"Jason McCann... What did you do this Christmas break?"

The professor slid his eye over Jason's leg, which was wrapped into a cast. His arms were clutching on to two crutches and the bandage around his head was still there. Jason shrugged.

"Accident."

"I see." The professor broke his stare and tried to make eye contact with Jason. Jason looked back defiantly and the professor looked away. "Well, find your seat, class is about to start."

Jason swiftly turned around and faced the classroom. Everyone was staring at him as he hopped towards his seat in the back. He didn't want to admit it, but his leg hurt and he had a serious head ache.

"I heard he got into a fight."

"No, I heard that someone was peacefully walking past him and he attacked him out of nowhere. He's hot, but a nut job."

"He can certainly attack me. Look at his arms!"

"You guys, some boys told me he was protecting his siblings! Isn't that adorable?"

"He's so sexy.."

Jason took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to close off from all the whispers he was hearing. All morning he's been hearing the strangest things about what could've happened to him. People stared openly, they didn't even care that he was aware of it.

His forehead stung and Jason groaned, his hand covering his wound by reflex. He had told no one but the doctor and Ryan; the guy had tried to shoot him. Fortunately, the bullet flew past his head and only a part of his forehead got burned.

"Do you think he's in pain?"

"I really want to hug him and tell him everything's alright."

"Shh! Your whispers are so loud, what if he hears us?"

"I really want to suck his dick."

Jason's eyes narrowed in annoyance and he turned around, sharply looking at the girls sitting behind him. He didn't know who exactly was talking, but he did know that it irritated the shit out of him.

"Can everyone please shut the fuck up about me? Get a life!" He spat for the whole classroom to hear. All the murmurs slowly stopped and he sighed, leaning his head in his hand.

He was almost certain that this entire 'accident' was Damian's doing. How coincidental was it that some random guy tried to kill him just two or three days after Damian had threatened Jason? Especially considering Damian's job.

He wasn't scared, but he couldn't help but feel more tense. Everywhere he went he had to double check the room. Was there someone he didn't know? Was there someone who would try to hurt him?

However, Jason was still going to make sure Alexia didn't marry that douche bag.

He wanted her. He needed her. No one was going to stop him. In the end she loved him and he loved her, and that was the only thing that mattered. He wasn't sure how exactly he was going to stop the wedding, but it was going to happen.

"So..." Alexia looked everywhere but straight into Jason's eyes. He licked his lips and forcefully hid his fists in his pockets, trying to act like all was well. His teeth slightly clattered and his eyes darted to the big windows that revealed the roaring snow storm outside. This was definitely different compared to the Maldives.

Ryan, Sienna and Chloe had already left the airport five minutes ago, which left Chaz, Jason and Alexia. Chaz and Jason were going to go home together.

All three of them were shivering. They weren't used to the cold yet.

"I'll see you next week on campus." Jason murmured, still not looking at her. She nodded. "Yeah. I'll see you there."

There was another silence until Chaz broke it. "Alright, well, I'm going to heat up the car I think. I'll see you next week Lex!" He widened his arms and Alexia gratefully hugged him, pecking his cheek once before he took off.

Jason was glad Chaz left. It made it easier for him and Alexia to talk and also he'd be less scared to show some vulnerability. Alexia finally locked eyes with Jason when Chaz was out of sight and sighed deeply.

"I honestly don't know what to do or say." She spoke.

Jason agreed. "Me too. I just feel like... I don't know what's going to happen, you know?"

"Well, obviously I can't suck your dick anymore."She stated bluntly, although she faintly blushed.

He snickered. "I thought so. We're back to being just friends, huh?" Alexia's face caused a clenching feeling in the pit of his stomach, because it told him that yes, they were back to being just friends. And he did not want that.

"I promised you," he whispered while he took a step closer to her, "for as long as you love me, I will do whatever I can to stop this. You have my word."

Alexia took a deep breath and grabbed both of his hands, interlacing their fingers. Looking down at their hands, all she said was, "I love you."

