Episode VI: Over and Over
Scarlett could only watch as her cousin zipped from the dresser, to the closet, to her bed, to the mirror, and back over again. She slightly bounced on Helen's waterbed, seeing how it was much more fun than her own mattress.
"I can't believe I let him talk me into this stupid date with nothing to wear!" Helen said angrily. "What was I thinking?"
"I'm going with something on the lines of: God he's hot." Scarlett replied. Her response caused Helen to momentarily freeze and glare at Scarlett. "What? I'm only guessing."
"Well you're wrong." Helen said before she continued her search through her immense collection of clothing. "Had I been that freaky dresser Kelly, this would be a lot simpler. Throw on some mismatch socks, boots, a skirt, a plaid shirt and a striped skirt and top it all off with a red beret."
Scarlett laughed as she pictured Helen in the described outfit. The thought of Helen looking that ridiculous pushed aside the thought that Helen was going on a date with Jayden in the first place.
"That's it!" Helen said with a smile on her face. "This is perfect."
"Yeah, well, you only have about ten minutes to get dressed and since the guy lives next door I don't think-" Scarlett was interrupted when Helen's shirt met her face. "What are you doing?"
"Getting dressed. Are you going to sit there and watch me?" Helen asked, now standing in her bra and panties.
"I think I'll keep my breakfast." Scarlett said hopping off of Helen's bed. "Don't worry. J.T will probably like you in anything. And if anything fails, try nothing." Scarlett ducked a teddy bear that was launched by Helen. "I'm kidding!"
"I don't care!" Helen said throwing more of her stuffed animals at Scarlett.
Scarlett could only laugh as she scurried out of Helen's room.
Maxwell looked at his oldest son with a curious frown.
"So," Maxwell said. "You dated one friend, flirted with the cousin, and then moved on to Helen? There's some sort of reason behind this, right?"
Jayden sighed. "It's weird."
"Tell me about it." Manny said drinking a glass of orange juice.
"I wanted to go to the dance with Scarlett, she shot me down, so Helen asked and I had a good time." Jayden said. "Plus, she's a good kisser."
"Oh. That's what it is." Maxwell said.
Manny sat her glass on the table. "That's what I think. And if that is it, I don't like him seeing her."
"You don't like him seeing any girl. And I say, better girl than guy." Maxwell said. "So go for it Jay. If she makes you happy, then I'm not going to stop you unless she targets my money. Once then, I step in to stop her from harming you and me."
"Nice to know that I mean so much." Jayden muttered.
Maxwell frowned. "No. You mean more than the money. But you're not going to see what she doesn't want you to. Remember, I'll be the one looking in, not the one looking out."
"I know." Jayden said before sighing. "Remember when I did this with Jackie and you said that nothing could go wrong because she seemed like someone easy to please? Well nothing did go wrong because she isn't someone hard to please. But Helen…"
"Hey, I've lived here too, you know? I think I know her by now." Maxwell said. "Helen's kind of like your mother in a way."
"I'm listening." Manny said leaning in towards Maxwell.
Maxwell smiled. "If you remember what they want and only give it when you're in trouble, those 'love taps' get easier to deal with." Maxwell looked at Jayden. "Oh, and remember to never, ever, forget who you're with or they will remind you."
"Is that what I did?" Manny asked with a smile.
"Of course you did Dimples." Maxwell replied. "That's why I'm here today."
"Not to interrupt you two making another one of those cursed siblings," Jayden said. "But, how do I make this one better than Jackie's date?"
"Treat her nice and don't repeat anything you did with Jackie unless she wants to." Manny said.
"Make her feel better than Jackie." Maxwell answered. "If you can make a woman feel good about herself, she'll let you feel her good."
"Maxwell!" Manny reprimanded while her husband laughed.
"Go son. And don't forget to fill your mother's car up." Maxwell said.
"I won't. And thanks." Jayden said walking out of the kitchen.
Manny glared at Maxwell. "You're worse with him than you were with Danni. Why?"
"Because," Maxwell said. "It gets you all hot under the collar and heated." Maxwell leaned towards Manny's ear. "And I love to see you heated under the collar."
"Well, too bad because I have to meet up with Emma in a little while." Manny replied. "It would have been much better if you didn't say what you said to my son."
"Fine. Remember, not all of our children came from my urges." Maxwell said sitting up straight in his chair. "You will call, soon."
"Whatever." Manny said before kissing her husband. "I have to get ready now."
Jayden looked at Scarlett checking for her non-existing split ends. Needless to say that she had said virtually nothing to him since he walked in. The silence, that settled in-between them, was both unnerving and soothing. And ironically, it was the loudest thing in the room.
