People Like Us (Boy x Boy)

Knight In Shining Armor

Skylar's POV

I put the key in the ignition and pulled out of the driveway, barely noting that my mom's car was gone. I started driving to school. Xavier sat in the back while Jenna rode up front with me. I glanced down at the time on the dashboard. Yup, we were going to be late. Making a left turn at the stop sign, I glanced back in the mirror to see Xavier staring down at his hands. I wondered what was running through his mind, if he was thinking about last night, how rough I'd been with him. I cursed myself silently. I couldn't believe I'd let my anger get the best of me. I'd sworn to myself ages ago that I would never let Xavier see how bad my anger could get. I knew I had issues and while Xavier knew most of it, he didn't know all of it. He already had enough problems to deal with, let alone asking him to help me to carry mine...I couldn't ask that of him. Last night...it would never happen again.

I sometimes had a problem controlling my anger, a remnant of the days before mom and I had moved to this town. My father had abandoned my mom when she was pregnant with me, leaving her to fend for herself. My mom, in an attempt to provide a father figure for me, went through a string of guys, some good, most bad. I hadn't resented my mother for the men that she brought around. I only resented the men for thinking it was okay to continue breaking a woman who was barely hanging on as it was. It was only when one of the  men had tried to make a go at me that mom decided enough was enough and had moved us in with my grandparents who helped us to get back on our feet. I was barely fifteen when we finally moved away from the town that held so many bad memories for me. That was when I'd met Xavier, a boy who was even more broken than I, a boy whom I'd fallen in love with ages ago.

Now, I watched as he leaned against the seat and stared out the window, his brows burrowed. Jenna reached out and began to fiddle with the dials on the dashboard, attempting to find a radio station worth listening to. After a few moments, she settled on a country station. I crinkled my nose.

"Country?" I asked. She shrugged, swiping hair out of her face.

"There's nothing wrong with country music," she rebutted, sticking her tongue out at me. I rolled my eyes. As we pulled into school, it was then I realized that Xavier had not said a word since we left the house. I frowned as I pulled into a parking space and turned the engine off. He quickly got out of the truck and began to make his way into the school building without a word. Again, I wondered what was going through his mind as he walked off. Shaking off my worry, I grabbed my backpack and began to walk with Jenna to the office to get our tardy slips.

"You know," she said, "we've been best friends for a long time, Sky, so you're kind of an open book to me." I arched my brow at her. "You're worried about him. Don't think I didn't notice the way you kept looking at him through the mirror. Look, Skylar, I get that you l-love him," her voice slightly cracked, "but you can't be his knight in shining armor twenty four seven. You can't protect him all the time. Whatever happened between him and Brendan last night, that's their shit to figure out, not yours."

The lady at the front desk gave us disapproving glares as she handed us our tardy slips and ushered us out of the office with a stern command to get to class.

Jenna hesitated for a moment before she said, "Besides, you can't protect him from everything. He's a big boy. He's got to learn how to protect himself." With that, she gave me a hug, which I returned, before walking towards her first class.

"Thanks," I called out to her. She flashed me a thumbs up, not bothering to turn around. I headed toward my first class, mulling over her words. She was right, I realized. I've always tried to protect Xavier, ever since the beginning when I saved him from Brendan's wrath. I've been trying to protect him from his father, from any bad thing that had ever happened to him. Jenna didn't understand that he was vulnerable, that he needed somebody to protect him, but at the same time, I could see where she was coming from. There were some things I could protect Xavier from, some things I would always protect him from, and some that he would have to face on his own.

I walked into class, and after getting reprimanded by the teacher, I set to work on the assignment she assigned us. Class seemed to go by quickly and before I knew it, it was lunch time. I headed to the cafeteria and quickly got in line for food. After grabbing a chicken sandwich, some chips, and a carton of chocolate milk, I headed out to the big tree in the courtyard. It was where Xavier and I always sat. Sometimes Jenna would join me, but only on days Xavier wasn't there. I wonder if she'd join me this time now that they'd been properly introduced. I sat down on the ground and leaned against the tree and opened my carton of milk.

I saw Jenna come outside with her hands empty, a slightly apprehensive look on her face. She bit her lip as she saw me. I waved her over. As she came nearer, she said, "Where's Xavier?"

I shrugged. "He probably got held back by some teacher," I told her. She nodded. It happened more often than not, Xavier getting held back. Either he was in trouble or he was behind in some school work. "Sit," I told Jenna. She sat beside me. She began to talk about the Spring Formal that was coming up in just a few short weeks.

"Are you going?" she asked.

"Hmm...not sure yet. You know these school dances are pretty lame."

"Says the guy who's only been to one his entire life, and in his freshman year no less," she scoffed. "Come on, Sky! This is our senior year. Live a little. Who knows? It might actually be fun."

I shrugged again. "If you count asshole jocks and bitchy cheerleaders acting like their the king and queen of the entire damn universe fun, then yes, Spring Formal sounds wonderful!" I said, sarcasm sugar coating my words. Jenna arched her brow at me and huffed. "But...," I said, "making fun of said bitch queen and king would definitely be fun."

"So you'll go?" she asked, excitement beginning to creep into her voice.

I grinned at her. "Sure," I said. She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a hug, squealing.

"God! You're such a girl!" I said.

She gave me a 'duh' look. "As if you aren't a girl too."

What the fuck...

"Oh, please," she said, smirking, "we both know that if you were with a guy, you'd definitely be bottom."

My jaw dropped and I could feel my face burning as she began to laugh. She was right though. When it came to a guy and guy relationship, I most definitely didn't top. At least...not with Xavier I didn't. Speaking of Xavier... I looked up around the courtyard, searching for him. Lunch was almost half over and he still hadn't shown. A teacher wouldn't have held him back this far into lunch time.

Jenna noticed the worried look that came over my face. "Where is he?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

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Hey, what do you guys think?

Ya, I know this chapter is late but I've been going through lots of crap this past two weeks and it most definitely wasn't a good writing mood.

So guys, first comment gets a dedication.

I'll post the next chapter when I receive at least 3 comments with constructive criticism from 3 different people. XD

Pic is of Skylar