Protecting Her. (Under Heavy Editing)

Chapter Three.

Chapter Three.
Lacey's POV.

"I thought you had class?" Alexa asks and I turn around curiously. Jace and Seth stand beside one another. Jace slides in beside Alexa, wrapping her arm around her waist and pulling her close, making her smile and blush. I internally groan when the only place for Seth to sit is beside me, nevertheless, I scoot over so he has room. He sits down, his usual scowl adorning his face, not even sparing me a glance. Alexa and Jace talk about something together; rather than talk to Seth, who is coming across very standoffish right now, I put one of my earphones in and listen to some music. "God could you two look any more depressed to be near each other." Alexa says and I roll my eyes slightly, distracted when my phone buzzes on the table and I can't help but smile.

Hey sweetheart, meeting went well... I've got a surprise waiting at home for you... well three actually x
Jax: 13:33

I look up to see Alexa looking at me with a smirk. "Someones boyfriend texting them?" She asks and I almost laugh, shaking my head. "No. Just some good news." I say, tucking my phone into my pocket. "Hmm, sure. You'll tell me who he is soon enough." She winks playfully and I shake my head slightly. "Seriously, it's not." I cringe slightly at the thought of Jax and I being anything more than friends; Jax is like eight years older than me, and my security detail, it would just be weird. "Yeah sure. You're definitely getting laid tonight!" She says and I groan softly, wrapping my hands around my coffee mug. I take a drink of my coffee and let out a small content sigh. Strong, just how I like it. "What coffee did you actually get?" Alexa asks and I smile. "Triple shot espresso, caramel mocha." I say and I notice all of them looking at me incredulously. "You're far too small to consume that much coffee in one sitting." Jace says and I frown slightly. "I'm not small. I'm big and strong and scary." I tease, laughing softly. I unconsciously pull my sleeves up, the coffee shop is a lot warmer than the cool weather outside. Alexa's eyes fall down to my tattooed arms and I squirm uncomfortably at the attention to them. "You have a lot of tattoos." Jace says in awe, staring at my arms, taking in every tattoo. "I guess so yeah." I say, trying to ignore that everyone's gazes are on me. "What do they mean?" I freeze at the question for a moment, but quickly compose myself. "They don't all have meaning." I say looking down at them with a frown. I hate that he's done this to me. "They all look fairly new." Seth finally speaks and I sigh. "Some of them are... some needed to be touched up. Shitty tattoo artists and all that." I say trying my hardest to sound believable. "Oh. I'm surprised you got so many so soon." Alexa says and my gaze goes to Seth. He seems a little suspicious of me, which really isn't good news. Deciding I need to get out of here, quickly, I come up with an excuse. "I need to get back. I promised Jamie I'd save us seats next period." I say, waiting for Seth to move so I can get out. "You wanting a lift back or?" I ask Alexa, she smiles and nods her head. "Sure." She kisses Jace before leaving.

~~*~~

School passed fairly quickly after lunch and I was definitely grateful for that. I made my way home where Jax had already started making dinner. He makes a huge lasagne, big enough to feed a family of six. We eat as much as we can as we discuss our days; I'm honest with Jax about how my day went. I tell him that I keep feeling as though I'm being watched and he reassures me that it's not who I think it is. He hasn't found us, and he won't. Not this time.

After dinner we ate donuts and played poker until Jax said it was time for me to go to bed. Afterall, tomorrow is still a school day. I've taken my sleeping pill, but still sleep evades me. Truth be told, I don't actually want to sleep, because images haunt my sleep, and I'd rather feel fatigued all day tomorrow than relive that again. Sighing I get out a sketch pad from under my bed and put my earphones in. I let my hand move on its own accord and draw whatever it wants, keeping my mind focused on the music in a desperate attempt to distract myself.

Hours pass but not once do I let my focus waver, my mind never strays from the songs and my hand drawing and correcting lines and curves. I have no idea what I'm drawing, my hand acting as if it is its own being.

