In Love With A Warbler

Chapter 5 : Afraid

Chapter 5

Middle of the night...

Alex POV

I woke up, hearing strange noises. And I sat up, listening. It was sort of a combination of grunting and whimpering. A light went on in Nick's bunk. He shined the light over on me. I looked up at him, confused.

He came down his ladder, and shined the light on the bottom bunk. Jeff was moving around in his bed like he was having a nightmare.

"Jeff? Jeff, wake up," Nick said, shaking his shoulder a little.

Jeff's eyes flew open, and he screamed.

"Hey. You're ok," Nick said, trying to calm him down.

"M-my b-back!"

"Your back?"

"H-hurts!"

"What's wrong with your back?"

Jeff started to cry. I was honestly really confused.

"Here. Let's go look at it in the bathroom, ok?" Nick asked.

I turned the bathroom light on for them. Nick got Jeff out of bed, and walked him into the bathroom. He pulled up the bottom of Jeff's shirt. There were a few scars and some faint bruises.

"Jeff, your back looks fine. There's just a few bruises. But the bruises are almost completely faded," Nick said, pulling his shirt back down.

Jeff wiped his tears, and started calming down a little.

"Does your back still hurt?" Nick asked.

Jeff ignored him, and walked past him, back to his bed. He curled up under the blankets. I felt so bad for him. He's scared, and I don't know what's wrong or why his back hurt. There's so many things I don't know about him. And it's difficult because Nick and I can't get answers out of him.

Nick and I went back to bed because we knew we weren't going to get Jeff to talk.

Morning...

Alex POV

Jeff still seemed upset, but he also seemed very jumpy. He'd jump at the slightest noises, especially when someone's phone would go off.

I still didn't have my own phone. Mine was destroyed in the accident, and my uncle never bought me a new one.

I decided I'd go talk to him. He's probably in his office...

Nick POV

My phone dinged, and it said I had a message from my friend Trent. He went to this school too.

Jeff practically fell off the bed when my phone went off.

"Ok. You really need to tell me what you're so afraid of," I said to Jeff, who was getting settled on the bed again.

Jeff looked up, and met my eyes. He looked really nervous.

"Does your back hurt or something?"

He shook his head no.

"Ok. Well what's wrong?"

He looked away from me, and didn't answer.

I got up, and sat down on his bed.

"Come on, Jeff. You have to tell me what's wrong. I just want to help."

"I-I'm f-fine..."

"No, you're not fine. You're scared."

"I-I'm fine."

I sighed. He's so stubborn!

"Fine. Well, I'll be across the hall if you need me. You know David and Trent? They asked if I could study with them."

I grabbed my books, and left.

Jeff POV

I was all alone in the room. Well... Until Alex threw the door open, scaring me. She slammed it too.

She flopped down on her bed. And I noticed she was crying. I really wanted to do something, but I didn't know what to do! I wish Nick was here. He'd know what to do.

Alex sat up, and started pulling stuff out of her backpack. She was still crying, and it was pretty clear that she was frustrated about something. I think she went to go talk to her uncle. But I'm not sure...

I slowly got up, and walked over to Alex. She stopped what she was doing, and looked at me. I sat down next to her on her bed, and slowly opened my arms, offering her a hug.

I was a little surprised, but she took my hug. She wrapped her arms around me tightly, and I did the same. About a minute later, she pulled away.

"Thanks, Jeff."

She wiped her tears, and I sort of nodded. I went back to my own bed, and worked on my homework a little.

Later...

Alex POV

"He won't get me a phone until I get good grades, and since he's head of the school, he can see all my grades at any time," I said, annoyed.

"Well... Then you just have to work hard, and study," Nick said.

"I don't want to work hard and study. I don't like it here, and I especially don't like my uncle controlling everything."

"Alex, I think I know what your problem is."

"What?"

"You need to stop fighting the fact that you're stuck here. Because that's not going to change. You need to accept it, and work with it. If you accept it, you'll be happier."

"I will not be happier. I want to go back to my old school where the classes were easier and they gave less homework."

"Well would it make it easier for you if I helped you with the homework and stuff? I can help you study. I'm not exactly the smartest, but if I work on something long enough, I can usually get the right answer."

"Yeah... That might help a little... Thanks, Nick."

"No problem."

I leaned over the cafeteria table, and hugged Nick.

"So... Ready to go back upstairs?" Nick asked.

"Yeah."

We threw away our garbage, and then Nick grabbed some cereal for Jeff. We went upstairs to our room again. And Nick started helping me with the homework.

A/N : So, I live in New York, and it snowed this morning. So my school had a 3 hour delay. Literally all my classes are like 20 minutes long. It's awesome.