Jack and I hadn’t talked for 2 days. I had been spending my lunch hour with some acquaintances from my History class while the rest of the group remained intact. Biology was quiet and lonely despite the fact that one of my best friends was sitting next to me, and I wanted nothing more than to fix it. I couldn’t stand the ache in my gut as I avoided the sweeping gaze of the skunk haired boy that had quickly become a huge part of my life. But I didn’t dare say anything, because I was too awful stubborn and let my pride get in the way.
Rian slid quietly into the desk next to mine, sighing and giving me a wary look. He looked as tired as I felt, dark circles forming under his eyes. “Nora, you and Jack seriously have to stop this.”
I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. “I’m not the one you should be saying that to.”
“Come on! You’re one of the mature ones! You know that it’s stupid and petty. All it takes is one conversation, and everything will go back to normal,” he said. There was a begging tone to his voice that plucked at my curiosity.
“Rian, you were there when this whole thing started. I told Jack that when he decided to stop being a dick, he could come find me, and I haven’t heard from him. What exactly do you expect me to do?” I questioned.
“At least meet him halfway. It’s not going to be fixed unless both of you go for it,” he replied.
“And who’s to say he won’t just blow up at me again for no reason?” I wondered.
“Oh, there was definitely a reason. I can’t believe someone as smart as you didn’t see it,” Rian began, but seeing my blank look, decided to continue. “You were talking to that guy, the one you said was cute. Jack was obviously jealous, Nora.”
I gasped unintentionally. “Jealous? Why the hell would he be jealous?”
Rian pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated. “Because he likes you, duh! You like him too, but the two of you are too oblivious to see it. Look, I don’t care about you two figuring that out for yourselves, at least not yet. All I want is for you guys to be friends again.”
I brushed over his shocking words quickly. “Why are you so hellbent on getting us to make up?”
“You’re both doing awful without the other. I’ve never seen you drink so much coffee or look so sad, and Jack has never been so quiet for this long in his entire life. I don’t know how the two of you functioned without each other before you met, because you sure as hell aren’t doing it now,” he explained.
Rian’s words hit me really hard. I couldn’t picture Jack being quiet, even though I had seen it in Biology class the past couple of days. Rian was like a brother to me, and he only wanted what was best for me, right? Therefore, I should take what he said to heart. “I’ll think about it...but I can’t promise any more than that.”
Another sigh. “Fine. I just hope you make it quick.”
Our French teacher began discussing verb conjugation on the board, and my attention focused on that, though everything still loomed in the back of my head. Even after class ended, I parted ways with Rian and made my way upstairs to where I had been sitting recently. I was the first one there, but they all slowly trickled into place.
Nobody questioned how quiet and distracted as I was as I attempted to watch the chess game going on before me. No matter how hard I tried, I could never understand the game, and my distracting thoughts weren’t helping me at all. The players gazed intently at the board, trying to figure out where to move, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Jack.
I didn’t say anything in Biology either. Jack and I continued our game of glancing at the other when they weren’t looking, making me go even crazier. The words I wanted to say danced on the tip of my tongue, but my lips stayed clamped shut. I wondered if Rian and spoken to Jack too, or if it was someone else.
By the time the bell rang at the end of the day, I trudged out of my sixth hour, my eyes feeling heavy and my bones weary. My feet pounded down the stairs, eager to go home and be away from the hell hole I called my high school. Cold air hit my face as I made my way through the front doors, sipping up my jacket to keep out the cold.
I was almost to the crosswalk when I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. I felt a pang of hope in my chest, thinking that it would be Jack coming to fix our muddled friendship, before turning around. Of course I couldn’t get that lucky.
“Hey, Nora. Long time no see,” Drake smirked at me, folding his arms.
The muscles in my jaw tightened at sound of his voice. “Clearly not long enough.”
“Come on. Don’t be like that. I just wanted to talk,” he replied.
“I don’t have time for your stupidity, Drake. I have far better things to do at home,” I stated, clenching my fists at my side.
“Glad to finally hear you finally listened to me and left Emmett alone. He’s much better off now with his new girlfriend, Kasey,” he sneered.
“Whatever. Emmett can get fucked for all I care. Neither you, nor him ever cared about me anyway.” I hadn’t talked to Emmett for weeks, but I knew he cared about me at least a little, and part of me still cared about him. Drake, on the other hand, was a different story.
