I can't believe we're on the fourteenth chapter already! You guys are awesome-thanks a bunch for all your support and reviews! :D It makes me so happy.
Jeannie's fitful sleep was ended once and for all by the sound of her alarm clock ringing shrilly. "Damn it," she grumbled, slamming her fist on the snooze button. "It's Saturday…"
She finally managed to stagger out of bed with the worry Jack had somehow destroyed the house during the night. Pulling on her bathrobe, she crept downstairs and paused outside of the door to the living room, wondering if she should knock. Was Jack a morning person?
Luckily, she didn't have to ponder the matter further. "Looking for someone, Jean-nie?" a low voice asked beside her.
She'd half-expected him to sneak up on her, so she only flinched. "Did you even sleep at all?" she accused. Jack's hair looked neatly combed, a stark contrast to the circles under his eyes and exhausted expression.
"You don't look so good yourself," he pointed out.
"Has anyone ever told you you're infuriating?" Jeannie grumbled, .
"My, aren't we using large words today." Jack ran his tongue along the inside of his scarred cheeks. "You have an impressive vocabulary, tiger."
Jeannie was beginning to wish she'd made him stay outside in the thunderstorm. "Go wait by the car," she commanded. "I want to have a weekend to myself so I can think up sarcastic comebacks to everything you say."
"Can I drive?" Jack asked, his eyes lighting up.
She shook her head. "Do you even have a license? There is no way I'm letting you total my car."
Jack actually looked hurt. "Of course I know how to drive, Jean-nie. How do you think I got to Gotham in the first place?"
She paused. 'You mean you own a car?"
"Not anymore. I had to sell it to buy the apartment."
Jeannie continued to look at him in disbelief. His grin grew wider. "I still don't trust you with my car," she eventually said. "Now, do you want a ride or not?"
Even though it was still early in the morning, the air was stagnant and humid. A thick smog hung over the entire city, floating above the skyscrapers and seeping into buildings. Everything seemed to be moving more sluggishly than usual, Jeannie noticed. As soon as she got back home, she would turn on the air conditioning. Better to freeze to death than burn to death.
Jack watched her drive with the ghost of a smile on his face. "What's so funny?" Jeannie asked him when she couldn't stand it any longer.
"I never pegged you to be a slow driver," he answered. "It feels as if time is running backwards."
She gestured to the road in front of them. "I'm keeping up with the traffic!"
"Ah, but parked cars don't count as traffic."
Abruptly, Jeannie stamped her foot on the gas. The car shot forward so fast both of them slammed backwards into their seats. "Happy?" she said dangerously.
Jack shrugged. "I think Grandma just passed us."
"You're welcome to join her then," Jeannie snapped. "Funny, I don't remember you being this annoying."
"I don't remember you having such a bad case of PMS," he retorted, flipping on the radio.
Jeannie gritted her teeth and tried to pretend he wasn't there. How could she possibly be attracted to this boy one minute and then be intensely aggravated by him the next? It was impossible to have a serious conversation with him.
Neither of them spoke for the rest of the ride, save for Jack giving her directions. Jeannie felt his sharp gaze on her face the entire time. She was sure he was judging her, trying to figure out what she was thinking. It made her uncomfortable and she tried in vain to ignore him.
After fifteen more minutes of navigating through the congested streets of the Narrows, Jeannie pulled up in front of a derelict building with peeling paint and yellowed windows. "This is your apartment?" she asked dubiously.
"What did you expect, Wayne Manor?" Jack said. He paused before opening the door. "Do you still go to the same high school?"
"Uh, yeah," Jeannie replied cautiously. Her attention was diverted for a moment as a scantily-clad woman on the street looked Jack up and down. To her relief, he didn't even glance the prostitute's way. "Why do you ask?"
"Just, ah, wondering." So quickly Jeannie had no time to see it coming, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She could barely kiss him back before he pulled away. "So long, tiger."
"Wait!" she called after him, irritated. "Don't I even get a thank-you?"
Jack turned around and winked at her. "Thank you," he mouthed sarcastically.
Well, at least it was better than nothing. Jeannie waited until he had disappeared into the rundown building before revving the engine and pulling back out into the flow of traffic, wondering when she would see him again.
She spent the rest of the weekend catching up on homework and preparing for her graduation later that week. Emily was the valedictorian and Jeannie had offered to write her speech, seeing as how the other girl was hopeless at writing. Besides, she needed something to take her mind off of…recent events.
What were Jack's motives? Why was he really back in Gotham? And, most importantly…did he consider them to be a couple now?
