2 years after the movie. Of course, Jack didn't die.
"You better get her! I'm sick and tired of this little shit ruining my house!" Her father screamed in the background.
"Dannie, please come live with me. I worry about you all the time, and Detroit isn't as bad as you think. Please". Her older sister, Charleigh, was begging on the other end of the phone.
"Leigh, I would love to, but you never know what will happen with Eric. He could..."
"Dannie, its been 5 months! He's never showing back up. Pack up your shit and leave... NOW!" She boomed before hanging up.
Dannie took a long breath and headed downstairs.
"Dad". She said quietly. "We need to..."
"Get the fuck out!" She only had a few seconds before she seen the house phone fly towards her head.
"Fuck you!" She spat while racing up the steps and grabbing all the bags she could find. As she packed her last bag, she felt a shoe hit her head then land on her bed.
"Where are you going? It's 10am" He had his hands crossed over his chest, giving her a frightening stare.
"Leaving". She grabbed as many bags as she could and hurried to fit them in her car. As she grabbed the last 2 bags, her dad spun her around and punched her in the face. She quickly shook herself off and grabbed the remaining bags.
"Goodbye, Ohio". She told herself as she passed the "You are now leaving Ohio" state sign.
"Leigh!" Charleigh was trying to move a dresser out of the rental truck as her neighbor, Angel, came up to her. "Girl, if you needed help, you just had to say so".
"Well, this was a last-minute decision, hun. I've got way too much to do in 3 hours".
"What's going on? Got somebody moving in?" He asked as he glanced in the truck. He saw a few dressers, nightstands, a lamp, a bed, tv, and other little things.
"Yea". They set the dresser down as her phone rang. After a few minutes, she let out a 'fuck' under her breath.
"What's up?"
"I still have to go to the store". She wiped the sweat away from her forehead.
"Bobby! Jack!" He hollered.
"What are you doing?"
"Go get your other shit done. We'll handle this, if you trust us". He raised an eyebrow.
"Of course I do, Angel. But I've gotta set all this shit in place".
"Hold on". Bobby and Jack now joined them in the back of the truck.
"What's going on, girl?" Bobby glanced around the truck.
"My little sister is moving in. I'm trying to get this place set up for her".
"Kinda short notice, isn't it?" Bobby asked with pure curiosity. How come he never knew about her little sister?
"Yea, well, I didn't want her to keep being a punching bag". She quipped, then wished she could take it back immediately. "Don't ever say anything to her about it, okay?" She pointed a finger to all 3 boys.
Bobby grinned as he rolled his eyes. Jack put his hands up in surrender.
"Don't worry about me. I don't need you throwing another fork at me". Jack said.
"Hey, you deserved that". She glanced around. "You sure you guys can do this?"
"Girl, the Mercers got this. Go take care of your business". Bobby said, looking at where he should start.
An hour later, Charleigh was back with bags full of random necessities. She had a big smile on her face when she realized the rental truck was gone. She set the bags on the couch before going upstairs. Her house was a 3-bedroom, with an office and bedroom upstairs and one downstairs. There was a bathroom on each floor so they didn't have to share anything. She dashed up the stairs and found the boys finishing up the bed.
"You lucked out". Bobby joked.
"I really do appreciate this guys. Y'all wanna come over for dinner, meet Dannie?"
"Dannie?" Angel asked.
"Danielle. She prefers Dannie".
"Well, I gotta take Sofi out to her mom's".
"You and La Vida Loca". Bobby muttered.
"Fuck you, Bobby. Don't start". Angel said as he picked up some trash that was laying around.
"Why don't you cancel those plans and meet the new neighbor? When are you gonna stop being so whipped?"
"1st things 1st. She's 21. NOBODY hit on her, ya got it?" Charleigh death-glared them all, especially Bobby.
"What? Maybe you should be glaring at Cracker Jack". Bobby joked as he nudged him.
"Shut up, man". Jack shoved him back and slid his hands in pockets while looking back to Charleigh.
"You know if she looks anything like you, we'll probably have trouble". Angel grinned before heading downstairs, everybody else following him.
"I'm serious guys". She said as she headed through the kitchen, grabbing some beers and some wine for herself. "She's in a tough spot right now. She doesn't need a boy messing her up any more than she is right now".
They all sat around and joked while Charleigh started dinner. While Charleigh was in the kitchen, there was a loud knock on the door.
She started to leave the kitchen, but stopped in the dining room after she had seen Angel reach for it.
"You must be Dannie". Charleigh could hear the flirtiness in Angel's voice.
"Angel". She said sternly.
"What? Just being nice".
She let her in and Dannie darted for Charleigh.
"I've missed you Leigh".
"It's only been over a year". She let her little sister go and analyzed her.
She was still much shorter than her 5'9 frame, standing at 5'2. She was skinny, just like her, guessing she was still weighing around 110-115. Dannie was more blessed than Charleigh, with a full chest but not too big. They always had the same great shape of a butt, inheriting from their mother. Their hair and eyes were a different story. While Charleigh had their father's green eyes, Dannie's were greatly different. One eye was brown, from their mother, while the other eye was a bright hazel. Charleigh's highlighted hair was tame compared to Dannie's constantly-dyed mane. For now, Dannie's hair was dark red on the bottom, a rich hazelnut on top.
