Nicole

This past month has been a montage of vigorous training, headaches, and preparation for our upcoming mission and I must say, Jaden has been putting in some impressive work lately. Well... Besides the fact that I caught him having a threesome with Tabitha and Casey a week ago...

Don't ask. Let's just say he learned his lesson after​ my taser shocked some sense into him.

I was never the one to be nervous about a mission but this one concerned me. It's been quite some time since I've worked with someone other than my conscience. It's going to take some getting used to now but at least, it's safe to say that improvements have been made through this whole experience so far.

After all of that hard work, I let Jaden treat himself to a full day of nothing but relaxation and, of course, he asked me to come with him.

"Come on, you've helped me out this whole way, you deserve it as much as I do." he held my dorm door open as he begged. He's been standing there for over 15 minutes, trying to convince me... And annoy me in the process. Even though he's worked hard, I still had to suffer through his dirty comments, stupid jokes, and childish games the whole way but it was worth the progress.

I shook my head, "I need to study the map of this mall. The mission is too close for me to start slacking off."

He groaned, "We've gone over it a thousand times already. Take a break!"

I sighed deeply. I'm starting to get really ticked off right now. "I'm giving you three seconds to leave my-"

Before I could finish my sentence, he snatched my notebook out of my hand then hid it behind his back. "You want it back? You have to come to the pool with me." he grinned. "And you have to wear a hot bathing suit."

This is ridiculous... He's ridiculous!

I yanked him by the shirt and slammed him against my wall. "Give it."

He only smiled, "No." he pushed me off of him then smoothly grabbed my neck with his arm and held me from behind, catching me off-guard. "You need to stop being so aggressive, mama," he said in my ear, sending uncomfortable chills down my spine.

I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. I wouldn't want him to go to our mission with dislocated bones even though I really want to break him right now. One... For touching me and two... For testing my patience. For the hundredth time!

"I want to see you in that sexy bikini." he mumbled in my ear then he chuckled, "Then you can show me what's under it afterward. Would that calm you down?"

On second thought...

I jabbed my elbow in his rib, making him stumble back. This asshole should know by now that we are not, and never will be friends. I hate that he feels like he could do whatever the fuck he wants without expecting to get his face pounded into pancakes! I quickly swung my right fist at him but he caught it with ease. I swung my left shortly after but he blocked that as well. He then ducked around me more swiftly than I would have ever expected and jumped over the couch to the other side of the room. When he landed, he taunted me by sticking his ass out while pointing at it with a finger and shaking it side to side, "Gotta be a little quicker if you really wanna kick my ass!"

I'll do more than just kick it, you son of a bitch.

I darted after him, doing a flip over the couch with my leg swinging in his direction.

"Woah!" he quickly dodged to the side.

I landed effortlessly then darted for him, throwing constant punches and kicks in all directions but he somehow managed to keep blocking them like some trained ninja.

Where did he get this from?!

"Stop moving, Jackass!" I yelled in frustration.

At this moment, I couldn't even remember why I was mad, I just want to get one good hit out of him so I could be satisfied.

He stopped my attacks by grabbing both of my arms then he twirled me around, dipping me as if we were dancing. Then, he did the obnoxious. He dipped down to me with his nose gliding up from my neck to my ear where he told me with a smile, "Mmm... You smell good."

What the fuck?

I kicked the side of his face, causing him to drop me. "Ah!" I huffed then pounced towards him, tackling him to the couch. This shithead deserves to choke on his own teeth! I wrapped one of my hands tightly around his neck then jabbed my other fist at him. He stopped it before I could hit him then began prying my fingers off of his neck.

"Damn, Nicole chill!" he forced my hands off then placed them behind my back. He paused momentarily to catch his breath then to look down at my body in his lap. He licked his lips with that same stupid expression he had when I first met him. "Let's just stay like this..." he suggested.

Oh, this dumbass is dead!

