No Pads… No Helmets… Just Memories!

"ALEX!" A shrill voice screamed, causing Alex and I both to shoot upright. "ALEX YOU-"

"OWW!" We both groaned simultaneously as our skulls cracked together. The pain snapping through the folds of my brain faster than his due to the "trauma" it suffered from my fall the previous day. Or so I thought it was the previous day until I pulled my fists from my eyes where they had been rubbing the sleep and smearing mascara to see the sun seeping through the two large windows.

"Uh... Alex?" I whispered. My eyes slipping to his own wide blown orbs. "Is it?" My thought interrupted by his insistent nodding.

"Yeah..." He hushed. His chest rising and falling at a rapidly increasing pace as his cheeks flushed pink. I was slightly relieved it wasn't only I who saw major issues with our current situation.

"Shit-"

"ALEX ARE YOU GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL!?" His mother hollered again. 'Shit, shit, shit!' I rambled in my head. All but falling off his bed in a rush. What the hell happened last night? I mean, I know what happened. Which was nothing. Nothing like that anyhow. It was a rhetorical question. More of a 'how the fuck did we pass out last night and not realize we slept through dinner and the entire nigh!?' kind of what the hell happened. "YOU OKAY HUN!?" His mother called.

Her distant tone forcing my head to snap up to Alex from my new position on the floor. The boy's hand fiddling through his hair as he fumbled with words. "Alex!" I hissed quietly. "SAY SOMETHING!"

"YEAH MOM!" He shouted suddenly making me recoil slightly at his tone. "I SLEPT IN A LITTLE, GETTING READY NOW!"

"Alex help!" I stammered, quickly getting to my feet and biting my tongue to muffle my groan from my tight jeans shifting from their imprints on my legs. Sleeping in jeans- worst thing ever, but it was one more assurance that our night was just as PG as I remembered it to be.

"Uh- uh-" Alex stuttered, slipping from his bed and tossing around the seemingly clean t-shirts still littering his floor. "HERE!" He rushed. Turning to look at him from my place by his mirror where I had instantly been trying to mangle my mop of mild bed head, I was met with a tossed green tee being thrown my way. Pulling it from my face, I examined the mossy green hues as they mixed with the faded maroon coloring of the Rolling Stone's classic tongue logo. Flinching from my daze, I blinked at the shirt before turning my back to Alex.

Just as I placed my hands over the hem of my own wrinkled shirt, I noticed the lack of movement behind me. "Alex..." I warned, glancing over my shoulder to see Alex standing in the center of his room. Half clothed in boxers and jeans with his own shirt clutched solid in his hand as he stared back at me. "Don't peak!" I yelled in a whisper. My sudden words making Alex snap back to reality as he rushed to pull his shirt over his head whilst I shed from my own. Quickly pulling the worn fabric of Alex's shirt over my head before turning to find him holding his hands clasped over his eyes making me laugh.

"Lex, I gotta go!" I rushed, snapping my converse off his floor and running towards his window. Throwing him an amused grin when I reached the frame and had begun to push a gap open in the glass. My eyes locking on his only to see his hurt expression making me halt my movements. "What?"

"Why do you have to go?" He asked is a soft tone. My face dropped when I realized how cold shoulder this looked. Me freaking out over spending the night after all we had said yesterday, of course it would hurt him to see how eager I was to make a run for it- out his window may I add.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. "Alex, I have to get home and change, do my hair, eat." I explained as he pulled at the bottom of his tee. "If you're mom comes up here you know she will assume the worst and freak!"

"Yeah, I know..." Alex sighed in defeat as he shuffled from foot to foot.

"I'll see you in twenty minutes, okay?" I assured, tossing a leg out his window and onto the overhang of his porch. Seeing Alex nod I did the same. "I just have to get ready..."

