But the next morning, when Jennifer woke up in the arms of Adrian, he didn't feel like just a classmate. He felt like the second piece of her broken soul. Like a man who knew the way to that slippery, elusive thing called happiness. The way his hard muscles and long body enveloped her. In fact that he was so tall and wide, made her feel protected and cherished. It was his warmth -not the one from his skin, the one from who he was- That filled her with something that wasn't emptiness.
"Gosh, what are you even thinking?" Jennifer said as she sits up on her bed. Her movements wake Adrian up. "Good morning." She greeted him. When Adrian finally realizes he was awake, he hurriedly rushed for his phone. He dialed James' number. "I need to meet you in an hour. Our place." His face was strained. The urgency in his voice scared Jennifer.
"Hey, I wished you good morning." Jennifer repeated herself. "Oh! Good morning and see you later." Adrian hurried out of the bed and ran out of his room. At James' home, he had barely opened his eyes, when Adrian's call came. His tone was worried. "I ought to run." James thought as he jumped out of the bed and ran straight out of the house, even without bathing.
James ran up to their secret hiding place. It was only five minutes away from his home. Even though it was just a forest clearing in the middle of nowhere, it was the safest place on the entire earth. Whenever, James and Adrian ran into trouble, this place has always come to their rescue. Emotionally and physically both. It was the place where they had first met.
When he reached there, He saw Adrian sitting on a stone between the thick groove of trees. He could hear the faint chirps of birds, the distant sounds of a creek and the crunch of the forest debris under his feet. The damp air and the shrubby aroma enveloped him as he took careful steps towards Adrian.
Just as Adrian registered the presence of James, he got up and faced him. "I have to teach that bastard a lesson, no one gets to hurt my Jennifer and live happily." "Adrian, am I missing something?" James could feel the fire in Adrian's eyes. It was so much that it could roast an entire person faster than one could blink. The rage had taken over him.
Master Adrian was back. The soft and polite Adrian, who knew fragile things such as mercy and kindness was long gone. The guy who was head over heels in love with a girl was buried deep inside. Now it was a ruthless face like that of a savage, hidden behind curtains of elegance and eloquence. The high school boy had transformed into a cold man who knew no forgiveness. It was almost like he could go on a killing spree any moment now.
"Jennifer had been into some trouble with Kurt, for protecting his servant Darius. I saw him troubling her, confronted him and then we made a bet. It was decided that Kurt would throw a weekend party and invite Jennifer for it. He promised me that she would cry that day before leaving the party. I told him, till the time Jennifer was with me, no one could lay as much as a finger on her, let alone bring tears to her eyes. But I was wrong. I thought that he would hurt her physically but no! I lost the bet. Kurt, being his wicked fuckboy self, did his homework and found out that Winston had broken up with Jennifer. He had cheated on her with Abby. He invited them to the party. Fifteen minutes into the party, I and Jennifer were sitting on the chairs when she spotted them kissing and then, the same thing happened but I knew I couldn't let her cry, so I did something."
Adrian halted at this moment. Out, in the sea of miserable memories, this was the only drop of happiness. The only part of the entire happening that he didn't regret. Not even for a second. "What did you do?" James was also worried now. The rivalry of Kurt was already bad enough and to add to this already spectacular mess was the fact that Kurt had targeted Jennifer, the only person on the entire earth, Adrian had feelings about. Adrian hadn't lost a bet. He had started a war and this was had no predictable outcome. It could end for the worse and rip Adrian of all his humanity and emotions or it could end for the good, where the tyrant rule of Kurt over his feelings would end. For a second, James even considered the possibility of this to never end. That would be volatile not just for Adrian or Kurt but for everybody related to them, ever. But that was for later. Currently, James had to understand what had happened. Adrian usually formulated a plan but when it comes to Jennifer, he can be a bit impulsive.
"Actually, to distract her from them, I- I kissed her." Adrian confessed. " You did what! You kissed her, without her consent. Are you crazy!!!! It was your first kiss!!!!! A man never does that." James never thought Adrian would do this. Oh Jennifer! What have you done to my best friend? Give him back. "Luckily, she understood the trick and kissed me back." James was now shocked beyond words. Jennifer kissed Adrian back. No! This had to be some kind of dream. This can't be happening. "Then?" James prompted further. "Then I thought it would be better if we exited the party. So, we got out but Winston followed us. He caught up with us near my car. That's when my protective side kicked in, and we had a little fight. A few punches here and there and then we walked away. She cried inside the car, while we got to her home."
Adrian stopped again. Now this was the most painful part.