Overprotective Eight

Overprotective
Eight


“How's your burger?”

I frowned and looked up at Ronan.  I was still pissed at him.  And what me even more pissed is because I didn't really understand why I was so pissed off in the first place!  Did I really want him to admit he liked me?  No!  Of course I didn't.  So why was I so angry?

“Are you going to answer me or not?”

“The burger's fine.”  I kept my voice curt and simple, hoping he would get the point that I was pissed... no.  Not pissed.  Not pissed.  “It's a little overdone,” I said, frowning.

He lowered his fork.  “Really?” he asked, arching a curious brow.  “Do you want another one?”

“No,” I said.  “It's fine—”

“Hey!” Ronan barked over me, reaching for the nearest waiter.  The older woman stumbled towards our table.  “Her burger's overcooked.”

“Ronan it's fine—”

“I'm sure it's not a big deal,” the waitress said.  “Sometimes the chef just—”

“It shouldn't be a big deal,” Ronan went on.  Without waiting, he reached over and plucked my plate off the table and set it down in the center of the older giantess' palm.  “I'll pay the difference if this place is short on funds, but judging by the crowd...” he paused and glanced around for effect before looking at the woman, “... I think you're doing okay and can spare an extra human burger.  Cooked properly.”  He turned back to me.  “How do you want it done?”

“Ronan, I—”

He rolled his eyes.  “She likes straight medium,” he said.  “Not medium rare.  Not medium well.  Medium.  Got it?”  He looked at the waitress who still seemed to be a bit shocked.  “Please?” Ronan tacked on at the last minute.

The older woman flushed!  “Of course,” she said.  “I'll... I'll have them take care of it.”

“You're a doll,” Ronan said.  “And so put together.  Did you just have your hair done?”

Another flush as she reached up and pat her bun.  “Uh... yes, actually.  I just had highlights put in.  A long process but... it was worth it.  Can you really tell?”

Ronan nodded.  “It's lovely.”

“Thank... thank you... I'll... I'll have them get that burger ready for you real quick.  Should only be a minute.”  She beamed brightly, her entire demeanor changed since Ronan complimented her.  She practically skipped back to the kitchen and I could hear her yelling at the chef to make sure the burger was 'medium.  Not medium rare.  Not medium well.  And make it snappy!'

Ronan turned back to me.  “She seems nice.  Good waitress.  Wish she was ours.”

“What.  Was.  That?” I asked.

“What?”

“What?” I asked.  “You... you charmed the pants off that grumpy old lady!”

“She's not grumpy,” Ronan huffed.  “And she's not old.  She's like forty.”  He shrugged it off as I continued to stare up at him dumbfounded.  “You act like you're so shocked that I can be nice.”

“I am shocked!” I stammered.  “You... you'd be a force of nature if you actually talked like that all the time.”

“I only give out compliments when I see reason to.”

“So... what?  You actually liked her hair?”

“Of course I did,” Ronan said.  “The highlights looked nice against her face.”  He shrugged.  “I wouldn't just tell her so if I didn't mean it.  What if she was a reader?”  Another large shrug.  “You can't be too careful when it comes to giants.  Telling the truth is always a good idea.”

I couldn't argue with that.  Still... I was in shock to see Ronan being so polite.  And actually meaning it.  I licked my lips, mulling over what other secrets lay hidden behind those intense dark eyes and amazing arm muscles.

“Are you hungry?” Ronan asked, pulling me out from my fantasies again.  “You're licking your lips.  Want some of my chicken?”

“I'm good,” I said.

“You sure?”  He arched a brow, setting down his fork again.  The silverware clanged against the ceramic.  “I can wait until your food gets here.”

“Don't wait for me.”

He chuckled.  “You still want to think the worst in me, huh?  Just because I'm telling what you don't want to hear about your precious Luke.”  He lifted his fork and shoveled a large portion of his salad between his lips.  A flash of silver came from inside.  

“You... you have a tongue stud?” I croaked out, tilting my head to the side.

He smiled with closed lips as he chewed and swallowed.  “You wanna see?”

“Do you?”

“Do you want to see or not?  I can show you,” he said, teasing going into his voice again.  “Or hell... I can—”

“That's alright!” I squealed, holding up my hands.  “Forget I said anything.”

“As you wish,” Ronan said, returning to his salad.  He was all but finished by the time my burger came around.  It wasn't the chef's fault... Ronan just powered food down like a beast.  “Can I get a slice of cherry pie?” he asked the waitress as she set down my burger.  “I'm still kinda hungry.”

“A growing boy needs to eat,” she said cheerfully.  “Tell you what.  The pie's on us since we messed up the burger for your little date.”

“Oh... I'm not his date!” I started to squeak out.

