14. Project Compromised

-Max-

The nurse's office at school was still thankfully open. When I carried Sky inside, there were still three other students who had gotten injured by the flying debris.

"Good Lord!" the nurse, Mrs. Abigail, yelped and hurried to us. "What happened?"

"We found him in the forest," I said, and with her help, I gently laid Sky down on one of the beds.

I hadn't had the time to take a good look at Sky, so seeing him lying on the bed made my stomach twist. He was covered in mud, and he was soaking wet. He had tiny scratches all over his face, and his torn clothes had blood on them.

"What's this..." Mrs. Abigail muttered and poked Sky's ankle.

There were two sturdy sticks tied around his ankle with something that seemed to be his new T-shirt. When Mrs. Abigail touched it, Sky woke up with a small, painful moan.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Abigail muttered and leaned over him. "Do you remember what happened?"

Sky stared at her in confusion for a moment before he turned to look around. Soon, his eyes met mine, and he smiled.

"You found me," he said in a tiny voice.

"I would've come sooner, but we weren't allowed to leave the school," I told him. "I should've forced them to let me come look for you..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Mrs. Abigail said sharply. "You'd only gotten yourself injured as well."

"She's right," Sky muttered. "It was really dangerous out there."

"Why were you out there?" I asked, but Sky only shrugged. "You just vanished," I tried again, but Mrs. Abigail interrupted us.

"You two can go now," she said sternly. "I'll take care of him."

"But–" I tried to speak, but she shushed me.

"I have now four people to take care of, and they all need to rest," she said, gesturing for us to the door.

I really didn't want to leave, but when I didn't move, Troy grabbed my hand and pulled me away from the bed.

"Come on, bro. There's nothing we can do here," he spoke quietly.

After a moment, when Sky didn't ask us to stay, I reluctantly followed Troy out of the room, and Mrs. Abigail closed the door. I turned around to stare at it.

Troy sighed next to me. "He didn't seem badly injured. I know you want to stay, but–"

"I am staying," I told him. "I'm not letting him out of my sight."

Troy was silent for a moment, but then he tried again. "He's not your responsibility."

I turned to glare at him. "He's my friend."

He was about to say something, but then sighed again and leaned against the wall.

"You don't have to stay," I told him.

"He's my friend too."

I glanced at him shortly, but then turned my back on him and continued staring at the door. I could hear Mrs. Abigail's voice, but she was talking too quietly for me to hear, and I couldn't hear Sky at all.

"What if he's badly hurt? Maybe we should've taken him to the hospital?" I said, feeling anxious again.

"It's almost thirty minutes to the hospital. You saw it yourself. Sky isn't badly hurt," Troy spoke.

"But–" I tried to continue, but he cut me off.

"He's going to be just fine," he said sternly.

"He hurt his leg. Maybe it's broken," I said without listening to him.

"Bro, calm down," Troy sighed. "You worry way too much. Mrs. Abigail will do what she thinks is best for Sky."

"I hope..." I muttered.

We waited for almost half an hour before something happened. We heard two sets of footsteps coming towards us. I turned around to see an extremely anxious couple storming our way. I recognized Sky's father, and I assumed the woman was Sky's mother.

"Is this the nurse's office?" Mr. Jenkins asked, pointing at the closed door in front of me and Troy.

I nodded, and they stormed in without knocking. I sneaked to the door they had left open and saw the woman hugging Sky.

"Mom! Dad!"

"We were so worried! What happened?" Mrs. Jenkins asked.

"I fell asleep in the forest. I didn't see the weather changing," Sky explained.

"Why were you in the forest?" Mr. Jenkins asked breathlessly. "I told you not to wander off! I told you about the tornado warning!"

"I uh... I needed to clear my head..." Sky muttered.

"But the tornado warning, Sky! Why did you leave the school? And during classes!" Mr. Jenkins spoke with a furious frown.

"We'll talk about that later," Mrs. Jenkins said and hugged her son again. "I'm just so glad you're all right."

"I ruined my new clothes," Sky muttered and looked at his torn jeans.

"Oh, don't worry about it," his mom said tenderly.

"I checked his leg, and I don't think it's broken, but you should take him to see a doctor," Mrs. Abigail spoke.

"What happened to your leg?" Mrs. Jenkins asked worriedly.

I listened quietly while Sky told his story. I was feeling uneasy and anxious the entire time, and I hated myself even more. I should've gone looking for him. I shouldn't have let him out of my sight. I should've made absolutely sure he knew about the warning. I didn't know why Sky had decided to leave the school in the middle of the day, but I was sure it was my fault too.

"Can we take him to a hospital now?" Mr. Jenkins asked after Sky was done talking.

"Yes," Mrs. Abigail nodded.

"Thank you," Sky said quietly to her while his mom helped him up from the bed.

"Just make sure this doesn't happen again," she said kindly. "Listen to the warnings, okay?"

"I will," Sky promised, turned to look at the door, and noticed me. "Max? Why are you still here?"

