Say Something 【boyxboy】√Completed

Chapter 12

I stare down at my hands and feel the school counselor's eyes on me. I knew this would happen eventually.

"Mrs. Alberts isn't the only one who is concerned," says Mr. Weaver. "She spoke with your other teachers to see if her class was the only one you wouldn't participate in, and they said the same thing."

His voice is gentle, and I can tell he's a nice person, but I don't know him. I still feel like I'm being interrogated.

"Your grades are high, so you probably know what's going on in class, right?"

He waits for an answer, so I eventually nod.

Mr. Weaver smiles. "It's hard being new, isn't it? We're a few months into the school year but you're probably still adjusting to the move. Have you made any friends here yet?"

"One," I say.

"That's good. What's their name? Do you get along well?"

"Yeah. His name's Ross."

"Ross..." Mr. Weaver pauses for a moment and taps his fingers on his desk, thinking. "That's right, he's a senior."

I look up and notice him starting to look confused. Then he smiles.

"I'm glad you've made a friend. Do you get along with anyone from your own grade?"

I shrug.

"Why don't you try joining a club? I'm sure you'll meet more people that way."

I know he's trying to help, but there's no way I'm joining a club. I don't want to be at school any longer than necessary, and I don't want to have to deal with new people.

"Maybe," I say.

"Good." He scribbles something on a small notepad. "Now, about your classes again, why is it that you're having a hard time participating?"

I tell him I don't know, but eventually I just tell him that I'm shy. Mr. Weaver is a good man, doing his best to help me, but I feel like by the end of our meeting nothing has changed. I told him what he wanted to hear, that I would try harder in the future and that eventually I'd get over being shy.

The problem with me goes so much deeper than that. I'm sure I could talk to him about how I feel, since he's a counselor, but I can barely talk as it is. Trying to raise my voice and explain how I really feel in class would be difficult for me.

Maybe he'll talk to my teachers and tell them to give me a break. Maybe they'll feel sorry for me.

I sigh to myself when I walk to lunch later, still thinking about the meeting.

I have started to remember to bring my lunch to school most of the time, so I pull the brown paper bag from my backpack and munch on a sandwich as I listen to the conversations at our table.

Lately the tension between Taylor and Ross has gone away, so when Ross gets up to go the vending machines I ask Taylor if they've made up.

Taylor shrugs casually. "There's no point in staying mad. Did he explain anything to you?"

"A little," I say.

"He does things sometimes that are really stupid, but I try to get over it." Taylor crumbles up a napkin and then looks past me in surprise. "Speaking of stupid..." He sounds disgusted, and I make the mistake of turning around to see what he's looking at.

The figure passing by comes to a stop. "What did you call me?" Jacob looms over me, but looks at Taylor. With him is another guy who I don't know. I quickly look back at Taylor and put my sandwich down.

Taylor doesn't answer him, he just looks unamused.

"How's it going, Jude?" I freeze as I feel him pat me on the back. His hand stops on the back of my neck and I freeze. "You don't think I'm stupid, do you?"

I shake my head hesitantly and Taylor rolls his eyes.

Ross finally comes back and stops at the end of our table, opening a can of soda. "What are you doing here, Jake?"

"It's Jacob," he corrects.

I hold my breath. I wish he'd take his hand off of me. A look across the table at Taylor and hope he sees the panic in my eyes.

"Is he bothering you, Jude?" asks Ross.

Jacob's fingers tighten on my neck but he laughs. "We're just joking around."

His friend ruffles Ross's hair and he sighs, unamused.

"Seriously, what are you doing?" Taylor glares at them.

Jacob elbows the other guy and the two of them walk back to their own lunch table.

"They're idiots," says Taylor, sighing.

I stay still, afraid to move. Afraid he'll come back. It's hard to breathe. It's almost like I can still feel his fingers on my neck.

"Are you okay?" Ross sits down and put his hand on my back. His touch is different, gentle. He looks over his shoulder. "You know, Jacob's not a terrible guy. He just messes with people because he's insecure."

I stare at him in disbelief. I have no idea what to say. Thankfully, Taylor says something first.

"You're still defending him?" asks Taylor.

Confused, and worried, I ask, "After he punched you?"

"He punched you?!" shouts Taylor.

Ross shoots me a glare and I shrink back. "It's not a big deal," he says to Taylor.

"If it's not a big deal, why did you hide that from me?"

"Because I knew you'd yell at me!" Ross stands, grabs his backpack, and storms out of the cafeteria.

Taylor shakes his head and sighs heavily. "And just like that, we're fighting again."

"I shouldn't have said anything about him getting punched," I mutter.

"It's not your fault. He's being stupid again. I shouldn't have let it go the first time."

"Ross isn't stupid," I say softly.

Taylor sighs again and is quiet for a moment. Then he looks over at me and says, "He always sees the good in people."

"Isn't that a good thing?" I ask.

"Not always. Not with people like Jacob."

My chest feels tight. "What... what good does he see in Jacob? I thought you guys hated him."

"Well, it's mostly me who feels that way. Let's just say... Ross and Jacob have some history."

I stare at him with wide eyes, my heart already racing. "What do you mean?"

"They used to be friends," he says slowly. "Jacob's definitely not a good guy, though. There's really no reason Ross should be defending him at this point."

I can't imagine Ross ever being friends with someone like Jacob. They're complete opposites... "Jacob's... really, really awful. They're not... still friends now, right?"

Taylor shrugs. "Ross may still insist that Jacob's got good in him deep down, but I don't think it's something we need to worry about anymore. Especially since, you know, they've been getting into fights lately. At least, that's what he says..."

By the time the bell rings, I'm still confused. Confused and scared. I don't understand. I guess if Jacob was new a while back when he first moved here, Ross didn't know anything about him. He probably was nice and tried to make friends with him, just like he did with me. But that still doesn't make any sense to me, because Ross was hit and punched by Jacob and still somehow says he's not a terrible guy. I shudder as I throw my trash away. I don't get it, and now Ross is probably annoyed at me too.