Let's take a break from all the tense drama, shall we? We are officially beginning the unofficial part two of The Trade, in which resolutions will be sought and I can promise lots of romance. Enjoy!
Bright morning sunlight streamed through the open window of the breakfast nook of Slider's house. Slider sipped a mug of coffee, looking out the window with a soft smile as he admired the endless expanse of skate parks outside. This early in the day, with most skaters still fast asleep in their beds, the smooth valleys of concrete that made up the parks resembled rolling hills. Slider ran a hand through his messy brown hair and glanced away from the window to catch his table mate staring at him.
"Do I have something on my face?" Slider asked jokingly, eying the other boy with a questioning smile.
Matt shook his head with a bashful smile. "No, I was just thinking."
Slider cocked an eyebrow. "Thinking about how good looking I am compared to your pasty self?"
"No," Matt said with a joking glare. "I was thinking about how much I used to hate you."
"Used to?" Slider said, taking another sip of coffee. "Does that mean we've graduated from mortal enemies to nemeses?"
Matt chuckled, eying the sparkle of humor in Slider's eyes. "Nah, I'd say we've reached the distant acquaintance level by now."
Slider nodded with mock seriousness. "Perfect. Close enough to make casual conversation, but distant enough that I'm not obligated to get you a birthday present."
The boys laughed, then settled into a comfortable silence as they finished their breakfast. Their conversation resumed as they cleaned the table together. "Seriously though," Matt said. "Thanks for letting me stay here these last few months. I appreciate it."
"No problem," Slider replied with an easy smile. "I still don't get why you won't let me tell Jackie where you are, though. She thinks you've been on Earth this whole time."
Matt shrugged, turning away to clear the breakfast table. "It's my business."
"And I'm not going to pry," Slider said quickly. "I just don't want my girlfriend getting mad at me."
"Well, hopefully she won't even find out I'm living here," Matt replied. "I have to get to work though. Mind if I take the first shower?"
Slider shook his head wordlessly and resumed cleaning up the breakfast nook. While the garage was a smelly mess of oil and grime, Slider kept his house clean. It had taken six years to save up enough for a real home. He had slept in the attic of the garage for years, and now that he had a house to call his own, he was going to keep the place as nice as it had been the day he moved in.
A bright pink portal opened in the middle of the living room, a swirling vortex of light that made Slider squint. Jackie stepped out of the portal gracefully, and paused only a moment before striding over to her boyfriend. Before Slider could get a word of greeting out, Jackie had pressed her lips onto his, effectively silencing him. She drew away slowly, a loving smile on her beautiful face.
"I missed you," Jackie murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck flirtatiously.
Slider laughed and pulled her into a hug. "I missed you too, gorgeous."
"Maybe we could make up for lost time?" She said with an impish smile, eyes shifting to his bedroom door."
"I think that could be arranged," Slider said, leaning in to kiss her once more.
"Wait." Jackie froze and stepped away from Slider, glancing around the house suspiciously. "Why is the shower running?"
His mind froze briefly. Matt was in the shower, Jackie could not discover that Matt was here...and Slider did not want to get in trouble. "I was about to take a shower," Slider lied awkwardly, avoiding his girlfriend's gaze, "But it was cold, so I decided to clean up the house while I waited for it to heat up. The pipes are getting old, I should really get them fixed. Would you like to go out to breakfast? I'm starving."
Jackie eyed the kitchen sink, noting the twin sets of dirty dishes piled up together. "There's someone else here. Who is it?" He stared at the floor, the ceiling, anything but Jackie's suspicious eyes.
The shower stopped.
"Slider," Jackie breathed, her voice dangerously low. "Are you cheating on me? Is that who's in the shower? Your other girlfriend?" She was furious, but tears still threatened to spill, a sharp sense of betrayal shooting through her. Slider remained silent.
Matt stepped out of the bathroom clad only in his boxers, rubbing his hair dry with a towel that hung down over his face. "It's all yours," he called, shuffling over to his bedroom door. "I gotta get ready for work. You want me to pick up anything for dinner? Pizza, maybe?"
"Matt?!" Jackie cried out, looking between him and Slider rapidly. "What are you doing here? You're not...but Slider…!"
Slider groaned in defeat. "I give up! Matt has been living here, okay? He asked me not to tell you."
"So you're not cheating on me?" Jackie asked, a sense of betrayal still with her.
"I would never," Slider said, his eyes wide and honest.
Jackie took a breath and gave her boyfriend a calm smile. "Then I'm sorry for doubting you." She turned to Matt, who now stood frozen, a terribly awkward look on his face. "As for you, Matt - why didn't you tell me you were here?"
Matt shrugged nervously. "I didn't think it was that important."
"Well then why are you here on Radopolis, instead of at school back on Earth?" Jackie asked, becoming frustrated. "That's where you said you'd be! I've been running back and forth between Earth and Cyberspace constantly, because you were supposed to be having a normal day at school, filling in for Inez and me."
