Phoenix

Chapter 12

Phoenix POV

Another Monday, another day I dread because it means the end of my bully free weekends. There's nothing I can do. So I'll have to deal with it like I usually do. Hopefully, someday, I'll have enough courage to stand up to them. I don't see that happening anytime soon though.

A small part of me is a little excited to see Jackson, despite the worry of Blythe and Nick. I don't know if I should be happy to see him, but I can't control my feelings even if I try to hide them.

I sat on the bus and stared out the window, watching the raindrops fly past and hit the ground and the window. A lot of people seem to like the rain since it seems calming. I suppose it can be relaxing, but I've realized that bad things tend to happen when it rains, so I don't like it all that much. Sure, bad events happen all the time, just something about the rain during those times seems to make the mood worse.

"Hey," Someone said, grabbing my attention away from my thoughts before sitting in the seat beside me. This time I wasn't surprised to see Jackson there. I was still a little flustered, my cheeks turned a light shade of pink and I offered a small smile.

"Hey," I said back, but I don't know if he could hear me very well. The last time we talked was when we texted yesterday and he called me cute, of course, I'm going to be a little shy after that. Who wouldn't?

"About that text yesterday," He started. Can this guy read my thoughts? His timing is a little creepy. "The one where I called you cute, I'm sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I didn't really think about it when I sent it and um... Sorry."

Now my cheeks were definitely burning. This guy is going to end up giving me a heart attack, I can see it happening.

"I-it's fine, really. You didn't make me uncomfortable, I just, I didn't expect it," I said, but I couldn't look him in the eye even though I could feel his eyes on me.

"You sure?" He asked and I nodded in response. "Alright then, I'm not sorry for calling you cute then because you are."

My hands moved on their own and covered up my red face that I no longer wanted to be seen by the world. Why does he keep going this to me? I'm used to being flustered and shy, but around Jackson, it reaches another level.

Jackson chuckled and gently nudged my shoulder, "C'mon, Nix, we're at school, let's go." He got up from the seat and I peeked up at him through my fingers to see that that bus was practically empty and the last couple of people were exiting the bus.

I grabbed my bag and scrambled to my feet, following Jackson off of the bus. This time, the bus driver said nothing to me. Which I found odd, but I definitely wasn't going to say anything about it. I can definitely do without his snide comments.

"Let's hurry inside, it's starting to rain pretty hard," Jackson said as soon as I got off the bus.

"You should probably go in then, I have to take care of something," I said and turned away to walk in the opposite direction of most of the students. An extreme feeling of pain shot through my arm, making me yelp in pain and tug my wrist away from Jackson's grip almost as soon as he grabbed it.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to grab your wrist that hard," He scrambled to apologize and looked at my wrist in concern as I held it close to my chest to protect it. "What happened to your hand?" Jackson asked, his brows now furrowed together.

Oops, my cast is showing. Well, I guess I'll just use the excuse Blythe told me to use. I definitely don't want to tattle on him, that would most likely be the last thing I do if he found out.

"I fell down the stairs," I said as I looked down at my feet, embarrassed of my dumb excuse. He raised his brow for a moment of suspicion before sighing softly and shaking his head. I really needed to hurry, I don't have time for questions right now.

"You really are clumsy, aren't you?" He asked and I nodded in response. "You need to be more careful." I mentally sighed in relief. I guess he believed it.

"I know, thank you. I'll see you in class," I said and continued on my way to the back of the school leaving Jackson behind. He stayed where he was for a moment before going inside. By the time I made it to my usual meeting spot with Blythe, the rain had begun to pour and the little bit of roofing reaching out over the building wasn't helping all that much.

"Aw, you made it," Blythe said and I shuddered, but not from the cold. Something about his voice is so cold and emotionless like he doesn't have a single ounce of kindness or empathy in his heart or soul. "I thought you'd get scared of the rain, considering last time it rained you ran away."

He said with a devious smirk on his face as he approached me and I stood frozen in my spot, too afraid to move. I'm such a coward, why do I keep doing this to myself?

"Let me take a look at that broken bone of yours," Blythe said, but he didn't seem concerned like Jackson had, he was amused. Seeing me in pain brought him some sort of sick pleasure that I couldn't comprehend. How could this be fun?

He grabbed my hand with rough force and pushed up my jacket sleeve, over half of my arm now exposed to the rain and the cold. My hair and clothes were almost completely soaked, but so were he and his friends.

"It seems to be healing fine," Nick said with a smirk beside his leader and Blythe tsked and shook his head.

"That's no good, now is it?" He asked and the corners of his lips twitched into a wider grin and a bright strike of lighting stuck behind him, lighting up his facial features. I bit back a scream and tried my hardest not to collapse to my knees, but I couldn't stop my shaking.

I was scared, no terrified of what he could do, and what he was going to do to me. I had no control, he could do whatever, he could kill me if he wanted to and no one would probably even notice except my mother.

