H.I.C.C.

Chapter 8: Helping Hand

For the next few days Jen will get up rather early. This morning her alarm clock rings at 5 o'clock. She gets up quickly and prepares to leave. She doesn't even eat. She will at L's place. Because they agreed that Jen would get up early, come over to L, wake her up, help her get dressed, have breakfast there and slowly walk to school. They both really don't want to be driven. They had carefully planned everything. Jen made her way over to L's house quickly. L had said that Jen should try to knock, since her sister went to work rather early. So Jen does it. She carefully knocks. It takes a few seconds, and before Jen tries to ring the doorbell, the door opens. Nina smiles at Jen. "Mornin'" She whispers. "Come in." She grabs Jen's wrist and pulls her inside. Jen quietly takes off her shoes. "Is L still asleep?" She asks. Nina shrugs. "No clue. I don't usually peek inside her room in the morning." Jen nods and sneaks to the stairs. They are old and wooden. Jen just hopes they won't creak. They do, but not too loud. She opens the door to L's room. Slowly she walks up to the sleeping L. She's lying on her back, chest slowly rising and sinking. Jen almost doesn't want to wake her up. She finally managed to sleep, and now she had to be awoken. Jen watched for a few minutes. L looked so beautifully peaceful. So different to when she had first floored Mark and fought in the rain. Jen still couldn't describe it well. L was just special. Gently she shakes her shoulder. "L." She whispers. Suddenly L moans, and slowly her eyes open. "Jen? Is.. it morning already?" She asks, sounding extremely tired. Jen hums as a reply. L sighs. "Let's get started then." Slowly she sits up. She raises her arms and fizzles at the pain. Slowly Jen pulls of her shirt. Jen thought what a nice body L had, whilst L admired how gentle and caring Jen was to her. It took a while to get L dressed. Then they walked downstairs.

Nina looks up from her breakfast when she hears us coming down. "Good morning, sis." I say. "Mornin'." She answers, "How're you feeling?" I frown. "Not so good... Speaking and such still stings." Again I flinch at the flash of pain in my chest. Jen realises it and frowns. Slowly she escorts me to the table and helps me sit down. "What do you want to eat?" She asks. I shrug. "A little yoghurt with an apple would be nice. Jen nods and walks to the kitchen. Then she hesitates. "Knives are in the second drawer to your left, apples are in the fruit basket that is hanging from the ceiling over there, and yoghurt is in the fridge obviously." My sister explains. Jen replies with "Thanks." And starts to prepare my breakfast. Thinking about it makes me blush. I feel ashamed for this weakened state. When I look at my sister she is smirking. I guess she realised it. Fucking hell... She'll use that against me. After about two minutes Jen is finished. She comes to the table and puts my breakfast on the table, then sits down in front of me and starts eating the small bread she made for herself. "Thanks.." I say. The words almost don't come out. Not because of the pain in my chest, but because of something else. I can't explain it. I'll deal with it later. Soon we're done, and Jen helps me to the door. "Do you want to put on your shoes yourself?" I try my best not to blush. I look to the floor as I hastily reply: "I can't bend down." Jen nods and helps me sit down. She picks up my shoes and I hold up my feet so she can slip them on. When she's done she helps me up. "We're heading out." I whisper a little louder. "Have fun." My sister replies. We walk so slow. "What's the time?" I whisper as we leave. Jen looks at her wristwatch. "Twenty to six." She answers. I nod. "That'll be more than enough time." Jen chuckles. I gape at her. "We've got more than two hours." "I normally need under half an hour." I say depressed. "I usually needed one hour, so we'll need one and a half or so, I'd guess." I roll my eyes. "That's so long..." Jen smiles. "So? At least you're not alone." She looks away. I'm not sure, but I somehow get the feeling saying that made her blush. Slowly we make our way to the school. It feels like an eternity. Luckily the few bullies we met ignored us. I don't quite know why, maybe Mark is absent. When we arrive at the lockers we both realise we missed one crucial detail. We are going to different classes. Sure in the morning she can bring me there, but not when we move between classrooms. And I REALLY can't walk alone yet. "What now?" Jen frowns. I remain silent. "I honestly don't know..." Suddenly a person I recognise. He is in my class. His name is Michael. "Hello." He greets. "Need a hand?"

