This was inspired by my probably 123rd time watching Four Brothers. I honestly surprises me I haven't written a fanfic about the movie before. Chapter is intended to get to know the characters & scenery so its not all that exciting yet lol. This is before Evelyn's death (obviously). Let me know what you think! This site autocorrected all Canadian spellings I am personally offended but appreciative since the story is set in Michigan. You win some you lose some.
IS THERE SOMEWHERE
you ain't seen nothin' like me yet
CHAPTER ONE
The only light on in the apartment was a lamp shining from the living room but it illuminated the space enough for Valerie to take in the mess. Food and clothing were scattered around the floor, Valerie have to step over everything to leave the porch.
She sighed seeing a mixture of female and male clothes on the floor, no doubt giving away what Jack was up to. Valerie was just thankful they weren't loud; she had closed up at the diner tonight and just needed a rest, she had managed to resist the urge to clean the place up.
Jack walked out of his room only minutes later, shamelessly only in his boxers, a lazy grin on his face.
"Where's your girl?"
Jack shrugged. "She left."
Valerie took another glance at the floor, women's clothes laid down upon it. "Without her clothes?"
"She heard you come in and I told her that you were my girlfriend, she slapped me, but grabbed some of my clothes and jumped down the fire exit," Jack explained, laughing to himself. "We were done and I didn't want her ending up staying the night."
Valerie rolled her eyes, shoving past him. "You're disgusting. You're messy and you treat girls like shit."
"It's the rock star lifestyle, baby girl."
"You're the lead singer in a band that just plays gigs in shitty bars in Detroit, far from a rock star," Valerie said, an edge to her voice. "I don't even know why my brother insisted you room with me."
"His girlfriend hated me and kicked me out of his place." Jack said nonchalantly.
"I know but wasn't your mom's place a good option? Why me?"
Jack just shrugged. "Can't have my brothers thinking I still just mooch off Ma and you're alright, seemed like a good deal to me."
Valerie had been tired when she had stepped in the door but now just felt restless, stepping into the kitchen to grab a coffee and maybe avoid any further banter with Jack for the night.
It didn't happen that way, him stepping into the kitchen just after her. She continued to stay silent, putting the kettle on boil.
"Trust me, if he had warned me that you had become an uptight feminist know-it-all, I would've found somewhere else to stay."
His words were said with intent to piss her off, seemingly his favorite past time, and it always worked. Fire rushing through her veins but she tried to remain calm on the exterior.
"No you wouldn't," she placed a hand on her hip. "This is the cheapest rent by a long shot and you love me because I don't take your shit."
"You think you've got me all figured out." She glanced at him to see a teasing expression on his features, her own lips curling on the edges.
"Of course, bad boys like you are simple," she told him, half-jokingly but with complete sincerity in the words. "It's the nice ones you gotta watch out for. They're tricky."
Jack pulled out a chair from their dinner table, sitting on it so his chest was pressed against the wooden back and he was facing her.
"Okay, well tell me," he gave her a crooked grin. "What have you figured out about me?"
"It's just assumptions. You had a bad home life, which equals the brooding and the deep song writing. You use girls because you're afraid to bond and get hurt. You were treated like shit so that's where the violence comes in..." Jacks eyes flashed and Valerie quickly changed subjects. "You can cook because you spent a lot of time with your mom and got a feel for it. You tell girls straight up there's no strings attached because you have some respect for women and you know the disappointment your mother would feel if you manipulated them. Am I close?"
Jack was silent in his chair, brows furrowed in thought. The kettle went off and Valerie poured them both a coffee, keeping him in the corner of her eye.
She laid the mug down in front of him and he quickly swiveled in his chair as she took a seat next to him.
"You're very close," he told her, not mad, but intrigued. "How did you guess that much?"
Valerie laughed, amused by the faith he had in her. "I took psychology last semester but I also did spend an awful amount of time around you, you being my brothers best friend."
Jack took a sip of his coffee, scrunching his face up at the taste. It was black and he liked three sugar, he reached across her and grabbed the sugar packets.
"So you know all this shit about me but I know shit all about you." He still didn't seem angry, frustrated maybe.
"There's nothing to know. I'm not as interesting."
Jack seemed to ponder that for a moment before shaking his head. "Everyone's got a story and it's always a little interesting."
