a situation like this, how to run, how to diffuse it — whether she could diffuse it. In moments, the bus driver would notice the sudden, tension-filled silence in the bus as every voice hushed, every eye turning to the expectation of a fight. Who knew what trouble the four of them could face for this, and Marley's eyes burned at the idea of losing her chances at a scholarship she'd been working years towards over some silly bathroom ordeal. She'd gladly pee all over herself if it was that or losing Brown.

The girl with Jordan was glaring with a surprising amount of hate at Marley behind his back, and she shrunk closer to Aiden, jolting when she felt his hand clasp her forearm, dragging her into his shadow. Jordan cracked his jaw. "You know what Matthews-" he cut himself off mid-sentence at the loud, ear-ringing squeal of the brakes, and a jerk of the bus as the driver yanked them to a stop at a close call with a yellow light. The entire bus shook, and Jordan was slammed into the girl he was with. They nearly fell over, while Marley's tightest possible grip on the handle was lost at the force. She shrieked when the floor careened towards her at a terrifying speed, but was quickly grabbed by the arm as a bunch of protests of their fellow students echoed around her. Marley's heart was pounding as she hit the wall, the handlebar digging into her lower back.

The bus was off balance for a few more seconds, but she was steadied by a warm body pressed up against hers. Marley's eyes were squeezed shut, in paralyzing shock, her palms pressed flat against the wall and her lips tightly closed, still convinced that she was going to fall. When the bus rocked as it righted itself, Marley's body barely moved in the iron hold she was now in. Blinking her eyes open, she was stunned at the sight of electric blue eyes boring into hers. Aiden had steadied her using his body, his hands curled around the bar on either side of her hips. His breathing was heavy, and spearmint sent her brain into a frenzy. His hard chest was pressed flat against hers, his legs planted on either side of hers — every muscle straining as he kept them still.

When Marley realized this was as close to a male human as she'd ever been in her life, a small gasp left her lips and her heart went into overdrive.

"Shit, Marley. Are you okay?" Aiden asked, frantic as his eyes left hers to scrutinize her body for harm, or whatever of it he could see with their close proximity.

Marley meant to answer, when she felt her bladder begin to burn again. She knew she had seconds before she would be wetting herself all over the floor and probably him, so she shoved him by the shoulders and panic-dashed for the bathroom, barely managing to slam the door shut behind her. Marley sighed in relief when she finally relieved her very impatient bladder, her eyes catching on bright pink thongs hanging from the light switch. Her nose wrinkled in disgust, but when what happened set into her now clear mind, Marley's breathing caught in her throat. For the millionth time today she asked herself the same question: why did you do this to yourself?

Marley felt her eyes burn as she pulled up her pants and stumbled over to the sink where a dirty mirror rested over a small tap. Tears escaped without her control, as she stared at her pink cheeks, messy brown hair, and frazzled, widened hazel eyes eyes.

Marley didn't want to stay in the bathroom for any longer than she had to, knowing other people wanted to use it, so quickly wiping a paper towel under her eyes and washing her hands, she covered her face with her hair so no one would see her face. She unlocked the door and slowly pushed it ope , but it was quickly being thrown out of the way by the pixie-haired girl from earlier.

"Thank your boyfriend for me," she shouted behind her before the door was slamming shut. Boyfriend?

Marley could see a line about five students long smiling at her in appreciation. Clearly, everyone was afraid to stand up to this Jordan character except for Aiden. Marley ducked her head down and squirmed past them, really not wanting to face said boy again. Standing in the aisle like an idiot was a worse fate, though, as she had already figured out.

When she made it to their seats by the tell of Aiden's wild, soft hair sticking up in all directions, his head turned, and when he recognized her, he stood quickly.

"Hey you, damsel in distress!"

Marley stared on the opposite side of the bus to where Jordan had stood from his seat, too. The blonde girl was beside him, and they were both glaring at her again. She desperately fought the growing urge to curl into a fetal position. "Watch yourself," his voice was full of malice and warning.

