I don't own Modern Family or any of the characters from the show, Enjoy.
The 29th of March, 4:12 pm. Luke's POV.
"Hands up." Clay says, calmly. He holds up his hands, which have the small circle padded gloves on them.
I jab at one, hitting it as hard as I can. Clay steps back, bringing the right pad low and I strike it, with a fast right. He brings the left pad around and swings for my head, I duck under it, taking a step back. He brings the right pad to the center of his chest and I hit it, with a straight right.
I lower my hands only for a second and Clay makes me pay for it, he hits me in the face with the left pad, so quickly, I'm not even sure he really hit me. I stumble back, holding a hand to my face.
"Never let your guard down. When you do, that's when you get knocked the fuck out." Clay says, holding the pads up. I look back at him, rubbing my cheek. "C'mon, you're fine." He says, grinning at me.
"You hit him pretty hard." Manny puts in, from his spot on Clay's weight bench.
He's sitting there, one leg resting on his other knee. He's wearing a nice dark brown dress shirt, with matching dress pants and a pair of dress shoes. Clay looks over at him, wiping sweat from his brow. We've been working out since lunch and I was barely staying on my feet, while Clay looked like he could go a few more hours. He's wearing a white long sleeve shirt, which at this point was almost see through. I could almost make out a few of his tattoos, I think there's a demon on his back.
"You wanna give it a go?" Clay asks, grinning down at Manny.
"No thanks. I'm a lover, not a fighter." Manny says, sharply.
Manny, like my Mom, uncle Mitchell and my Grandpa, didn't like Clay. He thought, much like the rest of my family, that Clay wasn't good enough for Haley. Which I don't get. I mean, what the hell does Clay see in my sister? Manny also thought boxing/fighting/MMA is a barbaric, vicious and bloody sport for knuckle dragging apes. His words, not mine. So, he wasn't happy with me practicing it, with Clay.
"C'mon man, it's fun." Clay says, lightly popping Manny on the shoulder.
"No thank you." Manny says, with a bite to his voice, as he glares up at Clay, rubbing his shoulder. "I find fun in other places, like writing." He says, smoothing down his shirt, where Clay hit him. "You may have seen other people doing it, you know, where they mark down symbols on paper." He adds, with a smart smirk to his lips.
"Yeah, I may have seen that a time or two." Clay says dryly, shaking his head. "I think we'll call it a day." He says, taking off the padded gloves and looking over at me. "Get him out of here, he looks like he'll start cryin', if he gets a stain on his fancy clothes." He adds, with a laugh.
I chuckle, as Manny shoots Clay a dark look. I pull off the MMA gloves and set them on the workbench. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of this fighting thing, I've only been at it for a few weeks now. But I'm getting pretty good at boxing and I'm alright at the ground game. And it's cool to get to hang out with Clay, he's a cool guy. He's a tough trainer, though. He pushes me, hard. But the two times I've gotten hurt, really hurt, he stopped and made sure I was okay, telling me I'm getting there, that I'm doing better.
Sometimes after a workout, I will just sit in the garage and talk with him. I worked up the nerve to ask him about the weird symbols he had tattooed on his ring fingers. He told me they are Triskeles and for him they mean 'Mind, Body and Spirit' and ' The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost'. I wouldn't have ever guessed that Clay's a religious person, but he is. I've even seen him saying silent prayers to himself.
If I'm being honest, he's the brother I always wanted.
As I grab the handle to the door, Manny comes up behind me. I pull the door open and head across the backyard, then into the house. I see Alex and Haley sitting and chatting at the kitchen table, as I go into the kitchen and to the fridge, grabbing a water bottle.
"Afternoon Ladies." Manny says, smiling between my sisters.
"Hey, Manny." Haley says, looking up at him.
"Manny." Alex says, shooting him a look.
I walk back over to them, Haley looks over at me, eying the reddening spot on my face.
"How's the weight lifting going?" Haley asks, not taking her eyes off the spot.
I see Manny shoot me a look, while Alex looks over at me too. I knew Manny didn't like me working out with Clay and I don't think Alex really believes that I'm 'just' weight lifting with Clay.
"It's goin'." I say, before taking a sip from my water bottle.
Haley laughs and looks over at our sister.
"He's starting to sound like Clay." She says, shaking her head. She looks back at me, still smiling. "Better not let Mom hear you talking like him or she might look into this whole 'weight lifting' thing, that you're doing with Clay." She says, with a knowing smile.