Without warning, Blythe grabbed my wrist with great force and twisted my arm around. I bit back a scream of agony, but he kept twisting until I yelled out in pain and he smiled in satisfaction before shoving me back against the brick wall, agitating the bruises on my back that were just starting to heal.

I gasped and coughed for air. Blythe then grabbed me by the throat and I struggled to try to pry his hands away so I could breathe, but he held on with a tight grip and only one of my hands was any good.

"I don't know what kind of a freak you are being able to take this pain every day and still being able to walk and stand, but I promise you. I will break you." He growled lowly before throwing me back to the ground. "Get out of my sight before I vomit." Blythe finished with a look of disgust on his face and as quickly as possible I scrambled to my feet and ran inside the school through the back door. Dodging as many people as possible without running into them, I made it to the boys' locker room. Luckily it was close to the back door and there's not a first-period gym on Mondays.

I made my way into one of the corners and slid into it, trying to make myself as small as possible. I was soaked to the bone and freezing, I couldn't get the warmth that I desperately wanted, it's too risky to use right now. But I'm so cold...

No, I shook my head and tried to stop the tears from escaping my eyes, but honestly, I couldn't tell if I was already crying or if it was the water dripping from my bangs onto my face. My wrist hurt again, but I couldn't do anything about it this time. I have no right to complain, this is all my fault for never standing up for myself or getting help. I don't know who could really help me even if I went out and sought it.

I took in a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm down my nerves as much as possible. I'm still in school, I can't have a break down here. It won't help anything, it won't... And yet, all I want to do is curl up in this corner and cry until I fall asleep.

A light knock on the stall door made me jump and I looked up in fear, thinking I would see Blythe standing there. But he would never knock so light, he would probably pound on it and demand for it to open, or even break it. The door was still closed, but I saw the jeans and boots from the open part of the stall and I knew it wasn't him. Blythe always wore tennis or volleyball shoes.

"Nix, you in there?" The person spoke in a gentle tone and I recognized it immediately. What is he doing here?

"Are you stalking me?" I asked, looking at the door that separated us.

"No, yesterday was a coincidence, today I was worried so I followed you to see if you were okay," Jackson said. So he followed me... Wait, does that mean he saw Blythe and me? This is embarrassing.

"I'm fine, you should get to class," I tell him, but his feet don't move from their spot.

"What kind of a friend would I be if I left my friend alone, soaking wet, in the locker room?" He asked and the stall door creaked underneath his weight as he leaned against it.

"Um... A friend that values class and not getting into trouble?" I ask since I was unsure of what the correct answer was to his question.

Jackson chuckled, "Trust me, if I had a choice I would skip every class possible, but that's not the point. I want to try and be a good friend here, so why don't you come out of there, dry off and get changed before you get sick."

He's right, I should change out of these wet clothes. Not only will I get sick, but they're clinging to my skin and it's uncomfortable, which isn't exactly helping my pain in anyway. But I don't want him to see me again after I've been crying and he could possibly see my bruises.

"I'm fine here," I said, being stubborn.

"'I'm fine', that's what people always say when they aren't fine. Please, Nix. It's just you and I," He said, his voice dropping into that gentle tone he usually uses whenever he talks to me. I've noticed he doesn't talk like that when he talks to others, I kind of feel like he's babying me. I can't decide if I like that or not. I'm definitely not a baby. Well... Maybe a little bit.

Hesitantly I got up from the corner and walked over to the door. Jackson must have noticed that I got up because he moved away from the door. I unlocked it and let it open before I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. I flinched at the physical contact, my body preparing itself for even more pain, but it never came. Instead, Jackson's arms stayed around me in a comforting embrace.

"I also know that a lot of people like hugs whenever they're sad," He said quietly near my ear, making me shudder.

A part of me wanted to pull away, being so close to him was about to give me a heart attack. The other part of me never wanted him to let go. I can't remember the last time someone hugged me, even my mother doesn't hug me that often.

Tears began to well up in my eyes again, this is real. He's really hugging me right now. This isn't another daydream and if it is I don't want to go back to reality. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around him. A part of me expected him to pull away from how weird this must be for him, but he didn't. Instead, he held me tighter in his arms.

This is real, I can feel him, hold him, hear him, and smell the faint smell of fresh rain and cologne on him. I couldn't hold back at this point and the tears began to fall again, despite me trying to hold them in.

"I'm sorry," I say, but it sounded more like a whimper with my crying.

"It's alright, cry all you need," He said softly and held me close to his chest. I tried to stop crying, but I couldn't. I didn't deserve this, I don't deserve to be comforted, but I don't want to let go.

~~

"Feeling better?" He asked a moment after we had pulled away from each other. I nodded in response and tried to let my eyes wander anywhere but him so my blush would go away. It could have just been my cheeks being flushed from crying, but I knew that wasn't the only reason. I didn't really think about how embarrassing it was just being two men holding each other in the locker room until now.