Michael follows Jen and L as they go to L's class room. Jen is completely distant, and tries to ignore the fact he's there. L is curious though. "Michael, why are you helping us?" Michael looks at L. "Well, I've never bullied any of you two, and always watched with anger when you guys were bullied. But I simply didn't think I'd be strong enough to help you. But now that I know you are strong enough on your own, I want to offer you my friendship." L looks at Jen. She notices Jen is still very tense. Maybe Michael would be her chance to think differently of boys. Maybe she'd at least accept not every single one is bad. L starts thinking. What made boys so frightening to her anyway? She has never asked. 'Later...' She thinks to herself. When they arrive at L's and Michael's class room, he takes over. "I'll see you later." Jen presses out and storms off. Michael looks at L. "That's it? Why is she in such a hurry? We got a quarter hour before lessons start." L just shrugs. She screams when Michael touches her side by accident. "FUCK SORRY!" He says. L pants and just supports herself on the wall. "It's fine.." She says, slowly letting him support her again. They walk inside. They get a few weird looks. L ignores them, but Michael isn't used to it yet. "What?" He asks as one of the boys glares at him. "You're helping the freak." He simply states. L sighs. And thus another person got branded because of them. "Ever considered that YOU might be the freak for stalking and picking on her?" L freezes. She stares at Michael. She did NOT expect him to answer in that way. The other boy apparently didn't either. "Excuse me?" He says. Michael looks at him. "I said if you ever considered to be the freak for picking on her so intensely. What has she done wrong?" The other guy simply stares at Michael. In disbelief. He is stunned and does not know what to say. So instead he sits down, puzzled. Many others follow his example and make no further attempt to argue. "You're incredible..." L whispers to Michael. He turns to her and smiles. Then walks to his own seat. L only listens to the lesson half today.

When the day comes to an end, Michael escorts L to the lockers. Jen meets up with them there. She is still very silent. "Mind if I escort you guys home?" Michael asks. L feels Jen's strong tension, and she feels bad for doing it to her, but she agrees: "Sure, we could use some company. Right?" She hits Jen in the side. "Uh hu.." She just replies. Then she supports L and they leave the school. Just when the left the school grounds, Michael asks: "Which way do you guys live?" "That way." L replies and points down the road. "Damn, that's gonna be quite a detour for me." Jen's first sentence to Michael is rather rude. "Are you sure you want to make such a detour? You should head home." L stiffens at her comment. She looks at Michael through the corner of her eye to see how he'll react. But he just smiles. "I think I can handle that." Jen seems to be taken aback by his answer. L decides it's best to get going. "Let's go!" She says as happy sounding as she can, regretting it, because it makes her chest hurt. Michael nods and Jen hesitantly starts walking. "I don't like this." She hisses in L's ear. "I know." L retorts quietly. "What're you two so quiet about?" Michael suddenly asks. "Nothing." Jen presses out. Michael raises a brow. "Just girl stuff." L says. "Ah." Michael says, smiling again. When they arrive at L's house, he asks: "Want me to walk you home when you dropped her off?" Jen stiffens. "No, I'm good, thanks, I'll stay here for a while. Michael accepts it without hesitation. "Ok, see you tomorrow." He says, walking off with a smile. When Jen enters she sighs as if relieved. "Oh come on Jen! Finally a guy is nice to us and you have to be so rejective!" Jen now looks angry. "You have NO idea what I've been through. So don't push it!" L remembers. She sounds a lot softer when she asks: "Care to share?" Jen sighs and looks to the floor. "Sorry..." She starts, "I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet." L sees how sad Jen suddenly looks. Carefully she starts turning to face her. Ignoring the pain she gives Jen a squeezing hug. "L??" Jen asks, surprised at the sudden action. Then she feels a familiar and unpleasant feeling crawling up her stomach. Slowly her arms wrap around L, returning the hug. She is careful though. She holds back a few tears. "Doesn't that hurt?" She asks instead. "Shut up... Don't ruin the moment."

They stood like that for a few minutes. And it felt good. But there was something else to it.