I'll Give Ya Four Fingers- James' New Job and Riley's Escape
Dedicated to: Ms. A- Not that you'll read this, but you were a great History teacher
Disclaimer: No one owns the characters not made up by us, but if someone does, it, sadly, is not us. So, anyway………………………………………………………………………
Authors' Note: This is a story about Higher Ground, obviously. Um, basically what will be happening is that there will be four new people coming to Mt. Horizon. Three of them are students that will become Cliffhangers and the other one will become the counselor for the Cliffhangers. They need a new counselor because Sophie miraculously became pregnant and is now nearing the last stages of pregnancy. Oh, yes, and Peter and Sophie got married. It is the middle of the first semester of senior year for the Cliffhangers. Well, now that we got that out of the way, we can begin. Oops, oh, yeah, there are 81 dots (in the Disclaimer^) incase you are wondering.
"OOH, and don't forget my yogurt, and make sure we have plenty of ketchup, I can't eat my yogurt without ketchup." Sophie yelled to Peter as he headed for the door.
Peter laughed to himself as he got in the car. It was true what they say; pregnant women did have strange habits. But Sophie would just have to wait a little while; he had an interview for the substitute counselor.
As he drove towards Horizon he thought about how lucky he was. The doctors said it defied all logic, but Peter called it a miracle,. Somehow, by the grace of God, Sophie was pregnant, and their baby was healthy. He just prayed to God everyday thanking him for this little miracle. Peter was smiling all the way to his office, and then he noticed a woman inside.
"That's funny," Peter said to himself. "I was sure I was going to be interviewing a man." Peter just shrugged his shoulders and walked into his office.
A slim woman of about 5'5" stood up to shake Peter's hand. She had long blonde hair that went a little past her shoulders, and blue eyes.
"Hello," the woman said. "I'm James Alexander."
"Oh, I'm Peter Scarbarow. Uh, you can just call me Peter." Peter said as he sat down behind his desk. "You know, it's funny, Sophie and I thought you were a man by your name. Anyway, let's get to business. My wife, Sophie, has a group called the Cliffhangers, but seeing as she is eight and a half months pregnant, I don't think it's a good idea for her to be tromping around in the woods. Now, I could Roger or myself with them, but she'll be out for a while, so that won't work. So, you will sort of be like her substitute. Um, so I'll be needing your credentials, and maybe you could tell me a little about yourself."
James smiled at him. "Okay, well I was an eighth grade History teacher for three years. Uh, then, I started to work with the Juvenile Outreach Program. They shut that down, and now I would like to do something along the same lines, so I saw your ad, and sent in my resume. I got your letter saying you would like to meet me, and here I am."
Peter was flipping through her folder. "Um, are you married?"
James looked at Peter as though he were crazy. "I need to know, so I can see what, um, difficulties we might have to go through."
"Oh," James said nodding. "Well, you don't have to worry. The only man in my life right now is my dog, Sherman."
"Okay," Peter said smiling. "I'll call you sometime this weekend. Thank you for coming down."
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James smiled at Peter and then left. She ran into a blonde girl on her way out.
"Excuse you," the blonde girl said to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry," James said brushing it off.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The blonde girl demanded, clearly not willing to brush off the minor incident.
James didn't really think she should answer this girl's questions if she was going to be so rude. But she did anyway. "I'm James Alexander, and I am here to be interviewed for the position of the new counselor."
"For what group?" The girl said impatiently.
"The Cliffhangers, now if you will excuse me."
"WHAT?" The girl spat out her words with venom. "What about Sophie?"
"Well, from what I understand, she's a little too deep into her pregnancy to be doing this job."
"Well, that's just GREAT, isn't it!" The blonde girl shot James a look of death and stomped off.
James shook her head and then jumped when she saw Peter was standing in the hallway.
Peter smiled at her. "That's Shelby, she's a Cliffhanger."
"Oh, fun," James said as she imagined the great time they would have if she got the job.
