Chapter Eight

The day that school started back up was my birthday. I didn't like to celebrate it much because it never seemed like a huge thing. Being eighteen meant that I would graduate soon and that was exciting. I wasn't sure what I would do after high school, though. Mykel turned twenty in a month. We walked down the hall with Luna as usual. She was exhausted from staying up late all week.

"School SUCKS!" She groaned.

"Only a few more months." I chimed. I wasn't very tired, but I didn't necessarily want to be at school.

"Look at Miss Happy over here. Happy Birthday." She bumped my shoulder playfully before smiling. "I'll give you your present at the party."

"There isn't a party. You know how I feel about my birthday."

"We always have a party even when you say no." She tilted her head towards me. "I'm so tired…. We ARE having a party. Got it?"

"Fine." I didn't want to argue with her. Someone shouldered me causing me to fall into Luna.

"Watch it, freak." They growled as I turned to look at them. It was Jake. He always did his best to get on my bad side. I was never sure why he did this, but today I was not having it.

"I am so sick of you, Jacob." I dropped my bag as he turned to me.

"What did you call me, freak?"

"I called you Jacob. Just because I have an illness, it doesn't mean I am a freak." I frowned. My body grew hot as anger built inside me. "It's the first day back from break and you're already causing problems."

"Calm down, Jasp." Luna warned. She knew that if I felt any strong emotion, it would cause me to pass out.

"Yeah. Calm down before you freak out, freak." He chuckled. I balled my numbing hand into a fist and before I could stop myself, I punched him in the jaw. My wrist gave a painful twinge as my knuckles came into contact with his face. We both fell to the floor, one of us from force and the other from blacking out. I felt pride in the fact that I knocked him to the floor even if it was short lived.

*~~*~~*~~*

"That pansy punched me!" Jake yelled.

"You antagonized her!" Luna hollered back. I opened my eyes to see a teacher holding her back and another holding Jake. "You're such a piece of sh*t, Jacob Garrison!" I blinked, realizing that I was in Mykel's arms. I felt strange as I listened to them yelling. It was as if I was in someone else's body, listening from down the hall. Mykel picked me up and carried me to the nurse. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but everything felt slow. I sat in a chair as he wrapped my hand, which was now swollen. It throbbed as he wrapped it in an ace bandage.

"You hit him hard." Mykel smirked as the nurse got ice.

"Is that why it hurts so much?" I pushed my hair from my face with my good hand.

"Yes." He chuckled. "You sprained your wrist."

"Jasper, you're going to have to go home." The nurse informed me after putting down the phone with a click. "Are you able to take her home, sir?" He nodded then helped me up. We were walking down the hall when Luna walked up to us.

"Take me with you." She sighed. I smiled, linking my arm in hers. "Are you having a good start to your eighteenth birthday? You got to punch that jerk, who has been bullying you for years."

"I'm not sure if getting into a fight on your birthday is a good idea." I shook my head. Luna pulled from me and turned to Mykel.

"Oh, Mister Attractive Bodyguard, why did you allow such a fragile, innocent girl to punch someone?" Luna spoke with sarcasm. I knew that she didn't really care for the answer. She just wanted to mess with him.

"She moved too fast. I couldn't stop either of you in time." He replied to her as we went outside. Luna gave a sharp nod and we got into the car. We went to my house then we sat on the couch and watched TV. I didn't really want to do anything so we just watched TV. Mykel sat up after a while, looking into his shirt.

"Did you get a new one?" I looked over from the TV to see him nod. "You can feel them?"

"At first." He told me. I turned to Luna as a question formed in my mind.

"What about your soulmate, Lune? You never talk about them."

"I don't have one." She didn't look at me. Her eyes were glued to the TV. We were watching something about teenagers in school.

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head, slightly confused.

"She died in a car accident." She showed me her wrist. It had an X on it. I remembered the car accident with her close friend. They had been hit by a drunk driver, which made her stop driving. I remember how quiet she got after her friend died.

"Lily?" I questioned quietly. She looked up at me sadly. "I'm so sorry." I wrapped my arms around her.

"It was too painful to talk about. Plus, I have my best friend who helped me and I love her, too." She smiled.

"I love you, too, Lune." I sniffled. "Maybe you'll get a second chance."

"Even if I don't, I'm happy."

"It would still be nice. You won't have to follow me around. You will have your own soulmate to flirt with." I teased slightly.

"Awe, but I love flirting with your soulmate." She smiled widely. It faded quickly and I wondered what it was that she thought about. "Lily was… vibrant and beautiful in every way. I don't want to replace that." I glanced back to Mykel. He had his jaw clenched so I looked back to Luna.

"It won't be replacing her or the memories that you both have. She would want you to be happy. You would be making new memories with someone else, yes, but it won't be replacing what you already have." I spoke honestly. Her eyes met mine, pain nearly drowning out the intense green.

"Even if I wanted to try again, I don't think it's possible." She shrugged weakly. "And like I said. I am still happy. I have you and Mykel. What more do I need?" I forced a smile even though her words made me sad. I decided to stop pushing and I sat back where I was and continued watching TV.