"Not mine," she said a little too quick, causing Jack to look even more curious. Valerie looked away from his bright eyes and down at her coffee, stirring it with her finger. "Grew up in Detroit, went to college. Not everyone's as cool as you, rock star. If I had some outstanding back story you'd know it after all these years."
"I'll figure you out, Valerie, you'll see."
Valerie bit her lip, nervously. The boy stood up, rummaging through the cupboards and Valerie didn't take her eyes off him. Analyzing the muscles and tattoos and the scruffy hair; no doubt attractive in the moody musician type. No one had ever taken the time to even know if she had a story, let alone want to hear it but he seemed sincere. She didn't want to tell anyone, anyway.
Jack pulled a bottle of whiskey out of the top cupboard, from the far back. Valerie wasn't even sure where it came from; she definitely didn't buy it, preferring wine coolers and martinis to anything slightly hard. Jack twisted it open and dumped more than enough of it into his coffee.
She raised a brow at the actions. "Rough night? I thought your earlier endeavors would have relieved the stress."
"Somewhat," he chuckled darkly. "But the band didn't play too well and the owners not inviting us back. Didn't help he paid us shit all for the gig, either."
"Sorry to hear that."
Jack shook his head brushing off her condolences immediately. It was a reflex she had also picked up on; he hated being pitied so he deflected it.
"It doesn't even matter," he said, "Eli's cousin is hooking us up with this producer friend he knows for a meeting. The same guy who signed The Black Keys."
"Amazing, I hope that works out so you can get the hell outta my apartment and I can get a sensible roommate." She teased, causing Jack to reciprocate with an eye roll.
"You'll miss me. You say I love you because you call me out on my shit - and maybe you're right - but you love me because of the same thing." Jack smirked and Valerie made a face back at him.
"Maybe you're right. But you're still a slob."
Jack just agreed but Valerie knew he would never change his ways. He stated that, again, being a slob was still part of his image. His image must suck.
"Can you drive us to our next gig tomorrow night?" Jack asked suddenly. "Your brother told me to ask you. Usually his girlfriend does it but she's in an anti-punk rock, anti-him playing in a band mood."
Valerie sighed, her brother's girlfriend was something else. "I really do not like her. I'll see about driving you, where is it?"
"Uh, Warren."
"The suburbs?" Valerie stifled a laugh. "What are you, playing our old high school's prom?"
"Homecoming."
"Amazing," Valerie shook her head. "Shit, you guys are really hitting it big."
"You laugh but they pay good money," Jack was just as amused as her. "Not looking forward to all the requests of She Will Be Loved, though."
"Your image will be destroyed. How can anyone take a punk slash alternative rock band seriously that plays Maroon 5 for high school dances?"
"Shut up," he said. "Can you drive us or not?"
Valerie nodded. "I can do more than drive you. I'm coming to see the show."
Jack groaned.
X X X
Stepping back into the doors of your old high school after two years of being graduated was surreal. Everything was the same, even some of the students but it still felt odd, like you no longer belong.
Nobody was impressed Valerie tagged along for the show. Not Jack, not Eli, not Cole, and definitely not Stef, her brother.
"You didn't have to do this, you know," Stef grunted as they unloaded her car with the band equipment. "You can go grab a bite to eat, go for a nice drive… you don't need to watch us play this school dance."
"I love watching you guys perform, you know that."
Stef stared at her blankly. "No you don't. You only come to our shows when I force you."
She grinned wickedly. "You're right, I don't. But I do want to see my punk brother rock out to Drop It like Its Hot."
"I hate you."
"Me too," Jack chimed in. "Can't you just leave? I don't want you to watch me sell-out."
"Wasn't aware you even cared what I thought about you, Jack."
His lips curled. "'Course I do. I've seen your record collection, you've got good taste. Now you're always gonna see me as some sell-out."
"Never," she said. "I'll always see you as the arrogant douchebag punk rocker you are."
"Thank you, Val. It really means so much."
Stef huffed, making both Jack and her turn to him. "You two stop flirting, would ya? And unload the trunk?"
"Are you in a bad mood because Gina isn't here, baby brother? Where is Gina tonight, didn't want to see her boyfriend make teenage girls scream?" Valerie pouted.
"Shut up."
Valerie joked a lot but she did actually enjoy her brother's band. Their name, The Detroit Vandals, was a bit cheesy but their music was good and they played good. Her jokes about Jack were also just jokes, too. Every time she saw Jack on stage, Valerie could tell he was in his element. He might not be a rock star yet but he had the persona, people wanted to watch him and they wanted to listen to him. He brought the rock star vibe everywhere he went. The image he always made fun of was for real. Valerie could see him getting big, all of them. That is if they moved on from playing high school gigs.
