Haha since some of my reviewers suggested that I continue this storyline, I decided to. Happy New Year!! Enjoy!!
Summary: It's the summer before the 24 teens go off to college and they head out to Vancouver for one last hurrah. Will the group stay a family or will they slowly drift apart? Audrey/Jack/Chloe, Milo/Nadia, and mentions of Morris/Chloe. Sequel to I've Been Liking Your Hair Lately.
Disclaimer: If I owned 24, the new season would be airing next week.
From Your Dorm Room to Mine
Chapter 1
Chloe was pissed off. She hated everyone and she hated everything. She didn't want to go on some stupid trip to Vancouver. Why the hell would anyone want to go there? But no, Jack and Edgar and Nadia and Milo and even the blonde bimbo, Audrey insisted that she go. "It'll be the last time we'll ALL be together before we leave for college!" She didn't really give a shit about some sentimental trip that represented the transition they would all be making from high school to college.
And of course, it's not like she had a choice in the matter. Because both her parents pretty much told her she'd have to go or she could just live in the backyard of their house for five days. She didn't understand why they wanted her to leave the house. Weren't normal parents supposed to get all teary-eyed around this time? "I can't believe it's been eighteen years! None of my friends can believe that you're going off to college!"
Well, five days wasn't so bad, compared to some idiots, who vacationed in places for like three weeks. But then again, that wasn't the point. From Saturday, August 4th until Wednesday, August 8th, Chloe O'Brian would be stuck in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Senior year had been a complete blur to her. AP exams, the never-ending pranks the seniors had played on the underclassmen (like the stink bomb in the freshman hallway), prom, senior week, all the things that the school had planned for the seniors that actually didn't turn out lame, graduation, all the graduation parties, and now… in less than a month, she would be departing off to college. Part of her was nervous, part of her was excited and part of her was scared out of her fucking mind. But who wouldn't be?
But that wasn't why Chloe was mad. She was mad because she was madly in love with Jack Bauer. Who, during senior year, had become one of her closest friends. She had confided in him more than she had confided in Nadia and Edgar combined. Even when she dated Morris O'Brian for three months, she had still trusted Jack more. And oddly enough, he trusted her, too. It was weird.
"This is what I get for dyeing my fucking hair." Chloe scowled at her computer. The damned machine couldn't help her know. Ever since the group had informed her about the trip she had become somewhat of a… "super potty mouth", as Jack had put it.
Chloe thought back to her relationship with Morris. It was bad enough that they had the same last name. Nadia would always tease her and say that they didn't even need to get married; they could just move in with each other. She even mentioned that they fought like a married couple. Personally, Chloe thought they fought like a divorced couple.
Damn that woman. At least she was in a healthy, happy relationship with Milo Pressman. What did she have to worry about? Nadia was perfect; she was beautiful, she was friendly, she was the kind of girl that everyone loved. And what was Chloe? She wasn't any of those things. Damn every perfect girl to Hell, except Nadia. Because the fiery brunette had a good heart and that was a rare find these days.
Why the bloody hell am I thinking about Nadia at a time like this? Chloe mentally punched herself in the head. Ever since Edgar had dragged her to the nearest IMAX theatre to see the Harry Potter movie on July 11th (which, according to him, sucked horrendously), she had picked up the phrase "bloody hell". I should be thinking about Jack. Wait… no, I shouldn't. Dammit all!
But at the mere mention of his name… Chloe let out a sigh.
(Flashback)
Chloe was sitting at her desk, typing away at her computer, when Jack burst into her room. Fury and irrationality seemed to emit from his pores. She rolled her eyes and twisted around in her chair so that she could see him.
"Chloe, I just don't get it! They beat us! If we don't win the next game…" Jack threw his hands in the air and plopped down onto Chloe's bed, causing the blue mass to jump up. He then punched her gigantic, blue pillow repeatedly.
"Jack, calm down." Chloe said unworriedly. "And take your shoes off!" Two shoes dropped to the carpet. "Thanks. Now tell me what happened." This was a common occurrence. Whenever something was bothering Jack, he didn't go to Curtis. He didn't go to Gray (for obvious reasons). And he certainly didn't go to Audrey. He'd always drive to Chloe's house, say a quick hello to whichever parent was home and storm up to the brunette's room. And then Chloe would have to deal with him and his temper.
"I did tell you. They beat us. End of story." Jack sat up rigidly and glared at her.
Chloe inwardly sighed. It seemed as though it was going to be harder to deal with him today. Why me? What did I do wrong? The teen took a deep breath. Don't get mad.
