Hey guys. So I'm trying another story idea out, I hope you like it and will actually review.
Alright, this message is something I've put on everything I've updated, just to hopefully get my point across a little more. I appreciate every review I get, but it's really frustrating and disappointing to see a large amount of readers (well over 200 for some of my newer stories) and a small amount of reviewers. I actually want to hear what people think about my work, since I'm putting it on this site and available for people to read. Even a little constructive criticism from time to time is welcome because I actually think I do need it.
But anyway, enjoy this chapter. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' it or the characters, I'm just borrowing them for this story.
Jerry Martinez groaned as he hit the cold floor, his bag was still partially opened, so all his books and everything he'd brought with him tumbled out into the floor in front of him, mocking him like most of his peer group would no doubt do when they got wind of what happened.
Being the new kid royally sucked. He was a target for some unknown reason, the butt of rude or jokes, the target for vicious rumors, and a verbal punch-bag to almost everyone.
Ever since he first moved to Seaford last month, he had been getting pushed, shoved, kicked, locked in the teacher's cupboard, and other painful things Jerry would rather forget about. Nobody had mentioned to him that being the new kid wasn't easy, but then again, it had never been him before.
He sighed, and hauled himself from the ground, massaging the gnawing burn which he was starting to get on shoulder. Jerry breathed out deeply, and stepped forward, freezing up and gasping as he felt his leg twinge. Hopefully it was just a bad sprain.
He knew he was at the bottom of the school's food-chain, and he didn't even think he was anywhere on the social hierarchy. What was happening to him was just natural selection, there were always going to be people who were considered 'nothings' or 'less-popular-than-that-hot-blond-kid-in-P.E class'.
Jerry shook his head, and gingerly bent down to start picking up his scattered belongings, trying not to put any weight on his leg. All the objects looked foreign to him for some reason, but he picked them up nonetheless. He set about picking his books up, and then his pencil case followed, making a soft thumping sound as it hit his books.
His leftover tuna sandwich had skidded underneath the lockers, so he decided he'd leave it for the cleaners to find. All that was left was a pair of boots, he tugged at them, only to find they didn't budge.
Jerry shook his head. Since when did he own a pair of brown cowboy boots?
"Hey!" The boots gave a sharp, shrill cry and Jerry looked up into the face of his friend; Kim Crawford.
She was tall, slender and blonde, with a smart mouth if anyone came up with a derogatory joke. She was the first friend Jerry had made, and was probably the only one he would make. They'd met after Jerry was tripped up in the canteen, and Kim had been the only person who was kind enough to help him out.
"Jerry, is everything okay?" she asked, helping him to his feet. Jerry bent down, zipping his bag up and hoisting it onto his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm either still adjusting to Seaford, or it's adjusting to me," he chuckled good-naturedly, determined not to let the bullying get him down. There were plenty of things to look forward to, and if he was a sour-puss, he wouldn't be able to enjoy them.
"Guys!" a panicked cry resounded all around the hall. A boy with dark-auburn hair skidded up to them. Jerry didn't know him very well, he only knew that he was Kim's friend, and that he had won the school's National Science fair five times in a row.
"Milton are you okay?" Kim voiced her concern. "You look pastier than usual," she noted with slightly larger eyes.
"We've been over this Kim, I'm translucent, say it with me now: trans-lu-cent," Milton enunciated each syllable of the word 'translucent' to emphasize his point.
Jerry chuckled, and then took in Milton's complexion, he was whiter than all the other times Jerry had seen him around and from what he could remember, people only when that white when they were terrified and all the blood drained away from their face.
"And no, I'm not okay," Milton said in exasperation. "Jack's back!" he squealed in panic, grabbing large amounts of his hair as he started to hyperventilate.
"Who's Jack?" Jerry asked, treading on eggshells since Milton looked on the verge of passing out.
This boy must be terrifying if it had gotten Milton so scared, Kim herself - who was usually fearless when it came to people - was looking around nervously. Her arm was around Milton's shoulders, rubbing them comfortingly and easing out his sketchy breathing pattern at the same time.
