James' POV
I hold Carramel close to my body, rocking her softly as her sniffles begin to slow down. I was sitting in Leader's Development when Jackson suddenly burst in the class with a panic. When she was finally saw me sitting there with Art and Alex he told me that Carramel was having a break down in class and wouldn't let anyone touch her.
My teacher didn't say anything as I raced out the room with Jack on my heels as we ran through the hallways until I arrived in Mr. Cedrics room who recognized me from her class last year. "She came running in right before the bell. I saw her one moment and she was fine when I turned back around she was falling out of the chair and to the floor. Her friend Enza, I and Jackson tried to help her up but she just screamed and cried louder." She said and I didn't need to hear anymore.
I slowly approached my bean that was curled up on the floor against the wall shaking like a leaf and it broke my heart to see her like that. I had crouched down and I watched her begin to sniff the air as her chest rose and fell in an uneven pattern making my worry continue to shoot up. Once she recognized it was me, her body was turning and arms widening and I leaned forward to grab her up princess style.
I had turned around as I looked for someone to help Jackson and Makayla instantly came over to grab Carramel's stuff, not missing anything, but a random piece of paper caught my eye that was laying across her desk. "Jackson, hand me that paper." I told him and once it was securely in my grasp, I brought her here to the nurses office. Makayla and Jackson has tried to linger but I shooed them out so I could take care of my bean the way I needed.
Now that her breathing is back to normal and only lingering tears are staining her cheek, I try to pull away from her to look at her face but she whines pitifully so I hold her closer to settle her down once more.
"Carramel, what happened?" I ask her softly, my hand slowly stroking her shivering form.
"There was a note." She tells me, her voice full of fear and shaking just as bad as her voice. I frown my head in confusion until I remember the random piece of paper that I told Jack to pick up. I turn my head from side to side looking for it and find the note laying beside my thigh.
I pick it up with my free hand and open it, beginning to read though my blood pressure and anger rises as I do.
'James, calm down.' Sloan tells me and I snarl at him, the sound almost echoing physically.
'Calm down?! Did you not read the fucking note? They're threatening her directly Sloan. Why the fuck should I calm down?" I ask him and his answer is calm and collected when he speaks.
'Carramel just had a whole break down because of fear which means she's in a very sensitive state right now, love. If you get angry with her in your arms, you're going to send her right back in that state.' He tells me and I growl at the fact that he's right, as he always is whenever I get like this but there's too many emotions whirring through me for me to calm down.
'I can't be her rock right now Sloan.' I tell my wolf shamefully as growls and snarls threaten to break free form my chest. 'I need you right now. She needs you right now.' I admit to Sloan and there's no snarky remarks or sarcasm, just the silent agreement as I'm pushed into the background and Sloan takes care of Carramel the way I can't right now.
****
Sloan's POV
I open my eyes and look down to see Carramel shaking in my arms. Doing the trick I learned when Tobias and I were kids, I hold her by the back of her neck and lean my forehead to her letting my breath fan over her face, my scent woven into it. I've been told all my life that my scent is that of safety and I do my best to use the to my advantage whenever someone I love is distraught.
"Hey, love." I tell Carramel quietly and she opens her eyes, behind her glasses and stares at me for a second before she closes them once more.
"Hey, Sloan." She says, her voice small and tired. "Where's James?" She asks me and I use my extra hand to begin rubbing her back softly.
"He couldn't keep his emotions in check, so I had to send him in time out." I tell her and I'm rewarded with a small giggle as she lifts her head firm kind and placed it in the crook of my neck.
"Does that mean I have to go in time out too?" She asks me and I pretend to think about it.
"I mean you seem like a fun sized train wreck so maybe." I say sassily and my ears are blessed once more. It's refreshing to take care of someone else for once. All my life I've been the softer weaker version of James that always needed protecting whether from bullies or our father. Being able to be there for someone else and protect them makes me smile, especially for someone as important as my Mate.
"We're going to play a game, okay?" I ask her and she nods into my neck softly.
"What kind of game?" She asks and I'm just happy she's interested at all.
"We're going to go back and forth asking questions. I'll ask you about today and you can ask me about anything you want." I tell her and she nods her head again. "Okay you can start."
"Do you really hate Suzi as much as James says?" She asks and I snort as my lip raises in a sneer.
"Of course not. I hate her much much more." I promise her and she laughs a bit before she settles back down. "How did you get the note?" I ask her and she's quiet for a moment before she answers.
"When I left James, I went to my locker and grabbed my books. The paper was on top of them and it fell. I thought I left it in there by accident so I grabbed it as I ran to class." She tells me and I store the information away for later.
She wasn't handed the paper, someone must have slipped the note through the slip in the locker so when she opened it she would see it. Smart. But not smart enough, there's too many cameras in the school for someone to get away with it. I turn my attention back to Carramel as she asks her next question.
"Do you really wear acrylics in your mind?" She asks me shyly and I smile at the question, loving that she genuinely wants to know more about me.
"Yes I do. Do you want to see?" I ask her and she nods her head in excitement. I feel her mental persona nudge at the protective wall I have around my mind and I allow the barrier to open, letting Carramel see me in all my glory. In my mind, my dirty blonde hair is shoulder length and curly. I'm wearing some short shorts and a crop top that shows off my belly piercing. And of course my fingers are adorned with long purple coffin nails.
"Whoa." Carramel gasps as I feel her stare at me in what seems like awe. "You're so pretty." She tell me and I blush at the compliment not expecting it but loving it all the same.
"Thank you, bean." I tell her and keep my mind open so she can stare at me all she likes, her heart finally settling for good. "When did you read the note?" I ask her after a few beats of silence and she doesn't seem as scared when she answers this time, my precious baby getting more comfortable with me.
"Mr. Cedric said that we had to get our notebooks out for Write and Tell and that's when I remembered that I had the random paper so I read it to see if I should throw it away." Tells me and I nod in understanding until a thought occurs to me but I hold my tongue until it's my turn again.
"Would you like to get some ice cream after school. Just me and you?" She asks shyly and my heart soars at the invitation.
"Depends. Is it a date?" I ask sassily and I can feel her neck heat up from where my hand is still wrapped around it. She begins to sputter out a half assed answer but I beat her to it. "Because that's the only way I'll say yes."
Carramel immediately relaxes in my arms before she giggles happily. "Of course it's a date." She tell me as if I'm the silly one for not knowing it is.
"Well, then it's a yes from me." I tell her and smile into her hair. "Where was Jessie with all of this?" I ask, frowning, knowing that Jessie would have taken care of Carramel immediately if she started to panic.
"When we came to school earlier, she was sleeping so I put a blanket over her so nothing would wake her up." She tells me and I look down in awe at the selfless bean. Seemingly done with our game, I try to wrap this up.
"I can tale you back to class, if you want." I tell her but she shakes her head, her nose brushing against the mark on my neck making me shiver.
"I want to stay in here with you until next class. I'm too embarrassed to go back." She tells me honestly and I lean back on the bed so that she's laying on me and we continue to talk and joke and laugh until the next bell rings.