I guess, she didn't believe that I'm 'just' weight lifting with Clay either.
"Manny, c'mon... come on." I say, with a nod, going down the hall.
I hear Manny following behind me, I also hear my sisters laughing. I go up the stairs and into my room. I sit on my bed, as Manny closes the door to my room.
"Get in the shower, you need to get ready. So, we can get going." Manny says, walking to the center of the room.
"We got four hours, before the party even starts." I say, lying back on my bed.
"We should get there early, so we can find out where the drinks are, the exits and the bathrooms too." He says, walking over to one of my bean bag chairs and slowly sitting down.
"C'mon man, we're not going early." I say back, looking up at the bottom of the top bunk. "We should just be mellow tonight, okay." I say, even though I mean 'you', not we.
I love Manny, he's my best friend. But he shoots himself in the foot more times than not. The way he acts sometimes is just off putting for some people, which he doesn't get. Some of the things he says to girls can come off as creepy, which I know he doesn't mean them to, but they do. I try my best to help him, but he usually doesn't listen to me.
I want to clear my head, not wanting to think about it anymore. I sit up and look over at him.
"Wanna pregame?" I ask, with a small smirk.
He looks over at the door, then back at me. "You sure? I mean, what if someone smells it or comes up to check on us?" He asks, leaning closer to me and lowering his voice.
I roll my eyes at him, getting up and walking over to my dresser.
"We'll open a window." I say, pulling out a small cigar box. I look over at him. "Go on, open it." I say, nodding to my window.
He stands and goes to the window, opening it. I walk over to it and sit on the window seal. I open the cigar box and pull out the rainbow colored bowl, then the small zip lock bag of pot. I slowly pack the bowl, then grab the lighter. I take a hit and try to hold the smoke for as long as I can. I blow the smoke out and start coughing, feeling the effect of the pot washing over me like a wave.
I can feel every muscle in my body relaxing, as I hand the bowl to Manny and he does a hit.
"So, you gonna try to talk to Holly tonight?" I ask, looking over at him.
"Why? Katey's going to be there." He says, looking at me, like I'm stupid.
"C'mon man, Holly's hot." I say, not wanting him to go down the 'Katey Smith road' again. "And she loves poetry too, you two were made for each other." I say, shooting him a look.
"But, I don't love Holly." He says, again, looking at me like I'm stupid. "Katey is my muse." He says, smiling.
I roll my eyes at him, he's killing my buzz.
"Whatever man." I say, taking the bowl from him.
I ain't high enough for this.
The 29th of March, 4:57 pm. Haley's POV.
I bite my lip, as I walk to the garage. I'm slightly worried about Alex, she is still down about that dick, Jimmy. Me and Clay had been planning on going out tonight, just me and him. But I sorta invited Alex along, she's just been so upset over the last few weeks. I couldn't stand seeing her like that anymore. So, me and Clay are going to have someone else with us, on our date night.
I pull the door to the garage open and I step in, spotting Clay doing situps. He really is in obnoxiously good shape. I stare at his back, the large tattoo and his well defined back muscles. He's covered in sweat, I watch as beads of it fall from him and hit the floor. I walk over to the workbench and set down the ice cold glass of water, then I lean against it. His pace is quick, his breathing is steady. I wonder what's going through his head, he looks angry, like the ceiling has insulted him.
He let's out a long breath and then stands up, he looks over at me, his large chest rising and falling. Sweat slides down his chest and abs, I may need a minute to myself. He smiles at me, that small smile of his. I smile back, grabbing and holding out the glass of water. He takes it and downs it in one.
"Thanks, Comet." He says, setting the glass down on the workbench. He kisses me on the cheek, I might need more than a minute to myself.
"You got a minute?" I ask, looking over at him.
He grins at me. "No, I got my hands full here." He says, sarcastically.
I lightly slap him on one of his large sweaty arms, he just chuckles.
"Umm... Well, I was talking with Alex and... I sorta invited her to come along tonight." I say, with a weak smile.
"What?" Clay asks, sounding disappointed. "I thought me and you were going to have some fun tonight, you know, just me and you." He says, shooting me a meaningful look.
"Look, with my parents out, Luke and Manny going to their friend's house and us going out. I felt bad about leaving her here, alone." I say, looking up at him.