"I get it..." Alex laughed breathlessly making me smile in the slightest before I nodded and tossed my other foot onto the roof. "But wait!" He rushed, not a moment later were his hands cupping my face from outside his window and pulling me back. Our lips meeting in a short and simple exchange before he pulled away again. My eyes remaining shut just hoping he'd get the hint and just kiss me again. Kiss me again and not pull away, forgetting all I had just insisted. "Just, hurry..." He breathed. My eyebrows lifting as my eyes remained shut and I hummed in confusion. "Getting ready..."

"Oh!" I snapped back to life as my face flushed red. "Right, of course, okay. Bye!" I mumbled. His hands sliding from my face as I carefully made my way over to the side of his porch where I could lower myself onto the railing and not be seen, or injured. Carefully doing just that, I took off across the road and crept into my side yard. If anyone had seen me sprint onto my back porch and scale the back room like I had, they would have surly thought I was a criminal. And I could have been with the record time I set getting my window open and all but literally falling through the frame and onto the floor.

On any typical day I thrive in taking my time getting ready. But that particular morning, records were set. As expected, it took me a total of seventeen minutes to run my hair under the faucet of the tub enough to mangle it into a long dutch braid down the center of my back, apply an ample amount of mascara, and change from my jeans to a comfy pair of leggings. Deciding to leave on Alex's shirt I did last minute touches like a spritz of perfume on my wrists before snapping my high-tops off the floor, which were preferably not covered in mud from the morning dew and fell back onto the edge of my bed.

I had just slipped my first sneaker over my heel when I heard the blare of Rian's alarm ripping from behind his closed door. I was relieved he had just begun to stir and I was back on track with my usual times of getting ready as far as the rest of the household was concerned. "6:45" I mumbled picking my phone up off the floor where I had dropped it. Seventeen minutes.

I slid on my second sneaker, leaving the short laces to hang loose from their last holes as I sat upright. My eyes falling on the two small stacks of stringed bracelets which sat just across my room on the ledge of my white bookshelf... 'Do I really need them?' I thought to myself. My mind subconsciously turning my wrist in my lap as I looked down at my aged marks. The tingling feeling returning as I could feel the embedded imprint of Alex's gentle lips on the skin. The pit in my stomach that usually surfaced when I as much as thought about the mistakes I had made those years ago being replaced by a much...different, feeling. A warm and fuzzy one that made my eyes float. Love. I didn't need to hide then anymore, did I? All those who truly mattered to me now knew. Cass and Rian had known for a while, and I'm sure anything Alex knows, Jack will be soon to follow. And Zack never struck me as someone who would necessary jump at the opportunity to know anyhow. I felt as though if I told him he would just feel uncomfortable. I told myself that I didn't need them anymore one last time before I stood on my feet and started the last leg of my getting ready.

"Oh Jasey, I didn't hear you come in last night!" Julie chimed as I stumbled into the kitchen. The toes oh my shoes shuffling heavily against the tiles of the kitchen floor as I slumped.

"Uh- yeah..." I muttered, shuffling to the island as I fiddled a hand through my hair trying to conger up an excuse as to why I would have been home at an ungodly hour as opposed to an even worse early morning one. "I ate at the Gaskarth's last night, sorry, I know I should have called..."

"So you and Alex are alright?" She asked sweetly making my gaze lift to her. What was that supposed to mean? Were me and Alex not okay before? I mean yeah, things were as messy as a toddler finger painting but we never broke up, actually it was just quite the opposite. "Well, it's just that Isobel said Alex seemed really upset yesterday is all, and you didn't look so great yourself after Sunday..."

"Yeah mom," I pulled. The mom card always soothed any nerves Julie had seeing as I never quite called her mom. More or less due to the fact the word brought up bad memories and the pungent urge to vomit which was not her fault. I preferred to call her Julie just in that I never even wanted to compare her to the monster I once called mom, and she understood this- for the most part. "Alex and I are great actually..." I mumbled, fighting the smile pulling at my lips.