“That would be great,” Ronan said.  “You can pack it up to-go, just in case,” he said with a wink.  “It's a warm night.”

“Of course!” the waitress said with a smile.  “I'll get that all ordered up for you.”  She scullied off again, still practically skipping.

“You are...” I trailed off as I reached for my new burger.

“What?” Ronan asked, smiling like an idiot.

“Weird.”

“I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me.”

“In the past nine hours we've ever spoken.”

His expression faltered slightly, but if my statement bothered him, he wasn't going to show it.  “How's your burger?” he asked in a more serious tone.  “Better than the last one?”

“You didn't have to do that,” I said quietly.  “But for the record... it's perfectly done now.  A perfect medium.”

“Not medium rare.”

“Not medium well.”

“Straight medium,” Ronan said.

“Seriously... you're so...” I trailed off again and shook my head.  I couldn't believe this was the same guy who intimidated pretty much everyone who walked past.  Now Ronan / Ronald / Ronnie looked calm and kind.  Attentive, even.  It was a little jarring.  I fell silent for a few minutes so I could focus on my burger and I had to admit, it was the best one I'd ever had at the diner.  Despite Ronan's strange behavior... he did have a decent side to him.

“So what should I call you from now on?” I said between french fries.

“You can call me whenever you like,” Ronan said in a low voice.  “I don't care if my parents—”

“No, I mean.  What should I call you?  Ronan?  Ronald?  Ronnie?”

“You can call me Ronald or Ronnie... if you don't want me to respond,” Ronan said.  Was it just me or did he look a little deflated?  “Seriously only my mom calls me Ronnie.  My dad calls me Ronald when he's about to kick my ass about something.  And my little brother calls me Ronan or I'll kick his ass.”  He laughed.  “I'm Ronan.  I told you.  I only gave you that tasty little bit of information so you wouldn't think I was messing with you.”

“For the record... I still think you are.”

“And what would stop that horrible way of thinking?”

“Tell me what you were really lying about.”

Ronan swallowed hard.  “Actually... I can't,” he muttered.  For the first time he looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Why's that?”

“Because... I thought I knew for sure.  But I think the jury's still out on this one.”  He looked down at his hands.  “I'll let you know if things change.”

I frowned.  What the hell did that mean?

“... isn't that her?”

“... what's she doing with him?”

I looked up from my almost empty plate to find the source of the voices.  I didn't know why but it felt like those comments were directed at Ronan and myself.  Sure enough, three larger giants were standing near our table, whispering and looking in our direction.

“Shit, she saw us.”

“You think we should tell Walters?”

One of them laughed.  “That can't be good news for him.”

Ronan followed where I was looking and then turned back towards me.  “Something wrong?” he asked.  A waiter dropped off a slice of pie and a doggie bag.  He waved them away.  “Maya?” he tried again.

“Those... those guys go to our school,” I said, jutting my chin towards the three giants.

Ronan spared a glance.  “Oh.  Them.  They're friends of Luke's.”

“Really?”

“Seriously, Maya Jones.  Do you pay any attention to what's going on around you?”  His question was accusing but his tone was teasing.  Already, I was learning not to take what he said too personally.  “Those are some of Luke's best friends.  They all go to the Clarence field to work out.  They're the same guys I heard talking about...” he trailed off.

“About what?” I asked.

“I'm gonna see what's up,” one of the guy's said suddenly.  I looked away from Ronan before he had a chance to answer and sat up straighter in my chair as the giant approached.  He looked friendly enough with jade eyes and light brown hair.  “What's this?” he asked.  “Dissing my boy last night, but going on a date with him?”

“Watch it,” Ronan growled.  He didn't move from his chair, but I could tell he was annoyed.  His large hands balled up into white knuckled fists far too quickly for my liking.

“It's not a date,” I said.

The giant looked relieved.  “I hope not,” he said with a chuckle.  “Though this has got to be the weirdest pairing I've ever seen.  Wait till I tell Luke.  That's a mean thing to do.  Diss one guy one night and go out with another the next.  And all giants for that.  You must have something special.”

“Please... please don't tell Luke,” I said, hardly believing my words.  “We're just here as friends... maybe not even that.”

“Oh... I think he needs to know,” the giant said with a smirk.  “I know he's just dying to go out with you.  He's been talking about it for weeks.”

“R-really?” I croaked out, getting lost in those jade eyes as they focused on mine.

“Maya,” Ronan asked.  “Can... can you look here for a minute?”

“Chill out, guy,” the giant said.  “I'm just talking to her. I'll keep my hands to myself.”  He turned his attention back to me.  “Luke was pissed off that you didn't go out with him yesterday.”

