Say Something 【boyxboy】√Completed

Chapter 7

At the end of the day, after video production, Ross follows me to my locker.

"How are you doing?" he asks as we walk.

I shrug. I'm better than before but still shaken up. I'm afraid I'll run into Jacob every time I step out of a classroom or go down a hallway.

I get what I need from my locker and hurry out of the school with Ross right behind me.

Once we're away from everyone and walking down the sidewalk, he says, "I'm sorry you don't seem to be having a good time here."

I sigh.

"Are you gonna tell your dad you passed out?"

I shake my head. The nurse would have called him so I'm glad I didn't go there.

"I was so confused when you called me, but I'm glad Rhiannon helped you." After a moment Ross asks, "Are you going to talk to me at all today? You always shut down when you're upset."

Chewing my lip, I try to figure out what to say. I can't help being like this. I had a hard day. "Sorry."

As I'm apologizing Ross flinches and curses, touching the back of his head. We turn around to see two guys laughing.

"Fuck off!" shouts Ross.

One of them picks up another stone from the ground and chucks it at us. Ross dodges it and it skips across the concrete.

I walk faster. I've had enough drama for one day.

He swoops his hand down to the ground, grabs a rock, and flings it in their direction. Of course this just makes things worse, so Ross grabs my arm and starts pulling me along. "Shit! Sorry, Jude!"

I run with him, but he's going too fast for me. I remember him saying how he liked running in gym class.

I don't recognize the guys chasing us but they scare me anyway. After all that I've been through today, I'm afraid once again. This day just won't seem to get any better.

Ross pulls me into the woods next to the school and laughs as he jumps over the vegetation on the ground.

I nearly trip over a tree root but somehow I can keep up with him. Looking back, I think they're starting to give up because they're pretty far behind us.

Once we've lost them, my legs give out and I kneel on the ground breathing heavily.

"Ha. They gave up."

I look at Ross like he's crazy. How is he laughing about this?

"Sorry," he says, now looking guilty. I'm sure I look obviously freaked out. It's hard to hide it. "I should've just ignored them but I made it worse." He sighs. "Rocks get hard to ignore."

"It's okay," I say, catching my breath. I'm actually pretty annoyed, but I'm not going to tell him that.

I wish they hadn't chased us, but at least they're gone now so I can try to relax a little.

Leaning against a tree, Ross looks around. I wonder if he knows where we are, or if we're lost.

Sometimes I forget he's a target for jerks too. He has his own enemies.

I sigh heavily and then get up. "Can we go home?" I ask softly.

He's quiet for a moment and there's no sound but the rustling of the leaves on the trees and some birds.

"Isn't this a relaxing place?" he asks, closing his eyes for a moment.

I watch him for a moment and then look up at the trees above us.