"I'm sorry." Helen said walking down in her pink top and leather skirt. "Scar was being her selfish self earlier with the shower, knowing I had to get ready."
Jayden blinked. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear a word of what you said over the sound of how amazing you look in that."
"Puh-lease." Scarlett breathed out.
"Seriously." Jayden said. "I'm used to seeing you in jeans and a tee-shirt. This… This is wow, Helen. I should've dated you a long time ago if this is how you would dress."
"Hey, hey," Coach Blue said. "That's my niece you're talking to."
"Yeah… Almost worth getting into the trouble." Jayden said. "But, I promised my parents that I wouldn't, so let's go Helen."
"Sure." Helen said. "I'll be back."
"Have fun." Coach Blue said before his niece and neighbor left the home. "Well, that's one gone. So what are you going to do today, Scarlett?"
"Bask in the joy that I am now, once again, the only child." Scarlett said walking to the stairs. "I'll be in my room."
Outside, Helen sat in the passenger seat of Manny's car where Jayden sat in the driver's seat. She had noticed that he kept glancing at her every now again as he started the car up.
"Did you mean it?" Helen asked Jayden.
"Helen," Jayden said looking at her. "I meant every single word I said back there. Jackie and I would have never happened if I knew you'd dress like this."
"Don't make me sound so sluttish." Helen said.
Jayden grinned. "No. I would never call you a slut. Vixen, yes. Slut, no."
"Vixen? That's what, a fox or something?" Helen replied.
"Yeah. You do kind of remind me of a fox." Jayden said before putting the car in drive and pulling out of the driveway. "And by the way, I am a bit selfish. This look is clearly a look for me, right?"
Helen laughed. "Sure Jayden. This outfit will forever be yours."
"Good." Jayden said. "Because if anyone else caught you like this, you might forget me."
"You live next door." Helen said.
"That doesn't stop one from forgetting." Jayden replied. "I've seen it happen all the time in Newport. One person gains more popularity than the other and they lose themselves and their friends. Common thing in life."
"Well," Helen said. "Helen Sinclair-Coyne is not some money-hungry tramp that changes with the income. You should know that by now."
Jayden grinned. "I do. Which is why I like you so much."
Aaron walked into the Dot where he found Jordan and Dustin sitting at a table talking. He joined the two with a sigh.
"Parents." Aaron said.
"Oh." Dustin said. "Hey, did you see how Scarlett was acting yesterday?"
"Yeah. She ignored you like she always did." Aaron replied.
Dustin frowned. "No. I'm talking about how sad she looked when Jayden and Helen were talking to each other."
"I missed it." Aaron said.
"Me too." Jordan replied. "I don't even think Scarlett does sad."
"Well she did." Dustin said. "This could be my chance. You know how Chandra had her moment with Jayden and it paid off? This could be mine."
Aaron shook his head. "Dustin, you've always wanted to be with the popular crowd, but now I think you've finally lost it. Trying for Scarlett Chessex is like swimming in lava."
"To you. Not to me." Dustin said.
Chandra walked into the restaurant and made her way to the table.
"So," Chandra said sitting down. "My dad gets all pissed about all these girls calling about me and Jayden and-"
"I so hope you didn't start a rumor about that." Aaron said.
"Yeah. I heard that Helen got suspended last year for beating a girl that started a rumor about her." Jordan said. "I can only imagine on what she'd do if she found out that you started a rumor about Jayden."
"As if I'm afraid." Chandra said.
"You don't have to be," Jordan replied. "I'm just saying that Helen won't be happy."
"Then so be it." Chandra said. "And in the end, Helen will know what happens when you mess with Chandra Torres."
James sighed as he sat down at his desk. He turned his desktop on and looked at his cell phone. He had wondered if Amber was home or available, seeing as she would normally call him by this time. Then he thought about the previous week. Amber and Mary-Jane had been off, Amber more than her friend. When James was alone with either girl, there were weird moments.
Amber did not really look at him. What was worse was that she nearly shot down every attempt at a conversation that he tried with her. Her demeanor told him that she was still angry at him, maybe even disgusted. But that only made him wonder if she learned what had almost happened later. And if she did learn that, who told?
For Mary-Jane, it was nearly the same thing for the opposite reason. She did not want to talk to him so the two could space themselves to dodge rumors, but the harder they tried, the harder they failed. And to top it all off, she would occasionally give him a glance as she passed him in the hallways with a smile and he found himself always returning the smile with one of his own.
Pushing those thoughts aside, he found out that Mary-Jane was logged onto a chat-room and decided to chat with her.
KingBrooks1002: Hi. Wat's up?
PrincessMJ3: Amber giv'n u da cold shoulder 2?
KingBrooks1002: Obviously…
PrincessMJ3: Me 2. Wonder y.
