fists balling. Marley wondered if they knew each other before this moment, and her suspicions were definitely spot on. "You don't get a monopoly on the only godd

ntation, stand from their seats and glare at Aiden. They were probably from Jordan's school. Leo sto

nd her voice, begging for Aiden to s

y time you've fought me in the past the only one on their ass is you. Walk away, Jamieson. You need all the brain cells you can get." Aiden shot back, his voice icy now, his stance unmoved and unperturbed. Marley wished for some of his courage, shaking like a leaf behind his back. Jordan's eyes lit up, and

In moments, the bus driver would notice the sudden, tension-filled silence in the bus as every voice hushed, every eye turning to the expectation of a fight. Who knew what trouble the four of them could face for

e at the loud, ear-ringing squeal of the brakes, and a jerk of the bus as the driver yanked them to a stop at a close call with a yellow light. The entire bus shook, and Jordan was slammed into the girl he was with. They nearly fell over, while Marley's tightest possible grip on the handl

he was going to fall. When the bus rocked as it righted itself, Marley's body barely moved in the iron hold she was now in. Blinking her eyes open, she was stunned at the sight of electric blue eyes boring into hers. Aiden had steadied her using his body, his

le human as she'd ever been in her life, a small g

s his eyes left hers to scrutinize her body for harm, or

hed for the bathroom, barely managing to slam the door shut behind her. Marley sighed in relief when she finally relieved her very impatient bladder, her eyes catching on bright pink thongs hanging from the light switch.

where a dirty mirror rested over a small tap. Tears escaped without her control, as s

wiping a paper towel under her eyes and washing her hands, she covered her face with her hair so no one would see her face. She u

she shouted behind her before the

and up to this Jordan character except for Aiden. Marley ducked her head down and squirmed past them, really not wantin

's wild, soft hair sticking up in all directions, his he

u, damsel i

blonde girl was beside him, and they were both glaring at her again. She desperately fought the gr

this. So do yourself a favour, and stay the hell away from her," Aiden's voice was

s body language. She watched him be sure of himself to the point where it was impossible to doubt his action behind his words. Thankfully, the bus driver noticed the commotion closer to his seat at the front, the radio volume lowerin

ed in relief watching neither them deem a fight here and now, to be worth losing their places in camp. "Later," Jordan threat

Matthews at all, but, she couldn't deny the way her pulse quickened at his resolve to protect her. She couldn't deny how he defended her to Jordan. She couldn't deny when he stomped out a cigarette as soon as he noticed she was scared of them. She couldn't deny when he lifted her bag into the luggage bay for her. She definitely couldn't deny the way he noticed Matt was making her uncomfortable, and intervened when she didn't have the voice to speak up. Marley no longer, could deny any of the kindness of this beautiful, mysterious king of Kingston High school, that was shaping out to defy her every judgement of him from the little she'd se

ching his long legs, crossing his ankles in the isle. "Don't mention it. Besides, Jamieson and I have history tha

use I'm a coward, too." After a minute of silence, her body slumped against the window, exhaustion creeping into her veins like a thick serum. The anxiety from that confrontation had flatlined now, and with it, whatever energy she gained from the little sleep she managed to find last night. Her vision was blurring as she sank into the sweet, gentle surrender of sleep, never fighting to escape from reality when th