JACK’S POV

“Babyyy.” Emma juts her lower lip out slightly. “Please don’t leave me. I hate being alone.”

“I’m sorry.” I apologize while rubbing her cheek with my thumb. “I have to. Mr. Menendez really needs me for this assignment. Apparently I’m failing.”

Fuck I hate lying to her. I don’t have any other choice though.

She looks at me for a moment, almost like she knows I’m bullshitting her. Her face changes and she smiles. “Fine. But you owe me later on tonight.”

I pull her in for a hug so she can’t see the look of relief on my face. “I love you Emma. I love you to absolutely no end. Don’t forget that, okay?”

“I love you too Jack. More than all the stars in the sky.” I feel her murmur into my chest.

We pull apart and kiss each other goodbye. She walks off slowly and I walk in the opposite direction, towards the field where Alex told me to meet him. I take deep breaths, replaying exactly what happened earlier today…

I walk with Emma hand in hand. All of a sudden, I’m rudely jerked away from her by some stranger. He looks to be about my height, maybe a little shorter. He looks pretty pissed off too.

“Hey Barakat.” He smirks. “I’m Alex Gaskarth, Sasha’s boyfriend. You remember Sasha right? The beautiful, strong girl you could’ve had? Not that scrawny, pathetic rat you drag around.”

All I want to do is punch him in the face. “The way I see it, Sasha is the pathetic rat. Yeah she might be physically strong but at least Emma is strong enough to deal with her problems. Sasha just beats others up to avoid hers.” I sneer.

“At least Sasha is popular. Your little mutt is the joke of the school.” Alex rolls his eyes.

“Is this why you pulled me aside dickhead? To talk shit about my girlfriend and glorify Sasha?”

“No.” A mischievous glimmer sparks his eyes. “Sasha has to lay low for a bit since she feels threatened. She has a feeling that she’s being watched. So now I have to step in. Problem is, I can’t punch a girl. So I hear you are the next best target.”

“You are going to beat me up for dating Emma? Do you hear yourself?” I laugh bitterly. “You are more pathetic than Sasha is.”

“Fuck off you little shit.” He bumps into me. “Meet me at the field during lunch or else her little brother is the next target.”

I freeze and Alex smirks as he walks away.

I shudder as the wind whips against my skin. I walk straight to the middle of the field where I see Alex standing. He’s smoking a cigarette and his other hand stuffed in his pocket. I stop within 3 feet of him and he tosses the lit cigarette to the ground, stomping it in the dirt.

“Look who showed up.” He smirks. “Smart man. So this can go one of two ways. I can beat the shit out of you, or you can join me.”

“What do you mean?” I ask cautiously.

“I mean you can be like Sasha and I. You might think it’s fucked up, but it’s a great way to get anger out.” He chuckles. “I could always use a right hand man. Plus, it’s an almost guarantee that Sasha will lay off Emma.”

I freeze for a moment and think slowly. So either I get the shit beat out of me and have Emma at a constant risk for attack, or I beat other kids up and keep us all safe?

“Here’s how I see it. You love Emma, correct?” He asks. I nod slowly. “Then keep her safe. The only way to do that is join with me. If you don’t, I’m sure Emma will be in a lot of danger. If we get you on my team, Sasha will be happy. She doesn’t like the fact that I roll alone. She gets worried.” He laughs and rolls his eyes. “Get on my good side, and we can be good friends. I listen to Blink too ya know.”

I think for a moment, not sure what the hell to do. “How long do I have to decide?” I ask as he lights up another cigarette.

He thinks for a moment while pulling another cigarette out and handing me the lit one. “I’m feeling generous. I’ll give you until tomorrow morning.”

I hold the lit cigarette without taking a drag. Alex puffs away on his and glares at me, encouraging me to do the same.

“I don’t smoke.” I mumble.

“You do now. Take a drag.” He growls.

“And if I don’t?” I counter.

“Then I’ll stub it out on your skin.”

I take one, long simple drag and let the smoke fill my lungs. I let it sit in my lungs as I drop the cigarette and stomp it out.

I blow the smoke out in his direction, glaring at him. “You didn’t say I had to finish it.”

