𝓦𝒶𝓇𝓈𝒶𝓌 || 𝐅𝐞𝐳

IV

You know how most kids go through a point in life where they feel so unheard they just stop talking?

It happened to Jade in the seventh grade.

"What? You ignoring me?" Fez had been taunting Jade the entire time they were in class, the girl not saying anything once. She shook her head, eyes on her work that she was finishing up. "Why are you so quiet? You sick or somen?"

Tiarra was almost always gone for work, only there to make breakfast and plan ahead for dinner. Jade was alone over half the time.

She felt like she only really had herself.

"What the fuck did you just do?" Fez's face scrunched when Jade started signing again, paying attention even though he couldn't understand her. "Here, write it down."

You smell like ass. He stared blankly at the paper, Jade smiling sweetly when he looked at her before she started writing something else. It's sign language, doofus. Learn it.

There's no way you could convince me that Fez didn't like her. Either that or they really truly hated each other because a whole week later he came to school knowing ASL.

'Number five is wrong.' Jade signed after looking at his paper, Fez comparing their answers.

'Why the fuck do word problems even exist?' She shrugged and let him copy her answer. 'My grandma wants you to visit the store.'

'Can't. Got therapy after school.' Jade rolled her eyes as she signed. To her, there was no point in her seeing this therapist if she wasn't actually listening to her.

"Anything to share with the class?" Their teacher cleared his throat, looking warily between the two of them. Seventh grade started a month ago and they weren't fighting as usual, and Jade hasn't spoken at all yet.

"No. We're good." Fez said, tapping Jade's paper. "That's wrong."

'It's literally right. You just can't do fractions.' Fez scowled and pulled out his notebook, finding the page from the lesson and redoing his work. 'I thought I was wrong.'

'Shut up.'

Her silence lasted until the summer before ninth grade, which is a long time for someone like Jade to stay quiet.

"My mom got me a better therapist. I cried, he actually listened to me." They were at the park, Fez pushing her on the swings before sitting on the one next to her. "And he didn't make me feel dumb for how I felt about my dad."

"Did you tell him you tried to kill him?"

"Yeah. We talked about that for a bit, then he was like 'let's talk about your mom. You smile more when you talk about your mom.' And that's because I freakin love my mom." Her therapist was right, Jade was smiling right now. "I think my other one didn't like her, because she was like 'maybe all these negative feelings you're feeling are for your mom, not your dad.' Like ma'am. I just sat here and told you that he used to abuse me."

"Imagine getting your leg broken by an eight year old with a bat. Couldn't be me." Fez muttered, Jade agreeing.

"Yeah, I wouldn't fuck up that bad in my life for my child to be in that situation. I don't know how my mom didn't kill him cause if it was me? He would've been buried the next day."

"Prolly cause you knocked him around with that damn bat."

Fez listened. He listened to everything she said, just like she listened to everything he said.

When no one else heard them, they heard each other.

"That boy was fuckin with him for three weeks straight! O'Neil finally stands up for himself and suddenly it's a problem?" Jade was standing between Fez and a few administrators, the boy huffing for breath since he'd just got done fighting. "They jumped him! Why are y'all crowding him?!"

He had one hand gripping the bottom of her hoodie, eyes darting over the faces of the administrators as they tried to get Jade to move.

"No! Nobody wanted to listen when he said they was takin his shit! Nobody wanted to listen when he said they was pushin him around! He sat there and let them kids put hands on him until he snapped!" Jade was pissed, and for a good reason. "Y'all lucky I didn't jump in and just got him away!"

"Okay, Jade, will you walk with him to the office?" Their principal asked, telling everyone to move back. She eyed him. "We won't touch him, just walk with him down to the office so we can hear what's going on."

"Cool?" She turned her head slightly, eyes still on the administrators. Fez nodded and she slowly led him to the door, letting him walk first so she was still between him and the staff.

"Nope! Cody went over and took his bookbag and Travis pulled him out of his seat to try and take his money!" Jade cut in as the two boys tried to lie about what happened. She sat Fez close to the door for an easy escape, the boy still holding onto her hoodie as she defended him. "They thought they were middle school bullies. Travis made him hit his head on a desk when he tossed him on the ground and he got mad."

"Is that what happened, Fez?" The principal wouldn't lie, he had a soft spot for the two of them. They would openly admit their wrongs, defend each other, and bring him amusement whenever they got in trouble for fighting each other.

"Yeah." He had no reason to lie and neither did Jade. She's the same girl that admitted to chopping some girl's hair off in class because she was being loud. (Now you're doing toooooo much) And he's the same boy that admitted to unscrewing everything in a teacher's class because she was grading him unfairly. (Jade helped him but he left that part out)

"Either way, there was no reason for the two of them to jump him. Scary asses knew he was gon' fuck y'all up if y'all ran ones." She bucked at them and they flinched, Fez pulling her back. "Better ask Jones about me. I'll smack the shit outta both of y'all right now."

She's done it multiple times.

"Aight, J." Fez mumbled, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to stand between his legs.

"Nah, cause obviously they momma's ain't never have them pick a switch, fetch a belt, grab a shoe, or pick up a spoon to deal with they ass and I'm tellin you y'all lucky I ain't wear a belt today. Matter of fact, gimme yours." Jade turned and tried taking Fez's belt off, the boy swatting her hands away and turning her back around. "Don't let me catch y'all fuckin around again. Cause not even the Lord will be able to pull me off."

Jade did catch them the next day. She beat them both up and down the hallway with a belt.

Literally, I still have the videos of them running and crying.

It's hilarious.