"Jasey hunny?" Julie redirected from the kitchen table as I snatched an apple from the fruit bowl which sat in the center of the island. Brushing the green skin against my shirt as I know it may just very well be the only thing I will eat today, seeing as not even a healthy human being can properly stomach lunch from the Dulaney cafeteria, I sigh before glancing up at her. "Hunny, if you’re not truly up for school again today, you can take another day." She smiled placing the newspaper she held flat on the wooden surface as she spoke. The elder woman watching my mouth as I forced it to twitch into a half grin before she sighed her own breath and pulled the fine reading glasses off her nose. "Jasey, no one is expecting you to be at your A-game right now, if you need one more day..."

"I'm fine..." I muttered my two small words as I grabbed an old hoodie and slipped it over my shoulders, letting Alex's shirt show past my hoodie's gray coloring. "The longer I prolong this, the harder it seems... I made it yesterday." I finished. Julie solemnly nodding as I pulled my almost empty bag over my shoulders and started for the door. Not even thinking of asking Rian for a ride as I shut the door behind me.

Yes, school yesterday was torturous, miserable, and nauseating. But most of the horrible feelings sweltering in my stomach were over none other than Alex. The situation playing in my mind kept me so distracted I hardly had a second to notice anything else, and hand-in-hand, had not a moment to dwell over previous events. But today, would be much, much different. I wasn't truly up to go back to school again. But I meant what I said, the longer I waited, the harder it seemed. If I didn't kick myself in the ass I would fall too far behind in my normal life to ever slip back, and instead, might as well just slip away. Which was not something I wanted to do. Sighing I looked up at the dull gray sky as I shuffled across the damp panels of the porch. Just glaring at the clouds as I skipped down the steps, their rolling monotone color, mocking me with their unpredictable release of rain.

Stumbling across the road I let my head hang low as I shoved my hands in the pockets of my zip-up. Keeping my digits warms as I walked over to and eager Alex who was already standing beside his warmed up shit box. It would have been a normal morning for me if I walked. Marc and I always walked together. Now given that the weather could have been simply classified as, "shit", my argument could be seen as invalid. But I didn't see the point in pretending like Marc was still here anymore. Yesterday I walked to school in the drizzling rain, but now, it almost seemed to me as pitiful as it was downright upsetting. He was a huge part of my life. The least I could do would be to at least acknowledge our few meaningless traditions. Though I couldn’t deny that the morning felt dreary and dark without him, like all possible life from the sky and this town was sucked dry to the bottom of a river bed, not even the birds were singing, they to mourned in his absence.

But what’s to expect on a shitty February morning. Sunshine, rainbows and Easter bunnies? No. What I should have expected was the low hum from the average seventeen year old's car as it filled our short void of silence before Alex simply stepped his chest against mine and pulled my into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry I wasn't with you yesterday..." He mumbled onto the pull of my braid. Said boy kissing my temple before resting his cheek to the top of my head. "I feel like such a horrible boyfriend..." He muttered making me burst out in laughter.

Alex pulled away as I continued to laugh in hysterics. His dumbfounded expression caught me off guard resulting in me trying to muffle my still boiling giggles. "Wait..." I breathed a laugh, trying to take a deep breath. "Are you serious!?" I laughed loudly. His hurt written brow deepening as my smile slid from my face. The situation instantly becoming very un-funny to me as I realized he was being serious. "Alex..." I breathed, wiping the joyful tear from the edge of my eye in the process. "You are the greatest friend and boyfriend I could have asked for!"

At my words, a small smile broke onto his face as his entire expression lit up like the New York Christmas tree. "You mean that?" Alex asked, blushing furiously as he swayed on his toes making me giggle gently.

"Of course!" I laughed, jumping up to my toes in order to wrap my arms around his neck. "I don't know how you put up with me..." I mumbled into his shoulder making me laugh.

