Cupid's Chocolate Villa (Rewrite)

Okay! Hello everyone! Some of you already know me. Those who don't, hi, I'm Shana and I am a writer. With that being said, this is a rewrite of a story I wrote a long time ago. If you have read it, great! If not, even better! I can't wait to share it with you all, so I'm gonna stop rambling and give you the (new) first chapter of Cupid's Chocolate Villa!
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Chapter 1

"All I'm saying is that I'm the only normal person in my family," I say into the phone, sighing as I lie on my bed. "My mother is a complete workaholic, and Marcus is crazy, and well Marcy..."

"Is the other sane person in your family?" Carrie pipes in with a small giggle. My best friend means no harm, I know that much, but I'm ranting and I really do not need help.

"No, she's so naïve. And she's such a cry baby. I mean, she's eight. She needs to stop being five and grow up. And Marcus won't stop pretending. He needs to grow up too. One day he's something quiet, which I am so for. But then there's the days where he wants to either destroy everything or be completely obnoxious," I rant, playing with my shamrock green hair. I lie on my stomach as I look at my television, which is paused on a silly reality show.

"Well, they are eight. And it's not like-" she tries to reason with her high pitched voice, a bit like a mouse's.

"Jenny!" I hear from my little sister and wince, sighing.

"I have to go. It's Marcy, and it's probably because of Marcus, like usual." I shake my head and hang up before Carrie can say her completely annoying, "Totes okay. Laters." She really is the typical, brainless blonde I have sadly come to love.

I push myself off my bed and toss my phone in the spot where I was laying. I listen to my little sister scream for me once again, shaking my head as I walk to the living room. I see Marcy pinned under Marcus and he's pulling at her hair. Yeah, they really are twin siblings.

"Marcus, get off her now," I say in my most stern tone, glaring at the eight-year-old boy. He quickly releases our sister and stands, looking up at me as he tries to appear innocent. "Don't you dare try to look like a sweetheart. You and I both know exactly what you did. Corner," I tell him with a frown, pointing him in the direction of the unoccupied corner of our living room. My mother and I had to create the spotless corner for the little devil. I don't know why he acts like he does.

"Jenny," I hear my sister whine and I pick up the little girl, grunting at her weight. She's getting so big already, and I can only carry my weight. And I'm small for my age.

"Anything hurt?" I ask her sincerely, and she shakes her head, sniffling slightly. I can tell by her sniffle that she's on the verge of tears, so I go to the kitchen with her. I grab the vanilla ice cream from the freezer and give her a small scoop, not too much to spoil her own dinner. I take her to the table and let her sit on my lap as I braid her long strawberry blonde hair. It's a simple braid, and I pull a few bobby pins out of my hair and pin up the braid in a circle.

We stay silent and when I'm finished with her hair, and by then she's done with her ice cream, I take her back to the living room. I turn on the television, flipping to a kid's movie. I let her watch for a while before the door opens. I look up to see my mother carrying bags, and they look like bags from the grocery store.

"Hey, Mom," I say as I stand, walking over to her to grab a bag. She smiles at me gratefully before handing me a bag, and it's full of my favorite thing in the world: chocolate. So much chocolate, I could die from a cavity. How heavenly is that?

"Hey, girls," my mother smiles, "where is Marcus?" She gathers Marcy in her free arm and hugs the small girl to her leg before making her way to the kitchen. I don't even have to say a word about Marcus because he whines from the corner, bringing her attention to the devil of a boy. She shakes her head with a sigh, her strawberry blonde hair coming loose from her professional bun.

"Hey, Mom, is this...?" I start, not sure how to finish because my eyes are trained to my addiction, the beautiful chocolate.

"Hey! Don't eat that! It isn't for eating, babe," my mother explains, earning a whine and a pout. She shakes her head once more, taking her bag of chocolate - at least that's what I assume - into the kitchen. I follow with Marcy in tow, looking down at the chocolate bars in the bad. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate, every kind of amazing chocolate you can think of.

"Well, what is it for? It looks so perfect and tempting..." I set the bag down next to the one she had and I furrow my eyebrows. Kitchen utensils and things I don't know what in the world they are sit in the bag. "And what are these thingies?"

"I'm opening a chocolate shop!" my mother exclaims, clapping her hands with a big smile. I blink, a bit confused, and a smile erupts on my face.

"Oh, yum! But who is working there?" I raise my eyebrows, hopping excitedly. "And how do you know about making chocolate? Gramps?"

"Exactly. And you are working there, with pay of course. But you can't eat chocolate that is part of the inventory. You can do taste testing and things like that, but do not try to make any. The Lord knows what happened last time you tried making food," my mother laughs, and my cheeks heat in in embarrassment and a bit of anger. One time, when my lawyer mother was gone at night, I decided to cook instead of order pizza or something. I started a fire. But in my defense, I tried pouring water over it! I didn't know grease and water equal more fire.

"Okay, that's a good deal. Now, let's get cooking?"

*~*~*~

I groan as I look around our new chocolate shop. A little over a month ago, my mother was offered to make chocolate in the most love infested, awful, sickening place to ever exist in the history of forever. Or at least, in the existence of Everland, our fairly average sized town in Missouri, where the summers are scorching and the winters are brutally cold and snowy. And, the weather is very moody here.

I look down and rest my head in a hand, closing my eyes against the blinding white counter I am sitting at. The shop is full of pinks and reds and white. And then there's the little black speck that is me in my black clothes. The place makes me sick. Why did I allow my mother to talk me into this? I thought it would be a soft shop, in color that is. The colors are so bright, it's awful. My dark soul cannot handle it. Yet I have to. For the chocolate.

I look up as the bell above the door rings, sighing heavily as another young man walks into Cupid's Chocolate Villa. Barf, what an awful name. The young man is handsome though, and a lot of guys are, the ones that come in here, anyway. His short black hair is ruffled and glossy. His blue-grey eyes are soft, in color and emotion, and they lightly tilt upward towards the outsides. He's pretty tall, probably at least a six inches to a whole foot taller than me. But then again, everyone is tall to my 5'1" stature.

He's athletic, I think, but I have no idea since it's winter, freezing, and everyone is covered up to their neck in warm clothes; but he's decently skinny. His face consists of sharp, though not completely noticeable, cheekbones, along with a sharp, straight nose. His face is oval-shaped, though his chin has some sharpness to it.

"Hello, welcome to Cupid's Chocolate Villa; how may I help you?" I ask in a monotone voice, picking at the black paint on my fingernails. I can almost imagine my mother screeching, "Service with a smile!" But I hate the colors, Cupid's Village, the area of romantic themed stores in our town, and romance, so why bother smiling?

"I'm here to meet the owner?" he tells me in an unsure - and sexily deep - voice, and when I glance up, he's giving me a sheepish smile.

"She's not here, but I'm her daughter, Jennifer. But, you can call me Jenny, everyone else does." I shrug and he holds out a hand to shake. I blink down at his hand and give it a small shake, more focused that my hunger for chocolate is going crazy - and maybe that Mr. Gorgeous here is, well, gorgeous.

"Nice to meet you, Jenny. I'm Justin. My mother wanted me to welcome you to the neighborhood." I raise my eyebrows, not shocked at all. Parents like hiring their children sometimes, and in our cases, it's exactly what happened.

"Thanks. It's nice to meet you too, by the way," I reply, looking down at my nails again. My nail polish is chipped and I really need to repaint them.

"So, do you make these yourself?" Justin asks, gesturing to the chocolates in the little showcase. I bust out laughing at his question, the thought of me cooking and embarrassing myself all over again funny. He gives me a strange look and I shake my head, sighing.

"No way in the world show anyone trust me too cook. Even if it is my amazing chocolates, but my mother makes them. She owns, manages, and makes the chocolate for the shop. I just work here because, well, chocolate." I shrug and reach for the chocolate in the showcase. I stop myself from grabbing one of the chocolates, taking a deep breath. My addiction... I need some chocolate, and soon. My mother makes delicious chocolate.

"You love chocolate?" he raises his eyebrows at me, a small smirk on his face. His smile is gorgeous too. What about the guy isn't good looking? How can God create such a beautiful being and it not be outlawed?

"I'm addicted completely and helplessly. I'm not allowed to eat any Mother Dearest makes unless it's for taste testing. And I am, sadly, dying here." I shrug, leaning back on my stool. Yes, I get my own stool. I feel so professional.

Justin chuckles and stands in front of me, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "Everyone has their food they can't live without. Mine so happens to be jelly. Kinda weird, I know, but just eating it out of the jar is pretty good too. Just like peanut butter." I laugh softly and shake my head. At first, this small conversation was awkward. Now, I'm extremely comfortable. Carrie says I'm more outgoing than I think I am, but she sits on a throne of lies.

"Sounds delicious," I smile, running a hand through my green hair. Yes, my hair is bright, neon green. I like dying my hair in coordination with the months. It is March; therefore, it's green for St. Patty's day.

Justin mumbles something underneath his breath, and before I ask him what he said, he smiles and waves. "I'll see you around. Oh, by the way, I work next door, at Sweet as a Rose, the flower shop. I hope you'll come by one time." I smile and wave back as he back away from the counter. "You look nice, by the way." He exits before I can say a word, my mouth hanging open in shock.

"Did he just..?" I blink, confused. Was he flirting with me, or is he just being nice? I must call my romance expert, Carrie.

*~*~*~

"I came as soon as you called," Carrie exclaims, barging into the shop while I'm helping customers. It's a mother and her young daughter, around Marcy's age, seven or eight. The mother glares at my best friend, the preppy blonde that's annoying, and the girl stares at the chocolate with wide eyes.

"Babe, please," I tell her before helping the mother. She buys a small box of chocolate, with only six chocolates in it, and the heart box, full of perfectly fourteen chocolates. Fourteen chocolates in a heart box, basically a Valentine's Day gimmick. It's kinda expensive, but my mother made it, or rather ordered the box, just so it would be that kind of thing.

I thank the woman with a smile after she pays while the impatient Miss Mitchells taps her foot with loud, annoying sighs. Once the woman leaves, I slap Carrie's arm with the back of my hand.

"Owie," she whines in her annoying voice. She can be very annoying when she acts like this. "So, who is this boy you were talking to me about over the phone?" She hops onto the counter, and I quickly coax her down before telling her about Justin. When I tell her he works next door, which is after I tell her about the "You look nice" comment, she runs out. I don't know if it's to see him, meet him, embarrass me, or all the above. Probably that, knowing her.

I lean back when she runs out, frowning at the door. Why did I call her again? Oh, right, she's supposed to be the expert over here. Except she's acting like a giddy teenager - which she is - and she is going over there like an idiot. I love her to death, don't get me wrong, but she needs to realize I don't like her doing those things. But, Carrie is Carrie.

She returns about five minutes later, a smile wide on her lips. "He is a keeper," is all she says with a giggle, leaning against the wall. I frown, and after a moment, she continues, "How did you get so lucky? He's good looking, funny, nice, and he and you need to date." She flips her blonde hair behind her shoulder. She's such a... well, Carrie. She's a bit like me, but she more annoying, gullible, and outgoing.

"Carrie, come on. He only said I looked nice, not cute, pretty, or anything that should make me think I have a chance with him," I tell her with a frown. Another customer enters, an older man, I believe, but I'm not really paying attention. "He's the kind of guy who would probably rather be with a beautiful girl, who has everything going for her when I, one, am still living at home with my mother, two, don't know what I want to major in and have as my career even though I'm nineteen, and three, am this."

"What have I told you about your pessimistic side?" Carrie snaps at me as I help the man. "You aren't allowed to say anything negative about yourself. You are stunning, as long as you take that black crap off and add some freaking color. I mean, Jesus, woman, you are the most dull thing I have ever seen. But you have beauty. Do you remember when we were twelve, when I gave you that makeover? I helped you get Seth, and you lasted until that time when-"

"Don't speak about it," I hiss angrily, standing tall. I force a smile towards the customer as he pays. He walks out with a smile, shaking his head at our conversation.

"But Seth-"

"No. He... he ruined my life in high school. He made me known as a... well, you know. He made sure that, if anyone wanted to date me, they couldn't because he spread those awful rumors about me!" Seth Williams was a guy I dated, my first boyfriend. He was as perfect as could be, except he was possessive and extremely jealous. I hung out with one of my guy friends alone in my junior year in high school without him knowing. He thought I slept with the guy, even though I was saving myself, and still am, so he spread the word that I was a whore and had a certain disease. He broke up with me. After spreading the rumor, saying he "heard it from a friend." Jerk.

"At least he's in prison now," she observes, and I roll my eyes. He did some bad things after high school, so he's going to rot in prison like he deserves. Because of him, I will never have a love life. He completely ruined that chance. I hate him. But, he'll never get out of prison, so I'm happy about that.

"But what you don't get is he ruined my image of guys. I read about the romantic, perfect guy. Tall, muscular, and handsome, but don't forget kind enough to make the girl swoon at her feet. They don't appear in real life. They are tall, muscular, handsome, and rude. Or ugly, short, and lanky, but nice as heck. You can't have both, Carrie. You should know that," I tell her, trying to remind her of her cheating boyfriends. She's had something like twenty boyfriends, and at least twelve of them cheated on her. The other eight or so just didn't work.

"Hey, that is off limits, and you know it," Carrie hisses. I hold my hands up in surrender, rolling my eyes teasingly. She hits me gently with a laugh, knowing I'm just trying to get my point across. She loves me to death. She sees me as a little sister of her own, like Marcy is my own. She helped me out since I was eleven. She moved here in the middle of the year and she was automatically popular, but she's more down to earth than I make her sound. She loved romance and talking about boys and makeup and fashion, but she came to me when she saw I was depressed and helped me. Ever since, we've practically been joined at the hip.

"Sorry," I tell her sincerely. "But, guys just suck."

"Ooh, your version of swearing! That's some serious hatred right there." I laugh at her and she continues. "But, seriously, Justin is your kind of guy. I talked to him for you." I shake my head with a sigh, though I am not surprised. "He loves similar music as you do, alternative, and his favorite color is blue. He lives somewhere around here, but he won't tell me."

