This chapter goes between Kayley and Jim as they deal with their personal lives. And with the soda can thing...have you ever had a case of bottled drinks and the bottles just won't open? I have, and it's so frustrating. Nothing will open. Not one of the bottles. *grimaces at recollection* So, just imagine that Kayley has a variety case of Shasta sodas at her apartment (you know, like one of those huge cases you can get from Cosco) and the tabs are very stubborn.
The next chapter should be a bit more interesting, but Chapter Ten is when the story once again becomes intriguing, and it's filled with deliciously dorky/klutzy/cute Kayleyness. XD
Special Thanks To: Emilie, Wolfess, Ima, and elemental13 for their reviews! Emilie and Wolfess, thank you so much! I know, LOL! Go Kayley! And Emilie, I have the same problem with getting the fun stuff done amongst all the homework. I just thank you for reading and reviewing! Ima, thanks for the review, and I'm sorry Kayley disappeared like that, lol. elemental13, thank you so much for the reviews and alerts. The in-depth reviews are really helpful. :D I appreciate all of you readers!
Greatest thanks to my dearest Rosalie, you amazing, wonderful girl. You read all my chapters despite the fact that I give you very in-depth summaries of each chapter prior to posting. You always offer me such sisterly advice and comforting words. I appreciate you so much! Thanks for always being there for me. Love ya, and happy 18th birthday sweetie! *hugs*
Warning! Very Important, Please Read.
This story is rated T (13+), in which it rightfully belongs. However, around Chapter Thirteen, it will begin to boarder on the next rating, which is for ages 16+. I do not think it belongs there, but it does start to boarder on it. I know, I know, I should have posted this warning in Chapter One, but I didn't know exactly where this story was going to go; it kinda shocked me (just ask Rosalie, lol). So I'll continue to post warnings throughout the chapters, and once I reach Chapter Thirteen, I will give a final warning. I'm thinking Chapter Fifteen is the chapter that boarders most on a higher rating, so I'll post an extra warning on that chapter. :) Sorry for the inconvenience.
*clears throat* On with the show...uh, story! Thanks for reading and putting up with my ridiculously long chapter introductions!
Chapter Eight: Unconditional Loathing
The following day, things carried on considerably normally, taking into account Jim and Kayley's current situation. They tried to make the best out of their predicament. And though Jim never thanked Kayley for saving his skateboarder's butt, he did greet her that day with a faint nod, and Kayley answered with a curt nod of her own.
As Kayley ate her lunch, she glanced nervously at the Tough Punk table. Thankfully, Zach didn't look over or try anything. But she couldn't relax. He had left a lasting impression upon her.
Thursday and Friday brought similar results, and soon Kayley felt safe enough not to constantly be on the lookout, looking over her shoulder every other minute. She and Jim also grew accustomed to her attempting in vain to open her stubborn soda cans and finally passing them to Jim in failure. And so the weekend came. Kayley focused her attention on her historical novels of England's former queens, and Jim occupied his time with extreme skateboarding, rollerblading, biking, and occasionally just sitting on his roof and thinking—philosophically, sometimes—about things.
Another week came and passed accordingly, bringing no tidings. Despite their way of getting by, Kayley grew frustrated with the direction in which things were heading. Kayley knew that if things didn't start turning around soon, it would only be a matter of time before all heck broke lose. They would be setting their own destruction. They couldn't go on like this forever. Jim, on the other hand, seemed satisfied with the strained relationship. Much to her distress and annoyance.
It was Friday that Kayley brought this to the surface. Sitting at the table, she looked over at Jim, who was obliviously crunching on Ruffles. She attempted to take a sip of her soda, but she couldn't stand it any longer. "Jim, I don't like our situation," she declared suddenly, her words stumbling over each other as she set down her can in firm resolution. She looked at him with sorrowful, pleading eyes. She had broken over a week's silence; she deserved at least a surprised sidelong glance, which Jim awarded her. "How can one go on in such silence?" she asked, sincerity ringing in her mellow voice.
Jim set down his chips and lifted a finger, about to answer her question. And then he lost it. His head moved from side to side. "I dunno."
Kayley's eyes shone. "So you agree? We should make amends?"
Jim shrugged indifferently. "I dunno."
Kayley looked aghast. "You can't mean you actually enjoy this horrid silence?"
Jim shrugged again. "I dunno."
Kayley, momentarily speechless, gaped at him in astonishment. "You can't be serious."
"I dunno."