"I have a few ideas in mind as to why that is..." He joked. "But your punctuality is not one of them, detach yourself and hop in, we can't be late to school."

I groaned as his words and playfully pecked his cheek before running round the nose of the car to slip into the passenger seat. Alex laughing was quick to copy as he hopped into his seat and threw the car in reverse after making sure both he and I were buckled. I pushed up my sleeves as the car's heat smacked me in the face making me almost uncomfortably warm, my movement catching Alex's I as he leaned over and snaked his fingers through my own.

I was planning to scold him about ten and two, keeping both hands on the wheels and safe driving when he rested our elbows on the center console and threw me a look. "Hey..." He grinned as he looked down at my- his -shirt. "You're wearing my shirt..."

"So are you..." I joked sending him a smirk which he returned with an energetic laugh before I shrugged. "I didn't want to change my top again and... it's soft..."

"I know..." Alex returned my playful banter making me roll my eyes which he laughed at, again. "But I'm happy you didn't change..." Alex smirked making me scrunch my brows in confusion. "There’s something just satisfying about seeing my girl in my cloths..." He shrugged off, flicking on his directional as he came up to a turn. Alex taking his hand away from mine in order to take the turn as I ducked my head. Trying to ignore the specific flutter in my chest at his words 'my girl' which made me blush. "Plus..." He interjected, his hand finding mine as he slid me a cheeky smirk. "You look hot in my cloths, why do you think I let you steel them, even before I asked you out..."

"You knew about that?" I blurted. My blush deepening as Alex let out a bellowing chuckle.

"Knew about it?" He scoffed, "Jasey, you have half my closet hoarded in your room, of course I knew, especially since I only got my red hoodie back because you wore it over then left it at my house!"

"Oh..." I blushed. My head sinking as I inspected my lap, picking at the few balls of lint on the thighs of my leggings.

"Don't worry about it!" He laughed, merging into the right lane to pull into the school. "Like I said, I like seeing you in my cloths..."

"I feel like now you were secretly marking me!" I laughed, throwing my head back against the head rest making Alex blush and giggle.

"Hey!" He defended, waiting with the clicking of his blinker for the light to change. "At least I had the decency not to do it like a dog and just pee on you!"

I let out another obnoxiously loud laugh as I nodded my head. "Thank you for not doing that!" I cackled making Alex grin once again before he pulled into the student parking lot. "I don't think I would have been as open to dating you if you had..."

"Open to dating me?" He scoffed playfully. "You make it sound like you had to contemplate whether you wanted to or not!"

"Who says I didn't?" I challenged making him smirk. The boy remaining silent as he pulled into a spot and turned to me.

"Me, because I was there, both times..." He grinned satisfied as I giggled and threw my seatbelt of my chest. "And besides, you're like seconds from jumping my bones twenty-four-seven!" He laughed.

My jaw falling to my lap as I scoffed. "As if!" I rolled my eyes as Alex laughed and pulled the keys from the ignition, killing the engine as result. "You're the horny one in this relationship!"

"Well I'm a boy!" He defended making me laugh. "And anyhow, who is the one who makes me horny!" He threw back making me blush instantly. The blood heating my skin like the worst sunburn would as I hid my face. "Who is it?"

"JACK!" I joked, throwing the name back in recovery as Alex released a bitter laugh, shaking his head.

"I hate you..." He bit.

My grin widening as I leaned over and pecked his lips, pulling away enough afterwards so that I could look him in the eyes whilst letting my breath hit his lips. "No you don't..." Alex's mouth fell open as it clapped open and shut making me laugh. "Come on pretty boy..." I giggled, winking at my boyfriend as I threw my door open. "We got one, long day ahead of us!"

* * * * * *

"Going to school will be good for you..." Said my father Monday morning as he slid past me whilst I brushed my teeth to snatch a towel. "Surrounding yourself with people who get what you’re going through will be nice!" He said.

Lies.

All of it.

