FIGHTER ; Robin Arellano

2

Song: I'll die anyway- Girl in Red

"THERE THEY ARE."

Jade watched as the three bullies from before, looked over at Finney and Jade. Now, they were accompanied by their eleven year old sister, Gwen.

They had been walking home from school, barely there when they spotted them.

The boys didn't come over though, they simply crossed their arms and stared at us walk down the opposite side of the road.

"What was that?" Gwen asked her older siblings. Jade sighed, trying to ignore it. "Nothing."

"I'm staying over at Susie's tonight. It's Friday — you know what that means—" Finney cut her off with a, "I'll look after dad," the usual conversation.

Every Friday Gwen would sleepover at her friend's house, Finney would look after their almost always wasted father, and Jade would sneak out at night to see Robin.

Their father didn't approve of Robin — which was why she would climb through her window to see him.

Gwen turned down the sidewalk towards Susie's house. "I'll be home in the morning," she squinted at Finney, pointing a finger. "And you better not eat all the ice cream!"

Finney laughed, Jade scoffing and shaking her head with a smile. They finished their walk home as well, being greeted by a drunk father.

Jade tip toed into the living room, turning off the light that gleamed on her sleeping father, then covering him in a heated blanket.

She quietly left, grabbing her dirtied sneakers before making her way into her bedroom.

She kept her clothes on from the daytime, dark blue bell bottoms with a black cropped tank top and Robin's jacket over it. As well as her white sneakers, she was ready to leave.

Finney knew she would leave around this time — there was no use in risking a goodbye. So Jade slowly opened her window, sliding down onto the grass. She left it cracked, then ran off into the street and down the block.

"Boo."

Jade gasped as the boy grabbed her shoulders, smiling and turning to face her. She sat down on the curb of the road outside the park, holding her chest with her hand. "You scared the shit out of me.." she shook her head, watching him sit down.

"Did you tell Finn yet," he asked her, tilting his head.

Jade widened her eyes for a second, thinking of the previous conversation with her brother. "Yeah. As long as we don't kiss or flirt in front of him, he's cool with it."

"Great," he breathed, holding her chin and kneeling in for a kiss.

For the past six— almost seven months, Jade and Robin had a secret relationship no one else knew about. After Gwen left for her friend's house on the walk home from school, Jade broke the news to Finney.

He was surprised, but it was expected. They were very flirtatious with each other, which got on her brother's nerves.

They parted lips, taking a breath then continuing the kiss. Robin felt as Jade put her hand on the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair. As she did this, with his left hand he squeezed her in closer by the waist.

When they finally released the kiss, they were both blushing furiously. Because of the dark light, it was unnoticeable. Even after dating for months, they still made each other nervous.

Jade bit her bottom lip. "I'm so scared to tell my dad about us. He'll flip."

"Who said you need to tell him?" Robin smirked, still holding her waist. They both faced towards the road now, with Jade's head resting on Robin's shoulder.

She sighed, closing her eyes. "It's difficult to lie to him. I wanna be able to see you without it being a secret."

He ignored her, resting his head on top of hers, clicking his tongue. "Dios te amo," he muttered to himself.

"What does that mean Robin?"

He smiled to himself. "It means, god I love you."

"Oh," Jade smiled as well, her dimples appearing against the moonlight. "Je t'aime plus mignonne."

Jade was fluent in French, as her mother was French as well. Finney and Gwen didn't have the patience to learn the language when their mother was alive— but she took every chance she could on the other hand.

"That's French. What does it mean?"

"It means I love you more, cutie."

The sound of Gwen shrieking startled Jade as she awoke. She shook Finney awake and rushed to the kitchen, where her father had been beating her with a belt.

Earlier that morning, Jade only arrived home at three. She fell asleep with Robin in the parking lot of the park.

Her father was yelling at Gwen about the police coming to his work— something about her knowing something about the recent investigation of the missing kids.

"DAD— STOP—" Jade yelled, but she couldn't interfere, or her father would do the same to her and Finney. She stood there, tears filling her eyelids as she watched her sister yell in agony.

A bottle shattered, and her father screamed again. Jade ran out of the house, grabbing her jacket and shoes before running out the door.

She ran all the way to the gas station, dropping down against the side wall of the building. She let her cry out, shutting her eyes and putting her head in between her knees as she sobbed.

Then, she heard a noise. She opened her eyes to see a black van drive by and into the empty lot nearby. It was behind the gas station, and a man was inside. He looked awfully strange, dressed in weird get-up and face paint.

She stood up, tying her jacket around her waist. She sniffed, watching the man get out of the car. He came around to the other side, waving at her. "My car isn't working, can you help me?" He yelled out.

She could barely get a look at him, but she didn't feel safe. She turned around to leave— and she ran. Not looking where she was going, Jade ran into someone. Robin.

"Hey, mi amor are you alright?" He questioned, grabbing her shoulders.

She let him wipe the tears off her eyes. "No. Just— I'll see you tonight. We'll talk then. Okay?"

He nodded. "Okay. Te quiero, (I love you)"

"Je t'aime, (I love you)" Jade replied quickly, but left him to go home.

1089 words

Oh shit— Jade fucked up, leaving Robin alone in that parking lot. ;) I'm excited for the next two chapters! They're gonna be.. eventful to write.