Rachel and Daniel briefly looked at each other and then away. Rachel gave Clay a tentative smile. “Thanks for inviting us.” “Sure.” Clay replied, still feeling awkward with the antagonistic vibe my friends were throwing out.
“I'm gonna go get a soda. Want anything?” Clay asked me. “I'll have a soda too.” I dug a few coins out of my purse and tried to give them to him. Clay pushed my hand away and smiled. “I've got it, baby.” He said softly and I beamed at the endearment.
Clay got up and went to get our drinks. I turned on my friends and leveled them with a glare of death. “You two need to get your acts together. Clay is making a big effort to be nice. The least you could do is give the battle royale between the two of you a rest for a while. You know, so you don't make the rest of us miserable.”
Rachel and Daniel grumbled, but the chill between them thawed a bit. “Hey guys.” I felt the bench beside me dip as someone sat down beside me. I looked over to see Jake Fitzsimmons grinning as he snuck a piece of my brownie off of my plate.
“Get your own brownie, Jake. Hands off of mine.” I swatted his hand away, giving him a small smile. The three of us had known Jake since Kindergarten. He was sweet and cute and had never been subtle in the fact that he had a giant crush on me.
I chanced a look at Clay, but he was still waiting in line at the vending machine. “Daniel, Coach wanted me to let you know that practice was canceled today.” Jake said, taking more of my brownie. I moved my tray out of his reach.
Jake and Daniel were on the basketball team together and the soccer team in the spring. “Thanks for letting me know, man. That frees up my afternoon. Which is good because I have a shitload of homework to catch up on.”
“What are you getting into this afternoon, Maggie? Feel like getting into something with me?” Jake wiggled his eyebrows at me and I smirked. He was a horrible flirt. He reached for my food again and I grabbed his hand. “One more bite and I will take your hand off.” I warned him, locking my fingers around his wrist.
Jake laughed and pretended to lunge for my lunch again. I shoved him back, still holding onto his arm. So, I guess it didn't look good when Clay finally reappeared. “Get the hell out of my seat.” I heard Clay say angrily from behind me. I saw Rachel's eyes get big as she looked over my shoulder.
I dropped Jake's hand like it was on fire. Jake's smile disappeared and he looked up at Clay with a frown. “Sorry, dude. I'm just saying hi. I was just leaving.” Jake sounded nervous. When I looked up at Clay's dark face, I knew why. He looked murderous.
“Get your hands off of my girl before I break your f**king fingers.” Clay growled, moving forward aggressively. Jake got to his feet and put his hands out in front of him. “Look, man. I'm not sure what your problem is, but I was just saying hey. No need to go postal.” Clay's face turned a scary shade of red and I thought he was going to reach over and grab Jake.
I got between them, facing Clay. “Chill out, Clay. He was just leaving.” I looked back at Jake and pointedly said, “Goodbye, Jake.” Jake looked between Clay and me with concern. “Are you sure everything's okay?” He asked me softly. Clay moved forward again and I wasn't sure I could stop him from escalating the situation if Jake didn't leave.
“I'm fine.” I said, my eyes pleading with Jake to just get the hell out of there. Jake's face clouded as he looked at Clay. “Okay. Well, see ya.” He waved at Rachel and Daniel and then hightailed it out of there.
“What is your problem?” Daniel asked, clearly pissed by Clay's behavior toward his friend. Clay ignored the question, turning his rage on me. “What the hell was that?” He hissed at me, his eyes full of anger and accusation.
“Nothing. He's just a friend. Calm down, alright. You're making a scene.” I glanced at the tables around us and realized everyone was watching our exchange like it was the god damn Jerry Springer Show.
I tried to put my hand on Clay's arm, hoping physical contact would break through this rage of his. He backed away from me as though I had a contagious disease. “You let him touch you! You f**king let him touch you!” He yelled in my face. My skin flushed with embarrassment. Jeesh, you'd think I'd been caught having sex with another guy or something! Clay's reaction was ridiculous!
“Enough, Clay! Back off!” Rachel had come around the table and pulled me away from my boyfriend. Clay looked down at Rachel, his dark eyes simmering. “Fine. I'm backing off. I'm backing the hell out of here.” He grabbed his bag and stormed off out of the cafeteria.
I was painfully aware of the silence around us. I wanted to curl into a tiny ball of mortification. “That was bullshit, Mags. I'm gonna kick his ass for treating you like that.” Daniel fumed. “No, Danny. He's just stressed. It'll be all right. Don't hold it against him. Please!” I begged. Daniel stared at me as though I were talking in another language.
Rachel looked at me with concern. “I don't like this, Maggie. The way Clay acted wasn't normal.” Normal. Ha! If Rachel even knew the half of it. I smiled weakly, hoping to placate them. “No, everything will be fine. Come on, you guys would be pissed if you saw someone flirting with your boyfriend or girlfriend. He was just surprised is all.” I reasoned unconvincingly.
Daniel looked unswayed. “No, I can't say I've ever had that sort of reaction before. I swear, if he ever puts a hand on you...” I cut him off. “That's enough, Danny. Clay would never hurt me.” I swore. “There are more ways to hurt someone than that, Mags.” Rachel said quietly as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. I felt sick to my stomach because I knew she was right.
I wasn't sure if Clay would wait for me after school to give me a ride home. I hadn't seen him the rest of the day and my heart hurt when I thought about how angry he had been. Rachel had tried talking to me about it a few more times but I shut her down, refusing to discuss it with her.
I knew she and Daniel only cared about me but their worry irritated me. They had no idea what Clay went through every day. How hard it was for him to hold it together. They didn't see how beautiful and perfect we were together.
They just didn't get it.
“You want me to give you a ride home?” Danny asked as he waited for me by my locker at the end of the day. I still hadn't seen Clay, but I didn't want to spend the next fifteen minutes rehashing the state of my relationship with either of my best friends.
“Nah. I'm sure Clay is just waiting by the car.” I told him, slamming the locker door closed. Daniel grabbed my hand and squeezed. “I'm not sure you should go anywhere with him. I knew I was right when I thought that guy was unstable. Maybe you need to just stay the hell away from him.”