"Yeah, well, don't worry, after a while she'll warm up to you," Peter said smiling.
"Yeah, IF I get the job." James said with a laugh.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Peter said smiling as her eyes met his,
James couldn't help but jump up and down in excitement. She really wanted this job; she loved working with teenagers who needed help. This was her last chance before she went back to teaching eighth grade, and she had nailed it. She smiled back at Peter who seemed amused by her giddiness. "Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me."
"Well, you're welcome. I'm glad to see you're excited about this. Now, all we have to do is get you moved into a cabin nearby. That is, unless you have a place already."
"Oh, actually, I was just wondering about that myself. I'm staying at a hotel right now."
"Well then, go get all your stuff, and come back here. We'll get you set up Do you think you'll be able to start work Monday?"
"Of course, um do you have like a 'New Counselors Guide' or something?"
"Well, I was starting to work on it, but I will have it done before Monday."
"Well then, I will be going now." James smiled as she walked to her car. She couldn't believe her luck.
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Peter smiled as he watched James go. She would certainly be a refreshing new addition to the staff All he had to do was give her a few packets of instructions and he was sure she could be just as good as Sophie. Peter shook his head in frustration as he remembered all the other stuff he had to do today. He did a mental scan and decided typing up these packets was the number one priority. However, he also really needed to go to the store. He went through all the counselors in his head, but all of them would be too busy to go to the store for him. There was only one option. It wasn't a very good option, but at least he had one. Sighing, he wrote down the list of groceries and grabbed some money and the keys to the Ford. He shook his head as he walked outside, he couldn't believe he was actually going to do this. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.
He was hit by a males voice the second he walked outside. "Hey Peter!" the voice behind him called.
Peter turned around to find the familiar blonde seventeen-year-old he knew and loved. "Scott man, what's up?"
"Is somebody really replacing Sophie?"
"Well, she's not exactly 'replacing' Sophie. She's just filling in for a while. "
"I can't believe this. You know I thought you stopped the slut-counselor line up with Sophie."
"Scott, what are you talking about, there have only been two Cliffhanger counselors that you have known."
"Yeah, and Sophie is the only one that wasn't a skank. I bet this one will be worse than Hannah."
"Scott, you know you have no right to judge someone you haven't even met. Besides, Hannah wasn't a whore, and I will not let you talk about her as such."
"Whatever man, whatever." Scott said through clenched teeth as he stormed away.
"Real smooth Peter real smooth." Shelby said softly from behind Peter.
"Look Shelby, I don't have time for this. Don't you owe me a punishment anyway?"
"Yeah, Roger told me to report to you, and then a ran into Sophie's new replacement."
"Sophie is not being replaced! Look, Shelby you in Scott are both in trouble, so I have volunteered you for something."
The smirk on Shelby's face disappeared. "Oh God, don't tell me you have some new form of punishment."
"Actually, I do, but this is a one time only thing, and I am counting on you to be responsible and follow the rules of Mt. Horizon."
"Are you going to tell me what this great punishment is, or am I gonna have to guess." Shelby said with her famous tone of sarcasm.
"Go get Scott, and meet me at the truck, and hurry, I don't have time for you two to screw around.
"Okay fine then." Shelby said as she bounded off to get Scott.
Peter sighed a sigh of relief, he didn't want to go send Scott and Shelby to get groceries, but he had no other choice. He was pondering if there was any possible way he could go instead when a black Porsche drove up.
"Shit," Peter said to himself. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about the two new additions that were supposed to arrive today. Now there was no way Peter could get away with getting the groceries himself
"Peter," Shelby said as she walked up behind him with Scott following.