Jason nodded and gently kissed her forehead, leaving his lips there before taking a big step backwards.

He knew she loved him. She knew he loved her back.

Jason carefully traced the little wave he had tattooed on his arm. Right now him and Alexia had nothing but a so-called 'friendship', and he was too attracted to her to even take it seriously. The tattoo was the only thing left that proved they were connected.

A piercing pain shot through his leg and Jason's head snapped up, emitting a loud gasp.

The guy that had stumbled over his leg widened his eyes in fear and whispered, "Shit..."

"Are you blind? Fucking watch out!" Jason spat, acrimony laced with every word. The guy grimaced and scratched his neck nervously. He slowly stepped towards his own seat as he muttered, "I'msorry."

"You better be." Jason hissed.

Being back turned him back to his old self. He couldn't help it, everyone around him just pissed him off so much! Somehow every person did everything wrong and he certainly wasn't going to put up with it.

"What crawled up his ass?"

"It's Jason McCann. He's always been like this."

"I wish I crawled up his ass."

That's it.

Jason shot up and aggressively pushed his little table forwards, grabbing his crutches. He didn't know why, but he had the strong urge to punch the first person he'd bump into.

The entire classroom stared at him quietly. The professor pulled up his eyebrows. "Are you okay, Mr. McCann?"

"No."

He breathed deeply, his eyebrows furrowed together in confusion and anger.

The professor cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sit down, Mr. McCann."

"I need to get the fuck out of here." Jason mumbled inwardly, leaning on his crutches. He tried to hop out of the class room as fast as he could. The professor didn't protest.

Jason saw nothing but red. All the people sauntering through the hallways avoided him by pushing themselves as far away from him as possible whenever he passed. The veins on his neck nearly popped and his fists were white. His heart was beating like crazy.

"Jason! Oh my God, it's been too long."

He narrowed his eyes at the voice and sharply turned around, meeting Summer's face.

Not long enough.

-

"And then, she was like, 'we haven't fucked in more than two weeks! I miss you Jay-Jay', and I swear to God I fucking lost it. Out of everything... Jay-Jay? What is it with people fucking calling me Jay-Jay? So I was like, I'm not interested, and she went, 'Since when are you not interested in me?' as if I've ever been interested in her crusty ass. Do you know how quick I used to make her cum? I legit did it in ten seconds, I got nothing out of it."

Alexia interrupted him, scrunching her nose in disgust. "No details about your former sex life with Summer. Please."

Ryan chuckled, nudging Alexia's shoulder. "If you knew the things he'd told us about his sex life..."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, averting her gaze back to Jason. "Continue."

Jason kept a poker face. He was not slightly annoyed, he was immensely annoyed and he didn't know how to express it other than by being angry.

"I tried to walk, I mean hop, away, but she came after me. I swear she—she grabbed me by my fucking ass! 'You've been looking sexy Jay-Jay.' She said. I was about to fucking blow her brains out. Grabbing me on its own is a no go, but grabbing me by my ass? Don't forget to fucking mention she called me Jay-Jay, again. Honestly I would have kicked her all the way back to her stank ass dorm room if it wasn't for this God damned cast,"

He destructively tugged at the cast on his leg, trying to get it the fuck off. He hated it, he hated it so bad. It slowed him down and made him look pathetic.

"Jason, stop it." Alexia murmured, eyeing his cast. He ignored her and cussed, his heart beating fast.

"Jase, Christ, what's gotten into you?" She got up and closed the distance between him and her, slapping his hand away from his cast. "Why are you so annoyed by this cast? It's off in three weeks."

"It makes me fucking weak. How am I supposed to defend myself with this shit?" He snorted.

Ryan looked away and Jason knew that Ryan was thinking the exact same thing.

What if Damian tried to do something again?

Jason hadn't told anyone but Ryan, figuring that Ryan would have something to say. However, Ryan came up with nothing.