"Mention my brother again and I'll tear your fucking throat out, you little maggot!" a voice thundered through the hallway, and everyone whipped around to the source.
A boy, no older than fifteen, was holding another boy up by the scruff of his shirt, repeatedly shaking him and slamming him against the locker with bruising force. "Do you understand?!" he yelled in the boy's ear.
"Yeah I understand," the boy wheezed, then an evil-looking grin molded his lips. "That your brother was a complete wimp!" he shouted down into the other boy's face. Jerry could see flecks of spit flying from the boy's mouth, and the one holding him up tightened his grip considerably.
People all throughout the hall grimaced as the boy pinned against the lockers was thrown roughly to the ground. The shaggy brown-haired boy leapt on his victim, and began punching him as hard as he could in the face. His growls were shaking the walls, and Jerry could see drops of blood beginning to appear on the blond boy's face. The blond boy was flailing his arms up in a defensive manner, but each of the brunette's punches bypassed them with ease.
By that point, everyone was circled around them - Jerry, Kim and Milton included - cheering and yelling, craning their neck to see who would be victorious.
At last, the blond boy managed to land a hard-looking strike to the brunette's nose, and the cheers got louder. The punch didn't do much good though; the brunette was barely fazed, looking as if the boy had just hit him with a pillow.
He shook his head and continued pounding his fists onto the blond boy. Jerry winced as blood began to stain the floor, pretty certain that none of it was the brunette's.
He couldn't help but wonder that this wasn't his first high-school brawl, and that he always won them. If he ever talked to this boy, which was very unlikely, he wouldn't make the same mistake as the blond boy. The brunette obviously cared deeply for his family, and wouldn't take a bad word against them without severely punishing the offender.
"Hey, break it up!"
"Get off of him right now!"
"Someone get the Nurse!"
"Someone get the SWAT team!"
"I'm not good around blood..."
"Suck it up! You're a Science teacher!"
Teachers were yelling and pushing past the cluster of students, and heading into the line of fire. Two teachers grabbed the brunette under his arms, and were trying to haul him away from the blond, but he wasn't going anywhere.
Jerry's eyes were widened in shock; Five teachers were now trying to pull him away, and he was finally losing his grip. They restrained him, and the blond scrambled to his feet, lurching forward.
The teacher closest to him whipped around and held him back. He wasn't nearly as strong as the brunette, but could still struggle. He lashed out with his fist, the brunette threw his head back, dodging the flimsy-looking hit. He swiped his leg out, and kicked the blond in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, blood spilling onto the ground as he coughed and wheezed.
The blond boy was walked off towards the medical room, his face an unrecognizable mass courtesy of the brunette's fists, and the brunette himself was hauled off by all the teachers that were holding him back.
He looked like a vicious dog on a leash, snarling and struggling against the confines of the teachers. They finally managed to throw him into a classroom, slamming the door shut and locking it. The crowd dispersed, and the usual sound of laughing, chatter and trainers squeaking struck up.
"That's Jack," Kim said, turning around in a flurry of golden hair. She looked majorly shaken, and as for Milton, all the color had drained from his face, and he was shuddering. Kim put her arm around him for a second time that day and he clung to her.
"He does what he wants, whenever he wants, hence him coming into school at lunch, and re-arranging that boy's face," she laughed, but it came nowhere near her eyes, which were glistened over with complete and utter shock.
Jerry made a mental note not to cross Jack if he ever saw him again, as it would surely sign his death sentence.
Milton wiggled out of the cradle of Kim's arm, and opened his mouth to speak, when a loud smash could be heard from behind the locked door, no doubt brewing the beast within.
"This is your fifth fight this term, Jack," a female teacher was speaking to him gently, sounding shaken by whatever Jack had smashed in there. "When that boy gets out of the medical room I want you to apologize to him and-"
"Like that's gonna happen!" Jack yelled loudly, silencing the entire hallway once more. "I wouldn't have had to hurt him if he hadn't mentioned my brother!" he added with a snarl.
"You need to get your anger under control Jack! This can't continue!" a male teacher suddenly thundered at him, but Jack's voice was much, much louder, and harbored so much anger, Jerry was certain it was illegal.
