The Guarded One ✔

Chapter Four

Lunch came sooner than I expected. I take a seat at our usual table in the cafeteria, waiting for my friends to arrive.

"I'm actually going to grab my fork and jam it through each and every one of their eyes" Jess declares as placing her tray beside me.

"How long has this shit been going on?" Another voice cries.

"Guessing all day?" Jess raises a brow as Tyler sits across from me.

Jess and Tyler Ramirez, my Latino friends of four years. They're both beyond temperamental which makes me the dad of the group attempting to control them.

"Have they been doing it to you guys?" I ask them.

"No" Tyler confesses in a slightly calmer tone whilst Jess shakes her head left to right violently.

"We weren't in the car" Jess sighs as running her fingers through her black hair.

I sigh. Jesus, that's right. They weren't in the car.

I want to get up and knock in all the heads of those staring at my friends and me - but I need to graduate. I just need to control my temper for the rest of senior year - simple enough?

"Just ignore them," I say as wrapping my hands around my cheeseburger and taking a bite.

"It gets hard when those fucking idiots are staring at us" Jess cries as jumping from her chair, directing her gaze to a group of girls in the distance, "take a picture it'll last longer!" She yells across the cafeteria.

My heart beats faster in frustration. For Christ sake, Jess, can you like chill for once in your fucking life. Jess constantly states that I'm like her brother but God does it feel like I'm her father.

"Sit down" I firm my gaze at Jess, causing Tyler to smirk at his cousin.

Not funny Ty. Let's see ya smile when we get held back a year.

"You know this is shit right?" Jess narrows her eyes as dropping back to her seat.

No shit.

"We gotta do something about this Jason" Tyler declares.

Don't you think I know that? These fucking dumb cunts need to be hit, but what the fuck do you want me to do about that? I could get held back a year over all this shit.

"Just" I add emphasis on each and every syllable, "ignore...it"

I gave them both the look. The look that said, I'm dead serious and on the verge of losing my shit. They both understand that look very well.

Ten minutes went by before Hayden arrives, when she does, she takes a seat beside Tyler.

"Where have you been?" I ask her curiously.

"That's it!" Jess cries as jumping out of her seat.

I follow her actions before grabbing Jess' dainty wrist as an automatic reflex. I squeezed firmly but not too hard. She stopped in her tracks, meeting my gaze. Jess looks angry and when she's angry, she can do anything without thinking it through.

I need to graduate and they need to graduate with me.

"Don't" I clench my jaw whilst looking straight into her eyes.

"I can't sit back and listen to them, maybe you can but I can't!" Jess admits as I remove my hand from her wrist.

"It's been going on all day" Hayden starts as pressing the palm against her forehead "in every class...outside the lockers"

"What have they been saying?" Tyler furrows his brows.

"I don't even know" Hayden admits "they're just pointing and giggling...and spreading shit about Duncan..."

"Duncan's laying in a hospital bed and this is what they do!" Tyler clenches his jaw.

"I'm over it" Jess states.

"You and I both" Hayden sighs as reverting her gaze to me, "Jason"

She looks at me like she was asking for permission. Permission to take part in revenge.

"One more suspension and I don't graduate" I explain calmly.

"So what do we do?" Tyler cocks a brow in my direction.

"Nothing" I look at him firmly.

"I can't-" Jess widens her eyes.

"I want us all to graduate together" I repeat, "got it?"

"Fine" Tyler nods.

"Yeah" Hayden sighs.

"Jess?" I cock an eyebrow in her direction.

"Yeah fine" she nods hesitantly.

"Good" I nod.

"How is Duncan?" Jess questions. "After the accident, my parents grounded Tyler and me"

Jess and Tyler are cousins but have been living with each other since they were kids. I'm not exactly sure about what happened to Tyler's parents but I do know that he calls Jess's parents 'mum' and 'dad'.

"Mine sorta did too" Hayden admits. "But we saw him yesterday and he was fine"

"Has he spoken to the cops?" Jess asks.

"Not yet" Hayden shakes her head. "If we all stick to our story's we'll be fine"

"Does Duncan know what to say?" Tyler firms his eyes.

"Yeah" Hayden nods "same as us...we dropped you two off at home-"

"A truck came and cut us off making us to swerve into a post" I finished.

"So they'll never know the truth?" Jess questions.

"Could chu imagine if we were in the car?" Tyler looks over to Jess.

"Everything would be completely different" Hayden sighs.

"One or more of us could be dead" Tyler adds.

I don't want to even think about what would have happened if Jess and Tyler were in the car. I most likely wouldn't be here right now to help them with all this - after all, I am responsible.

***

I began my biology assignment whilst I sat towards the back of detention. Mr Simm's was running it today. He wasn't too bad, I mean he was strict, but it's detention so he kinda had to be.

"Ppsss" I hear someone hiss from behind me. "Ppsss"

First times she's spoken since we got here; gotta be some kind of record, right?"

"Yes?" I lean back with a smirk.

"What did Franklin say we had to do for Calculus?" Hayden whispers.

Does she ever listen in class? Oh, that's right she doesn't generally attend class.

"I never thought I'd see the day" I smirk, "Hayden Jones doing homework"

"Ha ha," She says without humour.

"Page two and three" I answer.

"Thank you," Hayden nods, "also, how long do we have left?" She adds.

I look down at my left wrist that had my watch wrapped around it. "Twenty minutes" I smile slightly, "will that be all?"

"For now," she raises her brows.

I roll my eyes as leaning back forward in my seat. Detention is a place that I can't return to for the rest of the year. Or else, I risk suspension which can lead to me not graduating.

Aunt Laura loves me and all, but I can't help but think that she feels like a failure as a parent. All I want more than anything is for her to be proud. That way she knows that she didn't waste her life on me for nothing.