"Great. Now look both of you I am serious, you are both on the honor system in a major way." Peter rummaged around in his pocket and grabbed the keys, list, and money. He handed the list and the money to Shelby and the keys to Scott. Even with all his disdain Peter knew he had no choice. He didn't really worry though. Shelby wouldn't let Scott leave, and Scott wouldn't let things with Shelby go to far. "I need you to get everything on that list. You can get one coke each, as a reward, but don't tell anyone, and make sure it doesn't affect your actions. I trust you, but I will need to see the receipt. Once you're done take all the groceries to my house. Please help Sophie put it up, and don't tell her I sent you to the grocery store, just that I had you take it to her. This is your punishment because I don't have any way to go, and there aren't any counselors available, so respect that I am letting you both off easy, and don't let me down."
Scott gave Peter a smile. "Geez Peter of all your punishments, this is the worse. Maybe we should get some other sweet things as well, like candy or something."
"Scott," Peter said with a sever look on his face. Then he shook his head. "Fine, but remember I trust both of you."
"Great then, I guess will be going before you decide this punishment is too easy, er, hard I mean." Shelby said and forced Scott into the truck.
"Don't worry," Scott yelled as drove off. But Peter wasn't really worried anyway.
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Riley scowled as Johnathan the Chauffer stood in front of her. He was holding the door for her, as if he honestly expected her to willingly get out of the car.
"Riley!" Her mother yelled angrily through gritted teeth.
"What?" she replied her anger rivaling her mother's.
"Get out of the car. NOW!"
"Gladly, I wouldn't want to be in HIS car anyway." Riley stormed out of the car and planted herself ten feet away from it.
"Come on Riley. Let's not draw this out any longer than we have to."
"Well, gosh Mom, I just love spending time with you. Why would I want to end this?"
"So I can go home and spend time with my 'wounded' husband."
"Well, unfortunately, he won't be wounded for long. And once he gets better he won't be spending time with you. No, he'll be spending it with Cynth…"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Her mother interrupted as she slapped Riley.
Riley's face stung and she could tell her mother's palm wasn't in any better shape. Riley stared death into her mother and silently prided herself on not flinching. Her mother shook her head. "Riley, Henry didn't do what you think he did, and he is not out to get you."
"Not anymore, no, now he's out to get Cynthia. Are you blind Mother? I mean honestly."
"You little wh…" Riley's Mother began as a tallish man with brown hair walked over towards them.
"Hello, I'm Peter Scarbarow. I run Mt. Horizon."
"Hello Mr. Scarbarow, I'm Martha Lyle, and this is my daughter Riley Lyle…"
"RAINES," Riley said shaking her head. " I would never use 'his' last name."
"Legally though dear." Her mother added trying to sound like a REAL mother.
"Bullshit, he hasn't adopted me yet."
"And he won't ever. I wouldn't want to either." Martha replied frustrated. Then she looked at Peter who it seemed was taking it all in. "I don't know what to do with her anymore…"
"Oh, I've got one, maybe believe me." Riley yelled at her mother.
Martha sneered at Riley then looked at Peter. "I don't want anything to do with her, she's in your hands now. Johnathan! Remove Ms. Raines bags, and then we're leaving!"
"Yes Mrs. Lyle," Johnathan replied obediently. Not five seconds later, they were off.
Riley silently watched the car leave. She jumped when Peter put his hand on her shoulder.
"Shit," she yelled at him. "You can't go around scaring people." Riley pretended to be annoyed at Peter, but she was really scolding herself for showing weakness.
"Yeah, well, you can't go around using profanity." Peter replied. "Come one, we have a lot of stuff to do before you can get settled in."
Peter grabbed her bags and then called to Roger, who took Riley through the drill. After talking for a minute both Peter and Roger decided it would be good for James to have a new kid in the group with her. So, just like that Riley became a Cliffhanger, and just like that, Riley's whole world changed
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Scott bobbed his head along to the song. Shelby looked over at him and couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" Scott asked pretending to be hurt.
"You're so cute," Shelby replied laughing.
"Well, we finally get to get out and listen to some actual music, and I'm gonna have some fun with it."
"I didn't say you shouldn't."
"Yeah, well, you made fun of me." Scott replied with his famous brooding look engraved on his face.
