Explosive

36 || Heart of Gold

~ Shout out to darnthislife for taking the time to read Explosive. They're the real MVP. :)

Blake raises an eyebrow at me, stuffs his hands into his pockets and trudges forward. I'm about to follow him when my phone slips from my hand and crashes to the ground. It goes flying across the hallway, spinning and colliding against a locker. "Wait up!" I call after Blake but he doesn't turn around.

Grumbling to myself, I pick up the pieces of my phone and put them together. When I stand up, I come face to face with none other than Brandon. "What's up, New Girl?" he says with an evil grin before purposefully brushing his shoulder against mine. The impact causes my backpack to slip from my shoulder and fall. Anger and shock blossoms at the pit of my stomach.

Before I can do anything about it, Blake is beside me again. He shoves Brandon against the lockers and growls, "what's your problem, asshole?"

"I didn't do nothing," Brandon says, shutting his eyes and raising his arms. "You're the one she should be afraid of," he adds to which Blake raises a fist.

"Rider!" I yell, causing him to freeze. The only sound is of Blake's heavy breathing as he stares Brandon down. "One more strike and you're done, remember?" His jaw clenches but he doesn't budge. "You're better than this," I plead.

Suddenly, he steps back, keeping his eyes on the boy. "Pick it up," he orders, gesturing to my backpack. Brandon complies, quickly bending over. "Apologize."

Brandon mumbles an apology and then avoiding my gaze, he slips away. Satisfied, Blake turns away and continues his trek down the hallway. The parking lot is in the opposite direction to which he's walking. I'm not sure where Blake could be going this late in the evening. "Blake," I try again but he just shakes his head and continues forward.

"You should go home," he whispers, tilting his head slightly to look at me. Shoulders slouched and eyes dark, he looks so tired, almost like he's holding the world on his back.

We eventually reach a door near the gym. One of the lights has become silent, shrouding the hallway in partial darkness. Blake silently pulls out a key and pushes the door open. He pauses. With his back to me, he says, "I'm not allowed to let people in here."

"I'm not going anywhere," I respond, crossing my arms. He lets out a sigh but doesn't put up a fight and lets me follow.

It's a tiny gym of sorts, with workout equipment scattered across the room and weights lined up against one wall. There is also a limp punching bag hanging at one corner of the room. It's seen better days. The plastic is peeling away, revealing the white fabric underneath.

Blake must have received permission to use the workout equipment at his leisure. I have a feeling that the guidance counselor might have had something to do with it.

Blake drops his bag and rolls his sleeves up, revealing his strength tattoo. He pulls on a pair of boxing gloves, hops a little before ramming his fists against the punching bag.

I watch, mesmerized, as he slams his fists against the bag, again and again, causing the bag to go flying. "Talk to me, Blake." He ignores me, increasing the speed at which he smashes his gloves against the bag. Carefully, I walk towards him. "Please. Tell me what's on your mind."

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Without giving it a second thought, I slip in between Blake and the punching bag. I don't realize how stupid this is until I feel the bag ram against my back, propelling me forward.

A wide-eyed Blake steadies me by placing his gloved hands on my hips. "Shit, Moore," he mutters when the bag pushes me again, causing my body to press against him even more. "I could have hurt you."

Blushing, I shake my head. "Don't listen to Brandon. I know you would never hurt me," I whisper.

He lets out a sigh and brushes a stray strand of my hair away from my eyes using his glove. The scent of plastic fills my nostrils. "You don't know that."

Sweaty palms and racing heart. It feels like my ribs are a cage and my heart a bird, fluttering dangerously and trying to break free. No one has ever made me feel like Blake does.

Hesitantly, I place my hand on his heart. Surprisingly, the rhythm matches my own heart's. "You're a bad boy with a heart of gold. You would never hurt me," I state. I'm too shy to look into his eyes, instead, I stare at the faded logo on his sweater.

When he laughs, his entire body shakes. "You're really something, aren't you?"

"You can trust me, Blake," I respond quietly. He clears his throat and steps away from me, removing the gloves from his hands. As soon as he moves away, I'm craving the warmth of his arms.

"If I told you all the things on my mind, it would shatter you," he whispers, tipping his head back and closing his eyes.

"I'm already broken, Cookie Monster. We are both beautifully broken," I say to him, hoping he'll share what's bugging him. He's on the edge and more livid than usual.

"Where did you go after the rehearsal today?" I try.

He scratches the back of his head. "I was at the guidance counselor's office."

"Okay," I say, considering his words and choosing mine with care. I realize that I'm being too pushy. If he doesn't want to share, it should be okay. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

He shakes his head. "It's not like that." Squinting, he drops the gloves into their box. "It's Josh, Moore. I'm worried about him. This morning some dickhead left a shitty note in his locker. Josh didn't want to do anything about it. I told Mrs. Gupta and now he's mad at me."

Josh. My kind cousin who is convinced that something is wrong with him. He deserves so much better than my crappy uncle. I finally talked to Mrs. Gupta about everything that has been going on at home and she told me that she will look into it. So far, nothing has come out of it. That worries me.

"I'm worried about him too. Don't beat yourself about it. You did the right thing by telling Mrs. Gupta."

He looks at me through his hair, giving me a grin. There goes my heart again. "Thanks."

"I'll try to talk to him tonight. Hopefully, everything will be okay."

|| Author's Note ||

What are your thoughts on Blake's outburst? Do you think it's just the Jake thing? ;)

Thanks for reading.