"That makes you sound like a stalker," I comment, arranging the chocolates in the showcase. She walks around the counter and stands beside me.

"Oh, hush," she smiles. "Anyway, he played baseball and basketball in high school, he's nineteen, and he's getting his major in animal science and wants to be a vet, which is so sweet. He loves dogs, practically all animals, actually. And he plays the guitar, loves his mother, and has no siblings. Do not introduce the devil to him for a while."

"You got all this in what, five minutes?" I ask with wide eyes. Her blue ones sparkle with an excited nod. "How do you even do that? All I got was that he likes jelly and he works next door. And my conversation with him had to be just as long."

"I don't stop talking. I ask a lot of questions and I read the signs. He said he's in his second year of college, so I just decided that if he graduated when he was eighteen, then he would be nineteen at least. Or if he has a later birthday, like say in February, then he's still be nineteen. And his mom owns the shop, so she came out while I was talking to him. She said was to stop talking to his friend and please get back to work. All he said was 'Okay, Ma,' instead of saying I wasn't his friend. We're friends now." Carrie smiles and twirls a strand of hair around her finger.

"Congratulations," I drawl, shaking my head. Carrie whines softly and I crack a smile.

"Now, go talk to him." She pushes me off my chair, lightly so I don't break my nose because of falling, and pushes me towards the door.

"I'm working!" I frown, crossing my arms.

"I'll cover."

"You don't work here."

"I can."

"No."

"Then take a break."

"Carrie."

"Jenny."

"Will you shut up if I go?"

"Yep!"

I guess I have nothing to lose.
*~*~*~
I'm so excited for this story to be back. It's a lot different from the first cheer of the last version, but definitely for the better.

Let me know what you think! I know it's long and whatnot, but I've been working on making chapters longer and better. So you know, there's that.

My old updating schedule was on Sunday's, so I'm gonna keep with that. The next five chapters have already been written, but I want to space things out instead of overwhelm anyone.

So, you know, lemme know why you think!

 

It's Sunday! So that means it's update day yay! I'm not going to ramble so here it is!
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Chapter 2

Carrie leaves as soon as I put the “Be right back!” sign up, saying something along the lines of “I don’t want to watch you embarrass yourself, so I’m going window shopping!” What a great friend, right?

I pull my hair into a messy, green bun and walk into Sweet as a Rose, looking around with wide eyes. Think of flower. Got one in your head? Great; it’s in this store. All the colors imaginable and all flowers anywhere are in bundles and vases, lining the shop. It’s practically a freezer in here, but I don’t mind. The flowers make it worth it.

Now, I’m not a girly-girl, as told by my attire and attitude, but this shop is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.

“Hello, how can I – oh, Jenny, hey,” I hear and I snap my attention away from the flowers and onto Justin. He smiles at me and I wave slightly, my focus still mostly on the flowers. “Was that girl that came in earlier someone you know?” My attention is now all on him and I cringe at the question. Of course, Carrie had to mention me being her friend or something or other.

“That was Carrie. She’s my annoying and embarrassing best friend. I’m sorry about her. She can be…” I pause, thinking for the right word for my preppy friend.

“Intimidating?” Justin asks, trying to help. He raises an eyebrow and I shrug, nodding a bit.

“That sounds about right, yeah. I’m sorry she’s so straightforward and talkative. She’s just… Carrie.” And she got a lot of information about you that makes you seem even more perfect and out of my league, I want to add, but I’m smart enough that I don’t. “So, very colorful,” I add, looking around again.

“My mother’s idea. She owns the shop, like yours does, and thought it would be a quick and easy job for me to do while I’m in college,” Justin explains effortlessly. I look back to him and notice he’s wearing an apron – why? – and his long sleeves are neatly folded up just above his elbows. How does he stand this cold? I’m surprised I’m not shivering, but the chocolate shop is almost as cold, but not to this extent.

“Animal science, right?” I ask, clasping my hands behind my back. Why, I have no idea. My mother says it’s a nervous habit, so maybe it is. I am a bit nervous, talking about what Carrie told me. I hope he doesn’t think I feed off gossip or anything. I hate gossip. “Carrie told me.”

“She seems like the person who would do that,” he comments before nodding. “Yeah, I’m aiming to be a veterinarian. But what about you?” Justin gestures for me to follow him, and I do, making our way through the shop until we’re at the counter.

“I’m not there yet. I’m not sure what I want to be. My mother’s a lawyer, my uncle’s an architect, and my aunt is a nurse, so they all want me to follow in her footsteps, but I’m not sure, not yet.” I shrug as I lean against the counter slightly, and Justin does the same.

“I see,” he replies, looking over at me. “What were you passionate about in high school? I mean, there has to be something you loved to no end.”

“Chocolate, honestly,” I tell him, and he laughs lightly. His laugh is deep yet it has a soft feel to it. I like it. “I didn’t do much in school. I was focused mostly on academics. I did well, and I tried looking at a bunch of different careers, but nothing really popped out to me. I just don’t know, really.”

“I understand that. I just went with what I love. Maybe you can take over the shop one day, make your own chocolates.” Justin shrugs with a smirk and I know he’s kidding. I told him not long ago that I can’t cook.

“Oh, ha, ha,” I smile and roll my eyes. Justin makes his way around the counter and leans forward towards me as we continue our conversation. “Once again, I’m sorry about Carrie being nosy and annoying. She’s been that way for as long as I’ve known her.”

“When did you two meet?” He raises his eyebrows, crossing his arms as he rests on them,

“I was ten, so sometime in I think fourth or fifth grade, most likely fourth. She showed up in the middle of the year, and I remember she was waving and smiling and as outgoing as she is now, the complete opposite of me. During recess that day, I was sitting by myself and she came over despite everyone else wanting her to play with them. We’ve been friends ever since. I was never a popular kid.”

“She seems pretty cool, honestly. My mother thinks we’re friends,” Justin laughs and I smile, shrugging.

“Carrie has that effect on people. By the way, I never saw you in school. How long have you been here?”

“Since last summer. I moved so I could go to college here, and my parents didn’t want me too far from them, just in case anything happened, so they moved here too.” I nod and we continue to talk about our lives, though I leave out quite a few things.

I find out that he has two dogs, both German Shepherds called Spike and Fluffy. He doesn’t have any siblings, like Carrie told me, but he has more cousins than he can count. He lived in a city upstate, and he applied to three different colleges before he came here. He’s got his fair share of jokes, and most of them are so awful they’re funny, and he knows it. He talks fondly about his mother, and that almost proves Carrie’s theory. He talks similarly about his father, and Justin looks up to his father as his role model. It looks like his parents raised him well.

I talk about Marcy and Marcus, and my mother, of course. I gush about how much Marcy is like me when it comes to ice cream, somewhat complain about Marcus’s behavior problems, and I spotlight my mother’s hard work when it comes to her cases, since she’s a lawyer. I talk about Carrie dragging me along to her silly adventures, and about my interesting choice in hair color. I don’t speak a word about my past at all, not unless it has to do with my siblings, mother, or Carrie.

At one point, we’re laughing about Carrie trying to drag me to some boy band concert and the whole time I was throwing anything I could at anyone so I could get thrown out. It works, to say the least. I hit one of the singers, somehow. We were somewhere in the middle. It was my shoe. I threw my shoe, it hit the singer in the head, and Carrie and I got thrown out. The plan worked pretty well, but in my defense, I didn’t know I could throw that far or that hard. And, really, why would I want to go to a boy band concert when I love alternative rock?

His mother walks out from the back of the shop with hands on her hips but a smile on her face. She’s very pretty. Justin has her eyes and the soft facial structure she has. She’s short, like me, and has dark brown hair that reminds me of chocolate. She takes off these cute blue glasses as she looks at us, waiting for us to calm down.

“Justin, who’s your friend?” she asks in this sweet but firm voice, smiling still. She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who gets mad easily, but she has this aura of authority around her, and I like that. I like her and she’s said only, what, four words?

“This is Jenny; she works at Cupid’s Chocolate Villa, right next door. We’ve just been getting to know each other while I’m working. Don’t worry, Ma, I’m just having a little fun while I work,” Justin answers with a bright smile on his face and a bright shine in his eyes. Yep, he really loves his mother.

“I’m sorry for distracting your son, Mrs., um…” I pause, trying to figure out if Justin ever told me his last name. I don’t think he did. I hope he didn’t, because then I’d seem like a bad person, forgetting his last name. If he told me, I was probably thinking too much and didn’t hear him. That sounds even worse, not listening to him.

“Plymouth, Jenny, but you can call me Karen. And it’s okay, dear. I was just wondering what the laughing was about. And if that girl was here again, the blonde one,” his mother muses, and Justin and I give each other a look before laughing again. “What?” she asks, raising her eyebrows.

“That was my best friend, Carrie. I’m sorry she’s so… well…” I begin explaining, shrugging. I do the weird gesture thing with my hands, where you wave your hands about as you try to find the right word or phrase.

“Carrie,” Justin finishes with a laugh. I laugh with him and shrug. His mother smiles at us before waving at us, walking into the back once again. I check the time as I do and gasp, straightening quickly.

“Crap, I’ve been here for over an hour. I was only supposed to be here for a few minutes. My mother will flip her lid if she finds out. I’ll see you later sometime, Justin,” I quickly head for the door, stuffing my phone into my pocket.

“Okay, I’ll come by tomorrow,” is all I hear before I barrel out the door and towards the chocolate shop.

*~*~*~

Justin and I have a routine for the next couple weeks. If Justin’s working, when I have my lunch break, I hang out at the flower shop. When Justin has a day off or isn’t in a class, he hangs out at the chocolate shop, even if it’s for a few minutes. It’s a nice pattern, and I grow to learn his schedule because of when he shows up and how long he stays. Carrie shows up occasionally, when she doesn’t have her fashion classes or shopping sprees. She likes to point out certain things, like the way he goes out of his way to touch me, or how he’s always trying to get my attention. She says he’s flirting, but I don’t see where she gets that.

Today, it’s one of his off days, where he only has a couple classes and no work at all. His last class ends just before lunch, so we decided just a couple days ago to go grab lunch together. Carrie calls it a date, like she calls him being a total goof behind the customers to get me to break focus, flirting. She’s wrong, of course. We’re just friends, even if I’m friends with a gorgeous guy.

I close up shop just before I see Justin jogging towards me, a wide smile on his face and I know my face mirrors his. He slows to a walk before stopping in front of me. He doesn’t even have to ask if I’m ready, I’m already nodding and walking towards the direction he came from.

“How was work?” he asks me, raising his eyebrows. He walks next to me, gently placing a hand on my arm as we weave through the thick crowd in Cupid’s Village. I can almost hear Carrie’s squeal, and her voice saying something along the lines of “Unnecessary touching! How cute!” Ugh, what a sad influence she has on me.

“Annoying, as per usual. Romance sickens me,” I sigh, shaking my head. “How was class?”

“Boring,” he tells me. “Knowledge sickens me,” he smirks and I laugh, shaking my head as he tries to mimic me. He can make me laugh over the silliest things. Mostly his impressions of people he knows. He is downright perfect when it comes to Carrie. He has the fake hair flips, the nose in the air, and the annoying voice down. Don’t get me wrong, I love Carrie, but Justin’s hilarious.

“At least you get to learn,” I say, looking up at him with a smile. “I have to sit in that boring – no, sickening – shop with its bright colors and the romance all around. I would so much rather sit in a boring class room and learn something new, like English Literature, or psychology.”

“Psychology,” Justin asks, raising his eyebrows, “why psychology?”

“I just want to help people. Like my mother or–” I purse my lips with a pause, almost stepping over the line with my babbling. Lips zipped when it comes to that subject, Jenny. Lips zipped. “Like my mother does, and my aunt too,” I finally get out, my voice soft.

“You should do it then. Why not, anyway? It could be a pretty cool field. And think about it, you sound passionate about it, helping people. Your mother’s a lawyer, your aunt is a nurse, and you’ve never told me anything about your father; but joining the tradition of helping people sounds like it would work.” I look up at Justin with raise eyebrows as we enter the parking lot and he shrugs. “I like helping animals; they’re almost the same thing.”

“Yes, just add or subtract a few dozen chromosomes and you’re good to go,” I laugh, shaking my head. “Let’s go eat,” I tell him, smiling up at him. We get in his car, some sort of black Mustang, I think, but it’s really nice looking one way or another. We head to a fast food restaurant and grab a quick bite to eat that somehow involves the conversation of whether or not balloons filled with helium are better than balloons filled with simple air. I won that conversation, me being on the side of helium.

“I’m just saying, playing ‘don’t let the balloon hit the floor’ is better than ‘catch the balloon before it flies away’,” Justin tries to tell me with a shrug.

“There’s this modernized thing called volleyball. It’s an advanced version of that game,” I tell him as I open up the chocolate shop again, laughing as his little whine of defeat. I push open the door and make my way towards the counter, turning on the lights to blind me on my way. These stupid white walls.

“But that’s not fair,” he tells me, frowning. I raise my eyebrows to ask him how without speaking. “Volleyball involves, oh, I don’t know, a ball. A balloon is a totally different thing,” he explains, looking into my dark blue eyes with his blue-gray ones. He grabs the stool I’m about to sit on since he’s behind the counter with me and sits on it. I fall on my butt with a yelp and Justin looks down at me with concern.

“Thanks, genius. I so wasn’t going to sit there,” I drawl, standing as I rub my behind. Justin shrugs and stands, offering me the stool. “What is up with you? You’re contradicting.” I sit on the stool with a small “hmph” and he makes his way to the back. He pulls another stool to the front and sets next to me, causing me to shake my head with a laugh.

“I try,” he tells me when he plants his butt on the stool, leaning towards me. I snort, shaking my head. Once again, I can hear Carrie’s voice saying, “Snorting is unattractive,” but who cares? Justin is just a friend and I couldn’t be attractive if I tried. So I don’t try at all. Simple logic, really.

“What if you don’t try? Do you make sense for once?” I raise my eyebrows and he gives me an unamused look that gets us both laughing. I try to calm down as a customer walks in, elbowing Justin gently to get him to be quiet. I feel him nudge me back and we get into a small war of pokes and nudges as I try to help the teenager in front of me. At one point, I hiss, “Stop it,” to Justin when he gets me in a ticklish part of my side.

