Happy Anniversary.

24. The Lines.

The sharp hiss of Jack's breath had me flinching away from him in worry. "What?" I tried to look through the grimace on his face and read between the lines.

He just shook his head at me. "I ran into a table earlier today and it's still tender."

I raised my eyebrows in suspicion. Jack wasn't a short guy, so the table would have had to have been pretty tall to reach the middle of his torso. However, I said nothing about it, not wanting to make a scene in front of Rian and Cass. Instead, to maintain contact with him, I laid my hand on his knee, nibbling at a slice of pizza with my other hand.

The group fell into a comfortable silence while we ate. I saw Rian and Cass exchange a few strange looks but thought nothing of it, as this was their usual. I couldn't help but smile at them. They were the most adorable couple I'd ever seen. Especially after hearing their story; it seemed to make everything they did that much more adorable.

Once we finished, I offered to clean up, since Rian had gone to get the pizza, Cass has served us drinks and snacks, and I honestly didn't want Jack exerting himself very much at the moment. "Okay. Just throw the dishes in the dishwasher. I'll start it later. Cass and Jack, you guys up for a game of pool?" Rian asked. His basement was spacious enough to hold both a pool table and a hot tub, and still have enough room to house a Queen-sized bed, which is where Jack and I would be sleeping.

"You're so on, Dawson." Cass punched him lightly on the shoulder and jumped up to head downstairs.

"I-I think I'll come down when Alex does. Go ahead and start, though. I feel like watching you guys will be interesting." His crooked smile looked happy enough for the couple and they disappeared downstairs. I didn't speak as I began to clean up, but I was well aware of Jack's eyes watching me intently. He followed me out to the kitchen, but didn't make any moves toward me until I had finished loading Rian's dishwasher.

His body pressed against my back as his hands rested on my waist. "I'm sorry about earlier. I've just had a rough week. I didn't mean to...attack you."

I laughed under my breath. "I'm not complaining about that part. I just want to make sure you're okay, because honestly, you don't look it."

He turned me around so I was facing him. He body was still against me, and he kissed me softly. "I'm okay right now. I don't want to waste my time with you moping."

I grinned. "Okay."

Staying close to me, he grabbed my hand and we walked down to Rian's basement, where the loud banter of Rian and Cass floated up the stairs.

~~~~~

A shiver shook my body; someone was watching me, I could feel it. I finished putting my bag in my locker before turning around and trying to find the culprit. Instantly, my eyes found Mike's sinister glare. Almost as soon as he realized I saw him, his face went neutral and he walked away. "Don't worry, he won't come near you again." I jumped as Vic's voice came seemingly out of nowhere. I was too engrossed in my thoughts to notice him approaching me. Now that I had, though, I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

His eyes were surrounded with dark circles larger than the ones Jack had exhibited Friday. His face was gaunt and his eyes were dull and stressed. Even his tan skin lacked its usual verve. "You look like shit."

He laughed at my abruptness. "Yeah."

"What happened?"

The boy sighed and leaned against the row of lockers. The bell warning us to go to class rang, but neither of us cared for the time being. "Right after you guys left, my mom called a friend of hers who's a social worker. She explained the situation to her, and for right now, Kellin is staying with us. He's almost 18, so we're trying to wait it out so he doesn't get forced into foster care or something. The problem is, Kellin's uncle knows where we live and more than once he's come looking for Kellin. We're in the process of getting a restraining order, but we don't have one yet. Because Kell has obvious bruises, he technically doesn't have to go home, so basically he's just been hiding out at our place while we wait. Mom made Mike and I go to school today, though, and even though her and Dad are both home, I'm scared his uncle or Kell himself might pull something. Mom doesn't know about his...history, and if he tries to do something I'm worried she won't realize what's happening until it's too late. He's been...struggling."