Popularity Rules

by Shamika Lindsay

  I sighed loudly and shook my head. You can take the girl out of the gang… “Why?” I asked tiredly.

  “She wanted me to get you to back out of the plan,” he relayed hurriedly as if she’d appear from mere dust particles. “But I told her no, I keep my promises, and she went ballistics, telling me all the fighting skills she had.”

  I narrowed my eyes. That little sneak, she was still going to try to get me to back off. “Uh, does your sister have any clothes she could borrow?”

  Marc’s eyes widened a fraction. “That’s seriously all you’re going to say?” he exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. I gave him a look that said shut up and answer me, he caught on quickly and gave me a sheepish grin before nodding. “There’s some clean clothes in the hamper beside the bathroom.”

  I held up a finger that indicated give me a minute before charging up the stairs. I looked around for the hamper and cringed when I noticed it was a floral one, how that was even possible baffled me. I reached in and grabbed the first few articles of clothing I could get my hands on. I pushed my way into the bathroom, hearing Avery’s distinctive singing stop.

  “What the—” she began, poking her head out. Her eyes widened and she opened and shut her mouth a few times before speaking. “Jason! Get out!” she cried, tightening the holographic-looking shower curtain around her torso.

  I grinned a little at her discomfort before setting down the clothing I had brought on the closed toilet seat. Her eyes flickered down at the clothes before she blinked at me in confusion. “Thanks…I guess,” she muttered uncertainly.

  “I will be coming along whether you like it or not,” I stated nonchalantly. “Threatening Marc won’t work. Honestly, I feel like I’m going to have to handcuff myself to you just so you won’t do something stupid.”

  Avery frowned but sighed, clearly still embarrassed about my being in the bathroom. “Okay. But get out.”

  I stared at her, surely it couldn’t be that easy because honestly it was never that easy, especially with her. I would have to be watching her closely from now on. I conceded, holding up both hands and backing out of the room.

  I headed back down the stairs and saw Marc staring into space, his face looking troubled. I sat down beside him on the sofa, jostling him out of whatever reverie he was in. He glanced over at me and his grimace deepened, I could tell this was going to be bad conversation after bad conversation. I groaned and slapped my palms over my eyes, waiting to hear what he had to say.

  “It makes me nervous that she’s this worried about you going. I mean what if something happens? I’m not a very good fighter,” Marc quipped, his eyes darting everywhere.

  My brows scrunched together and I regarded him warily. “Stop being such a wuss, it’s going to be fine.”

  “Easy for you to say; you’ve got a fighter girlfriend to protect you.”

  A couple moments of silence passed while I mulled over what he said. Of course, I could handle myself, but I surely couldn’t fight on their level. My mind flashed back to when Avery managed to pin me down without much fight. If anything, I was a little rusty, probably not having enough testosterone fueled wars as most guys did. No one wanted to fight me anyway and it wasn’t because of my ‘bulging muscles’.

  “Hey!” I exclaimed, changing the subject, “what happened to Justine?” I asked, referring to Marc’s on-again, off-again girlfriend.

  He clammed up immediately, averting his gaze. Justine and I never did hang out much but from what I saw she was bossy, a tall mass of bouncing curls and fiery words. “She’s around,” he responded vaguely, not meeting my gaze.

  I waggled my brows at him and laughed. “You guys are back together, huh?”

  Marc nodded sheepishly. “I don’t know, I can’t—”

  An unearthly shout sounded from upstairs, my name distorted in the process. Marc and I both started. I jumped to my feet and sprinted up the stairs with Marc on my heel. I pressed my ear against the door to decipher if anything was awry. I just heard angered murmurings.

  “Avery, what’s wrong?” I asked, trying to make out her incoherent words.

  She pulled the door a fraction and gave me a doleful look, her eyes wide and glazed, her lips quivering. My first instinct was to be alarmed but I froze as she pulled the door open further and roved her hand over her body in disgust.

  “Did you get these clothes from a stripper?” she cried.

