Jack stopped the car and got out. So did Camryn. They ran over to John. He was limping and he had a black eye.
"Oh my god! John, what the hell happened!" Camryn exclaimed. She helped stand him up.
"I got in a fight…" John answered, weakly.
"With who!" Jack asked.
"Some random guy on the street."
"Okay, well with who doesn't matter, right now we gotta get you home. You house or ours?" Camryn asked.
"Bec's at mine. So I guess my house."
"Alright." Cam helped John back to the car and into the backseat.
Jack drove John back to his house and the 3 of them were greeted by Rebecca. John told Bec what happened and Jack and Camryn left.
When they got back to the house, Camryn took to the computer. Jack decided to watch some TV.
MercersVsDetroit: hey Justin! how'd you get on AIM aren't u in music, its 9thperiod, right?
JIstreetskater159: i'm using my sidekick. mrs. sheridan isn't here and were watching a movie… i'm so bored!
MercersVsDetroit: oic. so what movie u watching? Keara's next to you isn't she?
JIstreetskater159: yeah she's right here, you wanna talk to her? And were watching some musical thing
MercersVsDetroit: please…mrs. sheridan loves The Sound Of Music…
JIstreetskater159: hey cam! Irina told me what happened during study hall! You really nailed him didn't you! And you missed something kinda of important… justin and josh are fighting over me!
MercersVsDetroit: holy shit! Call me right now! idc if you get in trouble I wanna know what's going on! h/o jack's calling me
"What's wrong Jack!" Camryn yelled from the computer room.
"Do you want something to eat!" Jack called back.
"I don't know! What are you makin'?"
"Hushwee. Sound good?" (A/N: Hushwee is a Lebanese food. Its rice, chunks of meat, celery, and beans mixed together. It's really good!)
"YUM! Yes, please!"
The phone started ringing and Jack answered it. "Yo, Liz! It's Keara!"
Camryn picked up the phone and asked Jack not to hang up his end so he could hear what was going on. "So, did Justin ask you out…or did Josh?" Camryn asked, suspiciously, hoping the answer was Justin and that Keara had said yes.
"Justin…but I turned him down…" Keara replied, sheepishly.
"What! K, why'd you do that!" Jack yelled. He knows that Keara and Justin belong together. To him, it's obvious, but he hasn't even said that to Camryn, yet.
"I don't know. I want to really bad! But he's popular and I don't fit in with his crowd so it causes a problem! God! I hate high-school!"
"So what if you're not in the same circle! Me and Jack were on opposite ends of the world in high school and we're still best friends! You shouldn't care what people think of you!"
"Yeah. But what about Josh! I don't want him mad at me because I chose his brother over him! I mean—"
"KEARA! STOP! You like Justin so tell Josh to fuck off. Its that simple!" Jack laughed.
"It may sound that simple but it's not actually that simple…" Keara mumbled.
"What? Would you rather I do it for you?"
"Would you?"
"You seriously want me to do it 'cause I will! Josh is an ass… it wouldn't treat you as good as J would. I'd be glad to!"
Keara sighed big and replied. "Oh my gosh. You have no idea how relieving that is! Thanks, Jackie."
"No problem… Alright, Cam… AH! SHIT! God damn it!" Jack was screaming and mumbling cuss words into the phone.
"Jack, what'd you do!" Camryn giggled, listening to him curse at whatever had just happened.
"I cut my finger! Nothing big though, got distracted 'cause of a fucking cockroach. Wait. COCKROACH! Where the fuck did that little bastard go! Ah! I've got you now, you little demon!" There was a slicing sound then a huff from Jack's phone.
"Jack…(laugh)…did you…(gasp)…get it!" Keara laughed.
Camryn hung up her end of the phone and since she was downstairs with Jack she put his phone on speaker. "Oh yeah… he got it… there's 2 halves of a cockroach on the fucking counter, Jack! Gross! That's where I eat!"
"What! You'd rather him in your food! I don't think so! Now can you get me a fricken' washcloth or something, my finger's bleeding!"
"Oh, stop your whining, you big baby! Hey, Keara, you still breathing!"
All the 2 of them heard was sudden gasps and giggles from the phone. Keara had fallen off the couch she was laughing so hard and was now literally rolling on the floor laughing! "I'M…(big gasp)… FINE!"
