Miserably Loving You.

We were on day four of no Gage and I could honestly tell that it was wearing on everyone.

My sister was miserable, my mom wanted to reassure him that she still loved him as if he were her own, and I honestly kind of missed him as well.

"Leighton, what are you doing?" I snapped out of my apparent trance like stare to turn my attention to my sister.

"I'm worried, no one stays home for four days just because of some trivial fight."

"It wasn't triv-"

"Yes it was! It was beyond trivial." I interrupted her. "You may not see it, but holy shit Violet, grow up. Yeah it sucks that mom and dad don't love each other like they used too, but do you even remember how bad they were together?"

She looked down at her feet and sighed. "No, I don't."

"Because I always shielded you from it. You have this false image that our mom is this horrid tyrant and our dad is this betrayed King... But he's not Vi. He left us, and mom is doing everything in her power to make sure we're okay."

"But-"

"No buts Violet. Mom deserves happiness, and crying about how "broken" our family is every chance you get just makes her job ten times harder."

"I just want things to go back to normal..." She mumbled before walking over to me and burying her face into my chest.

"Well they can't, and they shouldn't." I sighed as I hugged her. "But we have to keep the people who care about us close... So I think you have some apologizing to do."

"But Leighton..." She groaned. "Will you come with me?"

"I need to go over and talk to his dad anyways... So yeah. I don't see why not."

She smiled gratefully and took my arm in her own before leading me up to Gage's house.

"I didn't think we were going now." I laughed. "You cool with being late to school?"

"I don't mind." She giggled. "This is more important anyways."

Though I knew this is how friends in sitcoms or just on regular tv acted, I was still awestruck when Violet just opened their front door and let herself in. Much to my dismay his parents had already left so there wasn't much I could do in solving my problem, but I guess I could be apart of helping with theirs.

"Just wait down here okay?" I looked at my sister blankly before sighing and nodding. So much for being helpful. Now I get to sit all alone.

A few minutes had passed... Well more like twenty... and I hadn't heard anything, and it kind of worried me until I heard a pair of footsteps running down the stairs. So quickly I stood up only to be greeted by my sister.

"He and I are fine... I apologized." She said, her face contorted with worry.

"Then where is he?"

"He said he didn't want to come to school today..."

"And why not?" She looked as if the question I had just asked pained her in some way.

"I can't say. Gage asked me not to worry you..." She looked up at me with a pleading look, as if I were supposed to take something away from her vague bullshit response but I had nothing.

"Why would his academics worry me?"

"They wouldn't... Leighton you're not getting it!" She groaned. "His academics aren't in trouble... He is."

She whispered that last part and I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Gage? In trouble? Yeah right.

"So on this pretend Earth we're now living on, am I a lot more personable too?"

"Leighton it's not funny!" She snapped. "Those assholes got him again so he's hiding and he didn't want me to tell you because of what happened last time. He doesn't want you to feel like he's some weak cry baby... But Leighton, they really did rough him up this time."

I couldn't muster up any feelings about this, or at least any discernible ones. But I guess I would have to say that I'm more disappointed than anything. I mean, did he really think that I would judge him for not being able to defend himself against a group of guys more than twice his size?

Then I guess there was a lot of anger building up inside of me as well. I mean they blatantly told me the other day that something had happened to Gage, and I was just too dense to pick up on it.

So whether Gage wanted me to or not, something had to be done. Someone has to make this stop, and sadly I was looking like the only one who would be willing and able to do it.

"Why don't you stay with Gage for the day..." I said in the calmest voice I could. "He needs you. I'll cover for you with mom."

"What are you gonna do?" She asked, and I could tell that she already knew I wasn't just going to let this slide, but the less she knew was probably for the better.

"I'm gonna go to school, we can't both be absent." I kissed her forehead and grinned. "I'll bring back snacks and stuff for us and we'll all have a movie night or something okay?"

She nodded in agreement and hugged me tightly. "Just be careful okay?"

I nodded back in response before heading out. If we're being honest here, I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do. There are four or so of them, one of me, and a total lack of surprise this time around. And if I needed any other reason to make it worse, I was beyond exhausted. The lack of sleep was starting to wear on me again and there is no telling when I would just pass out or not.