KingBrooks1002: Don't know.
PrincessMJ3: Wat r u doing l8er?
KingBrooks1002: IDK. Y?
PrincessMJ3: My parents r going on a date. Want 2 stop by?
KingBrooks1002: Wat about Amber?
PrincessMJ3: C'mon. I don't bite.
KingBrooks1002: MJ, we can't do this.
PrincessMJ3: I thought so. Still on her.
KingBrooks1002: Sorry.
PrincessMJ3: Please?
James stared at the screen for a while. Once more, he felt some sort attraction towards Mary-Jane, and this time, they were spaces apart. The last time, they were closer. So. Close.
PrincessMJ3: Never mind.
KingBrooks1002: What time?
PrincessMJ3: Rlly?
KingBrooks1002: Amber doesn't hear this.
PrincessMJ3: Duh. 7:30, btw.
KingBrooks1002: B there. See ya.
PrincessMJ3: Yeah.
James logged off of the chat room and leaned back in his chair. His cell phone began vibrating, causing him to answer the call.
"Hello." James answered.
"Hey James." Amber said.
"Amber?" James breathed into the receiver. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you after you did your best to ignore me last week."
"I know. I'm sorry." Amber replied. "I was trying to not believe what Laura told me."
"Laura?" James repeated.
"Yeah… She's the one that told me about you and Mary." Amber said. "And Monday, when I talked to Jayden-"
"Jayden McDuelle? He trashed me?" James asked.
"No!" Amber said. "He actually told me that… You and I…" James frowned at her pause, but she cleared her throat and continued. "Listen, I just want you to know that if you and Mary-Jane want to be an item, I can't stop that. But, please, don't do it behind my back."
"I will. I mean, if it happens, I'll make sure that you're the first to know, but nothing is going on between us." James said. "Nothing. I promise."
"I hope you're right." Amber said. "Look, I have to go visit my brother. He goes to Banting and I really wanted to see him."
"Go ahead. Call when you get home." James said.
"I will." Amber said. "Bye."
"Bye." James said before hanging up. "What am I doing?"
Helen gaped. "I am not a hundred and thirty pounds!"
"Oh… I'm sorry." the "psychic" said. "Another guess?"
"To save your life and my money," Jayden said. "No." Jayden led Helen away from the man into the busy sea of teenagers at the mall. "Now that was funny."
Helen glared at Jayden. "No it wasn't."
"Yes it was." Jayden said laughing.
"Shut up." Helen said shoving Jayden. "You're not funny."
"You're so clamped up. Laugh." Jayden said putting an arm around her shoulders. "Besides, I don't think you're a hundred and thirty pounds."
Helen grinned. "You do know how to talk your way out of a problem."
"I get it from my dad." Jayden replied. "You know, earlier today I thought your cousin was going to shoot me."
"Not before I shot her." Helen said. "She was being so difficult earlier. She didn't even help me pick out an outfit!"
"Well I-"
"Jayden." a man said walking with a camera.
Jayden and Helen stopped.
"What are you? 6teen? ONE? TMZ?" Jayden asked.
"Extra." the young man said. "So what are you doing today?"
"Uh, trying to take my girlfriend out on a nice date." Jayden answered.
"Really? Is that what you do for all of them?"
"Only the good ones." Jayden said. "Do you have anyone else to interview? I'm a little busy."
"You can't do an interview?" the man asked. "It'll just be for five minutes."
"Go ahead." Helen said. "I don't mind."
The cameraman frowned. "Wait a sec… Aren't you the daughter of Holly J. Sinclair?"
"It's time to go." Jayden said with a grin. "See you around."
Jayden and Helen walked away from the man.
"What was that about?" Helen asked.
"One, you don't want to do an interview while on a date. It gets so thwarted that it's not even funny. Two, I can hear your mother now already. I don't want to give her any more ammo than she has." Jayden said. "And finally, you'll be doing an interview in that. The world will see you like that and then it becomes their look for you and not mine."
"I didn't know you cared." Helen said before standing on her tip-toes and kissing his cheek. "But I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself."
"I'm sure you can." Jayden said. "Though, like I said, the paparazzi are evil. They make simple things so difficult."
"Speaking of difficult," Helen said. "Scar's off her game."
"I see." Jayden replied. "But, that's her, right?"
"Yeah." Helen said.
Scarlett rolled out of her bed and made her way out of her room. She scratched her head as she made her way down the steps, her hair now beginning to frizz. She ignore at what she thought her hair looked like as she made her way into the kitchen.
"You're up later than usual," Coach Blue said to his daughter. "Are you alright?"