Yes, I felt bad about leaving Alex home alone. But part of me knew I was just using Alex to put off telling Clay about the fact that half my family now knows about his father. I've been trying to bring it up all week, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm scared he won't listen to me and will just leave, I broke his trust. That hard earned trust and I just throw it away, like it was nothing.
"Alright, that's good of ya." He says, with a nod, not meeting my eye.
I grab his face, making him look at me. "There will be other nights, I promise." I say, smiling up into those dark brown eyes of his, I love those eyes.
"I know." He says, leaning down and lightly kissing me on the lips.
I could tell him now, we're alone. He leans his forehead against mine and puts his hands atop my belly, I put my hands atop his. I could do it, I could tell him. Make him talk it out with me. I knew I screwed up. I could talk it out with him, get him to forgive me. Make him understand that I didn't mean for everyone to find out, that I didn't mean to hurt him. Just like everyone else in his life, I hurt him. The man I love, I hurt him.
That's when I feel it, our baby move. I let out a gasp, putting both my hands on my belly.
"Ha..." Clay mutters, grinning at me.
"You felt it too?" I ask, smiling up at him.
"Yeah, I did." He says, looking up at me, then back down at my belly.
It feels almost like butterflies are flying around in my belly, it feels weird. Nice, but weird. I look back up at Clay, who's smiling, that small smile of his. He looks happier than I've seen him in months. That's when I knew I couldn't tell him, not now. Not in this moment, not in our moment. His dark brown eyes are lock to my belly, I look away from his eyes and back down at my belly.
I would tell him, I will. I knew it was coming sooner, rather than later. I would need to be brave, tell him to his face and try to talk it out with him. He would be angry, he had a right to be. I betrayed him, betrayed his trust. Not a lot of people had that trust, his trust. I wasn't even sure if I wasn't the only one to have his trust, I would like to think there are at least a few people out there he trusts. But I really don't know, please don't let me be the only one.
He looks up at me, smiling that smile of his. I smile back, having to hold back tears. More hatred for myself builds, as I stare at him. I hurt him, just like everyone else in his life. I betrayed his trust, I betrayed him. He pushes some of my hair behind one of my ears and then kisses my forehead.
"I love ya, Comet."
The 29th of March, 8:47 pm. Luke's POV.
"Shit..." I mutter, my eyes on the two girls across the room from me.
The two girls were locked in a passionate kiss, their hands wandering over the other's bodies without shame. One of the girls has pale creamy white skin, with dark black hair, that hid most of her face. the other girl has light black skin, with straight short hair , with a little bit of blue in it. The music blasts, drowning out all other sound. It's some rap song, I haven't heard before. People were dancing, talking, joking and making out, all around me. I sip my beer and look over the party and the sea of people, it had barely started, but at least a few people were already wasted.
A few guys were gathered around the keg, joking loudly. Jocks, they had given me shit when I got my beer, asking me if Alex had come. The whole school was still talking about the rumors going around about Alex, I knew they won't true. I had to swallow my pride, as the jock dickheads grinned at me. Even if I could take one of them, I couldn't take them all.
I walk out of the living room and into the dining room, a few people were passing around a blunt. They joke and smile over at me, waving me over. I walk past them and into the den, someone bumps into me. I turn and face them, I can't help but smile. Ginny Burkewood, she smiles back at me. She is short, standing about five-five, with flawless olive skin. She is thin and has long dark black hair, which frames her face. She's wearing a light blue hoodie and tight dark jeans, with flats. Her chocolate brown eyes lock on mine.
She squeals and throws her arms around my neck, catching me off guard. A few of the girls behind her giggle, drunkenly. Me and Gin had been friends since like the second grade, but she started acting a little off last year. I don't think I did anything, I think. She would ask all kind of questions and would get upset anytime I started talking about girls, but didn't care whenever Manny did. And I've been seeing less and less of her since starting high school.
"Oh Lukas, I have been loo... looking.. everywhere for you." She says, smiling up at me and tapping me on the nose, with her pointing finger.
She was clearly drunk, Gin never drank. She also never called me Lukas.
"God, I love your hair." She says, running her hands through it, getting more giggles from the girls behind her.
I let out a laugh and smile, lightly pushing her hands down.
"I think someone's had too much to drink." I say, smiling down at her.