Alexia shook her head and widened her eyes, realizing what this was about. "Oh my God I haven't thought about it this way, that guy that attacked you, you know that was an one time thing right? That psycho wasn't trying to hurt you intentionally, he just had to let it out. He's crazy. Don't be scared Jase, there's nothing to be scared of."

Of course she thought Jason was just traumatized by the attack. He chuckled and looked at her, rolling his eyes. "Trust me, I'm not scared."

"Good." She sighed, smiling at him.

Jason didn't react and stared at the floor, his mind working at full speed. What were all the things he needed to defend himself? Who could be working for Damian? How was he supposed to be as unnoticeable as he could? What was he going to do with Alexia in the mean time? How the hell was he going to stay alive when an entire gang was after him?

The ringing of a phone startled him and he looked up at Alexia. Alexia quickly grabbed her phone and answered.

"Hey Domin—what? Oh my God! Congratulations! I'll be there as soon as I can, wait for me!"

An unknown feeling of happiness spread through Jason's body as he guessed that Carina had given birth to her and Dominic's baby, finally. He liked those two enough to block out all the negative thoughts he'd been having for the past hours to make place for a little prayer.

After a little chat, Alexia hung up and looked at Jason with sparkling eyes, her lips curling into the widest smile he'd seen all day.

"The baby is here." She muttered in awe, "I'm an aunt."

He smiled too, his eyes never leaving hers. "Congrats Lex. Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Boy. I'm going over to the hospital, do you want to join me?"

The question caught him off guard and he was ready to comply when he realized this was probably a family gathering. Who was he to disturb that?

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to be there... I'm not sure if your family is happy to see me. Isn't this an all family thing?"

She snickered as if he'd said something very stupid. "Jason, you are family."

His chest burned longingly, a nostalgic feeling erupting in his body. Hearing her say that made him happier than it should.

"In that case, I'd love to."

They'd scampered towards Jason's car slowly. They weren't talking, but there was an immediate vibe that tied the two together. No matter the situation, no matter the location, people would always figure those two were together. It was the way they walked side by side, Alexia slowing down without noticing it so Jason still appeared to be the one who walked faster. He had a habit of slightly shielding her with his back when they walked.

The cast was definitely a nuisance. He tried to ignore it, but Jason couldn't help but feel an empty pang of irritation whenever he thought about it. He didn't want to appear helpless.

Alexia had to drive.. Jason realized, nearing the parking lot. A groan emitted her lips and he looked at her, eyebrows pulled up. She sighed and cocked her head towards his car.

"I have to drive." She murmured.

He grinned. "I literally just realized."

A small smile appeared on her face as she held out her hand. "Keys?"

Jason obediently handed her his car keys—although it hurt. Alexia was an absolute horrendous driver and his car was his precious baby, the one thing he'd actually made effort for. Jason had worked in a shitty restaurant for months so he could finally afford this car.

He hopped over to the driver's seat and stiffly got in, closing the door after him. Alexia did the same.

"Lock the doors." Jason ordered. She pressed the buttons that locked all the doors in docility.

He let out a shaky breath. "Good girl."

"I am not your dog!" She snapped, knitting her eyebrows together. Jason ignored the comment because she started the car.

The car came to life and he closed his eyes. "I am afraid you're going to trash my car."

Alexia shrugged, not looking at him as she drove backwards carefully. "You should be. Hell, I am afraid I'll trash your car. I'll get you a new one if we drive onto a tree, okay?"

"No. I want this car." Jason spat back, his eyes still closed. He could feel that they were driving and he peaked through his eyelids, seeing how the car wasn't on the verge of crashing yet.

She sighed. "I'll get you the exact same Range Rover."

"If you have to get me a new car, a Lamborghini would be appropriate." He muttered, finally opening both of his eyes. Alexia chuckled, her eyes glued on the road. "Stefano recently got one."

"Fuck, that's awesome." Jason spoke. Her family had so much money, they spent thousands of dollars like it was nothing. He was surprised they didn't wipe their asses with hundred dollar bills.

