March, Bex, and I followed Jackson down the stairs where his mother was waiting. She was exactly what you'd expect from an spoiled elite socialite. She wore dark red heels, designer black jeans, and a navy blue blouse. Before she acknowledged Jackson, her gaze landed on me (I'm not sure what anime this is from, she just looked the part xD),

"And just who exactly are you?"

She asked me, her voice sharp and judgmental. I regarded her coolly,

"I'm a friend of Jackson's as well as everyone else here."

Naomi scoffed,

"Jackson has no friends, which reminds me"

She turned to Jackson, who stared blankly at her as she spoke,

"I need you to sign some things for me. Your father died a few days ago and in his will he left everything to you and locked me out of the bank accounts. I need you to sign it over to me."

Jackson blinked in surprise, emotion returning to his face as he spoke,

"Dad is dead?"

His tone was soft and he looked numb. Naomi sighed,

"Yes his funeral was yesterday. Look just sign the papers and I'll be on my way and we'll never have to see each other again."

She sounded bored and annoyed as Jackson processed the information she just threw at him. I went over to him and rested my left hand on his shoulder,

"Jackson? Are you okay?"

He turned to me slightly,

"I... I'm not sure. But I do know one thing."

He raised his gaze to meet his step-mother's,

"I'm never going to sign over my father's assets and estate to you, Naomi."

His tone was harsh as he spoke to her. Her eyes narrowed in anger,

"Fine. But then you'd best get used to having me around because I'm moving in until you sign the papers."

She walked towards the stairs but Senri blocked her,

"I'm afraid the guest room is currently in use and will be indefinitely. You cannot stay there."

The blonde honors student was able to maintain his usual stoic grace as Naomi grew angrier,

"Why the hell not? I'm more important than whoever is staying there."

"I'm afraid not. You can't stay there."

Naomi glanced at me and scowled,

"I see. You're keeping that girl here. Well, she is in no way more important than me and I demand that you throw her out instantly. The sex can't be that good for any of you."

"Shut the fuck up!"

Everyone's head turned to Jackson, who was trembling in anger,

"Y/N is not a whore like you. She's a better woman than you'll ever be. My father was an ass to marry you and give in to everything you did but I'm not going to make his mistakes."
Naomi walked up to Jackson and was about to backhand him but I got in between them and caught her wrist,

"How dare you touch me!"

She yelled angrily at me. I stared stoically at her,

"I think you need to leave. Now. Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."

I said coldly, releasing her wrist only for her to punch me hard in the stomach. I stumbled backwards into Jackson and saw Riki and Bex holding back March, who looked ready to kill Naomi. Senri grabbed her arms and spun her around to face him,

"If you ever lay your filthy hands on her again, I will kill you. Get the fuck out of my house."

He must've scared Naomi enough because she backed up and looked at me,

"Stupid bitch. This is all your fault."

That was all she said before going to retrieve the paperwork, only to find it wasn't there. She looked around the room frantically,

"Where the hell is it?!"

"You mean this?"

Bex asked calmly, holding up the papers with a lit lighter underneath. One wrong move and the papers went up in flames,

"You know, I probably would've given these back had you not called Y/N a bitch."

He set the papers in fire before she could stop him and threw them in the fireplace, picking up the poker and pointing it at her,

"If you don't get out of here, I will hurt you. And do you know what the best part is? No one in this room will defend you. We can just bury you in the backyard. You took a cab here so we don't have to worry about a car."

His tone sent chills down my spine as Naomi's eyes widened,

"You're fucking crazy."

"Be that as it may, I'll still kill you if you don't leave. Soon. And never come back here. If you darken our doorway again we will kill you."

Naomi stumbled back before running out the front door and down the street, hopefully that was the last we'd see of her. Once Bex was sure she was gone, he put the poker back and rushed to me, where the others had already gathered,

"Are you alright Y/N?"

He asked worriedly. I nodded weakly,

"I will be. I think I might throw up though so just let my stomach calm down a little before you move me anywhere."

The boys nodded and brought a bunch of pillows to help me prop my head up. Once I was comfortable, Bex apologized,

"I'm sorry if I scared you with what I said."

I waved his apology off,

"Don't worry about it. She was a bitch and deserved everything you guys said to her. Besides she punched me in the stomach."

The boys averted my gaze,

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you..."

Jackson said softly. I reached over and squeezed his hand,

"Hey, I don't regret what I did. It was my decision and if I had to go back I'd do it again. I didn't want to see you hurt. You don't deserve that and she has no right to treat you like that."

He squeezed my hand tightly,

"You had the strength to do what I never could. I don't know what I would do without you in my life."

His voice was distant and I smiled,

"Hey, that's what friends do. We protect each other."

He smiled back, but his eyes still held sadness. Before I could respond a yawn cut me off,

"Hey guys, I'm pretty tired and since we have school tomorrow I kinda want to go to bed. Would one of you mind helping me up the stairs to my room?"

"I'll do it."

Jackson said quickly as he helped me stand up. When we got to the stairs, he scooped me up in his arms,

"Uh, whatcha doin?"

I asked in confusion. Jackson looked down at me as he proceeded up the stairs,

"Helping you up the stairs."

When we got to the second floor I expected him to put me down, but he carried me all the way to my room and set me down on the bed,

"Thank you, Jackson. You didn't need to carry me though."

He smiled,

"I know I didn't need to, but I wanted to. Friends help each other, right?"

I grinned,

"Right! Nighty night, Jackson."

He smiled cutely at me,

"Sleep tight, Y/N."

"Oh! Jackson?"

He poked his head back through the door,

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about your father."

He frowned slightly before responding,

"Don't be. His heart died the day we lost my real mother. I haven't had a father since. His death, although a shock, didn't hurt as much as I expected."

I nodded in understanding,

"If you ever want to find his grave, I'll help you."

Jackson smiled fondly at me,

"I'll keep that in mind. Nighty night, Y/N."

Jackson whispered before gently closing the door behind him. Moonlight streamed in through the windows as I curled up with one of my stuffed animals and fell asleep.