"No, no, I'm... fine." She says, giving me a serious look, but still swaying a bit. "I want to ... to show you something." She says, grinning up at me, grabbing one of my hands.
"Yeah?" I ask, playing along, as she drags me from the room and up the stairs.
More giggles come from the group of girls.
She drags me down the hall and into one of the bedrooms, she closes and locks the door behind us. The room must belong to Andy's little brother, since posters of cartoons I've never seen hang on the walls and the comforter and pillow cases on the small bed were the Avengers. I could still hear music and people downstairs, faintly. I look back at her, I can see her, even in the low light. She looks slightly nervous, with one of her pink lips between her teeth.
Wait, no...
"I been thinking about this for awhile, Luke." She says, sounding more sober now. She unzips her hoodie and let's it hit the floor.
My mind is racing, trying to form words. She grabs the bottom of her light blue tee and she pulls it over her head, struggling a bit. She tosses it to the floor and smiles nervously, as she reaches back. She unhooks her bra and lets it fall next to her tee and hoodie, I can't help but stare. It is the first time I've seen boobs face to face, you know, without looking down a girl's shirt. I look back up at her and she's wearing a proud little smirk.
Gin walks over to me and pushes me down onto the bed, then she climbs on top of me. She stares down at me for a few seconds, before she leans down and kisses me. I kiss her back, being scared shitless. This is Ginny, the girl I used to throw mud at. The girl I used to push on the swings, but she isn't that little anymore and neither am I.
Her boobs are pressed against my chest and I can't help but wish I hadn't wore tight boxers, as her mouth works over mine. It's not a great kiss, do to her being drunk and me nervous, but it's good. I put my hands on her hips, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin. God, am I getting turned on by smooth skin now?
Her mouth leaves mine and she starts kissing my neck, then working her way down my chest. She lifts up my tee and kisses my belly button. She then undoes my belt, I look down at her and she grins back. She unbuttons my jeans and reaches for the zipper.
She's drunk, a small voice says. Guilt pools in my stomach, what am I doing? You're about to get a blowjob, you know, the only thing you've thought about for the last year. So, shut up and enjoy it. Another voice argues. Well, it had a point. Ginny is hot, really hot. It's not like I hadn't thought about her, while I.. well, it's crossed my mind. But this isn't her, she's drunk. This is wrong and I know it. I can't, I just can't.
Damnit, I'm gonna need a cold shower. A real cold one.
I grab her hand and she looks up at me, confused.
"I can't." I say, not knowing what else to say.
She grabs me, through my jeans. God, I'm gonna realy need a shower.
"Doesn't feel like it." She spits back, looking slightly upset.
I push her hand off me, wishing she wasn't drunk.
"You're drunk, Gin." I say, holding her hand in mine.
She rips it away, looking more upset.
"So? Everyones drunk, you're drunk." She says, looking away from me.
"I'm not." I say, reaching down and picking up her hoodie. I hold it out to her and she snatches it from me.
"What is it? Is there something wrong with me?" She asks, pulling it on, sounding like she's near tears.
Please don't cry, I've always been bad with crying people.
"No, nothings wrong with you." I say, quickly.
"What then?" She asks, zipping up the hoodie and standing, tears slipping down her face. "Do you not find me attractive?" She asks, more tears slipping down her face.
"God, no." I say, looking up at her. "You're super hot." I add, waving my hand up and down, like I'm trying to show her.
"Get out." She says, putting her hands over her face.
"Gin." I say, getting up.
"Please, just get out." She says, looking at me, more tears slipping down her face.
I feel like a complete piece of shit, as I look at her. This isn't what I wanted, I was trying to do the right thing. I try to grab one of her hands, but she quickly pulls it away. I sigh and go to the door, hating myself. She slams the door shut, behind me. I stand in the hall, with my hard on, listening to her cry.
This night is the worst, I should've stayed home.
The 29th of March, 9:12 pm. Alex's POV.
"What do you think of this one?" Haley asks, holding up a purple maternity sundress.
"Purple's never been my color." Clay says, dryly.
Haley and I let out a laugh, I shake my head. Haley tries to suppress a smile and slaps Clay on the arm, while he just grins down at her. They are cute together, they really are. Clay has this smile, that he only uses for my sister. They have these little inside jokes, that only the two of them find funny. I can't help but feel a little jealous of Haley, why couldn't I meet a good guy? Why couldn't Jimmy be that good guy, why did he have to be an ass?