Shelby laughed as they turned into the parking lot of the store. Ever since Scott had said he loved her, Shelby had been in a much better mood. Scott parked the car, well in theory, it looked more like he just picked a place and stopped the car.
Shelby reached for the door handle when Scott stopped her. "Don't. Hold on a second," Scott said excitedly. He cut the engine, pulled the keys out and raced over to Shelby's side of the truck. Shelby smiled in amusement as Scott held the door open for her.
Scott gave her his hand as she got down. In return, Shelby gave him a small peck on the cheek. As they began walking Scott slid his hand in Shelby's back jean pocket, and Shelby did the same. Shelby was comfortable. Everything was great. She had Scott and he gave her everything she needed: love, comfort, support, and security. Nope, nothing could go wrong.
When they entered the store one of the store clerks looked at Scott and Shelby. The look on her face said she thought it should be her with Scott instead of Shelby. In response Shelby gave Scott a kiss. Shelby was ready to let go, satisfied by the look on the clerk's face but Scott held on to Shelby.
"Excuse me," the clerk said pretending she was on her way to go do something.
Scott and Shelby broke off their kiss and moved over still holding hands. Then Scott did a double take on the clerk.
"Lila?" he said with a confused look on his face.
The girl twirled around. Her face should she was in a pissy mood. "Scott."
Shelby tensed up. This was not good, the girl was really pretty, and it looked like Scott and Lila had some sparks between them. Scott must have felt Shelby tense up because he put a muscular arm around her shoulders. Shelby began to ease up a little.
"What are you doing down here?" Scott asked her.
"I could ask you the same question. I mean, aren't you supposed to be in rehab or something. Or was it Juvie? That's where I would have put you."
"Whatever Li, what's up your ass?"
"Mine? You're the one who said you loved me. Then all of a sudden you're gone. Then I found out you were two timing me with your step-mom."
Shelby saw Scott losing his cool. But when he looked over at Shelby he began to simmer down. "Yeah Li, I did her too. As well as Jenny, Jessie, Bailey, LeAnn, Sarah, Melissa, oh yeah, and your best friend, I forget her name, I must have been too high. I just said I loved you 'cause I needed some. But…" Scott said looking at Shelby. "I've changed. I don't do anything like that anymore, I don't need to."
Even though Shelby was a little angry at the way Scott went down the list of his conquests she smiled at that last comment.
Lila, however, didn't seem to take it to well. She took a step towards Scott and slapped him across the face. Scott just smirked at her unaffected. So Lila turned to Shelby. "He may say he loves you now, but it won't last. As soon as he gets you in bed, he's done with you, and then he'll move onto your sister, or your best friend, or probably your mom as well. Obviously older women do something for h…"
Shelby wasn't about to stand here and take this. She slapped Lila across the face not caring about any consequences. Her palm stung so she used her other hand to grab Scott's and led him to the refrigerated section of the store. Neither one of them said anything to the other. That little confrontation had affected them both on levels no one could understand.
Finally when they got to the last thing on the list Scott spoke up. "You know I love you Shelby." As soon as he said it he looked down at his feet. He looked like a little boy whose parents had just said they were disappointed. He looked, shattered.
"I know," Shelby said as she threw three things of ketchup in the shopping cart. Scott looked up a little and his whole face was lit up. He wrapped Shelby up in his arms. And once again, Shelby felt that wonderful feeling of being protected. They stayed there like that for a while until Scott finally moved away, holding on to Shelby's hand, but Shelby was still bathed in his warmth. She had said it before, and she would say it again: Nothing could screw this up.