"Peachy." Scarlett answered as she opened the refrigerator. "Good. We have a grape." Scarlett pulled out a canned grape soda. "I really need one right now."
"Scarlett, are you sure you're okay? You can tell me anything." Coach Blue said.
"I'm fine." Scarlett said. "I'm just trying to catch up on some sleep that I missed this week."
Coach Blue smiled. "Scarlett, I don't think that's it."
"Then what could it be Dad?" Scarlett asked shutting the refrigerator door.
"I think you're jealous of your cousin's date." Coach Blue answered. Scarlett scoffed in response. "Seriously Scarlett, I know the look of a jealous woman, and you're wearing one right now. Now, I don't know if you're jealous because Helen has a date and you don't or if it's because Helen is dating Jayden."
"I'm… I'm just not used to Helen being the one gone and me here." Scarlett said. "I don't know what to do."
"Go out. Go shopping. Just don't stay here moping all day." Coach Blue said.
Scarlett sighed. "I wish I could, but I might run into Helen and J.T and that'll be weird. So, I'm just going to have to tough this one out. Besides, knowing Helen, she's probably giving J.T a hard time."
"She probably is." Coach Blue said.
Dakota frowned. She never got visitors sans Kelly and Jayden and her mom was quite familiar to those to. So when she got company that was not sent to her room, she was confused. She was more confused when she saw Laura sitting in her living room.
"Laura?" Dakota asked.
"Nice place." Laura said. "Then again, I shouldn't be surprise. Silas Lowry does live here." Laura looked around. "And he is?"
"Europe. Tour." Dakota replied. "Come to my room."
Laura got up and followed Dakota up the spiral staircase. She came to Dakota's room which was surprisingly girly. The light pink walls and stuffed animals justified that Dakota Nash, despite her knack for wearing black, was quite the normal girl.
"What are you doing here?" Dakota asked.
"This place is huge. I should hang out here more often. You'd never know." Laura said.
Dakota crossed her arms. "This isn't funny. This is my home. What do you want?"
"Your dad is Craig Manning, right?" Laura said. "That means you're like the ultimate rich girl. I wonder why you dress in such dark clothing then. You should be-"
"Laura. What are you doing here?" Dakota asked.
Laura frowned. "The party, duh. I'm here to make sure that you're not chickening out on me or something."
"I'll be there. I just don't want you coming to my house." Dakota said.
"Why? Do I embarrass you?" Laura asked.
"No it's just-" Dakota's phone rang. "Great." Dakota grabbed her phone. "I got it Mom!" Dakota called before answering. "Hello."
"Hey Dakota, whatcha doing?" Kelly said.
"Um," Dakota said eying Laura, who was looking through Dakota's closet. "I'm trying to keep my sanity and do what my mother wants me to do at the same time. Why?"
"Shane and I got the night shift so we could go out today." Kelly said. "So we were wondering if you'd be up if you wanted to tag along with us today? Catch a movie. Get some food. What do you say?"
"You know, I wish I could but- Put that down." Dakota said to Laura who put Dakota's treasured drum sticks back in their case. "I have something to do."
"Okay." Kelly said. "See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Bye." Dakota said.
"Bye." Kelly said.
Dakota hung up and glared at the other girl in her room. Laura may be the toughest girl walking DCS, but Dakota would never stand for someone disrespecting her in her own home.
"Look," Dakota said, catching Laura's attention. "I promised I'd go, but that does not give you any reason to tear through my stuff or come to my house."
"Well, looks who's grown a spine." Laura said. "Listen, Dash, I don't have the time to thoroughly put you in your place right now. That, and I'm a bit more respectable than you think. I would never harm you within your own home without a pretty good reason." Laura glared at Dakota. "Don't give me one."
"I said I was going. What more do you want from me?" Dakota asked.
"Talk is cheap." Laura replied. "I'm here to make sure that you go whether you approve of it or not. So get used to it."
Dakota sighed. "There's no other way, huh?"
"No." Laura said. "Now, what do you have to do around here?"
Aaron, Jordan, Dustin, and Chandra now sat at a picnic table at the park across from Jordan's home.
"You know," Chandra said. "I think they're big because we view them as important."
Jordan frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, the quote unquote important people." Chandra responded. "They're just important because they think that and they make us believe it. So, therefore, we could be like that."
"Yeah." Dustin said. "That makes sense."
"It doesn't." Aaron said.
"Why?" Chandra asked.
"Let's take Laura, for instance." Aaron explained. "She's famous for being tough. Nothing else. She breaks the rules and doesn't care for anyone. Then there's Mary-Jane who's known for-"
"Being attractively hot." Dustin interrupted.
"Thanks for that…" Aaron said, trying to dodge the glares of Chandra and Jordan. "Anyway, they're that way because it's who they are."
