"What the fuck are you doing?" Jay said.

I turned around. There was Jay, looking pissed off. I didn't want another fight.

He stepped towards us and I braced myself for Jay's words, but he was angry at Jacob.

He grabbed his arms and shoved him back. "Don't fucking touch her."

"Jay nothing happened, I was j-"

"I know." He snapped. "You wouldn't go for that weird fuck anyways. Why were you holding her?" He turned to Jacob now.

"She was scared that's all." Jacob said.

"Of what?"

Jacob paused.

"There was an intruder." I said. "He took a picture of me I think, then ran off."

"A fucking what?" Jay said and turned his head. "An intruder somehow managed to get past security and into our house, past the gates, and somehow knew where Alina's room was?"

I nodded. "It was so scary. But he's gone now."

Jay paused and licked his lips. "Something seems off about that. But for now, fuck off Jacob. We're both here so nobody needs you to watch Buddy."

Jacob nodded and hurried out. He was half of Jay's size and certainly didn't want to stick around for another bout of anger.

Jay shook his head. "Don't let him touch you ever again."

"He was just comforting me." I replied.

"That kid is off is what I'm saying. I told my parents but they don't listen. They say he does a good job of taking care of the dog and all this shit."

"He's a normal kid, Jay."

He shook his head. "Nah."

"I don't know. But I felt safer after that incident when he was here. At least I wasn't alone."

Jay paused for a moment. "Come upstairs with me."

I raised a brow but followed him up the massive staircase leading upstairs. He led me down the hallway and into his room. He quietly shut the door as he let me ahead of him.

"What happened, Alina?" He said once we both sat down on the edge of his bed. His mattress was incredibly comfortable and the soft blanket made me want to lay down.

"I don't really know." I said. "I was in the shower and I heard the click of a camera and then once I yelled at whoever it was I heard footsteps and they ran away, and out of the house."

Jay's jaw dropped. "What the hell? What a fucking pervert what the fuck was that asshole doing? Who the hell?"

I shrugged. "I really don't know."

He cupped my face with his hands. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "I'm fine. Really. I just got spooked."

He looked into my eyes and titled his head, like a puppy. "You sure?"

I nodded, gazing into his eyes. They were a bright blue grey mix now. Usually his eyes were angry but now his expression was laced with concern.

I couldn't help but lean in.

The last time I had kissed Jay had been in Texas. His mouth tasted familiar and I realized how I had been longing for this moment, for the moment our lips would lock. I felt him gasp, and I smiled into the kiss knowing I'd caught Jay Von Baron off guard.

He registered what was going on and deepened the kiss. His hands roamed up my back as he pulled me closer to him.

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Later that evening, I found Jay pacing back and forth in his room. I was walking back from the kitchen and saw him as I was making my way to my room. 

I peeked my head in. "Are you good?"

Jay shook his head. "Wel," he started. "I am. But something has got me fucked up. There's no way that there could've been an intruder in the house."

I bit my lip. "Well, there was. I heard him. Jacob and I-"

"That motherfucker." The curse words never seemed to cease when it came to Jay. "Something isn't sitting right with me."

"Look, I don't know what you have against Jacob. But he's very sweet and a good friend to me."

"Good friend." Jay scoffed. "You've met him twice."

I rolled my eyes. "Well he's been very nice the two times I've met him."

"Alina, he's a psychopath."

I gasped. "You can't just say that about someone!"

"You can't just sayyy that about someoneee!" Jay mocked me. "Well I just did." He said in his normal, deep voice. "And he is."

I crossed my arms. Jay was being paranoid and perhaps jealous, but curiosity had the best of me and I at least wanted to know why he thought Jacob was a psychopath. 

"Okay, sophomore year he was the new kid." Jay began. "Nobody knew who the fuck he was. Anyways, this girl by the name of Mara Andrews befriended him. She was real nice and pretty-" Jay looked at me. "You're nicer and prettier, of course. But she was too good for Jacob is what I'm saying. Yeah he was polite and shit, but I don't know. I got some weird vibes from him."