"Well tell that little squirt not to mention my brother, or call him a wimp ever again!" Jack ordered. "Or better yet, tell him to stay the fuck away from me unless he wants to end up in a morgue with no head!"
Glass shattered inside the room, and Jerry realized Jack must have thrown something at one of the windows, or punched it. The thought terrified him, the windows were triple-glazed and yet Jack probably smashed them as easily as it was to snap a pencil.
"My brother would still be here if it wasn't for you!" he bellowed, and Jerry knew by his tone of voice that he was looking at one of the teacher's accusatorily.
Jerry looked around him, noticing in the silence for the first time. Everything in the hall seemed to have stopped, people had frozen in their spots, and the chatter had dimmed immediately as they were all trying to listen to the fiery confrontation between Jack and the teachers.
"That's quite enough, Mr. Brewer! I had nothing to do with Jeremy's death, you know that!" the teacher's voice raised an octave, and Jerry's mind reeled. What could a teacher have had to do with the death of - by the sounds of it - student?
"Oh really?" Jack retorted sarcastically, no doubt folding his arms. "Nobody would have known about him if you hadn't-"
"That was not the reason he was killed and you know it!" the teacher defended himself. Jerry could tell the teacher was shaking; it was evident in his voice. But then again, who wouldn't be shaking when Jack was yelling at them?
"I will be calling your parents about your inappropriate and disgraceful behavior!" he said, trying to seem like he had the authority in the situation, but Jerry had a feeling Jack did, no matter what way anyone looked at it.
"Go right ahead! But you'd be wasting your time," Jack shouted. "They couldn't give a shit about me if they were held at gunpoint and forced to!"
The door's handle turned and the door itself swung open so fast it smashed into the wall. The chatter and bustle of the halls had immediately started again, like someone had pressed the play button on a remote.
Jerry jumped back a few steps and Milton whimpered as Jack's fist smashed into the lockers opposite him and an angry yell worthy of the Devil flew from his mouth.
Jack had made a large dent in the metal, and his entire body was shaking with anger. His fingers were still twitching, scraping against the locker's metal frames and Jerry swore he could literally see steam coming from his ears. Jack stopped, nails scratching down the metal, and then whipped around, his eyes honed on the trio.
"What are you looking at?!" he growled.
Milton gave a startled squeak scampered off, not giving Jerry or Kim a second glance, moving so fast Jerry swore his feet weren't even touching the ground.
"C-coming, Mr. Gradstein!" Kim yelled, also running off in the same direction as Milton.
Jerry looked around, and the hallway was completely deserted, except for Jack. A heavily breathing Jack that looked like a lion going for the kill. Jerry then swallowed; if Jack was the lion that made him the gazelle. And nothing good ever happened to them.
He wasn't going to deny that he was scared - he'd just seen him take down a boy for mentioning his brother, it took five teachers to drag him away, and not to mention that none of the blood staining the floor was his.
Jerry tried to distract himself, but Jack's gaze was burning into his bare flesh. He looked at Jack's shoes - a pair of black boots with ominous-looking buckles rimming the edges - then his jeans, which had polished chains threaded into the belt loops. Jerry groaned internally. What am I doing? He let out a breath he didn't even know he had been holding in, and lifted his head up, looking Jack dead in the eyes.
He had always heard his mother say that somebody's eyes were the window to their soul, and behind Jack's, he saw a devil in a human's body, completely consumed and dominated by anger and rage. Jack narrowed his eyes at him and Jerry desperately tried to make his feet move, but it was like roots had snaked up from the ground and entombed his feet.
Jerry swallowed hard as Jack kept staring at him, observing, not saying a word to him. Jerry noticed the anger had started to fade away in his eyes, but he had a feeling that today wasn't the only time he was going to see the raging beast inside Jack's body. He suddenly realized he'd been staring at Jack's chest. His muscles were straining against a black long-sleeved shirt, rising and falling steadily as he breathed in and out.
The sound of the bell screeching throughout the halls had never sounded so good before. Jerry felt himself stumble backwards as his trance was shattered and Jack turned around, walking off down the hallway, pushing open the fire exit. To his relief, he saw Kim running towards him.
