• tab "Jacob..." I found Jacob just standing there in the hallway, in the middle of class transition. He turned around, and said glumly, barely even noticing me,
    tab "Huh?" He blinked, and finally said in a monotone voice I'd never heard from him before,
    tab "Oh, hey. Hey, Stacy." I looked down. I didn't want to say...what I knew I had to say. Suddenly, I rushed over to him, and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him tight.
    tab "This isn't yo' fault, ya' know," he said in that same tone, after I finally released him. I wiped my finger across my nose, tears staining my face red.
    tab "No..." I whispered. "Please don't say that. It is my fault. I--I..."
    tab "You couldn't have done nothin'," he assured me. "It was your father who..."
    tab "It was me!" I screamed. "At least...At least, it might as well have been...me."
    tab "Why you say that?" And so, I explained. Coming out my lips, I couldn't believe how stupid it sounded. Neither could Jacob, for a second.
    tab "You saying...yo' dad killed my dad 'cause you was bad mouthin' me?" He patted me on the shoulder, reassuring me,
    tab "That's just ridiculous, man. Don't try pinnin' this crime on yo'self."
    tab "You think I want to pin the crime on myself?!" I shouted, tossing his hand off my shoulder. "I wouldn't be telling you if I knew it wasn't true!" Jacob shook a bit, and stepped back.
    tab "You...you are tellin' the truth."
    tab "Do you...do you hate me now, after all I've done?" I finally got out.
    tab "Hate you?" He laughed. "Nah, nothin' like that. Gee, you really know how ta' get on yo'self.
    tab "It's just...well, maybe I feel a 'lil upset." My eyebrows leaped.
    tab "Just...a little?"
    tab "Well, let me ask ya' this: Are ya' sorry?" I nodded vividly over and over again.
    tab "Yes. Yes, I'm sorry. A thousand times sorry." He shrugged.
    tab "Then why should I feel mo' than a 'lil upset?" We stared at eachother then, and then, there was something I found then that I never saw before: Understanding.

    tab From then on, we were side by side. He protected me, I protected him. It felt like the bond that could never break.
    tab That's what I thought, at least.
    tab Things started to change as time went on. Slowly, almost unnoticed, but it was there, sure enough. Jacob's muscles began to bulge. His personality made a one-eighty.
    tab The smile on his face...disappeared.
    tab I began to ask him, why? But he never answered. And it wasn't until today, when he tried to...
    tab Best not even write about it. Unpleasant memories are...unpleasant to bring up.
    tab Now he's crossed the line, and all I want to know is: Why? Why did he do it? What changed him into what he is now?
    tab I want him back...the way he was when I first me him, when I hated him. But...I'm not sure it's ever going to happen. Not by me, at least.
    tab Dear reader, whoever you are, you're reading this because I wanted you to. I need you to answer unanswered questions, to help me bring back Jacob. I must've saw something in you when I gave these couple of entries to you. Probably the same thing I saw in Jacob back in 7th grade.
    tab Understanding.
    tab These are my requests. This is what I want. And now, what you decide, well, that's up to you.
    tab Just don't screw up on your decision, 'k?