Alexia didn't respond. Jason grabbed his phone and tapped some buttons, putting on the music. He knew exactly what her taste was and she grinned widely, looking at Jason with a side eye. "You remember?"

"How could I ever forget your hidden obsession with Drake? You listened to it every night when I snuck into your room." He laughed.

It was dead silent, aside from a couple of birds and the gooey sound of the wind. Jason mildly ticked his fingers against the big window, trying to grasp Alexia's attention. The curtains were open, so he could perfectly see what she was doing.

She had ear buds plugged into her ears as she was neatly folding clothes, grabbing them from a pile she had collected on her chair. Her long, dark hair was up in a pony tail and she was wearing nothing but an oversized shirt.

His shirt.

"Come on babe!" Jason hissed, knocking his knuckles against the window again.

She showed no sign of hearing that as she continued folding clothes, swaying her shoulders along with—what he guessed—the music. Jason groaned and kept his hands on the walls next to the window. He quickly glanced down, but looked back up before he could freak out about the height.

He tried again, pounding his hands against the window. Alexia's head shot up and she tore the ear buds out of her ear, gazing at the door of her room before she quietly tiptoed to the window.

"Careful!" She mouthed. Jason nodded and firmly kept his hands on the walls. Alexia opened the window and offered Jason her hand. He gratefully took her hand and climbed inside, being faced with the nice warmth of her room.

She closed the window and locked it before she marched over to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Hey baby."

Jason smirked. "Hey." He pressed a long kiss on her lips and let her go, flinging himself on the bed. She smiled and crawled up the bed as well, widening his arms so she could lay as close to him as possible. Jason pulled her tighter to himself and put his lips on her forehead.

"What were you doing?"

Alexia shrugged. "Nothing. Listening to music, cleaning up a bit."

He bend over and swiftly grabbed her phone, unlocking it. Scrolling through her music, he saw, to his surprise, barely any artist other than Drake.

"Drake? Didn't see that coming."

She giggled. "Baby you're my everything, you're all I ever wanted.." she whispered, a grin on her face. Jason rolled his eyes and squeezed her arm.

"We can do it real big, bigger than you've ever done it."

Alexia laughed. "You're right! You've got some good memory on you, Jase." She swatted his head, and Jason quickly ducked for two reasons.

One, his wound would act up.

Two, she better keep both of her hands on the steering wheel. He was not going to risk it.

-

They arrived at the hospital safely. The car hadn't crashed and they were both still alive. Alexia helped Jason get out of the car and handed him his keys back when he stood stably on his crutches.

"Turns out I'm not that bad." She only said with a wink. Jason rolled his eyes and gladly took his keys, putting them in his pockets before they both made their way to the entrance.

He couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Although being around her family didn't scare him, he still had the feeling that he'd be the one out of place.

They took the elevator up in silence. Alexia had a smile plastered on her face the entire time and Jason thanked God for it. Seeing her this happy and excited was the only thing he wanted, the only thing he needed. Besides, this entire Damian-Jason drama was mainly because Jason tried to keep her happy.

The hallway was empty as they strode towards room 12, where Carina was laying. Jason grabbed her wrist before she opened the door and she looked at him. "Are you okay?"

He ignored the question. "Are you sure I should be here?"

Alexia nodded, squeezing his hand before putting her own on the door knob. "You're family, you're a part of this."

She opened the door.

Jason instantly recognized Carina, laying in the hospital bed. Her skin was pale, paler than usual, but she had the biggest look of delight on her face. Her eyes were glued to Dominic, who sat on the edge of the bed, holding a little baby in his arms.

Alexia walked inside and greeted Carina carefully by kissing her on the cheek. "Congrats Carina."

"Thank you Lexi. You brought Jason?" Carina motioned for Jason to come over, so he did. "I'm glad you came." She uttered sincerely. Jason smiled, his cheeks heating up, and he gave Carina a weak hug, not wanting to hurt her. "Congratulations."

Carina looked at his cast, then at the bandage wrapped around his head, and laughed. "It's always something with you, isn't it?"

