John nodded in an out as Bob and Lorraine came and went throughout the day. Laura had slept most of the day cradled in John's arms. Just after 6:30 Lorraine and Bob came bustling back into the room. Bob put a bag on the table in front of John. "I brought you something to eat. You'll never retain your health and strength on the shit they'd feed you in here." John replied, "Thanks, but I'm supposed to get out of here tomorrow." Bob shook his head, "sorry kiddo, but you spiked a fever this afternoon and really freaked the docs out. They tried to get you to let go of Laura, but you were kind of hallucinating. Doc just finished telling Lorraine they want you at a regular temp for at least 24 hours before they're willing to release you." John looked around the room and asked, "Where are the girls?" Bob chuckled, "I'm so telling Lori you called her a girl, she'll probably squeal or something like that. They went to close out the hotel bill and get your stuff over to the apartment. No need wasting money that don't need wasted." John tried to sit up, "stop bein bullheaded John, there's a damn button to lift the bed." Bob groused good- naturedly and pressed the button sitting John up some; however, even the gentle movements of the bed made John's head spin a little, he closed his eyes and waited for the dizziness to cease. Bob asked, "you alright bud?" John grunted and then said, "soon as the world stops spinning like a fucking top I will be." Bob was worried, the kid's eyes still weren't right, and he was still getting dizzy. He promised the doc he'd watch for just those things.
Laura left when she could get out of Johns' arms. His bout with high fever and hallucination had scared her and Lorraine knew it, especially since John apparently gripped her so tightly he'd left bruises. Lorraine knew just what the girl needed, a little bit of mothering and a lot of time. She was pacing around the room when Lori spoke up, "Laura, want to come see the place you and John will be managing for us?" Laura's head jerked up in a similar way to Bender's, so much so that Bob choked out a laugh and told her she was spending too much time with him. His wife smacked his arm, kissed his cheek and told him they'd be back and to keep John company while they were gone.
What Bob and Lorraine had not told the kids was they'd closed the shop for the day; painted and furnished their new place. They'd been in and out all day with no explanation; both John and Laura assumed they went to the shop. Lorraine made a small production of giving her keys and having Laura open the door. They hadn't done much to decorate, but Lorraine insisted that was Laura and John's job. The apartment was cleaned, freshly painted, and fully furnished. Tears came to Laura's eyes and she spun back around, throwing herself into Lorraine's arms. "Thank you so much, I don't… no one… I…" Lorraine stroked the small girl's hair. "I figured you and Johnny needed someplace to put him up where we could all keep an eye on him, and where he wasn't going to get hurt again. Now don't get all choked up, you are gonna be working for me anyway, so I have a few questions for you, Missy."
The two sat on the couch as Lorraine prodded her to spill all the info on her life. There were parts which made the middle aged woman mad as a hornet and other places that made her want to cry; in the end, she supposed Laura was lucky to have found someone like John. Someone who'd want, and be able to, take care of her. They sat for a little while longer before heading back; Laura insisted she wouldn't sleep in the new apartment till John was with her. Her reaction made Lorraine chuckle because she knew she felt the same way about Bobby before he knew what hit him.
John was released two days later with strict instructions. Bob and Lorraine took them to the apartment only to watch a similar reaction to Laura's, but without the tears – of course. Lorraine and Laura made dinner while Bob and John got their cable hooked up and got the duffle bags into their bedroom. Bob ordered John to "sit the fuck down" when he stumbled a second time, after helping for about an hour. Bob spun around to look in John's eye's, "Boy, I need you healthy and back at work one of these days, so follow your doctor's damned orders will you? I could have gotten both those bags. If I remember correctly, your dumb ass carried them 4 or 5 miles rather than calling anyone for help. Oh, and in case you crack your damned skull and want to get something all bloody here is a key to the shop, do it indoors where there's a phone and a little warmth." Bob handed John a key to the shop. "Now before you argue with me, you're gonna be back in school before you know what hits you and since I've met you I'm guessing you'll work whatever damned hours you can." The comment blew all the steam right out of John's argument and he sat down. Within a few minutes he was sound asleep on the couch.