“So... so why isn't he with you guys?  Why didn't he call?”

The giant shrugged for a moment, before completely focusing back on me.  I was lost in those pretty green eyes.  Giants were so pretty.  Even the male ones.  “You know his dad's strict as hell.  He had to stay in tonight.  And tomorrow... he'll... uh... he'll be working out with us.  So you see... there's no way.”

“There's no way,” I muttered.

“Maya,” Ronan snapped, raising his voice.  “Look here.  I want to show you something.”

“I said chill out,” the giant snapped.  “I'm backing up my boy.  But seriously, Maya.  Don't worry about Luke.  He's a good guy.  Give him a chance on Monday to explain, okay?  He's still very interested in you.

I smiled.  “He is?”

“Oh yeah,” the giant said, smiling down at me.  “Very interested.  So don't let this...” he waved at Ronan before taking a step back, “... get in the way.  Trust me.  Luke is still very interested in taking you out.”

I nodded like an idiot as the giant went back to his friends.

“I told her,” he said.  

“That's cheating, Evans.”

“Just helping out my boy.”  He turned around and waved at me.  “Have a good night, Maya.”

I waved back.  “See ya.”

I lowered my head and couldn't help smiling to myself.

“Maya.”

I knew it.  I knew Luke was a good guy.  I knew he wanted to go out with me.  How could I have ever doubted him?

“Maya?”

Why was I even here?  Because I trusted Ronan's words so easily?  And Garrett's?  Garrett must have gotten a wrong read or something.  Luke was good.  Luke wanted to take me out.  It was just his strict parents.  That was the reason he wasn't here or trying to contact me.

“Maya!”

I blinked, suddenly remembering that I wasn't alone at the table.  Ronan was sitting there, looking surprised.  Hurt.

“What?” I snapped.  “What's wrong with you?”

“I could ask you the same question,” he said.  “What... what was that?”

“What was that?”

“You were like in a trance.  I tried to get your attention but that guy... he pulled you in.”  He blinked.  “Shit.”

“What now?”

“That guy... Luke's friend...” he frowned and ran a large hand through his buzz-cut hair.  “Now it makes more sense.  I was wondering how he was doing it.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“That guy!” he shouted, and pounded his heavy fist on the table.  “Don't you see what he was doing?  How Luke is able to do all of this?”

“All of what?”

“Oh... God,” Ronan grumbled.  “Maya... you've been pushed.”

My face changed.  “I... uh... what?”

“That giant... he pushed thoughts into your mind.  He told you things that weren't true so you'd believe him.  He's... he's a pusher, Maya.  And he just pushed good thoughts about Luke into your brain so you'd believe him.”

I narrowed my eyes.  “Are... are you out of you damn mind?  A pusher?”

“Yes,” he said wearily.  “That's how he pulls it off.  Luke's a memory reader... and his friend... he's a pusher.  That's why Luke's able to do this.  He's mess with you, Maya.  He's...”

“That's enough!” I shouted, red faced.  For once, Ronan fell silent.  “I don't know what the hell you're talking about, but I'm about sick of giants and their special powers.  Reading and pushing... it's annoying!  And how do you know all of this?”

“Maya, I can tell you, but you need to listen—”

“No!  I've had enough.  I'm going home.”  I stood up from the chair and went to gather my coat.  “Thanks for dinner... thanks for the burger correction, but this is too much, Ronan, Ronald, Ronnie.  Whatever!  My nerves can't stand it.  You're... you're all liars.”

“Maya, if you'd just listen.”  Ronan scrambled to his feet and reached for his wallet.  He quickly set down two twenties, but his eyes were locked on me the entire time I was getting ready to storm out.

Storm out.  Giant.  Right...

“At least let me walk you home,” Ronan said.  “I don't like the idea of you being alone at night.”

“I'm fine.”

“I'm not asking anymore,” he said, frowning down at me.  “I'll meet you outside.”

“Don't bother!” I shouted as he shouldered his way through the crowds.  Dammit.

There was no way I could avoid him.  He would find me outside.  He would walk me home.  And the sick part was... I kind of wanted him too. What if he was right?  What if Luke's friend really was a pusher and was shoving thoughts into my brain?  The thought made me sick.  Giants weren't supposed to use their powers on humans at school... the punishment was expulsion.  But as long as he did that off campus, what could I do to stop him?

I swallowed hard and willed myself not to cry.

I hated being human sometimes.

I hated being weak.

I wanted to talk to Garrett.  I missed my dad.

Shit... I missed my mom even more than usual now.

Wiping my nose, I tried to clear my thought of Luke's friends words and those green eyes.  I couldn't shake the feeling that while Luke was good... his friend was lying.  Why couldn't I block out those thoughts?  Why did giant's powers usually only work on humans?  I stepped past several people and boarded the elevator to the first floor, trying not to focus on what was real.

