The doors leads me to a place behind the school. From here, I can overhear the sounds of vehicles moving and students chattering on the other side of the building, all jumbled into one place and making themselves vulnerable to explosive or automatic fire. It makes sense for Daniel to have chosen to pick me up behind the school, away from such a target rich area.

Unfortunately, Daniel himself is absent from where I am right now. Ahead of me, there's a smaller parking lot that seems reserved for teachers and faculty, though I don't see Daniel's car anywhere in it. Calling him is an option, but I'd rather not interrupt him if he's in the middle of work. Especially when school only just released. If I do end up calling him, I should at least wait half an hour.

*if (jason_name ="Classified")
	*goto fuckit
	
				
*else
	Suddenly, I start hearing a loud ringing coming from my pocket. A simulated sound effect, accompanied by a small vibration.

	My phone. There's only one person who has this number.

	Without a moment of hesitation, I quickly reach into my pocket and retrieve the device, keeping the boy in the back of my mind. "Hello?"

	[i]"${firstname}. Has school let out?"

	"Of course."

	[i]"Something's come up at work." He explains briefly. "You'll need to walk home on your own. I trust you know the way."

	"I do."

	[i]"Head straight there. No detours. I'll see you soon."

	After that last sentence, there's a click indicating that the call has ended.
	*page_break Next
	*goto goinghome
	
*label fuckit
"Yeah, I heard you." Off to the side, somewhere unseen, I overhear another voice. This one close enough to be recognizable. "You don't have to be so...look, I get that, but...will you just..." Cautiously, I trace the voice to somewhere around a corner. I look around for something to use as a reflective surface, and have to make do by breaking a corner of a window. "Hm?" The voice pauses immediately after my action, though quickly becomes distracted. "No, I'm not distracted, it's just...yes, I'm still listening..."

Using the piece of glass, I'm able to use the reflection to get a decent look at the person talking. A rather tall young man, broad shoulders, a clear athletic build. Clothes, casual.

*if ((annoyjessy =true) or (male =true))
	He's easy to recognize. This was the boy who chased me in the hallway earlier, while I was trying to go to lunch.
	*goto thissystemissodumb
*else
	I try to think about whether or not I recognize him, and come up with nothing.
	*goto thissystemissodumb
*label thissystemissodumb
*page_break Next
Suddenly, I start hearing a loud ringing coming from my pocket. A simulated sound effect, accompanied by a small vibration.

My phone. There's only one person who has this number.

Without a moment of hesitation, I quickly reach into my pocket and retrieve the device, keeping the boy in the back of my mind. "Hello?"

[i]"${firstname}. Has school let out?"

"Of course."

[i]"Something's come up at work." He explains briefly. "You'll need to walk home on your own. I trust you know the way."

"I do."

[i]"Head straight there. No detours. I'll see you soon."

After that last sentence, there's a click indicating that the call has ended. At the same time, I can see out of the corner of my eye as the boy move around the building, his phone now hanging at his side, the call ended. "See you soon."
*page_break Next
*if (foughtjason =true)
	*set jason_name "Jason Stave"
	*set jessy_name "Jessy Stewart"
	"Oh, hey there..." He glares at me, his face still bearing the marks from our earlier confrontation. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"
	
	He says this, knowing full well who I am and what happened earlier.
	
	"I remember."
	
	He isn't breaking eye contact. Hands tense. After our last encounter, he's probably not eager to fight, but is prepared for the outcome with a mixed sense of dread and determination. "Look, here's the thing." He explains. "My name is Jason, Jason Stave. My girlfriend, Jessy, wanted me to beat you up. For reasons I don't even remember right now. I don't care about that right now. What I care about is how we plan on dealing with each other from here on out."
	
	He pauses, probably to invite a response. Though it's pretty obvious that he has more that he wants to say, so I don't bother and just wait for him to continue on. Which he does after a few seconds.
	
	"Right. So, here's the deal. Jessy and I don't get along all the time, or even most of the time, but she's still my friend. So leave me, and her, alone. Agreed?"
	
	He doesn't seem prepared for a violent confrontation at the moment. He's probably hedging his bets on my agreeing. Kind of curious to see what his move would be if I say no.
	
	On the other hand, might not be worth the hassle.
	*choice
		#I can agree to that
			*set combat -1
			*set explosives -1
			A cease fire. Non-Aggression Agreement. Treaty. All these words mean the same. You don't mess with me, I don't mess with you. A contract made to ensure one's safety, and in exchange, promising to not endanger the other person's safety. One could say that society operates entirely off of these deals. Every law, and agreement between everyone to conduct certain hostile actions against others, under the promise that others will extend the same courtesy to the other.