It was an extreme test of will not to fling things at Jack Bauer when he was in one of his moods. Yet, Chloe was getting better at not immediately snapping out at the athlete. And football was usually the cause of his stress. Being the captain of the football team put a lot of pressure on him. She didn't understand why he cared so much about the sport. Actually, she didn't understand sports in general. But she did know a lot about football, courtesy of a certain quarterback.
"Look, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong." Chloe bit her lip, holding back her naturally sarcastic remarks.
"I don't want to talk about it." Jack snapped back, his eyes flaming mad. "Just forget it." Why was he being so difficult today?
"Then why the hell did you come here?" Chloe finally lost her temper. "That's the only reason why you ever come here!" Jack's eyes lost some of their darkness.
"I just… I just-" Jack got off Chloe's bed and took a deep breath. "Chloe, will you go on a walk with me?" The brunette's jaw dropped open. First of all, it was very rare for him to ask for something. Usually, he just ordered everyone around like the prince he was. But this whole asking thing was bizarre beyond belief. And why did he want to go on a walk?
"Fine." Chloe muttered to herself and went in her closet to get her shoes. "When did you become such a freaking weirdo?" Jack snorted in reply and shook his head. And so, the two friends departed from Chloe's household and went on one of the longest walks Chloe had ever been on in her life.
(End Flashback)
A few days after that, I finally realized that I liked him. Then everything just went straight to Hell. Chloe thought darkly to herself. She stole another look at her calendar and groaned out loud. It was Friday. She desperately didn't want to pack. That would make everything final. That would mean she was going away on vacation. And Jack would be there. This was not good.
This unbearable compared to taking a trip to DC with Audrey and Nadia. Chloe got to see Marjorie Merriweather Post's beautiful estate. The food was good, even at Fuddruckers. She found two nice posters for her dorm room: one at an art museum and the other at the Library of Congress or the Supreme Court or one of those damned gift shops. Plus, Audrey's economically endowed father paid for almost everything.
This was different. Jack made it so. So Chloe decided to procrastinate even further. She called Edgar on his cell. After a few rings, the male finally answered. "Hey Chloe."
"Hey. What are you doing right now?" The brunette demanded.
"I'm about to run one of my friends through Mara." Edgar answered simply. "Aw, damn… one of his nub friends wants to come. He'll probably just get ganked on the way."
That blasted game Edgar ALWAYS played, World of Warcraft. The computer whiz shook her head. He was unhealthily obsessed with that game: always talking about raids and Kara and vent and how cool his guild was and gloating on and on about his Nether something or other. And of course, his freaking epics. Heaven forbid if she forgot about those. Chloe had often called him during the year, only to receive "FUCKING ALLIES!", instead of a simple: "Hello."
"Forgive me; I'm not fluent in wowspeak. You see, outside of the virtual world, we speak English." Chloe smirked. Oddly enough, whenever she was in a bad mood, Edgar was always able to cheer her up. The best part was… she didn't even need to say anything. He could often tell whenever something was bothering her.
"I'm telling you, Chloe, I'm not in the mood to babysit nubs today. I've got better things to do with my time than-"
"What more can you possibly do? You're already level 70."
"My alt is a tailor so I'm farming some silk and mageweave for him. Actually, I need to solo a few instances… time to get his enchanting up."
"Is this the one that goes around with that obnoxious blue thing?"
"Yes, Chloe, my lock. And it's called a VOIDWALKER."
"Whatever. How long will it take you to get through this dungeon?"
"I don't know if I feel like running him through anymore. Not if his dumb friend wants to tag along. I might just make up some excuse and log."
"Good. I'm coming over. When I get there, you better not be in Shattrath."
"Okay, Chloe."
"See you in a bit."
"Bye."
Chloe hung up the phone and stared at it. Sure, being around Edgar made her happy, but he couldn't solve her problems for her. Life just sucks…
Chloe was lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. After watching Monty Python and Holy Grail, Spanglish, Pride and Prejudice, Madagascar, and Spiderman 3 (Edgar insisted on watching both of all these, to Chloe's dismay), she had gotten sick of watching movies. Plus, she actually did need to pack. Because whether the comp whiz liked it or not, there would be a cab waiting outside her house in tomorrow morning. So she had reluctantly departed from Edgar's house, partially ignoring the male when he had shouted at her back: "Remember to bring a jacket!! I heard it rains there a lot!!"
Edgar was always concerned for her well-being. Unfortunately, this didn't comfort her in the least. If only she could turn off the feelings in her heart. If only she could choose who she could fall in love with. She just didn't understand why she was attracted to such an asshole. Or… someone she had previously labeled as an asshole. Chloe was an antisocial computer geek. She hated people like Jack Bauer, cocky jocks with superiority complexes who frequently had narcissist thoughts and… Okay, so she was exaggerating. Slightly.