"What do you think, Alex?" Haley asks, looking over at me and holding up the dress.
I look the dress up and down, then I look back at her.
"It's cute." I say, smiling up at her.
"I'm gonna get it." She says, with a small smile.
She hands it to Clay, since he's already holding the other clothes we picked out. Haley and Clay were buying me a few things, which is nice of them. But I can't help but feel like a third wheel. The whole night the two of them have been holding hands, stealing kisses, when they thought I wasn't looking and talking in hushed whispers, which always ended with a blush from Haley and a chuckle from Clay.
"I saw the cutest top the other day, when I was here with Cam." Haley says, smiling at me. "Which would look so cute on you." She says, moving between the racks of clothes and disappearing around a pillar.
"Great." I mutter, with a sigh.
I wasn't a fan of the mall, unlike my sister. She has grown up alot, during her year up north. But there was still a little bit of that teenager, who spent more hours at the mall then studying, in her. We already spent at least two hours here, if not more. I'm ready to go home. It didn't help, that we ran into a few kids from my school. A few girls pointed at me, laughing behind their hands. Then there was these three guys shouting at me, smirking. But Clay walked up and clapped me on the shoulder, he seemed to scare them off. Which I was thankful for.
It wasn't until I saw Clay out in public, that I noticed how much he stuck out. He isn't too tall, standing only five-eleven, maybe six foot. Nor is he that much bigger than everyone. But there is like this air about him, like you could just tell he's dangerous. I have caught him a few times staring down other men, like he was trying to see if they would attack or something.
I hear Clay let out a deep sigh and I look back at him, he looks as bored as I feel.
"You don't like shopping either?" I ask, looking up at him.
His dark brown eyes fall on me and he smiles, but it's not the smile he was wearing moments ago. No, that smile is only for my sister.
"Nah." He says, with a shake of his head. "Never really been the sort." He says, looking back at me, with a grin. "I've had these boots, since I was your age." He says, looking down at the boots in question.
They are a light tan mess, battered and worn out, with missed matched laces.
"Yeah, they definitely seen better days." I say, smiling up at him.
"Yeah." He agrees, with a chuckle. "C'mon, before your sister comes lookin'." He says, going the way Haley went.
I follow after him, knowing he's right. As soon as I'm around the pillar, Haley's on me, pressing a navy blue blouse to my chest.
"Oh yeah, this would be super cute on you." She says, grinning down at the blouse.
I can't help but notice, how low cut it is. It's not cut lower than most of Haley's tops or most of the tops that girls at my school wore, but it is definitely cut lower than any of my tops. Granted, all my 'tops', are t-shirts.
"Umm... I don't think this is me." I say, pushing the blouse back to her.
Haley looks crestfallen, making me feel slightly guilty.
"Come on, I'm paying for it." She says, holding the blouse up to me. "Please." She says, pouting.
"I would look ridiculous in it." I say, pushing some of my hair out of my face, not being able to meet her eye.
"No you wouldn't." Haley says, quickly, shooting me a look. "You would look so cute." She says, thrusting the blouse towards me. "Wouldn't she, Clay?" She asks, looking over at him.
I look over at my sister's boyfriend, feeling more than a little self-conscious.
"Yeah, you'd look good." Clay says, smiling at me.
I blush a little, under his gaze. Why am I blushing, just because some cute guy is smiling at me. I look between Haley, Clay and the blouse. It's a nice color, I have always liked blue. Haley might lie to me, to make me feel better. But I don't see Clay doing that, at least that's what I believe.
"Fine, let's get the blouse." I say, with a sigh.
Haley squeals happily and pulls me into a tight hug, I just pat her on the back. She let's me go and gives the blouse to Clay, before she turns and goes off again. I cross my arms over my chest and follow her, with Clay a step behind me. I look over my shoulder at Clay, he must really love her. His arms full of clothes, a bored look on his handsome face. He gives me a small smile, when he sees me looking at him.
I smile back.
"We should make a run for it." Clay says, with a grin. "Quick, while she's not lookin'." He adds, looking over at my sister.
I let out a laugh and shake my head at him, who knew he could be funny.
"Do you think we could outrun her?" I ask, with a tight lipped smile.
"I don't have to outrun her, just you." He says, dryly.
I laugh and smile at him.
