"Do you think she's hiding something?" Jamie asked quizzically, his head tilting in confusion as he popped another piece of broccoli in his mouth.

"I mean, I can't imagine what. If anything I'm the one who has something to hide." I sighed, rubbing my temples with my elbows on the cafeteria table.

"But she knows right?" Jamie asked, setting his fork down to focus on me.

I shrugged peering around at the tables, "Sort of."

"Andrew I don't really know what to say but she's an adult. She lived a whole life of secrets and might be hiding something." Jamie shrugged, picking up his apple juice to twist the top and drink from.

"I don't know. If she is I wish she'd just spit it out. I can't handle the beating around the bush shit." Across the cafeteria, a rowdy bunch laughed, one of the boys throwing something at a friend.

"Random question but has she always been a stay-at-home mom?"

I took a second to ponder. I never bothered to ask any of these questions. Whatever Mrs.Jones or Keaton have said to me I take in small strides while confident they wouldn't be deceitful towards me but that doesn't mean they tell me everything. "As far as I know. And I've only been here for a month now."

"Why is she a stay-at-home mom? Cleo, Jean, and Mavity all go to elementary school right?" 

"Yeah, that's true." I intertwined my hands on the table. Jamie is incredibly smart so telling him about last night and the morning before was definitely a good call. He was asking me questions I didn't even know to ask myself, much less the people I'm living with.

"So what's the point of being a stay-at-home mom if there's no one to stay at home for?"

Before I could answer the question, the bell for last block rang, releasing us from lunch and filling up the halls. The last class I have is with Keaton and his best friend, Hunter, in World History which by the way is the coolest shit ever. It's like gossip from the Roman times that we all just keep talking about.

Me and Jamie exchanged goodbyes planning to meet after school at Keaton's house because I'm not sure I'm ready to face more adults than the ones at school and the ones I live with, not to mention his dad is a cop. 

As soon as I stepped through the doorway I was already being called by none other than Hunter Dyer. He stood a little taller than Keaton but had a bubbly personality despite his playboy look. I've learned he's nothing but a flirt and has a new chick licking his biceps every three to four business days.

"Tiger! Little man, how ya been?!" Hunter shouted from the back of the class. My eyes peered up through my hair to see Hunter waving, and Keaton peeking up to see me enter. 

"Page stop yelling," Keaton demanded, watching as I passed several people staring at me walked silently, keeping my head down. 

"He just seems so gloomy man," Hunter sighed, shaking his head before placing his face back on his phone and swinging his arm around the newest catch on his lap. 

I looked over to Keaton with a silent nod and smile to show my appreciation. I have no problems with Hunter at Keaton's house while I'm separately in the comfort of our room, but otherwise, Hunter is extremely social and loud, always bringing attention to himself and anyone else he chooses to put under his spotlight. 

"Hey, you okay?" Keaton tapped my shoulder from the seat behind me. I still hadn't told him what was bothering me because what was bothering me was his mom and it just felt wrong to say that. Not to mention the new questions Jamie brought to the surface that made me question more than I could handle. 

I nodded my head, turning around to face him with a placid smile I've come to master, "Of course I'm okay. Whos the new girl?" I jutted my head to the pretty girl giggling under Hunter's arm, her friend secretively taking pictures from across. 

Keaton looked between the two before leaning in, "Would it be bad if I told you I can't remember her name?" He whispered with a smile. I giggled myself at that, sounding like one of the girls.

"Dude how do you get him to talk?" My head snapped at Hunter's gaze on me at the sound of his baritone voice. Keaton looked over at his best friend before looking over at me with a sly smile that sent my heart racing at what stupidity was ready to fall from his mouth. My face began flushing as I felt everyone staring at me, Keatons shit-eating grin spreading across his face.

"He loves me that's how," He whispered for only us to hear, his body still leaning close enough over the table for Hunter to miss it. I choked, slamming my head on the table to cover the heat engulfing all of me as Keaton's throaty laughed filled the classroom, the voices of the kids behind us drowning. I turned around keeping my face covered to direct my attention to the front of the class, holding my hands over my cheeks.

"Cocky asshole," I whispered under my breath as the teacher walked in and class began. The teacher introduced herself for the hundredth time since I've been here as I slowly felt my heart beat a little stronger, and a genuine smile spread a little further.

Once class finished Keaton and I stood next to his ride while Hunter ate some girl's face in the bed of the truck, all of us waiting for Jamie to arrive so we could head home to hang out.

"Mom said she's making pizza is that okay?" I cocked my head up to glance at the boy next to me before scanning the crowd for my friend as he did.

"Definitely." 

