The Boy In the Basement (Completed)

~Coming to terms~

"What are you doing here," Jaxon asked, staring into my befuddled eyes. I hoped I didn't look as terrified as I felt. No control of facial expressions has always been a weakness of mine.

"Well, I, uh, don't know exactly h-how Riley and Austen and Cameron got me here without waking me... but they must have come up with a brilliant plan to kidnap me and t-trap me down here. They say I can't go anywhere, until we...." I trailed off, already turning into a stuttering mess. Jaxon dropped his gaze to the floor, crossing his arms.

"So... you don't actually want to talk?" Jaxon stated in a smooth voice, almost too smooth. I was in a daze, and somehow unconsciously shook my head no. He sighed, gripping the door.

"Well shit, that's just perfect. You go ahead and have yourself a great life." He went to slam the door shut, but in a haste I got in the way, pushing against it. He stopped and let it swing open again, clearly exasperated.

"What is it Bailey? Avoiding me all week, running away when I show up at your school... You've made it clear you never want to see me again. I won't force you to be in my company any longer." He didn't shut the door, but waited for a reply. I stood there, millions of feelings burgeoning inside of me and making it hard to speak.

"I-I know. I handled it badly. But you.... you hurt me," I responded in a weak voice.

Jaxon ran a hand through his thick black hair, pushing it out of his face only for it to fall back. He breathed out of his nose, then stepped aside, and motioned for me to enter. I hesitated, then slowly went and stood by his bed, standing amidst the rubbish. Yes, his room is still a third world country in ruins compared to every other teenage bedroom.

"Look, I didn't mean to hurt you in any way. I shouldn't have.... pounced on Austen like I did. I couldn't think of any other way to deal with it..." Jaxon began. It hinted at something bigger than his actions.

"Deal with it? Why did you feel the need to deal with it?" I interrupted, the anger from that night returning in a flash, "I was fine. I certainly didn't ask for you to step in and get involved in my problems. So why did you?"

He was silent, and we locked eyes. His brown eyes looked agitated, while mine... I don't know. Probably mad. Though I'm not sure how I felt on the matter. I waited for him to say something. Come on... any day now.

"You certainly weren't going to stop him. Sierra wanted to go to the bathroom, and she dragged me along with her. While I was waiting outside for her, I heard you say something, and it sounded like you were in trouble. When I finally found you in the hallway, Austen was all over you, and... I don't know, I couldn't stop myself. There was no way in hell that I would let him get away with...." He stopped mid sentence, unable to portray what he wanted to say, "I-I don't think you understand." He stood tall, towering over me, and I tried to look somewhat challenging from my stance below him. There was a five second delay until I answered back.

"You're right, I don't," I told him bluntly, breaking the silence "How can I make sense of that? If I'm to get this straight, you assumed I didn't want it, and stepped in to put an end to it?" Jaxon looked around, and quickly nodded his head, aware of the doubt in my voice.