Authors' Note: We hope you have enjoyed the beginning to our story. We know it is starting off a little slow, but as soon as everyone gets here, things will fly, literally. Well, please tell us what you think through reviews. Just one little review, with just one little word would make us happy. So, please, tell us what you think, if you would like to know more feel free to e-mail us at the_fruit_and_the_duck@hotmail.com
Thanks For Reading,
Signed the fruit
Also signed the duck
Dedicated to: Ms. A- Not that you'll read this, but you were a great History teacher
Disclaimer: No one owns the characters not made up by us, but if someone does, it, sadly, is not us. So, anyway………………………………………………………………………
Authors' Note: This is a story about Higher Ground, obviously. Um, basically what will be happening is that there will be four new people coming to Mt. Horizon. Three of them are students that will become Cliffhangers and the other one will become the counselor for the Cliffhangers. They need a new counselor because Sophie miraculously became pregnant and is now nearing the last stages of pregnancy. Oh, yes, and Peter and Sophie got married. It is the middle of the first semester of senior year for the Cliffhangers. Well, now that we got that out of the way, we can begin. Oops, oh, yeah, there are 81 dots (in the Disclaimer^) incase you are wondering.
"OOH, and don't forget my yogurt, and make sure we have plenty of ketchup, I can't eat my yogurt without ketchup." Sophie yelled to Peter as he headed for the door.
Peter laughed to himself as he got in the car. It was true what they say; pregnant women did have strange habits. But Sophie would just have to wait a little while; he had an interview for the substitute counselor.
As he drove towards Horizon he thought about how lucky he was. The doctors said it defied all logic, but Peter called it a miracle,. Somehow, by the grace of God, Sophie was pregnant, and their baby was healthy. He just prayed to God everyday thanking him for this little miracle. Peter was smiling all the way to his office, and then he noticed a woman inside.
"That's funny," Peter said to himself. "I was sure I was going to be interviewing a man." Peter just shrugged his shoulders and walked into his office.
A slim woman of about 5'5" stood up to shake Peter's hand. She had long blonde hair that went a little past her shoulders, and blue eyes.
"Hello," the woman said. "I'm James Alexander."
"Oh, I'm Peter Scarbarow. Uh, you can just call me Peter." Peter said as he sat down behind his desk. "You know, it's funny, Sophie and I thought you were a man by your name. Anyway, let's get to business. My wife, Sophie, has a group called the Cliffhangers, but seeing as she is eight and a half months pregnant, I don't think it's a good idea for her to be tromping around in the woods. Now, I could Roger or myself with them, but she'll be out for a while, so that won't work. So, you will sort of be like her substitute. Um, so I'll be needing your credentials, and maybe you could tell me a little about yourself."
James smiled at him. "Okay, well I was an eighth grade History teacher for three years. Uh, then, I started to work with the Juvenile Outreach Program. They shut that down, and now I would like to do something along the same lines, so I saw your ad, and sent in my resume. I got your letter saying you would like to meet me, and here I am."
Peter was flipping through her folder. "Um, are you married?"
James looked at Peter as though he were crazy. "I need to know, so I can see what, um, difficulties we might have to go through."
"Oh," James said nodding. "Well, you don't have to worry. The only man in my life right now is my dog, Sherman."
"Okay," Peter said smiling. "I'll call you sometime this weekend. Thank you for coming down."
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James smiled at Peter and then left. She ran into a blonde girl on her way out.
"Excuse you," the blonde girl said to her.
"Oh, I'm sorry," James said brushing it off.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" The blonde girl demanded, clearly not willing to brush off the minor incident.
James didn't really think she should answer this girl's questions if she was going to be so rude. But she did anyway. "I'm James Alexander, and I am here to be interviewed for the position of the new counselor."
"For what group?" The girl said impatiently.
"The Cliffhangers, now if you will excuse me."
"WHAT?" The girl spat out her words with venom. "What about Sophie?"
"Well, from what I understand, she's a little too deep into her pregnancy to be doing this job."
"Well, that's just GREAT, isn't it!" The blonde girl shot James a look of death and stomped off.
James shook her head and then jumped when she saw Peter was standing in the hallway.
Peter smiled at her. "That's Shelby, she's a Cliffhanger."
"Oh, fun," James said as she imagined the great time they would have if she got the job.
