~

"NO!"

Mr. Baker narrows his eyes into slits, and if looks could kill, Aaron would be 12 feet underground. Literally.

"I'm not going to live with your brother. He hates me!" Aaron replies, standing his ground, engaging in a staring contest with his dad.

"Aaron Christopher Baker!"

I knew I heard the middle name Christopher from somewhere.

"I will not let you disgrace me in this county! Get your bags and come with me. Now!" His father grits his teeth, stabbing Aaron's chest with his finger.

Aaron lets out a deep sigh, his shoulders hunched, his head raised to the ceiling. "Dad," his voice is softer this time.

"Aaron, going to London would be great for you. You'll make new friends, " Mr. Baker says in a softer tone, placing his hands on Aaron's shoulders. His eyes flicker to Gray and Zyair. "Good friends."

Zyair broadens his eyes and points to himself, silently asking who? Me?

"This is not a choice, Aaron. We'll talk about this at home. Ensure you follow me immediately, " Mr. Baker's voice is firm and harsh, leaving no room for argument. He gives the rest of us dirty looks before walking away.

Aaron's head falls, standing with his shoulders slouched. Elliot tries to reach out to him, but Gray stops him, shaking his head at Elliot.

We all watch Aaron silently. He sniffs, running his hand through his hair, straightening his shoulders before walking out.

"Are we just going to let him go?" Elliot yells, directing his anger at Gray.

"His father is mad at the moment. It's best not to push him, " Gray replies, walking back into the classroom. He returns with both my bag and his.

"Let's go, Kelch, " He says.

Placing a hand on his shoulders, I stop him, collecting my bag from him. "Elliot, can you drive me home?" I face Elliot, ignoring Gray's stare on me.

Elliot looks at me, letting his gaze shift slightly to Gray. He returns his eyes to me and nods. "Let me get my bag."

"Kelch?"

"I don't want to talk to you right now, " I raise my hand, my palm facing forward, refusing to meet his eye.

Gray lets out a sigh and nods his head. "Look, I'm really-, "

"Are you ready?" I ask Elliot when I see him coming out of the classroom, cutting Gray's words mid-sentence. I knew it was petty of me to treat him like this when he was about to lose one of his best friends, but he had hurt my feelings.

Elliot nods his head, and I walk away from Gray and the rest, following Elliot out. I didn't miss the look of hurt and betrayal on Gray's face, but I choose to ignore it.

If I keep forgiving him so easily, he'll continue to step on me, hurting my feelings as he pleases. He needed to be on the receiving end for once.

I get into Elliot's car just as Elliot starts the engine, pulling out of the school's parking lot.

"You were kind of harsh on him," Elliot comments, reducing the volume of the car stereo. "I know you are just trying to hurt him because he hurt your feelings. But is it worth it?"

"I really don't need your pep talk, Elliot," I raise my hand defensively.

The car is silent for a few minutes before Elliot opens his mouth to speak again. "My boyfriend is moving to another country. I just don't think you should waste time being mad at him because no one knows tomorrow, " Elliot shrugs, keeping his eyes on the room, an attempt to escape my glare.

"Tomorrow is Tuesday, " I deadpan, turning my head to look out the window.

I wasn't mad at them for lying. I was angry at how inconsiderate they were about my feelings. They knew just how much it would hurt me, yet they did it. They wanted to hurt my feelings, causing me emotional pain, and that was not okay.

Elliot let out a low chuckle, running his hand through his hair. "I didn't even get to say goodbye. Is he really leaving?" Elliot spares me a glance, his brows slanting downward into a sad frown.

"Aaron is a valuable asset to the school, isn't he? The football team, the- the-, " Elliot stops, thinking of another contribution Aaron has made to the school but fails. "Yeah, the football team. And it's senior year. He can't start over in another school mid-semester."

With a sigh, I rest my head on my hand, massaging my temple, listening to Elliot vent to me. "And what about his friends Gray and Zyair. Aaron already has a life here. He's eighteen, and his father shouldn't be bossing him around."

Age is just a number.

"Aren't you bothered about this?" Elliot turns his neck, staring at me incredulously.

"You're mad enough for both of us," I pat his shoulders, sinking further into my seat. "Besides, Gray and Zyair would probably do something to stop him," I add, noticing Elliot downcasted face.

"Wow, you've got it real bad, huh?" I tease, trying to make him feel better.

Elliot looks at me and sighs before returning his gaze to the road. "I don't know," He shrugs, his face turning a light shade of pink.

"What do you like about him so much?" I rest my elbows on the armrests, tilting my head at Elliot.

"His laugh," Elliot laughs, shaking his head. "He's got this super weird laugh that I find extremely attractive. I don't know why."

I smile and lean back into the seat, adjusting the seatbelt.

"What about you? Why are you so attracted to Gray?"

The sound of Gray's name made me smile, and for a second, I forgot was mad at him. "His presence. I love the way he looks at me, and I love the way being next to him makes me feel at ease."

An image comes to mind, and a smile spread across my face. "And don't get me started on his bod-,"

"Okay," Elliot raises his hands, parking his car at the driveway of my home. "I don't need to hear that much."

I laugh and grab my bag from the backseat. Opening the door, I get down from his car, waving him goodbye.

"Hey, Dove," He calls, and I lean on the car window to look at him. "Don't hurt Gray just because you got your feelings hurt in the past. You'll just end up hurting yourself too."