When dinner was ready they woke John and let him get oriented before making him eat something. Shortly after dinner Bob and Lorraine left and told them both to get some rest. John had settled himself back on the couch and proceeded to flip through channels for a while. Laura cleaned the kitchen bringing John both water and medication when she was done. She put the water down next to him and handed him the medicine bottles. "I know you're probably in pain, so how about we forgo the arguing about whether or not you need those." She kissed his cheek softly and put her head on his shoulder. "You are never allowed to scare me like that again. Ok? Please, if Officer Braden hadn't come along I would have had to get you to the hospital on my own and he made it easier on me."
Bender looked down at his girl, snuggled against him and asked, "Braden was the officer? Damn, I've been wondering about that, why the hell was he there?"
Laura bit her lip, "apparently the desk clerk saw you all bloody and got worried. Don't worry, I smoothed it all over so there aren't any questions." John shrugged, "wasn't really worried, I forgot about it. He ever check back in?" Laura shrugged this time, "not while I was there and awake, who the hell knows what Bob and Lorraine said if they talked to him." They both laughed at that. "I cannot believe they did all this, blows my mind." Laura nodded, "I was kind of stupefied when Lorraine showed all this to me – course I think she asked for my entire life story out of it, but I didn't know adults, you know… acted like this." John threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head, "yeah, I didn't realize it either, but fuck, we have our own place. No one else to deal with, how fucking cool is this?" Laura stood up and pulled John's hand. "I want to go to bed, with you…. "
"How can I turn down an offer like that?" John smirked and followed her to their new bedroom.
As days turned into weeks both John and Laura healed and blossomed in ways neither of them expected. Lorraine insisted that Laura get health insurance, go to the doctor, and she refused to take no for an answer. So Laura was back under medical care and they were working on healing some of the damage to her back.
Laura began getting worried as school approached, one day John couldn't hold back any more, "What's got you so fucking jittery about school?" Laura started picking up the apartment with quick jerky motions, which were always a cue to John that she was feeling something intensely and it was rarely a good sign. He took a deep breath and walked over to her. "Seriously babe, what's the issue?"
Laura shook her head, "It's nothing, or really it's just silly."John grabbed her hands causing her to look up, "If it's nothing, then you should have no trouble telling me, right?"
"It's just… It's just…school is going to be starting, and…and you were with Claire when school ended. How are your friends going to take you dating me? I really liked your breakfast club, but a lot of the guys you smoke with well, they scare the hell out of me. And… I don't know, I'm just worried that you aren't going to like me anymore or something." Laura stumbled through the words trying to look at the floor, but John wouldn't let her. He kept moving so she was looking at him while he was talking. When she finished he sat on the couch, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him.
"Look, I'm gonna go out on a limb and repeat myself here. I like you, fuck I think I might just love you. I am living with you. Do you really think some chick in a short skirt is going to turn my head from the out and out hottie I live with? Seriously? You and I get along better than anyone else I've ever met. We don't generally fight, and when we do it's done before we go to bed. You don't bitch about my habits, have some evil way of making me do shit like pick up my things. And you are great in bed. I don't know what it is about you, but you are stuck with me babe. I'm not gonna stop liking you, got me?" Laura snuggled into his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed it softly.
"I love you."
John smirked at her, "Yeah, I know. And as for all those other pesky worries – Brian and Ally are the only two left from the breakfast club, and I am pretty sure they don't care who I date. Besides we can have them over here some evening and they'll love the place."
Laura put her head on John's shoulder, "I love the weekend, just having you here makes the day better." John smirked and replied, "Well I'm glad you like having me here, since it's the first place I have ever lived that I looked forward to coming home to."
John kissed her head, "I still think you're crazy, but you're crazy seems to match mine, so it works out. Believe me, I don't want to start school on Monday, but you talked me into it so you can't get out of it either. There's something else going on, when are you going to tell me about it?"
Laura shook her head, "I don't want to jinx what we have here."
John grabbed her chin and kissed her softly, "ain't gonna jinx nothing by talking to me."
She started picking at her nails, "I've been getting worried about my dad. I know he threw me out and all, but well, I've been investigating emancipation because I don't want him to ever be able to touch me again."
John pulled her in close, "I can totally get behind that idea. So what did you find out?"