"I have my reasons," Matt said blankly, moving towards his bedroom. "Now if you don't mind, I have to get dressed. I have a job to get to."
"A job?" Jackie asked critically, crossing her arms. "Protecting Cyberspace is your job!"
Matt simply shut the door behind him, not giving her any sort of response. Jackie turned to Slider with an exasperated groan. "Can you please fill me in?" she asked desperately.
Slider nodded with a kind smile. "Let's go to the living room."
After settling into the plush couch, Jackie released a torrent of questions. "When did he move in? Why is he here? Why all the secrecy? What's this job he has to get to? And most importantly, why are you helping him?" She was frantic, fidgeting nervously as she quietly added. "This could not have come at a worse time."
Slider took a breath before answering. "Matt came to me about four or five months ago, asking for a place to stay. He said that he wanted to live under the radar in Cyberspace for a while, and wouldn't tell me his reasons. Still won't. I got him a job as a mechanic at a local motorcycle dealership, he works there most days. As for why I'm helping him...he's my friend, Jackie."
Jackie raised her eyebrows in surprise. "And here I thought you two hated each other."
He chuckled. "We managed to put aside our differences."
The two settled into silence. Jackie rested her head on Slider's shoulder, and he placed a small kiss on her forehead, putting his arms around her lithe frame. "I just feel like such a jerk," Jackie murmured. "Knowing that when I leave Cyberspace to go back to Earth for a couple days, that I'm leaving you for months, sometimes years. How do put up with that?"
Slider smiled thoughtfully. "I'm a pretty chill guy, Jackie. And you have to understand - cyborgs live a long time. After your first few decades, you learn to pace yourself. You understand that you have a long life ahead of you, and that you shouldn't try to rush things, or force certain events or experiences. Whenever I see you, no matter how long it's been, I'm not thinking about all the time we spent apart, I'm thinking of how amazing our time together is."
Jackie looked close to swooning. "You say the sweetest things."
He chuckled. "I try." They kissed, and would have continued into a full blown makeout if Matt hadn't appeared. He coughed delicately, breaking the lovers apart as he strode into the room. The red haired teen settled into a nearby armchair, now dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt.
"So," Matt said, regarding Jackie warily. "I take it he filled you in?"
Jackie nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry I jumped on you before, Matt. I was just surprised. If you want to live in Cyberspace for a bit, that's your decision."
"Thank you," Matt said, slowly relaxing into a smile. "So what had you coming over here? Just missed your boyfriend?"
Jackie couldn't help but be surprised that Matt had dropped the protective attitude he had always administered over her and Slider's relationship. "Uh...sort of. I actually came here about Inez."
Immediately, Matt was on edge, gripping the armchair tightly. "Is she okay? Did something happen to her?"
"She's fine!" Jackie said quickly. "Actually, she's doing really well. The doctors at Sensible Flats Sanitarium declared her ready for release."
"That's great," Slider said positively. "Is Inez happy about that?"
Jackie turned away from the boys. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen Inez in a couple months. I was visiting her regularly for a while, but then one day I got a call from an orderly saying that Inez wasn't going to be allowed visitors anymore. I'm really not sure what happened."
"But they said she's ready for release?" Matt said, excitement already showing in him.
Jackie nodded. "I was hoping she could stay here, since Slider has an extra bedroom, but if you're already living here, Matt…"
"I can move out," Matt said quickly. "Inez deserves it. I'll find somewhere else to stay."
"Now hold on," Slider said, raising a hand for silence. "Matt, I have an extra room in the attic, remember? I was going to use it for storage space until I realized I don't have much that needs storing. We can set you up in there."
Matt grinned with boyish charm. "That's awesome, thanks man."
Jackie looked between the too, still unused to this new friendship before her. "Okay, so Inez will be in the guest room, and Matt will be set up in the spare room. That works."
"When is Inez coming?" Slider asked. "Because it's going to take time to get that spare room cleaned up, and I need to open the garage in an hour."
Jackie pulled out her phone to begin rapidly typing a text message. After a moment's pause, her phone dinged with a response message. "Marbles doesn't know exactly what day Inez is being released, but apparently he already told the workers at the sanitarium to send her to Radopolis."
"Great," Slider replied sarcastically, moving towards his bedroom. "So she could show up at anytime, unannounced?"
Distressed, Jackie followed her boyfriend into his room. "I'll stay here today and help clean, okay?"
Slider groaned. "And I appreciate it, this is just really last minute." The rest of their conversation was lost on Matt as the young couple entered Slider's bedroom, shutting the door behind them.