Chloe sighed for the umpteenth time that day. "I still didn't pack." The brunette reminded herself. Her cell phone began to ring. It was Audrey, because her cell was currently belting out "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls. "Why the bloody hell is she calling me?" Raising her eyes to the heavens, she flipped her phone open.
"Chloe, hi!"
"Hey."
"Did you finish packing yet?"
"No."
"Ooh. Well you'd better finish soon. We're all going out to eat tonight. And Jack said that you can only come if your bags are packed." Insanely annoying laughter erupted in Chloe's ear. "I've been packed for a few days now. Except I keep finding more things to bring. Sometimes I can't help myself."
"…" I'll bet you can't…
"Oh, Chloe. What's wrong with Vancouver?"
"Nothing." Why the fuck does she talk so much? And whoever told her to call me WILL BURN, because I know she didn't call me on her own.
"Well, you're going to have to pack sometime. You might as well get it over with."
"Whatever you say, Audrey." I hope she picks up on my sarcasm and hangs up.
"I'm just saying, it'd be weird if all of us went out to dinner tonight… It'd be a dumb reason to miss out on dinner with the gang. All you have to do is pack five shirts, five pairs of jeans, some flip flops-"
"Then why don't you pack for me, Princess?" You're really trying to piss her off, aren't you? Chloe inwardly grinned at herself. I like being evil, what can I say?
"Okay, is it really that necessary to be so rude? You see, this is exactly what I told Jack-"
"What does he have to do with this?" She just had to mention him.
"Because Jack wants you packed that's why! Frankly, it's pissing me off. If you don't want to go, I don't see why he feels the need to force you to come. We went to the mall-because I had some last minute things to get, like the lotion I got at Victoria's Secret; it smells divine- and he kept going on and on about how you were so unenthusiastic about the trip and he thought you wanted to run off to college and forget about us. And I couldn't bear to listen to him talking about you anymore, so I told him that I'd get you to pack."
"Well, if it means I don't have to listen to you talk anymore, I'll pack." After I call that idiot and knock some sense into him.
"Oh. Perfect. So I'll see you at dinner?"
"Where are we eating?"
"…"
"Are you still there?"
"…Yeah."
"Well?"
"How did you get him to trust you?"
"What?"
"The whole time we were at the mall, he was so distracted. He wouldn't look at me. He just kept nodding his head. I kept asking him what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me. I just don't understand why I had to try so hard to get that out of him… and I know that if you had asked him once, he would've told you instantly. I don't get it. I'm his girlfriend. Why can't he confide in me?"
"Why are you asking me this?"
"Because…"
"Because what? First of all, I'm not your girlfriend, so you have no business asking me about anything. Go ask Jack why he doesn't trust you." Oh, great, now I've really done it. She's probably going to get her father to assassinate me. Chloe sighed to herself. Now I really don't want to go to Canada. "Look, I have to go. I'm sorry you feel this way, but there's nothing I can do about it."
"Bullshit. You could do something about it. You could tell Jack to-"
"You know what, I think I'm going to skip dinner either way. It was really dumb of you to call me, Audrey. I don't like you and you don't like me. No matter how many pictures there are of us together on Facebook, that fact isn't going to change. Go to hell." Chloe snapped her phone shut. Damn, the cab is picking us all up; I'll be seeing her sooner than I thought.
Chloe stood at her window, staring out at the blue sky. Is all of this happening because I don't go to Church? Sometimes… the girl wished she could just live inside a computer; it would make life a lot simpler.
A few hours later, Chloe was fully packed… but extremely hungry. She and Edgar had stuffed themselves full with popcorn and gummy bears, but it just wasn't enough. Plus that was hours ago. She wanted dinner food… badly. She almost wanted to go out to eat with the others. But Chloe always stayed true to her word. So she would have to deal with her meddling parents tonight.
"Back off, I'll take you on; headstrong to take on anyone. I know that you are wrong-" Chloe gaped at her cell phone. Jack was calling her. She hurriedly opened her phone and blurted out a quick: "Hello?"
"Chloe, why weren't you at dinner?"
"I'm packed, if that's what you wanted to know."
"Why weren't you at dinner?"
"It doesn't matter if I was at dinner or not. I didn't feel like going."
"Audrey kept stabbing her food. She was glaring out the window the whole time."
"…Was I supposed to care about that last statement?"
"Dammit, Chloe, what happened between you and Audrey?"
