My Church Girl

Chapter 8

Harper and Ava sat in the car, the engine idling as they prepared to head into school. The girl behind the wheel glanced out the window and her eyes widened. "Damn," she muttered under her breath.

Her blond passenger looked at her, pronouncing "What is it?"

"It's Jake," the worried girl said, her voice tense. "He's right over there. You stay in the car. I'll deal with him."

Ava's heart sank. "You don't want him to see us together, do you?"

"No, Ava, that's not it at all. I just want to protect you from him. He's a jerk, and I don't want him to hurt you. But if you think that way, then let's go, let me prove how wrong you are."

With a deep breath, the driving girl got out of the car. She walked around to her passenger side, opening the door with a flourish. "Come on," she said, taking Ava's hand.

"Hey, Harper!" the guy called out, with curiosity in his tone. "Long time no see."

The called girl forced a smile, trying to keep her voice steady. "Hey, Jake. Yeah, it's been a while."

Jake's eyes shifted to their holding hands, and his expression changed to one of recognition and disdain. "Well, well. Didn't expect to see you with this." He pointed to the blue-eyed gitr and her face paled, as she instinctively moved closer to Harper. 

As he looked between the girls, his eyes narrowed, a flicker of anger crossing his face. "So, you two arrived together? What's going on here, Harper? Did you switch the teams? I heard, but refused to believe. Now you're fucking this charity case?"

Harper stepped in front of Ava protectively. "That's none of your business, Jake. And for the record, Ava is my friend."

Jake's smirk turned into a scowl. "Friend, huh? Friend, my ass!" He dashed to Ava touching her hair, "You used to have taste, but now, is that what you've traded us for?" A look of disgust on his face.

Harper's patience snapped, as she shoved him, screaming inches from his face . "Don't you ever touch her again!" She pushed him harder, so that he lost his balance and fell on the ground, being cut off guard by this unexpected reaction, "stay away from us, Jake. If you ever come near Ava again, I'll end you, I fucking kill you!" Overwhelmed by rage, the girl's leg arced, aiming for another blow, but Ava intervened, wrapping her arms around the brown-haired girl's waist. "Please, don't, he doesn't worth it." The girl with emerald eyes froze.

The other students ran to the unfolding scene. Among them was Mason, who promptly positioned himself between his friends and Jake. "Hey, man," he said, extending his hand to the guy who had been lying on the ground. "You've got to be more careful—don't stumble like that."

"It's this b..." Jake attempted to accuse Harper.

Although her best friend cut him off, "Better keep quiet," he warned the other guy, "unless you want everyone talking about how the girl beat you!" And it worked, as the guy instantly fell silent. Of course, Mason didn't care about the reputation of this bully, he wanted to protect his best friend, who's already had a history of aggressive behavior, and one more record could be detrimental.

Mason took Jake by the arm forcing him to move away. "Let me help you leave without hurting yourself again," he said. Addressing the crowd, he added, "Nothing to see here, folks. Let's head back to school."

As everyone dispersed, the girls were left alone. Harper turned to Ava, cupping her face. "Are you okay? Did I scare you?" she asked, her voice filled with vulnerability.

The girl with icy eyes blinked, still a bit dazed from the confrontation, "No, I'm more worried about you. How do you feel?"

Harper took a deep breath, as she looked into her friend's concerned eyes. "I'm okay," she said softly, "I just... I couldn't stand the way he was treating you."