"Yeah, well, don't worry, after a while she'll warm up to you," Peter said smiling.
"Yeah, IF I get the job." James said with a laugh.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Peter said smiling as her eyes met his,
James couldn't help but jump up and down in excitement. She really wanted this job; she loved working with teenagers who needed help. This was her last chance before she went back to teaching eighth grade, and she had nailed it. She smiled back at Peter who seemed amused by her giddiness. "Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me."
"Well, you're welcome. I'm glad to see you're excited about this. Now, all we have to do is get you moved into a cabin nearby. That is, unless you have a place already."
"Oh, actually, I was just wondering about that myself. I'm staying at a hotel right now."
"Well then, go get all your stuff, and come back here. We'll get you set up Do you think you'll be able to start work Monday?"
"Of course, um do you have like a 'New Counselors Guide' or something?"
"Well, I was starting to work on it, but I will have it done before Monday."
"Well then, I will be going now." James smiled as she walked to her car. She couldn't believe her luck.
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Peter smiled as he watched James go. She would certainly be a refreshing new addition to the staff All he had to do was give her a few packets of instructions and he was sure she could be just as good as Sophie. Peter shook his head in frustration as he remembered all the other stuff he had to do today. He did a mental scan and decided typing up these packets was the number one priority. However, he also really needed to go to the store. He went through all the counselors in his head, but all of them would be too busy to go to the store for him. There was only one option. It wasn't a very good option, but at least he had one. Sighing, he wrote down the list of groceries and grabbed some money and the keys to the Ford. He shook his head as he walked outside, he couldn't believe he was actually going to do this. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.
He was hit by a males voice the second he walked outside. "Hey Peter!" the voice behind him called.
Peter turned around to find the familiar blonde seventeen-year-old he knew and loved. "Scott man, what's up?"
"Is somebody really replacing Sophie?"
"Well, she's not exactly 'replacing' Sophie. She's just filling in for a while. "
"I can't believe this. You know I thought you stopped the slut-counselor line up with Sophie."
"Scott, what are you talking about, there have only been two Cliffhanger counselors that you have known."
"Yeah, and Sophie is the only one that wasn't a skank. I bet this one will be worse than Hannah."
"Scott, you know you have no right to judge someone you haven't even met. Besides, Hannah wasn't a whore, and I will not let you talk about her as such."
"Whatever man, whatever." Scott said through clenched teeth as he stormed away.
"Real smooth Peter real smooth." Shelby said softly from behind Peter.
"Look Shelby, I don't have time for this. Don't you owe me a punishment anyway?"
"Yeah, Roger told me to report to you, and then a ran into Sophie's new replacement."
"Sophie is not being replaced! Look, Shelby you in Scott are both in trouble, so I have volunteered you for something."
The smirk on Shelby's face disappeared. "Oh God, don't tell me you have some new form of punishment."
"Actually, I do, but this is a one time only thing, and I am counting on you to be responsible and follow the rules of Mt. Horizon."
"Are you going to tell me what this great punishment is, or am I gonna have to guess." Shelby said with her famous tone of sarcasm.
"Go get Scott, and meet me at the truck, and hurry, I don't have time for you two to screw around.
"Okay fine then." Shelby said as she bounded off to get Scott.
Peter sighed a sigh of relief, he didn't want to go send Scott and Shelby to get groceries, but he had no other choice. He was pondering if there was any possible way he could go instead when a black Porsche drove up.
"Shit," Peter said to himself. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about the two new additions that were supposed to arrive today. Now there was no way Peter could get away with getting the groceries himself
"Peter," Shelby said as she walked up behind him with Scott following.
