Chapter 5: The Punchline
1120 Words
"Bye, mom!" I yelled as I pulled on my shoes.
I was going to be late for school. However, considering it was my eighth day of school and I hadn't been late yet, I decided I had passed first impressions with my teachers with flying colours.
"Why don't you bring over some friends after school? I want to meet them!" she called after me.
I rolled my eyes, "Mom."
"Just think about it. Love you!" she waved as I stepped into the outdoors.
I sighed at her typical mother behavior, shivering in the morning breeze. It was spring, otherwise known as my favourite season. The sun was high in the sky even though it was morning, and it already warming my skin.
BEEP BEEP!
I jumped out of my skin at the loud noise, and I turned around to find Miles rolling down the road beside me, his head thrown back in laughter.
I scowled, allowing my heart beat to return to normal, "Morning to you, too."
"Get in," he said with a chuckle.
"I'll walk," I challenged.
Miles smirked, "Fine, be late," he pushed the gear shift forwards as he returned his eyes forwards.
I licked my lips, cursing under my breath as I slipped into the passenger seat of his car.
"Thing you should know about me: I'm always right," he winked.
"I'm sure," I said with a laugh.
Miles smirked, and within minutes we had pulled into a parking spot at the school. I stepped out with Miles, and if I had a nickel for all the curious looks I got, I would've been able to afford my own Audi.
"Oh, look who it is."
I rolled my eyes as Flynn raced towards us, Peyton and Noah on his heels. He rubbed his chest in the spot where I had shoved him, his eyes narrowing in on me.
"Come on, Flynn. Let it go," Miles said sternly.
Flynn licked his lips, "Do you know how many people made jokes about how I got shoved by a girl?”
"Come on, man, you came onto her, she gave you a little shove. Just let it go."
"Why are you standing up for her?" Flynn asked. “You don’t even know her.” He smirked, "Or does Miles have a thing for the new girl?"
Miles licked his lips and looked off to the side, not even giving him the satisfaction of an answer.
Flynn chuckled, “Not willing to step out up to bat for her? Come on, Centon.”
“Flynn, enough.” Miles rolled his eyes.
Flynn took a step backwards and opened his arms, beckoning a punch in the chest. “Stand up for her then,” he challenged. “It’s been awhile since you’ve thrown a punch, do you still know how?”
Miles had his arms crossed over his chest, still not looking at Flynn. I looked around to find the nearby crowd looking towards us, all of them staring at Flynn and Miles with anticipation. My eyes widened, was this serious?
Miles shook his head, “You’re being a child.”
"Oh? Afraid to lose in front of your little girlfriend?" Flynn asked, his friends snickering behind him.
Miles shook his head and turned around, away from the boys.
"Hey, Miles," Flynn called.
Miles had just begun to turn when Flynn launched his fist into his chin. I squealed, covering my mouth and stepping back, dumbfounded that he had actually followed through. Miles wiped the blood from his lips and stared up at Flynn, his eyes wide with newfound rage. Yet he was still calm.
Flynn was smirking, and backed up to give Miles room to advance. He held his hands up in front of his face like a boxer would, except something told me that Flynn wasn’t a boxer. Miles took one slow step towards Flynn before launching his left hand into his gut, catching Flynn off-guard and causing him to lower his hands for a millisecond. But that was all it took. Miles slammed his right fist into Flynn's nose. My hands flew to my mouth again as Flynn flew back, landed on his backside on the parking lot pavement. He wiped at the blood that was spilling from his nose. Miles didn’t even look at him or anyone else. He shook out his fist and turned around, heading for the school. I raced after him.
"Miles, you could get suspended for that!" I yelled.
"Then it’ll be worth it,” he growled.
My jaw dropped, "You just punched your best friend in the face!”
Miles stopped and turned to face me, his eyes still black with rage. “Don’t you care about how misogynistic that asshole is? Sometimes he just needs a good punch to the head, or he thinks he can get away with it.”
I recoiled, raising my eyebrows, stunned.
“You just don't get it!” He yelled. “You think he’s just messing around, but he’s not. He’s dangerous, Jade, and he won’t stop unless you force him to. I didn't expect you to yell at me for defending you.”
I looked down to the floor. “I can defend myself.”
“Then be my guest,” he scoffed and turned around.
I narrowed my eyes and yelled after him, “I’m sorry if I don’t like seeing people get hurt, Miles!”
“And I do?” Miles asked, crossing his arms.
I licked my lips, "I may not have understood what just happened outside, but here's something you don't understand. Every single thing you do affects the future. You have no way of knowing what's going to happen."
"I don't think anything's going to happen because I punched him," he scoffed.
I shook my head, “You could've seriously hurt him.”
“I could’ve, but I didn’t.”
“You could’ve!” My eyes were blurring from tears. “It's those stupid split seconds that ruins people's lives! It only takes a second for anything to happen, Miles. You had no way of knowing what could've came out of that. It's those god damn impulsive seconds that can tear a whole life apart." I sucked in a breath, clamping my hand down over my mouth as the tears burst. Again.
"Jade," he stepped towards me.
I backed away, "I'll see you in class," I said softly, wiping my eyes and breaking down the hall.
Clearly, I was not ready to start a new life.
- Writer