"This is the worst." I say, looking at my sister, who's going through another rack of clothes.
Great, more clothes.
"It could be worse." Clay says, with a shrug.
"Yeah, you're right." I agree, with a nod. "At least, she's having a nice time." I add, smiling at my sister.
"Yeah."
The 29th of March, 10:21 pm. Luke's POV.
Ginny had stopped crying, that's a good sign, right?
I sit crossed legged, my back against a wall, facing the door. I wasn't sure how long I've been waiting for her to come out, but I would wait as long as it took. I had tried talking with her through the door, but it only seem to make things worse. I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, I did though.
As my thoughts hang heavy in my head, I bang my head against the wall.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid." I mutter over and over to myself.
The faint sound of music and people comes from downstairs, the party is fully underway now. Damn, I spent most of the night in this stupid hall. But what else could I do? It didn't feel right, just leaving Gin up here, crying and alone. One of those drunk assholes downstairs might just wander up here, they wouldn't care if she's drunk.
I hear laughs coming from the stairwell, I look down the hall, as the laughs get closer. Two people come around the hall, a girl and boy. I recognize them both. The girl is Katey Smith. She's five-four and slim, with brownish-blonde hair, which fell just past her shoulders. Her skin is a pale white, with small groupings of freckles on her arms, legs and face. She is wearing a dark mini-skirt, with a dark pink tee, that has some punk band on it.
She's hot, I get why Manny likes her so much.
Her dark brown eyes fall on me and her dark red lips smile, a cute little smile.
"Hey Dumphy." She says, with a wink, dragging Andy along behind her.
"Hey Katey." I say, with a nod.
Andy's dirty blonde hair is standing up in weird waves, he's wearing a powder blue polo shirt, the shirt's collar is white. His green eyes look at me and he nods, I just nod back, eying the weird mole on his neck. They disappear into a door, down the hall. I bet Andy is happy he threw this party, very happy, I bet.
I go back to staring at the door, wondering what Gin could be doing alone in the dark. I need to talk with her, about what happened. She had come on to me, hard. Did she liked me? Or was it just the alcohol, or maybe she wanted to lose her V-card to someone she knew. But if she liked me, if, what then? I like hanging out with her, she was easy to be around. I say things sometimes, that come off as mean, dumb or insensitive. I didn't mean them to, usually they were just a joke. Most girls would get upset or tell me off, but Gin... well she always called me on it, but didn't hold it against me.
She smoked too, which some girls didn't like. Some girls shoot me and Manny dirty looks when we will smoke in the parking lot or behind the gym. But Gin usually joined us, joking around and laughing. And she's beautiful too, she was easily one of the hottest girls in our year. Hell, our school. She's fun, cool and hot.
I smile slightly, I want to date Ginny Burkewood.
I hear someone coming up the stairwell, so I look over. Manny comes around the corner and smiles at me, I smile back.
"Evening, Luke." He says, with a short nod.
"Hey, Manny." I say, looking up at him.
"Has Katey come up here?" He asks, with a questioning look.
I think about the closed and probably locked door down the hall, man Manny, you know how to pick 'em.
"Nah, I haven't seen her." I lie, not wanting his heart to get broke, again.
"Shoot, I would've swore..." He trails off, shaking his head. His eyes fall back on me and I sigh, I know that look. "Why are you up here?" He asks, with a raised eyebrow.
"It's a long story." I state, looking back at the door.
It opens and I take a deep breath, quickly getting to my feet. Ginny has the hood of her hoodie pulled up, she doesn't even look at me.
"Hey Manny, I was just coming to find you." She says, it clear from her voice that's she's been crying. "Do you mind walking me home?" She asks, not even looking my way.
"I'll walk you home." I say, quickly, just wanting her to look at me. We could talk on our way to her house, I could let her know I liked her too.
"Leave me alone." She says, her hooded face looking at me, for only a moment.
"Okay, I just need to get my coat." Manny says, looking between me and Gin.
"Thank you." She says, reaching out and touching one of his arms.
Manny nods and goes down the hall, then down the stairs. Ginny follows him and I follow her, trying to think of something to say.
"C'mon, Gin." I say, as we go down the stairs. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt..." I start, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She turns quickly, knocking my hand from her shoulder. "Don't touch me." She says, sounding like she's near tears again.
"Gin..." I try, but she just turns, going down the stairs.