"Great. Now look both of you I am serious, you are both on the honor system in a major way." Peter rummaged around in his pocket and grabbed the keys, list, and money. He handed the list and the money to Shelby and the keys to Scott. Even with all his disdain Peter knew he had no choice. He didn't really worry though. Shelby wouldn't let Scott leave, and Scott wouldn't let things with Shelby go to far. "I need you to get everything on that list. You can get one coke each, as a reward, but don't tell anyone, and make sure it doesn't affect your actions. I trust you, but I will need to see the receipt. Once you're done take all the groceries to my house. Please help Sophie put it up, and don't tell her I sent you to the grocery store, just that I had you take it to her. This is your punishment because I don't have any way to go, and there aren't any counselors available, so respect that I am letting you both off easy, and don't let me down."
Scott gave Peter a smile. "Geez Peter of all your punishments, this is the worse. Maybe we should get some other sweet things as well, like candy or something."
"Scott," Peter said with a sever look on his face. Then he shook his head. "Fine, but remember I trust both of you."
"Great then, I guess will be going before you decide this punishment is too easy, er, hard I mean." Shelby said and forced Scott into the truck.
"Don't worry," Scott yelled as drove off. But Peter wasn't really worried anyway.
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Riley scowled as Johnathan the Chauffer stood in front of her. He was holding the door for her, as if he honestly expected her to willingly get out of the car.
"Riley!" Her mother yelled angrily through gritted teeth.
"What?" she replied her anger rivaling her mother's.
"Get out of the car. NOW!"
"Gladly, I wouldn't want to be in HIS car anyway." Riley stormed out of the car and planted herself ten feet away from it.
"Come on Riley. Let's not draw this out any longer than we have to."
"Well, gosh Mom, I just love spending time with you. Why would I want to end this?"
"So I can go home and spend time with my 'wounded' husband."
"Well, unfortunately, he won't be wounded for long. And once he gets better he won't be spending time with you. No, he'll be spending it with Cynth…"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Her mother interrupted as she slapped Riley.
Riley's face stung and she could tell her mother's palm wasn't in any better shape. Riley stared death into her mother and silently prided herself on not flinching. Her mother shook her head. "Riley, Henry didn't do what you think he did, and he is not out to get you."
"Not anymore, no, now he's out to get Cynthia. Are you blind Mother? I mean honestly."
"You little wh…" Riley's Mother began as a tallish man with brown hair walked over towards them.
"Hello, I'm Peter Scarbarow. I run Mt. Horizon."
"Hello Mr. Scarbarow, I'm Martha Lyle, and this is my daughter Riley Lyle…"
"RAINES," Riley said shaking her head. " I would never use 'his' last name."
"Legally though dear." Her mother added trying to sound like a REAL mother.
"Bullshit, he hasn't adopted me yet."
"And he won't ever. I wouldn't want to either." Martha replied frustrated. Then she looked at Peter who it seemed was taking it all in. "I don't know what to do with her anymore…"
"Oh, I've got one, maybe believe me." Riley yelled at her mother.
Martha sneered at Riley then looked at Peter. "I don't want anything to do with her, she's in your hands now. Johnathan! Remove Ms. Raines bags, and then we're leaving!"
"Yes Mrs. Lyle," Johnathan replied obediently. Not five seconds later, they were off.
Riley silently watched the car leave. She jumped when Peter put his hand on her shoulder.
"Shit," she yelled at him. "You can't go around scaring people." Riley pretended to be annoyed at Peter, but she was really scolding herself for showing weakness.
"Yeah, well, you can't go around using profanity." Peter replied. "Come one, we have a lot of stuff to do before you can get settled in."
Peter grabbed her bags and then called to Roger, who took Riley through the drill. After talking for a minute both Peter and Roger decided it would be good for James to have a new kid in the group with her. So, just like that Riley became a Cliffhanger, and just like that, Riley's whole world changed
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Scott bobbed his head along to the song. Shelby looked over at him and couldn't help but laugh.
"What?" Scott asked pretending to be hurt.
"You're so cute," Shelby replied laughing.
"Well, we finally get to get out and listen to some actual music, and I'm gonna have some fun with it."
"I didn't say you shouldn't."
"Yeah, well, you made fun of me." Scott replied with his famous brooding look engraved on his face.
