Hope you enjoy this chapter! Huge thanks to Ztofan and Captain Crunk once again :)

Chapter Ten – Jamie

When the bell finally rang at the end of the school day, Jess didn't know whether she had imagined it. For the entire day she had passed her eyes between her work and the clock, so often that at one point she was sure she had gone cross-eyed.

Today was the day she was going to Miller's, and to put it lightly, she was pretty damn excited. The thought of meeting some of his family made her queasy, in a good way. Spending some quality time with him was a good bonus too. She wanted to get away from prying eyes and just hang with her friend.

Miller was waiting for her in the sunshine when she left the school. "Did you even go into that building today?" she asked playfully as she led him to where her bike was parked.

He smiled mischievously. "I went to a whole four periods." The smile slowly slipped off his face as Jess shot him a knowing look. "Okay. Two and a half, don't be annoying."

Jess laughed, unlocking her bike. She turned to see Miller staring at it, a confused expression on his face. "You do know I walk from here, right?"

Jess frowned, looking down at her baby. "I suppose I could push it." She glanced up quickly as he advanced towards her, passing a hand over the bike.

"Nah, just push it to the road and I'll ride it. You can hop on the front."

For some reason that sentence seemed to throw Jess more than any of their exchanges so far. She absolutely did not want to sit in front of Miller as he cycled to his house. Even the thought of it just reminded her of her entire romantic comedy VHS collection, where the guy takes his gal out for ice cream and they ride together and laugh and kiss and good God, she wasn't sure her fragile body and mind could handle it.

"Hmm," was all she actually managed to articulate. Miller smirked and gestured for them to start walking, falling into step beside her as she pushed the bike and stared ahead.

It turned out, her VHS collection was feeding her bullshit. She had been worrying for nothing, because the ride back was terrifying, painful and downright humiliating as she bounced and squeaked in fear, her knuckles white as she gripped the inside of the handlebars.

"Ouch!" she yelped as they rode over a particularly large stone in the quiet street near his house. She could feel the effort Miller was making not to laugh at her.

"What was that? Faster?" he asked, his voice trembling with mirth. Jess swivelled her head and glared at him. She wished she had asked for a pink bike. Then he wouldn't find the situation so funny.

They came to an abrupt halt, Jess nearly flying headfirst into the driveway. "We're here," Miller said matter-of-factly as she tried to subtly massage her behind and get her bearings. Jess nodded silently, looking up at his house.

Her first reaction was surprise at how lovely it was. There was a pretty front porch with droopy plants in the windows and a white door that presumably led to the main house. Miller pushed her bike through a side gate and shut the door, smiling nervously at her. "Well, I guess we should go in."

Jess found his sudden apprehension endearing, and reminded herself that they weren't in school any more. She had to prepare herself for him to be different in his own home. She just hoped it was a good kind of different. She smiled and followed him into the porch, taking off her shoes and stepping into the house.

It was a small, cozy place, done up in shades of brown and cream, with dark wood everywhere and a fireplace in the center of the living room. Miller clearly wasn't used to guests and made no effort to give her a tour, but didn't seem to mind her wandering around downstairs as he made drinks for them in the kitchen. Jess poked her head into each room and admired the photo frames on the wall of his family. Most of them were of him and what Jess presumed to be his brothers and cousins, but a couple showed the whole family, including an older man with wavy grey hair and a killer smile, leaning over Miller and a younger boy and grasping their shoulders comfortingly.

Jess ran a finger over the frame, trying to imagine this man's presence. She pictured him coming home to a warm house and the smell of lasagna floating in the air, Miller playing soccer in the garden and refusing to wash his hands before dinner.

She jumped when she heard thumping on the stairs and drew her hand away as if it had been burned. She didn't want Miller catching her fondling his photo frames – she had done so well to hide her weird side from him so far.

The thumping abruptly stopped when Jess looked up to see the scruffy boy from the photo, now about twelve years old, standing at the bottom of the stairs staring at her. "Nicky?" he said, one hand on the banister. He looked Jess up and down and she almost laughed – she was sure he was checking her out.