I felt a sudden shift of the truck against my back, Hunter grunting and his new toy giggling as they hopped out of the trunk. He came up next to us looking bored as he too scanned the crowd. I could hear the girl sigh under his arm as her eyes fluttered shut. I pressed down the urge to roll my eyes and tell her not to get too comfortable since she'd be replaced by next week, figuring it'd be better for her 'lover' to break the news instead.

"Who the hell are we waiting for?" Hunter scanned, looking at all of the robust girls and cocky guys running around the parking lot to their cars. Keaton didn't bother to respond, simply rolling his eyes and looking down at me. 

"Jamie. We're waiting for Jamie, Hunter." I deadpanned keeping my eyes out on the crowd. Jamie usually ran late when it came to meeting up, this would be the first time however that Hunter would be coming with us too. 

"Who the fuck even is that? Does she have a car she can take and just meet us there?" He grumbled, causing his purse to giggle. Keaton chuckled at Hunter's misuse of pronouns but I decided not to correct it. 

"No, she doesn't. And she's my friend so she's gonna ride with us. You have a car don't you Hunter? Why don't you take you and your accessories to our house with your means of transportation and we'll see you there." I suggested, Keaton chuckling next to me to lighten the snappy tone of evergrowing impatience towards his best friend. 

Hunter sighed again loudly, beginning to walk back to the bed of the truck, "My name is Page." He grumbled out, leaving us alone. 

"He's not wrong though," Keaton stated, lightly nudging his elbow against my shoulder. I looked up, my teeth biting into my cheek as I too started becoming impatient with my own friend who was still nowhere to be seen. 

Slowly but surely cars filled out the school parking lot, some full of teenagers to the brim while others were taken by their drivers alone without a single passenger. After another 10 minutes of waiting, I started walking back to the school. Jamie is a punctual person, always one step ahead of everyone else in his studies and life. I felt a tug in the back of my head, my hand reaching back to massage it as Keaton called me from behind.

I started jogging, pushing open the double door, and running straight for his last block, the gym. If there is one thing Jamie wasn't good at it was physical Education. He not only hated taking part in the activity but hated how dirty it was, he hated to sweat and the smell of men in the locker room that suffocated him while he tried to exchange clothing. He hated the feeling of being watched and hated showing his body as he stressed to me before how flimsy his physique was. 

The gym is located on the other side of the school, a massive tin being the making of P.E. where kids like Jamie were ambushed by bullies. Not to mention some of the boys in his class that he's told me about don't seem like the nicest bunch. My breathing started coming in shallow as I ran, the faint sound of another pair of footsteps not far behind.

I knew I should have done something but what? What could I of all people possibly do to keep Jamie safe from bad people? The moment Mrs.Jones goes to give me a kiss on the cheek or Keaton tries to hug me I feel like a knife is cutting down my windpipe into my abdomen. Touch isn't my strong suit and they don't call kids like Jamie and I pushovers for nothing, touch is inevitable. 

"A- Andrew wait!" Keaton's voice bounced through the halls behind me faintly as I took another sharp right, and pushed straight out of two double doors into the gym, the boys' and girls' locker rooms on the other side. 

I stopped, taking a second to hear my surroundings, noticing you could hear a pin drop at the echo bouncing through here. I myself haven't had the privilege of taking P.E. yet but I've walked with Jamie here enough times to know where it was. 

From the outside, it looked like shit but inside was incredibly spacious and sporty, with baskets hanging from poles against all four corners of the walls used for basketball and weird tubes in the shapes of circles in a large pile on the floor in an assortment of colors. On the other side was a bunched-up net next to a bin full of different types of balls and next to that were stacked rows of cones. 

I took a deep breath, putting some air through my lungs as Keaton slammed open the doors behind me and came to a stop next to me.

"What's wrong, where are you going?" Keaton's eyes searched me up and down, before turning to look around at what I was seeing. 

"This is Jamie's last block, I'm gonna go check the locker room." I passed him up, walking towards the door labeled with 'BOYS' next to the handle. I glanced back at Keaton to see him standing on the far side of the gym in front of the double doors, throwing me a small wave. With a deep breath, I pushed the door open, my heart clogging my throat and stopping the air. 

I smelt rotten in the hot and heavy atmosphere just as Jamie said. I peaked around looking for his small figure, taking a couple of steps more when I still heard no sound. To my left, a door loosely swung at the mercy of whatever amount of a/c was blowing against it. 

I breathed against my heart's desire and walked in further, placing a hand over my chest to peak around the corner. Looking down at the black tufts of hair on the floor leading to a whole mop of hair, my breath hitched at the sight.

"KEATON!"

Someone get help.