“Of course we didn’t. You’re a freak, with all of your issues with your family and that anxiety thing you pretend to have,” he mentioned.
My blood boiled. “You have far more family issues than I do, asshole, and Emmett does too.”
“What are you talking about? Emmett’s the toughest guy I know. He doesn’t have anything to worry about,” he commented.
I scoffed. “Then you clearly don’t know as much about Emmett as much as you think. Me and him used to stay up late messaging each other about his fucked up past. Guess he just trusted me more than a fucker like you.”
I could tell I hit a nerve judging by the way his eyes darkened. “You fucking bitch!”
Drake wasn’t a complete idiot. I didn’t think he’d hit me, especially in front of that many people, but when he raised his hand, I couldn’t help but flinch. I shut my eyes, covering my face with my hands just as somebody stepped in front of me. They moved me so I was directly behind them, acting as my human shield. They were tall and smelled like soap, and when I opened my eyes to look up at them, I could see blonde locks of hair mixed with a lot of black.
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Jack said, his voice sounding deep and threatening.
“Who the hell are you? And why do you care?” Drake spat back.
“This girl right here is one of my best friends, and I suggest you leave her alone,” he defended.
“Oh yeah? And what happens if I don’t?” Drake challenged.
“If you even breathe in her direction, I will find you and my friends and I will beat the living shit out of you. You got that?” If I had been the one Jack was mad at, he would have sounded incredibly terrifying. didn’t know why Drake wasn’t running home yet.
“Well, where are these friends of yours?” he questioned.
“Look behind you,” Jack added.
I took a peek from behind Jack to see Drake turn around to face Alex, Rian, Zack, and Luna. “Luna? Really?”
“Fuck yeah. I won’t allow a fuckhead like you to hurt my best friend,” she seethed.
Drake turned back around and I cowered behind Jack again, gripping on the back of his shirt. “Whatever,” he said. “I don’t need you people. I have other things I could be doing.”
“Exactly. Now go.” Jack said.
With an eye roll, Drake strolled away rather quickly. Jack turned around to face me, his deep voice disappearing and a concerned look on his face. “Nora, are you okay? We weren’t too late, were we?”
I shook my head. “Just in time really.”
“Listen, I’m sorry for being a dick and all, I just-” he began.
“Just forget about it,” I declared, flinging my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder and hugging him tightly. He was shocked at first, but eventually wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug. We stayed like that for a moment, so close that we could only be closer if we kissed, until Alex cleared his throat awkwardly.
I pulled away, grinning at my best friends. “Get in here, all of you. We need a giant group hug right now.”
The six of us huddled together, and I felt so incredibly loved that I thought my heart was going to burst. Not only had I gotten Jack back, but also discovered just how great the people I was surrounded by were. This was what friendship was. Most of the time, it was jokes and play fights, but then there were moments like these, where you protected and supported each other. I sighed contentedly, “I love you guys.”
“We love you too, Nora, and don’t you ever forget that,” Zack said.
We soon parted ways, Alex and Luna going to her house, Rian to his, Zack to his, and then Jack tagging along with me to mine. He insisted that he had to make sure I was okay, though I assured him I was. We sat on my front porch, sipping cans of Mountain Dew and watching cars pass by.
“Thank you for coming to my rescue, Jack. I don’t think he actually would’ve hit me...but I’m glad you were there,” I commented, my thumb running over the rim of the can.
“Did he ever hit you when you two were together?” Jack questioned, locking eyes with me.
I sighed. “Once. He slapped me upside the head really hard and I told him if he ever did it again, I’d do it back twice as hard.”
A half smile formed on his lips. “Now that sounds like you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t tell if that’s a good or a bad thing.”
“Definitely good,” he decided, hugging me again. “I know it was only a couple days, but is it bad if I say I missed you?”
I hugged him back wholeheartedly, butterflies floating around my stomach. “No. I missed you too.”
Our seriousness soon ended, and we were back to our normal routine again. We even walked to his house and I ended up staying the night for what seemed like the umpteenth time. But after the past few days of hell, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Notes

Okay so I'm really excited about this chapter XD I JUST THINK THE END IS REALLY CUTE AND I'M PROUD OF MYSELF FOR WRITING IT. Anyway, I suggest you listen to 99 Biker Friends by Bowling For Soup since it's what this chapter it based off of (at least a little) and because it's just a great song with a good message. Check it out!

More to come for this story! Just you wait ;)