"I guess." Jason smiled. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Hold the baby, if you want to."

Jason promptly looked at Alexia. She had the baby in her arms, a look of adoration taking over her entire face. "Hello baby, aren't you cute?" She cooed, kissing the baby on his cheek carefully.

Dominic had an arm wrapped around his little sister's shoulder as he eyed her and his new born son. Jason didn't know what to call it, but he'd never seen Dominic this... content.

Dominic broke his stare and looked up, smiling widely upon seeing Jason. He held out his hand and Jason firmly shook it. "Congrats with your son, Dom."

"Thank you!"

Alexia also looked up and closed the distance between her and Jason. Their legs touched and she smiled, looking at the baby. "Here," she muttered, handing him to Jason. Jason carefully took him, afraid to even breathe.

The baby was beautiful. He definitely had Carina's blue eyes, but his features looked a lot like Dominic's. He was the most perfect mixture of Latino and American. Jason's lips parted as he gently brushed his thumb along the baby's tiny hand.

"What's his name?" Jason mumbled, afraid to talk louder. Dominic replied with pride, "Toby."

"Hi Toby! Aren't you precious?" he whispered. Toby's eyes were closed and Jason felt his chest heat up. It was like butterflies swarmed through his abdomen. Seeing a baby always did that to him.

He tilted Toby up a little more and pressed the puniest kiss ever on Toby's nose. It looked so soft and so amazingly cute.

They stayed like that for a while. Jason cooing over Toby while Alexia, Carina and Dominic looked at him. The entire room was filled with unspoken words, but that's all they were. Unspoken.

It was peaceful until the door slammed open and Catalina, Stefano and Teodoro barged in, all holding paper bags with food. Jason startled and handed Toby back to Dominic, scared he was going to let go of the little guy.

Cat shrieked and ran over to Jason, wrapping her arms around him. "Jase! I am so glad I get to see you again!"

Jason chuckled, hugging Cat back. "Missed you too Cat."

"It's been like, three weeks? I don't approve." She muttered, finally pulling back and looking at him. He noticed how her eyes glided from his head bandage down to the scratches on his jaw and further, all the way to the cast around his legs and the crutches in his arms. She furrowed her eyebrows. "What happened to you?"

He was about to explain until he decided that there were too many people in the room. This was about Carina, Dominic and little Toby. Not about his problem.

Although he liked the attention.

He clenched his jaw. "Accident."

Cat pouted and pecked his cheek. "If it makes you feel better, you look extremely sexy."

He laughed. "Yes, that does make me feel better."

Alexia groaned from the other side of the room. Jason smirked, knowing that it irked her when him and Cat flirted. She knew damn well it was all harmless flirting, just something between two friends, but she couldn't help but feel jealous and Jason was aware of that. Him and Cat also made sure they annoyed her as much as they could. Alexia knew that.

Stefano cleared his throat. "You guys done flirting? God I hate that about you, McCann, you get every woman in my family worked up."

The entire room laughed, Jason included. "Yes, we're done Stefano."

Catalina pulled up her eyebrows. "Who says I'm done?"

"Catalina." Stefano warned. Everyone knew that voice. She gulped and held up her hands murmuring, "Okay okay, it was just a joke..."

Jason grabbed his crutches and hopped to the other side of the room, closer to Alexia. She looked at him with big eyes. "Are you leaving?"

"Yeah, I've got some appointments. I'll see you tomorrow on campus, okay?"

She discreetly pulled out her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah. Breakfast in the cafeteria? I haven't seen Maria in weeks."

Jason nodded, putting a hand on shoulder. "Definitely."

Teo immediately perked up and looked at Jason with a gaze he did not understand. "I'll walk you out."

Jason thanked him and the two walked out of the room. The second Teo closed the door after him, his entire appearance changed from comfortable to tensed.

"I need to speak with you."

-------

A/N: Hey babes!

Sorry if it's a little bit of a filler, we all know filler chapters have to happen sometimes. Thanks for supporting me so far ;)

Love, M