Laura took a deep breath and tried to remember all she'd learned, "Well I applied for emancipation, and I think because we are living together and doing well I should get it. If I should happen to get pregnant I am automatically medically emancipated, but the regular forms still had to be submitted. Lorraine helped me fill them out and get them in the mail. You're 18 so it's easier for you. Your parents can't swoop in and ruin your life."
John chuckled, "they did enough to ruin my life up to now. Ok, so you are applying for emancipation; what can I do to help?"
Laura shook her head, "You can't do anything right now, and short of me getting knocked up, it's all up to the courts."
John tilted his head, "what do you mean short of you getting knocked up?"
"It's nothing love, nothing I would force upon you. I should go get dinner started."
John grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his lap. "Dinner can wait; I want to know what you were talking about."
She put the top of her head against his chest and quietly answered his question, "From everything I've read it's easier to get emancipated if you are pregnant or have a kid."
She blew out the breath she'd been holding – "like I said John, there's nothing to be done except wait now that the paperwork is in. I don't want to trap you, and I didn't think you wanted kids."
John kissed the top of her head without responding. "I'm gonna shower and get out of these work clothes. I'll be out shortly." Laura pushed the idea to the back of her mind where all her crazy ideas went. She started some chicken in a skillet and made a large salad. She turned on some music and danced around the kitchen a little as she cooked and cleaned. She'd finished the emancipation paperwork with Lorraine today and with any luck she'd be free of Mike legally sooner rather than later. She pretended she was already married to John and they didn't have to worry about any of the nonsense she had to worry about in real life. She was in a cropped tank top and a very short skirt, dancing around and singing at the top of her lungs to some pop song. John stopped in the doorway to watch her with a smile on his face.
He looked at the spot next to his chair there was a cold coke and a packed bowl. The smell from the kitchen was great; the place was clean, if a little messy. Another song came on, this one with a far more grinding beat. Laura looked even hotter dancing to this one. He couldn't help himself and had to walk up behind her. "Watching you is turning me on woman, you must be some kind of witch no other explanation, I mean besides how hot you are anyway." He'd wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "John! I am trying to cook supper – ye must let me go." Laura laughed.
John shook his head, "nope, you turned off the stove and the salad looks great." He kissed her neck, "and I missed you today, how come you didn't come down to the shop?" Laura was practically moaning, "do you really expect me to be coherent if you keep doing that?"
He put his hands under her shirt and began caressing her as he nibbled on his neck. "What? This?" He continued his ministrations until Laura she couldn't take any more and begged him to finish. Afterwards John made a joke about fucking in every room in the apartment which caused Laura to smack him. He didn't think he'd laughed so much in his whole life as he did around her. They laughed as they ate dinner. "As for why I didn't come in today; I am finishing a special project for Lorraine. She's been working on entering things into that computer and never got around to finishing it. Said I could take it home and get a jumpstart on the sort of stuff she might ask of me to make up for the hours I'll be missing. She's gonna try keeping me at 35 or above hours so we don't get too tight with money." John was grinning at her as she finished her speech. "What's the grin for?"
He shook his head, "you, you're cute. I was just wondering if you took a breath or anything. Should we climb into bed and watch TV till we sack out since school starts tomorrow and all?" Laura sneered a little, "I really wish I could forget that Shermer High existed."
John tweaked her nose, "yeah, the whole idea of high school sucks, but you worked hard as anyone to convince me that a fucking diploma was my ticket out."
When Laura finished cleaning up from supper, John was already lying on their bed. She sauntered, as much as she could, into the room and winked at him. He stopped watching TV and watched her getting ready for the next day and for bed. She kept up a running dialogue, asking his opinion which was generally, something along the lines "who gives a fuck and you'll look better in nothing."
When Laura finished putting together her book bag, and laying out clothes for the morning, she pulled on one of John's t'shirts, set coffee for the morning and came back to crawl in bed next to John. "Thank god we have an air conditioner in this room."
John was watching her with a smirk and a leer, "I don't know, if it was hotter could I get you naked faster?" Laura laughed at him, "You get me naked fast enough when it's chilly; I don't think you need any help." John's eyes widened, "really? Then strip for me?"