"Dannie, these are the next-door neighbors, the Mercers. That there is Bobby, then Angel, then Jack".
"Hi" She moused while taking all 3 images in at once.
"Need help with your bags, or suitcases...?" The one she remembered as Bobby asked.
"Um, yea actually. That'd be great".
"Good. You boys help her. I'm gonna set the table".
Dannie led them out to her grey Accord. She had 6 bags so she really didn't have to carry anything in. As the boys were talking and taking them up to her room, she joined Charleigh as she was finishing setting the food on the table.
"Leigh, where's Michael?"
Leigh drew in a deep breath. "He left me, Dannie. After the miscarriage, he blamed me and left".
"What? How in the world is that your fault?" She wanted to scream, find him, hunt him down.. anything to get all the aggression she had in her to suppress.
"It was definitely for the better, Dannie. Thank God we never made it to the altar". She smiled, trying to ease up the conversation.
She stared at her for a few short seconds before she was distracted with the boys coming back downstairs.
"Come on guys. Let's eat" Charleigh called, not looking to her sister.
Charleigh and Dannie sat at the heads of the table. Jack and Bobby sat on one side of the table, Angel opposite them.
"Think Sofi will join us?" Charleigh asked as they all dug into her Chicken Alfredo and Chef salad.
"Hard to tell. I haven't even..." Angel stopped short when the doorbell rung.
"I got it". Charleigh claimed. She opened it to find none other than Sofi.
"Hey, chica!" Sofi hugged her. "Angel here?"
"Yea, he is. My sister just moved in today and we're having dinner. Wanna join?"
"Um, yea. Smells good!" Her bright eyes shone.
She followed Charleigh in, kissed Angel then took the seat next to him.
"Hi! I'm Sofi". She said as she shook hands with Dannie, who was to her left.
"Dannie". She smiled broadly.
"Dannie? That's different". Sofi said while Charleigh set down a plate in front of her.
"Short for Danielle".
Dannie dug into her food when a knee accidently hit hers.
"Sorry" Jack said so incredibly quiet, she almost didn't hear him.
She actually looked into his face, for the first since seeing him. He had cute lips, almost female-like. His messy sandy-brown hair had a rocker feel to it. He had on a striped t-shirt and blue jeans. His pretty blue and grey eyes were what she was attracted to.
"Can I ask you something?"
She shook her head, concentrating. "Yea, sure. What?"
"Are your eyes 2 different colors? I can't really tell". He was squinting into her face.
"Yea, actually. One's a bright hazel, the other brown".
"They're beautiful".
She felt herself blushing. "You have pretty eyes, too".
"Yea". He said playfully before eating again.
"So, Dannie. What're you gonna do around here?"
"I'll have to call my school tomorrow and ask them to send my transcripts".
"School don't start til early September. What're you gonna do for 3 months?"
"Look for a job". She said curtly.
"I know a few places at the mall are hiring. Did you pass it on the way here?" Charleigh asked, taking a sip of her wine.
"Maybe. I'm not too sure though".
"I have to work tomorrow. Any way one of you guys could show her?"
"I've gotta head to the shop. I'll be there all day". Bobby said.
"I can. I'm off all day". Jack suggested.
"Okay. I trust you". Charleigh pointed her fork at him.
"No. More. Forks". Jack playfully glared.
"Am I missing something?" Dannie looked from Charleigh to Jack, then back to Leigh.
"Jack and I did not get along at all, when I first met them. I always thought he was emo. One day, he decided to push me, literally, into Bobby who was eating a plate of spaghetti. His fork happened to be the only thing I could find for defense".
"And jammed it into my chest".
"How did you not die?" Dannie asked incredulously.
"Wasn't that deep".
"Surprisingly, Fairy here, is a Mercer". Bobby ruffled his hair.
Jack just went with it. When he was done, he looked to Dannie.
"You get used to this".
She just smirked as she finished her plate.
Nearly an hour later, they were all so full and didn't wanna move, so they sat around, drinking and conversing.
"So what brought you here?" Sofi asked.
They all grew quiet while Dannie debated mentally, sipping on a Watermelon Smirnoff.
"Change of scene".
"I'm surprised we've never seen you before. Leigh has been friends with these boys long before I came around".
"I used to live in Ohio with..." She started to trail off.
"An uncle of ours". Leight butted in, hiding her face in her glass.
"I see". Sofi quickly caught on and kept quiet.
"Well, seeing how its only 8pm... you guys wanna go out to the bar or something? I can't just sit around this early". Bobby tried to enlighten the tensio]n.
"We're gonna head home soon. We've gotta get up in the morning". Sofi and Angel stood. They shook Dannie's hand and hugged Charleigh. "It was nice meeting you". Angel said just before shutting the door.
"If Dannie's up for it". Leigh glanced down the table.
"I'm up for a little fun". She cheered up.