She could see Jack having groupies, though she knew he had a couple already. They shared an apartment, after all.
The boys played a ton of amusing material as the night went on. Jack had also been right – She Will Be Loved was requested, and to Valerie amusement, it was also played.
They all came off the stage sweating and with no-so-happy expressions on their faces. Valerie felt a tinge of sympathy; all the boys loved playing music but their kind of music. This was a defeat for them even if it had been funny to her.
"You guys ready to go?" All four boys nodded and some other local band began to replace them on stage.
Valerie dropped them all off. Minus, Jack.
They pulled up to their apartment but neither her or Jack got out of the car. He had been down since they gig was over. She knew it was because Jack thought such a gig was beneath him. The whole time they only got to play one Detroit Vandals song, the rest of the set list was all on the Top 40.
Jack looked up at her. "Do you wanna go to my mom's?"
"Sure," she said.
Jack's mom lived in a small, quaint house in bad neighborhood. Valerie had been there many times to pick up Stef all through middle school and high school. She always had to walk two blocks to get him to come home for dinner or for the night. They didn't have a phone, their dad believed it was a 'luxury' (this came in handy when she had begun skipping off, the office could never call home). Evelyn would always invite her in for some coffee cake or various cookies before sending both her and Stef off home. It was always rowdy there, always a fight between brothers but it was cozy.
"Do you want me to pick you up later or are you staying here?"
Jack shook his head. "No, I want you to come in."
Valerie was surprised but followed Jack inside. It smelt like it always did: like something was baking and vanilla candles. Evelyn must have worked hard for it to smell like that constantly, having four dirty boys.
Evelyn sat in front of the television but stood up when she saw them come in. Smiling, she wrapped Jack in a hug, which he returned. Valerie's own lips turned up at the cute affection for his mother.
Evelyn also pulled Valerie into a warm hug. "Haven't seen you in ages, darling. What a coincidence, too – I made your favorite, coffee cake."
"Nice to see you, Evelyn." Valerie said sincerely. "What a coincidence that is because it turns out I've been craving your coffee cake for a while."
"Go grab some, then. We'll follow you in a minute." Evelyn then waved her off to the kitchen. Evelyn must of sensed Jack's sour mood and probably was going to take this time to coerce it out of him.
The cake was already cut into slices and covered in plastic wrap on the counter. She carefully unwrapped it and grabbed two slices, placing them down on a plate and heading to the dining room to sit.
Jack and Evelyn did follow her, about five minutes later. Jack looked sheepish, Valerie thought maybe he was embarrassed that she knew he had come here to get a pep talk from his mom but Valerie thought it was adorable.
"How many pieces have you had, Valerie, since we've been gone? Four?" Evelyn teased.
"Almost," Valerie laughed. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it, you know you're always welcome to anything around here." Evelyn sat down across from her. "How's Stefan?"
Nobody called Stef, Stefan. Evelyn was the only one he let get away with it.
"He's good," Valerie chocked out in between bites. "Minus his crazy girlfriend."
Evelyn eyed Jack. "The girlfriend that kicked you out?"
"That's the one." Jack said, taking a seat, too.
"What a shame," said Evelyn, giving her head a shake. "But I'm afraid you two caught me at a bad time. I was just about to head out. Feel free to hang around, though. I'm not kicking you out."
Valerie noticed it now. Evelyn was all done up: her make-up, a pretty dress, jewelry, heels, and the whole thing. Valerie smirked at her and Evelyn winked back. She was going on a date. Jack seemed oblivious and they both kept it that way. Evelyn's sons were very protective of her, she probably wouldn't make it out the door if Valerie mentioned it to Jack.
"Have fun." Valerie said and Evelyn scurried out the door.
"I missed her." Valerie told Jack.
Jack nodded. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, one sec."
Valerie headed back to the kitchen and dumped a couple pieces of coffee cake into a paper towel. Jack watched her in judgement.
"Okay, now I'm ready."
The way back to their apartment was quiet, once again. Jack still looked down but Valerie was too intimidated to ask why.
"Thanks for coming with me tonight, Val," Jack said quietly when they were stopped at a red light. "I just didn't really wanna be alone."
Valerie gave him a soft smile.
"Anytime."
