Bruised Knuckles

20. broken jawlines

Aspen walked to school carrying her physics textbook, studying it intently with each step we took. I tried to peek over her shoulder to get a glimpse of what the test was on, but I ended up empty handed. It was my own fault anyway.

Devian was next to me, staring at me from my side. I clenched my fists and tried to keep my head forward, watching Aspen walk in front of me, but nothing worked. I snapped my head to the side and mumbled, "What?"

Devian shrugged and gave me a mischievous grin, mumbling, "I bought mom and dad some plants to grow in their room. It'll be easier that way."

I widened my eyes and looked around to make sure nobody was nearby. "You mean, like, weed?"

Devian nodded real slow and kept that same grin on his face, showing accomplishment now instead of mischievous.

I let the information sink in for a moment, smacking my forehead as I remembered how Axel wanted our parents to meet since we were going to prom together. Now, we have weed growing upstairs, and a cop downstairs if they do come over.

Can this household possibly get any more corrupted?

We were approaching Axel's block, and I told Devian to shut up in case his dad was around, but I never told him he was a cop. Aspen was probably listening to every word we said, too engrossed in her textbook to care.

I spotted Axel on his walkway, smoking another cigarette. I slowed down but Axel didn't notice us. Instead, he turned around towards his front door, and I heard a very masculine, deep voice begin to yell, "I told you to quit those cancer sticks! Throw them all away, your mother would be so disappointed!"

Axel took a dramatically long drag of his cigarette, yelling back, "I'm eighteen! I can do what I want to! Don't even think about bringing mom into this when she's fucking dead!"

I bit my tongue and tried not to listen, Aspen passing Axel's house now as her cheeks flushed red. I'm sure she was anxious from hearing the yelling, yet too shy to look up to see what it was about.

Devian and I began to pass his house now, too, as Axel came down onto the sidewalk. His face was burning with anger, and he gave me a small glance, "Hey."

I shifted my eyes around a bit before responding, "Hey. You okay?"

He ran his fingers along the back of his neck, circling his head around as he tried to calm down, or so it seemed. "Yeah, I'm okay. I told my dad I was going to prom with you-"

Devian darted in front of us, one arm on each of ours, "You're going to prom with another guy?!"

Axel and I looked at eachother, and I cleared my throat before telling Devian the truth, "Yeah. I'm not sitting out this year, this is my senior year." I saw Aspen turn around and give us a little smile, slapping her textbook closed.

"Who is the nerd?" Axel whispered to me while grabbing onto his book bag straps.

I began laughing, desperately hoping Aspen wasn't able to hear that. "She's my twin sister," I told Axel while I reciprocated from my laughter, "her name is Aspen."

Axel smiled and extended one arm, ruffling the hair on the back of my head, "That's so sweet, Orion has a twin sister."

Aspen peeked around her shoulder again, waving at us from the short lead she had. Axel waved back, meeting her timidness in his actions. I appreciated that he wasn't overbearing.

"So, I talked to my dad and we can come over tomorrow night. I know it's short notice, but you have my number on that paper I gave you, just call me if it's not good," Axel suddenly said as we walked up the school steps. Devian and Aspen were gone now, both already inside.

That damn paper again.

I guess tonight had to work, because Axel was already heading down to the cafeteria to get breakfast, leaving me in the main hallway alone. I rubbed my temples and kept walking, someone stopping me in my tracks. They had familiar shoes on as I looked down at the hallway floor, one sock pushed up more than the other.

"ORION GREER IS QUEER!"

Frankie Moore looked down at me while he chanted, a disgusting smirk plastered on his chiseled face. I rolled my eyes and my neck, attempting to calm myself down in the same way Axel did earlier. Was it too soon to adopt each others behaviors?

"Listen, Frankie," I began, but he immediately starting chanting again. A few more people began chanting too, the echoing ringing in my ears as I realized this was about me, "Fuck you, Frankie! I'm your teammate, what does it matter? I'm not interested in fucking you!"

Frankie kept chanting, the same look on his face as he stood in the exact same spot. I took in a deep breath, annoyed at the small crowd of boys who were chanting Frankie's stupid phrase.

"You're just upset that I have majority of the baseball scholarships," I snapped, watching Frankie remain unmoved.

I let the breath out through my nose, my blood practically boiling inside of me while I wound up my arm, throwing a punch directly into Frankie's jawline that every girl seemed to love oh so much.

Frankie clasped his jaw and tried to retaliate, but teachers already recognized our situation, pulling us both away from eachother. Frankie gave me a glare as he was pulled away by the assistant principal, my breathing heavy as I felt my chest rise and fall with my adrenaline.

"Orion?" I heard a soft, disgruntled voice speak, almost too soft to be anyone but Aspen. I looked around and saw her standing against the lockers I was walking past with the principal. Her face was bloodshot and she was sobbing openly, her hands crossed at her chest as if she was trying to calm herself down. I know she was.

"I have to go home now," she told me, but I read her lips because I couldn't hear anything but the murmur of curious students.

I didn't see what happened after that because the principal had me locked in his office. I sat down in front of his desk and looked nowhere in particular, my anger still at a dangerous level.

"So, Orion, you punched Frankie Moore?" The principal folded his hands and looked at me with a tilted head.

"I punched Frankie Moore, and you can't deny he didn't deserve it."

Actually, I think Frankie Moore needed that punch. I hope it brought his ego down a few notches.

---

Hi everyone! From now on, I'm doing weekly updates because I don't want to rush this story too much. I hope you're enjoying it so far! Please vote or comment!