Chapter eleven

The house was completely silent. Lacey rested her forearms on the kitchen table, her upper body leaning on it. Darin's hands held his head with his elbows on the table. "I'm going to tell mummy about the jump." Sadey declared, one hand on her waist.

Lacey leaned forward. "Uhh... Sadey..." Darin pat her arm, shaking his head. Making her keep quiet and allowing him to speak.

"She's not around. So she can't do anything about it. Besides, it was like a week ago." Lacey nodded.

"I'll tell daddy instead."

"If you tell him, then we won't give you ice cream." Sadey's eyes widened. Lacey smiled at her little sister's sweet tooth weakness. "Yeah. Two scoops." She looked at Darin who was smiling and nodding at Sadey. She put up two fingers. "Two scoops from me now two scoops from him."

"Think about. It's a lot of scoops." Her mouth also hung open. The thought of all the scoops of ice cream making her happy. Once they heard the door knob turn, all three looked at it.

The door opened up. "No." She said quickly, making them both to look at her and at each other as she ran to hug her father. "Daddy! Darin and Lacey jumped into the pool from the balcony."

He looked at her and then at them, slowly growing angry. "What?" His expression grew stern.

"Yeah. They were talking about it and I said I would tell you."

Lacey's breathing became heavy, anticipating what he would say. She looked up at Darin who stood indifferent with his hands in his pockets.

When he didn't speak she decided to. "It was like a week ago." Darin looked at her. Not impressed by her excuse.

"And also they said they would gimme ice cream if I didn't tell you."

"You tried to bribe her?" They stayed quiet. "Was Sadey there?"

"Of course not. We know better." Darin answered.

"You know better? I don't think you do."

"No. We do." He stated plainly.

"Yeah. That's why we made sure she wasn't there."

"You." He pointed at Darin. "Wash the car I came in with. And you" to Lacey, "sweep the garage. Next time you wouldn't do it at all." They both sighed simultaneously and started towards the door. "Good job Sadey. Come. You're gonna get a scoop. For being a good girl." He walked towards the freezer. Darin chuckled and Lacey threw her head back in laughter.

"What?" She squeezed her face.

"just one scoop okay."

She looked at her older brother and sister who stood by the door laughing. "Okay. I don't want you to punish them daddy."

"No. Pumpkin. They disobeyed so they will be punished. Both of you get out there and be done before it gets dark out." They nodded.

"But I..."

"Oh! no tattle tale, we want to do this. And we have something to laugh about while we do." Darin chuckled at Lacey's words. "Hey, your music or mine?" He opened the door.

"Mine." He smirked, and winked at Sadey before walking out behind Lacey.

"All Students. Report to the gym in fifteen minutes." Tom looked up at the speaker just as the bell rung for the end of the class. "The next time you throw a party. Don't pass out on a girl's face." Tom looked back, confused at the statement to see Misty standing behind him with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. Tate appeared behind her.

"What?" Tom was very certain he had no idea what they were talking about.

Her hands dropped to her side with a sigh. "We were making out on the counter and you passed out. I had to call your friend here to help me take you up to a room." Her voice grew loud with the increasing noise of friends walking out the class room.

Tom got to his feet and gathering his books he said, "Wow. So sorry. I... I don't even remember." All three started to head out the door.

"Pretty sure she's the one with the green eyes you said were the last things you saw. Or was it remember." Tate chimed in and walked passed them.

"So sorry." He rubbed his forehead. His mind trying to focus on what she was saying. A process he had been trying to achieve all day. With Lacey being on it ever so often. They turned a corner, moving past a flood of students walking to and from their lockers before trooping into the expected place of meeting.

His mind was dishevelled and it frustrated him. The girl had already said no twice and yet he knew that she liked him. She never said otherwise. Although she made it clear her silence was not a yes. Making the entire thing a whole lot more confusing. It has to stop. A decision he had been pondering all weekend. Once his hangover was gone anyway. She had said no and he couldn't tell if she really did like him. So what was he doing thinking of a girl who just wants to be left alone? His thoughts and new re-decided decision... so to speak, escaped him once his eyes caught her talking to her friends in front of a water fountain while she slowly backed away from them. She was short compared to them, her hair was just as up as it always was. At the exact same time he saw her, Misty said, "The next time you kiss a girl don't pass out drunk. At least it's better than throwing up on them." She shuddered. One word caught his attention. He laughed at her reaction to her own words. He shook his head as they walked over to his locker.

Lacey burst open the bathroom door rushing towards the first sink she saw with rapid breathing. Startling every girl who was in there. She kept her head bent over the sink with a tight grip on its sides. Once the last girl walked out and shut the door behind her, she turned and quickly checked the stalls to be sure no one was left. Grateful for the privacy she dumped her bag in the corner and let out a frustrated grunt. She ran her hand through her hair and dragged it over her eyes squeezing them shut. With another grunt, she dropped her hands and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She reached for the sink again and let her body lean into it.