He laughs darkly. “I like your attitude Barakat. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

He walks away, still smoking his cigarette. I glare at the back of his head angrily and spit in the grass, trying to get the taste of cigarette out of my mouth. I turn back and go back to the school slowly. I shove my hands deep into my pockets and shuffle angrily.

I walk through the hallways of school, searching for the only clarity I know. Emma. I go to our usual lunch spot and there she is, ear buds shoved deeply in her ears. Her shoulders are shaking. Immediately, I sit behind her and pull her between my legs. She yelps and pulls away, not realizing that it’s me.

“What happened?” I ask her, reaching out to her slowly.

Her lip trembles and I can see that there have been tears streaming down her face. I lean into her and she cuddles into my lap, wincing as she curls her body.

“Sasha found me.” She whimpered. “She told me that you were cheating on me with her. I told her she was lying and then she said ‘Where do you think he is now? He’s waiting for me in a classroom.’ I told her she was a lying bitch and she punched me in the stomach. I can’t do this anymore Jack. I can’t.” Emma breaks out into sobs.

I hold her closely, trying not to hurt her. She cries into my chest and shakes uncontrollably.

I shouldn’t have fucking left her. This was what they wanted. It was a set up. Alex separated us for just 15 minutes, but those 15 minutes were all Sasha needed to make her mark on Em. I can’t believe I fell for this stupid shit. He doesn’t need me on his team, he never even wanted to hurt me necessarily. He was just making his girlfriend happy.

And by doing that, it made mine miserable.

“I’m so fucking sorry Emma. I’ll never leave you again.” I kiss the side of her head tenderly.

“Jack?” She sniffs. “You smell like cigarettes.”

“I had to go with the teacher outside. Lunchtime is his smoke break. I was standing downwind from when he exhaled.” I lie simply. “Do you want to get out of here?”

She looks up at me with wide eyes, begging me to leave. I scoop her up and grab her backpack in the process. I carry her to my truck and set her in the passenger’s seat gently. I grab my lanyard of keys off my neck and drive us off.

“Do you want me to pick up lunch first?” I ask softly as we leave school property.

She nods and sniffles. “I don’t care from where. You choose.”

“Chipotle it is. What do you want?” I ask smiling at her softly.

“Chicken burrito.” She smiles back. “Cilantro rice, black beans, cheese, and sour cream.”

“Someone knows her chipotle.” I laugh shaking my head.

I pull my phone out and place our orders. I get the same as her and we drive off to pick it up. I really feel like shit for lying to her, but I’ll tell her later. She is way too emotionally distraught to handle this right now.

Within minutes, we are at the Chipotle. “I’ll go inside and grab it, unless you want to come with me.”

She shakes her head and motions for me to grab it. I run inside as quickly as I can and return with the burritos. Emma is sitting with a small smile on her face as she turns Falling in Reverse up on my truck’s radio. I smile looking at her beauty and drive back to my house. Of course, my mom isn’t home because she’s back at work. I help Emma inside of my house and lead her to my bedroom. I put our food on my bed stand and lie under the covers with my princess. I snake my arms around her waist gently and pull her back against my chest. She lets out a long sigh as I kiss the back of her head.

“I love you.” She says. “Thank you so much for taking me out. I just feel so scared and ashamed.”

“Don’t you dare. I’m glad to take you out of there. A day I spend with you in my arms is another perfect day.” I murmur.

We cuddle for a moment before I pull her up and put our food in front of us. I open my laptop and cue up The Office on Netflix, hoping to get her to laugh. We dig into our food while watching and I hear her giggle a few times. The sound of her laugh is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. It makes me happy knowing I have such a beautiful girl next to me, happy to be around me. I wouldn’t trade her for the world.

She finishes her food first, adorably so. Emma has an apatite like a man and it has to be one of the cutest things about her. I finish shortly there after and we lie back in bed with each other. I lay Emma on top of me and she rests her forehead on mine.

“How are you angel?” I ask her softly.

“So much better.” She grins. “I have a full tummy and a perfect boyfriend. What more can I ask for?”

Emma leans down and kisses my lips tenderly. I kiss back as she runs her hands down my body, looping her fingers around my belt loops. My dick twitches a little as she runs her fingers over the jeans.

