Disclaimer – I own nothing and no-one.
I'm sure you'll be happy to know that this episode is centred more on Jack :)
It was lunchtime on Friday and Jack was, as usual, bored out of his mind. He was also getting pretty antsy as he'd hoped he would bump into Beth and be able to apologise for prying the previous day but she had evaded him thus far.
The bell was about to ring to signal next period when she passed him by, not even noticing his presence. It took him a moment to spot her but as soon as he did, he bounded up cheerfully but with a slightly sheepish grin on his face.
"You forgiven me yet?" He asked tentatively.
She seemed startled to see him, as though she'd been in a world of her own.
"I'm fine, it was nothing, there's nothing to forgive Jack."
He was surprised how monotone and emotionless her voice sounded and he stopped in his tracks, making her do the same and he turned her to face him.
"You sure you're ok? Promise me?" His voice was tainted with worry as he noticed very feint bruises around her jawline.
"Yes, Jack. Promise, promise, I'm fine, really." She looked at him with a steely gaze. Her words certainly sounded convincing but he wasn't sure she was telling the truth.
"If you say so."
"I do!" She snapped.
"Ok, ok," he faltered, "well what are you doing for the rest of the day?"
"Going to class. Aren't you?"
"Nope. The thought crossed my mind but I figured it would be dumb to waste such a beautiful day indoors. Care to join me?" He said suggestively with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"I don't think so, I've never ditched class in my life and I don't intend to start now, it won't be long before we can blow out of this hell hole for good!"
That was the most Jack had ever heard her say in one go and it made him happy that she was starting to open up to him, even happier that she, surprisingly, shared his opinions of School.
"Oh come on, live a little. You said it yourself, we'll be leaving here soon. You can't look back on your high school experience, years down the line, and not have some fond memories of ditching!" He could certainly be persuasive when he wanted to be.
"Well……."
"Aha! You're wavering! That means you're at least considering it," he said with a wicked smile.
"If I agree to do this, will you promise never to do this again?"
"You drive a hard bargain, Harper………. but I promise I will never make you ditch again, except this one time," he put his hand on his heart and gave her puppy dog eyes which made her visibly melt a little.
"Ok, so now what?" Beth looked a little apprehensive, unsure of what to expect next.
"Well, we walk to the parking lot, get in my car, drive to the arcade and thank our lucky stars we're not in School," he said slowly and sarcastically.
"Very funny, I meant how do we get out of here without being seen?"
"We're Seniors right? Nobody will bat an eyelid. Trust me, I've done this a million times, just keep a low profile, you have plenty of practise at that!"
Beth followed Jack around the side of School and they did exactly as he'd said. Once they were in the car, she breathed a very audible sigh of relief, much to his amusement. Blushing a little, she switched on the radio, already feeling more comfortable around him than she imagined she would.
Jack started the car and they drove to the arcade, neither of them saying anything, both just enjoying the sound coming from the radio. When he parked up, he noticed Beth's eyes were closed and there was a feint, yet contented smile on her face.
"Earth to Harper? You ok, girl?" He teased.
"I'm fine, just enjoying the song," she replied.
"You like Black Flag?!" His disbelief was evident as the question came out as more of a statement.
"Sure, my Mom used to listen to all this kind of stuff before she……….when she was around," Beth's smile fell.
"She must've been a cool lady, my Ma's more into her Motown and soul, it's not really my cup o' tea, if you know what I mean," he said, trying to lighten the mood.
"She really was, y'know?" Beth seemed sad talking about her Mother but definitely more forthcoming than she had the previous day which made Jack hopeful.
"You can talk to me if you want. If there's one thing I've learned it's that it helps to unburden yourself once in a while."
"I hardly know you Jack, besides, you wouldn't want to hear about it," she muttered, shaking her head.
"Try me," he challenged.
"I'd be too embarrassed, seriously. You've probably got your own stuff going on, you don't want to hear my tired bullshit," she shook her head again but he was persistent.
"You don't have to tell me everything, I just want to get to know you a little better," he pushed.
"Why," she asked, honestly.
"Why? I don't know. You…..interest me," he countered.
"You're crazy Jack Mercer!" She said in disbelief. "I'm not interesting, far from interesting. In fact, I'm downright average."
