Chapter 144: You Mean Something To Me
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."