Chapter 1 #2
Both of them still stand just to my left, right inside the door, as if rooted to the spot—much like myself.
They watch Kratos and Zander, neither looking away as they wait to see what will happen.
As I watch them, I notice Spencer has his hand on his neck, where he rubs at it in what appears to be an absent-minded way, right at the spot where Jade had just held her blade moments ago.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say it almost seems like a nervous gesture, but nothing shows on his face.
Maybe she nicked him?
Instead of trying to understand it, I look over at Rick instead.
With my attention on him, I realize he isn’t just looking at the stare-off in front of us but at everything around us.
His eyes go from Zander and Kratos to Jade and around the room a few times, as if he’s trying to work out the pieces of a puzzle.
I feel like I can hear the wheels turning in his mind as he works through something that I don’t even have a hope of understanding.
I really want him to figure it out, if only so he can fill me in.
“That’s enough.” Jade’s voice pulls me from my thoughts as I turn my attention back to her again. She’s no longer on the desk.
Now, she stands next to Kratos with her hand resting on his arm as she looks up at him.
I expect him to lay into her, or at the very least to shake off her touch, but just like with everything else tonight, the exact opposite happens.
This time I have to fight against my mouth falling open in shock when Kratos pulls his eyes away from Zander to look down at her.
The moment his gaze meets hers, it’s as if his anger melts away.
They look at each other for a long moment before he gives her a nod and turns away, moving back to the chair to have a seat.
What in the fuck is happening right now?
“Sit down and shut up,” Kratos says to Zander before turning his attention to the rest of us.
“Get in here and close the door.” He’s not asking.
That much is clear from his tone, and while I want to argue, I can’t bring myself to do it.
Apparently, I’m not the only one either because I hear the door click closed behind me.
A moment later, Rick and Spencer both step forward into the space around the desk, leaving me to stand alone by the door.
I take a few steps into the room but stay just a bit behind to avoid drawing attention to myself.
I want answers, but I also don’t want to put myself in the middle of this shit if I can help it.
“I’m serious, Kratos. She doesn’t need to be here for this. Let me take her back to your office before Froggie gets here, and then we can figure all this shit out.” Zander’s voice is thick, and I can see by the way he shifts in his chair that he’s fighting the urge to get up and do it.
Kratos doesn’t respond, doesn’t even acknowledge that he’s heard him speak.
Instead, his full attention is focused on Jade.
She once again sits on the desk with her legs swinging back and forth as if she doesn’t have a care in the world.
The look in his eyes isn’t hard to place.
I’ve seen Zander look at her like that every day at school, but it’s still shocking to see it from Kratos, of all people.
There's something else there, too, but I can’t quite put my finger on what exactly it is.
Turning my attention back to Jade, I’m shocked to find she has a hand pressed to her mouth as she tries and fails to hold back laughter. Her cheeks are red, and her eyes shine. She’s beautiful always but like this, so carefree…It would be great if now was the time for that.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her what's so funny. I mean, this is an insane situation, but the clear joy on her face has me fighting against a smile of my own without even knowing why.
“What could you possibly be laughing at right now, Demon?” Spencer snaps at her from beside me, causing all heads to turn to him. He’s got some serious balls after all the shit he caused tonight, especially with how mad everyone else in this room is with him.
Zander’s out of his chair in an instant, no doubt ready to lay into him either with his words or his fists, maybe both.
I think about stepping between them for a moment.
We have more than enough shit on our plate as it is, and we don't need them dissolving into a fistfight on top of it, at least not right now.
Not while we wait for their gang boss to show up and possibly murder all of us.
Jade’s laughter rings out around the room before it comes to that, though, and Zander stops mid-step to turn back and look at her as she rocks back and forth on the desk in a fit of pure, uncontrollable laughter.
I’ve heard her laugh a few times this week in class, but this is so much more than that. Her laughter is damn near contagious, and the sound of it somehow settles some of my nerves as I watch her.
“I’m sorry, it’s not funny,” she gasps as she tries, and fails, to get herself back under control. “Go back to your fighting,” she tells them with a wave of her hand as if to dismiss us as all eyes in the room fixate on her.
Nobody moves as she laughs for a while longer before gulping in deep breaths and finally stopping. Nobody moves even after she’s stopped and wipes the tears from under her eyes.
It feels like forever that we stand there watching her. Finally, she leans back, planting her hands on the desk behind her as she takes in each of us as if assessing us, the smile still firmly on her face.
Nobody speaks, nobody moves, and it feels like we're all just waiting to see who will snap and what will happen next.
“It’s you,” Rick says firmly from where he stands, and while I have no idea what he’s talking about, Jade clearly does.
Her eyes sparkle, and her cheerful smile once again takes on a wicked quality as her eyes look over in his direction.
“I knew it would be you, Roderick.”