It was becoming more annoying. The thoughts of him. Once she was left alone to herself he consumed her head. Concentrating during class was a problem. It annoyed her to her bones. It's not like it was a crush. If what she thought a crush was like then it certainly was not like that. Not like how she felt for Dennis. The idiot who only a few minutes ago stopped her on her way into the bathroom by grabbing her hand like he used to do. "I want to talk to you." He'd said through the crowd of moving students and hearing his voice made her want to hit him. The good thing was this time she didn't run. "You've had months since I got back to approach me so why now?" She loved what she had said. No regrets there. Not to mention walking out on him before he could utter a word.

Again it was nothing compared to what she felt for Dennis, in the sense that it felt better. The word crush irritated her. The word came with its own problems. Like the insane need to keep talking about them, letting everyone who would care to listen and keep the secret know that he did something that they thought was cute, or saying that they were cute or pretty. Like the constant staring that came with the day dreams and wondering sighs of what could be. Ugh! Even when she was finally his girlfriend she still did those things. Not to mention the desire to please him and make him notice her like she was a puppy who just wanted to show she could fetch the right ball.

Once she had realised that was all she had been doing and how much it had consumed her she stopped hating them and hated herself. Especially since she knew she would have done almost everything she could to make him happy. It didnt take long to forgive herself for being in such a blinding position, not with her friend from her year away telling her there was no reason to be so down and out on herself. After that, it was easy to no longer care, until it all came flooding back once she stepped out the car that first day. Talk about unresolved feelings of hate. But this was different, it was the reason why she liked it and why she was beating herself up for liking it. She didn't feel the need to talk about him, granted if she did it would cause a lot of problems but aside from that there was nothing to talk about. Even if his 'the heart wants what it wants' spin still made her smile. Other than that all she knew was she felt something and the way he looked at her always made her heart race. Not to even bring up the way he held her and his awfully sneaky way of doing things around her. It was happening again. She let go of the sink and started towards her bag. The need to write her thoughts down filling her. one of the many ways she reduced her thoughts.

She was almost close to her bag when she heard the click of the bathroom door and the sound of shoes quickly coming closer. She turned around just in time to have her face cupped in his warm hands. Her heart responded to his presence and his touch by pounding so hard she felt it would pop off. He took a second to look into her eyes. She barely had time to process what he was doing before his lips met hers lightly like fingers lightly and quickly dipping into a bowl of water to test the temperature. Three times he did the little act before the fingers dipped into the bowl... He took her lip with his and was delighted when she kissed him back.

Lacey had her hands holding his wrists, her entire train of thought slowly fading away by the sweet spell of his kiss. She felt her whole body tingle and her eyes slowly fell shut. She parted her lips slightly and their tongues proceeded to a light gentle dance, both forgetting to breathe. His hands travelled up to her ponytail reaching for the band that kept it up. She pulled away before he could let her hair loose, both panting. She kept her head down, his stunt bringing her out of his spell. "Please leave." She said between deep breaths. Without fighting it, he left without a word. He had managed to make her frustrations even worse in less than five minutes. She put her hair back in place and went for her bag. It was exactly what she meant by sneaky, he seemed to show up when she was thinking of him... even if it had only happened twice. No it was three... maybe.

In spite of the battle she faced internally not to smile, her face betrayed her intentions with a warming smile she couldn't break no matter how hard she tried to frown. She had to admit that kiss in itself was something.

Tom laughed and bit his lower lip still feeling her soft lips on his. Maybe now he had changed her mind. Thinking of it earlier had definitely changed his.

Hands stuffed in his pockets, Darin made his way down thr hall. He noticed the two girls walking towards him. The one closer to his side glanced his way and whispered to her friend. Complete disinterest in what that was about, he faced forward. A few minutes till school was over and the guidance councillor chose then to send for him. He felt himself collide with a small frame. He looked to see the whispering girl almost falling to the ground. Her friend gripped her hand to keep her from reaching the ground. He smiled to himself and continued walking. He had places to be. "Hey! You ass! You bump into me and you just walk away?"

He could miss the meeting with the councillor. He didn't need to have his work or school social skills evaluated. He looked back to see her frowning, then turned fully to face the whispering girl who's frown was beginning to falter. He decided to pick up where she left off with a frown of his own. Seeing the fear in her eyes, he stepped closer and she stepped back.

Amused by the plot, he looked at her friend, "We all know that isn't true. I saw you whisper to her. And I believe you strayed from your path to intentionally bump into me." She gave him a defiant look to hide her guilt and opened her mouth to speak. He leaned forward and raised his index finger, instantly making her mouth close. "The next time you want to get someone's attention, try walking up to them and talking."

"Okay then how about we start over?" Her friend asked, laughing nervously. He looked at her still frowning making her shrink and walked away. He didn't have time for that.

Lacey paused for a brief second in the living room. She tingled with excitement, a smile she couldn't control plastered on her face and her entire being struggling for the words she had to say. She raced up the stairs and burst into her older brother's room without knocking. She ignored the questioning look on his face when he dropped his phone. "I know it was you!" She blurted without warning. "You put her up to it, you're the reason Shawna attacks Abby." She pointed accusingly.

Darin cracked a small smile and chuckled. "Took you quite the time Lacey." He folded his arms and watched her race over to his bed.

