Ella had made her way to the gym by herself, thinking over all that had happened to her. Her worries for Jacob hadn't gone away, and her heart still ached from her encounter with Xavier. She clutched her chest, her mind racing with a whirl of thoughts.
Suddenly, she felt a hand clasp her shoulder, and she turned to see Katherine smiling at her. "Hey, hun, you don't look too good. Need an ear?"
Ella returned the smile weakly. "Thanks, Kat. It's lengthier than you might think, though..."
"Bathroom it is then," Katherine responded decisively, dragging her friend into the bathroom.
"We'll be late at this rate," Ella said, frowning slightly.
"I'll tell Coach we went to the nurse, no worries," Katherine answered. "Now what's up?"
"Well... I've just been worried since this morning..."
"Is someone stalking you? Who is it? I'll beat them up," Katherine questioned. She seemed serious, but Ella knew she was trying to cheer her up, so she giggled a little.
"No, nothing like that," she assured. "In fact, I'd say that's about the opposite of what's going on. I think Jacob has been avoiding me since this morning. He was fine on our way to school, but... something must have set him off I guess because he started to act strange and walked away. What should I do, Kat? I have this period with him, do you think he'll be there? What do I say?" Ella's throat started to constrict, and tears formed on the corners of her eyes.
Katherine grabbed Ella by the shoulders and wrapped her into a tight hug. "Ella, it's okay. I'm here. As for Jacob, I don't think you have to worry at all. He'd never suddenly turn his back on a friend. That's not who he is. Plus, I saw him in the gym." She rubbed Ella's back encouragingly before pulling away and smiling. "I'm sure he'll talk if only you ask, okay? And... if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here," she finished reassuringly.
In this moment, however, Ella couldn't stop it. The tears began to flow, and she could feel herself break down. Katherine held her hands sturdily, rubbing soothing circles into her palms. "Take all the time you need, hun," she said softly. "I'm not goin' anywhere."
When Ella had cleaned herself up, they had missed almost half the period. Ella could feel her legs shaking, but Katherine helped her to the gym, laughing when Ella said she would be fine. "I guarantee if I took my arms off you for one second, your knees would give out," she had said.
After Katherine had explained everything to Coach Ramon, he nodded in understanding. But she and Ella made sure to work hard for the rest of the period to make up for it.
When the period had ended, and everyone had put up their mats, Xavier patted Ella on the head and winked at her, silently wishing her luck as he recognized what she was going to do. Katherine hugged her and nodded firmly. Ella felt the knot in her stomach ease a little at the support she had received, but her heart still beat quickly when she approached Jacob.
He looked up after placing his mat with the others, and he smiled a bit sadly. "Hey, El. I'm sorry about this morning... My emotions got a little out of hand, and I ended up pushing people away... You're probably upset with me, huh?"
But instead of answering him, Ella walked up suddenly and hugged him, her eyes threatening to spill the tears that had formed there. "I was just worried, Jacob. The last time you acted this way was when we were in middle school." Her last sentence came out as barely a whisper.
Jacob returned the hug, frowning. He rubbed her back instinctively. "No... No, El, that's not what this was. I'm so sorry. I just feel like... telling you what brought this on might burden you unnecessarily. I'm okay, I promise you."