  I positively hollered, holding my stomach to contain my raucous laughter after I gave her a once over. Sure, it was an exaggeration on a grander scale, but I let her have this one, she didn’t usually show this much expression after all. The shirt was a cropped one that stopped just above her belly button and the shorts were so tight it looked like she had trouble standing. Of course, Avery had the figure to pull it off, but it looked abnormal on her. Admiring her in it would be like calling a precious gem-stone just ‘okay’.

  Marc squinted at her as if he was trying to decipher if he should be upset that she was inadvertently insulting his sister. His face relaxed and he shrugged, turning his gaze to me while hooking a thumb in Avery’s direction. “That’s one of her more modest choices if you ask me.”

  I let out a short bark of laughter before looking down at Avery who still looked completely horrified at what she was wearing. Her eyes shot to Marc who was chuckling a little to himself. “Does she at least have leggings? I don’t know why but the girls here seem particularly fond of them.”

  Marc nodded. “I suppose so but she hardly ever wears them. I’ll go see if she has any.”

  Avery finally let a chuckle brighten her features and nodded. “Get me one of those and one of your t-shirts. I am not leaving here in this,” she mumbled before closing the door.

  “Well,” Marc started after a lengthy silence, “you’ve got to admit, she’s kind of hot.”

  I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him across the landing towards his room. “Just keep thinking of Justine, lover boy. Nothing else.”

  Marc snorted and headed into his room, this kind of peace was surreal and couldn’t, wouldn’t possibly last.

  Chapter

  XXXI

  Marc was kind enough to let Avery and I take a nap on his cloud-like sofa. We must’ve been exhausted because we were knocked out for hours. When we finally woke up, in an extremely awkward and uncomfortable position—me with my arms wrapped tightly around Avery to stop her from toppling off the sofa and her with her leg sprawled across my thigh in an attempt of her own to stay rooted to the sofa—Marc handed us a box of untouched pizza, informing us that his parents had taken some home.

  My eyes scanned the living room, the only thing noticeably out of the ordinary were the lights that illuminated the furniture, otherwise, everything looked the same. I sighed in relief. “Where are your parents now?” I asked, groggily.

  Marc gestured toward the staircase. “Asleep. You two were out cold.”

  I groaned and ran a hand over my face. “What time is it then?”

  “Almost 1:00 a.m.”

  What made matters worse was the fact that I was still tired but the ravenous creature that was my stomach had other thoughts. When was the last time I had solid food? Apparently, Avery felt the same because she was staring at the box hungrily, ignoring the conversation. I thanked Marc and sat up straighter, opening up the box and pulling out the first cheesy slice, almost smiling in bliss at the pineapples and ham.

  As soon as I took the savory bite, Marc spoke up, “Your mother called while you both were sleeping.”

  “What?” I asked between mouthfuls of dough and cheese.

  “She was wondering when you guys were going back to the hospital but since you’re lazy, I told her not until tomorrow.”

  I nodded, already taking my fourth slice of pizza. “Thanks for the save.”

  Marc paused and I knew something was coming. I swallowed and turned to Avery who slowed her chewing and met my gaze warily. “I was thinking, maybe you could tell her that you’re still planning t
o leave.” I pursed my lips at him, and he continued, “Come on, Jason. Her husband’s in the hospital; you can’t leave too…you can’t take everything away from her.”

  I mulled it over for a moment. Maybe Marc was right, but I was positive my mother would do everything in her power to keep me from going and I couldn’t let that happen. “I will tell her…in a phone call…when I’m almost there.”

  Marc sighed and sat back on the sofa facing us, running his hands over his face. It seemed as if he realized I wasn’t going to be deterred and closed off, deciding not to say anything else. I traded a glance with Avery and tried to read her face, her expression was blank. I took a solemn bite of the pizza and stared into the ceiling, all I wanted to do was to tame the monster in my stomach and go back to sleep.

  Morning came much too quickly for my liking, I was still groggy as I pulled on my shoes, unable to adjust my eyes. After blinking repeatedly, I saw Avery straightening the t-shirt covering her thin frame. She looked perturbed. Her face was covered in indescribable angst. I sighed and shook my head to clear my mind. We were not backing out of this, couldn’t.