"You don't sound like you're breathing!"
Keara caught her breath then sighed big. "You guys are… hilarious! Did you know that!"
Jack and Camryn looked at each other and started giggling. "Yeah… you have no idea…"
"Oh yeah… Jack, Cam told me what you guys did yesterday… I hear you're—" Camryn cut her off by picking up the phone and interrupting Keara before she said WAY too much. Too late.
Jack was staring at Camryn with a face that practically was burning a whole in her. She felt bad; she had broken an unspoken promise between the 2 of them. Not to tell anyone except Rebecca about yesterday.
"Keara, can I call you back later?" Camryn asked, quietly.
"Yeah. Talk to you later. Bye." Keara hung up, leaving Camryn and Jack in an uncomfortable silence.
"Look, Jack…" Camryn tried to explain, even though she knew he was already angry with what she did.
"No, Cam, I wanna know why you had to brag to Keara. Not why you told her everything which also pisses me off but since I doubt you said anything bad I'm gonna let it slide."
"She asked what I was doing yesterday, I didn't come right out and say "Me and Jack had sex." I was like "Me and Jack were…busy…" nothing more until she asked for details… I didn't tell her anything specific except for when we fell off the bed."
"Oh god! Did you tell her why we fell off the bed!"
"Jack! I'm not that stupid! If I told her why we fell off the bed she might have screamed it on the sidewalk at school or in the hallway!"
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. "Good." The phone started ringing again. Jack picked it up, frustrated but relieved. "Hello?"
"Who is it?"
Jack handed her the phone. "Justin. I think he said something about a party…" Camryn ripped the phone out of his hand. "Yo, J! Where's it at?"
"My place. Bring Jack. Oh, and you might not want to tell Jack's brothers… it's kind of… um well yeah, you know…"
"Yeah, I know. Time?"
"Starts around 9. It's not supposed to be a huge thing but you know our friends have big mouths… So anyway, see you guys there!"
"Of course! Party clothes, here I come! First I gotta finish fixing Jack's finger. The idiot cut himself when a cockroach started crawling on the counter near him and then he cut it in half and it's still sitting there! It's gross!"
Justin was laughing then he mumbled a 'bye' and hung up. Jack was still giving Camryn somewhat of a death glare but he gave up being mad and followed her upstairs to change. It was a Friday night anyways. How could he be mad at Camryn on her party night? They wouldn't be able to have any real one-on-one party time!
Camryn came out of her room (Yes, she actually went in her room) about a half hour later wearing a really short jean mini skirt, a black spaghetti strap tank top with a red, sparkling guitar in the bottom corner, and her black Vans. She was now heading for the bathroom to fix her hair because it was extremely ruffed up from the fight and being pulled back after that.
Jack was wearing black jeans, a black beater with the word 'Rebel.' in dark, blood red on the front, and a pair of his favorite, tattered black Converse. He added a few of his favorite necklaces, including his rosary and headed off to find Camryn because he had a necklace he wanted to give her.
Jack knocked on the bathroom door and waited for an answer. "Camryn?"
"One sec, Jackie!" Camryn called, pulling her shirt back on. It was in the way when she was trying to fix her hair.
"What are you doing?"
"Fixing my hair."
"So why can't I come in?"
"'Cause it's supposed to surprise you, dumb ass! You can come in now…"
Jack opened the door and paused out of how beautiful Camryn looked. "Whoa."
"What! Don't you like it! Desirable description or no!"
"Drop dead gorgeous." Jack shook his head out to make sure he actually saw it was his girlfriend wearing a skirt and an outfit she would normally describe as slutty. She could pull it off as something beautiful.
Camryn turned back to the mirror to finish playing with her hair so it looked good. Jack was still staring, but his gaze had somewhat shifted to her butt since she had turned around.
"You enjoying the view or what?" Cam laughed.
Jack glanced up at her smile in the mirror. "Sorry."
"It's alright. It's not like I haven't got my share of you… So what'd you need?" She turned around.
Jack smiled. "I've got something for you." Jack held up a necklace with a silver chain with 2 charms hanging from it. One was the letter 'M' for Mercer; the other was a guitar pick. On the guitar pick was the engraving of the initials 'C.M' and the initials 'J.M'.
"Jack… Where'd you get this?" Camryn breathed. She felt tears of joy welling in her eyes.