I tried to free myself from his grip but I couldn't, his hands were firmly holding them down like actual handcuffs. Frustrated, I screamed, feeling my face redden in anger, "You're so annoying!"

"Aw. You're upset... How about we make a deal?"

"What?" I asked through gritted teeth as I continued to try and break free from his grip.

"I'll let you go if you be a good girl and stop squirming around on me like that... Please..." I followed his eyes down to his lap and quickly realized what he meant by that.

Disgusting... Dis-fucking-gusting!

I huffed through my nose then sat still. I could feel my cheeks still rising in temperature as I glared at him. He would have to let go of me eventually and, when he does, I wouldn't hesitate to shove my foot down his throat.

He smiled, "There you go. Now I'm going to do this..." he slowly released my hands. "And then-"

I slapped him hard across his face then went for another punch. He quickly caught it, and for a short moment, we wrestled around until he managed to tackle me to the ground, pinning me there.

He furrowed his eyebrows at me, "You promised to be good!" I could see the laughter in his eyes.

I couldn't help but smile a bit as well, "I didn't promise anything." I kicked him off of me and grabbed my nunchucks that were hanging as decoration on the wall.

I expertly swung them around to intimidate him and he backed away slowly as I approached him. Not only was I going to just scare him, I was also planning on leaving a few bruises on him. I suddenly ran towards that bastard, ready to end him.

"Nicole! What the- chill!" he dodged, getting missed by just a hair.

I swung at him in both directions, trying hard to get him but he wouldn't stop moving. His body control was so smooth and almost unbelievable. He grabbed the nunchucks then tripped me while yanking them out of my hands as I fell.

I looked up at him, panting. He's good.

He tossed them aside with a perplexed look in his eyes. I swiftly jumped up to my feet and began punching quickly at him. Just like before, he blocked them naturally.

Thinking fast, I suddenly stopped punching, countered his block, then threw one good uppercut to his jaw, snapping his head upward.

"Ahh! Shit, Nicole!" he hissed and stumbled back, grabbing his jaw.

I smiled with a relieved breath of air. Finally...

He cupped his hand on his jaw and I noticed a small stream of blood running down a small cut coming from his inner lip.

Ooh... Too far?

I walked over to him, smiling. "You alright, rookie?"

He glared at me for a moment. The playfulness leaving from his expression. I was actually starting to feel bad until he suddenly chuckled, "So that's how I get you to smile... Let you beat me up?" he shook his head.

I pursed my lips, trying to hold in a laugh as I grabbed his wrist and lead him to the kitchen. "Where did you learn those moves?" I handed him a napkin and a cup of sink water to clean out his mouth.

"I, uh..." He looked at me for a moment before moving his eyes to look at the cup, "I work at an auto repair shop."

I raised an eyebrow, "How do fixing cars teach you to fight at black belt level?"

"It doesn't. The robbers do. We get robbed every now and then, you know, the area we're located at gets real dangerous sometimes so I've decided to take classes to defend myself and my family." he sighed. "Just a few weeks living here is like paradise to me, you know? No gangs, no robbers, no random gunshots that had always woke me up like roosters in the morning... I couldn't even go out to get the mail without worrying about catching a bullet. That's why I've always been visiting around the city, to get away from that." he rinsed his mouth.

"How long have you been there?"

He dried his mouth with the bottom of his shirt, "Mmm... About 3 or 4 years. It's not long but it feels like I've been there forever..." He furrowed his brows a bit, hesitating a moment before he added, "Especially after Misty died. Everything just went downhill for me since then."

I watched as his eyes moved to the ceiling a bit as he tried not to show any emotion but it was clear to tell how hard that was for him. I crossed my arms, "Who's... Misty?" I asked cautiously. I didn't want to darken the mood but I was curious.

