When Trouble And Visits From MIB Collide

It had been a month since Jace moved in with us and Mom fussed over her like she was her long lost daughter that I sometimes cringed inwardly. So I wasn't even surprised to find her sniffling when Jace told us she finally found a place to rent.

Honestly I was disappointed too. But who am I to stop her? She seemed adamant to move out. I suspected it was all because of what happened last week.

Jace was mostly out of the house the past week, not entirely because of school or her part-time job (yep, she got one) at Dixie's, a diner in town, but of her looking for an apartment she could afford to rent. The twins helped her too. And—yeah—me, despite of my reluctance to her idea of moving out. Though it was her plan from the start.

So let me enlighten you what occurred the past week.

Mom already agreed to buy me a car for my early graduation gift, which I happily boasted at the twins, and it had been my routine to pick up Jace from Dixie's. Since she was living with us, she didn't have a choice but to get along with me. (Her words, not mine.) And I'd say that was entirely a huge progress between us.

Her usual smirks were still there together with her intimidating demeanor that doesn't bother me now, knowing it was only a façade to block other people out. She only talked with the twins and I at school and only gave a curt nod to those who were greeting her in the cafeteria or in the hallways.

Jace became a constant subject of gossip in our school. How scary she was, or how freaky it was that she shuts everyone out except for the twins and I. And the three of us even had a good laugh when we overheard some girls saying Jace had beaten up half of the football team to pulp. Jace just shrugged the rumors off.

I think the past week was a bit tough for her. What with some trouble in school that she got into, and vague visits from random guys in suit at the school's parking lot.

The trouble she got into was last Tuesday afternoon. Jace and I just finished gym class, which we had together, when we passed some guys by the locker.

"Yo, Summers!" Bull, who unfortunately had this profound dislike towards yours truly to which I don't really know why in the first place, hollered at me. And I knew by the tone of his voice that his greeting was not meant to be cordial.

I just nodded at him and continued walking. But he opened his tactless mouth and I felt Jace go absolutely still beside me.

"I see you're getting cozy with Miss Badass here. Tired of the Korean slut already?"

I glared at Bull as I clenched my fists. "Shut the f*ck up Bull!"

The asshole just laughed with his stupid cronies. "Well, I could definitely catch her since you're obviously busy with the badass. I've been dying to spank her—"

I saw a flurry of brown hair rushed towards Bull, and before I knew it Jace was already in front of him with an eerily calm look on her face. "You do realize that the "Korean slut" you’re talking about is my cousin, right?"

Bull just sneered at her and leaned towards her that a strong urge to punch his face, until he was no longer recognizable, cursed through me.

"So f*cking what? You want to get a good spanking too? Summers’ not that good huh?"

Jace sneered back at him. Her eyes went dark and there was a glint in them that looked dangerous. "Too bad I gotta spank you first, right?"

And before anyone had time to react, her fist landed hard on his jaw I swore I heard a crack. She didn't even let Bull fall back. She caught the collar of his shirt and slammed her right knee on his gut and on his face before she let him drop on the floor in a motionless heap.

Bull's cronies stared at Jace with their eyes bulging in their sockets and their mouths agape. And I was pretty sure I looked the same. Jace looked at the other two and motioned for them to help Bull and scram. She wasn't even breathing hard from the action.

When the two dragged Bull away, Jace's shoulders relaxed and she turned to me with a blank expression on her face.

"I'm sorry that you have to see that. I just lost control whenever someone attacks my family in any way possible," Jace said with a far-off look in her eyes.

I couldn't help but grin widely at her. That was the first time I saw her kick ass, and the twins weren't exaggerating when they told me she's lethal. Well, what she did to Bull was wrong. But to heck with moral compass and whatnot, the guy f*cking deserved it. I could have thrown the punch first if Jace wasn't that fast.

"That. Was. Sick!" I blurted out in awe.

Jace blinked twice and looked at me in surprise. "You're not upset or.. scared of me?"

I furrowed my brows at her. "Why would I be? You just did what I had wanted to do to that asshole for a very long time."

She cocked an eyebrow at me. "He's been bullying you for that long?"

"I wouldn't say bullying; he just really pissed me off whenever we crossed paths." And that was often.

"Sounds bullying to me," Jace said wryly and walked off.

"I told you it wasn't!" I vehemently denied as I followed her out.