"Well, then I guess that's subjective because I think you're interesting," he said, complimentary and charming as ever.
"Ok," she whispered, evidently embarrassed, "so what do you wanna know?"
"Well, to start with, why don't you have any friends?" He offered.
"I don't like people," she said plainly.
"How can you not like people?"
"I just don't. People are inquisitive, you being the case in point, and I'd rather avoid the questioning and keep myself to myself."
"That's fair I guess but if you do that, then people assume you have something to hide," he said pointedly.
"Maybe I do," Beth replied mysteriously.
"Like what?"
"If I told you," she whispered seriously," I'd have to kill you."
Both of them looked at one another and laughed, easing the tension immediately. Jack still couldn't put his finger on it but there was something special about this girl and he was glad he'd spoken to her, after all these years of passing her in the halls and wondering. The way she looked at him, made him feel like she reciprocated that feeling.
"Y'know, if you'd told me four days ago, that I'd be ditching class and hanging out with Jack Mercer, I'd never have believed it," she said thoughtfully.
"Why is it so unlikely?" He scoffed.
"I guess your reputation precedes you. I mean, everyone's heard about your brothers and I think that makes you guilty by association. Your name seems to be synonymous with trouble," she giggled.
"Hell! Trouble's my middle name!" He laughed, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"Well, 'Trouble', are you going to tutor me in the ways of arcade etiquette or was this a wasted journey?"
Jack beamed from ear to ear at the speed at which they had become comfortable around one another and motioned for her to lead the way to the arcade.
They spent the next couple of hours laughing, joking and playfully yet harmlessly flirting as Jack taught Beth how to play air hockey, skeeball and all the other after school activities that his brothers had taught him years ago. She showed an unexpected prowess at each and even managed to beat him at his own game once or twice. The notion of being beaten by a girl hadn't escaped either of them and Beth proceeded to mockingly torture Jack at every given opportunity much to his feigned chagrin.
Beth was having such a good time, that she hadn't spared a thought about the previous night's events and she silently thanked Jack for giving her the opportunity to be a normal teenager, if only for an afternoon. Even the, somewhat painful, bruise on the small of her back hadn't given her cause to feel sorry for herself today.
Jack on the other hand, hadn't stopped thinking about the bruises and marks that marred her otherwise attractive face (and unbeknownst to him, her back as well) but he would be damned if he was going to make the same mistake he did two days ago. He resigned himself to the fact that Beth would open up to him when she was ready and reprimanded himself for worrying so much. She may have been telling the truth, if it really was nothing then he'd look like a fool for making a mountain out of a mole hill and so, he left the subject well alone. He had never expected to enjoy her company as much as he was doing. A part of him wondered why he had actually approached her in the first place but now that he had, he was beginning to look forward to seeing her. He had only skimmed the surface and he wanted more! She was like a drug to which he was growing increasingly addicted and still, he couldn't figure out why.
The afternoon came to its natural conclusion as they both ran out of things to explore and money to explore them with and so they made their way back to the car and Jack took Beth home. She figured it would be safe as her Father was probably out and even toyed with the idea of inviting Jack in but reasoned that she wasn't ready for that and it probably wasn't safe as he could come home at any moment and without warning. For some reason, she wanted to keep that part of her life as far away from Jack as she could.
As she walked up the path to her modest one storey house, Jack craned his neck around to look back at her and shouted out of the window,
"So Harper, I'll see you Monday?"
"Not ditching again?" She replied confidently.
"Maybe you're my incentive to stay in School," he said nonchalantly and waved, before speeding away.
He kept a smile on his face the entire ride back to Evelyn's and shook his head at his own behaviour. 'It's been 3 days and you're already hooked, sport', he silently ticked himself off.
Firstly, endless thanks go to Smiju, Revenge-Is-Sweeter, caligrl14, pwrhungryjr and samanthahockeychick08 for reviewing and for the encouragement!
Secondly, I hope this chapter wasn't too boring! I know it was mostly dialogue but I couldn't see it playing out any differently so I kept it all in there. I realise it seems a bit convoluted at the minute but things will become clearer before long, I just didn't want to progress the relationship at lightening speed and then have 20 chapters of unrealistic lovely-dovey stuff, the build up is more exciting to me :)
Anyway, read, review, you know the score. Any feedback, good or bad, is greeted with open arms!