He gazed at me for a moment then just smiled through his pain with a small chuckle, "She was my cousin... I cared about her a lot. She was like the little sister I never had but always wanted..." he let out a deep sigh and continued, "She was a bit of a tomboy, you know, high top sneakers, bandanas, skater jackets, sometimes even baggy pants... We used to always go skateboarding at this abandoned park... Me, her... My brother... And a school friend..." he chuckled but it faded away shortly as his eyes saddened and he looked down at the ground, recalling the dreadful moment he was about to tell me. "It was my fault that she got her life ripped away like that... If I had just-" he stopped himself and looked at me in realization, biting the inside of his cheek as his eyes began to gloss up before he quickly said, "Let's just say that she happened to be standing at the wrong place at the wrong time and... Boom... Gone... Just like that, I lost the only person who loved me for me, no matter how bad my mistakes were. No matter how many broken promises I've made. Including my promise to protect her..."

I kept my arms crossed and kept my eyes on him as he painfully bit his lip and leaned against​ the sink counter, using one hand to rub the back of his head. There was an obvious, gaping hole in his story but I wasn't going to push him to tell me now. "I'm sorry." Was all I told him.

"No... No, it's fine," he said, keeping his eyes in the sink. "After I became a really skilled fighter, no one else was able to do any more harm to the people I care about. I could teach you a few moves if you want." he finally looked up at me and forced a small smile.

"Interesting..." I gently grabbed his face, studying it. He was beginning to bruise on his lip.

He smiled slightly as he gazed at me, "I still don't know much about you yet... Where are you from?"

I gave him a small huff before I moved to grab a ziplock bag and filled it with crushed ice from the fridge to put together a ghetto ice pack. I handed it to him, only telling him, "I grew up in Texas." that's all he was allowed to know.

My childhood was kind of tough... Basically, I was born by accident, my parents were never there for me, I was abused and neglected by everyone in that household, especially by my bitch ass nanny! That fat-ass turd slinging slut almost killed me over hunting down the wrong fucking animal to eat.

I depended on myself for survival. The people I was supposed to call family practically made me their slave and, being so young, I never saw it that way. I believed that whatever they said was right, whatever they blamed me for was true, that I deserved to sleep outside, that I deserved every punishment they gave me!

I could feel anger starting to rapidly build up inside of me at those traumatizing memories. Thinking about it alone was enough to make me go fucking ballistic. It's why I never talk about it to anyone and why I do my best each and every day to not even remember the slightest detail about anyone from my past. And that's easier said than done.

I don't need to think about this right now!

I calmed myself down by taking a deep breath. Every time I go back to those dreadful recollections, I get so damn mad. So mad that I can't control it. I couldn't do that now. I wouldn't let Jaden or anyone see that horrible side of me. Not again.

"You're from Texas? You don't have the accent." he tilted his head.

"Of course not. I grew out of it."

He smiled after a moment of silence, "This really hurts..." he rubbed his jaw.

"Man up, it'll be fine in a few hours." I moved his hand and touched the bruise on his lip, "...Days." I corrected.

He chuckled with a bit less humor as I grabbed some apple juice from my fridge to cool myself down. He watched as I poured myself a glass and took a sip.

"How was Texas like?" he finally asked. I was a little surprised that he was still thinking about that.

I looked at him then let out a small huff of laughter, "It sucked... Why do you keep asking questions? You know I hate interviews."

"I just want to learn some things about you. It's better for our partnership if we aren't total strangers."

He has a point but I just wasn't ready to bring any of my past up to him. No one has ever asked me about it and I've always kept it to myself. What made him think I was going to tell him anything?

"You're not wrong... But I still don't trust you enough to even tell you my favorite color."

He smirked, "But you trust me enough to be in the same room as you. With the doors closed and everything."

"I don't mind for now, you wouldn't do anything stupid, will you?" I looked over at the flower vase that was sitting inches away from me on the counter to give him a hint.

He put his ice pack down, tucking his tongue under his cheek, inching closer to me, "Maybe I will..."

I gave him a small but mysterious smile, "You wouldn't..."

"Is that a bet?" he asked, gently grabbing my waist.

I began to reach for the vase, your confidence could get you killed one day. I let him come in closer until his face was just inches away from mine.