"I'm sorry. That was um... I didn't mean to cry. I'm sorry," I apologized and Jackson shook his head at me.

"You apologize too much. Everyone needs a good cry every once in a while, even us men," He said with a light chuckle at the end so I assumed it was a joke.

I smiled a bit, somehow seeing him smile and laugh made me want to smile in return, even if it was weak. They do say that smiles are contagious.

"Thank you," I say and I really mean it. I'm thankful that he stayed and comforted me when he didn't have to.

He smiled at me, "That's what friends are for, right? Now, let's get you into some dry clothes."

Friends, something about that word stung a bit, but at the same time, it made me happy. I made a real friend. I smiled a little brighter and followed Jackson over to the lockers. I put in my combination and opened it and looked for my gym clothes. After a moment or two of looking, I began to panic a little. They weren't there. Where could they have gone? Clothes don't just up and walk away. Did someone take them? They must have, I know they were in here yesterday. 

I guess I'll just have to figure out something else. I could just use one of those hand dryers, or the washer and dryer that they have for washing uniforms at school. That would mean I would have to be n***d until they were done and there's no way I'm doing that when second period is so near and Jackson is here.

"You take a long time to change," Jackson said as he came around the corner of lockers. I glanced over at him to see him slipping on a dry t-shirt over his bare body. "Do you not have any gym clothes?"

"I thought I did, they're gone," I said with a mumble. All these problems are starting to get annoying and I'm sure Jackson is probably thinking the same thing. Great, not only do I not have any dry clothes, I don't have any clothes for gym class either.

"That sucks," He said, pointing out the obvious. "Want to borrow some of mine? I always bring extra clothes just in case. You never know what can happen in high school, people do all kinds of crazy stupid shit."

I tried hard not to blush at the thought of wearing his clothes and laugh at his odd assessment of high schoolers. As appealing as that sounds, I don't think that's a good idea. They're definitely too big for me and someone will definitely notice. Blythe will most likely ask where I got them from, probably tease about a boyfriend then make a sick joke.

"Like what?" I ask, trying to keep my brain in a spot so that I would stop turning red.

"I don't know, I'm not one of the stupid ones. But I did just willing get soaked in the rain so I mean... Or if someone spilled their lunch on me or I got into a fight and didn't want my grandparents to notice my clothes. Who knows," Jackson said with a shrug. I raised my brow at him. "Or if you got mad at me and tried to burn me with those weird fire powers of yours."

My eyes widened in panic and quickly looked around to make sure the place was empty, I can't believe he said that out loud! "You can't speak about that!" I yell in a hushed whisper, looking around to see if anyone else was in the area. Even though I knew they weren't, I wanted to check anyway. "What if someone heard you?"

"Right, sorry, I wasn't really thinking. I'll be more careful," He apologized. I sighed softly in slight relief and the tension released from my shoulders.

"Thank you," I said gratefully. It really is nice that he's keeping my secret, he could have told the entire school, or the entire town by now if he really wanted to.

"So, about your clothes situation, why don't you take a shower and I'll dry your clothes for you in that dryer you guys have," He suggested and I looked at him skeptically. It's not that I don't trust him- Okay, so I don't one hundred –percent trust him, but I'm getting there. Slowly. What other choice do I have right now other than to go to class in soaking wet clothes?

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Of course, I have nothing else to do and if I do this then there will be less of a chance that you'll get sick. Taking care of a sick person would be a lot more trouble," Jackson said. Oh, that makes sense I guess. I don't want to cause him any more trouble than I already have with my crying scene earlier.

"Okay, thank you," I said and smiled at him.

"Strip," He said bluntly.

I blinked. Then I blinked again.

"Huh?"

"Strip, I gotta put your clothes in the dryer, we only have a little bit of time left before second period and people will come into the locker room for class," He said as if I was supposed to know that already. And I did know that I just forgot with the way he worded that.

"O-oh, right," I said. "I'll change in the shower and give you my clothes over the door."

"Why? We're both men here, c'mon, hand 'em over," Jackson held out his hand, ready for the clothes.

"I-I'm gonna change in the shower," I said again and headed towards the showers.

"You really are shy, aren't you?" He followed behind me, but I stepped into one of the shower stalls and closed the curtain behind me.

"Yes," I replied. It's true, I am shy. Especially with how my body looks... I don't want him to see me.

"Fair enough, I would be, too, if I was you," Jackson said and he didn't say anything else. I couldn't tell if he was insulting my tiny, nonmasculine body or pitying me for being shy because of bullying. Either way, it didn't make me feel any better about myself. I don't think he meant for it to hurt me, though. I'll just try to ignore it. "But hey, that means I get your adorableness all to myself, so it's not all bad." I could hear the smirk in his voice, which didn't help one bit.

The blush that I had been holding back, beat me and the heat rose to my cheeks once again. Why did he have to say that? But more importantly, was he just joking, or was he being serious?