Her fists clenched. "'I dunno.' Is that all you can say?" She challenged angrily.
Jim tipped his head in a sideways nod.
Kayley gawked incredulously. She had thought that they had made some kind of step toward progress with the Jim vs. Zach fight, in which he had readily defended her; she thought they could build upon that. But now she could see she was wrong. "You're infuriating. I don't know why I'm even trying. You're hopeless," Kayley spat furiously. She stood abruptly, slipped on her backpack, and gathered up her lunch trash and threw it into a nearby garbage can. Walking past the table on her way out, Kayley whispered solemnly, gravely over her shoulder, "I loathe you."
Jim grimaced. How could she loathe him? She didn't know him at all. And yet her words stung him. Not even her words. It was the way she said them. If she had proclaimed her feelings in an outburst or some other furious form, he would have found it rather humorous. After all, he liked provoking Kayley. But it was her grave, solemn tone that hurt him most. It was as if she had lost all hope in him.
Her remark stuck with him the rest of the day, and the longer it nagged at him, the angrier he got. The ungrateful girl never even once thanked him for opening her sodas or defending her against the malicious, spiteful Zachary. And now she hated him with heart and soul. Slamming his locker shut at the end of the day, he thought, "Fine, Kayley. If you're going to be that way, I loathe you."
O~o~O~o~O
Jim slumped at his "homework table," staring at the homework lying before him. He simply wasn't in the mood for homework.
He was sulking as Mrs. Evans arrived at the restaurant. "Hullo Jim," she greeted kindly but warily, now well aware that, as demonstrated exactly two weeks prior, Jim could be, in a sense, cruel: With rather mean actions he had provoked Kayley to an outburst.
But to her surprise he looked up and forced a smile.
"Hello Mrs. Evans." He didn't need two Evans women mad at him. He began toying with a pencil.
Mrs. Evans departed his company only for Mrs. Hawkins to appear. She watched him a moment as he toyed with his pencil and ignored his homework. This was a change. For a while it seemed he actually began caring about his schoolwork; he would dive into it so quickly upon arriving. But now he was avoiding it. "Jim," she said, taking a seat beside him, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," he grunted, tossing his pencil into the air and catching it.
Thinking back to a conversation a couple weeks back, Sarah took a guess at the cause of Jim's sudden lack of motivation. "Is the girl still holding her grudge against you?"
"No... She got over it."
Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Then shouldn't you be happy?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.
"That's not why I'm upset," he grumbled.
"Oh..." Sarah's eyebrows furrowed. Would she ever figure out her son? She crossed her arms. "Wanna talk about it?" Jim shot his mother a warning glance. Standing, she told him, "All right. I'll stop pestering you. Always remember you can talk to me."
After his mother had gone, Jim got up from the table and grabbed his skateboard. He needed to clear his head.
Kayley carefully placed her homework back into her folder. "Now, what to do..." She looked around, finding novels and biographies to be her only company. She selected a historical novel featuring Queen Catherine Howard and picked up from where she had left off.
After half an hour Kayley had only gotten through two pages due to the fact she had to keep rereading everything. Her brain wasn't focused, she realized. She was distracted by her contempt with Jim.
O~o~O
Mrs. Evans returned home and found Kayley attempting to busy herself by clearing her boxes of possessions. She tossed the keys in a bowl on the kitchen counter as she watched Kayley heaving a box onto her bed. She knocked on Kayley's partially opened door. "Hi, dear, how was your day?"
"Fine," Kayley replied as she removed a stack of photographs from the box. Her eyes deceived her.
"Kayley," her mother said sternly.
"All right," Kayley sighed. "I tried talking again with Jim." Kayley studied one of the photographs in her hands.
Julianna's eyebrows knotted and she rubbed them in thought. "What happened?" she asked, cutting to the point.
"Well, I said I don't like the silence, and he basically claimed he does. He didn't want to talk out the problem." Kayley set two framed photographs on her nightstand and sat cross-legged on her bed, looking at them for a while. "So I said I loathe him and stormed away." Kayley repositioned one of the framed photographs. Julianna noticed it was the one of Kayley's father in uniform.
Kayley had always been so proud of him. And so like him. Brave, strong-willed, quick-tempered, and both so eager to defend their beloved. Yet each possessed such quiet dispositions.
Julianna gazed at her daughter, both of them displaying sad yet proud glints shining in their eyes.
"Is there any way to avoid Jim?" Julianna finally ventured to ask.