Giants.  Everywhere.  Laughing.  Strong.  Powerful.

And with special powers.

Dammit, it wasn't fair!  Who could I trust?

I stormed off the elevator, ready to make a break for my house before the tears came.

“Are you alright?”

I don't know why, but Ronan's voice pierced through me as the cold air whipped across my face outside.  I sucked in a cry and wouldn't look at him.  I couldn't look at him.  As soon as I saw those dark eyes and his looming presence I knew I would break down.  

Garrett.  Dad.

Mom.

“I... I just want to go home,” I croaked, hoping that Ronan would just let it slide.  The last thing I needed was some giant making fun of me for crying like a baby and missing their mommy.

“That... that's fine, Maya,” he muttered.  “But... I'm just gonna walk a few steps behind you until you're inside, okay?”

“You'll have to walk slow,” I said, sucking in another cry as I stumbled past him.

Fabric shifted.  “That's okay,” he muttered.  “I don't mind.  I want to make sure you get home alright.”

I nodded.  “T-thanks,” I muttered.

Ronan stayed true to his promise, wordlessly following a few steps behind me the whole way back to Garrett's house.  I sniffed hard and turned around to thank him again, but kept my head low.

“Thanks again,” I said.  “I'm so sorry—”

“Don't be, Maya Jones.  I get it.  It... it sucks.”

“Yeah,” I said with a sniff.  “It really does.  I can't get his voice out of my head.  Or his eyes.  I want to believe him because my brain says I should... but I believe you, too.”

“Talk to you dad about it,” Ronan said.  “And you can message me online any time you want.”

“Not anytime,” I said, trying to smile at my shoes.

“Anytime,” he said.  “I'll message you back.  Don't hesitate.  I'll... we'll get to the bottom of this, Maya.  Luke and his friends have been fucking around with people for too long.  We'll figure it out.”

“Yeah,” I said, though my voice hinted with doubt.

“Maya Jones, look at me.”

“I can't right now.”

“Please.”

I sniffed hard and started to lift my head.  Black boots.  Dark jeans.  A trim waist with a black belt and silver buckle.  Large, nervous hands.  Large muscles and a broad chest with shoulders to match.  A strong jawline... full lips... and concerned eyes.  I hiccuped.  The corner of his mouth crept up into a sad smile.

“I won't let anyone fuck with you again, Maya Jones.  Next time he tries that pusher shit, I'm gonna knock his eye out.  Maybe both of them.”

I tried to laugh.  “That... that's a horrible idea.”

“I wasn't asking you thoughts on it.”  His eyes softened.  “I won't hold you because I know you don't want me to.  But just for the record... I really wish I could.”  He spun on his heel to leave as words caught in my throat.

I did want him to.

I wanted to dissolve in his strange kindness.

I wanted to melt into his silver banded hands.

But something kept my feet from going to him as he walked away.

“Talk to you dad,” he called over his shoulder.  “I'll see you Monday... unless you to talk before then.”

“I... will,” I croaked.  My face crumbled as I willed my feet to move.  Go!  Go to him!  Run to him and grab him.  Hold him tight and cry into him.  He won't judge you.  But I couldn't do it.  “I'll message you tomorrow,” I called instead.

“I'm available anytime for you, Maya Jones,” he said before he turned a corner.  “For whatever you need from me... whenever.”

I swallowed hard as I watched his broad shoulders turn the corner. “Thanks...” I called again... but he was already out of sight.  My voice probably wouldn't have carried to his ears.

My body still longed to run after his, but I couldn't bring my feet to move.  He wanted to hold me... but he said he wouldn't because he knew I wouldn't like it.

But I would have.

I longed for it.  I wanted it.  I needed it... I needed him.  If for nothing else then he cleared the sparkling words and eyes to match the green eyed giant.  I knew who I was supposed to believe, but my brain didn't seem to want to corporate.

Ronan.  Luke.

I wiped my nose on my sleeve again and finally started to walk towards the door.  I would not let Garrett see me cry for the second time this weekend.  I had to be strong.  Brave.  Brave and strong. I clasped the knob to the door and swallowed hard, reminding my brain that Ronan was good and Luke was to be questioned.  Monday.  I'd talk to him Monday.  I could be brave.  Ronan sure thought I was for some reason.

But how could I be brave when I was questioning reality?

I opened the door, relieved that it was cloaked in darkness.  Garrett must have already went to bed.  I snuck past his room and longed for what I thought made me brave for so many years until she was taken from me.

Mom.

I wished she was alive.  I needed her more than anything right then.