I pull away from the car, watching him drive off into the orange sunset transcending above the horizon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stare at the white sheet of A4 paper in my hand, glancing at my assignment.

Does anyone else think Mr. David is doing too much? Huh? Just me? Okay.

That's what I'd have loved to write, but knowing Mr. David, I sit in front of my computer, googling the importance and benefits of education.

Someone knocks on my door, and I had an idea of who it might be.

"Don't come in," I yell, tilting my head towards the door.

Yet, the door opens. Gray walks in, wearing Grey sweatpants and a purple hoodie. His hair is wet, indicating that he's just had a shower. The smell of his cologne and body wash fills my room, intoxicating me with the scent I loved so much.

How he managed to look so good in a basic hoodie and sweatpants was beyond me.

"You don't need to stare at me like you stare at pizza when you're on a diet. I'm all yours," Gray spreads his arms, gesturing towards his body.

I push away thought of him, folding my arms across my chest. "Great. Disrespect my privacy the same way you disrespected my feelings."

"I didn't hear the don't. I just heard come in," Gray replies, gesturing towards the door with one hand.

"Hm. Hm," I nod my head, a smirks playing on my lips. "Then how did you know I said, don't?"

He gives me a blank stare, contemplating his answer. "Oh, I am psychic," he whispers in an intense tone, covering the side of his lips. "I don't tell most people because they start asking for their future and-,"

"Gray, what are you doing here?" I reply, a disinterested stare on my face.

"I want to talk to you," He stands straighter.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Aaron. I want to talk about Aaron," He says hastily, gesturing with his hands.

"Then, stand six feet away."

He rolls his eyes, shifting his weight to one foot. "Come on, dove."

"Six feet."

"You need to see the text between Zyair and me to understand the plan," He waves his phone at my face.

I sigh and fold my arms over my chest, silently grilling him. "I hurt you, Kelch, and I'm sorry, " he says, an earnest look to his eyes.

"Why did you do it?"

"I wanted you to hate me. I needed you to hate me, so the Cagers wouldn't use you to get to me," He replies, taking small steps towards me.

"Why didn't you just tell me about the Cagers? Things would have been so much easier, " I point out, shrugging my shoulders.

Gray shakes his head, running a hand through his wet hair. "You don't know these people. Back then, I could barely protect myself. I couldn't put you in danger. Heck, you got kidnapped a few days ago," he throws his hands up frustratedly.

"Are you going to leave me again? To protect me? Who are you going to have fake sex with this time? Fawn?" I snarl, aware of the weight of my words.

Gray's face falls. He drops his gaze to the ground, letting his tongue flick out to lick his lower lips. When he raises his head, his eyeballs are a light shade of red.

"I'm sorry, Kelch," his all he manages to say, and I feel my heart drop at the soft tone of his voice.

I didn't mean to hurt him that much. I didn't know my words would affect him that much.

I take small steps towards him, still leaving a significant amount of space between us. "Gray, if you're going to leave me-,"

"I won't, " He says instantly, his head jerking up. "I promise I won't. I'm going to stay right next to you and protect you."

A small smile forms on my face, and I point at the space between us. "Three feet."

"What?"

"Three feet apart instead of six, " I say, raising three fingers.

Gray chuckles and takes long strides towards me, stopping a few inches from me.

"I said three feet, not three inches," I raise my head to meet his eye.

"I've never been good at mathematics. I got D's in London," He purses his lips, a tiny smirk playing on his lips.

"I got D's in London. Is that something to be proud of?" I mimic him.

He tilts his head, his brows furrows in thoughts. "When you think about it, yes. I'm good at football, but terrible at mathematics. One can't be good at everything. It's the cycle of life," He stuck out his chin proudly.

"It's the cycle of life, " I raise my hand to my chest, rolling my eyes, imitating him.

He stares at me in the way that makes me melt, his electric blue eyes sending shock waves through my body. "I'm really sorry, Kelch."

Darn, him.

"Can you stop apologizing?" I groan, dragging my face down. "You make it hard to stay mad at you."

"Can you stop apologizing?" He shakes his head, rolling his eyes to the back at a very terrible attempt to imitate me.

"What?" I laugh at him.

"You see how annoying it is, " He points at me, shrugging his brows.

"It's annoying when you do it," I jab his chest with my finger. "It's cute when I do it."

He raises his hand to play with a stand of my curls. "Yeah, you're right. Everything you do is cute."

I smile and push him away from me playfully. "You said something about Aaron," I ask, pointing at his phone.

"Oh, right, " He mutters and shows me his phone screen.

I read the text messages between him and Zyair about their plans to stop Aaron's dad from taking him away.

When I'm done reading the message, I return his phone to him. "This is crazy, you know?" I raise an eyebrow, emphasizing the word crazy.

Gray nods his head, a mischievous smile playing on his face. "Like bat-shit crazy, " I repeat.

"It's not that crazy."

"It's embarrassing too, " I add, making sure he knew how absurd their plan was.

"It would only be embarrassing if we make it out to be."

"We could get arrested!" I point out a possible outcome.

"Even better."

"Gray," I laugh, covering my mouth with my hand.

"We are still going to need a lot of help, but are you in?"

I bite my lower lips, a feeling of exhilaration washing over me. "Yes."

••••••••••••••••••••••••

QOTD- If you could have a superpower, what superpower would you like to have?

>> Mine would be Teleportation.

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