"I'm sorry your ego's bruised, asshole, but she doesn't have anything to do with this. So do yourself a favour, and stay the hell away from her," Aiden's voice was calm, but the undertone was chilling. "sit back down, and shut the fuck up for once."

A few shoes squealed from behind her. Marley assumed, Jordan's friends rushing to his defence again. The man himself was tensing up, ready for a fight Marley knew he would lose. There's just no way to doubt Aiden's threats, or his body language. She watched him be sure of himself to the point where it was impossible to doubt his action behind his words. Thankfully, the bus driver noticed the commotion closer to his seat at the front, the radio volume lowering. "The lot of you, get your asses back in your seats unless you want an involuntary ride back to school with me! This is a bus, not a damn fight club!" The driver roared over his shoulder, his eyes steely through the rearview mirror.

The silence became considering as Jordan glanced between the bus driver and Aiden, who relaxed a little, too. Marley sighed in relief watching neither them deem a fight here and now, to be worth losing their places in camp. "Later," Jordan threatened to Aiden after a long, thoughtful pause, as the girl he was with tugged his arm, murmuring something in his ear. "Later."

Aiden scoffed, but took his seat nonetheless. She could feel him looking at her, but Marley was still wide-eyed, frazzled, deadlocked on Jordan even though he was distracted with the blonde again. She only tore her eyes away from the blonde meathead, when Aiden spoke up beside her. "You don't ever have to be afraid of him, Marley," he told her with a quiet fierceness. "Besides the fact that he'd have to get through me first and he never will, he's just a coward." She peeked at him through her lashes, tucking her legs to her chest, an action she has often used as a comfort when she's nervous. Marley still wasn't comfortable with Aiden Matthews at all, but, she couldn't deny the way her pulse quickened at his resolve to protect her. She couldn't deny how he defended her to Jordan. She couldn't deny when he stomped out a cigarette as soon as he noticed she was scared of them. She couldn't deny when he lifted her bag into the luggage bay for her. She definitely couldn't deny the way he noticed Matt was making her uncomfortable, and intervened when she didn't have the voice to speak up. Marley no longer, could deny any of the kindness of this beautiful, mysterious king of Kingston High school, that was shaping out to defy her every judgement of him from the little she'd seen, and the excessive amount she heard. "I-I believe you," she offered lamely, picking at a string from her pyjamas. She lowered her eyes from his, finding she could form her thoughts more coherently that way. "Um, thank you," she added, heat rising to her cheeks. "For...that, too." When her cringe-worthy response set in, she scolded herself miserably. Gods, Marley, could you be any more awkward? If it wasn't obvious before how little experience you have with the male population, it's a billboard sign over your head, now. As if you're not already enough of an outcast, now the most popular person in school can confirm you're a freak himself.

But, strangely enough, Aiden didn't laugh at her like she expected. He just settled back into his seat, stretching his long legs, crossing his ankles in the isle. "Don't mention it. Besides, Jamieson and I have history that keeps anything from being civil between us. That conversation would've gone a lot smoother without me, anyway."

"There wouldn't have been a conversation at all without you." Marley swallowed the lump in her throat at the sad truth. The sad truth of how weak she really is, how weak she always has been — just like her father reminds her of as often as he can. She hadn't meant for Aiden to hear the next words she whispered, under her breath, as her tired eyes found the blur of racing cars in their neighbouring lane. "Because I'm a coward, too." After a minute of silence, her body slumped against the window, exhaustion creeping into her veins like a thick serum. The anxiety from that confrontation had flatlined now, and with it, whatever energy she gained from the little sleep she managed to find last night. Her vision was blurring as she sank into the sweet, gentle surrender of sleep, never fighting to escape from reality when that escape was rarely offered. She was almost asleep when he finally moved. Marley convinced herself she was delirious, feeling his blue eyes on her for a long, long time. Surely longer than anyone has ever looked at an ordinary, completely forgettable girl like Marley Anne Hoover. "You're wrong," he whispered, but it was so low, and she was so tired, that she sank into darkness before she could hang onto his words.