Miller emerged with a bag of chips under one arm, handing Jess a glass of orange juice. "Jamie, what are you doing home? Did Mom forget to take you to school again?"

Jamie scowled, shaking his head. "I got sick so Ma came and picked me up, but she's sleeping now. Who's your girlfriend?"

Jess blushed, hiding behind her glass as Miller scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "She's uh, she's not… this is Jess. This is my little brother Jamie." He rolled his eyes at Jess, but she could see a smile forming.

"So if she's not your girlfriend, is she like one of those girls you sometimes bring over for a few hours and then we never see her again?" Jamie piped up, making Miller whip his head round and shoot him a filthy look.

"Shut up you little shit," he hissed as Jamie cackled and took a step back, retreating back up the stairs.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said smugly, switching his gaze to Jess. "She doesn't look like the others. She's much hotter. She looks like one of those secretaries from those movies you don't let me watch but I watch anyway."

Jess couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh as Jamie disappeared upstairs. Miller groaned, shaking his head and shooting her an apologetic look. She shrugged. "You get a lot of lady visitors huh," she stated rather than asked, enjoying putting him under pressure. He dropped his eyes to the carpet.

"That was one girl, he's just exaggerating… Of course I don't bring them all home." He grinned at her, eliciting an arm punch from her free hand. "Come on, put your shoes back on four eyes, we're going out. I have something to show you."

Equipped with food, juice and cigarettes, the pair ventured out into the back garden, which Jess thought looked bigger than the house. It was long but not wide, stretching out to a back fence separating the garden from the bike track behind it. As they drew closer, Jess noticed the rickety rope ladder swinging from the large tree by the bike track. The tree looked incredibly old, and was bent crookedly over the fence like an elderly man. Jess' eyes travelled upwards and she saw what Miller wanted to show her – a tree house. Her face lit up.

"Is this your tree house?" she asked excitedly as they stopped below it.

Miller nodded. "Yeah, me and my Pa built it a couple of years ago. We really went to town." He grinned at her. "Wait until you see inside."

He let her go first, holding the supplies as she hoisted herself upwards and pushed the trapdoor aside, climbing into the cozy space. It was well insulated and sturdy, with candle lanterns in the corners and battered couch cushions and blankets scattered over the floor. Jess made herself comfortable as Miller followed behind, pulling the door back into place when he was inside. Sunlight streamed in through windows and cracks in the wood, and Jess beamed at him. "This is amazing Miller."

He collapsed in the corner, putting a cigarette in his mouth. "Sometimes it's nice to get away. I spend a lot of time looking after Jamie and Mom. In here it's like being a kid again." He took out the lighter Jess had given him and admired it for a few seconds before flicking it open and sparking up.

"In that detention, you said you had to look after your brothers," Jess recounted, looking around. "Where's your other brother?"

"Aiden," Miller sighed and took a drag. He blew the smoke out, contemplative. "He's my older brother. He got caught up in some stuff when he was at CSU and had to come home."

"Was he okay?"

"Oh, sure. He was a pain in the ass. He made me run all these pointless errands for him, and wouldn't eat anything unless I made him. He actually left for rehab the weekend of that detention."

Jess took a sharp intake of breath. Rehab?! "Oh my God."

Miller looked at her, and laughed. "He's honestly okay Jess. He left by choice, he wanted to get his life together. Wouldn't you, if you woke up one day and realized you were still living at home at 21 years old, making your 16 year old brother run out and grab you pizza and energy drinks?"

Jess smiled unsurely, biting her lip. Miller waved her off with the hand holding his cigarette, spreading smoke around and making her eyes water.

"I just worry about people, it's what I do," Jess said quietly. "…I hope your Mom is okay."

He looked at her then, for a long time. "She'll be fine," he eventually replied. "Millers are always fine."

Jess swallowed thickly, her problems with her parents suddenly seeming impossibly small compared to how this family had suffered. She was grateful she had both her parents, and that they both loved her even if they no longer loved each other. "I have an older sibling too," she declared, "a sister."