"I dare you." I yanked out a knife and held it under his chin. His eyes went wide and he froze, holding his breath.

Did he really think that I was going to let him get his balls happy with me? I smirked at him, "You should know better."

He used his finger to move the knife away, "Okay, let's not get psycho... Where did you get these anyway? They're kind of cool."

They were undercover knives. The handles looked like those cheap plastic flowers you buy at the dollar store to draw suspicion away from them. I have a bouquet of them that I kept in the vase. No one suspects a thing from them and it was such a convenience for me to have them so easily at reach.

"I made them," I told him. "Aren't they pretty?"

"They're amazing... But scary. I didn't know you were the artistic type." His eyes curiously gazed at me, clearly asking many more questions. "You're really something, huh...?"

I shrugged, admiring them and remembering how I felt after I finished them back when I was 15. It inspired me to start creating more designs with my weapons and even invent a few gadgets for our team to use.

"You know, I have a few artistic bones in my body too." He crossed his arms proudly.

I snickered at that, "Do you?"

"I do." He answered. "Have you seen the sketches of the guys who robbed you at the bar?" he asked and I replied with a nod as I sipped my drink.

He then asked me, "Would you believe me if I said that I was the one who drew them?"

I stopped, mid-sip before I moved my cup away from my lips and narrowed my eyes at him, "You drew those..."

He nodded, "Straight from memory."

You've got to be shitting me...

"You expect me to believe that you've managed to notice every detail from the wrinkles on their faces to the tattoos on their necks while fighting them off, then be able to draw them out from your own memory... I can wipe my ass with that lie." I scoffed.

He laughed, "Good luck trying to get some shit on it 'cause I'm telling the truth." He gradually lost his smile, realizing that I still wasn't going to buy that. "How else would they have gotten caught so easily?"

Simon did tell me that it was Jaden who helped police make the arrest...

But how is that even possible? Straight from memory?

"How did you do it?" I asked so I could at least get some better proof of this skill. "How did you manage to remember so much from a scene like that?"

He shrugged, telling me these familiar words, "I have good senses."

After a silent moment of me examining the look in his eyes, Jaden suddenly turned to loudly set the cup he was using back into the sink, "So... Pool? We can look over the plans again while we're there." he grinned, handing me my journal.

I put my hands on my hips, thinking for a moment. I already made it clear to him that I didn't want to-

Wait... He's insisting on doing the work while we're there?

I slightly raised my eyebrow, feeling glad that he was actually putting the mission into consideration rather than some other reasoning that would waste my time, "Alright, fine. Only because it was fun sparring with you."

He grinned, "Yes! Let me see what you're going to wear."

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"So we can match! I want us to look good together, you know?"

I shook my head with a snicker, "Okay then... Wear black."

He puckered his lips playfully, "Oooh... Sexy!" he sang.

I rolled my eyes and pushed him towards the door and out of my dorm, "Go change before I change my mind." He nodded at that then quickly headed down to his dorm.

* * * * *

At the pool...

I've decided to put on my black one piece that had the sides cut out and a low v-neck on it but I wore a white, crochet bikini-cover over it for obvious reasons. I wasn't ready to hear Jaden's bullshit comments on it just yet.

We made our way to the front booth and handed the man our membership cards. We were only allowed to come here twice a month to treat ourselves but if you're like me, those days add up and you get more for the more years you work at the agency. I rarely ever come here, though. To me, the recreational pool is pointless but this wasn't for me, it was because rookie here begged me to.

"Go right ahead." the man said as he handed our cards back. We followed the sound of the upbeat music that ushered us right to the pool area.

I had to admit, this place looked a lot nicer than the last time I saw it. It even brought back good old memories from when I was a kid. Only it was upgraded now.

"This pool is sick! They even got a hot tub over there?" Jaden grinned. He matched my bathing suit with his black swim trunks and a white tank top. "Aye, there's a smoothie stand. I'll get us some drinks, go find us a table," he said eagerly.