Laura got herself settled next to John, slid under the sheet then pulled off his t-shirt and threw it on the floor. She turned to him with an arched brow, "fast enough?" He laughed and shook his head, "you should always be naked. Can I make that a new rule in the house?" Laura smacked him, "Yeah, I'm gonna collect rent or answer when Bob or Lorraine stops in, not to mention anyone from school. I think maybe it should wait till we are in the bedroom." John pouted, "You ruin all my fun."
"Yeah, that's what I do, forcing you to have great sex on a regular basis and everything. God I'm a terrible bitch. Maybe I should start sleeping on the couch or something." Laura said all of this with a great big smirk on her face. John responded by pouncing on her and kissing her breath away. The fell asleep tangled in each other and very happy to forget about school till the morning.
Morning came terribly early for the couple, but Laura got up and poured coffee, tried to wake John, jumped in the shower and brought two cups of coffee into the bedroom where she flicked on the light. "Come on John you've got to get up; school starts today."
He rolled over and groaned, "Can't we just skip it and go tomorrow, no one ever does anything on the first day anyway?"
Laura threw a pillow at his head, "Yeah, I wish. I have to be really on the ball if I want this emancipation thing to go through. I'm not giving up smoking, but I can't do it at school and stuff like that, and I can't miss days if I don't have to, and I'd really like a ride babe." She laid down on the bed next to him and kissed his neck. "Come on, let's shock everyone." He chuckled, "with enticement like that how could I say no?" Bender sat up and drank his coffee while watching his girlfriend get dressed.
She gave him a kiss and left the room telling him to get his arse in gear or she wouldn't make him any more coffee. John lit a cigarette and pulled on clothes and was ready to leave at the same time as Laura. She shook her head and kissed his cheek, handing him a travel mug full of coffee. "Keep treating me like this and I'm gonna get spoiled." John mumbled as he started the truck.
Laura smiled, "I do what I can, and if I have the opportunity to spoil you I will. You deserve it." John lit another cigarette, "yeah, yeah, keep that shit to yourself at school, can't have my entire high school reputation ruined cause I fell in love. He winked at her and she laughed, promising to only refer to him as "that asshole Bender". As the blocks to the school got closer, Laura got quieter, Bender almost overlooked it until he noticed her picking at her nails in that jerky way she did when she was upset. He pulled into a McDonald's parking lot near the school, "what's got you all jittery? I thought we worked it all out last night."
Laura started to say it's nothing until John cocked an eyebrow before she even got the words out, "I had a weird dream that Mike tried to take me out of school, to take me to his place so I am afraid his car is gonna be there." John kissed her head, "look, even if he is there – ain't no way he's taking you anywhere – k? So take a deep breath and give me a kiss." He held her for a minute then put the truck in gear and drove the last block to school. He stared at the school with a look of irritation mixed with weariness. Laura grabbed his hand, "Ya know, you don't have to be anybody you don't want to be, you've got me – fuck the rest of them. She kissed him very sweetly and then had to wait for John to open the door. It required a kick and the one time she'd tried putting enough force behind it she ended up in tears so now John opened the door for her instead, he didn't mind cause it was kind of a jump down and he preferred picking her up to letting her jump.
Laura put her hand on his chest, "do I even get to see you before we head to work at later?" John thought about it, "uhm, I doubt it, but I don't remember either." Laura rolled her eyes and pulled out his schedule, looked it over and handed it to him. "I assumed you could give a shit about it so I stuck your schedule with mine on the off chance I might care." She gave him a snarky smile and stole a cigarette. "We have around 20 minutes, what do you want to do?"
John grinned, "we could get back in the truck and have a quicky." Laura laughed, and if you'd gotten up on time we could have had a quicky in the comfort of our bed." She started walking towards the bleachers because she wanted to sit down. "Hey, you didn't tell me that when you were nagging me to wake up." Laura stuck her tongue out at him, "oh you heard me nagging you? Does that mean tomorrow I get to sleep in and you'll get the coffee?" John laughed, "hell no, if you leave it up to me you won't get any of your precious coffee and we'll probably be late." Laura grumbled that he was probably right and she liked waking him anyway. They arrived at the bleachers and Laura took a seat and waved her boyfriend away towards his friends.
Laura finished smoking her cigarette and headed towards the office. She wanted to put in her change of address, but the idea scared her a little. What if there was trouble? She tried to remain calm and slid into her know it all persona, kind of the way John had slid into Bender as they walked onto school grounds. She took a deep breath and walked into the school office and smiled at the secretary. "Good morning, I need to put in a change of address."
