Secrets

Covered Up And Heading Out

Jasper looked in the hand mirror that Allie held in front of him. He was surprised; he couldn't even see the dark circle anymore, let alone see any traces of makeup on his face. She'd also made his split lip look less apparent, and he was glad for that as well. He turned to Calvin's sister and smiled at her. "Thanks," he said, pushing the mirror down.

Allie smiled back at him and clapped her hands. "You're welcome." She looked at the two of them and sighed. "I still can't believe you're dating him, Calvin. I never knew you'd be the type to...you know..."

"Well... It's a long story that's hard to put short," he answered.

"I won't tell anyone. People are jerks, y'know? And dad would kill you if he knew," she said slowly. "...So why were you all bruised up anyway, Jasper?"

"Oh, well...one of Calvin's old friends got mad at me because he was hanging out with me more often... And so after school he just showed up and...beat the crap out of me for it when Calvin wasn't at school," Jasper replied, looking at the tall blond.

"I wasn't at school because I started a fight with the same kid for calling him a bitch," Calvin clarified, taking hold of Jasper's hand.

"So that's why you came home and got suspended! How cute..." she said. She looked at Jasper. "You know, you're really lucky Calvin is your boyfriend. He's really protective of the people he loves." She looked proudly at her brother. "Remember that one time, when I fell off my bike downtown and you carried me and my bike all the way home?"

Calvin nodded. "Yeah, I remember." She smiled at him, and he looked at the clock on her dresser. "Crap, you've got to get home, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah," Jasper answered, remembering. "Thanks for covering me up, Allie."

She winked. "Anytime," she replied. "I heard you're going to his house, Cal... Don't do anything too stupid, huh?"

Calvin rolled his eyes and pulled Jasper out of her room as she rambled on and on about it. "I won't tell dad! Promise!"

"If you even hint at it I'll kill you!" Calvin hissed back, leading Jasper back down the stairs. Once at the bottom of the staircase, he looked at Jasper's cardigan, which still had the blood stain on it. Without asking him, he began unbuttoning it, and once all the buttons had been undone, he slipped it off his shoulders. "Might not want to let your mom see that."

"Oh...right," he replied, taking it from him and pushing it into his backpack. He stared at Calvin and sighed.

"What?"

"Nothing... It's just..." he played with the bracelet on his wrist. "I don't know, it just scares me to think that this happened simply because I was your friend... If they knew we were--"

Calvin shushed him. "How many times do I have to tell you that no one will know? I mean, Allie knows now, but she's not the type to run her mouth. "

Jasper smiled. "That's a nice thought. And...I have a feeling that someone does know," he said softly.

"Who?"

"Well... I was talking to Kaisyn today and she was talking about you.. She thinks it's sweet that you started a fight over me, and that you'd never done that for her. There was something in the way she said it, I can't remember how, but there was something in her voice that hinted that she knew more than she let on."

"She can be like that sometimes. She may know, she may not... But still, if she was talking to you about it then she probably won't say anything. Call me when your mom leaves." He opened the front door for him. "You can carry your backpack, right?"