The Love You Give

Down & Out

Jacob and Jackson sat across from each other as they watched their blissful parents smile lovingly at one another. "You two are gross," Jackson joked with a smirk. "Oh, hush you. Your father and I are happy, which ought to make you happy." Jackson nodded. "It does. I missed seeing you two like this." The admission let Jansen know just how much he had let his family down. "How's school going?" He asked no one in particular. "It's been good so far," Jacob answered. "How's Ezra coping? Are the courses too much? She really is taking a lot of AP courses." Celeste inquired. "She's a boss, Mom. Seriously. Ezra is always on top of everything with time to spare. She's even helping tutor Mason in French." Celeste smiled at that. "They really are a cute couple."

Jacob clenched his jaw, while Jackson held his fork a bit tighter. "They're not a couple, Mom. They're just friends." Jacob responded with a bit more grit in his voice. "I don't know. The way they sang together and the way he was looking at her. She may not like him, but he definitely likes her." Jansen said knowingly. Jacob and Jackson exchanged looks both grateful that their oldest brother was not present. They made their way to the garage after saying goodbye to their parents. "Ezra can't be oblivious to what everyone else sees when it comes to Mason," Jackson said mounting his bike. "I don't think she's oblivious I think she's just hopeful that he'll respect her wishes and not have a repeat of Eliana." Jackson nodded. "We better not have a fucking repeat or I'll kill him."

***

"Thanks for the help this morning," Mason said as they walked into Clarkson High. "Thanks for breakfast. I think I ate my weight in chocolate croissants." Mason laughed at her. "You look amazing." She smiled up at him before waving goodbye and heading to Biology. Jackson and Xavier took their seats in between Ezra and Zoe and smiled. Xavier felt like he was wearing Zoe down to which she denied to Ezra. Meanwhile, Mr. Kolbe was a hoot. He had informed the class that they were to look to their partner.

Ezra smiled at Jackson's handsome face, while Jackson committed her face to memory. "This is your spouse for the remainder of the semester." Mr. Kolbe announced with a smile. A few guys who were paired with guys groaned, while girls paired with girls laughed. "Your assignment for this week is to uncover the biology behind mating. No, I don't mean mating in just sex though that's part of it. I also mean mating in why you think your partner is best suited for you and your needs biologically." Mr. Kolbe handed out packets for them to fill out together as partners during that week. "This is going to be a fun semester, wife." Jackson smiled at his girlfriend. Ezra chuckled at him before nodding.

Chemistry AP came and went and Ezra was beyond happy she had always remained on top of her homework assignments and extra credit, because they had a pop quiz. Judging by Jacob's stressed face he was not prepared, but Ezra was happy to see that she and Henry were the first to turn in the quiz and confidently so. Calculus was the same old thing. Mason and her talking, while Jace glared. She caught Mason taunting Jace with a smirk and it made her frown. He saw her and immediately felt contrite. "If this friendship is going to work, we have to respect one another, Mase. That also means respecting my boyfriends." Mason nodded as they made their way to World Literature.

The assignment of the week was to write an excerpt on a topic of Ms. Gatlin's choosing. Ezra was given the topic trust and she felt it was so fitting. She already had some ideas on what to write about, but needed to make sure it didn't give her relationship status away. Lunch was filled with laughs as they all watched the one-man show that was Sean Holloway. The school was still abuzz about the sex tape, which irked Ezra, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. "It'll blow over," Kathy said as they made their way out of the cafeteria. "Thanks, Kat." French was frustrating, because Ezra could feel glares coming from two points in the classroom.

They sat there as Ms. Medley passed out the recently graded pop quiz they had taken at the beginning of the class. "Bon travail, monsieur Dixon. (Good job, Mr. Dixon)" Mason saw the 92% on his quiz and smiled happily. He pulled Ezra in for a hug. "You're the best tutor ever." She giggled at him before smiling down at her 100%. "I'm always happy to help, Mase." They each earned glares from Ms. Medley for not speaking French. Jace wanted to punch something. He was tired of Mason touching his girlfriend. "Relax," Jacob instructed him to no avail. "Did you know she was tutoring him?" Jacob nodded before looking down at his 96% quiz. Jace fumed. He didn't trust Mason. Not with someone as precious as Ezra.