  Marc returned from the kitchen with granola bars and threw them to Avery and I. I caught one effortlessly and stuck it into my pocket. Marc was ideally dressed in dark jeans and a dark hoodie. Of course, it was a little too early for our rendezvous but, somehow, he convinced his parents he had to stay home today. I wasn’t sure how he was planning to broach the subject of why his car was missing, but I decided to leave the details of that to him. Now the only thing left to do was retrieve my van from my house, which was, up until a few days ago, an active crime scene. I lifted the bag filled with clothes that Marc had lent me for our journey to wherever Avery lived.

  The drive to my humble abode was quick with an unfitting cheery pop song playing in the background. Avery and I both sat on the backseat while Marc drove us, his face the epitome of a poker face. Our fingers were laced through each other’s and Avery had her head lulled on my shoulder. Her hair tickled my chin as I rested my head on hers. Moments like this made me realize how I wanted a normal relationship, one that you could see and appreciate the small details of.

  “Uh Jason,” Marc called, looking in the rearview mirror at us. “Are you sure we aren’t disrupting a crime scene?”

  I met his gaze before looking out the window as the still atmosphere that surrounded the house made the hairs on my arm stand on end. Marc parked the car along the sidewalk, and I stared at the house, willing it not to look foreign and distant. To me, everything looked undisturbed, but an eerie chill lingered around my temples and I couldn’t stop scoping out the shrubbery that looked a little too perfect.

  Checking for about the millionth time, that I had the key, I stepped out of the car, warily doing a 360 to see if I was missing anything that appeared out of place. I shrugged and headed up the pavement where my van still sat, everything seemed fine, perfectly fine. I stuck my hands in my pocket but paused, noticing something, a sound. The air went completely still, and I tensed, listening carefully. I swiftly turned around, expecting to see someone but saw nothing. I shook my head and turned in the other direction, finally seeing a tall, burly guy, with his fists balled defensively.

  I knew it was too easy. Elijah knew I’d come for my van eventually; he was smarter than I gave him credit for. For some reason though, the adrenaline coursing through my veins did nothing to counteract my feelings of angst. If I wasn’t sure about anything, I was sure Elijah wanted to get Avery back for burning him, in any way possible. The worst part of the situation was the fact that Avery nor Marc couldn’t possibly see me from the street. I gritted my teeth and forced words out.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to play dumb. “This is a crime scene and people shouldn’t—”

  I was abruptly cut off. His fist connected with my nose and my head flew back on impact and the burning sensation made me dizzy. I glanced at the sky as soon as I opened my eyes, trying my best to look unaffected. I looked back at him and smiled, trying to ignore the feeling of thick, sticky, warm blood escaping my nostrils.

  I opted for a different approach. “Why are you even working for Elijah, you’re clearly so much better than that,” I said soothingly, obviously fibbing as I took in his yellowed teeth and dazed eyes. He raised an eyebrow at me as if saying, “Oh really?”

  Twice. My hand shot to my eye as he hit me again in a swift motion. I felt the instantaneous throbbing and realized just how literal the saying seeing stars was. I blinked a few times to clear the blurred image in front of my face. I decided to try again. I gritted my teeth in frustration but gave a smile that felt like a grimace.

  “You just need to listen—”

  Three times. This time, he jabbed me in the jaw, making me wince as I felt the unwanted metallic tasting liquid.

  “Are you serious?” I exclaimed, pulling my finger from my nose and cringing at the blood. “I’m just asking you to listen.”

  He showed his stained teeth in a wry smile before his fist came crashing toward my face yet again. I caught it a few inches from my nose and tried to ignore the strain in my arm. I hadn’t fought in a long time and I’d never taken on someone of his size, strength and skill. He gaped at me in surprise before narrowing his gaze. I fell to the ground with a thud and winced as the pain coursed through my back as he kicked my feet from his balanced stance.

  I grunted again as he fell atop me, immediately bringing his fist down. I rolled my head to the other side and he narrowly missed my face. I took the moment to raise my knee and hit him in the groin. He doubled over in pain and rolled away from me. I fluidly stood, ignoring the protest in my back. I stared at him helplessly, not knowing what the right thing was to do. Being a pacifist made doing what I know I should that much harder. I spat on the ground and noted with regret, the amber colored liquid.