By next day, we were sitting in the principal's office with Bull, who was sporting a plaster on the bridge of his nose and a huge bruise on his jaw. He couldn't even sit straight. Probably had a bruise on his gut too. With the blows he received from Jace I didn't think he would still be able to speak, or get up.

Jace was quiet all throughout the interrogation. She would just talk whenever Mr. Grisham, the school principal, would ask her. I almost took the blame but she nudged me by the side so hard I almost choke.

But I did notice the look she gave Bull when he started talking, and I could see him visibly stiffen and beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He even faltered, and when he started talking again, my jaw almost dropped on the floor that Jace had to elbow me again to catch myself.

"I-it was my entire fault, sir," Bull croaked out as he stole a glance at Jace. "I threw the first punch at Summers. Connors just defended them both."

Jace coughed and mumbled, "Excuse me."

Bull cleared his throat and continued on what he was saying. "I-I even talked about Elli Wong with, uh, such vulgarity."

With Bull's statement, the principal found Jace and I innocent. And we went out of the office with me grinning in relief, and her smirking smugly. And she fist bumped me right there and then. I honestly think we got closer because of what happened.

And then, after the trouble with Bull, came the visits.

The first one was at the school's parking lot. Elli and I were sitting on Aeron's truck while waiting for him and Jace. That was hours after our talk with the principal and I told Elli what happened in detail. Her whole face turned red and a stream of curses came out of her mouth.

"That f*cking asshole deserved more than what Jace did to him," Elli said angrily. "I'm gonna f*cking beat the shit out of him!"

"Relax dude," I patted her shoulder to appease her. "I think Jace did more than enough."

Elli looked at me with a grin. The one I didn't wish to see. Her mood swings were still shocking, really.

"What?"

"Now you see her in action, what do you think?" She even wriggled her brows. I so badly wanted to wipe that grin off of her face.

"Uhm.." I blanked.

I remembered the calm look on her face. And the way her eyes darkened with contempt as she sneered at Bull. "The look on her eyes was kinda frightening if I would be honest, but I didn't feel that way. I actually envied her."

Elli cocked an eyebrow.

"You know that Bull dislikes me," I reminded her.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Dislike would be the understatement of the year."

"Whatever. So, as I was saying, you know that I really wanted to beat him up whenever he says something unbearably annoying, and his usual low blows were getting on my nerves. But I couldn't. Because I was scared of the consequences. And when Jace stood up for you, and partly for me, though she did it with her fist and knee," Elli chuckled at that. "I realized that she didn't give a f*ck about the consequences when it comes to protecting her family. And you know what? I was freaking frustrated that night when I realized Jace stood up for me because she sees me as family! Your cousin just broke my heart unintentionally."

Elli cracked at my disgust and pained expression. "Dude, for a moment there I thought you'd say you f*cking learned something from that brawl! But an unintentional heartbreak? What the hell?" She laughed louder and clutched her middle while doubling over in laughter.

"Nice to know that my pain brings you entertainment," I said drily. Though my dilemma actually amused me too.

"Excuse me," a deep voice interrupted Elli's snorts and we whirled around to see a guy in a dark suit. I even thought he was from Men in Black.

Elli and I exchanged suspicious glances before turning back at Mr. MIB.

"Yes sir?" I asked politely.

"Are you students here?" Mr. MIB asked us.

"No, we just happened to be hanging out here in the school's lot, on our truck," Elli muttered under her breath in a 'duh' tone that made me snicker.

"Yes sir," I answered again. "What can we help you with?"

"We're just looking for someone. I believe she's also a student here." Mr. MIB fished out a print out from his breast pocket and unfold it. The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I saw who was in the print out.

"F*ck!" Elli swore under her breath.

It was a picture of Jace. But she looked different. Her hair was long and burgundy colored. She was wearing, I presumed, her old high school uniform. She was talking with a tall, lean guy and she was smiling.

Holy mother of holies!

Jace was smiling in the picture! And not just a small smile, it was a wide one, with her white teeth showing and her eyes bright.

"You know her?" the guy narrowed his eyes at us.

Elli and I shook our head. "Nope," I said trying to sound and look nonchalant. "Never seen her."

"You sure?" The guy insisted. He even took a step forward as if trying to intimidate us.

"No, sir. Is she your daughter?" I asked the guy instead.