			Agreements such as these are essential to one's survival. One must be careful to manage the number of wars they are fighting carefully. The lower the number, the less divided your attention, the more likely you are to succeed in the battles that you don't have a choice in.

			"Stay out of my way, I stay out of your way. These terms are acceptable."

			"Great." He says tensely. "Yeah…bye."

			I nod. He doesn't interrupt me when I pick up my bright green backpack and start heading home.
			*page_break Next
			*goto goinghome
		#Too risky. I choose violence instead
			*set jasonhostileforlife true
			*set bored +1
			As he's waiting for a reply, I look him over once more. His hands are at his sides, and he's looking at my face. His overall stance is tense, but rigid and vulnerable to exploitation. In the form of, say, a quick jab to the throat.

			The sudden violence and lack of oxygen forces Jason off balance, and he falls onto his back. Once he's like this, I reclaim the shard of glass that I had previously been using to spy and poke it at his side. Not enough to puncture, but enough to be uncomfortable.

			"You have nothing to bargain with." I inform him as he goes stiff and unmoving. Eyes darting around, trouble taking in oxygen, afraid to move without forcing the glass to slide into his flesh. "Stay out of [i]my[/i] way, Jason Stave." 

			He doesn't interrupt me when I pick up my bright green backpack and start heading home.
			*page_break Next
			*goto goinghome
"So, uhh..." He says while scratching his head and standing a little awkwardly. "Is this just a hobby of yours? Listening in on people's conversations?" He pauses, inviting me to say something. And he coughs rather awkwardly when I pass up that invitation. "Don't tell me you're another freak like Vi or Lucy. 
*if (male =true)
	The school has enough of those."
*if (female =true)
	The school has enough crazy chicks."

"What do you want?" It quickly becomes evident that the point of this conversation isn't going to get any closer unless a direct route is taken.

"What do I want? You're the one who was spying on me." His arms cross as he speak, a way to indicate indignation. Not a good position to attack from. Advantage, mine. "Though hold on...you're the new kid, right? The one Jessy has third hour with."

*if (jessy_name ="Classified")
	*set jessy_name "Jessy Stewart"
	"Who is Jessy?"

	"Jessy Stewart. She mentioned seeing you in her third hour."

I see. Jessy, the girl from third hour who threw paper at me. "Are you connected to her?"

*set jason_name "Jason Stave"
"You would think so. People usually do when they're dating." He answers, half-way. There is a hint in his tone that there's more to the story than that. Perhaps inviting further questioning. Their relationship, however, is of no importance. What is more important is my following question. "Jason Stave. You probably haven't heard about me, but Jessy told me a lot about you. What did she tell you of me?"

*if (jessyhostileforlife =true)
	"Well, she didn't have to tell me much. You broke her arm." His voice is disapproving. Hostile, even.

	"I see. You intend to attack me in retaliation."

	"I'm tempted." He says, trying to maintain eye contact. Difficult when I'm not looking at his eyes. Keep focus on the chest, arms, legs. Know when they move. Right now, his stance is tall, domineering. Some forward momentum, but by his body movement, he's more interested in asserting dominance than properly threaten. "If we'd met earlier, I might have…but right now, I just want to get to the hospital. I've got a car coming that I don't want to miss."
	
	"So just walking away. Will your mate be upset?"
	*goto mad
*if (male =true)
	*if (annoyjessy =true)
		"I know you were some kind of asshole to her. She [i]really[/i] doesn't like you." Acceptable, seeing as how I'm not all that fond of her either.

		"I see. You intend to attack me in retaliation."

	*if (annoyjessy =false)
		"I know she's been trying to feel you up, get you going crazy about her, probably to hurt me in some way. Probably making you her latest boy toy." His tone is disapproving, though tired.

		"I see. You intend to attack me in retaliation."

*if (female =true)
	*if (jessyhostileforlife =false)
		"I know she doesn't like you. Probably saw you as some competition for attention when you first walked up. Not for looks, no offense but you really don't have much going for you in that department, more because of how much attention you've been drawing and how...bizarre you are to everyone. Only part you really need to worry about, though, is that she [i]really[/i] doesn't like you." Acceptable, seeing as how I'm not all that fond of her either.