I nodded with a small smile to myself. He kind of reminded me of myself when I first saw this place as a kid. I took my journal out and found a nice round picnic table with a huge yellow umbrella over it. As I got comfy, I began to skim over the plans and routes for our mission, making sure I had it completely embedded into my memory all while actually enjoying this perfect setting under the sun.

I like this.

The relaxing scent of the chlorine in the water and the warm sensation of the sun gaining against my skin made it pleasant for me to concentrate.

After a while, Jaden returned with our drinks. He had a bright smile on his face as he sat down in front of me.

"Mango smoothie?"

I reached out to grab it giving him a confused head tilt. "Was that just a lucky guess?"

"Nope. I'm psychic." he wiggled his fingers like he was about to perform a magic trick. He then chuckled when I shook my head, "You put mangos in your sports shakes all the time. You like mangos and pineapples." he smiled proudly.

Wow... He actually pays attention to that. Weird ass.

"Thanks, rookie. So, here's the map again." I slid him the journal as I grabbed the drink. "Just because we know all of his possible escape routes, doesn't mean this mission will be easy. It's always unpredictable-"

"And it completely relies on focus, skill, and teamwork..." he finished.

I looked at him then slowly removed my shades. "Correct..." he had recited it exactly as I taught him.

"We got this Nicki... I took your word and trained my ass off ever since I've got here. Look!" he stood up, pulling his top off then started flexing for me.

I couldn't help but snicker. "Impressive, rookie... You went from wimp to pimp real quick." I said with slight sarcasm but I don't think he caught it.

"Hell yeah, I did. Feel that." he bent over to let me feel his bicep.

I rolled my eyes and squeezed it once. "Wow!" I said with even more sarcasm.

He laughed, "You're mean as shit. I can't get one nice comment from you?"

I took a sip of my drink, shrugging. I couldn't help that. I don't just hand out compliments like it's free candy. You have to earn it, especially if you want me to shamelessly say it out loud.

He took a seat across from me, "I say nice things to you all the time. Like how tough you are, how you're funny when you don't even try to be..." he bit his straw a bit, adding, "How sexy that bikini would look without that cover-up..."

This Bastard.

I felt my face get hot and turn red in embarrassment. I flipped him off and glared at him as I took a long sip of my smoothie, causing him to laugh hysterically.

"Not funny. You have no barriers." I pulled my journal back from him to look at the pages myself.

"And you do?" he chuckled, "Okay, what I meant by that bikini thing was... Let's go swimming! The weather is perfect, we should go while the sky is still in a good mood." he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my seat to lead me towards the pool.

As we were heading there, I noticed Rebecca and her girls in the distance. I was sure she noticed us too. Well... She noticed Jaden at least.

Perfect... Just what I needed.

When we stopped in front of the pool, I began sipping my smoothie while trying to ignore Rebecca's staring but I occasionally found myself looking over at her to make sure that she wasn't planning on coming our way.

I sighed, reminding myself that I didn't come here to worry about her.

Jaden smiled at me as he began to walk backwards down the pool steps, grabbing my attention by saying, "Come on, Nicole. Don't be shy..."

I looked at him, trying to hold in a laugh. I felt like I was his mother watching him play in the pool.

I settled down on the poolside spot next to the steps and placed my feet in the water as I began to pull off the cover-up. I tossed it off to the side, the sun feeling incredible against my skin. Sun kisses are the best kisses in my opinion.

When I turned back, I noticed Jaden gawking at me, "Oh... My... Oh shit, Nicole!" his voice shrieked as he raised his fist up to his lips, looking me up and down with admiration.

I crossed my arms, feeling my face redden again. I hate it when he does that. "Hey, Jaden, do you see that?" I pointed behind him.

He turned around, "See what?"

I whacked him with a pool noodle for being immature.

"Yo! What the-" he sneered at me then grabbed my ankle to yank me into the pool, making me yelp.

"You dick!" I laughed.

