Changes

15

The next week is tense.

Finn won't talk to Ryder or Micah, but talks to Zac a little. Micah asks if I can stay around Finn, since he clearly doesn't want to talk to them. I agree, and end up sleeping downstairs in a guest room with Finn all week.

They got a doctor to come check on Finn from home. His leg is broken, and in a cast now. He has crutches, but it's a huge struggle to get upstairs.

Ari's mad at Lio and I, since Lio forgot to text them, and we kind of stood them up. They understand why we did, but they're still mad.

"Jake," Finn says, tapping my hand.

I look over at him. "Yeah, sorry. What'd you say?"

"The movie's done." He says.

"Oh. Sorry."

He clicks the off button on the remote, shifting on the couch to face me. It's pretty early, and everyone's getting ready for work and whatever they're doing today. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"You do that a lot." He says.

I nod, sighing. "Yeah."

"Are you mad at Zac? He's been wondering why you haven't been talking to him."

"I'm not mad."

"You should talk to him. Go to work with him, or something."

I change the subject. "You haven't really talked about it, but do you want to talk about what happened?"

He picks at the bottom of his shirt. "What about it?"

"Did you see the people?"

"Yeah...it was three guys. One of them seemed to be kind of the leader, because the other two listened to him. They were talking about how they lost everything."

"What did he look like? "

"Uh, he had blond hair, and was really...buff, I guess. Oh, and he had this cut going from here to here." He traces a line from his ear to the top of his lip.

My eyes widen. "What? Finn, that-that's Chad."

Chad is a big bully at our school. Him and his two friends, Adam and Timothy. They're homophobic and rude, and constantly tease Lio and I. Well, not since they got beat up by someone a while ago.

"Chad? You know him?"

"He goes to our school." I murmur. "Oh, god, Ryder's going to kill him."

"Wait, so you know where he is?"

"Yeah. The two guys with him were probably Timothy and Adam. You could sue them for this. Or-what do you want to do?"

He's silent for a moment, then says, "Go tell Ryder."

I nod, getting up from the couch. "You'll be fine down here?"

He nods, and I go upstairs. I knock on Ryder's door, and after a second, it opens.

"Hey, sweets." Micah says. I can see Ryder laying on the bed, looking over. "What's up?"

"Um, well, Finn described one of the people who beat him up, and I think I know who they are."

Ryder sits up. "You do? Who?"

I explain to them about Chad, and I can tell Ryder's getting mad.

"How do we find him?" He demands when I'm done.

"He goes to our school," I say. "So if you go tomorrow, you'll probably see him."

He mutters something about tomorrow being too long as a door slams in the hallway. Our door.

I sigh. "I should go check on that."

They nod, and I go to the room I share with Lio. He's lying face down on the bed, face buried in a pillow. I sit down beside him.

"Lio? Are you okay?"

"No," He grumbles, rolling over to look at me.

"What's wrong?"

"It's DJ. I don't get why he cares about me so much. I hardly do anything for him. He spoils me silly, and I can't do it back."

"What did he do?"

He sighs. "We were arguing because he says school is important, and I need to get an education. And I told him our school sucks, but he said he'll pay for us to go to a better school. But he doesn't get that I don't want to go to school. I can get a job without going to college."

I cough. "You've been looking for a job for two months."

He sighs again. "Yeah, you're right. I like that he spoils me, but it makes me feel bad, since I'll never have enough to please him."

"He doesn't want your money, Lio. He likes you for you. You know that."

"It still makes me feel bad."

"Do you know if you love him yet?" I ask.

He sighs for the third time. "I think I do."

"Okay. Tell him that."

"But what if he doesn't love me back?"

"Lio, he is definitely in love with you."

"Fine, I'll tell him." He says. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Zac and Ryder? Figure anything out yet?"

I've been so focused on Finn, I forgot about that. I shrug.

"I don't know. I've been avoiding them."

"Don't do that. Zac is clearly upset about you and Finn barely talking to him. You need to fix it."

"But-"

"You don't have to tell him how you feel. Just talk to him."

I nod, sighing. I decide to change the subject. "Chad's the one who broke Finn's leg."

"What?"

"Yeah, I asked him about it today, and described Chad. I told Ryder and Micah, and they're going to the school tomorrow."

"Are they going to beat him up? Because I'll totally go to school to watch that."

"I'm not sure. They can't just walk up to him, and punch him, but I know they won't do nothing. They're both definitely mad."

He nods as someone knocks on the door. "What?"

"It's DJ."

"What?"

"Lio," I say, giving him a look.

He sighs. "Hold on!" He looks at me. "Go fix things with Zac before he leaves.

I go to the door, and let DJ in as Lio gets off the bed. I go into the hallway, but look back at them. DJ's arms are around Lio, whose face is buried in DJ's chest.

"Am I forgiven?" DJ asks.

"Sure," Lio mutters.

I smile, and go downstairs. Zac is at the door, but I stop him.

"Yeah?" He says quietly.

I swallow. "Um. Can I come work with you today?"

"Really?"

I nod. "Please?"

He nods, smiling. "Yeah, sure. That'd be great."

"I'll be right back." I say.

I go into the living room, where Finn is.

"Is it alright if I go to the bakery with Zac today?" I ask him.

He smiles. "You don't have to ask me that. Go ahead, I'll be fine."

"I'll call you later," I tell him, going to the door again.

I pull on shoes, and grab a jacket, then Zac and I walk out the house.