The sun is starting to rise, painting the horizon a beautiful powder blue. I still haven't slept, but I stopped drawing an hour or two ago and have instead been watching Spongebob reruns. My alarm goes off and I reluctantly pull myself out of the bed and head towards the bathroom. I take a quick shower and whilst my hair dries, put on makeup to hide my lack of sleep. I pull on a navy t-shirt and some black skinny jeans before shrugging on my leather jacket and grabbing my bag. Jax is still in bed when I head downstairs so I leave him a quick note, grabbing a granola bar before leaving.

Once again I sit in the library waiting for school to start. I texted Jamie and told her to meet me here when she arrives. I spot Jamie walking towards me, Denver trailing behind her like a lost puppy. Smiling I close my notebook and shove it into my bag before standing. "Are we okay to stop off at my locker?" I ask and Jamie beams at me, nodding. "Or course!" She ushers Denver and I along. I unlock my locker whilst Denver and Jamie discuss what classes they have today. Alexa spots me and gives me a small wave. "You seem to have survived the making friends stage of high school." Jamie says and I laugh softly. "Doing what I can to survive high school in general." I say playfully and she laughs, rolling her eyes at my theatrics. "We should do something fun this weekend. I feel like I've been cooped up inside for too long." Denver and Jamie nod in agreement. "We should." She says as we begin making our way to first period. Ruby looks at us and I take a deep breath as she opens her mouth. "Oh look, the loners got friends." Ruby snarls and I sigh when Jamie just looks down. "Oh look the bitch has got puppies." I say motioning to her friends. "What did you just say to me?" She snaps, glaring at me. "I called you a bitch. Not original, I know. But when someone as unoriginal as you appears, I have to resort to unoriginal insults." I smirk, her face going red as she looks at me with pure disgust. "You'll pay for this! And if you so much as look at my boyfriend again, I'll destroy you. This is your last nice warning." She says and I roll my eyes. "Fuck off." I turn to Jamie and gently squeeze her shoulder. "Are you ok?" She just nods and I tell Denver to take her to her first period, I have some business to take care of.

Storming into Calculus, I see the guys all sat in their usual seats. I storm over glaring at Seth and making sure she hears what I say to him. "Keep your fucking bitch on a tighter leash before I show her what happens to bad dogs." I snap, my anger evident in my tone. I sit down with my back to Seth and angrily scribble down the answers onto the test before laying my head down on the table. "What was that about?" Nate whispers and I look up at him with an irritated expression. "She comes near me or Jamie again and I will not hesitate to break that pathetic face of hers." I say darkly and he put his hands up in mock surrender. "That bad?" He asks and I nod. "Worse." I say and he turns back to the guys. I'm so fed up with high school drama.

Quickly leaving class, I just get out of the door when I'm pushed against the wall. "Want to explain what that little bitch fit was about?" He asks and I roll my eyes. "Control that girlfriend of yours. She threatens me or Jamie again and I will not restrain myself so well." I say attempting to walk away so I can cool down. "She's not my girlfriend." He says adorning his signature scowl. "Good for you. Might want to make that more clear to her then, because I don't think she's aware and if she comes up to me once more I will break her nose." I seethe breaking away from his grip. I won't break her nose... I don't think so.

I sit down with a sigh and Denver looks at me with a sad smile as I sit glaring at my sandwich. "What's wrong?" Jamie asks and huff in annoyance. "I'm just still wound up about Ruby" I say, throwing my sandwich onto the table, no longer hungry. Suddenly my arms are pulled so I'm standing up and I watch as Alexa drags me to their table as I protest. "You're sitting with us and that's final." She says forcing me into another seat. I spot Denver dragging Jamie and groan realising this was premeditated. Jamie sits beside me and Denver beside her. On my other side is Nate and I look across from me to see Seth, as usual glaring. Someone definitely crawled in his captain crunch and shit in it. "What?" Oh shit, I said that aloud... fuck.