"I doubt I would have found out, but I was walking by and I saw Shawna holding Abby's wrists and Abby was almost kneeling on the floor and Shawna was insulting her and Abby looked like she might burst into tears, and then bad mouth Harold says 'kiss already.'" She makes her voice sound deep. "And he laughs at it and Shawna says 'shut up punching bag or I'll beat you with her.' And he's all; 'hey no problems with that. Her hot body on me...' And then he whistles and Shawna pushes Abby right to him and storms off." Darin stared at her in amusement with his arms crossed. "And I started to wonder why Shawna suddenly hated Abby and after a lot of thought to it, somehow you popped in to my head and it made sense. She hates girls she knows you like. But why did you do it?"

He shook his head. "Ok, you dumb slow poke I'll give you a hint and you piece it together too. My sister is being harassed by a bitch."

Her mouth hung open, still sort of smiling. She was so happy she could almost forget Tom's sneaky kiss stunt. "For me? You told Shawna to harass her for me?"

He closed his eyes chuckling. "No." By the time he was done explaining his scheme she was fighting the urge to give him a hug.

"You freaking deceitful devil. I knew there was a reason I loved it so much. Dude, Darin you are the greatest. Thanks." She hugged him tightly laughing.

"Yeah well." He patted her back. "I'll be leaving soon. And I wanted to do something for you like Marvin did for me. Knowing you wouldn't touch her or talk back, I figured why not." He peeled her off.

"Dude thanks. So cool of you to do that. Wait, like the time you both came home with that story about almost fighting in school?" He nodded.

He couldn't forget that week. Or the day he'd shoved his older brother against a locker pinning him there and pointing at him, "Quiet Marvin. I swear, one more time and I will hurt you so bad you wouldn't believe it!" Marvin shoved him back, his smug look making Darin furious.

"Keep quiet and go to your class Devil." Half the school was watching a freshman loner kid threatening to beat his senior... Senior brother. "Don't test me!"

"No. No do not Test me. You do this every time and I am bloody sick of it!" He had him against the locker again.

"Hey kid, stop it huh, you are making a fool of yourself." One of Marvin's friends spoke up dragging him away from Marvin. Ruffling his hair.

He slapped away his hand and glared at his older brother. "You see this! You do things like that and pick on me and he thinks it's okay to do so too just because." He stated walking up to a now frowning Marvin.

"Enough kid." The friend pulled him back again. "Cu-" in rage filled anger Darin attacked him, both landing on the floor with Darin landing heavy punches on him.

"Hey! Darin. Stop!" He grabbed his brother's arm and dragged him off his friend. "We'll settle this at home." He pushed him away from the crowd.

Darin looked over to the boy he had beat up, who was being pulled to his feet. "Touch me again Stone and I swear I'll break your right arm."

"I see why you call him the devil." Someone said to Marvin. The next day Stone ambushed him and did have his right arm broken. The act solidifying his name, instilling fear, and giving him the space he wanted.

"Oh yeah. Why was Marvin's friend bait?" Lacey asked between laughs, remembering the story they had excitedly told her.

"Actually he was not part of the plan. He came up to me I got pissed and the whole plan changed."

And Marvin just let it go?"

"Yeah he did. Stone used to pick on me cause Marvin kinda did it too. But apparently Marvin told him to stop and he wouldn't, so he was all for it." She laughed. Loving their story. "Anyway. I know there are other girls you want a handle on, so name names and addresses and let me bring out the guns." He gave her a sly smile.

"Jody please!" She mentioned without hesitation. "I would have said all of them but... Well that's a waste of time. So just Jody please."

He laughed at her enthusiasm. "Somehow. Somehow I knew it would be her."

"Who else is there? You already got to Dennis, even if I wasn't there for it. So what's the plan?"

"I don't know yet." He chuckled. "Now leave." She obeyed his command and walked out.

There was no reason to offend the person trying to protect and help her. Closing his door she jumped squealing. First a kiss she intended to ignore and now this... she would be smiling for the rest of the... The day.

She rushed back into his room, this time he looked pissed. "I know. I'm leaving after I say this. It's the least I could do for what you're doing for me and I also should have told you since." She sighed, seeing him relax and patiently waiting to hear what she had to say. She explained to him what Toni had intended to do before she left. She spoke without pausing.

"Well" He said once she stopped to breathe. "It doesn't really matter now, especially since it would have mattered three... Two years ago." He rubbed his forehead. "And I overheard one of your conversations with her. Thanks for having my back. But somehow, this is just an unnecessary piece of information."

"Idiot. I didn't tell you just to tell you. I'm telling you because she feels guilty just like you do."

"Ruin a very good mood Lacey. Keep going, so I can be angry the rest of the day. Now that you've told me what next? Hmm?" His face held no emotion. And she was lost for words.

"I just wanted to tell you because I should have told you before and I didn't."

He scoffed. "Now you have told me. And I didn't grow wings."

She eyed him with a smirk, "wings?"

Darin sighed. "Thanks for telling me Lacey now, again, leave. Before you ruin my mood any further." She left his room without saying a word. She'd managed to taint her mood just like she did his.