"Yo, did you see what Jack did?" said a text from Rain.

"No, but I know he fucked up and got suspended."

"He went fucking crazy," xe send, and a video comes after. "He truly did fuck up."

I know he said not to look, but I want to know what he did. I know that it was bad, I know what he's capable of. He could knock someone out with a single punch, I've seen it before. Not to mention I've seen him shredding it in the weight room. I click on the video, and it auto-plays. I see Jack is already on the dude when it starts recording. He's yelling at him. He punched, not holding back. He punches him in the stomach, then the chest, then the stomach, then the face. He stands and kicks him a couple of times in the ribs. Gene and Deren try to hold back Jack, but he shoves them back. He goes right back to it, beating the one who did the most damage to me. He turns to the other guy and before he hands a hit Lucas pushes him to the ground. Lucas sits on him, holding his fist to the tile. Lucas is yelling at him to calm down.

"You saw what they did!" Jack yells back.

"I know! But this isnt going to help him get better!"

Jack stops struggling, but he still looks pissed. He's so mad he's seething. His teeth are grinding and his entire body is tense. The S.R.O. picks Jack off of the ground and grabs his shoulders while they walk to the office.

"Get your hands off of me," he yanks away from the S.R.O., walking himself to the office. "I'm not the one you should be escorting away, it's those pricks!"

The camera pans to the nurse checking on the boy who beat me up. He's bloody, and he's knocked out. Zane said he didnt go to the hospital, but I think he's lying. This is bad. He didnt hold back. Only suspended for a week. Im surprised he wasn't expelled. The video stops when it shows the other boy looking scared, eyeing his friend.

"Holy shit," I curse to myself.

"Mac, language. What happened?"

"Jack... he tried to protect me, but he messed up. He found the guys that did this to me."

"Oh no," my mom sighs and sits next to me on the couch. "How bad?"

"Pretty bad. They look like me after they beat me. He did a number on them. He's suspended for a week, but it looks like he should've been expelled."

"Hey," I text him. "Are his parents pressing charges against you?"

"Nah," he responds quickly. "Showed them evidence of them beating you, not pressing charges. Then again, I was fully prepared to lawyer up."

"I know dumbass. That was so stupid of you."

"Please, dont be mad at me."

"I'm not mad."

"You're lying, I know you're mad."

"I'm not, Jackson. I'm not mad, just worried about you."

"I'm supposed to be worried about you, not the other way around."

"We worry for each other, this is how that goes. You can't stop someone worrying about the people they love."

"Can I see you?"

I look at my mom, "Can Jack come over?"

"Yes hun," She grins and stands. "Tell him he'll stay for dinner."

"Mom said you can stay for dinner, come over."

"On, my way."

--

Mom opens the door and Jack smiles, pulling Mom into a hug.

"Thank you for allowing me over, Ms. Bandoni."

"Carine, Jack, it's Carine for you."

"Thank you, Carine," he grins.

Mom grabs his face, "Jack, thank you for protecting our boy."

He gulps, his eyes glancing at me. I grin and nod my head, saying it's okay.

"I'm sorry, I didnt want Mac to find out, or you. I dont regret my actions, but I do know what I did was wrong."

"Do not apologize for protecting Malcolm."

I haven't heard my mom say my name in a while. She's serious.

He nods, and she hugs him again. She pushes him over to me grinning, he laughs and I smile at him. He sits next to me, I lean on him, my head on his chest, and his arms go around me.

"I'm sorry, I just missed you."

"It's only been a day since you've seen me. Not even, it's only been about 20 hours."

"That's far too long," he kisses the top of my head. "You're my forever person, Mac, I need to see you every waking moment of my life."

I laugh, my ribs hurt, and I flinch. He pulls at the pen on my neck, taking it into his hand and he holds it to my lips. I breathe in, pressing against him, then I exhale. I try to take another.

"It's empty now."

He gently removes it from my neck, and I grab it.

"Dont, just stay with me for a minute. I'm tired," my hand drops.

He scoots to the end of the couch and grabs a pillow. He puts it on his lap, then helps me lay down, my head on the pillow.