  “Jason, what’s taking you so long?” Avery asked, a few feet behind the van. I watched her face twist in surprise as she stared at the crumpled figure on the ground. She met my gaze and her eyes widened even more at the sight of my face. “Ricky…?” she breathed, almost inaudibly.

  The guy’s, who I presumed was Ricky, head shot up and he looked past me to her. I watched his gaze widen with recognition and he looked a bit giddy. To me, it seemed like he saw this as an opportunity to conquer her and win Elijah over. I saw a sly smile cross his face as he took her in, ignoring whatever pain I’d inflicted. He stood unsteadily and didn’t even seem to remember I was there. He just stared at Avery, almost in glee.

  As soon as he began approaching her menacingly, I hurried toward him and grabbed his right arm, pinning it behind his back and pushing him against the van. I winced as he groaned in pain but reminded myself it was for Avery. Before he could pull himself out of the slippery grasp I had him in, I pulled his head back and let it go quickly, ignoring the sickening crunch. I stepped back as he fell to the ground. I could live with this. It was either us or him. I heard a low groan slipping from his mouth and panicked, giving him two kicks for good measure. I watched him for a moment before looking up at Avery, she was staring at Ricky in horror, her mouth opened.

  “He’s out cold,” I whispered, knowing she’d hear me.

  Avery’s eyes popped up to mine, her brows furrowed and she frowned. “He could’ve hurt you, Jason.”

  “But he didn’t,” I replied, laughing weakly. “I’m fine.”

  “Well, you didn’t exactly get out unscathed,” she mumbled, approaching me. I winced as she touched a sore spot under my eye, she frowned. “Why didn’t you call for help?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t need my girlfriend rescuing me.”

  Her frown deepened. “We’re a team; we rescue each other.”

  I rested my palm over the hand she had on my cheek and sighed, “I was rescuing you. I saw how he was looking at you.”

  Avery pursed her lips at me. “Thank you, I appreciate it, but, I could have taken him,” she replied smugly, looking at the unconscious guy
at our feet.

  “Really?” I asked, unconvinced.

  Avery rolled her eyes. “That’s why he was so eager to get a go at me. Apparently, I bruised his ego by beating him up in the past.”

  I raised a brow but said nothing, wishing to just get the van and go before any other lurking shadows came for us. I pulled the keys out of my pocket and unlocked the door. I turned back to Avery who was staring thoughtfully at the guy on the ground. “Hey, this works out for us.”

  “How so?” she asked distractedly.

  “After he wakes up, he’ll tell Elijah that we’ve taken the van and he’ll be convinced it’s us when Marc’s going in the opposite direction.”

  “Hmm, smart,” she mused, still not looking at me.

  I heaved a sigh and jumped into the driver’s seat, patiently waiting for Avery to follow suit. As soon as she got in, I quickly maneuvered the vehicle around Ricky, careful not to hit him. I started off down the road with Marc close behind, trying my very best to ignore the looks of skepticism he was giving me. Throughout the ride, Avery said nothing. She merely stared at the dashboard and rubbed her arms silent-mindedly. I didn’t want to push her, so I merely partook in the quiet.

  We decided to take the less traveled, more secluded entrance to the hospital, constantly making checks in the rearview mirror. Thankfully, no one that we readily noticed was watching us. I knew Ricky would come to soon and the first call he would make would be none other than to Elijah. I was glad that we ran into him almost because now Elijah would be certain he was trailing us, I was sure of it. I exhaled deeply and leaned over the steering wheel as soon as I parked the vehicle. I suddenly felt more tired than before and felt the comforting gesture of Avery’s reassuring pat on the back as she leaned over to my seat.

  Throughout all of this Avery had been supportive, always having my back when things went awry—well for the most part that is. If anyone had told me we’d be this close when we first met, I would have laughed them to shame. Although she had intrigued me from the start, I was sure she would put up a fight and never let me back into her personal bubble. I was surprised she did. But, now, looking back I was thankful for it.