Throughout the day I kept my eyes peeled for the group of guys, and I planned out every last detail about how I was going to handle this. We're adults right? Reason shouldn't be so foreign of a concept to them.

Well... I at least needed to get one of them alone, but that was looking less and less likely to happen. It was like they were all conjoined at the ass.

I sighed as I opened my locker door pulled out the books I needed for homework, but just as I was about to close it I heard the group of boys with their stupid testosterone filled laughter behind me. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying but I pretended to be busy just long enough to see the ring leader go into the bathroom alone.

Once his friends weren't paying attention and were far enough away I followed him into the room, and as soon as I opened the door he glanced behind him and smirked right at me.

"You fags just don't give up do you? Your boy came in here looking for a little something and now you want some too?" He said lowly before turning around to zip himself back up, and in that brief second I lost all sort of sense and reasoning.

Before I could even comprehend what my hand was doing, the assholes face was being smashed against the wall behind the urinal he was just using. I let him fall to the floor and watched as his hands covered his face.

"What the fuck?" He screeched, and I thought about leaving but I was already this far, so I might as well drive it home.

"Did I not make myself clear last time?" I growled as I took a fist full of his hair and pulled him to his feet, just to shove his cowering body to the floor again. "Answer me! Did. I. Not. Make. Myself. Clear?"

"No... No. You did..." He whimpered as he pushed himself back against the wall.

I took a deep breath and squatted down in front of him, taking the same fist full of his hair and forced him to look at me.

"I haven't slept in five days, and I don't see any sleep in the near future. So if I see one more scratch on that boy or even know that he has crossed your mind, I will not hesitate to end you and your entire group of friends." I paused just long enough to give him time to nod. "I have nothing but time on my hands, so please for your sake, don't give me a reason ever think about you again." I let him nod again before placing a gentle kiss to his forehead. Locking in and reassuring any thought in his mind of how "crazy" I am before exiting the bathroom.

What I just did didn't settle well with me. I have no idea why I took it to that extreme, because I really don't even know the extent of Gage's injuries... But that smirk... That fucking smirk set something off inside of me. Of course I wouldn't really kill him or anything, but he didn't need to know that.

And hopefully if he were smart enough, he wont say anything to anyone about what just happened.

----------------

When I got home with my hands filled with the treats I had promised Violet and Gage, I couldn't help but sigh with relief that the day was over.

I rang the doorbell at the Callaghan's door and stepped back to wait patiently for someone to answer.

"Come in!" I heard Gage call, but my hands were too full to open the door, so instead I just stood there and waited until Gage came and answered.

"Oh! Hey Leighton..." He said, his cheeks turning bright pink.

"Hey!" I smiled. "I brought snacks, just like I promised!"

It was weird, acting this normal and happy even though less than an hour ago I was threatening someone who was already bloody and probably needed medical attention. But that smile on his face, those innocent eyes, and all around cute demeanor made it worth the trouble.

"You really didn't have to do this." Gage chuckled before taking some of the things from me, but before I had time to respond the smile fell from his face. "Leighton, is that blood on your shirt?"

I looked down and sure enough it was. Whoops.

"Don't worry about it." I said trying to sound as smooth as possible.

"What happened...?" He asked as his face contorted with worry and sadness. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I laughed. "You're safe now okay?"

"I told Violet not to tell you..." He mumbled. "I really didn't want you to feel obligated to cover my ass again. Thank you so much though..."

"Don't feel bad for me defending you, okay? They're jerks and I took care of it." I said softly and he just looked at me. It wasn't a normal look, and it didn't make me uncomfortable, but I also had no idea what it was. So instead of drawing out this moment any longer, I moved past him and dumped all the goodies I still had in my arms onto the table.

"God, took you long enough." Violet laughed, but I guess she noticed my shirt too, only her reaction was a little different. "I hope he got what was coming to him." She said, her voice now solemn.

"I took care of it, they shouldn't bother him again."

She nodded seeming to accept that response. Everything felt so surreal though. The neighbor boy was now looking at me differently and my sister and I were speaking to each other as if we were both part of the mafia.

And even through all of this, all I could really think about was how much I wanted to go to sleep. Maybe I could convince Gage to allow my sister and I to crash here? Ugh. I don't know. But right now I was willing to do just about anything for at least an hour of rest.