"Your opinion." Chandra said. "Manny McDuelle is famous because that's who she is. Helen and Scarlett are just two egotistic tramps."
"If you think that this little ideal of yours is going to pull Jayden away from Helen, you're wrong." Jordan said.
"I could." Chandra challenged.
"And if she can do that," Dustin said. "Then why can't I call Scarlett?"
Dustin revealed a slip of paper.
"Tell me you didn't." Aaron said.
"Yep. Five bucks to Nathan and he does this." Dustin said revealing his cell phone. "And now-"
"Wait a second," Aaron cut off his friend. "If you do this, remember how this will ultimately affect you. You might embarrass yourself."
"No regrets." Chandra said. "Do it."
Dustin nodded before dialing the number.
Aaron palmed his forehead. "The friends I have…"
"I know." Jordan said lifelessly.
"Hello?"
"Um, can I speak to Scarlett?" Dustin asked.
"Who?"
"Scarlett Chessex. Does she live here?" Dustin asked.
"No. You have the wrong number."
With that, the woman on the other line hung up, leaving Dustin to sit in a stupor. Dustin looked across the table at the amused faces of Aaron and Chandra before looking at the grinning Jordan.
"Not a word." Dustin said before Jordan burst into laughter. "It's not funny."
"I told you." Aaron said.
"It's only funny because- Because you gave… Five dollars!" Jordan said while laughing.
"Some friends you guys turned out to be." Dustin muttered.
Helen looked at the theater and the night background behind it.
"I can't believe we spent an entire day together." Helen said. "Well, I should say an entire day together."
"Same difference." Jayden replied as the two walked to get their tickets for the movie. "I can't believe you took those pictures."
Helen took out a strip of pictures that they had received from a photo booth. They were a bit risqué with her straddling him on the last three, making out with him. She smiled before putting the pictures into his back pocket.
"Something to think about." Helen said.
Jayden grinned. "I will." Jayden stepped towards the glass. "Uh, two for Nights of Elm Street."
Helen watched the exchange between money and tickets. She eyed the girl behind the glass working the ticket booth give Jayden a suggestive smile.
"Here you go." the girl said.
"Thanks." Jayden said before putting an arm around Helen, causing the girl's smile to drop. "Let's go Helen."
Jayden led Helen into the theater lobby where he checked the time on his wrist watch.
"We have a few minutes." Jayden said. "Not bad seeing as you wanted to try on every pair of shoes."
"Well, I had to make sure they looked good." Helen said. "Gosh, I thought you knew a thing about women."
"Jackie and you are two totally different people, which is why I did different things for you." Jayden replied. Helen raised her eyebrows as Jayden sat at a booth. She sat down beside him and leaned against him. "What?"
"She told me that you did the entire day thing with her too." Helen said. "So you don't have to-"
"I didn't spend the entire day at the mall," Jayden said. "And that's a bad thing."
"Why?" Helen asked.
"If I knew that that would be so tiring, I wouldn't have done it again." Jayden responded, gaining a laugh from Helen. "But, understand that the only thing I did the same with you is asking what you wanted to do. I guess you and Jackie are friends for a reason because you wanted to do almost the exact same thing."
"I wonder why we never tried this before." Helen said.
Jayden shrugged slightly. "I don't know." Helen kissed Jayden's cheek, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "And that was for?"
"Do you remember when you first came here?" Helen asked. "You and I weren't always the best of friends. In fact, I couldn't think of anyone I would want to ignore rather than you." Jayden chuckled. "And that was just saying I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted." Jayden said. "Do you have anything else you want to apologize for?"
"Why?" Helen asked.
"Just looking for another kiss." Jayden said. "Ones that you're willing to give."
"Well… Let me think." Helen said with a smile.
James sighed as he rang the doorbell. He stuffed his hands into his pants pockets as he looked around, seeing if anyone saw him standing at the house.
"I said seven thirty." Mary-Jane said opening the door. "It's a quarter after eight."
"I talked to Amber before and I…" James paused. "Look Mary, doing this just feels wrong, you know? Keeping this from Amber."
"Did you complain in the boiler room Thursday?" Mary-Jane retorted crossing her arms. "So what's with the change of heart?"
James sighed. "Nothing. Can I come in?"
"Yeah." Mary-Jane said stepping aside. James walked into the house and Mary-Jane closed the door behind him. "So what did she say?"
"She told me that if you and I wanted to date, I should be up front with her." James said. "She doesn't want us to sneak behind her back."
"And what do you think?" Mary-Jane asked, walking up her steps.
"I don't know." James answered following her.
