Forbidden

What the hell was going on? Jason couldn’t figure it out. He kept asking the same question over and over in his head. He’d only been watching her this closely for a couple days, but he knew there was something seriously wrong; just by the way she walked with her head down instead of up, and the way her facial expressions didn’t scream beauty and grace, but unseemliness and incompetence. Jason didn’t have to be a forensic scientist to figure it out. Jessa Davis was hurting, bad, and for whatever reason, he needed to know why.

“Dude.”

Jason almost jumped as Ben and Brandon appeared at his side the minute the bell for lunch rang. “What?”

“How was the test?” Benji had a petrified look on his face.

“What test?” Jason was barely paying attention to his two friends; he was thinking more about the glimpse he caught of Jessa a mere hour or so ago when he happened to see her while walking to fourth period.

“Didn’t you just have Mrs. Maroney?” Brandon questioned now.

“Yeah.”

“Well, everyone I’ve talked to has said her test was almost impossible! Bran and I have her sixth period and we’re totally buggin’ out about it!” Benji’s hands were waving around wildly, obviously trying to make a point, as they exited through the lunch yard doors and walked over to their usual spot.

“Oh, uh... I guess it was hard,” Jason replied, hardly interested, as he planted himself down against his favorite tree.

“You guess?” Ben asked him. “How do you guess? It’s either hard or it isn’t. Oh, never mind.” He brushed Jason off and sat down next to his brother.

“If you don’t understand it, you can just copy off of me,” Brandon told Ben, ruffling his hair playfully and smiling when the younger twin looked thoroughly satisfied with that answer.

Jason ignored his friends now, deciding he’d rather keep a look out for Jessa, and peeked his head over at the popular kid’s table. He found no sign of her there and turned his surveillance toward the doors. She’d probably be making her appearance within the next minute or two, and he wanted to see if she was still as down as she was before. It caused an unfamiliar ache in his chest, just thinking about her hurting that badly, and he couldn’t really explain why this was happening. Admittedly, he did care for the girl, but he also cared about many other people—former girlfriends, for example—and never before had he felt this way about them. The concept alone was terrifying.

Jason didn’t even have time to consider it any further, as the girl he’d been seeking out had just made her entrance onto the lunch yard, and he immediately straightened up. She looked around for a moment or two, before walking slowly toward where she usually sat. For a second, he was pleasantly surprised when her eyes moved in his direction, as she was obviously looking at him. It made his heart jump, but for all the wrong reasons, as he could now faintly make out the shades of discolored skin on her cheeks, and the absolute suffering masked behind those piercing ocean blues.

She continued to look at him until she made it to her usual lunch table. Jason watched her the whole way, maintaining his scrutiny even after she sat down and began some sort of exchange with Scott. He appeared to be addressing her, maybe possibly having finally seen that the girl was under some sort of oppression. Jason actually felt a little bit of relief, thinking that Scott may take care of her how she needs. In an instant though, the assumption went flying out the window, and Jason’s insides began to catch fire as he saw Scott grasp onto Jessa as if she was some rag doll used for playtime. He could tell she was resisting his pull, and it took all Jason could give not to get up and walk over there.

The blonde eventually got away from his possession and appeared now to be under even more affliction as Scott still regarded her with a sour expression. She took it all, not even putting up a fight, and even cast another glance in Jason’s direction. They locked eyes again, and she shook her head, as if telling him to leave it alone. Did she know what he was thinking? If so, how? The girl barely knew him, as he barely knew her, and yet it was like they already had formed some sort of bond.

Jason leaned back more against the tree. His body still felt tense, and it was then that he decided: he needed to talk to her again, some way or somehow, if only just to know she was alright. How, though? That was the real question. He couldn’t just get into an almost accident with her again, and simply going up to her wasn’t an option either.

It plagued his mind for the rest of the day. Even seventh period, art class, failed to grab his attention as much as Jessa Davis did. Mr. Wilson, the teacher, repeatedly had to tell Jason to pay attention, and even then he didn’t. It was a wonder he didn’t get thrown out. Something had to give, and soon, because Jason refused to keep living like this.



