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Clarke saw Jack walking to the bus stop the next morning but thought it best to leave him be. She liked the guy. He was the only person who talked to her as if she were a normal person. She walked into the school to see that, even though they had cleaned her locker yesterday, there was still the word murderer plastered there. Everyone stared as she walked down the hallway. What annoyed her most was Francis glaring at her from behind his football buddies. How did he even have the right to glare at her?
For all she knew he was the one who killed Brandon. Francis had practically had Brandon plastered to his ass before he died. They were like two peas in a pod, even though Clarke distinctly remembered that Brandon hated his guts, just like everyone else. They followed his every command for some reason, and it was annoying as hell. They followed him around like puppies ever since he started here his freshman year. He gave her a sickening smirk from across the hall, before continuing his chat with the other guys. Douche.
As the day went on more and more people questioned Jack about what Clarke was really like. He got trapped in the bathroom by a couple of Brandon's friends and they grilled him about her. They were relentless and pushed him around a bit, but James came in and practically threatened to kill them if they didn't get out of there. James was a bigger guy, but there was no way he could take a third of the team. No matter how strong he was, no one could take on that many people.
Jack went to find James after his third period and found him standing against his locker staring at his phone. Something had been off with him lately. Jack suspected that it was Clarke hanging around him, but he couldn't be sure. James was never openly hostile about Jack speaking to Clarke, but he could see James react every time her name was said by anyone. Jack wasn't sure if there was history there, but James had never mentioned her name before she got out of juvie. Jack was probably just worrying about nothing. James was probably just concerned for him like a good friend.
"Hey man thanks for helping out earlier." James just rubbed his eyes lazily and sighed.
"Jack man. I don't know how I feel about this whole Clarke thing. You know they would have never targeted you if you weren't working on this project with her, right? You practically offered yourself up on a silver platter." James ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. Jack hadn't noticed earlier, but he had bags under his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"This isn't just about Clarke. What's going on man? You look like death." James directed a playful glare in his direction before sighing.
"I don't man, I haven't been sleeping lately. I think even after all of this time I haven't moved on. She's still there in the back of my mind all the time. I've tried everything I can think of to fix it, but even that only makes it feel better for a little while." Jack knew exactly what he was talking about and in all honestly, he hadn't been prepared to talk about this. He was a little frustrated that James had brought it up, because now it would be the only thing Jack could think about all day.
"I think it will always be there, we just to find a way to live with it. If you really need to talk about this, we can hang out after school."
"Nah man. Ill handle it on my own. No need to bring you down with me."
"I'm your best friend my only job is to go down with you." James gave a little chuckle, but he still looked haunted.
"Not on this one, but thanks for offering." Jack gave him a pat on the shoulder and headed to his next class, which he was definitely late for.
James was off lately. It was something that Jack just couldn't place. He was trying to go to his class when someone grabbed him by the shoulder. Jack was shocked to see that it was Francis Kitger. Francis was a really tall black guy with ridiculously well-built muscles. He was one of the captains of the football team. In all honesty, he was a scary guy. Jack knew that Francis could easily beat the shit out of him. It wasn't like Jack wasn't fit. He did run a lot, but Francis was a whole separate level than him.
"You're Jack North, right?" Jack just nodded. He knew the best course of action was to not set off a guy like Francis. He was known to get into fights, and normally the other person didn't walk away without at least a limp.
"I heard you are partnered with Clarke Holden for a project." Jack nodded again. Keep conversation to a minimum.
"What do you know about her?"
"Nothing really. We've only had like one conversation." Jack wasn't exactly afraid, just responsibly cautious. No need to get into a fight if it was avoidable.
"I want to know if she really killed my friend. Can you find that out for me?"
"No." Francis raised an eyebrow with an amused expression.
"No?"
"Yeah, no." His expression didn't change. He was finding this extremely entertaining.
"Why is that?"
"Look I get it. You're captain of the football team, so you think everyone follows your command, but I have no interest in being your puppet. It's none of my business. I'm just trying to graduate."
"None of your business huh?" Francis just chuckled before growing serious. "It'll be your business if you end up six feet under."
"Hey Francis. I insist you let my friend go before I come over there," James said coolly. He was leaning against a locker about six feet away. Jack hadn't even noticed him around. His face was hard as he stared Francis down. For some reason everyone knew not to mess with James. He was bigger than most of the guys on the team, rivaling with Francis. Francis raised his arms and turned around muttering a whatever, while chuckling. He was such a douche. James walked to Jack with a bored expression.
"Come on man lets get you to class before I have to kick someone's ass."
"I didn't need you to defend me, but thanks."
"What are best friends for?"
James had never let him down. They had been best friends for so long Jack couldn't imagine his life without him. So, Jack could tell something was off with him. The way he walked defensively with every step. His eyes always darting back and forth, as if he were in a war zone. He didn't know if it was because the anniversary was coming up or if it was Clarke getting out of juvie, but it made Jack worry. There was something really bothering his best friend and he was determined to figure it out. Maybe it would pass, but if it didn't, Jack really did have something to worry about.
After school Clarke got a text from Jack saying to meet him at The Gash. She wondered why he wanted her to meet him at a public diner rather than her house or his where they could get a lot more work done. She didn't argue with him though and drove there after school with her backpack. She found him with a book in his hand in the back-corner booth sipping from a mug.
"Hey." He practically jumped out of his seat when she sat down. She tried not to laugh and embarrass him further.
"Oh hey."
"Why'd you want to meet here?"
"I have a shift here later, so I figured I would save some time by avoiding walking."
"You work here?"
"Yeah, it's nice to have a little cash."
"Isn't it hard having a job with school and stuff?"
"That's just how life goes, you know." He began to fidget, he didn't like the attention being focused on him, he'd much rather work on the project.
"So, do you want to get started?"
"Yeah." They sat in that diner until 4:30 and got most of the project done, but Jacks shift started at five and he didn't want to be working all the way up until then.
"I haven't seen anybody from school in here." Clarke had noticed that in the hours they had been here the only people she saw were old or had young kids.
"Yeah it's not really their type of place. No one from our school except for my friends come here. It's nice to work someplace where I can get away from all of them, plus old people tip pretty nice." Clarke had noticed since their talk yesterday he seemed to be a little more talkative with her. She wondered if he really did believe she was innocent.
"Maybe I should come here more often, nobody has looked at me like I'm crazy, so I would say that's a plus."
"Yeah it's nice like that here. You can run away from all the town drama. My mom was born in this town too you know. When she got pregnant with me in high school, she had no clue what to do and my father wasn't exactly stepping up. The owners of this place gave her a job and let her live in the apartment upstairs until she got on her feet. I've known them since I was just a baby, they're kind of like grandparents, you know. My mom and I come here all the time just to say hi to them and when I got old enough to work, they let me take a part time job."
"Your mom and you are close I take it?"
"Yeah she's the best."
"What about your dad?" Clarke saw him almost physically shut down the moment she mentioned the word dad. Note to self, don't ask about the dad.
"Not around." What did that even mean? He had never met him? He left? That was probably the least specific description Clarke had ever heard in her entire life.
"Oh." They sat in silence for a bit before Jack had to go get ready for his shift. They said a quick awkward goodbye and Clarke left the diner for home.