"Customized. The only one ever made. Hope you like it." Jack put it around her neck and fastened the clasp. Camryn wrapped a hand around the charms and wiped the single tear that had fallen. "I love it. Thank you." She kissed him and gave him a hug.
"Welcome." They stood there for a few minutes. Then Camryn decided her hair wasn't right again. Of course, that was about the 3rd time she'd changed it in the last half hour so Jack grabbed her wrist and held her until she stopped trying to get him to let go so she could fix it.
"Cam, you look great! Stop playing with your hair!"
Her hair was cascading down over her shoulders and back in dark brown/auburn waves. "No it doesn't! It looks bad! I hate it!"
"Why are you making it look so special now? You never care this much about your hair when you go everywhere else!"
"Because we're going to a party together! I don't wanna embarrass you so I'm trying to look as pretty as I can get myself! That way when I look in a mirror I don't have to puke looking at how ugly I am!" Camryn tried not to scream because Jack was so close to her but it was hard because that was how she really felt. She wanted to cry.
"What are you talking about? You look gorgeous! You don't have to dress up to look beautiful! I thought you looked pretty when you were naked in the shower, so what does that tell you?"
"That I have big boobs and a nice ass! Like all your groupies!" Camryn could feel the tears falling down her cheeks but she didn't care.
"Camryn Elizabeth!" Jack grabbed her shoulders and tried to get her to look him in the eye. She was staring at the floor next to her, completely avoiding eye contact. "What guy wouldn't notice something like that? That's not what I love about you…I mean sure it's enjoyable on the right occasion…but that's not my favorite part of you and you know it! Hey! Look at me!"
Camryn eventually looked at him, but she didn't notice Katie standing around the corner watching them.
Jack kissed her intimately and waited for her reaction. He got her tongue in his mouth. She was so busy with his mouth that she didn't notice Jack's hands slipping up the front of her shirt.
Jack fell back into the wall next to the shower, taking Camryn with him. Camryn kicked the bathroom door shut, scaring Katie into screaming because she wasn't expecting it to close in her face. Jack heard it and let go of Camryn's breasts.
Camryn heard it, too. She backed off of Jack and adjusted herself. "Oh shit. Jack I think Katie's out there." She whispered.
"We are so screwed."
Camryn nodded. She carefully opened the door. Surely enough, there was Katie, holding her favorite blanket.
"Cammy…" Katie whispered.
"What's wrong?" Camryn tried to sound innocent but it wasn't as easy as it appeared to be. "Where is everyone?"
"Auntie Evie told me to come look for you guys. Alex has a few friends over and she wanted you to meet them."
"Can you tell her we'll be down in a few minutes?"
Katie nodded and walked back down the stairs.
Jack and Camryn both breathed a huge sigh of relief. "I thought she was gonna ask us what we were doing."
"Well, I just bought us a few minutes so you wanna go back to where we were?" Camryn smirked at Jack and he caught on. He went back to his original position, with his hands up her shirt and Camryn straddled him to the bathroom floor on his hips.
"A bit aggressive for only a few minutes of time, don't cha think?" Jack asked, begging the answer was they actually didn't have to go downstairs and that they could have sex on the bathroom floor.
"Not by my standards…"
"Oh really…?"
Camryn leaned over to his face and smiled. "Yes, really."
"Well, good, 'cause we don't have to leave for another hour and a half…"
"Yeah, I know. Though we should probably go back to your room so no one walks in on us."
"Just lock the door. I ain't lettin' go…" Jack grinned.
"Well. They're mine so maybe I say you are."
"Who says?"
"Jack! That's like me sticking my hand down your pants and grabbing you then saying I ain't lettin' go! It just doesn't work that way!"
"Aw…why not? What if I wanted you to?"
"Don't get any ideas. I may let you touch me but I never said I'd do the same to you…"
"And why not?
"Don't push it. My breasts are my property. You're lucky I let you touch them!"
"You're ruining my fun!"
"Yeah, I know! Now let go so I can go meet these demons!"
Jack did as he was told and propped himself up on his elbows.
"You can breathe now." Jack laughed.
