my guardian 7

Despite all that just happened, the outside world seemed to be getting along quite fine. Students of various cliques huddled together to gossip about the different aspects of teenage life that seemed important, couples decorated the hallway, trying to sneak in a quick kiss here and there before the lunch break was over and those who wished to be different, or rather, those who were treated as though they were different, littered the outside of the school, trying to escape judgement at every corner.
Finn and Mary were on the search for Matt. After his quiet outburst, they figured that Matt could use someone to talk to right about now. As they made their way outside of the school, they spotted Matt sitting on a wooden bench with his head held low. Mary watched as his hair shadowed his eyes, making it difficult to see if he was awkwardly sleeping or crying or just thinking intently. When Finn and Mary were about 20 feet from Matt, Finn stopped her.
"Maybe you should go talk to him," Finn suggested.
"Why me? You're his friend," Mary retaliated.
"Yeah, but it's your fault why we're all here right now."
May could not ignore that fact. She took a deep breath and released it slowly. While Finn remained behind, Mary strolled over to Matt.
As she stood directly in front of Matt, Matt kept his head bowed down. From that angle, Mary noticed the hazel brown of his hair as it made contact with the sun's rays. She began to think back to what Ian had said before. Could it be? Could Matt really like her? She pushed the thought out of her mind as she focused on gaining Matt's attention.
"Hey! I'm not here to shield you from the sun," she said, trying to get a response from him.
"Who's that guy you're always with?" Matt asked, still not showing Mary his face.
"I already told you, he's just a friend."
"Please, just be honest with me. No friend is ever at your side when he can be." This time, Matt lifted his head so that Mary could see the redness of anger on his face. She was taken aback and instinctively sat next to him. As she held his gaze, she noticed a bruise under his left eye.
"What happened there?" she asked, referring to the bruise.
"I asked you before, who is he?" Matt's voice rose with rage and confusion. Mary did not understand why he was so upset with her, but  now did not seem like the time to question him.
Rather than answering, she asked, "why is it so important to you?"
He snickered to himself. "Your friend gave me this wound."
Mary could not believe what he had just told her. She felt annoyed and hurt at the same time. She refused to feel pity for him at this point since he was being so aggressive
towards her. "Then why didn't you fight back?"
Matt looked shocked. He turned away from her for a moment and then came back to face her. "Because I didn't know if he meant something special to you." Mary lowered her eyes as she took in his words.
"I'm sorry." That was all she could muster to say to him now.
Matt nodded and responded, "so am I."
"For what?"
"For shouting and badgering you like that." He offered her a simple smile.
"Matt," Mary began, "about what Ian said back there..."
"He's right though," Matt looked at her directly in the eyes. "I guess, I got upset because I wanted you to hear it from me."
Mary felt instantly awkward. She moved closer to Matt and laid her her atop his shoulder. He felt warm under the midday sun. Suddenly, she got the feeling as though it was Summer time and she was at the beach, laying on the minute beads of sand with her hair blowing in every direction. She was awoken from her fantasy by a rough, familiar voice.
"Are you done?" Mary looked up to see Dimitri in front of her. She ignored his question.
"Where did Finn go?" she asked.
"He went to class; the bell rang." Dimitri's eyes were fixed on Matt's. Mary saw Dimitri put out his hand out to her. She refused, remembering that he had physically abused Matt without good reason.
"No, I want to stay here," she said, "with Matt." The last part was meant to strike Dimitri in his heart. She wanted him to know that he could always be near her, but never intrude in parts where he was not needed.
Dimitri nodded and made his was back to class, slowly, with his eyes facing the ground. When he was gone, Mary returned her head to where it was. Almost instantly, she felt Matt rest his head on top of hers.
"Matt?" she asked.
"Yes?"
"Will you take me to the beach one day?"
"Of course, on one condition, you help me make the perfect sandcastle," Matt replied.
"Deal."