		"I see. You intend to attack me in retaliation."

*page_break Next
"Nah, I'm not going to fight you now." He waves his hand to the side while looking away. Leaving his chest and neck open to attack briefly, before looking back at me. "Might have earlier, but right now I'm just tired and ready to go home."

So he says, though I maintain my defensive positioning. "Is that so? Will your mate be upset by that?"

*if (jessyhostileforlife =false)
	"My what?" He questions, and then abandons thinking about it. "Uh, yeah, sure. Probably. But I'm kind of used to that. Let's just stay out of each other's ways, yeah?"
	*choice
		#I can agree to that
			*set combat -1
			*set explosives -1
			A cease fire. Non-Aggression Agreement. Treaty. All these words mean the same. You don't mess with me, I don't mess with you. A contract made to ensure one's safety, and in exchange, promising to not endanger the other person's safety. One could say that society operates entirely off of these deals. Every law, and agreement between everyone to conduct certain hostile actions against others, under the promise that others will extend the same courtesy to the other.

			Agreements such as these are essential to one's survival. One must be careful to manage the number of wars they are fighting carefully. The lower the number, the less divided your attention, the more likely you are to succeed in the battles that you don't have a choice in.

			"Stay out of my way, I stay out of your way. These terms are acceptable."

			"Yeah, great." He sighs, and goes back to leaning against the wall. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow then. See you."

			I nod. He doesn't interrupt me when I pick up my bright green backpack and start heading home.
			*page_break Next
			*goto goinghome
		#Too risky. I choose violence instead
			*set jasonhostileforlife true
			*set bored +1
			As he's waiting for a reply, I look him over once more. His hands are at his sides, and he's looking at my face. His overall stance is tense, but rigid and vulnerable to exploitation. In the form of, say, a quick jab to the throat.

			The sudden violence and lack of oxygen forces Jason off balance, and he falls onto his back. Once he's like this, I reclaim the shard of glass that I had previously been using to spy and poke it at his side. Not enough to puncture, but enough to be uncomfortable.

			"You have nothing to bargain with." I inform him as he goes stiff and unmoving. Eyes darting around, trouble taking in oxygen, afraid to move without forcing the glass to slide into his flesh. "Stay out of [i]my[/i] way, Jason Stave." 

			He doesn't interrupt me when I pick up my bright green backpack and start heading home.
			*page_break Next
			*goto goinghome
*if (jessyhostileforlife =true)
	*label mad
	"I don't need her to be mad. I'm already plenty mad." His voice escalates somewhat. "Jessy and I don't get along all the time, or even most of the time, but she's still my friend. So leave me, and her, alone. Got it?"
	*choice
		#I can agree to that
			*set combat -1
			*set explosives -1
			A cease fire. Non-Aggression Agreement. Treaty. All these words mean the same. You don't mess with me, I don't mess with you. A contract made to ensure one's safety, and in exchange, promising to not endanger the other person's safety. One could say that society operates entirely off of these deals. Every law, and agreement between everyone to conduct certain hostile actions against others, under the promise that others will extend the same courtesy to the other.

			Agreements such as these are essential to one's survival. One must be careful to manage the number of wars they are fighting carefully. The lower the number, the less divided your attention, the more likely you are to succeed in the battles that you don't have a choice in.

			"Stay out of my way, I stay out of your way. These terms are acceptable."

			"Great." He says tensely. "Now get the hell out of here."

			I nod. He doesn't interrupt me when I pick up my bright green backpack and start heading home.
			*page_break Next
			*goto goinghome
		#Too risky. I choose violence instead
			*set jasonhostileforlife true
			*set bored +1
			As he's waiting for a reply, I look him over once more. His hands are at his sides, and he's looking at my face. His overall stance is tense, but rigid and vulnerable to exploitation. In the form of, say, a quick jab to the throat.

			The sudden violence and lack of oxygen forces Jason off balance, and he falls onto his back. Once he's like this, I reclaim the shard of glass that I had previously been using to spy and poke it at his side. Not enough to puncture, but enough to be uncomfortable.

			"You have nothing to bargain with." I inform him as he goes stiff and unmoving. Eyes darting around, trouble taking in oxygen, afraid to move without forcing the glass to slide into his flesh. "Stay out of [i]my[/i] way, Jason Stave." 

			He doesn't interrupt me when I pick up my bright green backpack and start heading home.
			*page_break Next
			*goto goinghome

*label goinghome

*goto_scene 1-13home-1