“Emma, please don’t.” I pull her face back softly. “I need to talk to you.”

She freezes for a moment and rolls off of me. Em lays on her side and faces me quietly. I shift to my side as well and run my fingertips up and down her arms.

“So Sasha was right about one thing. I wasn’t really with my teacher today. I lied. Do you remember this morning when that guy pulled me aside?” I see her nod from my peripheral view. I am so ashamed that I am unable to make eye contact with her. “That was her boyfriend, Alex Gaskarth. He told me to meet him during lunch or else you and your brother would be hurt.”

“Jack what the fuck! Don’t get involved in my problems. I don’t want you getting hurt.” She cries desperately.

“Stop, just relax please.” I rest my hand on her warm cheek and rub my thumb softly over it. “I met him on the field during lunch. He told me that either I join him and beat other kids up, or he would beat me up. If I don’t join him, you would be targeted by Sasha. Plus, I would be targeted by Alex. I guess they worked together to get me away from you so Sasha could get to you. I smelled like cigarettes because Alex smokes and made me smoke too. I only took one drag though, don’t worry. It’s not something I like. I don’t know what to do though. He needs an answer on what I want to do by tomorrow morning.”

I look at Emma who is frozen. Her eyes stare at me, full of despair and worry. I try to pull her close to me but she jumps out of the bed and runs into my bathroom. I chase after her, but she shuts the door and locks it. All I hear on the other side are broken sobs.

“EMMA.” I pound on the door. “Open up please. Let’s just talk about this. I’m okay.”

“Yeah for now!” She calls back. “What happens when you have to chose what to do? If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have to consider hurting someone or being hurt. If it wasn’t for me, you might have a normal high school experience. If it wasn’t for me, you would be carefree and happy.”

“If it wasn’t for you Emma I’d be fucking miserable!” I yell back, angry that she would EVER think such things. “Open the damn door so we can talk.”

More broken sobs escape the cracks of the door. I rub my fingers lightly over the door, wishing she would just let me in. I stand against it and let myself slide down to the floor.

“You don’t get it, do you Emma?” I say softly, but just loud enough for her to hear.

“I don’t get what?” She sniffles.

“You don’t understand what it’s like to have someone 100% on your side and there for you. There is literally nothing in this world you can do to make me love you any less, let alone leave you. Shit Em, you could cheat on me. Yeah, I would be hurt, but at the end of the day, you are my everything. I can’t breath without you anymore. I thought I knew what it was like to be happy, but when I met you, everything changed. It was as if you were the only thing holding me down to sanity. You showed me what it was like to truly love someone. I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you and make you happy. I just need you to tell me what to do. Emma, tell me what to fucking do please. I’m so scared of all of this. I’m scared I’m going to have to hurt someone, I’m scared you’ll get hurt, I’m scared your brother will get hurt. There’s no winning move. I can’t tell the teachers because I have no proof. Emma I’m fucking scared.” I don’t realize how much it scares me until I actually start talking about it. By the time I finish my words, I myself have begun to sob.

I hear the lock click so I lean up, knowing she will open the door. She opens it and pulls me into her arms. I feel like a little boy, even though she is half my size. Emma pulls the majority of my body onto her lap and wraps her arms around me, squeezing as hard as she can. She runs her fingers through my hair gently, kissing me repeatedly softly on my forehead. I hold back as many tears as I can, not wanting to worry her. Instead, my breathing is erratic and broken. I throw my head against her tiny shoulder and kiss her neck softly.

“I’m scared too.” She whispers. “But you know what we should do?”

“What?” I ask looking up at her.

“Let’s be scared together.” She quotes and kisses the tip of my nose with a small smile.

I grin up at her and kiss her with my heart racing. We can do anything together. Anything.

Notes

Helloooo :D I hope you all enjoy (as usual)
I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY I LOVE ALL 96 OF YOU HOLY JESUS I WAS NEVER EXPECTING SO MANY OF YOU
I made this story as a side project to my other one, and this ended up being more popular, who knew! Thank you so much all of you, thank you for your support.
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PS Let me know if you got the Chapter 12 reference c;