School was horrible. And that’s saying a whole hell of a lot in comparison to the travesty that is my normal attitude towards the brick institute of reformatory and "education". I sat in third period which felt as if to be an eternity long with my eyes glued to the clock. A single foot already perched beside my bag on the floor, ready to dart through the door just to my left the moment the bell allowed it. Sprinting for lunch just praying to dodge every passing condolence as they carelessly spewed from my classmate's mouths.

Five more minutes, that's all that was left of the lecture filled history lesson when I noticed the pacing figure by the door. The dark mass stopped before falling into the lockers with a soft thud. Glancing around the room I noticed that it was only I who had taken note of the figure before I glanced through the door. A sigh of relief washing over me as I saw Alex slide to his butt, head resting back against the lockers bringing a small grin to my troubled features.

Alex may have been on my list of people to avoid as of yesterday, but even I couldn't deny to myself that a hug from him sounded heavenly at the time. The stress of not cracking was quickly getting to me. Alex's eyes quickly caught mine when he noticed me watching. The boy grinning wide as he waved a hand, forcing a giggle from my lips as I snuck him the finger, watching the teacher oblivious to the exchange.

I didn't even know how Alex was out of his third period class, but I didn't even care. Just knowing he was there made those five minutes fly as the bell ripped through my rambling teacher's thought and cut it short. Swiftly, I got to my feet, slid my bag from the floor and all but ran from the room. Not even bothering to sling the straps over my shoulders, for a second later it was being dropped as I ran into Alex's open arms. My nose going to the crook of his neck as I jumped the height change to wrap my arms around it. Supporting my weight as he held my back and pressed my body flush against his. I used his neck to hide my red eyes as the urge to cry crept up my spine as much as I'd been fighting it.

"You okay?" Alex asked as he placed me to my feet and continued to hold me close. His body heat wrapping around me as his body framed my own letting an odd familiarity of safety wash through me.

"Yeah..." I nodded before biting my lip and pulling my head off his shoulder. Not caring if we looked like a ridiculous high school couple who couldn't go fifty minutes without one another. When your best-friend dies and you want a hug, you can judge me. "Why, do I look like I'm about to cry?" I asked, looking up at him with wide eyes as he laughed a stressed chuckle and shook his head.

"No..." He smiled kissing my forehead before pulling out of the hug, allowing me to snatch my bag off the ground as he leaned into the lockers. "You just seemed so peppy this morning, I was just checking..."

"You give good hugs, okay..." I shrugged; ducking my head as I slid my bag on, quickly feel my blood rush to my cheeks. "I just needed that is all..." I finished as Alex laughed again and reached town to tangle his fingers with my own before pulling us down the hall.

"I thought you'd need one..." He smiled down on me for a moment before looking up and guiding us through the crowded halls, his height playing to his advantage as he easily navigated the stream of people. "And that is exactly why I asked Mr. Peacock if I could dip fifteen minutes early to see you..."

"You left music to check on me?" I gaped in honest disbelief, raising both brows as Alex laughed and simply shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"Of course I did..." He rolled pulling us towards the junior connector to cut across to the other side of the school where we could enter the cafeteria to where the door to the "pic-nick" area was located. It was mostly just a large hunk of lawn between the school building and the teacher parking where about eight wooden tabled had been set out. "He understood that I was anxious about you with the whole Marc thing and didn't even think to keep me in class..."

"But you left music?" I asked again as Alex let out a loud laugh catching a few passing freshmen's attention. Not like the drool hanging from their mouths gave away that he already had it or anything. "Alex that’s like your favorite class, like the ONLY class you like!"

"And I'll have it again tomorrow, then Friday, then next week!" He listed throwing his arm around my shoulders and pulling the cafeteria door open wide enough for both if us to slip through before he passed it to the next person. "It was fifteen minutes, and besides, you’re more important than any old music class!" He shrugged smiling down on me as I began to blush. Alex simply laughed again as we passed all the tables and stepped through the red painted door that had been propped open by a plastic chair and a cinder block.