"Is that it?" I scoffed.

"No, let me finish. Anyways, my stepmom, the wannabe saint that she is, hired the new kid because she wanted him to feel comfortable here and whatnot, and he said he liked dogs. He was weird from the start. I caught him watching porn on multiple ocassions. That was just weird. But one day he made plans with Mara. I knew because he was at my house and wouldn't stop talking about it. She had also told me, as we were friends."

"I don't like where this is going." I interjected. I already got a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, just from hearing the story.

"I thought he was weird, and I got weird vibes from this hangout. He never had people over and he had mentioned to my stepmom that his parents weren't going to be home, so he needed a ride back. She said yes, of course, and eventually drove the fucker back home. I called Mara and told her not to go, but she said they were just hanging out and studying for chemistry. I shook my head but told her to at least text me when she's on her way home, which she said she will be around seven."

"Did she text you?"

"Oh my god Alina, telling you a story is impossible."

"Sorry, my bad. Keep going."

Jay continued. "Anyways, it was around six when I texted Mara. To make sure that she was okay, you know. And she didn't respond for twenty minutes. So I called her. She hung up after a few rings and I figured that she was either busy or something was up. So I went through my stepmom's files until I found his address. I took my dad's suburban--he wouldn't kill me if I took that car--and drove to the given location. There was no car in the driveway and the lights in the house were all off. I parked and walked in. And I nearly vomited. She was passed out on his couch and he was taking photos of her without clothes on. I took his camera and smashed it and almost knocked the hell out of that little shit. I drove her home and she begged me not to tell anyone. So I didn't, and my stepmom didn't want to listen to my pleads to fire him. So here he is."

My mouth was hanging open. I was in absolute shock. I wouldn've never thought that the sweet and scrawny boy I met on my first day here was such a creep and capable of doing that. 

"What the hell..." I finally managed.

"Exactly." Jay said, stepping closer to me. "That's why I didn't want you alone with him."

Jay von Baron wouldn't normally strike anyone as sweet and protective. But when he told me the story of how he took his dad's car and drove to protect Mara, my heart swelled. I did feel a pang of jealousy at his open regard for another girl, but I felt bad for her and he was just looking out for her. As he now was with me.

"I'm going to his house again. To confront that fucker."

"Jay!" I said. "Even though he is a creep, doesn't mean you can come to his house unannounced. And knowing you, you always act on impulse."

"You can't stop me. I'm pissed. He probably took photos of you naked."

"You don't know it was him!"

"I'm going."

I bit my lip. "Then I'm going with you." I was going to make sure that Jay doesn't do anything rash.

"Fine." He said. "Come on."

We headed into the garage and inside of Jay's sleek black jeep. I fastened the seat belt and caught Jay rolling his eyes.

"What?" I said. "Are you too cool to stay safe on the road?"

"It's literally a fifteen minute drive."

"So? You never know what can happen. The worst accidents can come when you least expect them. Jay, just-"

"If I put it on, will you stop rambling?"

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Yes."

He obediently clicked his seatbelt into place and backed out of the garage door he'd just opened. 

The car ride was seventeen minutes, which was something I felt the need to mention to Jay.

"Oh, fuck off." He laughed. "Same difference."

He had turned into a deserted street. The trees and bushed were unkept and the grass grew wildly. There were a few run down houses on the road and old cars parked on the side. Jay pulled into the driveway of the last house. 

"It looks like nobody's home." Jay pointed out. "His car is gone, and so are his parents'."

"Alright." I said. "I guess we'll have to settle this another time." I was glad to avoid the confrontation, as I hated tense situations and I had no clue what Jay would do, and perhaps he would foget about this as time passed.

"We're still going in."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"You heard me. That window over there is open. We're going in."