Fog-like fumes drifted peacefully through the air, almost resembling an intimate aura in the room. Jason lay on his bed, basking in the after-effects of his high, as the blunt lay in the ashtray on the bedside table. It was a last minute decision, really, to smoke. He didn’t know what else to do. What with the crazy thoughts and ideas running through his mind practically twenty-four-seven, and his newest infatuation with the blonde, this was his only escape.

Glancing at the clock, he saw it now read 8:46. Ben and Brandon had told him when school let out that they’d be by around nine, as the plan was still in place to crash Nate Austin’s party. It wasn’t the best idea, but Jason figured he didn’t have anything else to do, so why not? He stood up from his bed and stretched for a moment, sighing quietly as the high began to wear off and he returned back to the regular him. He walked over to his dresser, pulling out a new shirt and jeans to wear, and changing rather hastily as he awaited his friend’s arrival.

He grabbed his phone from the table, hearing it begin to vibrate, and flipped it open to read the text from Brandon.

We’re pulling up out front right now, shithead.

Jason scoffed and chuckled. He grabbed the black hoodie that lay on his floor and exited his room whilst texting Brandon back.

Heading down now, asshat.

He laughed at his own joke as he reached the front door. He spared a glance at his mother, who was passed out on the couch in the living room with a bottle of Absolut, Ruby Red Vodka spilled all over the floor in front of her. The crimson fluid had already begun to stain the rug, and Jason could feel his anger rising again. He fought it off in time to exit the house, deciding he just needed to let it go if there was any chance of him having fun in the hours following.

Just as Brandon said, his car was roaring idly next to the curb as he and Ben sat inside and waited for Jason to join them. Jason, himself, walked faster than usual down the pathway in his front yard and yanked open the back door of the car, climbing in and slamming it behind him. He took a deep, leisurely breath once situated, and exhaled noisily, which drew the attention of Brandon and Ben.

“What’s your problem?” Ben asked hesitantly.

“Nothing.” Jason waved him off. “Let’s just go.”

Ben still looked at him, but Brandon followed what Jason said and pulled away from the curb, beginning their route to Nate Austin’s party. The ride stayed uneventful, minus Brandon and Ben starting a radio war, in which one wanted to listen to a certain song, while the other had something else in mind; it ended the same as it always did, though, with Brandon announcing, I’m the driver, I pick the tunes, and Benji conceding with a punch to his brother’s arm.

“So, what the hell is the grand plan here, Ben?” Jason said, doing his best to break the ice without being a total ass.

Ben turned to look at him again and smirked. “Well, I figured we could sneak in somehow, then head upstairs and go through all his shit. There’s got to be some expensive jewelry in that house. I’m counting on it.”

Jason nodded. “I guess that sounds like an alright plan. But I don’t want to stay long. We just gotta get in, and get out, and that means no fooling around.” Jason glared between the two in the front seat, receiving a look of innocence from Brandon in the rearview mirror.

“I hope it isn’t I that you speak of,” he said, feigning shock.

“Shut up, Campbell.” Jason glanced back out the window as Brandon laughed.

He realized they were getting closer to the party, as superior looking vehicles began to appear one after the other next to the curbs they were passing. Loud music was heard next, and it was almost certain they were there.

“Where should I park?” Brandon asked, looking between Ben and Jason.

“Beats me; ask the mastermind behind all this.” Jason nodded toward Benji.

“I doubt it’ll make a difference where you park, bro. Our car looks just like any other Richie that’s attending this party,” Ben reminded him, as Brandon rolled his eyes at the mentioning of their rich upbringing.

“We have to be careful though. I doubt it would look good on our part if someone caught us just chilling across the street from a party like this,” Jason pointed out.

“This is true,” Ben agreed. “Maybe you should park a little bit further away, Bran. Like…” Ben stalled, inspecting the surrounding area for a spot of his liking. “There!”

Brandon nearly swerved into one of the parked cars as he was startled slightly by Ben’s outburst, but quickly regained his composure and pulled into the spot his brother was pointing at.

“Dammit, Ben,” Brandon exclaimed. “Next time, why don’t you just scream in my ear and actually give me a heart attack!”