“Nope,” Justin whispers as he tries to tickle me, taking my focus away from the guy in front of me. I end up giggling madly as I hit his arm two, three, four times. The customer leaves after I give him his change and his chocolate, and I’m still hitting Justin while he tickles me. I hear an amused chuckle as I bring my attention to a familiar face.

“Pumpkin, who is your new boyfriend?” I hear my uncle ask and I feel Justin wrap his arm around my shoulders.

“I’m Justin, her boy – ouch, geez,” Justin whines after I elbow him particularly hard in the ribs. Well, hard to me, probably not that hard to him. I shrug off Justin’s shoulder as I stand, rounding the counter to hug my uncle Troy. He’s my father’s brother, and he sure looks like it. They were twins, except they’re identical. Well, they would be, if Troy would shave the ridiculous beard and cut his hair. His beard goes down to his chest and his brown hair to his mid-back. His dark blue eyes – the eyes we Wyatts call the Wyatt eyes – are as sparkling as ever as he hugs me.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” I simply say as I hug him, releasing him to walk around the counter again. “We’re only friends. He works at Sweet as a Rose,” I explain briefly, sitting on my stool once again.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Wyatt, your daughter hasn’t told me much about you,” Justin smiles, and Troy and I bust out laughing. It’s always been a common mistake, or at least it used to be. But it’s always funny, seeing the mistake unfold. Troy has his own son; he doesn’t need a second and two daughters.

“He’s my uncle,” I manage to say between giggles. “Uncle Troy, that is. He has a son, about what, thirteen now?” Troy nods and smile widely at my friend. “But don’t worry. Everyone mistakes him for being my father. He was my father’s identical twin,” I explain, shaking my head.

“Oh, right,” Justin nods, almost confused. I shake my head and pat his arm, smiling at him.

“You get used to my family. We’re all crazy, with the exception of me and Marcy,” I tell him with a laugh. Justin smiles at me and turns to my uncle.

“So, where is Jenny’s father?” he asks, and because Justin isn’t looking at me, I shake my head at my uncle quickly, almost like an “Abort!” I don’t want any word said about my father. Telling Justin that Troy is my father’s twin is one thing, but saying anything else is bad. I am not ready to say a word about that dark path.

“I’d love to tell you,” Troy starts, but I quickly shake my head once again. “But, Jenny’s aunt, Julie, she probably needs me to look after Josh while she gets dinner ready, so I should be going,” he tells Justin, and I’ve never felt so relived. Justin looks, once again, confused. Troy kisses the top of my head with a smile. “Bye, pumpkin!”

“Bye, Troy!” I smile widely as he walks out, then I turn to Justin.

“Pumpkin? And why would he have to look over a thirteen-year-old?” Justin asks me with raised eyebrows.

“Josh can be a bit of a trouble maker sometimes. Like, when my aunt is cooking. He likes to take the food, hide it, wait until it goes bad, and place it in the fridge. We have no idea why, but he does. And he calls my pumpkin because my natural colored hair is strawberry-blonde, so it’s a pumpkin-ish look.” Josh blinks and I sigh. “I’m not even kidding you. I’ll show you a picture from Halloween.”

I pull my phone from my pocket and quickly show him the photo of me as a witch. My hair fit perfectly for the costume and for the theme of the month, so I just let my natural hair flow.  Carrie added some very realistic warts, scars, and a big, crooked nose. She is amazing when it comes to makeup and fashion. She’s been applying makeup since she was eight, apparently, but that was for her mother. When she turned eleven, she began applying it to herself. At first, just mascara, lip gloss, occasionally eye shadow. But she really started using it when she was fourteen, all the works applied to her face. It’s a wonder how she ever gets it off.

“Oh, wow,” Justin comments as he looks down at the picture. I’m expecting a very sarcastic or pessimistic remark about how I look. Instead, he smiles as he looks up at me. “You look good, for a witch.” He nudges me with a wide smile, causing me to blush a bit. I don’t usually blush easily, but this boy is a wonder with words. At least, to me, I guess. I can take compliments, even when I know they aren’t true. But this guy causes those stupid butterflies, a fluttering heart, and that’s never good. Fluttering heart means, well, heart problems.

“Thanks, I guess,” I tell him with a shrug, quickly pocketing my phone. Well, now that that’s over…

“Wait, I want that picture. Send it to me? Let me put my number in your phone.” Justin raises his eyebrows as he hold out his hand for my phone. Is he giving me his phone number, only excusing it as a way to get that picture of me as a witch? No, no, that’s the Carrie voice speaking. We are strictly friends.

“Um, okay,” I tell him with a small smile. I pull my phone from my pocket and as I’m about to enter my passcode, my phone rings. It’s my mother. Why is she calling me? Shouldn’t she be going over paperwork while watching the twins? “Hold that thought,” I tell him before answering. “Jenny speaking,” I answer casually. I hear screaming, sobbing, and crashing of who knows what in the background. “Mom?” I ask, worried. “Mom? Ma! Courtney! Someone, hello?”

“Jenny?” I hear a timid voice answer and I freeze, my eyes wide.

“Marcy, baby, what’s wrong?” I ask quickly, sitting straight in my seat. I hear Justin ask what’s wrong, but all I can focus on is my little sister and the noisy background. She doesn’t answer so I ask again. “Marcy, is something wrong? You have to talk to me, babe, I can’t help unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

“Monster,” she whispers.
*~*~*~*
CLIFF HANGER! I love these things. Who is "Monster"? You shall find out, or you might even know.

Anywho, Things are a lot different. Justin is more playful than he was in the original copy. So I'm pretty happy with that. So, you know, let me know what you think. I'll wall you if you ask, so let me know that too. Just let me know.

 

So I did! Thank you for pointing that out. A bit (the playful bit that is) of Justin's personality is based off my friend Josh, so that's why. Thank you very much.

 

I'm so excited because today is the update day! Which means relief to the cliffhanger! I actually went back and looked this chapter over a bit because the accident of putting Josh (my friend) in place of Justin (and yes, he's super cute and adorable like Justin). I don't think I did that a second time. There were a few mistakes, but I'm glad I went back. Either way, let's get this show on the road.
*~*~*~
Chapter 3

"Wait, what?" I ask, quickly standing. "Crap, crap, crap. Marcy, okay, babe, talk to me. Where is Mom?" I ask as I frantically search for my keys. Where the hello did I put them? I mean geez us crip-crapples why is it now that I can't find anything? This is a crisis. Marcy is on my mother's phone, and "Monster" is out and about. Fan-freaking-tastic.

"In her room," Marcy sniffles, and it practically tears me apart. She's crying. He's causing her to cry. Oh, he is so going to face my wrath. "Who's James?" My heart drops to my stomach. Triple crap. This is so, so bad. Okay, Jenny, breathe. This isn't a crisis. You can make this work, right? Right?

"Jenny," I hear Justin say somewhere in the background of my thoughts and Marcy. If "Monster" is out and about, then Marcy is in the cabinets somewhere. That's the only good thing about this situation. She's out of harm's way. Step one is complete, find the positives. Mom is also out of harm's way, in her room. She's having a breakdown, sure, but at least she doesn't have to deal with "Monster."

"Okay, Marcy, I need you to answer a couple more questions while I'm trying to make my way home. Can you do that for me?" I ask in a calm, collected voice. I can't believe I'm handling this right now, but on the inside, I'm screaming like a mad woman and imagining the worst situations. Positives, though, that's what I need to focus on.

"Okay, Jen-Jen," Marcy whispers, sniffling again. Her voice is thick from tears, and I can feel the waterworks happen behind my eyes.

"How bad is 'Monster' and how bad is the situation? One to ten, babe, that's all I need," I tell her and I finally give up on my keys. I'm prepared to sprint my butt off just to make sure she's safe, the house isn't a mess, and my mother is calm. Those are my objectives. Check off step two, find your objectives.

"'Monster' is a ten," she whispers, the thickness slowly leaving her voice. Good, good, she's calming down. "And the sit-you-ate-shun is a seven." Okay, I thought everything was fine, but nope. Not at all. Just when I thought today was a great day. Hanging out with Justin, seeing Uncle Troy, dealing with zero drama, but then this happened.

"Okay, keep talking to me, baby girl, you're doing great," I tell her. I quickly pull the phone from my ear and turn to Justin. His eyes are wide and full of confusion. "Look, I can't explain. I just need you to drive because my keys are being stupid and disappeared on me." I quickly relay my address to him as he fishes the keys from his pocket. He jogs out the door and I grab my purse before following. I lock up shop as he walks out from Sweet as a Rose, quickly ushering me to his car. He knows this is urgent. Maybe it's the way I spoke with such demand or pain in my voice. Maybe it was how distressed I look, because I know I feel distressed. He doesn't ask questions; say anything he doesn't know is true. He just acts and that's exactly what I need right now.

"Okay, Marcy, I'm on my way. Are you okay, right now?" I ask her as I practically sprint to Justin's car. You know how mothers somehow find strength to pick up a car if their child is stuck underneath it? That is exactly how I feel. I somehow have the adrenaline to run, to sprint, no less. I am not a running person. Or an exercise person, for that matter. But that doesn't matter right now. My mother and Marcy and "Monster" are my problems. Those things matter. Those things are my objectives.

"'Monster' hasn't found me yet," she whispers, and her voice is calm now. Okay, good, she's safe, she's calm, and she knows I'm coming home. Those are good things.

"Okay, good, baby, good," I coo, getting in the car as soon as I hear the click that means the darn thing is unlocked. Justin quickly gets in the car. I can't buckle my seatbelt, I'm shaking so much. I'm actually shaking. This whole thing has me on edge. A ten and a seven are definitely higher than usual. That's what has me so rattled. Not that Mom is freaking out, not that "Monster" came out to play, but those two numbers.

Justin buckles me in since I am no longer capable of doing so, and he drives off to my house as soon as he buckles up himself. I take a deep breath and try to stop myself from shaking. My holy hello I am freaking out.

"Jen-Jen, are you okay?" I hear Marcy ask and I finally choke out a sob, placing a hand on my heart. What a perfect little girl! Sure, she can be a crybaby and naïve, but she's so caring, so amazingly selfless when she knows it's not about her right now.

"I will be when I know you're safe, 'Monster' is gone, and Mom is done crying and talking about James. One day, I'll tell you about him, because, gosh darn it, he would have loved you with all his heart and soul just like I do, okay?" I can practically see Marcy's smile and it makes me feel better already. I can almost hear it, too, through the phone, as it spreads across her face. It's probably one of those small, slow, knowing smiles. One of the smiles that mean she understands for once, that she knows everything will be okay.

"Okay, Jenny. I love you," she tells me and I feel a tear fall onto my cheek.

"I love you too, baby girl. Will you stay where you are so I can come find you? I need to hang up," I tell her sullenly, and now my voice is thick with unshed tears.

"Okay. I'll see you soon," she tells me, and instead of me hanging up, she does it for me. I hold the phone to my heart for a moment, taking a deep, needed breath. Marcy is okay, that's exactly what I needed to hear. Now, I can worry about the less important things. Like my mother, and the house, and how angry I am at "Monster."

"Are you okay?" I hear Justin ask, and my eyes quickly snap over to him. I forgot he was in the car, let alone driving. God, I bet he's so worried, hearing the word "monster" and how worried I probably sound. But Marcy is my main priority. She is so small, so precious. She can't get hurt, or else I'd feel like everything is my fault.

"Not at all," I tell him truthfully, sighing heavily. This weight on my shoulders gets heavier and heavier. "But, I'm so stressed, and we're so close to my house, I can't really explain it right now. Seeing it will probably scare you to death, as will I be scared just as much, but explaining would take way too much time, even if I rushed it out too fast for you to understand. It's a very, very complicated story to go along with my very complicated family."

"Oh, okay," he answers simply, trying to let my mini-speech soak in. I close my eyes for a moment, sighing softly. Boy, is he in for a surprise? He doesn't know half of my family, let alone of my life. He hasn't even met my mother yet, and she owns the chocolate shop. She's so busy with some case; I don't know what, but some important case, I guess. It's been going on for a really, really long time. So, yay, a wakeup call to me about how crazy my family is.

Justin pulls into the driveway and I quickly pocket my phone as I move to unbuckle my seatbelt. Somehow, I get it off and I rush to the house. I don't hear anything from outside, but that doesn't mean anything. Those walls are extremely thick, let me tell you what. That's why no one has called the police yet, they couldn't hear the chaos erupting inside the house.

I quickly make my way to the door, swearing softly, a real swear, not my kiddie swears, and kick the door in anger. I forgot my keys. Which means I can't open the door. I try the knob anyway and it's unlocked. How safe is that?

I take a deep breath and hold a hand behind me, hopefully getting the message through to Justin to stay back. I slam the door open with my eyes ablaze; I can feel my burning gaze sweep over the house until I meet the culprit.

"Marcus Matthew Wyatt, get your butt off the couch right this minute or so help me you will feel my wrath to no extent," I hiss at the jumping boy. He ripped open one of the pillows that came with the couch and is tossing fluff around with evil laughter. Or, he was, before he heard me. And my tone, oh the angry, no seething, tone I am using, he knows I am not one to be messed with right now.

Marcus quickly releases the pillow and begins making his way towards me before I hear a loud crunch.

"Stop!" I exclaim, looking around the floor. Fluff is all over, but what I didn't see was the glint of glass, the sharp, broken china, and the dark colors of a broken vase. Oh, he is practically dead. "Sit on the couch, right this very second, do you understand me?" He quickly nods and scrambles to the couch, sitting there with his hands in his lap and his head hanging in shame. Well, the "Monster" has been tamed, I guess. "Stay right there, or you'll get worse," I hiss at him and hesitantly make my way through the mess he created.

I make my way to the kitchen and I gasp when I see this mess. Our food, our food is everywhere. The floor, the walls, and how the hello did he get food on the ceiling? Most importantly, he used my chocolate. And wrappers from my chocolate stash are littering the floor to prove it. It just keeps getting better. I hear a "Wow" come from Justin in the living room, but Marcus doesn't say a word. Good boy.