"Sorry about earlier," she apologized, coming to an abrupt halt in front of him. "Survival 101 around here," she said, briefly glancing at where Jack had been stood.
"Couldn't have taken me with you?" Jerry asked, half-jokingly, half serious. He was just lucky he was smart enough to shut his mouth instead of running it like a marathon like usual, otherwise Jack probably would have murdered him.
Kim laughed. "Sorry," she apologized again. "I've gotta run for Science, I'll see you tomorrow." She headed off in the direction of the Science block, leaving Jerry alone in the hallway once more.
The final warning bell for lessons rang and Jerry ran down the hall to his Art class, not wanting to run into Jack again. With luck, he wouldn't have to see him until the next time he had a fight and practically the whole school - and the floor - bore witness to it.
Jerry made it through the door just as Mr. Rikert was pushing the door shut with his foot. He moved past him with a mumbled, "Sorry," and went to sit down at his desk.
"Tempus terunt discit perierat, Mr Martinez," Mr. Rikert muttered, closing the door and turning his attention to the black board which had a rough oval with different coloured lines chalked across it, each one marked; 'Eyes', 'Nose' and 'Mouth'.
Jerry shook his head and pulled out his textbook, still trying to understand why he needed one in Art. Mr Rikert was always saying odd things in Latin around the classroom; Jerry had a feeling nobody could actually understand him, which was probably why he got frustrated easily.
"Okay class, take out your books and turn to page-" Mr. Rikert stopped talking as the door opened and turned around, quickly turning back to the board again. "Mr. Brewer, you're late," he said is disdain, altering a few obituary lines, without looking at him.
Jerry's head shot up so fast he nearly got whiplash. Jack's in my class?! he thought in horror, then his eyes trailed to the empty seat next to him. It was the only one un-occupied, which meant Jack would have to sit there.
Suddenly everything that had happened to him in the past few weeks didn't matter; having to sit next to the school's resident bad-boy - possibly criminal - with toxic anger topped everything.
Although, studying Jack discreetly, he seemed to have calmed down considerably, only Jerry didn't know what would set him off. It was like a lit stick of dynamite that was waiting to explode, just hiding the devastation it would cause until it was too late.
"By three minutes," Jack said in a bored sounding voice, checking his watch. "It's not the end of the world," he added with a sneer at Mr. Rikert's back, his fingers twitched by his side. Jerry was half expecting him to throw something, but he didn't.
"Just take your seat, Jack," Mr. Rikert all-but barked at him.
Jack made a violent gesture in mid-air behind Mr. Rikert's back - violent enough to make several people gasp or in the weaker kids' case, shoot underneath their desks - before turning around and walking towards his seat. His dark eyes glinted dangerously when they saw Jerry and he tried to ignore the slight shiver of fear creeping up his spine as Jack sat down.
The smell of smoke and wood pine drifted up his nostrils like an intoxicating drug. In his light haze, Jerry now knew why Jack was late and where he had gone. Dangerous images swirled across his brain. Jack probably still had his lighter in his pocket.
He opened his text book, dropping his eyes to a random page, trying to ignore the boy next to him, but he could feel Jack's eyes scrutinizing him, making his body flush with heat. He turned around to tell Jack to stop, but the boy wasn't looking at him, he was absent-mindedly twiddling a pencil between his fingers.
Good that isn't sharp, Jerry thought suddenly, wondering if Jack was thinking about stabbing anybody who was in this room that had wronged him in some way.
"So, what's your name?" He realized Jack was talking to him and snapped out of his reverie. He didn't want Jack to know. "I saw you staring at me in the hallway," he said and Jerry was lucky Jack was turned away as a blush filled his entire face.
He turned his attention back to his textbook - not caring if he was on the wrong page or not - just as Jack's fingers rested on the desk and his head jerked slightly.
"Aww, what's wrong?" Jack's voice was right at his ear and Jerry had to try not to jump from his hot, cigarette-smoked, breath on his skin. "Gone all shy?" he teased him, making Jerry bite the inside of his cheek and furiously flip to a page about the different uses of the different types of brushes. "I'm not some monster that hides under your bed you know," he chuckled.