She reaches the bottom and pushes her way through the crowd, I follow her. She works her way out to the backyard, that's where I lose her. I wander around the yard, trying to spot her. But she's nowhere to be seen in the thick sea of people, I feel even more like a piece of shit. I run a hand through my hair, wishing I had stayed home tonight.
A hand grabs me by the shoulder, I quickly turn, hoping it's Ginny. But it's not, it's just Jimmy, Alex's ex. Jimmy is tall, standing about six-two and is weirdly skinny. His blonde hair is tall and curly, making him look even taller than he is. He's wearing a light blue and white striped tee, with white jeans and light blue sneakers. He has three other guys standing behind him. One was short and thin, with dark red hair and a short beard. Another is wearing a red baseball cap and has large red gauges in both of his ears, a black soul patch sits on his weak chin. The last has dark black skin, with a shaved head. He's wearing a black and yellow tank top, with tribal tattoos covering his thin arms.
"Luke, how are ya, little man?" Jimmy asks, clearly drunk.
"Fine." I spit, pushing his hand off my shoulder.
"How are those fine sisters of yours?" He asks, getting a few laughs from his friends.
"Yeah, heard Alex sucks a good dick." The one with the beard says, grinning.
The others laugh, the music almost drowns them out, almost. Anger burns in my chest, I ball a fist at my side. But quickly unball it, there's too many of them.
"Heard the same about you." I say back, quickly.
The others laugh at him, he just glares at me.
"Told you, the kid's funny." Jimmy says, with a laugh. "You're a funny kid." He says, putting a hand on my shoulder.
I push it off, again.
"The kid's funny and his sister's a slut, seems like a great family." The one with the beard says, not taking his eyes off me.
"Alex isn't a slut!" I shout, the anger winning out. "Jimmy just likes to talk, that's all." I say, looking over at him.
"She's a slut, that's her fault, not mine." Jimmy says, with a laugh. "Hell, both your sisters are sluts, isn't the older one pregnant?" He asks, grinning.
Anger builds and builds in my chest, my hands ball into fists.
"Sluts, both of them." He adds, with a laugh.
And that's it, I lose it. Before I know what I'm doing, my fist is crashing into his stupid face. Jimmy stumbles back and I throw another punch, hearing Clay's words. 'Never hit them just once, never.' He told me during my first lesson. 'Make the fucker scared to get up, make him think you're going to kill 'em, if he gets up'. My second punch lands in the center of his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
"Luke!" Gin shouts, from behind me.
Her and Manny are standing in the crowd that has gathered around me, Jimmy and his friends, she looks scared and Manny does too. I feel a little bit of guilt in the pit of my stomach, what the hell am I doing?
"Look out!" Manny yells, pointing.
I turn just in time to see Jimmy taking a swing at me, I dunk under it and hit him with two quick shots to the ribs. I bob back, keeping my hands up. 'Never let your guard down. When you do, that's when you get knocked the fuck out'. Jimmy holds his side, cursing under his breath. Someone grabs my arms, I try and fail to get them to let go. They pull my arms behind my back.
"Come on, Jim, we got him." I hear the one with the beard say.
The one with the beard and the one wearing the baseball cap are holding my arms tight behind my back, how the hell did they get behind me so fast? I look back at Jimmy and he smirks.
"You're gonna pay, little man." Jimmy says, popping his knuckles.
Ah, shit.
The 29th of March, 10:47 pm. Clay's POV.
"So, you don't know who his mother is?" I ask, lookin' over at Alex.
"No, but there are theories that he is Ned's sister's son." Alex says, with a smile.
"That's fucked up." I say, lookin' back at the book.
"From Rhaegar, stupid, the prince who may or may not have kidnapped her, not from her brother." She says, slappin' me on the chest.
"So, this Jon kid is really Ned's nephew." I say, tryin' to get my head around it.
"We don't know yet." She says, smilin' a huge smile.
"Huh." I mutter, lookin' back down at the book.
"Oh, you don't even have to buy it." She says, slappin' me on the chest again, her smile gettin' bigger. "I'll just let you borrow mine and you can read it, then we can talk about it." She says, smilin' up at me.
"Great." I say, tryin' to sound excited.