"Marcy," I croon, crouching on the floor once I make my way to the cabinets. I watch the cabinet door open, the exact place where Marcy likes to hide because it's spacious. I see the little girl look up at me with big blue eyes and I smile. I smile because she is completely unharmed. I love the girl dearly.

"Jenny, is it over?" she asks softly, and I nod with an even wider smile. I pick her up when she holds out her arms, holding her close to me as I stand. I make my way through the food and drinks spilt on the floor and Justin is standing in front of the door. He shut it on his way in, it seems. I gesture for him to follow me and I point at Marcus, as if saying if he moves, he won't know what light is.

I take Marcy to my room, and I can hear muffled crying as I pass my mother's closed room, sighing heavily. My mother must be so devastated right now. She's next. Marcus, he can wait. My mother is next, that's for sure.

I sit Marcy down on my bed and look down at her. "This is my friend, Justin, Marcy," I tell her slowly, making sure she understands me. She looks up at Justin behind me and waves, smiling widely. It's almost like what just happened to her was a nightmare and she doesn't remember anymore. "He's going to stay with you until I talk to Mom and give Marcus a proper punishment. Is that okay with you?" She nods quickly and I smile at her.

I turn to Justin and place my hands on my hips, stern once again. "No swear words, got it? My mother and I have tried really hard to keep her and her twin brother from saying bad things until they understand what they mean. And please, don't let her out unless I say it's okay. There's a bathroom right there," I gesture to the door on the opposite wall of the exit, "so she has no excuse to leave. And I have food stashed here. She should be fine until I get back." Justin nods and doesn't protest, hearing the unquestioning authority in my voice. I nod as well and exit my room to find my mother.

I walk to her door and hesitantly knock on it, pursing my lips with a soft sigh. Her crying stops and I hear her sniffle. I hesitantly make my way into the room to find her in the bare corner, holding a picture frame to her chest. The sight of me in the doorway brings a small, sad smile to her lips, and I can only walk to her and hold her. It should be the other way around, but she has the occasional breakdown, and I'm the only one who really understands her. So, I just hold her until her eyes are no longer glossy with tears, her face is no longer red, and she isn't crushing the picture to her like it's a person.

When she finally comes back to me, I sit the picture on her bedside table and help her stand. My mother is a gorgeous woman. She gave me the strawberry-blonde hair I have, and the shortness too. Her face is soft, like Marcy's, though I feel Marcy will grow to show similar facial features to our father once she gets rid out of the pudgy face era all children go through. I share the same eye shape, almond, and her eyes are brown, the same color as an almond, actually. Her hair is already graying, but not enough for anyone to notice. Only I do, because I take the time to notice.

"You okay?" my mother asks me, and I laugh sadly. Her voice is soft and sweet, as it always is. The only time it's hard and has authority is with Marcus or when she's in court.

"I should be asking you. But, yes, I'm fine. If I could have found my keys, I would be even better, but I'm fine," I tell her with a smile. She raises her eyebrows at me, and only now do I realize we're the same height. It's almost unnerving, but I don't mind.

"Did you check your pockets?" she asks with a small laugh, and only then does realization hit me. I shove a hand into a pocket, then the other to pull out my keys. I slap my hand to my forehead with a laugh and we make our way to the living room to see Marcus.

To say my mother yelled or screamed would be an understatement. She practically bellows some sort of angry sound when she sees the living room, and then again when she sees the kitchen. Let's just say his behind is going to be red for a while, as is his freedom not-so free. But he deserves everything he's getting and then some. This stupid behavior is unacceptable in this family, and should be in every family, for that matter.

Marcus is sentenced for the rest of the school year to be confined to the school and his room. He can't hang out with his friends after school, all his toys are being taken away, and so is his television time. When the school year is over, for the summer, he will be spending time only in his bedroom. Nowhere else, with the exception of the bathroom and dining room, of course. And that's just from our mother.

I have my own punishment planned. Marcus is no longer allowed to enter my room for any reason, bathroom or not. He isn't allowed anymore candy, but if he's good it can possibly be lifted. He isn't allowed to play with Marcy until his summer sentence is over because of how scared she is now. And finally, I will not be playing with him anymore. That little episode was the last straw.

I help my mother pick up the glass, fluff, china, and vase pieces. We stuff the fluff in the pillow again, and Mom says she'll sew it later when almost everything is picked up. I vacuum the floor thoroughly to make sure I got the pieces I missed while Mom cleans up the spills and the food. When I'm done cleaning, I march Marcus to his room and then head to mine.

I open the door to my room and spot the cutest sight I've ever seen. Justin is letting Marcy sit in his lap, all curled up against his chest, as he lies on my bed. She's falling asleep as he tells her a story, one he seems to know well since he's not reading it. I stand at my door for a moment, enjoying the cute sight.

For that moment, I wish to be Marcy. I want to sit in his lap, our legs tangled together, my head on his chest, listening to his smooth and deep voice in my ear as he tells a story. I want his arms to be around me as we cuddle, smiling down at me with such love and —

Nope. Nope, bad thought, Jenny. Stick to the friendship thing, girl, because that's all you're ever gonna get. I take a deep breath and gently knock on the door to announce my presence without waking up my baby sister. Justin stops speaking to look up at me, smiling. I smile back and I walk over to him, looking down at the pair.

"So, I guess she likes you," I whisper, watching Marcy breath slowly and steadily, asleep already. God, isn't that adorable? "Here, I'll take her to her room." I gently bring Marcy into my arms, and as I do, my hands graze his chest. It felt hard. I keep myself from blushing and make my way to Marcy's room. I set her on her bed, and she whines softly in her sleep. I kiss her forehead and gently brush her hair from her face. She's so important to me. If she had gotten hurt, I don't know what I would have done.

"Love you, babe," I whisper before leaving, a small smile plastered on my face. I close the door softly and rest my back against it, sighing softly, and relief floods through my body. Marcus is quiet and in his room, probably pouting like he always does. I hear Justin talking to my mother, so I push myself off the door and walk into the living room. I hear their voices in the kitchen, so I make my way there.

"Oh, Jenny, why didn't you tell me you made a new friend? A boy, no less," my mother states when I walk into the kitchen. Justin helps my mother clean, and I give her a look that is a mixture of embarrassment, anger, and flat out love. Sure, she's embarrassing me, but she's my mother; she's supposed to do just that.

"Well, I'm glad you two have met," I tell her, smiling at Justin. He's stuffing food in the trash, a small grin on his face. What he's ginning about, I'll probably never know. But, I don't mind. "But you're such an embarrassment," I drawl, a smile tugging at my lips. "I've had guy friends before, as well as a boyfriend, thank you very much. I just don't keep in contact with them."

"Oh, hardy har," my mother smiles, wrapping an arm around me. It's strange, seeing my mother's mood change this much in a short period of time. Normally, it takes her days to return to her upbeat self. Now, only a few hours. Maybe she's finally getting better. What a relief that would be to the whole family.

"Ma, come on, you know I'm the favorite," I tease, bumping her with my shoulder. I know I'm not; that trophy goes to Marcy, and I'm okay with that. She may cry and be naïve, but she learns quickly, quicker than I did at her age.

"Oh, no, that's Marcus," she tells me in a serious voice. I give her a smirk and we laugh, shaking our heads. We're a lot alike, in our actions and whatnot. Looks, actions, personality, a lot of things. Now, just because I say that doesn't mean we have a perfect relationship. It's a little rocky, and it has been for years, but we're slowly changing that for the better.

"Okay, well, Justin, you're our guest. You don't have to help clean," my mother tells Justin with a smile once she's finished laughing. She ushers him into the living room as I pick up the bottle of milk that's now empty. We cleaned the spill log ago, or rather my mom did, but I guess she never bothered with the actual bottle. I shrug and toss it in the trash, following my mother. "If you'd like, you can stay for dinner."

"Mom, we don't really have any food now," I tell her, watching my mother direct Justin towards the couch. It's velvet and gray, and it's one of the most comfortable things ever, especially to sleep on. He sits down and folds his hands in his lap, proper as can be. "And Justin probably has to go back. I left my car there, so I need him to give me a lift back anyway."

"Yeah, she has a point," Justin adds, standing again as he stuffs his hands into his pockets. "I told my mother there was an emergency, so she's probably wondering where I am and what's wrong. But thank you, Mrs. Wyatt. I'll be sure to come by again." My mother nods and smiles at Justin. Of course, she listens to him. And not to me.

"I'll be back soon, Ma," I tell my mother and hug her as I pat my pocket. She laughs and hugs me back, only telling me to be careful. I follow Justin to his car and get in with a smile. Everything is fine, Marcy is safe, and Justin met the crazy side of my family. That sounds about right.

"Nice family," Justin tells me before starting the car, and I laugh, shaking my head. I know he's serious; we do have a nice family, but that was not the "nice" part of it. That was the "mad and insane" part of my family. But, hey, at least he likes my family.

"Thanks. But I'm sorry you had to meet the devil and the rest of my family that way," I tell him once I calm down. "Marcus is never that bad. And my mother, well, she would have handled it if she could have. But, we're all pretty messed up. Mostly my mother and I dealt with some bad stuff, the twins never had to deal with it," I babble, resting my head on the headrest.

"What happened?" I hear Justin ask and I sigh, thinking about what to say. My mother probably wouldn't appreciate it if I told him what we did deal with, so I probably shouldn't say anything about it. It's all her call, what I say about that mess of a year we both had.

"I'll tell you one day," I vaguely answer, opening my eyes to look over at Justin. He seems pretty calm for everything that's happened. I mean, if I had to watch that happen and I didn't know the people very well, I'd be freaked out, even a little bit. But Justin, he's calm. "And thanks for talking to Marcy, keeping her away from the glass and the dangers of the living room. What were you telling her? She's never fallen asleep that fast after Marcus's rampages through the house."

"It was nothing," he says simply, trying to be vague just like I am. But I can find out. I'll ask Marcy, she tells me everything.

"Well, still, thanks. If she had gotten hurt, Marcus probably wouldn't be alive." I don't realize I've clenched my hands into fists until Justin places his hand on my, pulling it into his hand. I blush slightly, though I quickly cool my cheeks. This is nothing. He's just trying to calm me down. He's just being an awesome friend.

"You really care about her, huh?" he whispers and I nod with a small smile. "I wish I had a sibling like her, one I could love no matter what." He releases my hand now that isn't a fist and places his on the wheel again. We don't talk anymore, and the silence is peaceful, allowing the both of us to think about our own problems and lives.

I thank him for the ride once we're back in Cupid's Village and get in my own car. When I get back home, I check my phone to find a message from Justin that says "I hacked your phone. I'll talk to you later ". He must have taken it when he was talking to Marcy and replaced it later. He sent the picture of me as a witch to himself. What a dork.

My mother is standing in the living room once I walk in the house and I raise my eyebrows at her. "So, when'd you get a boyfriend?"

"Mom!"
*~*~*~
Monster is Marcus! Of course! Now, in the original, Marcus destroyed the flower shop, but it seems a little stupid now. So, I changed things up a bit.

I also hope I'm not too rusty with BB codes.

Who is James? You'll find out soon enough.

Marcy and Marcus are actually the two side of a sibling. Marcy is the sweet, innocent one, while Marcus is the rebellious, mischievous one. Now, I don't have siblings myself, though this is what I would picture it to be like with siblings.

Anywho, I'm rambling and bouncing through topics, so feedback is awesome, lemme know what you think. And I'll wall you if you've asked, so expect that every time.

If you're lurking, I'd like to know if your reading. Because, you know, the more readers, the better.

That's all I can think, of so thank you for reading and I love you for it.

 

Yay! It's Sunday! It's time for an update! I think this is one of my favorite chapters so far!
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Chapter 4

“Jenny, please?” I hear and I groan. This is the umpteenth time I’ve heard that cute pleading voice. Why this is so important, I have no idea. But I do know that this is getting to the point where I’m about to cave.

“Yeah, Jenny, come on,” I hear his masculine voice tease. I look up from my notebook, my eyebrows raised. I started writing and doodling to block out the voices of Marcy and Justin, but it’s starting to fail me. I snap the book closed and sigh, setting it on the counter. Today is a Monday, drab and slow. Justin’s professor got sick and let the class go, so he’s spending what extra time he has with me. How kind of him.

“Justin, don’t agree with her,” I plead, frowning. “I can’t go to Ice Cream Delights because I’m doing this thing called working. I’m sure you’ve heard of it, right?” I enquire sarcastically and Justin scoffs at me from his stool. I spin on my stool and hop off, heading towards the back. It’s stocked with boxes and there’s a freezer to keep the chocolates from melting. The shop is cold as it is, though the freezer keeps them as hard as a rock. Out in front, it’s only cold enough to keep them from melting in the showcases.

“But Jenny, you promised! Didn’t she, Justie?” I hear Marcy ask Justin, causing me to laugh softly. When she gave him that nickname, I have no idea. I do know it’s extremely cute. That Marcy gave Justin a nickname, that is.

“Yeah, you did,” Justin calls back to me and I smile widely. “Jenny, take a break. The ice cream shop isn’t far, and I’ll pay for your ice cream if you pay for hers.” I step back into the front of the store with raised eyebrows. Did that adorable guy say what I think he just said?

“Oh really?” I step towards him with crossed arms, ready for him to laugh and say he’s joking. Instead, he stands, and gestures me forward.

“Lead the way, milady,” he ripostes and I laugh. Marcy giggles and I pick her up with a wide smile. I twirl her around to hear her giggles again before setting her down. She’s such a happy child. The Lord knows she’s the reason why I’m not depressed.

“Well, how can I turn down that bargain? Let’s go to Ice Cream Delights, kiddo,” I smile and she squeals happily. She grabs my hand and Justin’s and pulls us towards the door. I pull away from her for a moment to grab my purse and make sure I have my keys. I do, so I lock up and walk with Justin and Marcy to Justin’s car.

My mother decided that Marcy should hang out with me today. Since she only has a sweet tooth for ice cream, Mom knows Marcy won’t try to eat anything. That, and according to her, Marcy misses me now that I’m working every day I can. It makes me feel special.

