Fighting For Ava

*01*

Jethro gave a whoop when the shower spurt out. He had not realized what a chilly morning it was until now. He dabbed his face with a sponge and shivered in pleasure as the water seeped down his back. He felt cold and thrilled, like the way he had felt in his dream when Ava was about to accept his flowers before it all went dark.

Why would it go blank at such a sweet moment and then crazily turned into an escape run from someone unseen? Why had Ava not just collected his flowers and then the curtain falls? A perfect end to a perfect love story. But his dream would never be a 'Love and Gelato'. It always found a way to end badly.

He hissed, turned the shower off, and then thought of the dream in another line. Maybe it was perfectly right to go dark at that moment. He should not be offering Ava flowers after what she did. The girl had hurt him over the summer break. She had done something crazy. He had heard the news and it had broken his heart beyond repair.

Why would she have done that? What the hell had gotten into her head? Wasn't she aware of all at stake before taking such blatant action? A Series of questions ran endlessly through Jethro's head unanswered as he looked himself in the full-size mirror, preparing for the first school day after the nearly perfect break.

A nearly perfect break.

He chuckled at the thought of that. His summer break had been thrilling and eventful before that ugly news of Ava hit him. It was like one of his favorite horror movies that night in his darkroom when Gavin was showing him the half-naked pictures of his beloved girl. His eyes had bulged in the darkness and he almost slump in disbelief as Gavin narrated how the pictures had gone viral among Riverdale students.

"Everyone had seen it. Everyone." He had heard Gavin's voice echo in the still air and he was too bemused to sense the exaggeration in that. Ava had only spent a session in Riverdale but she had become instantly famous for her intelligence. She had quickly displaced Finn Maxwell as the favorite to scoop the coveted Gainesville scholarship in a year. But now, with what she had done, she had messed it all up.

Crazy!

Jethro found himself yelling impulsively at the mirror.

"Wonder what's crazy there again. Shouldn't you be ready for school now?" Mother T's impatient voice slammed as she poked her head through the door. Jethro made a face at her intrusive act and picked up his jacket from the pegs.

"And who said I'm not ready?" He shrugged hilariously.

"You've been speaking to the mirror since." Mother T spat before withdrawing her head and then shuffled towards the kitchen.

"So, eavesdropping on me is the new act now?" He chuckled, checked out the jacket, and flung it on a shoulder.

"You've been doing strange things lately that warrant that." Mother T reminded harshly along with the clang of plates and sizzle of oil.

"Mum!" He yelled in mock annoyance but that would still not stop his old woman from ranting.

"One time you were screaming from a dream, another you were shouting at the mirror..."

"Jeez..." He planted his palms over his ears as the woman nagged on and gave a sigh of relief when her voice finally faded.

The clang of plates and the noise of the raging oil took over and Jethro seized that moment to pick up his backpack and move to the front door. It was drizzling as he looked through the plate glass. The sky was packed with dark clouds and a few birds painted it with their beautiful colors. Jethro watched on as the cars sped under its light shower, their tires whistling along the wet asphalt.

"I hate going to school." He breathed and pushed the door open. He was immediately welcomed by a murmur of the lazy rain and hoots of cars. He took to the sidewalk and peeped into his watch. The bus should be around soon, he nodded and his thought inevitably wandered back to Ava.

She would certainly be the talk of the school at the moment. Everywhere would be ricocheting with her name, even the bus as well. Jethro sighed in pity. He would just sit in a corner and shut his ears against the gossip. He would just pretend not to hear them all.

"Hooo" He heard someone squeal as a small bicycle glid along the sidewalk. It was Rose sticking out her tongue at him as she cycled past. He just shook his head, completely at a loss of what to say. Rose was just a little troublemaker that should be constantly ignored. Emphasis on ' constantly '. He reminded himself and stared blankly as she cycled down the road, far away, and he was about to check impatiently into his watch again when the bus arrived.

He looked up to the little windows and it was all he had expected. Several heads were locked in twos and threes, talking excitedly. It was certainly all about Ava Rays.

He blinked his eyes away from them and hopped into the bus. His ears instantly went deaf against their loud voices as he lumbered to an empty seat beside a strangely quiet girl. Her head was bowed over an envelope, never daring to look up as disdainful glances were shot towards her from one group of gossip to another.

Jethro settled calmly on the seat and it was then he realized the cause of the meaningful glances. The girl was Jessy, Ava's best friend. He took in a lungful of air and was forced to tap on her arm when he noticed she was crying.

"Everything alright?" He asked softly, not knowing a better way to start a conversation with her.

"Yes." She mumbled in a shaky voice while her tears dot the envelope on her lap.

"But you're crying." Jethro persisted, his palm moving up her shoulder to console her.

"Let me be." She rather screamed tearily, causing all eyes to focus on them in one embarrassing moment.

Jethro withdrew his hand and raked his fingers through his hair. He pulled his eyes closed and for that second, he hated Ava. Ava had not only let herself down but she had also hurt those who truly care about her. People like Jessy. People like himself. But Jessy would be more hurt. Poor girl, she would surely be the center of all eyes as Ava would avoid school for a while.

The sudden break of noise notified Jethro that the bus had arrived at Riverdale. He opened his eyes and stared pitifully as Jessy stood up and found her way steadily out of the murmuring students. He wanted to call her name, stop her and tell her he would like to keep her company for what would be a tough day, but she had already warned him to let her be.

He pouted and sighed, and just as he rose from his seat, his eyes caught the brown envelope that had dropped from her. He ignored it at first, but as he looked again, he saw the tiny words scribbled on it, spelling out the popular name, Finn Maxwell.