Shelby laughed as they turned into the parking lot of the store. Ever since Scott had said he loved her, Shelby had been in a much better mood. Scott parked the car, well in theory, it looked more like he just picked a place and stopped the car.
Shelby reached for the door handle when Scott stopped her. "Don't. Hold on a second," Scott said excitedly. He cut the engine, pulled the keys out and raced over to Shelby's side of the truck. Shelby smiled in amusement as Scott held the door open for her.
Scott gave her his hand as she got down. In return, Shelby gave him a small peck on the cheek. As they began walking Scott slid his hand in Shelby's back jean pocket, and Shelby did the same. Shelby was comfortable. Everything was great. She had Scott and he gave her everything she needed: love, comfort, support, and security. Nope, nothing could go wrong.
When they entered the store one of the store clerks looked at Scott and Shelby. The look on her face said she thought it should be her with Scott instead of Shelby. In response Shelby gave Scott a kiss. Shelby was ready to let go, satisfied by the look on the clerk's face but Scott held on to Shelby.
"Excuse me," the clerk said pretending she was on her way to go do something.
Scott and Shelby broke off their kiss and moved over still holding hands. Then Scott did a double take on the clerk.
"Lila?" he said with a confused look on his face.
The girl twirled around. Her face should she was in a pissy mood. "Scott."
Shelby tensed up. This was not good, the girl was really pretty, and it looked like Scott and Lila had some sparks between them. Scott must have felt Shelby tense up because he put a muscular arm around her shoulders. Shelby began to ease up a little.
"What are you doing down here?" Scott asked her.
"I could ask you the same question. I mean, aren't you supposed to be in rehab or something. Or was it Juvie? That's where I would have put you."
"Whatever Li, what's up your ass?"
"Mine? You're the one who said you loved me. Then all of a sudden you're gone. Then I found out you were two timing me with your step-mom."
Shelby saw Scott losing his cool. But when he looked over at Shelby he began to simmer down. "Yeah Li, I did her too. As well as Jenny, Jessie, Bailey, LeAnn, Sarah, Melissa, oh yeah, and your best friend, I forget her name, I must have been too high. I just said I loved you 'cause I needed some. But…" Scott said looking at Shelby. "I've changed. I don't do anything like that anymore, I don't need to."
Even though Shelby was a little angry at the way Scott went down the list of his conquests she smiled at that last comment.
Lila, however, didn't seem to take it to well. She took a step towards Scott and slapped him across the face. Scott just smirked at her unaffected. So Lila turned to Shelby. "He may say he loves you now, but it won't last. As soon as he gets you in bed, he's done with you, and then he'll move onto your sister, or your best friend, or probably your mom as well. Obviously older women do something for h…"
Shelby wasn't about to stand here and take this. She slapped Lila across the face not caring about any consequences. Her palm stung so she used her other hand to grab Scott's and led him to the refrigerated section of the store. Neither one of them said anything to the other. That little confrontation had affected them both on levels no one could understand.
Finally when they got to the last thing on the list Scott spoke up. "You know I love you Shelby." As soon as he said it he looked down at his feet. He looked like a little boy whose parents had just said they were disappointed. He looked, shattered.
"I know," Shelby said as she threw three things of ketchup in the shopping cart. Scott looked up a little and his whole face was lit up. He wrapped Shelby up in his arms. And once again, Shelby felt that wonderful feeling of being protected. They stayed there like that for a while until Scott finally moved away, holding on to Shelby's hand, but Shelby was still bathed in his warmth. She had said it before, and she would say it again: Nothing could screw this up.
Authors' Note: We hope you have enjoyed the beginning to our story. We know it is starting off a little slow, but as soon as everyone gets here, things will fly, literally. Well, please tell us what you think through reviews. Just one little review, with just one little word would make us happy. So, please, tell us what you think, if you would like to know more feel free to e-mail us at the_fruit_and_the_duck@hotmail.com
Thanks For Reading,
Signed the fruit
Also signed the duck