We all get in Justin’s car, and I make sure Marcy’s safe and buckled in before he starts for the ice cream shop. Marcy and I have been going there since she was six, when we found out the only sweet she likes is ice cream. Bubblegum, chocolate, gummies, nothing compares to ice cream to her. And, honestly, we’re okay with that. My mother has a sweet tooth for gummies, Marcus loves anything he can get his hands on, and I, of course, love chocolate. Marcy can’t stand chocolate bars, but chocolate ice cream? She’s all for that.

Throughout the ride to the ice cream shop, Justin and I are teasing each other, laughing, and, of course, joking around. Marcy adores it. She loves his impression of Carrie especially. She ends up in a fit of hysterical laughter at that, and I can’t help but do the same because it’s the most contagious thing, her laughter. Gosh, I love the child to pieces.

When Justin pulls into the parking lot of Ice Cream Delights, Marcy squeals again. The thing is, this is the only place she’ll go for ice cream. If we buy it, we have to buy the pints from here. If we go out to eat, for dessert, we eat here. It’s to make her happy, and everyone loves seeing Marcy happy, strangers included. She’s just a naturally happy kid, and it spreads like wildfire, no matter what kind of person someone is.

I help Marcy out of the car like she’s a baby, and we walk into the store. It’s quaint and cute, the outside a light blue. Inside, it’s a cream color for walls and white tiles that have ice cream cones and scoops on them. It’s completely amazing, and I love it. The man behind the counter is in his later fifties, and he’s been here for as long as we have, if not longer. His originally blonde hair is becoming white with age, though his brown eyes are as bright as can be. He’s somewhere around 5’10, but Justin still stands taller than him.

“Jenny! Marcy, my favorite customer,” the older man smiles, leaning on the counter in front of the three of us. “And a new customer! Or at least, with this family. I don’t recognize you, my boy. Are you a friend of Jenny’s?”

“Yeah, this is Justin,” I answer with a smile. I pick up Marcy so she can see over the counter. She peers down at the ice cream with wide eyes, a smile erupting on her face. “He’s treating me and I’m treating Marcy. He’s an awesome friend. Anyway, Mr. Dunahee, I’ll let little Marce choose first.” Marcy squeals excitedly and I laugh at her.

“I want vanilla, and strawberry, and chocolate chip cookie dough, and –”

“You can only have three, babe,” I say to her and she whines, though I know it’s the right decision. Mom would throw a fit if she spoiled her lunch and her dinner.

“Okay, um, no vanilla, but, um, mint chocolate chip!” Marcy nods quickly and I laugh again, setting her down. “Thank you, Jen-Jen!” I hug her with a smile and she takes the cone from Mr. Dunahee when he hands it to her. She takes a lick and squeals happily before heading for a booth on one of the walls of the store.

“Okay, I’ll just have vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough with sprinkles and fudge, my usual,” I tell him with a smile. He’s already scooping before I even finish my order, he knows me so well. He hands me the cup of ice cream – I don’t like cones – and I hand him the money for Marcy’s ice cream.

“I’ll take rocky road and vanilla, small amount of sprinkles and a cherry on top please,” I hear Justin tell him. “Make that three, actually,” he adds and I hear Mr. Dunahee chuckle. I know he does what he’s asked when Justin tells him thanks. I sit next to Marcy and she’s licking up her ice cream so fast, she’s getting more on her cheeks than in her mouth. I take a moment to wipe off the ice cream as she fusses underneath my tenderness.

Justin sits across from us and I grab the spoon from his grip. He got me a spoon while I was messing with Marcy, how sweet. I dig into my ice cream and I watch him set his three cherries on a napkin.

“What is that about? You get cherries but you won’t eat them?” I ask as I scoop my spoon into my ice cream. Gosh, ICD’s ice cream is the best.

“I’ll eat one. I want to see if you can tie a cherry stem in your mouth. You get two tries,” he tells me with a smirk. I roll my eyes and pluck a cherry from the napkin, eating the cherry as I contemplate his odd request. What is he trying to prove? Then again, that’s an awesome challenge. I feel like taking that up.

“Alright, fine. You watch, I can do it,” I grin back at him as I place the cherry stem in my mouth. It takes a moment, trying to figure out how in the world to tie the darn thing without sucking it down my throat. I have no idea how, exactly, but I end up tying it. Well, look at Miss Jennifer Wyatt go!

“Oh, look at what I can do,” I smile at Justin as I show him the knotted stem. Marcy is watching us intently, her ice cream almost forgotten. Almost, being the key word, because she’s still eating it, but slowly as her eyes dart between us.

“Now that you can do that, I have a bet for you,” he smiles and he hands me another cherry. I eat it as he continues. “Let’s see who can tie a knot faster. If I win, you have to pay me back for your ice cream.” I open my mouth to protest, but he places his hand over my mouth; it’s a very soft hand, might I add. “If you win, I pay you the money you had to pay to buy Marcy’s ice cream.”

“You’re on.” I push his hand away and Marcy giggles beside me. Why, who knows? “On three. One.” I hold my hand up to my mouth, holding the cherry stem between my fingers. “Two.” I lean forward and Justin does the same, bringing his cherry stem towards his mouth as well. “Three!” I quickly place it in my mouth and Justin does the same. There is no way I’m paying him back; he told me he was buying my ice cream if I bought Marcy’s. I should have known there’d be an ulterior motive.

I quickly stick my tongue out as soon as I’m done knot tying, and Justin is still struggling. He doesn’t notice me and I giggle, placing the stem on a napkin in front of me. A couple seconds later – more like ten – Justin sticks his tongue out at me with a smirk, showing me his tied stem. I gesture to the napkin and he frowns.

“How?!” Justin exclaims with a huff, crossing his arms as he places his stem on the table.

“I’m just that good. And on my second try. So, ha,” I laugh, crossing my arms right back at him.

“That was my first try,” he grumbles and my jaw drops. He is so unbelievable. Once again, contradictory. He makes himself sound like he’s perfect at the darn trick, and it was his first time trying. Gosh, how ridiculous.

“Then that so does not count, you dork!” I reach forward and slap his arm, my eyes wide. “I thought you knew how, not that you wanted to see if I knew. That is definitely not a bet. Bet is off because you practically let me cheat.” I smile at him when he grins at me, leaning forward.

“I’ll make it up to you anyway. Now, I think we should be heading back, as soon as you fuss over Marcy’s face.” I turn to Marcy at his words and gasp, seeing ice cream all over her face. How in the world did she get ice cream on her eyelids? I grab napkins and wipe off her face carefully, and at one point I have to take her to the bathroom. She got a little in her hair and I gently run a wet napkin through her hair.

“Jen-Jen, do you like Justin?” Marcy asks abruptly. I peer down at her, raising my eyebrows with a smile. I turn her to face me, done with her hair.

“Close your eyes,” I command, and I wipe the ice cream off her eyelids. “I do like Justin. Why do you ask?”

“Do you like Justin like Auntie likes Uncle Troy?” I freeze, stunned by her question. She opens her eyes and looks up at me, her big blue eyes unwavering as she waits for my answer.

“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly, rubbing the wet napkin over her face. “But I promise that I will let you know as soon as I do, okay?” She nods and I continue my work, trying to figure out why she asked that question, so I voice my thoughts to her.

“You look at him like Auntie looks at Uncle Troy. And Justie looks at you the same way,” she answers immediately. I smile down at the girl and kiss the top of her head.

“You’re very wise, my dear,” I tell her with a smile. “But I will figure it out as soon as possible so I can get that adorable question from your mind.” I poke her stomach and she giggles, wrapping her arms around me. “Come on, squirt, let’s go back to the chocolate shop.”
Marcy and I walk out of the bathroom, and I can feel a smile on my face that is unnecessarily wide. I calm myself down a bit and Justin stands by the door, his hands in his pocket. He smiles at me and Marcy when he spots us and we head to the car together. The ride is the same as usual, loud and silly.

Marcy instantly goes back to the freezing area of the store when I walk back in, Justin following behind me. I sit on the stool and let my purse hang by itself on a little hook I installed on the wall behind the stool. Instead of grabbing his stool – his name is even on the darn thing now – he leans forward on the showcase. And that’s the cue for our “see you later”.

“I have to head to a class, alright? But I will see you later,” Justin states and I lean closer to him. We’re not too far away, but we just hold each other’s gaze. “You know, I think I’m going to start calling you Jelly.”

“Why on earth would you call me that?” I ask, leaning back with surprise. He just smiles and heads for the door. Before leaving, he turns back to me with a wide smile.

“I really like jelly,” he winks and he leaves. I blink confused, trying to figure out what the heck he is talking about. He really likes jelly? He already told me that. Suddenly, I stand so fast the stool falls over behind me when realization hits me.

“Wait, what?!” I exclaim, looking at the door in disbelief.
*~*~*~
His words haunt me for the next few weeks, and true to his words, he calls me Jelly on occasion. Marcy has spent time with me only a few days when I worked at the shop, and I really don’t mind. She gets bored so easily, but on the days that are livelier, like Fridays and Saturdays, and for some reason Wednesdays, she has a lot of fun talking to the customers. They adore her to pieces just like I do. She’s great for business.

Carrie came by as soon as I called her after Justin left. It took her longer to understand than I did, though I’ve occasionally asked him what he meant, playing dumb. I want him to tell me flat out, no cryptic messages, nothing like that. I want to hear the words from his lips. But of course, he just shrugs anytime I ask and changes the subject. I will hear those words come from his lips.

It’s one of those busy Wednesdays and I’m scrambling. The chocolate in the showcases are gone, so I have to run back and forth between the storage and the register. Justin shows up while I’m doing just that, and I let out a frustrated sigh. Why doesn’t my mother hire another person? I swear, this is not a job for one person, not on the three busy days.

“Need help?” Justin asks and I nod quickly.

“Can you man the register? I have to run back and forth and everyone is getting irritable. I don’t like it.” I pout angrily, shoving a hand through my now red and yellow hair. Both are bright and vibrant, though the red is a soft one in its own way. Yellow and red are May colors, at least to me.

“Go, Jelly, I got this. Hi, how can I help you?” I hear as I rush to the back. I quickly box the chocolates as Justin calls them out to me. I feel like a chef, running back and forth with a type of food. At some point, the crowd dies down to a point where I can stock up the showcases and call my mother, telling her we need more shelves for these busy days. When I hang up, Justin is sitting in his stool, mine untouched.

“Thank you,” I whisper as I fall onto my stool, tired from running so much. It’s only, what, three? We have about an hour to three before the final rush happens. I can relax. Thank goodness, I thought I was going to, I don’t know, die. I’ve never rushed that much in my life, not even at school or at any other jobs. This is ridiculous.

“It’s my pleasure. I hope that counts as paying you back,” he replies easily, patting my arm. I shake my head with a smile, patting his back.

“Nope. This was just an awesome favor, and you offered. Besides, it’s not like you worked for a paycheck,” I explain breezily, looking down at my striped nails. They’re red, yellow, and black. I have to have something that not only matches my hair, but my style. Therefore, they are red, yellow, and black.

“You are unfair,” he teases, and I laugh, shaking my head once again. “Okay, fine, it was a nice favor. I’ll do something for you to pay you back, don’t you worry.” I smile at the guy in front of me and I take a moment to take in his attire. He’s wearing a simple white tee that looks amazing on him; it defines his muscles so well. His basketball shorts are a dark blue, and they show off his impressive leg muscles; yes, I am staring at his leg muscles. His shoes are Nike and they’re solid black except for the symbol; it’s white. He’s looking pretty damn – oh, oops, I mean darn – good today.

“Thank you again,” I smile, and I quickly assess my attire. Black t-shirt, black athletic shorts, and flip-flops. Once again, they are black. Wow, I am so unoriginal and unattractive.

“No, you’re not,” Justin points out, and I realize I must have mumbled that last thought aloud. “I mean, do not demean yourself like that. You’re gorgeous.” I blush at his comment and shake my head, ready to point out every flaw I have, but he continues. “Your hair is amazing, you have that brooding, mysterious girl vibe going on, you’re adorably short, and you’re just stunning to look at.” Holy guacamole. No one has said anything like that to me in a long time. My face is burning with embarrassment, and I can’t stand to look at him. “What guy wouldn’t want to be with you?”

“All of them,” I blurt. “They all think I have a sexually transmitted disease because my ex-boyfriend said I did, though in all honestly, the root word of that first word of STD has been far from what I ever wanted.” I glance up at Justin and he looks like he’s going to explode. Wow. I shake my head and tell Justin the story, only pausing when a customer walks in. It gives him time to think. He needs that time to think about Seth.

When I’m done speaking, I play with a strand of my hair, a red one. How can anyone who hasn’t known me for, well, years handle what I just told him? My mother was furious, Carrie almost slaughtered a group of girls pointing and whispering at me, and that’s about it. Marcy and Marcus were too young to understand. We never told Uncle Troy or Aunt Julie. And there’s really no one else to tell. And now Justin knows.

“How the hell could anyone be such an ass?” Justin exclaims, and when I look up at him, his eyes are blazing in anger. I fidget a bit, not only unnerved by his expression, but by his choice of words. I mean, I swear occasionally, but most of the time, I have my own version of swear words. My mother taught me right after the twins were born that I should refrain from speaking those words until she said they were old enough to understand not only what they meant, but when they were allowed to say them. It’s not like I would change my word choice anyway; it’s grown on me.

“Sorry,” Justin mumbles, taking a deep breath. I glance at his hands and he flexes them. As I look up at him again, I notice his muscles flexing too. Jeez, why am I suddenly a hormonal teenager? I’m almost twenty for crying out loud. I need to calm myself. “I just – how could anyone do that to you? You’re one of the nicest girls I’ve met, except when you’re dealing with Marcus; but that’s another story, of course. I wish I could hurt the jerk, but it looks like that’s already happening.”

I release the strand of hair and smooth down my hair, taking a deep breath to calm myself down. “Thank you, for caring,” I mumble. “It means a lot to me that you actually care.”