"Wait, Alex..." I called, the reminder dawning on me as he pulled us through the sea of sophomores being booted from a table or two. "I have to buy lunch..."

"Nope..." Alex popped making me furrow my brow. "Jack ordered pizza last period..."

"Pizza?" I cocked in disbelief. "Are we even allowed to do that!?"

Alex simply shrugged in response making me roll my eyes at the boy’s utter lack of worry towards any and all school rules. "Well we did, so I guess so..." Was his answer.

I scoffed as Jack and Vinny came into view. The two of them sat on either side of a table, each occupying a bench with two fair sized pizza boxes sat between them. "You guys are ridiculous!"

"VINNAH LOOK!" Jack laughed pointing up at Alex and I before he made a kissy face and batted his eyes. "It's da hawppy cwouple!"

"Shut up Barakat!" Alex laughed plopping down on the bench beside Vinny and letting me seat myself right between them in the space he purposely left.

"So you guys are good?" Vinny asked, his question directed towards Alex though his eyes were locked on the pizza boxes. But of course, none would be eaten till the rest of the peanut gallery arrived.

Alex looked down at me with a huge grin, his head dipping quickly to peck my lips, gaining a gag from Jack before promptly pulling away with an even wider grin. "More than good..." Alex breathed, gaining yet another groan from Jack Barakat.

"If y'all didn't bang, I don't want to hear about it!" Jack yelled, making mufflers of his hands as he cupped them over his ears. I couldn't help myself from blushing as I hid my face in Alex's bicep as he awkwardly laughed.

"Jack it wasn't like tha-"

"HE GOT PIZZA!" Rian's eager voice ripped through Alex's thought as we glanced over our shoulders to see him charging the table, Andrea, Cass and Matt following shortly behind with Andrea hot on his trail.

"ARE WE EVEN ALOWED TO DO THIS?" Cass asked. Filling the usual shoes of Rian as the sensible one as he was already pulling a box open and examining the possible slices. As if he was evaluating each and every one of them.

I shrugged looking up at Cass as she slid onto the bench across from us. "Do the boys ever do as they are told?" I offered. Cass laughed slightly as she nodded her head and reached her hand into her box none the less.

"So Lex man..." Jack starts with a mouth full of the steamy cheese. "Have you been writing for our album?"

The question instantly peeked my interest as I glanced up at Alex hearing him hum. Said boy swallowing his own food before promptly nodding. "I got one more song down, but I haven't even thought of any sound to go with it, and I want to work on one later if I can."

"I can see if I can muster up a beat like before..." Rian offerered as he slung and arm around Cass' shoulders making her ever rosy cheeks deepen.

"Dude, would you?" Alex asked as Rian nodded approvingly.

"I didn't know you guys were already working on your album fully..." I muttered with a guilty look in my eye making Alex laugh. I felt like the most unsupportive girlfriend AND sibling on the face of the planet.

"Yeah, you should swing by my place after your soccer workouts and help me write..." Alex grinned down on me as he reached for the pizza box.

"Alex..." I rolled my eyes. "I won’t be much help!"

"Eh, that’s debatable!" He shrugged making me chuckle. "You can at least me my direct source of inspiration!" He grinned. I bit down on my lip and avoided making any actual denial and or confirmation and just bit down on my own lunch. The mass of us falling into a comfortable silence as we all ate. Our mouths being filled by pizza instead of words even though in passing a few thoughts were exchanged. It wasn't like an awkward silence, we weren't just sitting around making uncomfortable eye contact as we ate, it was peaceful and simple. The much needed break I needed from the stressful day it was turning out to be.