"Hmm… Then maybe you just need some help." Mary-Jane said taking off her top and dropping it on the floor beside her. "My parents won't be back until midnight, my little brother and sister are at my grandparents' house. So it's just you and I for four hours."
James could only stare at the blonde-haired bombshell in front of him. Mary-Jane was exotic for a reason. Mary-Jane stepped towards him and grabbed his belt loops on his pants, pulling him towards her.
"Offer's still on the table." Mary-Jane said seductively.
"Consider it a deal." James said before capturing her lips.
As the two began kissing, Mary-Jane quickly undid the buttons to his pants, backing up towards her bed.
"And remember," Mary-Jane said falling backwards. "Our little secret."
"Our secret." James said before lying on top of her.
Dakota looked at the house. The loud music and multiple cars in the driveway told her that this was the right place. She walked into the place, nursing her sore ears from the music.
"You made it!" Laura called to Dakota over the music. "I can't believe you have a spine!"
"Who are these people?" Dakota nearly shouted.
Laura shrugged. "How the hell should I know? It's just a party." Laura presented Dakota with a cup. "Drink. It's not poison or drugged, I swear."
Dakota sipped the beverage, her face scrunching up as her brainwaves registered the taste.
"I know! I'm a Bloody Mary type, myself!" Laura said before grabbing Dakota's free hand. "Come this way!"
Dakota followed Laura through the house of jumping body and pounding music to the backyard where there was a table of kids smoking pot, a couple making out against a tree, and two boys gambling beside the pool.
"Scooter chickened out." Laura said in a quieter tone, since they were no longer muted by the music. "Nathan is upstairs getting money for whatever. So I guess you're the only one I truly know right now."
"Lucky me." Dakota said.
Laura nearly snatched the cup out of Dakota's hand and threw it on one of the boy's gambling.
"Hey!" he said angrily as he stood up.
"Me and my friend here want something to drink and it better be good." Laura said glaring at the boy. "Don't make me wait." the boy could only glare at her. "Me standing here without a drink means I'm waiting. And if you want to keep your precious acorns, you'd better hurry."
The boy walked past Laura and into the house.
"Wow. Didn't know you had that much influence." Dakota said.
"Trust me. Fear is influence." Laura replied before the boy returned with two red plastic cups. "If there is any drugs in this, I swear to God that you will never piss normal again and will need your mommy to chew your next meal for you."
"It's straight out of the bottle, I swear." the boy said before returning to his game.
"Here. This should be better." Laura said extending a cup towards Dakota. Dakota hesitated, causing Laura to roll her eyes with a sigh. "It's not going to kill you unless you're behind the wheel."
Dakota took the offered cup and smelled it before sipping the drink. The taste was better, but the burn afterwards made her cough lightly.
Laura laughed. "Seems that you're a lightweight. Kind of hard to imagine two rockers having a daughter who can't take a single cup of alcohol."
"Why'd you invite me here?" Dakota asked.
Laura shrugged. "Seemed like the right thing to do at the time." Nathan walked out into the backyard with an unlit cigarette behind his right ear. "Hey, Nate. Where's my money?"
"Here you are." Nathan said before handing Laura a few bills. Laura counted the small stack before nodding. "Why's she here?"
"Dash? She's here for the party of course!" Laura said with a smile. "I thought, 'hey, why not' and here she is."
Dakota nearly shivered at Laura's smile. It was an awkward thing to see her grin like a normal person.
"Whatever." Nathan said. "So, got any bets?"
"Ravine." Laura said. "Leave us be." Nathan nodded before walking back into the house. "We bet on almost everything, but underground fighting, the best. Fast cash."
"Oh." Dakota said before taking another sip. This time, the burn did not hurt as worse. "I would have never guessed."
"That's the spirit." Laura said before taking a huge gulp of the alcohol. "Ah. That's good." Laura looked at Dakota. "Remember one thing, Dash. I'm just trying to be friendly. I thought you might need a reliever, and you got one."
"Thanks." Dakota said.
"I heard about you and your dad." Laura said. "Since I only have my dad, I thought that you and I had some similarities. Our missing parent hates us."
Dakota nodded. "I know the feeling. My 'dad' only cares about Steven and Ashton. I'm not even important."
"Then drink and let's forget them both." Laura said.
"Right." Dakota said.
Kelly sighed. "Another busy night."
"I know." Shane said as the two slumped behind the counter. "When will it end?"
"Who knows?" Kelly asked.
"What are you two doing?" Emma asked with her hands on her hips. Kelly and Shane quickly stood up. "That's more like it. You know that the faster you serve them-"
"We know, we know. The faster we'll be done." Shane interrupted. "Seriously Mom, who do you take us for? Jordan?"
"Shane, no picking on your sister." Emma said. "Kelly, table."
