Leave Mary Jane Alone

Chapter Twenty Seven

Eventually sleep took over, but the sun had been risen by that time. I knew I would be tired, yet I pieced myself together for school. Oliver was nowhere to be seen and I tried not to look for him too hard. Inwardly, I was curious and more worried than anything. Not even twenty four hours ago I'd seen him yelling into a phone and speeding off into danger. Now I didn't even know if he was alright. Almost no one looked at me which was enjoyable. Mercedes was back in school now, and I wasn't worried one bit. I had a feeling I wouldn't need to be.

I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to just go home, but missing school wasn't my thing. While my tardiness was an issue, I always showed up.

English was boring and I fell asleep. Gym was a no from me, so I walked the laps instead of playing around. Mercedes seemed like she had something she wanted to say but she held her tongue thankfully. I wasn't feeling a round two.

Theater was great and cooking class brought a smile to my face. During lunch I bought a salad and ate in my theater class. The final bell rang and I walked out while others were a stampede. I passed the student parking lot and noticed I was being followed. By a black car of course. It was just my luck. I walked faster and gripped my phone inside my pocket. The black car sped up too and I began to panic. Before I could make a great escape the car pulled in front of me and I wanted to cry. Oliver's enemies had become my enemies and they were going to get me.

"Hi Mary Jane I noticed you were walking and I just wanted to offer you a ride?" Jackson stuck his head out of the window. I looked around and nearly threw myself into the car. He seemed safer than being killed by Oliver's problems.

"Yeah thanks for the ride. Take a left up here?" I asked. I'd forgotten that Jackson didn't know I could talk. His face was more than laughable. "By the way I've been learning how to talk. Sorry if I'm a little quiet." I smiled sheepishly hoping there was no bad blood after the carnival incident.

He smiled back as if everything in the world was fine, "Mary Jane I'm really happy for you. We got off on the wrong foot and I screwed up really. I just wanted to be in a relationship with someone who wasn't in the crowd of drama and you seemed perfect. Now I'd rather just be a friend." He confessed this to me while I looked out the window. I almost didn't trust him, but I pushed aside my doubt.

"I can do friends Jackson." I beamed and put a hand in his hair. "I need friends. Especially one's with good hair." While Oliver's hair was better, Jackson's was a close second. He laughed at me probably for being so kiddish so quickly but I needed a laugh. Jackson talked to me about his little sister and little brother. I learned about his life and tried to make sense of him. It seemed as though all I wanted to do was figure things out.

I told Jackson about the good stuff like how many movies I watched and how I could be a cheerleader if I really wanted to because I used to be a cheerleader. Nothing about the problems with mom or the death of dad. That's not a good friendship maker.

As we go closer to my neighborhood I thought about how bad it would look. People in my neighborhood were crazy, they did drugs, sold drugs, and would rob or kill for drugs. This was where people who just got out of prison lived because it was affordable. His face didn't change as he saw where I was headed.

"I used to have a friend who lived here my freshman year. Cool dude." Jackson nodded at the memory. "His name was Dean or David or something, he lived a hard life with just him and his dad when his mom walked out on them. I can't stand people who walk out when you trust them not to." He sounded like he was speaking from experience which made me sad.

Jackson kissed my hand as I exited he car and told me to hit him up if I ever had time to hang and pet his hair which only made me laugh.

It felt like the second I entered my house someone knocked on the door. I rolled my eyes with a smile still playing on my lips. I swung the door open.