“Of course I would! We’re friends. And you don’t talk a lot about your past, so any detail I get on it is another piece of the puzzle. And I’m sure I’m going to like the finished product.” Justin bumps my shoulder with his side because he’s so tall compared to me, and I smile, bumping him back. He’s so awesome. Who could ask for a better friend?

“You’re the best. By the way, don’t you have another class?” I raise my eyebrows, looking up at him. It astonishes me, how deep his eyes are. They’re like, I don’t know, the middle of the ocean during a storm, dark blue and gray, swirling around each other. They are just beautiful.

“No, some people of the Animal Science branch are making decorations for a charity dance. They host one every year, apparently, and it’s to raise money for a fund that raises awareness for animal cruelty.”

“That’s amazing!” I smile up at him and he smiles back, hunching down a bit so he can look at me better, but I think he’s being melodramatic.

“I know. Do you want to go? It’s this Saturday, if you’re free from the twins and work.” I think for a moment, excited, almost. It sounds like it could be a lot of fun, and who wouldn’t go? It’s raising money for a good cause.

“Formal?” I ask cautiously. Dresses and I usually do not mix very well.

“Well, you’ll have to wear a dress. It’s like a bit of both, causal and formal. But it’s almost mandatory that girls wear a dress,” he explains. “And I didn’t make these rules, some girl in the branch did.”

“I’ll ask Carrie for a dress,” I shrug. “What time is the dance?” Justin looks confused for a moment when I ask him, and he suddenly gets all flustered and nervous. What wrong with him?

“I don’t think I got my point across,” Justin mumbles, rubbing the nape of his neck, a nervous habit he has. “What I’m trying to ask is if you want to go with me? Like, you know, a date?”
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LOOK AT THAT! Cliffhanger again. I am just terrible. But come on, it leaves you with something to think about.

Belated Happy Fourth of July to my American readers.

This Saturday, I have the whole place to myself most of the day so I'm just gonna write a majority of the day on this story and hopefully another I'm trying to work on. Maybe I can get close to finishing or something. I have a bit of the eighth chapter done right now, but I'm probably going to delete most of it and rewrite it.

Anywho, that's all I have. So, you know, feedback is amazing and if you want me to wall you, let me know if you haven't already.

 

It's DATE UPDATE!
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Chapter 5

I stare at Justin with wide eyes, unsure what to say. Did he just ask me out? No, he’s not. He’s just joking. He likes to be funny, and I said his jokes weren’t the best. So, I respond the way I always do to his silly jokes: I laugh. I double over in laughter, holding onto my stomach as I get that annoying stich in my side. When I look up at Justin again, he has a look on his face that just breaks my heart.

“You were kidding, right?” I raise my eyebrows, my laughter now forgotten. Justin slowly shakes his head and I bring my hands to my mouth. Oh, I’m so stupid! I should have realized! “Crap, crap, sorry, I just…” I try to come up with an excuse that doesn’t seem like an excuse. But the thing is, I probably crushed not only his self-esteem, but also any and all chances to end up with this gorgeous specimen.

“Don’t worry about it,” Justin replies in a mumble, sounding deflated. I place a hand on his arm and sigh, shaking my head. I’m such a witch with a capital B.

“I am worrying about it, you dork. It’s just, everyone jokes about it, or at least the guys at my high school did, and I’m so used to it. And then you come along, this so amazingly good looking guy that I’ve known for months, asking me out on a date. Can you forgive me got being skeptical? Because I would most definitely love to go on a date with the dang hot guy in front of me.” I take a deep breath after my small speech, and I pull my hand away awkwardly. Did I just admit that I think he’s hot? Yes, yes I did; twice, actually, yeah.

“You’re so gullible,” Justin laughs and I hit his shoulder hard. He takes my hand in his and holds it in both of his. “I’m glad you want to go with me, because I wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.” He winks and stands, kissing my hand. “Until then, milady,” he whispers and I laugh as he walks out.

“See you, Dork Charming,” I tease and he waves at me. Once he’s gone, I squeal and call Carrie. For the record once again, I am not girly. But that boy is my crush and I am a girl, therefore I will squeal and talk to Carrie about every detail. Though, instead of speaking as much as I want, I continue to squeal. When I stop, I only get out the words, “Justin asked,” before she squeals and hangs up. I think she’s coming to the store.

How right am I? She comes barreling through the door only five minutes later while I’m helping a customer. She hops in place while I help the man and when he leaves, she squeals loudly. She wraps her arms around me and hops around with me in her arms, causing me to laugh at her silliness. It’s obvious that she knows; she wouldn’t be like this otherwise. Well, if there was a sale on shoes or something, she’d do this, but I just called her, and she was squealing before she hung up. She knows.

“Tell me everything,” she demands as she sits down on Justin’s stool. I push her off and sit there in her place, so she sits on my stool. No one is supposed to sit on Justin’s stool; so, naturally, I’m the other person allowed to sit on his stool. She pushes me gently and forces me to tell her about today’s fabulous story. She does hit me when I tell her I laughed; I deserve it, I’m not gonna lie. But she does place her hand to heart when I tell her he kissed my hand.

“And so, that is the epic tale of the awkward teenager and the handsome, hunky, boy working next door,” I conclude and she giggles as she places a hand on my arm.

“Now, babe, I love you, and I don’t mean to offend you or anything when I say this, but it’s time for a wardrobe fix,” she tells me and I groan, pulling away from her. This is the billionth time she’s told me this since she’s seen my closet. “Jenny, come on! You have a good reason to mix it up a little now! We could get you a few dresses and skirts, and add some color, because honey, you’re gothic and it’s so not hot. I mean, babe, look at yourself. You’re stunning without that black crap. Add some color, maybe some eye shadow to match your hair for once instead of being black.”

“Did you not hear me? Justin thinks I have a mysterious vibe and that I’m gorgeous and adorable. He likes me for who I am. You can’t force me to do anything,” I tell her with a huff, and her eyes narrows.

“Oh, you want to see me make you?” she asks, a murderous tone in her voice. She knows what I’m so scared of. That look especially. The way her eyebrows knit together, that evil glint in her eye I know all too well, the creepy smile on her lips. She only looks that way for a couple reasons. When she wants her way, this is that look. When she has an evil plan against a witch we both hate, she has this look. And when she’s about to use my number one fear against me, she has this evil, evil look.

“Window shopping,” I tell her with a sigh. “If I see something I like, we’ll go in. If the store clerks fawn over me and continues to try to make me wear something, we’re never going shopping again.”

“To the mall!” Carrie squeals and drags me with her as soon as I grab my purse. This is going to be a long day.

*~*~*~

The next couple of days rush by quickly as Carrie and I plan my hair and my makeup. Normally, I would just tell Carrie to do whatever, but the thing is she’d make me look like a clown if I told her that. And do I need to be a clown on my first date with Justin? No, no I do not. Therefore, we have to plan it. My mother helps out when she’s between working and watching Marcus try to sneak from his room. He’s still severely grounded.

When Saturday shows up, I’m more nervous than excited. Justin texted me that he’d pick me up sometime around seven. So, like it’s prom, I worked on myself all day with my fashion loving best friend.

That is, until my mother tells me she’s going to be gone for the next week to work on a case.  And she’s leaving, oh, I don’t know, now. How could she do that to me? Leaving me with the devil? Is she crazy? Well, yes, now that I think about it. She is.

“Mom, I need moral support here,” I tell her as Carrie follows after me. She has so many bobby pins in her mouth; I’m surprised she hasn’t dropped half of them. She’s fixing my hair and she’s already done my makeup. Justin will be here soon, and my mother decides to drop the bomb now? “I haven’t been on a date in, like, three years, let alone a dance.”

“You have Carrie,” she scolds, rolling her almond eyes. “And it’s easy. It’s a first date; everyone makes the one mistake, and everyone ends up forgetting it or laughing about it. Don’t worry, honey.” My mother goes to wrap her arms around me but Carrie squeaks – or as much as she can with the freaking pins in her mouth. My mother sighs and settles for taking my hands.

“But, Mom, come on,” I pout, looking at her with wide eyes. “This is different. This is not dinner and a movie. This is a dance. I don’t even know how to dance!” I came to that realization last night right before I went to sleep. Not that I could sleep very well, considering that I’m going on a date with Justin. But still, it came to me and I could not stop worrying about it.

“Guys usually lead, you’ll be fine. Just wait for the cues,” my mother tries explaining, but at the confused expression I’m giving her, she glances back at Carrie.

“Listen, baby cakes,” Carrie mumbles as she pulls the bobby pins from her mouth. “When he raises his arm, he’s going to twirl you. If he dips you down, don’t have a freaking panic attack, he won’t drop you; you weigh, like, ninety pounds, he can hold your weight. I mean, have you looked at his muscles?” I sigh in response, but it’s a dreamy one. “Follow him, go the direction he’s going, and if he has his hands anywhere below your waist I am going to kick his little mother –”

“Okay, I get the gist!” I exclaim, stopping Carrie from saying any swear words in the house. “He’s a gentleman anyway,” I smile, playing with a strand of hair that doesn’t join my up-do. Thinking about him has brought a smile to my face all day. Sure, I’m nervous about going on a date with him, but he’s still one of the sweetest guys I’ve ever met.

“Troy will be here before you leave, and so will Julie and Josh,” my mother explains as she pulls on a light jacket, a light blue one.

“Josh? Oh, come on, he’s such a little piss ant,” Carrie grumbles around the bobby pins in her mouth. I reach back and smack arm, I think, hard. She yelps and I know my mother didn’t hear her. She would have told Carrie to put money in the swear jar. Carrie has put so many five dollar bills in that jar, my mother had to empty it who knows how many times and it’s going into a college fund for Marcy or Marcus.

“Everything’s going to be fine. I love you and I’ll see you as soon as I can. Call me after your date, alright? I want to make sure everything went well.” My mother smiles and kisses my forehead. She grabs a suitcase and a duffle bag by the door and walks out. I shut the door after her and I huff sadly. I really wanted her here to see me off.

“Let’s go. I have to do the finishing touches and then we’ll see how amazing you look without all that black crap on your face and as your clothes,” Carrie demands, ushering back to my bedroom. I do as she says, though along the way I have to take Marcus back to his room. When we get back to my bedroom, Carrie forces me to sit down on the chair at my desk. “Now, stay still, understood?” I nod and sigh softly, closing my eyes.

Carrie does her magic and she squeals triumphantly when she’s finished with my hair. She spins me around in my chair and commands me to keep my eyes closed. When Carrie’s in makeup artist mode, you do as she says. Or else she’ll make you look so stupid; it’ll scar you for life. I’m not even joking. During my senior year of high school, this girl kept asking me how I was doing with my stud without the U. Carrie caught wind of it, and not only was she mad at the witch, she was mad at me for not telling her; I don’t want her fighting my battles. Anyway, she offered the girl a complete makeover.

Carrie made her hair a frizzy, curly mess. She plastered this ugly color of lipstick on her lips and got some on her teeth; I don’t even want to know how that happened without the girl knowing. Her eyes looked like giant blueberries, and her eyeliner was so thick, I thought it was her eye shadow before she pushed her hair from her face. Apparently, Carrie didn’t let the girl look in a mirror and just said she was stunning. When the girl walked out of the bathroom, everyone laughed so hard. The girl tried to explain how it was Carrie who did her makeup, but you wouldn’t believe how amazing Carrie is at lying. She’s the best friend anyone could ask for.

“No peeking, alright?” Carrie giggles, and she helps me stand. She leads me to the bathroom, and she’s put paper on the mirror. Knowing Carrie, I shouldn’t take it off. She is very serious when it comes to this stuff. I just hope I don’t look bad. I slide on my dress and look down at it with a grin. It’s silver with simple ruffles. It reaches my knees and it has straps instead of sleeves. It’s probably one of the prettiest dresses that is not black. It’s not glittery or anything, just a beautiful silver. There’s a midsection piece that is jewel encrusted. Fake jewels, of course. If they were real, that’d be stupid. And Carrie would never have enough money for it.

Yes, Carrie bought my dress for me. I never have any money because I’m always buying chocolate, mostly imported fantastic chocolate. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds always have given Carrie a high allowance, in the form of plastic. How they manage to pay for her shopping habits, I have absolutely zero clue on that.

I walk out and close my eyes because Carrie quickly tells me to. She helps me into these short heels that she managed to find. She tried to make me get these four inch heels, but I’m hardly ever worn heels. I only wore them once when I was really young, and only because Julie told me to. That was a rotten mistake. I fell on my face pretty hard, and they were around four or five inches. Not my best moment.

“Okay, babe. Look at the stunning woman before you that is a definite Jennifer June Wyatt,” Carrie squeals and I hesitantly open my eyes. I gasp loudly and grab onto Carrie’s hand. The girl in the mirror is not me. She is so gorgeous. The dress compliments her curves; the makeup is light and really defines her cheekbones and the brightness of her eyes; her hair is pulled up on top of her head, though it rests flat, and her red and yellow bangs are slightly curly that makes them frame her face. There’s a silver and glittery headband on her head to cover up part of the hair that won’t stay down. Holy heaven and Hell, I have never seen myself look this great.

“You are a miracle worker, Carrie,” I compliment, spinning around slightly. The dress really compliments my butt. I hope Justin looks at my butt. Actually, no, I want him to look at my face. Instead of black eye shadow, it’s glittery and silver, and the eyeliner is very thin. She is amazing. I look amazing. Tonight is going to be amazing.

“Just go have fun, alright? And did you leave me your payment?” she asks with raised eyebrows and I smile. Carrie asked that, in return for buying the dress and working her magic, I leave her three of my imported chocolate bars. Originally, I would hate giving up my chocolate. But looking as beautiful as I do, she deserves every bit, if not more.

“In the fridge,” I reply as I smile up at her. “You should get them now and go. Uncle Tory will be here any minute.” She nods and kisses my cheek, though not too much to smudge my makeup.

“Good luck. You’re a gorgeous and lucky girl right now, though you’ve always been gorgeous. Justin’s the lucky one here, getting to be with you. Keep your chin up, smile, relax, have fun. If he kisses you, make sure he doesn’t ruin the makeup. I worked forever on that; I really don’t need him to destroy my hard work in less than five seconds,” Carrie tells me threateningly. I laugh and hug her tightly. With the heels, I’m only a couple inches shorter than her, and she’s five foot five.