The guy puts back the print out into his breast pocket. "Thank you for your help kids." With that he turned and walked away.

We pretended to continue our conversation but Elli was watching the guy surreptitiously from her seat. "He got in a black car," she muttered. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Why is he looking for Jace?" I asked her in confusion.

"No f*cking idea. He doesn't look like Darth Vader's trooper."

"Probably just some guy Father hired to look for me, or maybe one of his enemies," a familiar voice answered from behind us, and for the second time, Elli and I whirled around in surprise.

"The f*ck, Jace?!" Elli exclaimed with her hand on her chest. "I swear one of these days I'm going to have a freaking heart attack."

"Did he say anything more?" Jace asked. She was leaning against the truck.

"Just asking if we know you," I answered watching her every move. She was looking the other way but I saw her shoulders relaxed.

"Where's Aeron?" I asked to change the subject.

"He said he'll be here in a few," Jace said distractedly.

"Hey, Jace?" Elli snapped Jace's attention. "You're worrying about us again."

Jace shrugged. "Can't help it."

When Aeron came, the tension was still there that he immediately noticed our rigid posture. "What the hell happened?"

Elli told him and Aeron glanced at Jace. "You okay?"

Jace shrugged again, as if saying not to worry about her. "Would the both of you be alright? I need to get to Dixie's in ten minutes."

"Are you going to be alright?" Aeron asked.

"I can defend myself Ae," Jace answered coldly. "I'm sure Summers would vouch to that."

"I f*cking know that, Jace," Aeron snapped. "I'm not talking about how f*cking lethal you are in fighting. I'm talking about you, worrying over us, instead of your own goddamn safety!"

"No one would notice when I die," came Jace's nonchalant reply that made the twins go pale. I, myself, felt like I was kicked on the gut and the wind was knocked out of my lungs.

"What the f*ck, Jace?!!" the twins yelled simultaneously, followed by Aeron's stream of profanities.

Jace's hands shot up in the air in mock surrender. "I'm just kidding," she said monotonously.

Elli glared at her. "That's not f*cking funny."

Before the conversation turned more awkward and a heated discussion, I decided to swoop in. "Guys? I think we should go."

The three looked at me and the twins sighed. "Fine," Aeron said. "But we'll talk later Jace. And I'm serious."

"Okay."

The twins got in the truck as Jace and I got in my car. She waved at them when Aeron honked as he drove off.

Jace didn't talk that much when I drove her at Dixie's. She just muttered a clipped thanks and got out of the car. I just sighed when I drove off as she got in the diner.

Though our friendship had progressed, I still didn't know why she ran away. There were times that her walls were up as high as the Empire State Building that no one could penetrate. Even King Kong.

Whenever I brought the topic about her home, she would immediately closed off and changed the subject not so subtly. I stopped asking her eventually. I learned that pestering her about it would take me nowhere, so I would just wait for her to tell me about it on her own. Even if I was dying to know why his father has enemies. And why they were looking for her.

When I picked up Jace later that night—her shift usually ends at 8PM—she was already waiting outside. But before I even stopped in front of the diner, a black car intercepted and stopped right in front of her. I stepped on the brakes and about to get out of my car when Jace looked straight at me and shook her head.

A beefy man in a black suit got out of the car and went straight to Jace. Her brows furrowed, and mine too, when the guy bowed at her and said something. The guy was different from the first one that asked Elli and I earlier.

I slowly got out of my car and waited until Jace nodded at the guy who bowed again and left. With my brows still furrowed, I stayed by the car as she walked towards me.

"Who was that guy?" I asked when she neared the car and opened the passenger door.

"He works for a friend of mine from Japan," she answered and got in the car. "Come on, Summers. I'm tired," she called out when I didn't move.

I got in as well and turned on the engine. "Is he with the guy earlier?" I inquired as I drove away from Dixie's.

"Yes," Jace quietly said.

"What did he want?"

Jace shrugged. "Nothing to worry about."

I let it go since it was obvious she wouldn't say anything. At least not yet. Though I couldn't stop myself from worrying about her.

"Hey, Jace?" I called her in between silence.

"Yeah?"

"You know you can trust me, right?"

I saw her look at me from the corner of my eye. She had a faint smile that made my heart race, but I concentrated on the road.

"Of course, Summers," she answered. And the sincerity in her voice was enough for me.