"And would you stop saying 'dammit' before my name? I don't appreciate that."
"… Did you eat yet?"
"Did I what? Are you even listening to me?"
"Good, because I'm outside your house. Come outside."
"Excuse me?"
"Chlo… come outside. You didn't eat dinner. We're going to eat."
"You ate already."
"I don't care."
"I'll be the only one eating. I'll look stupid."
"Then I'll order something. Just come outside."
"Fine… I'll be out in five minutes." Chloe closed her phone. Why was everything in her life so stupid right now? How did she get roped into having dinner with Jack?
Unrequited love is a bitch. Chloe pushed her rice around on her plate. She wasn't hungry. It sucked, because the one person she wanted to hold her, the one person she could actually picture herself spending the rest of her cursed life with was sitting right across from her. It hurt to be so close to him and yet at the same time, so very far away.
I'm way out of his league. I'm not gorgeous or popular like Audrey. They're the classic, textbook couple. I'm just the freaking weirdo pining after what can never be mine. Liking Jack is a complete waste of my time. Chloe stabbed a couple green beans and crammed them into her mouth. They didn't taste like anything.
"I'm done." Chloe uttered darkly, pushing her plate away in disgust.
Jack raised his eyebrows at her. "You barely ate anything." He observed carefully.
"Gee, I'm sorry, Papa. Next time I'll finish my vegetables, I promise." Chloe crossed her arms over her chest, her gray eyes boring into Jack's.
"Chloe, just tell me what's wrong." Jack rolled his eyes.
"I don't understand why the hell you would talk to Audrey about me." Chloe snorted. His mouth opened in surprise.
"Well maybe if you told me the real reason why you don't want to go-" Jack scowled darkly. She could be so difficult sometimes.
"Goodbye, Jack." Chloe threw twenty dollars on the table and stood up.
"Hey, wait!!" Jack stood up as Chloe began walking away. "We didn't even order dessert!!!"
"Are you going to drive me home or am I walking?" Chloe snapped out in reply. Jack groaned out loud, punching the table in fury. He signaled to their waitress. "The bill is twenty-five fourteen. Just leave a ten and let's go."
"I forgot how good you are with numbers…" Jack mumbled as he pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his pocket and left it on the table.
As Jack drove Chloe home, neither of them said a word.
The dysfunctional group was sitting in front of their plane's gate: C-45. "Edgar, why the hell did you bring your laptop? We're going on vacation!" Chloe glared at the chubby teen.
"Chloe, you don't understand! My guild is planning a big raid and I MUST be there." Edgar sighed, his aura emitting exasperation.
"You do know that once we go away to college you won't have time to play that game anymore." Audrey sniffed indignantly. "Personally, I never-"
"Okay, no one asked you for your fucking opinion." Chloe interrupted crossly.
"Chloe." Nadia said in a warning tone. "Be nice, okay. This is our last trip together!" Milo chuckled and shook his head. Chloe was so protective of Edgar, but she was usually the first one to berate him.
"Yeah… it's too bad Curtis couldn't come…" Milo ran his fingers through his brown hair.
"Lucky bastard is on a cruise…" Jack uttered.
"I wonder what you call me behind my back." Chloe raised an eyebrow at Jack.
"Probably bitch." Nadia winked at Chloe, who rolled her eyes. Audrey let out a little cough, but no one noticed but Jack.
"Can't the two of you try to get along?" Jack threw his hands in the air angrily.
"What, I didn't do anything?" Audrey widened her eyes innocently. "Nadia's the one who called Chloe a bitch." Personally, I agree. But that's another story, my love.
"If you ever use my name and bitch in the same sentence again, I will take you out." Chloe snarled, giving Audrey the glare of death. Nadia groaned out loud and slapped her forehead.
"Chloe, calm down." Milo rolled his eyes. "We're going off to college and then you'll never have to see each other again. Where are you going to college, Chloe?"
"UC Davis." Chloe scowled, glaring at Milo.
"And where are you going to college Audrey?" Milo continued on in his purposely patronizing voice.
"Yale." Audrey spat out.
"Exactly… so in five days you'll be free of each other. Isn't that a beautiful thing?" Milo grinned widely. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't ruin our vacation with your petty fights. How about you don't talk to each other, you don't talk about each other, and you don't look at each other. That way we can all have some fun. Now doesn't that sound good?"
"Pretty sure I'm not five years old. Enough, I get it." Chloe crossed her arms over her chest. "When are we boarding?"
Haha so there you have it! Please let me know what you thought of it. Chapter 2 is coming soon! Get ready for fireworks, shopping, fights, and more! And of course, Jack/Chloe moments. ;)