"I wanted to make sure you're all right," I said, and stepped away from the door so Sky could step out with his parents.

"I'm all right," Sky said with a sad smile before looking down. "Did you really... come looking for... me?"

"Of course I did!" I told him. "You disappeared into thin air, and then the tornado came, and..." I choked and shook my head. "I was worried."

"I'm sorry," Sky muttered. "I'm just causing problems..."

"Don't say that," I said quietly. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Sky didn't say anything, but his parents exchanged short looks before turning their attention to me.

"You were looking for our son?" Mrs. Jenkins asked. "That's so brave of you."

"The storm was over by the time they let us leave," I said with a shrug. "I wish I could've come for you sooner," I told Sky, who still wasn't looking at me.

"It's still dangerous out there," Mr. Jenkins said. "Especially in the forest. The trees might be damaged and fall down any second, and the soil might give in, or the wild animals might be looking for cover in the city... It's still dangerous to be outside."

"Oh," I said, not really caring about it. "I just wanted to find Sky."

"Max can't rest before he knows everyone is all right," Troy said, and patted my shoulder. "He's wired that way; always looking after everyone else, except for himself."

"Thank you," Mrs. Jenkins said, placing her hand on my shoulder. "I'm happy to see Sky has friends like you. I don't want to even think about what could've happened if you hadn't found him."

"It was actually Troy who found him. I was panicking too much to think straight," I said quietly.

"Thank you, both of you," Mrs. Jenkins said, smiling at both of us.

"No problem," Troy said.

"Come – I'll take you two home," Mr. Jenkins said, and gestured for us to follow him. "Have you called your parents yet? They must be worried sick."

"Yeah," Troy said. "I texted them."

"Good. Come. We need to take Sky to see our doctor," Mr. Jenkins said, and we all followed him out of the building and all the way to his car.

Soon, we were all cramped in his station wagon. Sky was sitting in the front seat, trying to keep his leg straight while the rest of us were in the back. Once Mr. Jenkins started driving, Skye turned to look at me with a sad expression on his face.

"I'm sorry I ruined the day. I hope we can still play games tomorrow?" he asked quietly.

"You didn't ruin anything, and of course we can still play tomorrow!" I told him hastily and earned a smile from him.

"What were you planning on playing?" Mrs. Jenkins asked.

"Video games!" Sky said with a wide smile.

"The one you told us about?"

"Yes." He nodded excitedly, but then his smile vanished. "I mean, if I can go tomorrow?" he asked carefully, and his parents laughed cheerily.

"Let's see what your doctor has to say about your ankle first," his dad spoke.

"If your doctor says it's OK, we can definitely continue playing the game," Troy said reassuringly.

"Thanks," Sky said cheerily.

"Is there anything that can bring you down?" Troy asked with a smile.

"Sky is always happy," Mrs. Jenkins said, ruffling her son's hair. "I guess that's how he is wired. Not even a broken leg can bring him down."

"Mom..." Sky muttered in embarrassment, and the rest of us chuckled. "It's not broken. It doesn't hurt that much."

"That's good," I said. "It would be difficult for us to go camping if it was broken."

Sky was silent for a moment before he muttered, "True."

Too soon Mr. Jenkins stopped his car next to my home, and both me and Troy got out.

"Thank you for the ride," Troy said.

"This is the least I can do for you two," Mr. Jenkins said. "Be careful, both of you."

"Sure thing, Mr. Jenkins," Troy said, while I turned to talk to Sky, who had opened his window.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"If Mom lets me come," Sky said, trying to smile. "Thank you again for coming to look for me."

"Just don't wander off like that again, okay?" I said and patted his shoulder.

"I promise," he said, and his smile was bigger this time.

*****

"So... Sky isn't coming to school today?" Troy asked me the next morning after I sat down next to him on the school bus.

"He is, but his brother is giving him a ride," I said. "His doctor said he sprained his ankle, but it should heal in a few weeks."

"That's good."

"Yeah..." I muttered. "He's still bummed."

"Why?" Troy asked.

"Who cares?" Luke muttered behind him – I hadn't even noticed him sitting there.

"Sky is a nice guy," I told him. "You'd see that if you weren't such an asshole to him."

Everyone around us fell silent. I saw people gaping at me and Luke, who stared at me angrily.

"What about us? We're your friends, but lately, you haven't had any time for us," Luke said and pointed at our teammates. "You didn't even show up this weekend!"

"Show up?" I repeated.

"Yeah. We were supposed to meet at the park, remember? You're supposed to be on the team, but you're just having fun with your geeky little friend," Luke spoke.

I could almost remember I had promised to hang out with the team. I had forgotten all about it when Sky asked me to go see the owls.

"I'm sorry I forgot, but it's not the end of the world! It's not a good reason for you to hate Sky," I told him calmly, even though I was getting pissed, too.

"Why would I care about some whiny little bitch, who still should be in the kindergarten?" Luke asked in a challenging manner.