It turned out, without my worrying about Alex; I had time to notice and stress over other things. Or everything. I let out a sigh as I rested my head to Lex's bicep. I had already survived three periods. Three periods of people staring at me, eyeing me. I wasn’t Marc's only friend but I was the only one he talked to in my classes, and not having French with Jack or science with Vinny thanks to the schedule was not of any help. All I had to do was get through the next two periods after lunch and I could go home to not be bothered with the world or this heartless little town. I didn’t know how much more I could take, even with Alex at my side I was broken, shattered more like.

Between my change of heart towards the days approach and with Alex at my side I had managed to let the one brutal reminder of the biggest perk to being Jasey Rae Dawson slip my mind. The other girls. "OH MY GOSH, ALEX?" A shrilled voice called. All our heads snapped up as we were faced with a played up chest before the girl herself. Said girl strutting closer to the table as Alex shifted. "Can I help you?" Alex asked politely as the girl popped her hip, her eyes shifting past Alex's chocolate brown eyes to narrow at mine making me feel at unease.

She reached up and twirled her hair, bringing attention to the purple wrist band from spirit week tied around her wrist. Of course, I had never seen this girl before. But it was no wonder; a girl like her is usually drooling over a senior, not a junior- with a girlfriend.

She was a sophomore slut... Classic.

Rolling my eyes, I ignored the obvious fact her chest was more bra then boob as I noticed Alex stiffen, catching the same realization I had. Trying to sooth his nerves, I reached up behind him and softly ran my fingers through the soft locks at the base of his neck. Trying to bring Alex back to earth seeing as picking a bitch fight with an underclassmen was not something I was in the place, or mood to do today.

"Yeah... Actually..." She smirked, smacking her gum rather obnoxiously as she crossed her arms over her stomach, probably fearing her chest might deflate. Her bubble gum pink lips pulling to a sick grin as she flashed her purple and pink braces. Oh the days of puberty, how they can be brutal. "There’s a party at Roy Rodger's house tonight, you should come... With me."

"Oh..." Alex said coolly. The sophomore's smirk dropping as she glared at me for a split second. "I can't..."

"Why not?" She pushed, taking a step closer to the table and pulled a slip of paper from her pocket as she leaned into the group. Her bulging breasts inches from his face as he leaned back against me. "Other plans?"

"Uhm- well..." He started, throwing a wide eyed glance to Jack before he lifted a hand up to gently push her away. "No... I would just rather not."

Her slick lips twisted into a sick scowl as she glared at Alex. "And why not?"

Alex bit his lip, his pulling smile clear as he looked to me before glancing back at the underclassmen. "Well for one, I have a girlfriend, and secondly, you're not my type." He told her flatly making Vinny and Andrea laugh.

"What do you mean..."

"Oh my god!" Alex groan exasperated as he smacked a hand to his face. "Why are you still here, I just said I have a girlfriend, whose right here!"

"And...?"

"And even if I wasn't dating her I would never go for you, go get some freshman to bone you if you're this desperate!" He snapped. The girls face washing of color as she stomped her foot and stormed off. Muttering a brief 'I'm everyone's type' before she left ear shot. Alex groaned as he threw his head down on the planks of the table.

"Don't you think that was a little harsh?" Rian asked. Alex groaning as I rubbed a soothing hand up his back.

"No." He said simply. "I don't, I think if someone is happy they should be left the fuck alone."

"So if some guy did that to Jasey you wouldn't sympathize with them and tell her it wasn't cool?" Cass interjected now, backing Rian up as Alex's head snapped up from the table. His hand finding mine without a single look as he gave it a squeeze.

"If a guy did that to Jasey I would punch him in the face." Alex said flatly. Everyone looking at him slightly flustered as I simply sighed.

"Bro, why are you getting so defensive?" Jack asked genuinely confused by his friend’s odd behavior. Alex getting to his feet in response, holding my hand as he dragged me with him.

"I'm getting defensive because I was kept from her enough and I'm sick of people trying to interject!" He snapped angrily before looking at me and releasing an agitated puff. "Let’s just go to math already."

Notes