A Hint of Color (boyxboy)

Chapter 14

Later on, I spot Jake in the senior hallway before lunch. I catch his eye and he frowns. I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet, since he's always with his friends, and after Physics yesterday he bolted from the classroom as soon as the bell rang.

I know he's mad. I should just give up at this point... Why does it matter if he's mad? He'll leave me alone if he's mad.

I don't know why it bothers me.

Walking towards him, I decide that I'll just have to drag him away from his friends.

Jake's eyes widen but then he crosses his arms, trying to look tough.

Will glares at me but I ignore him. That is, until he gets in my face. "You've got a lot of guts, Ross."

I raise a brow. "You know I'm not scared of you, Will. Now, let me talk to Jake."

"This again?"

The other guys snicker.

Jake sighs heavily and pushes Will out of his way. "I'll handle him. See you guys at lunch." He grabs my arm and yanks me down the hallway.

"Shit, Jake, go easy..." Once we turn the corner he lets go and I rub my arm. "No need to put on a show."

The hallway is quiet as most students have made their way to lunch.

He rolls his eyes. "You're daring, you know that?"

I smirk, remembering one of his texts. "Well, you seem to like daring. Thought you would've liked Friday night..." He frowns. "But obviously, I took it too far," I say, sighing.

"No shit," he says.

"You kept asking me to make up my mind!"

"So? What do you want?" His green eyes shine with curiosity and my heart pounds.

I lean towards him without thinking, but he grabs my shoulders and pins me against the lockers.

I feel myself blushing, unsure of what's going to happen next, but Will ruins the moment by coming around the corner.

He stares at us and then laughs loudly. "Whoa, Jake. I did not see this coming."

Jake's eyes widen with panic, and then he glares at Will, his grip on my shoulders tightening. "Shut the fuck up. I'm taking care of this freak."

I roll my eyes at Jake, knowing he's just putting on an act, but then he pulls his fist back and slams it into my side.

It's not the worst pain in the world, but it's bad enough to make my legs give out. He releases me and I sink to the floor against the lockers, looking up at him in shock as I hold my side.

"What...?" I can't get the words out, breathing heavily.

Jake steps backward, his back to Will. Will can't see the expression Jake's making, which turns from anger to guilt. I think he'll say something, maybe even apologize, but then he turns and they both leave.

Alone in the hallway, I sit against the locker and take a minute to calm down. Why the hell did he do that?

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Jake is like his friends, after all.

My eyes start to water but I take a deep breath. I'm not going to cry over this. I'm not the kind of person who cries. It's just the pain, that's all... and the pain isn't even that bad.

Jake could've hit me a lot harder if he was seriously trying to hurt me. This'll only leave a bruise. He was just scared, trying to convince Will that he wasn't doing anything gay with me.

I roll my eyes. It's ridiculous. He might still be mad at me, but now I'm mad at him as well.

I pull myself up and bite my lip, not knowing how to feel about all of this.

Remembering that I said I'd meet Jude at his locker, I text him and hope he's not waiting for me.

Go to lunch without me. I'll meet you there.

I'm not really in the mood to go to lunch, so I wander the senior wing for a little while.

Taylor texts me but I don't feel like reading it. I don't even feel like talking to him yet, especially now that more things have happened involving Jake. If Taylor knew, he'd be furious.

Nadine texts me as well, wondering where I am.

Eventually, Jude texts back.

Can I call you?

I sigh and call him myself.

"Hello?" he asks.

"Jude, tell them I'm not coming today."

"Why? Where are you?"

I'm quiet for a moment. "It doesn't matter."

"Ross..."

"Jude, please don't worry about it."

"Of course I'm gonna worry about it!"

I'm quiet again as I hear the serious tone in his voice. Jude doesn't usually get like that.

"Tell me where you are."

"Senior wing," I answer.

"Are you okay?"

"You don't need to come."

"Well, I'm coming." Jude hangs up and I frown, rubbing my side. He finds me a minute later. "What happened?"

I watch him as he walks over, looking concerned. He doesn't need to know. I sigh and look away.

"Tell me," he insists. "Please, just tell me. I won't yell at you like Taylor did." I glance at him and he asks, "Do you want to leave? Let's skip."

Oh, Jude. He's such a sweetheart. I never thought I'd hear him say he'd skip class with me. I chuckle lightly and shake my head. "I'm already skipping. You go back to lunch, okay?" To be honest, I wish Jude could keep me company for a while but I need some time to gather my thoughts. He still looks concerned. "I'll tell you what happened after school. We can walk home together."

He sighs. I walk him back to the cafeteria but don't go in with him. I head to the library and try to do some homework, and then skip Physics because there's no way in hell I want to see Jake right now.

———
Author's Note: What do you think? Seriously unhealthy relationship, right? Poor Ross. Now you know how he got that bruise, though. How do you feel about his whole situation with Jake?

I think I might have to change my update day. I was at school all day and didn't get home until 8:30, then I was up until 1:30 working on a drawing. Ah, the life of an art major. So yeah, Thursdays are not as good for me anymore. I may be changing my update day... perhaps Wednesdays? See you next time!