Tears kept streaming down Jay's face, falling freely from someone Max had always seen as a kind of gentle giant.
Jay was strong. Firm. He never flinched in front of the other delinquents, never showed weakness, especially not in public. This was the first time Max had ever seen his armor crack.
Even Joe, who never passed up the chance to tease someone, stayed quiet. Though maybe that was because Joe knew the truth too, if Jay ever wanted to, he could fold Joe in half without breaking a sweat.
"I'm sorry," Jay said suddenly, standing up and grabbing the stack of money. His voice wavered, and then, without another word, he rushed out of the classroom.
Max stared after him.
"You know what that was about?" he asked.
Joe shook his head slowly, still watching the door.
"No. I've never seen him cry before. It kinda… hurt, you know? Seeing someone like him break down like that."
Max turned back, his mind spinning.
"Let me ask you something else. Why would a guy like Jay be working for someone like Dipter? You said yourself, he might be even stronger than Dipter. So why follow him?"
Joe furrowed his brow, fingers resting against his chin as he tried to piece it together.
"Now that you say it... yeah, it was always weird," Joe admitted. "There were always rumors about Jay. Everyone talked about how strong he was. But he never went around starting fights or acting like he was the top dog."
He paused, eyes drifting to the side.
"I remember hearing that people would challenge Jay just to test themselves. It got to the point where every time someone wanted to make a name for themselves, they'd go after him. He beat them all, quietly. Efficiently. Never made a big deal out of it. But the word got around."
"And when Dipter tried to take over?" Max asked.
Joe nodded. "That's when everyone expected them to fight. The whole school was waiting to see who'd win if they threw down. But... it never happened. Jay just sort of got absorbed into Dipter's group. No questions. No fanfare."
Max remembered that. Joe had told him before, but it hadn't really clicked until now.
"If you break it down," Max said, thinking aloud, "Dipter always had ambition. He wanted power, territory, control. He was building something."
He looked down at his hands.
"Jay… he was just strong."
Joe nodded. "And those tears… man, they weren't like mine. When you handed me that cash earlier, I wanted to cry too, but it was joy. Pure joy. But Jay's tears?" He looked away. "Those weren't joy. That was something else."
Max raised his hand and smacked Joe lightly on the back of the head.
"Ow! What the hell, man?" Joe rubbed the spot.
"You really think he was sad because he got paid?" Max replied. "No. It's what the money means to him. And no one, no one, bothered to ask what kind of situation he might be in."
Joe fell silent.
"Well... why don't you ask him?" he said after a moment. "If you care that much. I don't think I've ever seen Jay hang around with anyone but us. We might be all he's got."
He paused, eyes softening. "Same for me, really. We're each other's only friends."
That realization struck Max harder than he expected.
Everything, every bond in this school, had been born out of money. Dipter brought people together by paying them. Loyalty, respect, power, it all came with a price tag.
But Jay… Jay was different.
Jay didn't fight for the money. He acted because of something else, something Max hadn't understood.
"I think you're right…" Max said quietly. "Crap. You guys... might really be my only friends."
The word friends felt heavy on his tongue. It wasn't something Max used lightly. After all, it was friends who had built the White Tigers alongside him. And it was a friend who had betrayed him and taken everything.
Maybe that's why he'd kept a distance this time.
Why he'd used money. Control. Strategy. He thought it would protect him from getting hurt again. From being betrayed again.
But it hadn't worked. Not really.
Stephen was loyal now, not because of the money, but because of what they'd built together. And Max realized something painful and simple.
Maybe the problem wasn't them.
Maybe it was me.
He'd never bothered to ask about the others. About what they needed. Why they fought. What their stories were.
Jay had run off to the bathroom.
There, hunched over the sink, he splashed cold water on his face. It mingled with the tears already running down from his red, bloodshot eyes.
His large frame trembled as he gripped the edge of the sink with one hand, and clutched the wad of cash with the other. The money felt heavier than any punch he'd ever taken.
"Finally," he whispered to himself, barely audible, "I can help. I can actually do something. But why does it feel like it was just handed to me? Do I deserve this? Is this even... right?"
His voice broke with emotion.
Eventually, Jay pulled himself together and made his way back.
Even though he wasn't in the same class as Max and Joe, it was still lunch break, and he didn't want to just disappear without saying anything. That would be awkward. Rude, even.
I didn't even say thank you, he thought bitterly. I just ran out. I'm such an idiot.
He stepped into the room and saw Max and Joe still sitting where he'd left them. He hesitated, but then made his way over and sat down quietly.
Before he could speak, Max cut in.
"Jay…" Max said gently. "Can you tell me why the money means so much to you? Why you joined Dipter's group if you don't even like fighting?"
Jay blinked, caught off guard.
"I'm not trying to force you to do anything you don't want to do," Max added. "I just… I want to understand. I want to help if I can."
He hesitated, then said it.
"As a friend."