Miller raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, her name is Amy. She moved out years ago though, she has a fiancé and a baby." She smiled fondly as she thought of her sister. They hadn't spoken in a while. She made a mental note to call her and ask how she had been.

"I would have liked a sister."

Jess looked at Miller, surprised at his admission. He looked as if he hadn't meant to say that, as he met her gaze with a shocked one of his own. "I've never said that out loud."

Jess gave him a crooked grin. "I'm glad you said it." She felt as though she needed a treasure chest to keep all the precious secrets Miller told her and no one else. She wanted to remember all of them, reminders of how special their connection was. The smile became a frown of confusion as she pulled something out from under the cushion beneath her. "What is…"

Her mouth fell open and she felt a hot flush creep over her chest. In her hand was a condom, still in its wrapper. She switched her gaze from the packet between her fingers to Miller's face. He was staring at it, and Jess could swear he was blushing too. "That's not- I mean…" he struggled to come up with something to say.

Jess dropped the condom, shutting her open jaw. "Ooookay," she drew out, embarrassed. "I don't think I wanna know."

"No, Jess, it's honestly not like that," he said quickly, grabbing the wrapper and shoving it in the corner. "I don't just…look, I know I have a reputation and everything, but I just didn't deny it when people said it, that doesn't mean it's true."

"You haven't slept with anyone?" Jess asked, her voice sounding stupidly small. She inwardly cursed herself for sounding so pathetic. Whatever happened to Jess 'NTBFW' Day?

"Well, yeah, I have," Miller replied, his hand going to the back of his neck again. Numbly, Jess registered that he only did that when he found the situation uncomfortable. "I've slept with someone, but it was just one person, and I really liked her."

Jess blew her bangs out of her eyes, trying to push the unusual feeling in her stomach down. It was common knowledge that Miller wasn't a virgin, and yet she couldn't shake how odd it made her feel. Maybe it was because they had so much in common, she wished they had this in common too.

"Was she your girlfriend?" she asked curiously, smoothing her skirt over her bare legs.

"I thought she was. We um… we did it a few times, and I asked her, and she said she thought I was the kinda guy who was always down for a hook up. I didn't see her around after that."

Jess stared at him, eyebrows furrowed in sympathy. "That's horrible. You don't deserve that."

He shrugged. "It's my fault, I made out like I was the go-to guy for stuff like that." He leaned over and retrieved the candles from the lanterns, flicking out his zippo and lighting them before placing them back. Jess looked around, realizing how dark it suddenly was. She had been way too wrapped up in their conversation to notice. "Whatever, I got laid right?" he shot her a grin, and she raised her eyebrows.

"Lucky for some."

He abruptly wiped the grin off his face. "Shit. Sorry, I forgot."

Jess shrugged offhandedly, and they fell silent for a few moments. Jess narrowed her eyes, looking down at the cushion she had made herself comfortable on. "Hey, you didn't…" she gestured beneath her, grimacing. Miller shook his head rapidly, laughing.

"We never did it in here. I kinda prepared for it, but she didn't like tree houses. She was afraid of heights apparently."

Jess scrunched her face up. "What a sissy."

Miller snorted in shock, and she grinned at him. "Allison Daniels." He said simply. "That's who she was."

Jess squinted, trying to remember if she'd heard of her. An image of a girl with poker straight dirty blonde hair and a loud, booming laugh appeared in her head. She knew who Allison Daniels was. She's the complete opposite of me, Jess found herself thinking almost subconsciously. She scowled to herself. If her brain had a face, she would slap it.

"We'd better go inside," Miller muttered, gathering up their stuff. "I have to make food for Jamie. You wanna stay for dinner?"

Jess smiled warmly. "Yeah, sure. I can make something if you want."

Miller returned her smile, his eyes crinkling. "Awesome."

Jess raided the cupboards in the house, hopelessly searching for something, anything she could cook up. She didn't know why, but there was a pressure on her to impress Miller and Jamie. She wanted to look after them.