Kayley's shoulders fell. "No, Mother, I've most desperately tried but to no avail. I feel totally helpless. What am I to do, Mother?"
Julianna sat beside her daughter and draped an arm across the girl's shoulders. "Hold your friends close and your enemies closer, I suppose."
"Why would I do that? It's not like he's threatening me, so there's no need to keep an eye on him." Kayley sighed forlornly before gazing fondly at her father's picture. "I wonder what Father would do."
Saturday came and Kayley awoke with a minor headache. She had stayed up half the night reading, she was so intrigued by Catherine Howard's life of living in constant fear and secrecy. Kayley had finally fallen asleep with the book wide open.
Nonetheless, Kayley was ready for church within a few minutes and then the Evans departed.
Upon being dropped off back at her apartment, Kayley made for the closet and changed into a brown and white checkered shirt and dark navy bootcut jeans. She then resumed her historical novel. Finishing a chapter, Kayley straightened her legs out before her and decided it was high time to stretch her legs. Getting up, she made her way to the kitchenette and brewed tea on the stove. As her tea brewed, she organized her room a bit more. Finishing, she wandered out into the dimly lit living room. "It's so dull," she told herself, placing her hands on her hips. "Not to worry, I'll spruce this place up in a jiffy!" Rolling up her sleeves, she proceeded to push the loveseat and chair around to better face the fireplace and the window. Having readjusted the furniture, she could finally reach the blinds of the window, which the loveseat had been preventing her from doing. Pulling down on the cord, the blinds flew up and sunlight poured into the room. Well, at least the little sunlight straining through the overcast sky. "'Dere we go," she said as she brushed her palms against each other. "Much better."
That's when she noticed an interesting odor drifting about the room. She sniffed the air and smelt burnt leaves. "My tea!" she gasped, running to save her Sabbath delicacy. She poured herself a porcelain teacup full of tea, set her cup on the counter, and opened the fridge, from which she removed a carton of milk. She poured some milk into the steaming liquid and then placed the carton back in the refrigerator. She cautiously sipped her tea and suddenly glee shone on her face.
Tea in hand, Kayley wandered to the window and gazed out at the city below. Most of the surrounding buildings were old and rundown. There were even a few shanty-like houses. Gangbangers roved the streets, some sitting atop their pickup trucks and chatting. Kayley sighed. The Bronx differed so much from her beloved green hills of Salisbury. Kayley sipped at her tea, dreaming about the days when she had spent hours riding around on her cream-colored mare. Heaven knew how much she loved and missed that horse...and her freedom. "But those days are over," she said bitterly, ruefully reminding herself she would have to deal with the separation. Despite her words, Kayley reminisced about one day returning to her homeland.
As she stared out at the streets below, she saw a group of skateboarders roll by. In association with the skateboards, Jim's face popped into her mind, and she scowled, her wonderful reverie having been shattered in an instant. Yet, she wondered what he was up to at that moment; if he was as bored and lonely as she.
Jim had been out all morning riding his skateboard. A group of boys had seen him joyriding and motioned for him to join their skateboard posse. Jim declined with a shake of the head and skated past. On a normal day he might have considered accepting, but today was one of which he didn't want to have anything to do with anybody. He had even thought about going to the skate park but finally decided against it. The other skaters would just be a hassle.
Pushing forward, Jim ended up back at his house. He went inside, snatched a Powerade from the fridge, and journeyed back outside. He stuffed the bottle in his jacket pocket and jumped atop a trash bin alongside the house. He grabbed hold of the edge of the roof and pulled himself up before sulking over to the chimney and sitting back against it. He took in the surroundings: There was a slightly overcast sky, the dirty stream trickling through the ravine behind his house, and the apartments on the other side of the city. Nothing ever changed, the sky being the only exception. His house seemed so far from civilization, secluded by itself on a little knoll that overlooked the stream, long polluted by the city's industry.
Jim fixed his eyes on the apartments. Somewhere in that section of the city his mother was working alongside Mrs. Evans. Jim frowned and leaned his head against the chimney. A mental video of Kayley storming out of the cafeteria replayed in his mind. He winced once again as he recalled her parting words. They were so harsh, yet mournful and sad in the way she had said them. A scornful, fiery "I hate you!" would have made him laugh at her. But...this was different. And why did it bother him so much? He was torturing himself by dwelling on it. His fists clenched in frustration.
He came to the conclusion that if Kayley was that disappointed in him, he'd make it easy for the both of them. She wouldn't have to see him anymore.