That afternoon, Matt was finishing polishing the chrome on a new motorcycle when Jackie texted an update that the spare room was set up for him, but that they left his personal belongings alone. He groaned quietly, already anticipating having to spend at least an hour moving everything. Instead of dwelling on the future, Matt pushed himself deeper into his work. While the motorcycle maintenance he did for the dealership required nothing more than basic knowledge of how to keep a machine in working order, Matt enjoyed the work immensely. It was good, hard manual labor that left him sore and tired at the end of every day - exactly what he had hoped for when he came to Radopolis. It wasn't until the sun began to streak orange and pink in the sky that Matt left for home, slowly meandering through the maze of skate parks that was Radopolis. He was one of the few pedestrians on the street, everyone else riding bikes, skateboards, or rollerblades if they couldn't afford cars to drive. Looking around at the energetic faces around him, Matt couldn't help but smile and let his worries melt away.
At the house, he found Slider and Jackie lounging in front of the television, watching cartoons together. Jackie looked exhausted, with strands of hair stuck to her face with sweat and streaks of dust on her clothes. Next to her, Slider sat wearing denim shorts and a tank top, tan skin shining with sweat. The TV was on mute, and the young couple appeared to be half asleep as they slumped together on the couch.
"Long day?" Matt asked weakly, startling the two from their stupor.
Jackie blinked rapidly, sitting up to move away from sweaty boyfriend. "Hey! We, uh...we got the room set up."
"Hope you didn't work too hard," Matt said half jokingly as he kicked his shoes off by the door.
Slider nodded, standing to stretch with a groan. "Setting up the bed was no joke, but otherwise it was just a lot of cleaning. I'm going to shower before we eat, alright?"
"Don't take too long," Jackie called after him. "I feel gross."
"But you look great!" he called back teasingly before disappearing into the bathroom. Matt rolled his eyes at the two as he moved into the kitchen, beginning his routine of checking the refrigerator for anything that could be made into dinner.
"I was thinking we could order a pizza," Jackie suggested.
Matt nodded. "Sure, I'll call it in."
Jackie tugged at the collar of her sweater with a pained expression. "I'm so overheated...you think Slider would mind if I wore one of his shirts to cool off?"
He shrugged in response, focused on finding the phone number of the local pizzeria he and Slider liked to order from. After Jackie had disappeared into Slider's room to change, Matt began placing the order with the robot operating the pizzeria's phone line. "Hey," he said casually, pacing around the house as he spoke. "I'd like to order one extra large pizza with mushrooms, olives, and bacon." Just as Matt had finished giving the robot his address, the sight of a large van pulling outside distracted him from hearing the estimated delivery time. The van read "Sensible Flats Sanitarium" on the side, with tinted windows preventing Matt from seeing any passengers outside.
"Jackie?" Matt called nervously, a sudden sense of anxiety sinking into him.
She emerged wearing one of Slider's shirts tucked into her shorts, appearing to have freshened up a bit. "What's up?"
Matt turned to her, his face pale. "There's a van from the sanitarium outside."
Jackie froze, eyes sharpening with caution. "We don't know that it's her but...Slider!" she called, moving to knock on the bathroom door. "Get out here!"
The muscular youth emerged within seconds, buckling his belt quickly over his pants as he scanned the house for danger. "What's wrong?"
Wordlessly, Jackie and Matt pointed to the window, where an orderly could be seen opening the door for passengers to exit the van. Matt forced himself to turn away, the anxiety boiling into a rigid panic. "I should go," he muttered, his head pounding as he clutched at his hair. "I'll just make it worse again, I'll screw it up…"
"Matt." Jackie's voice was gentle as she put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Stop freaking out. The doctors said she's better now, remember? So it'll be okay. Trust me."
He nodded slowly, willing his heartbeat to slow as three quiet knocks were heard from the door. Slider opened the door with a gentle but cautious smile, glancing at Jackie and Matt briefly before he stepped back to invite their guest inside. And then, she was inside. Inez.
As Slider and Jackie greeted their friend with hugs and smiles, Matt stood back, awestruck at the transformation he saw before him. She was still petite, but her bones didn't stick out anymore. The angles in her face were not as harsh, softer now, with eyes that sparkled with intelligence and humor. Her hair was not the long tangled mat it had been when they first intercepted her at The Northern Frontier. Now it was cut to a stylish length, its deep brown hues complimenting her freshly tanned skin. She looked...healthy, for lack of a better word. Slim but strong, an air of confidence and newfound adjustment about her. Matt found himself staring at her, noting the high heeled boots that pushed her height up, the dark blue jeans that hugged her figure, and the white blouse cut just low enough to be considered a tease.
She was looking at him. Brown eyes met blue, and Matt felt himself freeze as Inez strode towards him, taking long strides across the floor. He prepared himself for a scream, a sob, a slap...and instead, he felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his torso, pulling him into a hug full of affection.
"Matt!" Inez cried. "I missed you!"
Slowly, Matt looked up to stare at Jackie and Slider, who looked as surprised as he felt. He wrapped his arms around Inez cautiously, terrified to take a step out of place. But when she did not jump or scream, Matt allowed himself to embrace her warmth, bowing his head to touch his nose to her hair.
"I missed you too."
Yay happy chapter. Next one won't be so happy. But, leave reviews!