Luckily, her Mom and Dad had taught her well, and she found enough ingredients to make pasta puttanesca, something apparently neither boy had heard of.

"Pasta what-a?" Jamie asked as soon as she had mentioned it. Miller elbowed him in the shoulder, shooting him a look. "I mean, that would be lovely, Secretary Jessica."

Jess laughed. He was obviously a little troublemaker like his brother. "You wanna help?" she asked kindly, setting down some canned tomatoes and garlic on the kitchen island. Jamie looked unsure and glanced at Miller, waiting for permission. Miller rolled his eyes and pushed him forward.

"Okay, sounds cool," he replied quietly, going to the sink to wash his hands. Jess was still grinning from seeing the close bond between the brothers in front of her, and Miller caught her, raising his eyebrows as if to say don't even think about saying anything sappy. She cleared her throat, turning back to the food, hiding the happy look on her face.

They chopped and fried and cooked, Jess explaining to Miller how the dish was made so he could do it himself next time. Miller sat on the edge of the island, stealing pieces of cheese and olives and repeatedly getting a disapproving hand slap from Jess. She had been right about Jamie's mischievous streak – he kept imitating TV chefs and made Jess wear the apron their Mom always wore when their Dad was home. Jess didn't want to intrude, but with a soft smile and a nod from Miller, she pulled the strap over her head and tied the flowery cloth around her waist, pulling her hair out and letting it fall over her shoulders. For a fraction of a second she looked up to find Miller staring at her, a funny look on his face. Then it was gone, and she was left wondering if it had just been a figment of her imagination as he grabbed Jamie and started play fighting with him.

"Alright, dinner is served guys," Jess announced as she placed the pot on the scrubbed kitchen table, her hands covered by the oven mitts that matched her apron. The boys had been hungrily eyeing the oven for the past ten minutes, knives and forks already in their clenched fists. Jess felt warm all over as they made noises of approval and helped themselves to large portions, arguing over who got the extra spoonful. They both looked like seven year olds again, waiting for Mom to feed them. Jess' suspicions had been right – Miller was a good kind of different at home.

When they were all sufficiently full, Jess helped Miller tidy up and put a plate of pasta in the fridge in case his Mom woke up hungry. She removed the apron and handed it back shyly, not meeting his eyes. "So, I had a great time. Thanks for inviting me."

"No problem, come over any time if you're gonna feed this little cretin," Miller replied as Jamie ran past them, sticking two fingers up at his brother and disappearing, presumably upstairs to his room. Jess giggled, smoothing her hair down.

"Next time you should come over to mine and cook my family dinner," she said, her giggles becoming louder as she saw the terrified look on his face. "I'm kidding. I don't think my Mom likes beef jerky and potato chips as a balanced meal."

Miller scoffed and folded his arms, trying not to smile. "Whatever four eyes, don't get cocky just 'cause you boiled some pasta."

Jess stepped up to him suddenly, wrapping her arms around his neck. Shocked, he stood motionless as she hugged him and then stepped back, smiling slightly. "You have a great house, and Jamie is really cute. Maybe I could meet your Mom some time. I bet she's wonderful."

He nodded. "Yeah," he replied, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat. "Let me walk you home, it's dark."

"No, don't worry, I have my bike and I'm only a few blocks away."

"You sure? I can come if you-"

"Miller, I'm fine. Go check on your Mom, I'll see myself out." She grinned, reaching out to pat his arm.

"Thanks for dinner and…everything. Y'know, thanks for all the stuff." He said, struggling a little as he scratched his ear awkwardly.

"You're welcome," she stated confidently, turning towards the door. "See you at school."

As she opened the door to his porch she heard him say bye, his voice quiet. She stepped out and shut the door behind her, exiting the house and retrieving her bike from behind the gate.

Swinging a leg over, she sighed to herself. Jessica, Jessica, Jessica, her brain taunted her. She willed it to shut up, but she knew it was no use. She was going be thinking about that look he gave her all the way home, and there wasn't a damn thing she could do to stop it.