"On it." Kelly said walking towards the table.
"Mom," Shane said. "It is almost closing time. Why do we still have so many customers?"
Emma sighed. "I have no clue and I'm about to close prematurely so we can all get some decent sleep tonight. I bet Sean is worried." Shane shrugged, catching Emma's eye. "And your father is probably wondering why Kelly hasn't called yet."
"Dad's a little overprotective. You know that." Shane said.
"Shane, order." Kelly said sitting the small notepad paper on the counter with the order.
"On it." Shane said turning to the grill.
"You know," Emma said. "You two remind me of your dad. A lot." Kelly leaned on the counter. "Yeah… He loved this place."
"Loves." Kelly and Shane corrected in unison.
Emma laughed. "Yeah. He loves this place. And you two have the same passion as he did. I just hope you remember to go home sometimes."
"Says the boss that's making us work." Shane muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Emma asked.
Shane smiled at his mother. "Nothing Mom."
As Shane continued the cooking, Kelly's cell phone rang. She walked towards the back and answered the phone. She went to the backroom to answer the call.
"Yeah." Kelly said.
"Hi Kelly." Dakota's voice came on the other in an uncharacteristically high-pitched voice. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Dash? What's wrong? You sound… Happy." Kelly responded.
"I'm at a friend's house and I need you to help home me get." Dakota said. Kelly frowned. "Me help home get. Get me home help. Help me get home."
"Dakota, what is wrong with you?" Kelly asked.
"Now you know that place behind your house down the road? That's where I am." Dakota said before hanging up.
Kelly sighed before walking out of the backroom. She grabbed the plates off of the counter and quickly sat them on the table. She then made her way behind the counter to Shane.
"Dash is drunk." Kelly whispered to her brother. "We have to go get her."
"Why us?" Shane questioned in a low tone.
"Because she just called!" Kelly whispered angrily. "Now let's go!"
"We can't. Mom." Shane said tilting his head towards his mother.
Kelly sighed. "We're going to have to sneak out of the back. Dad's going to be so pissed at us."
"How about we just tell her that something came up?" Shane asked, gaining a frustrated breath from his sister. "Okay, dumb thought."
"Okay. We have to think." Kelly said.
"I got it." Shane replied moving towards the door. Shane flipped the sign, so now it read closed. "Now, we can-"
"Why did you just do that?" Emma asked glaring at her son.
"Um… We're booked at it's about time to go, so I thought that more customers would only be a burden. Beside, Jordan just called Kelly." Shane replied. Emma glanced at Kelly who was staring at Shane. "I figured you would want to check in on her and we finish up here."
"You're right." Emma said. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to go home and then I'll be right back."
"Oh no! We can close by ourselves." Kelly said. "Dad's showed us how to do it several of times and let's me do it on Friday's."
Emma sighed. "Okay. Are you coming to my house or your dad's?"
"Dad's." Shane and Kelly said in unison.
"O…Kay…" Emma responded. "See you two tomorrow. And be careful."
"Okay Mom." Shane said.
"We'll call." Kelly replied as Emma left the Dot. She turned to see Shane calling someone. "Who are you calling?"
"Jordan. Giving her a head's up." Shane responded. "Call Jay. We're going to need him."
"Right." Kelly said.
James looked at the time on Mary-Jane's clock that sat on her nightstand.
"I have to go." James said as he sat up. The two had gotten redressed a few minutes ago and were currently lying in Mary-Jane's bed silently. "I'll be over here tomorrow?"
"I'd like that." Mary-Jane said before giving James a tight hug. "And I'm happy that you decided to stay."
"It wasn't a hard choice once you began." James said as he moved out of the bed. "I'll call when I get home."
"Please do. And don't tell Amber, no matter what she says." Mary-Jane said.
"I won't." James said before Mary-Jane sat up on her knees. James leaned in and kissed her passionately, half of his mind telling him to stay for another hour. "We'll have to do this again."
"Next time, your place." Mary-Jane said. "I'm through messing up my sheets."
James laughed. "I bet." James walked towards her door. "See you later, Mary."
"Yeah." Mary-Jane said as James left her room. Mary-Jane grinned. "Got you."
Helen walked into the house with two bags of clothing and a wide smile. She made her way up the steps and nearly floated to her bedroom.
"How was it?" Scarlett asked from behind Helen. Helen made her way to her closet while Scarlett walked towards Helen's bed. "Let me guess, not up to standard?"
"Oh my God," Helen said turning to face her cousin. "He is just… Just…"
"Pathetic? Stupid? Tell me Helen." Scarlett said.
"Amazing!" Helen said throwing her hands into the air. "He's nothing like he usually is when on a date. He's like a different guy!"