"Oh, shut up!" Camryn laughed. She helped Jack to his feet and opened the bathroom door. She was holding his hand until they got to the kitchen. Then she went to the fridge. There was only a little milk left so she started drinking directly from the carton. Every one of Alex's friends was in the kitchen eating snacks. Katie was sitting on the counter next to Evelyn drinking apple juice.
When Cam bent down to get a bottle cap off the floor, Evelyn noticed her latest tattoo. It was on her lower back. A skull and cross bones and below, the name 'Mercer'.
"New tattoo, Camryn?" Evelyn asked, kindly.
Camryn stood and faced Evelyn. "Yeah. Wanna see?" She pulled the skirt down so the group could see her newest tattoo.
"Hey, Alex, who is that girl? She's hot!" Alex's friend, Danny (14), asked.
Camryn turned to face the boys. "First off whoever just said that, don't ever call me hot. Only Jack can call me hot. And second, drop any thoughts of a small chance with me. Not gonna happen!"
"Danny, meet my sister Camryn and her boyfriend, Jack." Alex introduced.
"I'm assuming that tattoo is referring to Jack Mercer." Danny said.
"No. That one's for the whole family. My family. This one's for Jack." Camryn flashed her right wrist in the boy's face. There was a guitar with the initials 'J.A.M' next to it. "Okay, enough of this bullshit. What are all these boys doing in our house?"
"It's Friday. So I told Alex he could have a few friends sleepover. You guys look dressed up, you going somewhere?"
"We were gonna head over to Justin's. He's throwing a party tonight. Is that alright, Ma?"
"Yeah. Be careful and don't forget, curfew's at 1:00AM. Even if it is a Friday night. You guys never sleep too well after a party."
"Alright. Thanks, Ma!" Jack exclaimed.
Bobby and Angel watching TV in the living room and listening to the conversation.
When Jack and Camryn walked by the living room, Bobby called them into the room so he could talk to them.
"Try not to come home drunk. If you do, you should be able to get a hold of me or Angel for a ride. I don't want either of you driving drunk or walking home in Detroit drunk. So please call one of us if you do. Deal?"
"Then what's in it for us?" Camryn smirked.
"If you don't come home drunk, but I find you sneaking in past curfew, I won't tell."
"And…" Bobby continued. "If you come home drunk but you're smart enough to get a ride from a sober friend, I'll keep the boys quiet all night and decently quiet so your hangover doesn't kill you."
"Thanks, guys." Jack smiled at his older brothers, then grabbed Camryn's hand and dragged her out to their car.
They got drunk and had to catch a ride from Connor. They stumbled in the front door at 1:30; half hour past curfew. Bobby heard them from his room and got up to make sure they had actually made it to bed. Jack made it to the bathroom in time to puke. Camryn just stripped to her bra and underwear and crawled into Jack's bed; she was too partied out to even find clean clothes.
A half hour later, Jack crawled into bed next to her in his boxers and wrapped his arms around her. By that time, she had already passed out. She hadn't even bothered to cover herself in a blanket.
Bobby kept his promise and kept the 5 boys quiet the rest of that night. Of course, Danny wanted to know why all of a sudden they had to be quiet. Bobby explained that both teens were drunk and when Camryn gets drunk and pissed, it's not pretty. Last time, Angel and Sofi were 'getting busy' and making a lot of noise. Camryn charged into Angel's bedroom in a pair of girls' boxer shorts and a bra; she said, "If you 2 make one more noise, moan, scream, or anything, I will personally come in and rip out your vocal cords!"
-THE NEXT MORNING-
Saturday, 10:00AM
The boys were making a lot of noise. Camryn's head was throbbing and Jack's was, too. Camryn took one of Jack's bigger t-shirts and put it on. She walked down the hall to Alex's room. When she opened the door all the boys looked scared, except one; the one that hadn't spent the night and was sleeping in his own bed, 2 houses down when Bobby shut up the other boys; Connor (17).
"I thought Bobby told you to be quiet."
"Well, Cam, you look hot." Connor laughed. The other boys looked at him with faces that said, "Don't joke with her. She'll kill you."
"Thanks." Camryn muttered sarcastically then looked at the other 5 boys. They were looking at her and Connor like they had sprouted 2 more heads. "If I hear one more thing out of any of you, I'll kill you with my own 2 hands! Got it!"
"Whoa! Camryn! Did Jack put something in your food again!" Connor was the only one making any sarcastic comments because that's how he and Camryn were.