Are you sure about that? Jerry thought about saying, but luckily those words didn't come out of his mouth. He was sure Jack would murder him if he had said that. And he was too young to die.
"Jack, stop terrorizing my new student," Mr. Rikert scolded him, sounding like a broken record. Jerry didn't even need to look up to know that Mr. Rikert wasn't even looking at Jack.
"This isn't terrorizing," Jack said, flipping Mr. Rikert off behind his back. "Terrorizing would be if I threw him out the window." His tone sounded a little too merry and Jerry's eyes widened and his head snapped around so fast he felt like he had broken his neck. Jack just winked at him, making him swallow hard.
"That's enough Jack," Mr. Rikert said in a much sharper tone, finally turning around, slamming the chalk on the little stand underneath the frame of the board. "One more comment like that, and you'll be out of this school faster than you can spell your own name," he threatened. Jerry seriously doubted he would do it, and Jack was already challenging him.
"J-a-c-k-B-r-e-w-e-r," he spelled out, drawing each letter out slowly while Mr. Rikert's face slowly became taken aback. "Oh look," Jack said, looking around in mock surprise. "I'm still here, still in your lesson and still sat at my desk," he said smugly.
Jerry tried desperately to hold back his laughter as Mr. Rikert's jaw quivered in anger and he turned around briefly take a breath, facing the class with a bland face, avoiding eye-contact with a smirking and victorious Jack. Jerry could tell Mr. Rikert wasn't used to students challenging him if Jack had been suspended as long as Kim said he had.
"Alright class, on with the lesson," Mr. Rikert said through several deep breaths, his fist clenched tightly around the piece of chalk. "Now, have I got everyone's permission slips so they can watch the video about drawing the human body?" he asked.
"What's the point of a slip?" Jack asked loudly, not bothering to put his hand up. "It's not like it's the only time we're gonna see a person naked, I mean come on!" he said in exasperation. "What'd you think goes on the boys' locker room after P.E?" he smirked.
Jerry's snicker exploded from his mouth at that one and several boys, particularly the larger framed one's that looked like they ate elephant's for breakfast, shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
Mr. Rikert's face went red. "Jack that's enough!" he yelled, silence falling over the room. "Go straight to the Headmistress's office," he demanded.
Jack rolled his eyes and reached under the table for his bag. "Oooh you monster," he said sarcastically as he stood up, heading for the door. "I'm so scared of the old bat." He slammed the door shut with a sour look on his face.
Jerry heard a loud clang a few feet away and Mr. Rikert rolled his eyes. There was something about Jack that wasn't right, Jerry knew that much. The teachers just seemed more content to brush his problems and him under the rug at every opportunity they got.
"Glad that's over," Mr. Rikert said with a small smile and he began walking around the classroom to collect everyone's video permission slips.
Jerry felt his being pulled from his hand, but his mind wasn't on that right now, never mind the fact that they were only watching a video on how to draw the human - albeit the person was naked - body. Jack was, and the thought wouldn't leave him alone.
The bell finally rang, interrupting Mr. Rikert's constant droning about proportion. Jerry straightened and furiously scrubbed at the darkened guidelines of what was supposed to be a man's face, chucking his books into his bag and following the crowd out the door, ignoring Mr. Rikert's call about the homework.
Jerry got to his locker and began emptying it, leaving nothing for the cleaners to find and 'donate'. He had already lost a pair of good quality headphones to their thieving hands.
"So, how're you liking Seaford High so far?" a familiar voice asked from behind him.
Jerry turned around, slightly confused as to why Jack was at his locker bothering him. He would have thought he would have wanted to get home as soon as possible - he was half expecting him to bunk off after being sent to the Headmistress' Office - after the day he had had.
"It's alright." He crammed his text books into his bag. "I'd like it a whole lot better if you weren't bothering me," Jerry said, instantly wishing he hadn't, visions of the blond boy's bloodied face flashing across his mind.