Scarlett frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Okay, so he still cracks one of those annoyingly rhetorical questions every now and again," Helen said. "But he treats me like royalty. Every girl that wanted to be with him, he would politely deny and then comfort me. He gave me his honest opinion on every outfit I tried on and didn't rush me. And, to make the night better, he let me drive his mom's Mercedes!"
"He doesn't sound all that-"
"God, and he kisses like… I don't know. Way better than Jackie says." Helen said before moving to her bed and flopping beside her cousin. "I was so stupid in letting Jackie get him the first time."
"So I guess you had a good time, huh?" Scarlett asked.
"Yeah." Helen said. "Don't worry, I got outfits that we'd both look good in, so feel free to look at them whenever." Helen sighed. "Life is good."
"I bet." Scarlett said standing up. "Well, I'll let you ride on Cloud Nine alone. When you come back to reality with the good details, I'll listen."
"Look." Helen said revealing a copy of the pictures from her pocket to Scarlett.
Scarlett looked at the pictures. The last three really caught her attention and made her momentarily freeze. She was hoping that Jayden and Helen's friendly arguments would grow serious and the two would see how wrong they were for each other. But seeing a picture of them kissing with Helen in his lap made Scarlett think that Helen was right. Helen could seduce any boy she wanted to.
"I'm going to go back to bed." Scarlett said sitting the pictures on the bed beside Helen. "Talk to you in the morning."
"Okay." Helen said as Scarlett left her room.
Scarlett walked to her bedroom and lied in her bed, staring at the window that faces Jayden's house. More importantly, after a few weeks of snooping and measuring, she found out that her bedroom window faced his.
"They're happy." Scarlett said. "And so am I…"
The red Mercedes stopped in front of the house, gaining quite the attention. Jayden, Kelly, and Shane stepped out of the car.
"We have approximately ten minutes to get back." Kelly said as the three walked towards the house. "Where could she be?"
"I don't know." Jayden said. "Are you sure Dash was here? This doesn't look like her scene."
"Well, this matches the description she gave me." Kelly said.
"Well, well," Laura said walking to the three. "What are you three doing here?"
"Where's Dakota?" Jayden asked.
Laura smirked. "Oh, Dash? She's mentally in Tokyo, but physically, over there."
Jayden's eyes followed to where Laura was thumbing to. He found Dakota laughing with a group of people. She was obviously drunk.
"Okay Shane. No talking. No compromising. Grab and go." Jayden said.
"Yeah." Shane said as the two walked towards Dakota.
"Hi guys! What are you-" Dakota was lifted by Jayden and Shane. "Hey!"
"Let's go." Shane said as he and Jayden carried Dakota out of the house.
"Is that what you three do? Ruin the fun?" Laura asked as she followed them.
"This isn't fun for anyone." Kelly said as Jayden and Shane put Dakota into the car. "Let's go you two."
"Hey," Laura said stepping in front of Jayden. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Move." Jayden said.
"Make me." Laura said boldly.
Jayden just glared at Laura, knowing what she wanted. She wanted him to harm her to show that he was a bad guy. However, he simply walked around her.
"That's it? Run away?" Laura asked.
Jayden looked at Laura as he opened the car door before getting inside. He started up the car and drove off.
"Sorry for not telling you earlier." Kelly said to Ellie over the phone. "But now she's asleep and my dad just reminded me." Jayden and Shane frowned. "Okay. Bye." Kelly closed her phone. "Dakota's coming to Dad's house. Spending the night."
"We have to hurry." Shane said. "And you might want to set up-"
"Already ran it by him." Kelly interrupted. "Now we just have to get back to the Dot before Mom."
"Hold on." Jayden said.
Emma frowned as she looked around her ex-husband's restaurant.
"I can't believe it…" Emma said before turning to Kelly and Shane. "You two clean up fast."
"Yep, that's us." Kelly said with a smile.
"Ahem." Jayden said sitting on a stool.
"And Jay helped." Kelly added. "He's taking us to Dad's."
"Good." Emma said. "I can't believe I didn't believe you two when you said you could close this place." Emma smiled. "I'm going to go home then. I love you both. And Jayden, tell your parents I said hi."
"Will do." Jayden said as Emma left the place.
Shane sighed. "Too close."
"My dad is going to be so pissed. I said twenty minutes. It's been nearly two hours." Jayden replied.
"Just drop us off, please?" Kelly said. "We'll pay you back."
"No need." Jayden said standing up. "Let's go."
Dakota slowly walked towards the counter, her face showing sickness and misery as well as tearstains.
"I am so sorry." Dakota said.
"No problem." Shane replied. "Now, let's go. We have a long sleep ahead of us."
"Yes." Dakota groaned.
