Jiminy and Cricket
Chapter 4
She's almost fifteen and he's nineteen when she falls in love with him for the first time.
It's not real love, and he definitely doesn't reciprocate, but it sure feels like it.
It starts at their creek, as she's thought of it for all these years. She knows there's a party going on at the quarry and her brother and his friends are there. She's too young to go and she's not really part of that crowd even though she wants to be, sometimes. It's late, way past her curfew, but her parents have been fighting, so they won't notice that she's not in her room. Besides, it's too hot to be indoors.
The low buzz of a motorcycle actually sneaks up on her as she sits and stares at the water. She doesn't realize anyone is there until the engine shuts off and there's only silence and the sound of water cascading over rocks.
He steps past her perch and squats next to the water, cupping handfuls and splashing his face. She's not even sure it's him until he stands up and stretches, letting out a muffled groan. He's taken off his jacket and shirt before he even realizes she's there.
"Shit!" he mutters, turning and glaring towards where she's sitting. She must have made some kind of noise to alert him. He squints and looks at her, taking a few steps closer. "Is that you, Cricket?" he finally asks, his voice a bit wary.
"Yeah," her voice squeaks and she grimaces, clearing her throat self-consciously. "Yes, It's me," she repeats in what she hopes is a more confident tone.
"What are you doing here?" they both ask at the same time.
Jimmy laughs and she blushes. He cocks his head, waiting for a response.
"Mom and dad are fighting," she shrugs, "and it's too hot to be inside."
He doesn't say anything just stares, which starts to make her uncomfortable. She's heard the rumors about Jimmy – Jim Kirk. If he was wild and uncontrollable as a boy, he is infinitely worse as a young man. He's known for his drinking and fighting and for all the girls he's charmed into his bed – or their bed, as the case may be. He is far from the scrawny eleven year old, or even the too thin fifteen year old, that she had known.
Now, standing in front of her without a shirt and the moonlight glinting off his skin he is a fine example of how a male should be put together. She can feel herself blushing and is relieved that it is too dark for him to notice.
"What are you doing here?" she finally breaks the silence.
This seems to get him moving again. He waves at the water casually. "I needed to cool off. And clean up," he adds as an after thought. He turns back towards the creek and she sees him wince, his hand going to his ribs. Without a thought she stands up and goes to him.
He seems shocked by her sudden proximity, but doesn't move when she stands in front of him and looks him over.
His face is a mess. He's obviously had a bloody nose, one eye is swelling shut, there's a cut on his left cheek and his lip is split.
"What the hell happened to you?" she demands.
He laughs, but its short lived as he grabs at his ribs again. "Little Cricket, swearing. I never thought I'd see the day," he teased, though his voice sounds pained.
She rolls her eyes, though he can't see it, and grabs his arm, making him sit on a rock in the moonlight so she get a good look at him.
"You're a mess," she tells him, shaking her head as she goes back over to the fallen log she was sitting on and grabs her bag. Digging around inside, she pulls out her first aid kit. She only has the basics, but it should be enough to fix him up.
He watches her intently. "You have a first aid kit in your purse?" he asks in disbelief.
"It's not a purse," she counters. "Not really. It's more of a…carry all or back pack."
"And you carry a first aid kit why?" he asked with smirk.
Suddenly she's embarrassed. She doesn't know what to tell him. The truth? That she wants to be a doctor, so she believes in always being prepared? Or the truth behind the truth; she's heard about all his fights and she wanted to be prepared, just in case. It's really only a minor part of why she actually carries it with her, honestly, but with him sitting in front of her it seems to be a lot more important.
"I took a class," she finally tells him, opening an alcohol wipe, "and they recommended that we all should keep one handy. You never know when you'll need it – even in the middle of nowhere."
He winces as she cleans the cut on his cheek. "Besides, I want to be a doctor someday," she tells him.
For a moment, she freezes, her eyes locked on his. She's never told anyone that before. She's been too afraid that everyone will just laugh at her.
Jim doesn't. He just looks at her, his eyes not blinking and then he smiles. "Doctor Cricket. Yeah, I can see that." He winks at her and she starts blushing again.
She cleans up his cuts and wipes the blood off his face. With his permission she prods gently at his ribs.
"I don't think they're broken or cracked," she tells him.
"Yeah," he agrees. "They're just bruised. A couple of days and I'll be as good as new."
She looks at him skeptically but he just grins. "What? You should see the other guy."
Packing her things, she does her best to ignore him. She feels extremely awkward in his presence, something she's not used to, but this isn't the Jimmy Kirk she used to know.
"Look, it's getting late," he tells her, pulling his shirt over his head. "Can I give you a lift home?"
Knowing it is a bad idea, but unable to stop herself, she nods. "That would be great."
Without a word Jim puts on his jacket and hops on his bike. She gets on behind him and gingerly grabs onto his jacket. Without warning he takes off and she can't help but latch onto him tightly. "Mind the ribs," he winces.
"Slow down, then," she replies, letting up on her grip.
Jim laughs, but does as she says.
In no time they're near her house and Jim slows down and cuts the engine a hundred yards before the driveway. She hops off and thanks him for the ride.
"No problem, Dr. Cricket. Any time you want to play doctor, I'm your man," he smirks at her, suddenly morphing into someone else, someone she has only heard of through rumors.
Not knowing what to say, she smiles awkwardly and walks away. She can feel his eyes on her the whole way, but doesn't turn around. The engine only starts up when she's standing on her front porch.
That night she can't get images of his face and body out of her mind.
Please review
The next chapter will be in a few days. We're going on a road trip to Seattle to visit family, so I won't always have access to the internet and my computer (my son is loading some of his games on my computer so he can keep occupied at grandmas. The things a mother will do to keep her kid happy!)
Also, one more chapter of fluffy Teen/Everyone rating and then we're into the Mature. Just so you know.