"I have a question." Danny said.
"What." Camryn placed a hand on her hip and stood impatiently.
"Did you and Jack have sex last night?" Danny asked, boldly and bravely.
Camryn let out a frustrated scream. She slammed the door shut and turned around to find Jack about 3 inches from her face. She jumped a little, but then settled back on her heels.
"Jack." Camryn pushed past him and walked into the bathroom. She tried to shut the door but Jack stopped it, walked in after her, then closed and locked it.
"Jack, get out."
"No. I wanna talk to you."
"Get out!" Camryn stripped off her clothes, shamelessly, and got in the scalding hot shower.
"I wanna apologize about last night. It really isn't as bad as it seems!"
"You kissed another girl! It's beyond bad!" Camryn started crying. She took the necklace off that he had given her the day before and threw it out of the curtain at him, it landing on the floor near his feet. She slammed the shower off and tore the curtain open. Ripping a towel off the rack and wrapping it around herself, she left the bathroom, crying and slamming the door behind her.
Camryn didn't like the fact that everyone in the house had heard them fighting and was scattered in the hallway and on the stairs wondering what was going on. She pushed the door to her bedroom open and shut and locked it. She changed into pajama bottoms, a decent t-shirt, and one of Jack's old hoodies, and then collapsed on her bed, hugging her bunny and breathing in the unique scent of Jack's hoodie. About 10 minutes later someone started knocking on the door.
"Cam, can I talk to you? Please?" Jack was speaking softly.
Camryn didn't answer. She just buried her face farther into the sweatshirt.
There was mumbling heard and then another knock came. "It's Sofi. Can I come in, please?"
Camryn got up and opened the door to let Sofi in. Jack was standing next to Sofi when she opened the door. Camryn was still crying, her eyes red, her dark make-up smeared down her cheeks and she looked like the scared little girl Jack had rescued from her father when they were younger.
Jack looked at her and immediately he felt horrible about what he had done. Camryn was right, it was a big deal.
He tried to stop her before she shut the door, but she closed it in his face.
Everyone was watching all of this happen. Bobby was on the stairs, watching from behind the railing, Angel was holding Katie, next to Evelyn between the stairs and the bathroom.
Jack sank to the floor next to Camryn's bedroom door. (A/N: IT RHYMES!) Alex and Danny were standing in Alex's bedroom doorway waiting for Jack to break. Connor was standing in the middle of the hall.
"She is never gonna talk to me again." Jack muttered. He dropped his head back against the wall and shut his eyes.
Evelyn walked over to try to comfort him. "Jackie, don't be so sure of that. She loves you and you know it… Hell, we all know it!" Evelyn glanced at everyone else, waiting for reassuring nods and gestures.
Connor pressed his ear to the wall next to Camryn's door and listened for a second. "She's not bad-mouthing you… She's talking about the other day, the snow day…" he paused. "IN DETAIL! TO SOFI!"
Jack pulled him away from the wall and stood up. "Why the hell wouldn't she bad mouth me. I made out with another girl in front of her! I'd be pissed if I were her!"
"YOU ADMITTED IT!" Bobby screamed. "YOU ADMITTED THAT YOU'RE GAY! You just said you'd be pissed if your boyfriend was making out with a girl in front of you!"
"Bobby!" Evelyn scolded.
-In Camryn's Room-
"He was drunk, Cam. You know he loves you! He wouldn't do something that serious if he just wanted to make you mad and you know it!" Sofi said, soothingly.
"I know that. But I mean he was kissing another girl while I was standing right next to him and he didn't even realize it! I wanted to smack him and break down crying and then have him pick me up and carry me home to his bed all at the same time."
Camryn had begun crying again. Even though she and Sofi weren't the best of friends, Sofi was the only other girl in the house besides Katie, but an 8-year-old wouldn't be too much help to Camryn in this sort of situation. Sofi gave Cam a hug.
"Why don't you lay down for a bit? I'll have Bobby or Angel talk to Jack if they aren't already. Alright?"
"Thanks, Sof." Camryn wiped her face free of any tears and make-up she could get off.
"No problem. Relax for a little while; I'll keep the boys quiet."
Camryn smiled a little then laid down on her side, facing the wall. She fell asleep in an instant and Sofi left her alone.