Not A Small-Town Girl

----

Xavier let out a string of curses, even throwing himself

under the bus, cursing himself in the process.

"You..."

“You what? Are you really going to start a fight with

me? Go ahead, hit me. Hit me."

At that, Jaden completely shut down. He barely raised

his voice and was immediately bombarded with

accusations, no chance for an explanation.

It wasn’t him being a soft target anymore—he wasn’t

the one getting bullied. No, this time it was Xavier, the

one throwing a tantrum like a child.

Xavier waited for what felt like an eternity for Jaden to

explain, but when nothing came, his frustration grew.

He was like a pufferfish on the verge of popping.

----

“If you don’t want to talk to me, then why are you still

standing there? Just leave already! Acting like

someone needs you, always picking on me!"

“| swear | wasn’t yelling at you. I’m sorry, | was loud,

and I’ll be more careful next time."

Jaden sat on the edge of the bed, speaking gently,

trying to calm him down before Xavier literally

exploded. He could practically hear the steam coming

out of his ears.

“You still want a next time? You’ve already planned out

how you’re going to scold me, huh?"

“| was wrong. | promise, there won’t be a next time.

Now, calm down. You just woke up; don’t get yourself

all worked up."

Xavier rolled his eyes and snorted, still calling him a

pig’s trotter. The more he thought about it, the angrier

he got—now he was yelling at people too.

----

In a flash, he grabbed Jaden’s hand and bit down on it

like a mad dog. His furious expression made it seem

like he needed to bite a piece of flesh off just to calm

down.

----

Jaden didn’t pull away, as if he didn’t even feel the

pain. He simply wrapped his arm around Xavier’s

waist and held him close, a mix of indulgence and

affection in his gaze.

Just as they were like this, Danielle and her brothers

arrived. They stopped dead in their tracks, holding the

supplements they had brought for Xavier, their eyes

wide in shock.

“Uhh... should we go in?" one of them hesitated.

Jaden noticed their gaze and, unbothered, greeted

them casually. "You guys are here. Come on in.”

----

Xavier loosened his grip on Jaden’s

arm as soons he heard their

voices, revealing rows Of little bite ~

marks ofthis skin. He quickly triedto

explajA, Stumbling over his words,

"It’s .g6t what you think! | cide he

did’t do anything! | was just mad...

m

Jaden, ever the understanding one, nodded. "Yeah,

yeah, we didn’t misunderstand." But his eyes said the

complete opposite.

Xavier tried to explain again, but the more he said, the

worse it got. He shot a glare at Jaden, his face red

with embarrassment.

----

Joseph, their father figure, stepped

forward witha warm smile. "Xavier,

how are feeling? Does your

wound stil hurt? You’ve really

stepped | up for Danielle. You &

protected her even when yowwere

w

S

“Thanks for protecting Danielle. Don’t do anything

reckless again. We need you to be okay," Joseph said,

his voice full of concern.

“Xavier, take it easy. Matthew brought you some soup.

Don’t eat anything too heavy, keep it light," one of his

brothers added.

----

"Xavier, white you were out, they

started picking on me. You needto

get bettér soon. We need you to

keep eharging ahead— Austin.gnd

the rest can finally take a break,"

anather one teased.