Ben blushed and giggled, mumbling a quiet ‘sorry’ as Jason chuckled in the back seat. Brandon successfully parked the car without incident and shut off the engine.

“This is so stupid,” Jason groaned.

“It is not! Just follow my lead.” Ben glared at Jason, opening his passenger door and exiting the prized Corvette.

Brandon and Jason did the same, as they each threw their hoods over their heads and stalked toward the noisy house. Ben guided their way, all three of them avoiding any sort of contact with the party-goers that littered the front lawn, drunkenly babbling to one another, and thankfully not noticing the sudden appearance of three guys in dark clothes.

The crooks entered through the already open front doors. They inspected the place, it resembling Brandon and Benji’s in size, but the amount of people and destruction done gave it its own look entirely. Jason shook his head; these people seemed worse than him. They all looked at his kind as rowdy punks and hooligans, but when it came right down to it, at least he had some self-respect to know when enough was enough. Almost every person there appeared to be filthy drunk and ready for more with the red cups in their hands and the sloppy fumbling.

“Let’s fucking get this over with,” Jason demanded. Ben and Brandon both nodded and began to push their way quickly through the crowd of people and over toward the mighty staircase. Jason desperately hoped not many people would be upstairs so they could just do what they went there to do and leave. He truly wasn’t in the best mood, and this little plan wasn’t shaping up to make it any better.

The three men climbed quietly up the steps, thankful that they were going unnoticed, and made a dash the rest of the way when they were out of sight.

“Holy shit,” Ben spoke, viewing the vast hallway in front of him. “It’s almost like our house, Bran.”

“Don’t fucking remind me,” Brandon scolded. “Come on, let’s find the parent’s bedroom and bathroom.”

Brandon led the way now down the hall, as the three men scoped into some of the rooms and attempted to figure out which was and wasn’t the correct room, and rolled their eyes when they found a few with unwelcomed occupants doing a little more than what the party had originally offered.

The master bathroom was finally located toward the end of the hall, much to the three delinquents appraise.

“I’ll take this room. You two go to the master bedroom. It’s probably right next door,” Jason told them, entering the room, before turning back to them with a look of distaste on his features. “And no funny business. Get the shit done, and don’t start some stupid, juvenile fight, that ends with everything destroyed.”

Brandon and Ben glanced between one another with smirks on their faces. “Funny business? Fight? Whatever do you mean?” Brandon inquired, gaining a snicker from his brother.

“I mean it, you guys. If I get done in here and find you two have trashed the parent’s bedroom for whatever reason, I’m going to be so pissed.”

“Oh, hush, you. You’re wasting time, anyway. We’ll be in the next room.” Ben ended the conversation and he and Brandon exited the bathroom, pulling the door closed behind them. Jason had half a mind to go lock it, but his attention instead turned to the glorious room laid out in front of him. He was totally enthralled, taking everything in from the finely painted walls to the squeaky clean shower and tub. This was nothing like the Campbell’s bathroom. Brandon and Ben’s parents would rather spend their accumulated money on fancy dining and vacations and the latest technological devices. The Campbell Household was nice, but this Nate Austin’s parents seemed even vainer than the twins’ if that was possible.

Jason ran his fingers of the stainless steel, periwinkle colored sink. It felt like satin against his grip, but he barely had enough time to acknowledge this before the items resting on top of the porcelain caught his eye. He chuckled menacingly to himself and moved toward the fine, wooden jewelry box. Necklaces, earrings, bracelets, the works; all just sitting out with abandon, ready for Jason to take. Were they really making it this easy for him? Richie’s really were more stupid than they looked. A huge grin marked his features, and he made a quick move to swipe up everything in the box.

Right before his hand made contact, though, the unlocked bathroom door suddenly flew open, startling Jason as it smacked against the wall. He whipped around, ready to give whoever it was hell for barging in on him, but felt his hazel eyes almost gauge out of his face from the wide-eyed stare he gave the intruder. She looked back at him, expression matching his to the tee, and Jason felt his insides retake the same emotion he’s been desperately trying to fight all week.