Cover of Oath by Cher Loyd
Picture of Luna Kale

The next morning Keenan let India sleep in. He sat next to Ajax as he cooked breakfast for everyone on the portable stove they brought.

"How did it go last night with India," he asked Keenan. "Are you going to hit that or not?"

Keenan punched Ajax hard in the shoulder.

"Ow," he whined, "I didn't say me."

"India is my friend, I'm not going to sleep with her." Keenan was quite tired of how everyone assumed he was or had already slept with India. Sure she was really attractive but she fell into the friend category, not the fuck buddy one.

"You know I was thinking," Ajax said, waving his spatula through the air. "India seems like the type of girl who has never kissed a boy so what do you think she would do if the star quarter back suddenly takes an interest in her? Show her some loving bro and she'll be all yours. She wouldn't even glance in Jesse's direction."

"I don't need to do that," Keenan growled. "She told Jesse to stay away from her last night. She knows he's bad news and to steer clear of him. So that means I have the time to focus on Aurora."

"Oh yeah how is that progressing?"

"Horribly," he grumbled. "She's such a bitch but I think I can get through to her. I just have to try really hard."

"Right and how are you going to do that?"

"She thinks I'm a spoiled brat who looks down on her. I'm going to prove to her that she's wrong."

"Good luck with that," Ajax hummed as his brother and Luna approached, holding hands. "She's a feisty one."

"Where's India," Luna asked Keenan. Keenan noticed the way her eyes were darting around, as if she was suddenly going to pop up out of nowhere.

"She's still sleeping."

"I'll go wake her up," she exclaimed, leaving the boys behind before Keenan could protest.

"Do we got anything planned today," Aiden asked, his eyes telling Keenan and his brother what he really meant.

"Keenan is going to try to break down Aurora," Ajax said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh good luck with that bro," Aiden laughed, clapping Keenan on the shoulder.

"How's Luna going," Ajax asked his twin.

"Pretty good," Aiden smirked, "I got to cope a feel all night."

Keenan couldn't help but laugh. "She let you grab her boob the entire night?"

"Hey the girl knows what she wants, I'm just providing." Ajax rolled his eyes at his brother while Keenan was busy looking at India emerging from their tent. While the two brothers talked about their girls and when they would be able to switch, Keenan was busy glaring at the thing in India's hand.

"What the hell is that," Luna snapped, eying the leather jacket in India's hands.

"Oh it's uh," India mumbled, feeling her cheeks flame in embarrassment.

"Don't tell me it's Jesse's," Luna snarled, looking at it with distaste.

"It's not Jesse's," India lied but Luna could tell.

Luna swapped the worn old thing from India's grasp. "Why do you have this India?"

"He gave it to me last night," she mumbled. "I forgot to give it back."

"I don't want to even know why you were talking in the first place." Luna huffed and turned on her heel to face Keenan and the twins. She marched over to them, India hot at her heels, begging her to give her back the jacket.

"You," Luna sneered, shoving Keenan hard in the chest. "You were the one who brought that psycho here! Keep him the hell away from my best friend or we will have a serious problem!"

Luna had always been intense, whether it was talking too loud or too much or getting too devoted to something. But no one had really seen how intense she could be when angered, until now. Even the twins took a step back, fearing for Keenan's life.

Keenan eyed the jacket in Luna's hand with the same distaste that Luna had. When India came back to the tent the night before he hadn't even seen the jacket but if he did he would have burned it instantly. He held up his hands in surrender. "Look-"

"No," Luna snapped, her eyes ablaze with fury. "You keep that creep the hell away from India or I'll take her home! You could forget about this stupid camping trip!"

"Luna, please," India whispered, tugging on her friends arm.

Keenan was suddenly afraid and his friends knew why. If India leaves than Jesse could automatically win.

"Luna calm down," Aiden said, reaching out offer her comfort. She shrugged away from his touch with a snarl.

"If you won't do anything about him than I will," she seethed before marching over to Jesse's tent.

India begged and pleaded for her to stop and calm down but Keenan stopped her from running after her friend. He wanted to see exactly what Luna would do.

"Jesse you shit head get the hell out here," Luna yelled once she was standing outside of the tent.

Aurora came out, her hair in a messy bun and her eyes filled with exhaustion. "What do you want," she grumbled.

"I asked for Jesse not you," Luna snarled. Finally Jesse came out, his hair a mess, his clothes wrinkled and his eyes droopy with not enough sleep.

"Why are you yelling," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Do you have a volume adjuster somewhere on you?"

Luna threw his leather jacket at his chest harshly. He stumbled back in surprise of the hit but caught it none the less. He looked down at his favorite jacket, a scowl forming on his lips before he looked up and directed it at India. Memories of the night before came back to him. The pain and anger was still fresh in his chest from feeling the betrayal from India.

India cowered under his intense glare, choosing to hide behind Keenan's broad shoulder.

Jesse opened his mouth to say something to her but Luna stopped him.

"I'm warning you now to stay the hell away from India," she said through clenched teeth.

"Or what," Jesse said with a sickening smirk.

"I'll dig your grave myself." Luna pushed Jesse's chest hard, making him stumble back before he looked at her with a heated glare.

"Luna, stop," India yelled from across the clearing.

"You're going to have to try a lot harder than that to make me leave her alone," Jesse fumed, feeling his anger bubble up inside him more.

Aurora looked on helplessly not knowing what was going on. She was the only one close enough to hear their conversation but didn't know what to make of it.

"You don't know who she is, do you?" Luna laughed, her eyes filled with amusement.

"What are you talking about," he asked suspiciously.

"She is India Quail, my best friend and the daughter of John Quail, you know," she smiled wickedly, "the man who puts a roof over your father's head every day."

Jesse gulped and his eyes shot over to India. She couldn't be the daughter of the warden; the world would be far too cruel to do that to him. But the world has thrown boulders, daggers, bullets, and avalanches Jesse's way so far, why wouldn't it hit him a little bit more?

There was no future for Jesse and India anymore, any last twinge of hope diminished in Jesse's heart. There would be no way he could be anything to the daughter of the prison warden, not with his track record.

Luna leaned in close to him again, diverting his attention from India. "Stay the hell away from her or else I-"

"I get it," Jesse snapped, stepping away from her. "I fucking get it alright?" Jesse turned to disappear into the tent once again.

Luna couldn't believe that she had actually snapped like that at Jesse Cress, but once the realization settled she breathed in relief and trotted back to India and Keenan with a bounce in her step.

Keenan finally let go of India and she took the chance to run up to Luna, meeting her half way. "What did you say to him Luna?" She saw the angry look in his eyes turn to shock then disappointment before he vanished. She could only imagine what her friend told him.

"India," she said softly, reaching out to grab her shoulders. "I have seen you go through hell and back, I'm not letting you go through that again and if you have anything to do with that boy than you will be making a second trip down a very dark path. Do you understand me?"

India looked over Luna's shoulder to the tent that Jesse was emerging from. He didn't spare anyone a glance and brushed off Aurora's hand as he trudged into the woods.

India remembered the hard trails of her life, how Luna was there through it all. She could never lie to Luna and tell her that she was brave enough to see where Jesse would take her, because she wasn't brave, she was terrified of where she came from and she definitely didn't want to go back.

She nodded her head slowly before looking up to meet her loyal best friend's eyes. "I'll stay away from him. I promise."