Luckily, Jack didn't make so much as a move to attack him, and sarcastically said, "Ouch, I'm wounded," whilst putting a hand over his chest. "So, what's your name? I never did catch it before Rikert sent me out," he said with a look of disdain on his face.
"Why do you wanna know?" Jerry asked, shutting his locker and turning around, only to be greeted with the smell of smoked cigarette's again, but much stronger than the first time. Jack obviously didn't go to the Headmistress' Office.
"I'll start then. I'm Jack," he smirked, extending his hand in fake enthusiasm before withdrawing it.
Jerry looked at where his hand had been, drawing his eyes up towards Jack's. The beast seemed to be at bay for now, but he could see it lurking, just waiting to pounce at the slightest thing that irritated him. Jerry wouldn't admit this, but talking to Jack was both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.
"Oh I've heard quite a bit about you, Jack," Jerry said.
"That's all rumors," Jack said lightly, folding his arms.
"Really?" Jerry asked him, raising an eyebrow, realising with a sick jolt the boy's blood stains were still across the floor, only dried and brown.
Jack followed his eyes and then looked back with a dangerous grin. "Okay, maybe not all of it," he said. "So, what's your name then? I've told you mine, if you don't tell me yours, it'd be pretty rude," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly.
Jerry was frozen on the spot for a moment. He didn't want Jack knowing his name in case he made him angry and he ended up hunting him down and spilling his blood over the floor, but he felt his mouth moving anyway. "It's Jerry," he said quietly, but Jack still heard him, his face taking on a pleased smile.
"Huh, nice name for a pretty boy." He reached out lightly dragged the backs of his knuckles over the soft skin of Jerry's cheek, making him shudder.
"Jack..." his voice trailed off in surprise. How could someone with the ferocity of a wild tiger and a fuse shorter than that of a firework be so gentle? It only made him more wary to know that Jack could choke him in a second and not feel bad about it.
He tensed and Jack noticed. "You know what you need, Jerry?" he asked silkily, his lips ghosting over Jerry's, making his breath hitch and his limbs go weak. "To lighten up a bit."
The next thing Jerry knew, was that a pair of soft lips were encasing his. He felt the actually kiss before his brain actually processed it. But when he started to think about it, Jack was kissing him slightly harder and his hands were keeping him pinned to the locker, sure to make handprints on his shoulders. Jerry got the impression that if they weren't at school, there would be clothes flying.
Gingerly, Jerry kissed Jack back, unsure of why he was doing it instead of pushing him away, the situation taking a different turn. He moaned quietly as he became drugged by the strangely enriching taste of nicotine as Jack became content trying to devour every inch of him...
...Then it stopped; suddenly and abruptly.
Jerry brought a hand up to his mouth, prodding at them while Jack studied him smugly, his hands now in his pockets. What the heck had just happened?! "You just-Why would you just-?" he stopped himself from talking before he ended up babbling like a madman, his eyes flitting around desperately trying to find something to distract him.
He did. A patch of dried blood on Jack's shirt. "Please tell me that's your blood," he asked weakly through his haze.
Jack pulled his shirt away from his body, glancing at the blood-stain nonchalantly. "Whatever helps you sleep at night," he grinned. "Later, Jerry."
Jerry watched, stunned into silence, as Jack walked down the hallway, following the masses trying to squeeze through the double doors to get home. It wasn't a surprise that Jack had kissed him, or that Jack was another guy, it was more of a surprise that Jack had been the one to kiss him.
"What was that all about?" he heard a fuzzy voice asking. Fingers then began sliding up and down his eyes, Jerry was still too shocked to focus. "Jerry!" Kim yelled in his ear, making him jump back a few steps.
"Wha-?!" He shook his head, seeing Kim look like she had just seen two of the teachers kissing each other.
"Did Jack just..." she trailed off, a look of complete bewilderment on her face, shaking her head. "Kiss you?!" she asked incredulously.
Jerry groaned. He had a feeling that his life was about to get a lot crazier, especially if a certain Jack Brewer was involved.
Don't worry, if any of you are confused, there's a method to Jack's madness... that I will not be revealing early on. ;) I've even got myself wondering about Jack's brother and the teacher, and I wrote the chapter. :D