“You’re the best. I’ll call you after, if I’m not too fazed by the date. And if he kisses me, well, I’m not going to stop him from messing up the lipstick,” I tease and she laughs at me, hugging me back. Before she says another word, the doorbell rings. I glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table, and it’s a little early for it to be Justin. It has to be Troy.

I walk with Carrie to meet Troy, and I find that walking in heels isn’t as hard as I remember. Maybe it’s because the only other time I wore any heels they were a little big on my feet. Troy and I greet each other and Carrie sneaks out the back door. Josh and her hate each other more than anything you could ever imagine. He doesn’t look bad, not really. He has brown hair and sparkling blue eyes, he hasn’t hit his growth spurt yet, and he still has that childish look to him. But that glint is not of something sweet. The glint is an evil one. He once stole all my chocolate and threw it away. He took over a thousand dollars in chocolate and tossed it like it was rubbish.

Julie compliments how I look and Josh just goes to Marcus’s room. He’s going to be staying with Marcus and my aunt and uncle will be staying in the guest room. Josh doesn’t talk to me at all. I’ve never really liked him as anything other than family. He’s always been a jerk.

Justin shows up at seven on the dot, and Troy is the one who answers the door. They chat quickly, and I hear the words, “Get her back before midnight. If anything bad happens to her, I won’t mind going to prison.” Troy’s become the overprotective father now. Well, that’s always lovely. And he’s actually pretty serious considering that if he knew what Seth had done, he would have killed the kid. I’m not even joking.

“Have fun, pumpkin,” Troy tells me and moves to kiss the top of my head. I hold a hand up to stop him and I kiss his cheek. Carrie worked forever to get my hair looking this good. One little kiss could ruin it. Some lipstick gets on his face, so I quickly wipe it off before walking out the door. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Uncle Troy adds and I laugh, shaking my head.

When we’re a good distance from the door, Justin wraps an arm around my waist. He leans down and whispers, “How in the world could Carrie make you more beautiful than you already are?” I blush with a nervous laugh, hitting his arm gently, and my bracelet jingles slightly. Carrie lent me a thin bracelet that’s covered in fake diamonds and a necklace with a single pendant: a heart with a single diamond at one of the loops. Gosh, Carrie knows what to pick to compliment an outfit.

“Thank you,” I mumble with a small smile, and as I pull my hand away, he takes my hand.

“Is this a tattoo?” he asks in shock. I nod, looking down at the small tattoo on my right wrist. It’s in the shape of a butterfly, but the wings are hearts with a cross at the indent of each of them. The “body” is actually a semi-colon, and the hearts connect to each other with one line, through the second ends never meet the body or the other wing. It’s almost like an infinity sign, though it doesn’t connect. I found this tattoo a long time ago, and the reason why I got it is more important than anything to me.

“Yeah. I got it on my eighteenth birthday. It represents a bunch of different programs that help people, people like who I was,” I smile. Before Justin can ask what I mean – and I know he will when he gets the chance – I change the subject. “So, am I overdressed?” I look down at my dress as he opens his car door for me. What a gentleman.

“Not at all,” Justin tells me with a smile, leaning down to look at me after I get in the car. He’s very handsomely dressed right now, more than usual. He’s wearing a white button down shirt and his sleeves are folded up to his elbows. He’s wearing black slacks and black dress shoes. His hair is styled instead of his messy look, which both make him look very good. It’s pushed away from his face and combed neatly. Very good looking indeed.

Justin makes his way around the car and sits in the driver’s seat. After starting the car, he takes my hand in his and rests them on the arm rest. He’s holding my hand! Gosh, how do I react to this again? I hate not knowing this when I should because I had a boyfriend, even if it was years ago. So, instead of freaking out, I smile softly and slide my fingers between his. He smiles as he keeps his eyes on the road, but I know that smile’s for me. So I do remember, somewhat.

We get to Everland’s local dance hall, and the place looks packed. There are so many cars, some had to park on the street instead of the parking lot. Those “some” include Justin. I look up at the hall when we get out of the car, and I scowl slightly when I see the spray paint. Neverland Dance Hall. Who in the world is that disrespectful? And how did they get up there? I mean, someone did the exact same thing to our welcome sign, and they do it every year. But, still, our dance hall?

Justin and I walk silently to the doors of the dance hall, holding hands to my delight. The entrance fee is free, though I brought a hundred dollars from my chocolate fund to donate. Justin absolutely loves the fact that I do, and donating the money is the first thing I do. Animal cruelty is something I am very passionate about. I learned Seth took part in dog fights while we were dating, and I forced him to stop. Well, he didn’t, but I never caught him again.

Justin introduces me to a lot of his friends at the college in his department, and even the headmaster of the school, Mrs. Tyran. The three of us talk about my trouble with finding what I want to do with my future, but Justin tells her about how much I like psychology. The woman explains to me about how the psychology department is one of their best branches of the college, even though there aren’t as many people studying as there should be. I tell her I’ll give her a call if I decide to go, and when Justin leaves to get the two of us a drink, she says that she knew my father in high school. And that, if it wasn’t an insult to me, that she’d help me out in applying and getting into the school. I love the idea, though it scares me a bit that she knows about my father. Then again, almost everyone here does.

Justin and I leave Mrs. Tyran with a kind goodbye, and Justin somehow gets me to dance. How I agreed, well, how could I not? It’s Justin asking me to dance. He’s very traditional, a hand on my waist and the other holding onto my hand. My other hand is on his shoulder, and I do what Carrie and my mother advised me: I follow what Justin does. At first, I step all over his feet because I’m so nervous that I don’t know how to dance. But after a little while, I follow perfectly, my sense of rhythm kicking in.

“You know,” Justin starts as we dance, smiling down at me, “I never realized how short you were.” He winks at me and I laugh, using my hand on his shoulder to hit his arm. He chuckles and pulls me a bit closer. “I’m kidding. Kind of. So, did you let Carrie talk you into this, or did you feel that you should dress up just for me?”

“I chose to dress up, but not for you, so don’t get a big head. I chose to dress up because it’s a dance,” I lie. Of course I dressed up for him. I’m on a date. How could I not dress up? I mean, Carrie did kind of talk me into dressing up, but I had to agree. A date is very important event to get dressed up for, even if it’s occasionally.

“You didn’t have to,” Justin says, bringing our arms up so he can twirl me. I do exactly what he wants, and when I rest my hand on his shoulder again, he continues. “I find you beautiful no matter how you dress. If you had shown up in a black dress, or a bright colored dress, or anything for that matter, I’d find you just as beautiful.”

“I’ll have to tell Carrie that,” I laugh, shaking my head slightly. “She spent hours on my hair and makeup. She thought I had to change my usual look to actually show my beauty, or she wanted me to be her doll. Whichever reason, she loved giving me a makeover.” Justin chuckles at my response, and we continue to make small talk about Carrie and his classes and his other friends.

Around ten, we leave the dance. My feet are killing me and I regret ever wearing heels. So, by the time we’re at his car again, I’m carrying them. Stupid sparkly silver heels. They hurt. Justin takes me to Ice Cream Delights just before it closes and we get the same thing we got only days ago. My vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough with fudge and sprinkles and his rocky road and vanilla with few sprinkles, but no cherries this time. We eat in his car, talking about how much fun the dance was.

After the ice cream, we head back to my house. This date was the best I’ve ever had. When Seth took me out, it was a movie or something stupid. I hated those dates. But I managed to have fun this time around. And that’s a first in a really, really long time.

Justin walks me to my door and he carries my heels for me. He’s such a gentleman. I glance through the windows to see Troy and Julie watching a movie in the living room. Josh is who knows where, and it’s past the twin’s bedtime. So, everything is good. No embarrassing parent moments.

“Thank you, a lot, for the date,” I mumble as I look up at Justin. “I haven’t been on a date this fun in a really long time.”

“I hope I can take you out again,” Justin answers, smiling down at me. I send him a look that’s supposed to say something along the lines of “of course”.

“You think I’m going to turn you down after a date like this? No way. You aren’t getting away from me easily, you dork. Get used to it,” I reply with a laugh. Justin smiles wider and he leans down. I swear, he’s gonna kiss me. Carrie’s threat? Screw that.

I push myself on my toes as I reach a hand up to him. Before we even get the chance to kiss, the door opens and I hear, “Ew, Jenny, what the hell?” I head snaps to the thirteen-year-old at the door. My jaw clenches in anger and I turn to Josh.

“Josh, go away, no one wants you here,” I tell him with a scowl. He may be taller than me at his age, which is a sad, sad truth, but he doesn’t scare me. I’m mean for saying that, I know, but he really isn’t wanted right now.

“No one wants you anyway,” Josh retorts, looking up at Justin with a scowl. Justin’s straightened and has a cute blush on his cheeks. I probably have one too, but I’m so angry at Josh, I don’t care. How dare he say no one wants me? Obviously Justin wants me because we just went on a date.

“Julie! Troy! Josh is being a jerk and ruined my night,” I complain as I cross my arms.

“Josh, get in here,” Julie tells her son, standing from the couch. She takes her son by the shoulders and heads for the bedrooms. I can hear her scolding my cousin, and I smirk slightly.

“Come on, Jenny, you need to go to bed too,” Troy says and I frown. I turn to Justin and he hands me the heels. Darn it. I really wanted just a couple more minutes with Justin, but the biggest jerk of the family just had to ruin everything.

“See you tomorrow?” I ask hopefully, looking up at him. All I can think about is how Josh ruined what would have been the best moment of the night. He just had to open the door and his stupid mouth. He acts like a total five year old. I would spank his but with a wooden spoon if I could; his behavior is completely unacceptable.

“Definitely.” He quickly kisses me and leaves me speechless as he walks to his car. He just… he kissed me! How could he do that without warning? Now I’m severely distracted. Justin smirks at me when he looks back at me and waves. I wave back and make my way into the house with a wide smile. Yep, this was a great night.
*~*~*~
*screams* I LOVE THIS CHAPTER SO, MUCH IT IS SO CUTE!

Okay, I'm good. But seriously, this was such a cute chapter to write because Justin is adorable. And Jenny is a bit awkward at first but it's so fun to write.

The tattoo is actually a real thing. It's a mixture of the semi colon project, the hearts project, the infinity project, the cross project, and the butterfly project. It raises awareness and positive support for people who are depressed, suicidal, anorexic, and other stuff like that. And that comes into play later.

So, that's all. Enjoy the cuteness. Let me know if you want me to wall you if you haven't already.

 

Sorry for the late update! I forgot last week because I got a job and I was relaxing! Anywho, here it is! Enjoy!
*~*~*~
Chapter 6

I don’t call Carrie until the next morning for a few reasons. The makeup she put on is practically impossible to get off, I can’t stop thinking that Justin kissed me, and it was midnight by the time I thought about calling her. In the morning, I don’t even get the chance to call her. She just walks into my bedroom like she owns the place.

“Carrie,” I grumble as I sit up in bed. I check the time and realize I have to get ready for my beautiful job. “I have to be at work in like thirty minutes. Couldn’t you have waited?”

“Nope. You didn’t call, and I was very anxious,” she replies, brushing her blonde ponytail onto her back. She looks like she just got finished with a serious shopping run. “We’ll talk about it over breakfast. Josh is in Marcus’s room, and they aren’t awake yet. Get dressed,” Carrie demands and walks out my room without another word. I groan and quickly get dressed before walking to the kitchen where our table is. Julie made breakfast, which is awesome because she’s an amazing cook.

“So, Jenny,” my aunt starts, sitting beside Carrie with a wide smile, “how was your first date with Justin?” I get my own breakfast – pancakes and bacon with a cup of orange juice – and sit down across from my aunt.

“It was… pretty fun,” I begin, and I go into detail about our date, though not too much. I explain that I talked to the headmaster of the college Justin goes to and how she knew my father. Carrie and Julie get very excited about the favor the headmaster would do for me, and they begin telling me that I have to go because it’s now or never.

I leave before I’m late for work, but how would my mother know anyway? Carrie is persistent in saying that she’ll talk to me later about the date. I never mention Justin kissing me because, well, I want to keep that to myself for now. I want to keep that between the two of us for now, and I don’t want Carrie gushing over how he kissed me and asking specific details when it was only a quick little peck on the lips.

I see Justin waiting at the door of Cupid’s Chocolate Villa and it makes me break out into a Cheshire smile. This guy is officially my boyfriend, or at least I consider him that. He hasn’t called me his girlfriend, but I like to think I am. Then again, I’m a hopeless romantic like that, as odd as it is.

“Hello, Jenny,” Justin greets, his hands behind his back. I raise my eyebrows at him as I pull the shop keys from my purse. “How was your morning?” He has this hint of a smirk in his voice, and I know he knows that Carrie’s been trying to get me to talk about our date more than ever. Carrie probably tried to drill him last night or this morning. She probably found his number on my phone and tried to get him to talk.

“Inquiry filled, thank you for asking,” I reply with a small laugh. Justin wraps an arm around my shoulders and kisses the top of my head before producing a dozen roses. Beautiful roses of every color, pink and blue and red and black and purple and so many beautiful colors. Gosh, how sweet! “Aww, Justin, you shouldn’t have!” Yep, definitely a boyfriend thing. Which means we are officially dating. I hit the jackpot on life right now.

“Oh, really? I can take them back to the shop,” he explains, gesturing towards Sweet as a Rose.  I laugh and take the flowers from him after unlocking the store. He opens the door for me and we head inside. I somehow find a vase in the back of the shop and fill it with water. Justin and I arrange the roses before customers pile in, talking quietly. When customers do begin showing up, which is noon-ish, Justin stands at the very front to the store. He makes faces, trying to get me to break focus. Occasionally, I burst into a fit of giggles because he’s so silly.

Carrie shows up around three, saying something like she had to take a four hour nap because ten in the morning on a Sunday is ridiculous. Whatever, she’s crazy. By that time, Justin and I are sitting on our designated stools and my legs are in his lap.