The secretary smiled at the girl. She couldn't remember her name, but she remembered the incident last year when she'd arrived battered. "Here you are sweetie; fill this out and you are all good. How was your summer?" Laura filled out the card then looked up and smiled, "It was lovely, more so than expected really." Laura pushed the card toward the woman, "I've one other question." The secretary put the card on her desk then turned back giving Laura her full attention, "Shoot."
"Well my schedule is only half day and I've procured a job – do I need any paperwork for leaving school grounds?" The secretary took Laura's schedule, looked it over, went to her desk and pulled out a card. She sat down and typed up some information then returned to the counter and handed it to Laura. "Have your employer sign the back of this and keep it with you. Is there anything else?" Laura smiled and thanked her then left the office. The clock on the wall said she had another 10 minutes before the bell rang so she slipped back outside, and wandered back to the bleachers. She lit a cigarette and before she'd taken a second hit two people sat on either side of her.
Allison and Brian had met up near the front of the school and struck up a conversation. Brian was simply not interested in talking with his old friends and Allison was really happy that he approached her. She'd been feeling lonely since Andy broke it off a few weeks before. He'd been at school for less than a week when it happened, at first Alli was really hurt, then she got pissed. She was still there, and seeing Brian for some reason made it all easier. She kind of hoped Bender showed up, but she didn't hold much hope since it was the first day of school. The two had been wandering away from the preps, princesses and athletes on the steps when they saw Laura walk toward the bleachers. She looked a little different, but her cane was a dead giveaway.
Brian was as happy to see Laura as he had been Ally. He'd liked her from the start, in part because she typically understood his science and math talk, but mostly because she got everyone and didn't judge them. He hadn't talked to any of the members of the club since school let out. It had hurt his feelings, but after hearing about the summer Allison had he supposed he couldn't complain especially not since she came right up and hugged him.
Allison nudged Laura, "How was your summer?" Laura smiled, "more exciting than expected – wait here one sec? I'll be right back – watch my bag." Laura moved pretty quickly over to the group Bender was standing with – Ally and Brian looked at one another then back towards Laura who had now reached Bender. She grabbed his arm and pointed back towards them, and then began walking back to them with his arm around Laura's shoulders and her hand in his back pocket. Laura started to climb back to the seat she'd been sitting in, when Bender picked her up and set her on the higher riser. "When are you gonna learn to ask for help?" Bender said with his trade mark smirk on; "probably the same time you will, and I could have gotten here on my own." John shrugged, "yeah, but it gave me a great excuse to grab you." She shook her head. They had not discussed how they would tell the other members of the Breakfast Club about their relationship.
Allison looked between them again then asked, "So what's going on with you two?" Bender arched a brow, "why?" Allison shrugged, "well I thought we were going to, you know, discuss the summer and shit – things have obviously changed some so throwing something out there to begin." That was a long enough speech from Allison that Laura felt the need to diffuse the situation. She looked at John who shrugged and lit a cigarette, thought about it, handed the smoke to Laura and lit another. The interaction didn't go unnoticed by Brian or Allison.
Laura spoke up, "Well to make a very long story short enough to get out before the bell rings, John and I are living together. I would also like to cordially invite you over." John smirked and said, "cordially?" Laura stuck out her tongue at him and simply said, "got a problem with my English?" John shook his head, "not so long as you don't mind my laughing my ass off at some of your words. It was Laura's turn to shrug, "I'm used to it, Sweetheart." She turned to Allison, looked at Brian so he knew he was included and said, "I can explain some more of the story in a more conducive location."
Allison explained her breakup with Sporto which made John really mad. He decided the richies should simply never interbreed since they were all such assholes. Just as he started to rant the bell rang. Laura stood up and started to walk around to the steps when John grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him. He gave her a very sweet kiss and said, "Remember I don't see you again till we leave for work at 11." Laura told him about the card, but suggested he bring in a note from Bob since the office was not as likely to believe him. He retorted that he didn't really give a shit and he'd get to it eventually. John walked Laura to class, kissed her again which caused more than a few whispers and ambled down the hall to his first class.