He laughed as well then grabbed my shades out of the water before they drifted away. As he handed them back to me, I hopped back onto the poolside, shaking my head and combing the hair out of my face with my fingers.

"Seriously though. When I told you to where something fly, I was expecting you to do the exact opposite," he said, rubbing his chin.

I shrugged and splashed him a bit with my foot, "I try..." I said, hiding my smile behind pursed lips. I'm not going to lie to myself and pretend like I didn't enjoy at least a few of his annoying compliments. Even the smallest things he remembers about me was enough to make me feel a little special. Just a little...

My eyes found their way to the hairs on Jaden's chin as I forced a new topic to my mind, "You know, Simon might make you cut that." I joked.

"Cut what?"

"This," I said, gently grabbing his chin and tugging his hair with my fingers. They weren't overwhelming or anything, but I could probably put it into a braid if he let me.

He sucked his teeth and moved his face away from me, "Nah... He's going to have to earn the right to do that." he said, getting in a boxing position and making me chuckle. Simon would murder him easily if he tried to pick a fight with him.

"Well, if it isn't Mr. Brown!"

Oh great, speaking of murder...

I could tell it was Rebecca. The bitch in her voice says it all.

We both looked at her at the same time as she strutted in our direction. I found it funny how she rescheduled her pool day to the same day we did.

I also wouldn't be surprised if Jaden was the one who told her...

A wide smile grew on Jaden's face and I was almost, just almost ready to slap it off of him. "Rebecca..." He nodded, checking out her slim, toned body and legs as she made her way over. I eyed him as he mouthed "ooh..." to himself with a finger on his lip before he waved her over, "I didn't know you were coming down here today."

"What a coincidence, right? Clearly, you're not busy anymore and we've got a beer pong game going on, you should come with." she pointed her thumb behind her at the group by the hot tub.

Jaden looked at me then back at Rebecca. "Uh... Nah, thanks though, I have a mission too close by to be drinking." he sounded slightly disappointed but I was proud that he chose the more logical decision.

She pouted cutely for him, "Come on... You promised."

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, "Walk away, Red." I demanded before she could convince him to change his mind.

She glared at me for a moment then sighed, "How about you just..." She raised a finger up to her lips, shushing me silently.

"How about you shove that finger in your ass. I said, walk away." I scoffed.

She nodded with pursed lips, trying to keep her anger hidden before she said, "Jaden... Do you really want to stay here with her? She's so rude."

Jaden crossed his arms, "Rude? Yeah, but Nicole is cool. Plus, I need her to prepare me for this mission. We could always hang out some other time."

I shot him a disapproving look. I didn't want him to see her at all.

"Okay..." she smiled, beginning to, thankfully, back away. "It's cool. I'll see you- Eek!" she suddenly tripped on my arm, spilling her large smoothie all over me as she slightly stumbled, the cup bouncing off of the top of my head and into the pool.

My eyes widened in disbelief and instant anger.

She can't be serious... She can't be serious!

The cold ice ran down from my hair to the skin on my back and chest, sending chills down every inch of my body. I shivered with my fists clenched, trying to stay calm.

She's not worth it... She's not worth it!

"Really, Nicole?!" she faked, gaping her mouth open in shock. "Cheap move..."

She's not worth it...

I stood up, swiping the smoothie off of my shoulder. My blood boiled as soon as I looked at her pathetic excuse of a face. At how innocent she pretended to be.

She. Is. Not. Worth it!

She picked up a towel and held it out to me with a challenging smile, "I'm going to be the bigger person here and forgive you for tripping me..."

Fuck you!

I swung my fist at her face without hesitation, making her stumble back. I can't believe this dull-witted whore had the audacity to disrespect me over my partner! Why can't she just do something as simple as staying the hell away from me?

She looked at me wide-eyed and full of shock as if she didn't see it coming, but everyone and their mothers knew that I wouldn't have let her walk away with the pleasure of testing me with her scornful games.

"You... You bitch!" She glared and lunged herself at me, immediately spurring up a loud commotion around us.