"Go to sleep, Love," he puts my pen around his neck. He remembered when I said it was uncomfortable to sleep with. "Just rest."

"I saw the video," I yawn. "It was sent to me, and it started auto-playing. I love you, Jackson. That's not going to change."

His hand finds mine, he holds it and moves our hands onto my stomach, it's comfortable. I end up closing my eyes. Before I sleep, I look up at him, his head leaning back slightly, smiling, his own eyes closed. I hope he sleeps too.

"I love you too, Malcolm," I hear before I sleep.

--

I wake to Jack lightly kissing my forehead. I smile and move my head up so he kisses my lips.

"Hi," he whispers.

"Hi," I whisper back.

He chuckles, then kisses me again. My hand rises to grab at his neck.

"You in the mood for food?"

"Always," I grin, my eyes closing again.

"Good, because it's time to take your meds," I hear my mom. "And you need to eat with them or you'll get sick."

I pull Jack back towards me, kissing him, and I dont let go. I hear footsteps getting distant. I dont care, I just bask in the moment.

"Love, come on," he breaks as I open my eyes. He's grinning, suppressing a laugh.

"Im too tired to move," I move my hand from his neck to his cheek. "I'd rather eat you," I smile.

He breaks out laughing, his skin getting darker, small tears leaving his eyes.

"God, I love you," He grabs my hand and kisses my knuckle. "Come on, I'll help you sit up," and he does. He lightly grabs my lower back, making sure not to touch my ribs, and he holds onto my hand. He pushes me up into a sitting position. "I'll bring you some food."

He puts the pillow on my lap then stands and heads to the kitchen. I hear him talking with my mom and father. I didn't know he was home. I can see their shadows moving around the kitchen, and then Jack's head pops around the doorway. A huge smile shoots my way, and I hold back a laugh. Laughing is very painful. He nods to me then turns back to the kitchen.

"He's so stupidly cute," I whisper to myself and close my eyes.

"I'm glad you're happy with him," I hear my father. I open my eyes and my father is across the room refilling my pen.

"I really am. Dad, how did you know you were in love with mom?"

He pauses, and when he continues he smiles. He sits next to me and grabs my hand.

"I acted a lot like you did when you met Jack. I first fell in love with her beauty. She was like the sun. Every boy wanted to be with her, and all the girls wanted to be her. She was so humble, so kind. Anyone 'different' she would befriend. A lot of people thought that she was just pitying the unfortunate, but I saw that really all she wanted was friends. Back then she didnt know herself, she was trying to find herself, and her people. I wanted to be one of those people. I was so smitten, I couldn't ever stop thinking about her. My parents always said I was lost in the clouds. I always had the look of love on my face, you often have that same look. Every time I thought of her my stomach turned, every time I saw her I felt like I was drunk. Every boy in the school that wanted to be with her didnt get a chance, because she ended up asking me out first. I was so embarrassed, I rejected her at first. Then she asked me again, and I just had to say yes."

"Saying you were embarrassed was an understatement," My mom walks in with Jack behind her. "He ran away from me after a crappy excuse."

"You did?" I laugh, then grunt. Jack sits next to me, putting a plate on top of the pillow. His hand goes on my back, and he has a worried look. "I'm okay," I give a weak smile.

He kisses my temple.

"I did run away, but I didnt the second time. I was so sure that I loved her. I knew it, but I was just scared."

"And," my mom continues. "I knew I liked him. I didnt know what love was, I was struggling to find self-love at the time. My family always told me you can't love someone before you love yourself. Which is only half true. Sometimes, the person you end up with can make you find your self-love and your self-worth," She stands and walks to my dad. "When he told me everything he liked about me, I realized I liked myself more than I thought I did. His helping me find myself made me like him even more. He saw part of me that I couldn't see."

He stands and kisses her, I smile. I see Jack smile sadly. I grab his hand, then kiss his cheek. His parents I assume aren't like this. I want to know him better, I want to know his family better. I want to know all parts of his life. I want to know the man I love better than this.