I sat alone on the grass waiting for Jake. It was recess and my confusion was annoying me. I wanted desperately to know what was going on. I was surprised when I saw him walk around the corner and greet me with a smile, I'd never expected him to show up.
"Jake?" I looked up at his muscly figure. "Please tell me what's going on?"
Jake helped me up off of the ground. He looked around cautiously. I glimpsed a flash of black from a tree nearby and instantly I knew it was Chelsea. I saw the glow of her ear piercings and the flick of her hair.
"Not now," Jake whispered so I could barely hear him. He walked away silently.
I didn't see Chelsea anywhere anymore. I tried to hide the dissapointment on my face as I looked around for them. I gave up and sat back down on the ground and buried my head in my hands out of frustration. When I looked up again I saw Sam and his group far away. I recognised a few of the people in the group. I scanned their faces and stopped on one. He was facing my way, looking in my direction. I immediately started to panic and I felt my stomach doing flips. He looked down quickly and walked silently away from his group. No one noticed he was gone.
Realisation hit. It was the same guy who had glanced at me and not laughed when Sam was teasing me. He didn't seem like the rest of them. He actually seemed... Nice. Wow, I was really stupid to think that one of Sam's friends would be nice.
***
At lunch I sat alone again, and ate alone, without Jake, without Chelsea. I saw a flash of blonde hair behind one of the buildings and walked towards it. It could've been Jake. I was dying to know what was going on and I wasn't getting any answers so I'd have to do this the sneaky way. I pressed myself up against the side of the building and took a deep breath. I poked my head around the corner and saw the pair talking. I was right, it was Chelsea and Jake. I quickly hid again and listened carefully.
"What happened wasn't fair, I agree but she can't know," I heard Chelsea say. She sounded so tired and worn out. "It'll only put her in danger."
"She's my best friend. I can't keep going on like this, keeping secrets," I heard Jake whisper harshly.
"It's to protect her. I don't want her to be another victim of Sam's. I've been spying on him. He's going to make her a victim. We have to protect her!" I heard Chelsea plead. Silence followed and I quickly escaped.
My heart was beating fast in my chest and I could feel knots forming in my stomach. What did she mean by I was his next victim. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Why did it suddenly feel like the whole world was against me?
***
At the end of the day I walked with Jake to his house. I'd noticed that Chelsea had walked a couple of metres behind him. They never talked in person, only behind buildings in secret.
"Chelsea!" I called. "Come join us," I offered. Jake gulped beside me and kept his eyes on the path in front of us. He didn't look back at Chelsea.
Chelsea smiled politely then replied, "I've got a sore foot. I'll slow you down."
"That's alright," I said stopping in my tracks. "We don't mind."
"We need to get home," Jake muttered pulling me by my arm.
I looked back at Chelsea and she gave me a reassuring smile. I had a bunch of things to think about. Chelsea was scared of Sam but she had the courage to slap Reece, Jake was keeping secrets from me and for some reason I was in danger and I was being protected.
Once we entered Jake's house I stood with my hands on my hips and raised my eyebrows. I wasn't very intimidating but all I could do was try.
"I wish I could tell you," Jake stuttered.
"I thought I could trust you," I sighed as I chose what to say next. "I heard you talking about me."
Jake stood still, he was shocked. "You eavesdropped!" He accused.
"What did you expect me to do?" I asked. "I have no idea what is going on. Things are happening and I'm scared."
"It's a long story but I can tell you a part of it," Jake sighed ruffling his hair.
"Thank you," I replied relieved. I did want to know the full story but I'd settle for a part of it.
He led me to his bedroom and I put my bag down on the floor while he turned on his computer. He motioned for me to come over so I did.
What I saw on the screen was unbelievable. It was a picture of Jake as a child with a black haired girl beside him.
"Chelsea," I whispered. He nodded and moved on to the next image. They were in primary school now.
Jake went through a bunch of photos until he got to one with him and Chelsea in year 7. He had his arm around her and she looked very innocent. She had no piercings and she smiled a real smile. Jake noticed me staring at her smiling.
"That's her real smile, when she's happy," he informed me.
"What happened?" I asked curious.
"She left school and then you and I became friends," he hesitated. "There's really nothing to it."
"It still makes no sense," I accused. "You aren't telling me everything. Why'd she leave? Why is she scared of Sam? Why won't you ever be seen in public with her? Why are you keeping things from me?"
Jake looked down at his feet, then he met my eyes. I had never seen him so sad. I looked deep into his eyes but I couldn't see anything besides pain and terror.