Everyone at the pool started yelling and running over to see what was going on but I wasn't going to let any of them get close enough to save this bloody bag of shit.

I tackled her to the ground and pounded on her face repeatedly with my fist. You think this is funny? Let's see how funny it is when your teeth are lodged at the back of your throat! I thought angrily.

Someone suddenly yanked me off of her, "Stop it! Both of you, calm down!" one of the agents demanded in a roar.

Rebecca got up, angrily wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She then ran towards me again, yanking me then did a spin kick across my face, causing my head to snap to the side but I kept my footing, tasting blood in my mouth. She then bitch slapped me with one hand and threw a punch at my gut, making me stumble back.

That's it!

I grabbed her by her bikini top and angrily threw countless jabs at her face, repeatedly aiming for her eye and nose as she slowly and weakly fell to the ground with each fiery punch while she kept a tight grip on my hair. I ignored the fact that I could feel some of my own hair being pulled out of my scalp because I desperately wanted to see her bleed. I wouldn't stop until she did. Until her face is rearranged to the point where she becomes unrecognizable! As she began to blackout, I punched harder and harder. I knew she had enough but I didn't, the desire to see her skin split was pushing me to do more harm. That was the exact direction I was heading but, suddenly, a heavy body tackled me, causing all three of us to fall into the pool with a huge splash.

Everything instantaneously became quiet as I went under and hit the bottom of the pool. Soon, I swam back up and slapped my hand on the poolside before pulling myself out furiously, hearing all of the chaos rise up again around me. I didn't see Rebecca surface yet but I didn't care. I wanted her to drown. She deserved to.

I noticed that my fist was still tightly clenching her bikini top in it.

That would be fun to watch, I thought, knowing how embarrassing it would be for her if she surfaced half-naked. I threw it aside, still heated from what happened.

Jaden helped me up as I moved my drenched hair out of my face, "Are you alright?" he asked.

I shrugged his arms off of me and marched passed him without a word. I knew if I tried to speak, I would end up screaming in his face.

I also knew that this wasn't going to look good on my part and honestly, I didn't think what I did just then was worth it but I couldn't help it. Once you piss me off, there's no getting away from it.

Jaden

What in the world just happened?! Nicole just went full-blown hulk smash on the girl out of nowhere! I understand that getting soaked in some juice was messed up but, damn! It was only an accident! She would've murdered her if no one stopped it soon enough. And the look in her raging eyes was even more frightening. I couldn't imagine anyone getting that mad about getting smoothie spilled on 'em. Especially, when we were at the damn pool, where you could easily rinse yourself off!

I grabbed Nicole's cover-up off of the ground and jogged up to catch up with her. She was still boiling with anger from earlier but I could still see the goosebumps on her arms, showing how cold she was getting from the water.

I put the crochet top around her shoulders, "Nicole, are you alright?" I asked again, thinking that she didn't hear me the first time.

She stopped and clenched her fists, "Leave... Me... Alone." her voice was low and threatening.

I sighed, "Okay, okay... Let me just walk you to your place."

"Jaden!" she stopped herself from screaming at me then took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly, "Go... Get ready for the mission. Seriously, I need to be alone right now."

I nodded, not really wanting to leave her alone. I wanted to be there for her.

"Okay. I can do that. I... I'll do that. Just let me know if you need anything. Anything at all."

She tightened the top around herself, "Thank you..." was all she said and with that, she walked away, heading for the dorms.

I sighed deeply as I watched her walk away. I'll give her the space she needs now but I'm still checking up on her later. I've never seen her this angry before, someone as insane as she could hurt herself when dealing with stress alone. I didn't want that to happen to her, I actually care about her a bit.

I jogged back to the pool, seeing Rebecca surface again with the help of a few of our agents. I halted when I spotted her bare chest. Her boobs were being exposed to everyone and I don't think she noticed it either.

Oh, damn. Not good.

