Our little arrangement💫

-14- Duncan💫

Class went by in a blur and before I knew it , it was break. I packed my things and headed to the cafeteria. Nick was already there talking it up to a few girls and looked like he was really enjoying himself. I grabbed my tray and headed to an empty table. I didn't want to go anywhere where I couldn't think clearly. I had to decide what I wanted to do about Jake. He threatened to hurt Erick, something I knew was going to be a problem in the near future.

I didn't think Jake would go through such a drastic measure. I knew he was insane and deluded but never to the extent of hurting others. He had a way of doing things that was different, I couldn't blame him. Yeah he hurt people but he had some boundaries. I looked over to Amber's table and saw that she wasn't looking at me but instead looked like she was anxious. Erick came in a few minutes later and she seemed to have a look of relief on her face. Maybe she was worried about him? Maybe it was something to do with Axel? I turned my attention back to the door and hoped that Axel would walk through them.

I had texted him in maths class asking him to meet me in the cafeteria and he had said that he would come , yet he wasn't here yet. What was even more strange was the fact that Jake wasn't here yet either. Usually he would be here before me or he and Nick would both be coming back from smoking behind the school. It was always empty there when we had PT so they would take that opportunity to light something. I had a feeling that something was terribly wrong. I hoped my gut was wrong.

Just when I was about to lose hope and get up Nick appeared and sat in the seat on the opposite side of where I was sitting. He had some look on his face that suggested that he was either excited or he knew something was about to happen. With Nick you could never be sure. I was about to ask when he interrupted me.

"Bro, why the hell are you sitting here by yourself? Something wrong? Waiting for a girl?

"I'm fine Nick. I just wanted to talk to Jake about something that's not in front of the entire table. Where is Jake by the way?

" He's in a crappy mood today so he's choosing a target in the hallway. You wanna go watch? asked Nick enthusiastically.

" Um ... sure, I guess we could go watch. Nick why don't I take this one? You seem to be pretty busy over there.

" Okay but Jake's in a pretty bad mood so you're gonna have to do a lot more than just stand there you know?

" I think I can handle it.

I threw my tray in the trash can and went out in the hallway to look for Jake. Amber and Erick eyed me as I passed. I didn't bother stopping. I walked all over the hallway and saw Axel nowhere. I went to other classes and didn't find him there either. I turned around as I came from the library and saw Axel walking towards me. I was glad to see that he was okay and I was about to greet him when he got pushed into one of the lockers. I turned to see who had caused it when Jake put his hand on my shoulder. Whenever he wanted to talk to me in a threatening manner Jake would do something drastic. In this case he was taking the person I cared about most and making some kid push him into a locker.

The kid who had pushed Axel high-fived Jake and went back into the cafeteria like nothing had happened. All I could do was stare as Axel tried to get up and I could see the pain in his eyes. I had to do something, I couldn't just stand here and watch the person I loved get hurt. I couldn't be this weak pathetic person forever. I had to stand up to Jake, to face my fears.  Yet I couldn't make myself move.

"This is how it has to be Duncan. You wouldn't listen to me when I warned you. You will pay for ignoring my warning.

I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath. All I could think at that moment was : I'm about to do something stupid.