Chapter 5

Jason trapped me against the wall, strong arms on either side of my head, hands braced against the wall. I stared up at him with wide eyes. His blue gaze burned with a cold fury.

My heart jackhammered in my chest. He'd seen the bruise on my hip. What was he going to say? What was he going to do?

For a moment, all he did was search my gaze with his own, sharp jaw flexing and unflexing with pure rage. Jason took a deep breath, as if trying to restrain himself, before breaking the tense silence.

"Who did it?" Jason asked lowly, face uncomfortably close to mine.

"Who did what?" I asked, playing dumb.

"Who made–!"

Jason was cut off by none other than me.

"–me?" I finished in a desperate attempt to distract him. "Um, my parents? I think, or hope, at least? Or am I a robot?"

"I'm not kidding, Emma. What happened–?"

"To personal space?"

Jason realized how close he was to me and backed away slowly, raising his hands as if to show he was listening to me.

"Emma," he said slowly, voice a rough, angry low. "How did you get that bruise?"

I realized there was no way out of this. I couldn't change the subject, so I had to lie... Something I wasn't exactly good at.

"O–Oh," I said, stalling, wracking my brain. "I... fell! I am a clumsy person, a clumsy klutz, and just bruised my hip."

I smiled charmingly.

Very convincing.

Jason folded his arms with disbelief. "And the floor was shaped like a fist."

I was confused for a moment.

"What? Of course not– I mean, of course! I was at the gym, you know, workin' out..." I pulled a manly scowl on my face and flexed my imaginary muscles grimly. "I was sparring with someone, I tried to twist out of the way, but their punch landed on my hip. Not that big of a deal, my dude."

I smiled charmingly again.

Even more convincing, I thought.

His eyebrow twitched. "I thought you said you fell."

"Yeah! I mean, I did. It's complicated. The guy hit me, and then I fell, and that's when I got the bruise," I finished proudly.

"Emma, that is so realistic. I totally believe you," Jason said with a soft smile and I grinned back, relieved.

"...is what you wish I would say," he finished.

"Pfft! What? Ha. That's funny. That's just hilarious, such great irony, and sarcasm. You should get the funny award. You could become a comedian one day. It's just great. Uh..." I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to think of more nonsense to blurt to distract him again. "You're just great... Great! And you're all synonyms of 'great', too! Um, amazing, delightful, lovely, excellent, marvelous, wonderful, just absolutely splendid! Isn't the weather just splendid?"

Jason narrowed his eyes at me and took an intimidating step forward, his patience waning. I wanted to take a step back, but I was already pressed up against the wall, so I tensed up, watching him warily like a cornered animal.

Abruptly, Jason relaxed and smiled easily. He approached me casually, making me relax again.

"Yeah, isn't it? The weather's nice today. I wish we were outside." Then, Jason held his hands up as if to point to the ceiling.

But, quicker than I could react, his hands gripped the hem of my sweater and lifted a little, just enough to show my stomach and hips.

I blushed crimson. I was about to shriek in protest – or, more likely, stand there stunned – when his blue eyes darkened with pure, unadulterated rage. My throat closed up.

"And you're going to tell me," he said quietly, "that all of those scars are from 'sparring practice'?"

I looked down, my heart dropping. My stomach was littered with marks.

"Y–Yeah?" I tried weakly.

Jason released my sweater and backed away, chest heaving. He clenched his trembling hands, making me shrink away.

"I–I–I mean, um..." I gnawed on my lower lip, terrified. "Not every single one of those came from sparring practice. I mean, I don't go to the gym that often."

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but it was then that I heard a familiar voice from down the hallway.

"Emma? Emma, where are you?" Nicole called, and I saw her shadow approach from around the corner of the hallway. "I swear if those football players cornered you again–"

Nicole's voice trailed off as she rounded the corner and saw me pressed up against the wall with Jason. Her tawny brown eyes widened.

Not hesitating for a moment, I flew up to her and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, Nicole!" I said in an over-dramatic voice. "Oh Nicole, my love, my sweet, my candy! Oh, how I have missed you so!" I knelt down one knee, looking up at her with my big blue eyes. "Please forgive me, my love! The time away from you has been excruciatingly painful."

Playing along, Nicole grabbed my hands, looking down at me with her big brown ones.

"Oh, how my heart yearns to feel thy embrace once again! Thee could not love me more than I love thou! My soul jumped in joy when I saw thee once again." Nicole pretended to wipe away a tear. "Oh, I have prepared the loveliest, most romantic picnic!"

"Oh, my love! You are so sweet, so kind, so generous! Did you prepare my favorite meal in my favorite spot?" I asked, my lip trembling hopefully.

"Of course! Did you think I would forget, my love? Do not worry thee self, m' love. I shall buy for you a thousand necklaces! A thousand bracelets! And even those do not fully express my love for you. Paying for mystery slop and dining in your favorite spot – the stinky cafeteria – my love, is nothing compared to what I feel in my heart for thee!" Nicole knelt down next to me and engulfed me in a hug.

"My gratitude can not be expressed. Shall we now make our way to said stinky cafeteria, my sunshine?"

I stood and helped her up.

"Why, of course, my darling," Nicole and I linked arms and, head high, skipped away, down the hall.

As soon as we turned down the hallway, I stopped. Putting a finger to my lips, I peeked around the corner to see Jason still standing there. His eyebrows furrowed, a confused scowl on his face. He stroked his chin, then stalked off in the opposite direction.

I turned back to Nicole. She held her hand out and curtsied. We burst into a fit of giggles.

"Thanks for being there, Nicole. You saved me from the monster, Jason!" I joked, once again falling back into our over-dramatic acting as we walked to the lunchroom.

"I shall fight for you a horde of goblins! THIS–IS–SPARTA!" Nicole shouted, raised her arm like it was a sword, and charged down the hallway.

Laughing, we made our way back to our table and sat down. Unfortunately, our good moods didn't last long.

Daisy walked past, her goons trailing behind her. She stopped and looked at us in disgust.

"I think they're having a seizure," Daisy snickered to her friends.

Nicole and I exchanged a look. We had no patience for her shenanigans at the moment.

Daisy continued, "They're–"

"JUST A DOLLOP OF DAISY!" we shouted, singing the tune from the commercial.

Nicole and I broke off into hysterical laughter, rubbing it in with high fives. Daisy turned pale, looked at us like we were weirdos, like the sour cream, and walked quickly away.

I sighed, my cheeks hurting from grinning so long. It was nice to know I had at least one friend. Nicole and I had each other's backs, and we were all the other needed.