I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I ran out of his room, out of the house before he could catch up. Tears were running down my cheeks and I constantly wiped my eyes. I ran for ages, all the way back to my own house which was far from Jake's house. I caught my breath and wiped my eyes once more.
I had so many unanswered questions. I let the tears spill again. I couldn't understand the pain that Jake was going through and the trauma he had been through. I didn't understand why he was never seen in public with Chelsea. It wasn't fair. Suddenly my best friend who I used to share all of my secrets with didn't feel like my best friend.
Suddenly a memory I hadn't thought of came to me. I remember just after I'd fled from Chelsea and Jake I had seen the guy that kept glancing at me come from the other side. I had seen his brown hair and brown eyes, his tall figure. Jake and Chelsea were the first unanswered question. He was the next unanswered question.
***
I sprinted down the court in my sports lesson the next day trying to clear my head while attempting to do the beep test. After I got to my goal of 9 I sat against the wall and buried my head in my hands.
"That was impressive," I heard someone say next to me. I looked up at the boy who sat against the wall beside me. Those brown eyes were familiar. It suddenly came to me that he was one of Sam's friends, the nicer looking one. I still didn't know if I could trust him.
"What's your name?" I asked warily, for once maintaining eye contact.
"My name is Aiden," he replied. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"I'm Alana," I said quietly. His brown eyes softened a bit and held an emotion that I couldn't pick.
He nodded then quickly stood up. He looked back at me once and I wondered why he kept doing that.
***
Jake and I didn't talk at all today. I'd talked casually with Chelsea in form assembly but she never gave away anything. She had changed since year seven. She wore eyeliner and mascara now and had different piercings in her ear. She wore glasses now too. Her hair was longer now, in year seven it was shoulder length. I also noticed that when she smiled she never looked as happy as she did when she was younger. I noticed that she usually wore jumpers or long sleeved shirts.
At lunch I decided to eat with her since Jake wasn't anywhere to be found. I saw her rub her arm and frown. I suddenly realised that she had done this a number of times since yesterday.
"Why do you do that?" I asked.
She let go of her arm and answered with, "do what?"
"You rub your arm," I told her while pointing at her arm. She went eerily quiet.
"It's just sore," she murmured. "I knocked it last night."
"Will you show me?" I enquired.
She shook her head and I knew that she was again keeping something from me. I walked over to a bin to put my gladwrap in the bin. As I passed her on the way back I grabbed her arm and pulled the sleeve up. She pulled the sleeve back down in an instant but I saw what I needed to see. She had bright purple spots all over her arm, bruises. I gasped and sat back down.
"Why are you keeping things from me?" I asked. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say since I'd just seen her hidden bruises.
She looked up at me, pain in her eyes. "I don't want you to go through what I had to go through," she whispered before departing quickly. What was with these quick departures?
***
On my way home from school I felt uncomfortable. I wasn't walking with Jake or Chelsea, I was completely alone. I kept looking behind me. I didn't see anyone but I was still edgy. All of the secrets Chelsea and Jake were keeping from me were making me petrified. I sat down at a small park on the way home trying to think things through. I hadn't seen anyone following me so I didn't see any point in worrying.
I sat alone thinking about things until I felt a hand against my mouth. I couldn't scream. My heart was beating frantically in my chest. Someone had me from behind and was dragging me into the trees around the park. I struggled but my attacker just punched me every time I kicked or squirmed. When we were hidden I was thrown to the ground. I caught a glimpse of who had taken me. To my satonishment it was Sam. He laughed quietly and kicked me in the ribs. In a second Reece was by his side. They kicked and punched me. I couldn't breathe, my stomach hurt from the kicking and every body part ached. I tried to defend myself but that only led to more pain. I gasped for air as Sam kicked me hard in the stomach again.
Suddenly I heard someone shout, "Leave her alone!" I looked up to see another tall teenager my age punch Sam in the face. He kicked Reece and punched Sam again. I could hardly see anything after that. It was all a blur.
I could hardly hear the person who had saved me tell me it was going to be alright. I felt myself being lifted off of the ground. Whoever had saved me was taking me somewhere and I hoped it was home. I felt the tears silently rushing down my cheeks. Is this what Chelsea and Jake had been hiding from me?
My vision was now just blurry by my tears. I clung to my hero, whoever it was. When they placed me on the ground I wouldn't let go. I looked up to see who it was and I was surprised by what I saw. Those brown eyes.
"You have to go home now," he whispered. "I'm sorry about this."
He was gone in a flash and I was left shattered on the street. It was him. It was Aiden. Another question I didn't understand. Why did Aiden help me?