“Ew, couple stuff,” she exclaims sarcastically. I shake my head as Justin chuckles, but he also shakes his head. She’s stupid. “Anyway, you are together, right? Because I don’t want all my hard work to have done absolutely nothing.” I glance at Justin and he smirks back at me. “I’ll take that as a yes. So, Justin, I have two rules.”

“Carrie,” I warn, sending her a knowing look. She ignores me.

“This girl is my best friend. We’ve been friends for eight years. If you break her heart, I am going to break your face,” Carrie calmly explains as she leans against the counter, glaring at Justin.

“Carrie,” I repeat in the same tone. Again, she ignores me and my tone.

“And I’ll also break any and all chances for you to have children yourself.”

“Carrie, you are not allowed to threaten to hurt him in any way, including in that particular area. Now, shut your mouth before I slap you,” I snap, and she gives me a smirk. She’s not afraid of me. Who would be, I’m not even tall enough to be threatening. But Carrie really crossed a line.

“Jelly, it’s fine,” Justin muses, patting my knee with a smile. “She’s just being a good friend.”

“Also, keep it in your pants. We do not need her to have kids yet. The Lord knows that she can hardly take care of herself, let alone children.”

“Carrie, shut up.”

“I’m just trying to keep things from being a repeat. I don’t want anything to happen to you, not like Seth – wait, does he know who Seth is and how much of a bastard he is?” Carrie points to Justin with raised eyebrows, and Justin wraps an arm around me. I can literally feel the anger rolling off him in waves at the mention of my ex-boyfriend.  “Good, so we don’t have to tell him. You didn’t tell me you told him. Seth was the worst thing for you, aside from you-know-what. I don’t want that to repeat.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Justin states, hugging me tightly to him. “I wouldn’t be dating her if I wasn’t going to. So, don’t worry. I’m nothing like Seth. Seth was an ass who only cared about himself and his urges. I want to date my Jelly for being Jelly.”

“I feel you’re not talking about me about your addiction to jelly,” I comment with a small laugh. Justin stands abruptly and gasps dramatically. My legs simply drop and rest like they normally do as I look up at my boyfriend.

“You’re right, I am. I’m dating my jelly,” he teases, but he’s acting like a dork. “I’ll go fetch it now. It was nice knowing you, Jenny.”

“Oh, I just lost the guy of my dreams!” I exclaim dramatically, trying desperately not to laugh. “What am I going to do without him?” I rest the back on my hand on my forehead like they do in those old movies. Or whatever time period that was; it’s not like I know. What I do know is that Carrie, Justin, and I are laughing like crazy because we’re stupid. The good kind of stupid, at least. Carrie, being even more dorky than she already is, snorts. This causes us to laugh even harder. Only when we hear the bell above the door do we calm ourselves down.

“Pumpkin, can you do me a favor?” Uncle Troy asks when he sees I’m done laughing.  I nod with a smile, resting my legs in Justin’s lap again since he’s sit down once more. “Can you watch Marcus and Marcy tonight? Julie has to work the night shift and I have to go to an emergency meeting to the build site. Josh will be staying with your grandmother since we can’t leave him anywhere without me or my mother watching.”

“Isn’t Marcus a replica of James? We all know he’s hard to handle if Jenny has to watch him by herself,” Carrie retorts, and both heads of Troy and me snap over to her. Our death glares could easily kill her, and by the way she’s squirming in her place, it’s working. I gesture toward Justin without looking away from her, trying to get my message across. She gasps and slaps her hand to her forehead. “Stupid, sorry. Forget I ever said a word.”

“Good job, Carrie,” I grumble before turning back to Troy. “I’ll take over tonight, no worries. It’s in the morning right? So you’re gonna drive over night, crash for a bit, head to the meeting and whatever happens after that?” I raise my eyebrows and Troy nods. We’ve been over this routine a few times. “Fabulous. Are you leaving as soon as I get home?” Troy nods again. “Fabulous. Carrie, go shopping or something,” I grumble, glaring at my best friend. She knows that is a touchy subject, and yet she brought it us.

“Right,” Carrie nods, scurrying for the door. “Have fun, lovebirds,” Carrie calls back before leaving the chocolate shop. I shake my head with a heavy sigh. That girl is going to be the death of me. Troy bids me goodbye and says he’ll see me when I get home before he leaves. His shoulders slouch forward a bit, no doubt because of what Carrie said.

“Who’s James?” Justin questions, turning to look at me. I wave the question away. I really don’t want to deal with that now. “Jenny, come on. I heard you and Marcy talking about this James guy when Marcus broke your house to bits. Who is he?”

“I do not want to talk about James, alright?” I snap at Justin, sending him a deadly glare. He holds his hands in surrender and I take a deep breath. Focus, babe, I tell myself. Just get through the rest of the day, and then you’re at home. With the angel and the devil.

*~*~*~

“Marcus, you have to take a bath!” I yell, running after the naked child. Yeah, he’s naked right now, well, except for his underwear. He somehow tricked me into getting him a towel when there are three already in the bathroom. I left the room unguarded and whoosh, he left the room. Now, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t in the darn bathroom when he asked for the towel. I was standing outside. He has a fear of water, mostly deep water. Now, bathtubs are not deep. How he could be afraid of that is beyond me. He’s a little kid, so I guess that’s the logic?

“No, Jenny!” Marcus screams back. I growl angrily and rush after him. This is how I stay skinny. I have to run after him. Justin was laughing on the couch last time I saw him. He came by to help, and he’s just laughing away. Jerk. Why am I dating him?

“Marcus, you are grounded already! Do you want to deal with worse?” I scream, and his giggling proves my answer. Oh, he is so going to get it. I hear him squeal and scream. Justin must have gotten off his butt and decided to help. Thank goodness.

“Let me go!” I hear Marcus scream, and I walk easily to where he and Justin are. Justin is holding the boy by his arms, holding him just above the ground so he won’t run. Yep, smart boyfriend. I smile at Justin as Marcus shakes and tries to escape his hold. I grab Marcus’s legs silently and together we make our way back to the bathroom.

Marcus’s leg ends up pulling from my hold and he kicks me in the jaw. You’d think a child as small as he is wouldn’t pack that much of a punch, but I’m seeing stars. I quickly grip Marcus’s leg again as I blink rapidly, and I continue to lead Marcus back to the bathroom. Justin and I plant the little boy in the bath and he pouts in defeat.

“You’re staying in this room until you get clean, and I’m going to make sure there are bubbles in the water and your hair’s wet,” I grumble to the boy and I walk out angrily. My jaw is killing me, no thanks to the devil. I secure the door so he won’t leave after Justin and I leave. I hate having to do these stupid precautions. If he would just realize that taking a bath isn’t the end of the world, everything would be fine.

“Is your jaw okay?” Justin asks when we get back to the living room, gently taking my face in his hands. His hands are really soft, and his thumb is rubbing my cheekbone. He’s distracting me from answering. Only when I remember that he asked a question do I answer.

“A little sore. That little jerk packs some power that I didn’t know about,” I reply with a simple shrug. He tilts my head up so he can look at the spot Marcus hit me, and I know a nice bruise is going to show up later.

“I’ll get you some ice just in case, alright?” Justin asks. Before I even nod, he places a kiss on the spot and walks to the kitchen. I smile at his retreating figure and I sit down on the couch, grabbing the remote to the television. I don’t watch a lot of television anymore, not with working and watching the twins. And Justin hanging out from time to time. I can finally relax a bit.

I hear the soft patter of little feet come from the hallway and I see my adorable little sister with her favorite stuffed bunny, Mr. Hopkins. She’s wearing her cute purple pajamas with little bunnies all over them and I smile at the sight. Her hair is slightly damp because she already took her bath. She should be getting ready for bed though.

“Hey, Marcy,” I greet and stand from the couch. “What do you need, babe?” I walk over to her and squat down to look directly into her eyes.

“I missed you,” is all she tells me, her eyes wide as she looks back at me. I smile and wrap my arms around her, kissing the top of her head. She’s such a sweetheart.

“I missed you too, babe. Let’s go get ready for bed, and I’ll read to you while you go to sleep, alright?” Marcy nods and I stand, ushering her to her room. I help her get ready for bed and I towel dry her hair so she doesn’t get sick while she sleeps. I help her into bed and I grab her favorite fairytale from her small stack of books, Snow White.

I read to her as I run my hands through her hair. When she falls asleep, I just look down at her and think about how much I adore my little sister. If anyone hurt her, I would not hesitate to destroy them. No one hurts my baby sister without getting away with it. Not one person. I place a kiss on her forehead before replacing the book at the top of its stack. When I turn to the door, I see Justin leaning on the threshold like I was all that time ago. I smile at him, and lead him away from the room, shutting the door quietly behind us.

Marcus end up doing what I tell him to and I send him back to his room to get ready for bed. Once I’m sure he’s asleep, I finally join Justin in the living room. I sit with him on the couch and we watch boring television for a little while, talking about silly things. That is, until he brings up the subject.

“Jenny, who’s James?” Justin raises his eyebrows as I look over at him. I feel a million emotions run through my as I try to figure out an answer to him. I don’t want to tell him, not yet. But he won’t stop asking me.

“Justin, I really don’t want to talk about who James is, okay?” I mumble tiredly. Justin wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me closer to him. I keep my eyes away from his because I know; I know he’s going to try to convince me to tell him. But it’s so hard to talk about. I really do not need that hanging in the air.

“Jenny,” Justin whispers in my ear, taking my face in his hand. He gets me to look at him and he frowns at me, though it’s one of unhappiness, not disappointment. “How about this? You pick a game, any game you want. If you win, we can do whatever you want. If I win, we talk about who James is and why it’s so hard for you to talk about who he is. Deal?” I blink at my boyfriend. He did it. I can’t back down from a challenge and he knows it.

“Deal,” I agree and I push myself off the couch. I end up picking Monopoly because that’s the only game we have other than Marcus’s video games. Playing with only two people is a little boring, sure, but it’s fun because Justin and I are goof balls. We keep trying to mess each other up, tease each other, and we occasionally get distracted by kissing. But that’s beside the point.

When we’re finished, Justin wins and it’s midnight. We played for three hours, and he won. Talk about the odds not being in my favor. Justin gloats about how he made it and that I have to talk, but I simply tell him it’s late and I have work in the morning. He pouts when I tell him that, and then he mumbles something about having an early class. He kisses me and leaves, though he tells me he will get what he wants to know. Crip crapples.

*~*~*~

“Jenny.”

“No.”

“Jenny.”

“No.”

“Jennifer, we had a deal!” Justin exclaims, looking down at me with a pout. We’re hanging out in my bedroom since Julie and Troy are in the living room watching television. It’s been five days since Justin won the bet, but Justin never said when I had to tell him about James.

“I’ll tell you when I’m ready!” I exclaim, looking up at him. We’re lying on my bed just talking like normal people. Troy trusts Justin and I enough to let us have the door closed. Well, he trusts me. I don’t know how much he trusts Justin since he threated that he’ll kill Justin if he hurt me, but I’m sure that’s at least a speck of trust there.

“Jelly, it’s been five days,” he sighs, running a hand over my arm. “How can you not trust me enough to tell me?”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s that I have a hard time talking about James. You don’t understand.” I sigh unhappily, shaking my head.

“Then tell me, let me understand,” Justin pleads, looking down at me with that face. It’s the stupid pout-y face that he makes that I can’t ever say no to. I close my eyes, trying to avoid that face of his. I’m not going to give in. No way am I going to. Nope. “Jenny.”

“No.”

“Jenny.”

“Stop.” I hear Justin sigh and he kisses me. I’m getting pretty good at kissing again. I forgot how amazing it is to have someone I really like press his lips against mine. But Justin’s kisses are something else. I don’t know how to explain them. I always feel tingles and this amazing feeling goes through my body that always makes me really happy. I can’t ever say no to Justin when he kisses me.

“Darn you, Justin Plymouth, darn you,” I grumble as I push him away from me. He chuckles and kisses my cheek before sitting up. I stand and walk over to my desk, sitting down in my swivel chair at my desk. It’s so perfectly organized. A book rests on the desk, perfectly straight, and a bookmark is between the pages. To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s one of my favorites.

“So, who is his guy by the name of James?” Justin asks, sitting on my bed. I keep my eyes on my desk, trying to figure out how to start the story. Finally, I take a deep breath and turn to Justin.

“James was an undercover police office here in Everland. He was one of the best. He took down gangs and drug lords right and left. He had a wife and a daughter, but he continued to work the dangerous life. He liked to pretend all the time. He was a great actor. He was a hero. Everyone loved him to no end.

“Well, about twelve years ago, he got a case with a gang. They were awful people. They sold drugs, weapons, they killed people, they stole from big companies, they did every job they could in order to be known. They were so terrible, and James wanted take them down. His boss told him and his family how dangerous it was to, you know, go in the field. His daughter was only nine. But, he went.

“He went all of eleven months without seeing his family. One day, he decided to see his wife and daughter. They were so excited to see him. He had changed so much, but they were still thrilled. He didn’t spend a long time with them, just a few hours because he had to report to his precinct. Well, the gang got to him as he was headed there.” Justin seems to know what I’m trying to say before I’m finished. He wipes a tear off my cheek, and I have no idea how long I’ve been crying.

“Somehow, the gang he infiltrated found out he was a cop. They shot him execution style and left a message to his fellow officers. That if anyone else tried to get in, they’d be next, along with their family. James’s family didn’t know until a week later. His daughter was only ten, and she lost her father. Her mother was dealing with worse. She had only just found out that she was pregnant.” Justin moves to stand, to say something, to comfort me, but I stop him.

“She gave birth to twins when the girl was eleven. Those twins live in this house. That woman is my mother.” I wipe the tears from my face. “I was that little girl. James…” I swallow hard, trying to come to terms with it, but it’s so hard. “James is my father.”
*~*~*~
And there's a shocking element in the story! So sad! But Justin and Jenny are super cute.

So, there's one chapter left before I'm out of prewritten chapters! Sorry about that! But I am working on it, I promise.

Let me know what you think of this chapter. I changed a couple things, so there's that. I think I missed a couple things, but that's okay.

Again, I am so sorry for the long wait. I hope your sticking with me anyway.