Now, why donʼt you go eat it in your room?”

She looked like she was going to protest, but saw something on Jaseʼs face that made her comply. Maybe it was the dried blood.

“What happened to you?” Charlie asked, surveying the damage. Jaseʼs face was starting to swell around his nose, and the area around his eyes was turning purple.

“Wasnʼt paying attention in gym. A football hit me in the face.”

“Thatʼs pretty good. Excellent delivery. Your parents are sure to buy it. Now, tell me what really happened.”

“Scoutʼs new boyfriend punched me.”

All of the zen-like calm Charlieʼs presence had created immediately vanished. “Heʼs not my boyfriend, and you swung first.”

It was the ultimate in high school drama. When Alex and I got outside, I had tried to shrug him off.

“Well, Jase is parked over by the gym, so Iʼll see you later.” It was stupid of me to think he would let me off that easy. The boy couldnʼt seem to take a hint.

“Thatʼs where Iʼm parked too,” he had said with his ever-present smile before walking with me towards Jase, who was leaned against our little Mazda, engaging in some slightly embarrassing PDA with Nikki Anderson. We were still about three cars away when Jase pulled back from Nikki.

“What are you doing here?” Jase asked Alex as rudely as possible.

“Well, I was walking to my car.” Alex motioned towards an old red Toyota in the next row.

“I meant here at this school, in this town.”

In retrospect, Alex must have been purposefully trying to provoke Jase. Maybe he was more like his brother than I thought.

“We thought it would be a nice place to settle down.” One corner of Alexʼs mouth pulled up as his eyes locked with mine. “I had no idea it would be this nice.” The next series of events went so quickly I canʼt be exactly sure what happened. Jase took a swing at Alex, but it didnʼt connect. I donʼt know if Alex managed to duck out of the way, or if Jaseʼs aim was just really off. I do know he meant business because it really hurt when my shoulder accidentally got in the way and I fell to the ground.

The next thing I knew, Tyler Burkeen and Seth Roberts were holding Alexʼs arms, and Jaseʼs nose was dripping blood.

“Stay the hell away from my sister,” Jase spat out, red droplets flying from his lips.

Alex ignored him to look down to where I was frozen on the ground. “Scout, are you okay?”

“Iʼm fine.” Sure, I was going to have a bruise on my shoulder, and there were a few scrapes on my palms, but I could hardly complain with Jase spouting blood.

“Donʼt talk to her!” Jase looked ready to get even. I found myself worrying about Alex.

Obviously, he could throw a good punch when he wanted to, but Jase was strong. And surrounded by friends. And seriously pissed off.

“Go home, Alex,” I said, picking myself up off the ground.

“Scout--”

I was curious as to what sort of explanation he could have given for the fisticuffs, but I refused to let him finish that thought. “Please, just go home. Youʼve done enough.” I pulled some tissues out of my purse and attempted to wipe some of the blood from Jaseʼs face.

After one final look in my direction, he walked away. Jase and I rode home in complete silence.

“That was incredibly stupid,” Charlie said, bringing my thoughts back to the present. “Do you have any idea what could have happened? What could still happen?” The room was still and silent as an unspoken exchange occurred between them. Despite my feelings about my brotherʼs behavior, I automatically defended him.

“Itʼs no big deal. There were no teachers around, and no one is going to rat out Mr.

Basketball himself. Thereʼs no way this will affect his position on the team or scholarships. Itʼs all good.”

“Good to know I donʼt have to worry then,” Charlie said, never relaxing or taking his eyes off of Jase. For the first time it occurred to me that Charlie may have been in on whatever scheme Toby had conned Jase into.

Charlie repositioned himself so that he was turned towards me. My shoulders felt naked without his arm covering them.

“So, whatʼs the deal with you and this new guy? Do you like him?” Like the typical teenager I am, I rolled my eyes. “No, I donʼt like him. Good grief. Heʼs on the newspaper staff, and we have a couple of other classes together. We were just talking.

Quite frankly, I think heʼs arrogant and rude.”

Charlie chewed this over for a minute. “But he has the hots for you?”

“No, he doesnʼt,” Jase interjected. “Itʼs Scout, for Peteʼs sake. Heʼs obviously playing her to get to me.”

I recoiled as if I had been slapped. Itʼs not like I actually thought Alex liked me. Guys that looked like him only asked girls like me out to win some sort of stupid bet, and that only happened in cheesy teeny-bopper movies. I knew all those dazzling smiles werenʼt really meant for me. And I didnʼt care. I didnʼt want Alex Cole to like me, but to hear my brother dismiss me like that hurt. A lot. I felt tears welling up.

“Scout, he didnʼt mean it like that.” Charlie reached towards me, but the last thing I wanted was pity.

“Get out of my room.” I closed my eyes to keep the tears trapped.

“Iʼm sorry—”

“Please just leave me alone for a minute,” I managed to get out without my voice breaking.

Charlie, as always, came to my rescue. “Letʼs go, man. Cʼmon.” As soon as I managed to get the waterworks under control I stomped into the bathroom that connected Jaseʼs room to mine and began digging through the medicine cabinet. I was being overly emotional and moody. A double dose of Midol was definitely in order.

I must have been making a lot of noise, because there was a tap at the door, and then Charlieʼs voice asked, “Can I come in?”

Instead of answering, I reached over and turned the knob. Charlie was leaning against the door frame, looking more tempting than anyone standing two feet from a toilet had a right to.

“Your brother feels like shit.”

“Yeah, well I wouldnʼt be surprised if his nose was actually broken.”

“Thatʼs not what I meant, Smarty Pants.”

I closed the medicine cabinet and caught my reflection on the mirrored door. There were big red blotches creating a striking contrast to my fair skin. My eyes were puffy and gave off an eerie glow. There was even a little bit of snot along the edge of my nose.