How To Tame The Beasts -- Alex Gaskarth Fan Fic

Chapter Sixteen

The air around me was thick with tension as I walked through the school with Alex.  We knew what was coming at lunch, and to be honest, none of us were ready for it.  I was nervous that Jack was going to end up doing something stupid, but that was nothing new.  Even Alex was stiff, but as much as I wanted to believe he wouldn't attack Zack, I wasn't too sure about him either.  The only person I completely trusted at the moment to not fight was Mike and myself.

"How you feeling?" I asked, squeezing Alex's hand as we got closer and closer to the cafeteria.

He offered me a small smile.  "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I guess I want to feel sad, but I honestly feel nothing for him.  We gave him a chance and he screwed it up, this is all his fault."

I nodded my head slowly. "Yeah," I agreed quietly, staying close to Alex as we navigated the hallways. 

As we continued to grow closer, there was something different I instantly felt in the air.  Standing beside the entrance was Mary and her gaze was piercing through my eyes.  At first I was caught off guard but quickly returned her glare, not willing to show her any weakness.  Alex almost immediately felt the change in my mood, but quickly noted why.  As we walked past her, neither one of us attempted to move out of the way so we ended up bumping shoulders; I didn't even bother shooting her a glance after that.  Right now, I had other things to worry about.

"That was weird," Alex said quietly as we walked towards our lunch table. 

I shrugged my shoulders, not offering anything back to that; in truth, I didn't know what to say because it was strange.  Lately, Mary had avoided me like the plague.

At the table, the only people missing were Zack and Rian, but that was usually always the case since they were the slowest to get their food.  I sat down in my usual spot; right beside Alex and Mike with Jack and Jaime just across from us. 

I let out a slow breath. "Who's ready?" I asked.

Jack simply looked away and Mike mused, "I don't think anyone is really ready for this."

Jaime began cracking his knuckles and I leaned into Alex, nervous by that.  Alex shot Jaime a warning glance but Jaime just looked down.  It seemed both Jack and Jaime were playing the silent game.

"Whatever the case, it needs to be done today and we need to get this quick and over with," Alex spoke now, leaning forward in his seat.

Rian was the first to show up, setting his tray down which was stacked with food.  Most people couldn't eat when they were nervous, but Rian was just the opposite.

"I don't even understand why we're all so nervous, this is for the best of the group," Jack finally spoke up and we all agreed quietly.

"We go together or we don't go down at all," Mike whispered under his breath and I nudged him with my elbow.  He let out a chuckle, looking away.  He seemed to be the most calm one in the group at the moment if he was willing to joke around.

Finally, Zack arrived at the table.  He didn't have any food, which was odd since he had taken forever to get to the table.  His eyes locked with mine and I quickly glanced away, and at that he knew I had told.  Almost as soon as he sat down he went to stand back up but Jack let a hand slam down on Zack's shoulders to keep him from walking away.

"What's the hurry, Zack?" he asked, his voice coming out friendly but no trace of a smile could be detected on Jack's face.

"I-I-"

"A little birdy told us something very interesting," Jack continued maliciously. "Something that kind of got us all a bit pissed off.  Oh, what am I saying, we were all about to go and pummel you right then and there."

"Jack," Alex warned.

"But, we realized something; you're not worth it," Jack spoke and Zack flinched. "So, this is goodbye.  As much as we were looking forward to continuing you as a member, you're no longer a part of the Trouble-Makers and no longer permitted to associate with any of us," Jack's voice grew harsher towards the end of the sentence, then he released Zack's shoulder and turned back to the table.

Zack bit down on his lip, looking to me for some sort of help but I didn't know what to say - he dug his own grave.

"I think you should leave," Alex growled now, not liking the fact that his attention automatically turned to me.

"Guys, I-"

Alex slammed a fist down on the table and everyone jumped at the sudden outburst, even Jack did.  "You're lucky with how easy we're letting you off."

Zack nodded his head, standing up slowly and turning away. "Kellin was right, none of you guys were really worth all the trouble."

I cursed under my breath and Jack's eyes lit up, almost like he was praying for Zack to say something stupid.  Jack stood up after Zack, catching him by the arm and twirling him around to face him. "If you've got something to say, you say it to my face."

"Dammit," Alex cursed, standing up and walking over to the two guys.

"I said, Kellin was right and you guys weren't worth my time," he spoke back.  I began to shift in my seat, if it came to a fight between just Jack and Zack, Zack could probably beat Jack no problem thanks to his muscles. But the fact that the entire crew was standing right here, I couldn't see the boys letting that happen.

Alex then pushed the two apart, looking between both of the boys. "This is ridiculous, Jack, you he's just provoking you.  And, Zack, you should be smarter than to pick a fight with us."

"He's already started a fight," Jack spat.

"Is everything all right over here?" A teacher assistant asked, walking towards the boys.  I let out a sigh of relief, glad that I wasn't needed to end this fight.

Jack narrowed his eyes, refusing to look away from Zack but Alex looked to the assistant. "No, we were just sitting back down," he said, grabbing Jack's arm and bringing him back to the table.

"This isn't finished," Jack growled and Zack just waved it off, walking away from the group.

"Yes it is," Alex answered once Jack sat back down.  Alex returned to his spot beside me.

Jack shook his head. "You don't understand, he deserves some sense knocked into him now or else he's just going to keep picking at it."

"Or that'll just ignite the fire between us and the clique again," I spoke.

"They already relit it," Jaime spoke now. "They relit it by freaking turning Zack against us."

Mike shook his head. "Zack's always been against us."

"No," I disagreed. "He would've fit in if he just didn't have so many emotional ties to that group."

Mike nodded his head now. "That's what I meant."

"Who cares?" Rian said now. "I mean, what's done is done and he paid the price.  He only said that because he was upset that we kicked him out and upset that no one came to his defense."

Alex smirked. "What did he expect would happen?"  Alex had always had it out for Zack, but that was mostly just because he was my ex.

"I don't think he expected me to tell you guys," I said.

Jack looked up now, a smile coming across his face. "And we're glad you chose to tell us rather than keeping a secret.  Way to go, Princess."

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by the sudden praise but I wasn't going to deny it if Jack was deciding to grow nice.

"Jack, what are you thinking?" Alex asked, clearly knowing something was up by the sudden change in mood.

He shrugged, leaning back in his chair. "I'm thinking about revenge."

I released a sigh, hating that Zack had to provoke us because now I couldn't see us stopping Jack.