I shook my head at the giggles and chuckles in the crowd as I quickly grabbed my tank top and ran up to her seconds after she looked down at herself.

She let out a small whimper and turned pale, covering herself while turning to run but I grabbed her and pulled her to the side, shielding her from the others with my body, "Here. Take my shirt..."

She quickly snatched it from me with a tear running down her bruising cheek, "Sh-she always does this to me." she choked out as she began to slip my shirt on. It sounded as if I wasn't supposed to hear her say it but, I did.

"Do you two always fight like this?" I asked, helping her with the shirt.

She shook her head, "No... I don't try to. I really don't but I'll admit that we do have a few problems. Problems that I wish to fix between us." she looked over my shoulder, to the crowd behind me then quickly looked away with hurt in her eyes, "I have to go..." she said before she hurried off around me.

"Wait... Rebecca wait!" I jogged up to her as she began walking away quickly. I walked her speed when I caught up and told her, "I'll walk with you... You look like you need someone to cheer you up."

She looked at me with some doubt but later smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Jay..."

I put my arm around her, squeezing her shoulders for comfort as I walked her back to her dorm.

I could tell just by looking at her, that she was hurt inside and out. Nicole beat her real bad and Rebecca was already bruising on her cheek, chest, and eye, looking weak from it as well. On top of that, she was humiliated in front of everyone out here. Someone had to be there for her...

When we stopped in front of her place, she scanned her card and unlocked the door to her dorm. She gave me a feeble smile as I walked her in, "Thanks again, Jay. I'll... I'll..." she huffed weakly and fainted into my arms.

I caught her then picked her up bridal style and brought her to her couch, "I'll get you an ice pack..." I told her as I watched her eyes blink open after I gently set her down.

She nodded, holding her head.

I went to her kitchen and prepared the bag of ice for her the way Nicki did for me. Damn... Nicki. I think this is the first time my chest has ever tightened and ached for someone who wasn't family. It was hard seeing her so furious and I couldn't help but worry about the way she plans on handling that kind of stress. I had to keep reminding myself that she would be okay by herself, that she was better off if I resist my urge to go see her. That's what she wants right now, she doesn't want me worrying about her. Besides, I'm here for Rebecca right now. After I got the ice pack ready, I made my way back to Rebecca and helped her sit up before I sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry for giving you all this trouble." her voice was sorrowful but she didn't need to be sorry. I knew that the smoothie incident wasn't her fault and me being here right now is nothing for me to complain about either.

I pulled her in to let her lay her head on my chest as I held the ice pack to her forehead, "Don't be sorry. I want to help you. But I could only do so much so I'll get you to the clinic once you're ready to get out of here." I insisted.

She looked up at me with a happy gleam in her eyes, "You're a really good friend..." she gently kissed my cheek then cuddled in closer to me, saying, "I've never really had someone who'd help me out when Nicole bullies me."

I smiled at her for a moment, taking in her delicate features. Even though she had a black eye and purple cheeks, she still looked sweet and endearing. Way too cute for anyone to mercilessly lash out on. "How can someone be so angry at a person like you...? And the way you're smiling after that... How?"

She smiled adorably at me, "It's people like you who keep me radiant." she whispered, lacing her fingers in mine.

I liked the sound of that, "Then I'll make sure I'm always here when you need me. I would hate to be the one who keeps you from smiling like that." I moved my hand up to her chin, tilting her lips up to mine and kissed her gently. As soon as our lips touched, I felt her melt in closer to me.

"Mmm..." she moaned softly as she moved her tongue into my mouth, already demanding more of me. I didn't mind that though, I've always wanted this moment with her and I knew, one of these days, I would get it. I didn't think it would be so soon though but nonetheless, it didn't bother me... It's perfect.

Her soft lips locked tightly on mine as she moved to touch me. I could feel her hand slowly touching my skin moving​ and feeling around my chest and abs, making me pull her onto my lap out of temptation. This was supposed to be an innocent kiss but I guess I'll be having other plans tonight.