Ever since a girl named Lacie Stewart had transferred to the school three weeks beforehand, Richard almost completely ignored Jeannie. She'd caught him talking to the beautiful redhead on several occasions and rumor had it they'd gone to dinner together. To be honest, Jeannie wasn't that attached to her boyfriend: she'd dated him more out of politeness and peer pressure than actual interest. She knew Lacie was definitely attracted to him, and she often felt like throwing her hands up and saying, "All right! Just take him already!" Now that graduation was fast approaching, Jeannie knew she would have to do something soon. Richard was moving to Florida for university, and she really didn't want to get involved in a long-distance relationship.
But on the other hand, he was her first boyfriend, and she had absolutely no idea how to break up with him. Emily had offered to leave a note in his locker, but Jeannie refused. What if someone else found it? Richard was the star of the football team and he could make her life hell if he was so inclined. Like the coward she secretly was, she'd made a promise to herself to go to prom with him and break up the next day. Actually, he'd probably break up with her when she refused to sleep with him that night. That would certainly make things a lot easier.
Mr. and Mrs. Kerr came home late on Sunday, tired but satisfied from their stay in New York. They reported that Harriet was doing well and although there had been a small incident where she'd accidentally confessed to drunk sex, things were going well for her. It had been rocky for the first year or so after Alice and Margaret were born, but college appeared to straighten her out. Even though Harriet herself didn't appear to care, Jeannie often wondered how her twin nieces were doing. She'd only gotten to hold them briefly at the hospital before they were whisked off to the Sharpes.
For a short while, Jeannie wrestled with the possibility of telling Mr. Kerr that Jack had returned, but something held her back. He'd want to check up on him and clear everything with the police—something she was sure Jack wouldn't appreciate. For now, at least, she would keep the secret safe. After all, if they did eventually date, her father would have to find out sometime.
That Monday was the last official day of high school. Everything seemed to pass by in a haze for Jeannie. Like most of the other students, she couldn't believe that they were graduating, ready to emerge into the real world. It seemed like no time had passed since she'd first moved to Gotham as a sulking teenager.
While Jeannie cleared out her locker for the final time, a pair of arms snaked around her waist. "Hey, babe," a husky voice murmured into her ear. "How's it going?"
"Hi, Richard," she said, feeling a shudder of revulsion as his hands moved upward. "Shit, stop groping me! We're in a public hallway!"
"Aw, come on," her boyfriend said, pretending to pout. "You've let me do it before."
She kicked the locker door shut with her foot and turned to face him. "Yeah, but that's all I let you do."
"That'll change come Friday night, though," Richard said. His dark hair stuck to his forehead in sweaty clumps and his hands were sticky with moisture. "Right?"
"Maybe," she muttered, trying to sound ambiguous. "But probably not."
They rounded a corner and Richard waved at one of his friends who held a camera. "Hey, Nick!" he called. "Come get a picture of us!"
Jeannie, who had always hated pictures, stiffened. "What do you mean?" she asked with no small amount of trepidation.
But Richard soon showed her what he meant as he theatrically grabbed her face and began enthusiastically kissing her, much to the amusement of passerby. Jeannie heard Nick's camera clicking feverishly and felt herself shrivel with embarrassment as Richard's hands snaked all over her body. Wolf-whistles ensued as he grabbed her upper thigh and wrapped it tightly around his waist.
Could things get any more humiliating? Jeannie tried to push him away, but he only secured his grip and his tongue shoved deeper into her mouth. The possibility of choking seemed very real now.
"Freak at twelve o'clock," Nick suddenly said under his breath. "He's lookin' at you, dude."
With an obscenely loud squelch, Richard finally pulled away and Jeannie stumbled back, gasping for air. Through her oxygen-deprived brain, she managed to see what the two boys were looking at: a tall, imposing figure with curly blond hair staring straight at them. Even from this distance, she could see his scars.
Jack.
"Take a picture, freak!" Richard yelled at him. "It lasts longer!"
Now everyone in the vicinity was staring at them. Jeannie wished she could melt into the floor and disappear. "Jack—" she began, starting towards him, but with a look that could cut steel he turned around and walked away.
It wasn't the first time she'd been fixed with his cold stare, but this was different. Jeannie was reminded of the time she felt truly afraid of him, shortly after he'd seen her with Bruce Wayne.
He was jealous. Now, she wasn't an expert on psychology like her mother, but she had enough common sense to know that it wasn't a good thing…especially when it was Jack.
"I have to go," she said to Richard, and ran off in the direction he had disappeared.