I stared at him, trying to keep myself calm so I wouldn't start yelling at him. Or worse. I really wanted to strangle the guy, but I knew not to get angry with him.

Luke was a big guy, and he had a temper. He was kind of a douchebag sometimes, but he wasn't a bad person. I was sure he had problems at home, even though he never spoke about it. He never mentioned his family, and never invited any of us to visit his home, so... I wasn't sure if someone else had noticed it, and I didn't know if I should ask him if everything was all right, since he was quite sensitive about his personal issues – in a bad, aggressive way.

He wasn't even being himself. He was more of the quiet, broody type, so him using so many words meant he was abnormally agitated for some reason. So, I just turned my back on him. Everyone else kept peering at us, but no one was stupid enough to get involved. Luke was also popular, and as long as he and I were on good terms, everything was fine with everyone else. The moment we started fighting, no one knew what to do, or whose side to pick.

I just hoped Luke would warm up to Sky. Sky hadn't done anything to deserve the hate and teasing, and all I wanted was him to be happy. I wanted to be around him, but I also wanted to keep my friends. It would be for the best if everyone would just get along.

After arriving at school, I saw Sky in the parking lot. He had crutches and was struggling to get his bag from the car. While I was jogging to him, he nearly fell twice.

"Here, let me get that for you," I said, and grabbed his bag.

"Thanks," Sky said with a tiny smile.

"I'll carry this for you," I offered, and he blushed lightly.

"You don't have to..." he muttered.

"Don't worry about it," I said with a reassuring smile. "Is your leg hurting?"

"Not that much. I have a splint..." he muttered. "I'm sorry I ruined our camping trip," he added quietly.

Sky wasn't allowed to strain his ankle in three weeks, meaning that he wasn't allowed to go hiking. Meaning we couldn't go see the owls together until he was well enough to walk without aid. I didn't know anything about camping, so...

"You should ask for a new partner for the project," Sky said before I could speak. "I heard there's a group of three people doing their project, so maybe you can–"

"I want to do it with you," I said before he could end his sentence. "We should ask if we can change the subject. We could pick something easier. Maybe a tree or something that is in the city, so we don't have to step a foot into the forest."

Sky gave me a smile, but I knew he didn't like the idea of giving up on the owls. Even I had started to like that subject. I'd carry Sky to the barn and back if I could, but I wasn't strong enough, and it was a long way to walk.

"What if I try to find us a different road? There must be one leading straight to that place," I said.

"There isn't," Sky said. "The road that once led there is long gone."

"How can it be gone?" I asked.

"Nature took back what belonged to it," Sky said. "A cliff collapsed on it years ago."

I sighed and looked around. Troy was waiting for us at the entrance of the school. "We'll think of something," I said. "But in the meantime, we'll be late from class if we don't get going."

Sky nodded, still looking sad. I felt bad for him as I watched him struggle to keep up with me. I walked as slowly as I could so he didn't have to hurry.

"Where did you get the crutches?" I asked.

"They're mine – I broke my leg once..." he huffed.

"Oh..." I wasn't really surprised. "How did that happen?"

"I climbed a tree and fell," Sky muttered.

That wasn't a surprise to me either.

"You like to live dangerously then," I tried to joke to cheer him up, but it only seemed to make him feel even worse.

"Like my mom says, I never think before I act," he said.

I had no idea what to say to make him feel better. I just kept making the situation worse, so I kept my mouth shut. Then I remembered something stupid I had done when I was a kid.

"See this scar?" I asked, showing him my hand. There was a tiny dot right in the middle of my palm. "I stole my dad's nail gun. He was looking in another direction for like a second. Guess what was the first thing I did with it?"

"You shot yourself with it?" Sky guessed with a horrified look in his eyes.

"I nailed my hand on the wall." I chuckled and looked at the small scar I still had. "And I did that on purpose. I just didn't know it would hurt like hell."

"Why did you do that?" Sky asked with wide eyes.

I laughed lightly. "There's a big difference between not thinking before acting, and just being plain stupid. And my God I was a stupid kid."

Sky looked away from me, but I did see a glimpse of an amused gleam in his eyes.

"It's all right to laugh. I'm laughing too," I told him, and he turned to look at me again.

"It's not funny," he said as he was trying to hold back his laugh. "You could've gotten yourself badly injured or killed."

"I'm still alive," I chuckled. "And so are you."

Sky's smile faded a little before he nodded. "I'll try to think before I act from now on."

"And if that doesn't help, I'll come running to save your ass," I told him.

Sky's smile grew wider again. "And I promise to hide the nail guns from you."

I laughed cheerily at his words. "Sounds fair," I told him. Sky chuckled, too. I was happy to see him happy again. "And we will find a way to continue our project with the owls," I continued. "It will be the best damn project anyone has ever done."

"I like the sound of that," Sky said, and I knew I would keep that promise, even if I needed to carry him all the way to the barn.