I want to be nice, Alex is a sweet girl and she's really been down these last few weeks. Haley won't tell me why, which I don't get. We tell each other everything... okay, she tells me everything. But, I'm workin' on it. Alex smiles and goes down the aisle, I look over the short shelves of books, tryin' to spot Haley. But I don't see her. The little book store was almost empty, besides me, Alex and Haley. There's the guy workin' the checkout and maybe four other people wanderin' around the small store. We're easily the youngest people here, with the closest one to our age bein' the guy workin' the checkout, who's maybe in his late twenties. Not surprisin', considerin' it's saturday. People are out partyin', not buyin' books.
Man, I don't want to read. I look down at the book, the damn thing looked like a phonebook. I sigh and put it back on the shelf, then follow after Alex. I know I would end up readin' the damn thing, I always have a hard time sayin' no to girls. I haven't read a book since dropping out, even then I only read about half of the ones, I was suppose to. I can never focus when readin', I always just end up readin' the same page over and over again.
It just reminds me how fuckin' stupid I am and that's what my father was for, the prick.
'Just read the damn page!' My father shouts, lookin' over at me. I look down at the page and I swear the words are jumpin' around, as tears blur my vision. 'Goddamnit, this isn't that fuckin' hard!' My father shouts, slappin' me hard across the face. My cheek stings and I taste blood. He rips the paper from my hands and reads it, tears slipin' down my stingin' cheek. 'We're gonna stay here, until you get it right.' He says, lookin' down at me. He slaps me again, harder this time. 'And stop your damn cryin', pussy.'
When I reach the end of the aisle, I look both ways, tryin' to see where Alex went.
"Hey, big guy." Someone says from behind me.
I turn and smile at Haley. God, she's an angel.
"What's Alex all smiles about?" Haley asks, smilin' up at me.
"Got her talkin' about this book she likes." I say, puttin' my hands on her hips. "I think I may have bitten off more then I can chew." I say, pushin' some of her hair out of her face.
"Well, it's nice to see her smiling again." She says, with a smile, that nearly kills me. "All because of my big teddy bear of a boyfriend." She says, standin' up on her tippy toes.
She kisses me, makin' my head go blink. Only thing I can think about is her, her lips, her hair and how it smells like lemons, she's killin' me. Does she even know what she does to me? She breaks the kiss, gettin' off her toes. She smiles up at me, with those beautiful green eyes of hers.
"Thanks, Clay." She says, grabbin' one of the strings of my hoodie. "I know, this isn't really how you wanted to spend tonight." She says, lookin' at the strings in her hands. "Really Clay, it's sweet of you." She says, lookin' back up at me.
"I wanted to spend it with you." I say, honestly. "So, the night's gone exactly how I wanted it." I say, kissing her lightly on the lips.
She smiles up at me and rolls her eyes.
"Someone's trying for a treat." She says, lookin' back at me, bitin' her bottom lip.
God, she's killin' me.
"Maybe." I say, slippin' one of my hands from her hips to her behind. I squeeze and get a soft yelp from her, a small smirk comin' to her lips. "What?" I ask, with a small smile, playin' dumb.
"Clay!" Alex calls, I look over my shoulder and she's comin' over to us, a book in hand.
Man, not more books. I hate 'em.
"Yeah." I say, turnin' around and facin' her.
Haley stands next to me, grabbin' one of my hands. I look over at her and smile, she smiles back. That smile gets me through my darkest days, my darkest memories.
"This is the other book, I was telling you about." Alex says, holdin' it up.
I feel a buzz in my pocket and glance down, my damn phone's goin' off.
"Sorry, give me a second." I say, lettin' go of Haley's hand and pullin' the phone out.
I step away from the two and go down the aisle, feelin' slightly nervous. I've been waitin' for something to go wrong, something always goes wrong when things are good. Usually, I'm the one to fuck things up. Don't let it be the girls or Morgan, please let them be alright.
"Yeah." I answer puttin' the phone to my ear.
"Clayton?" A voice asks, it almost sounds like Manny.
"Yeah, who's this?" I ask, lookin' over my shoulder at Haley and Alex, they're both lookin' back at me.
"It's Manny." He says, soundin' scared.
"Is everything alright?" I ask, wonderin' how the hell he got my number.
"No, Luke's hurt and he made me call, said he wanted you to pick us up." Manny says, in a rush of words, it's almost hard to understand him.
"Manny, slow down, alright." I say, lettin' out a sigh. "How badly is he hurt?" I ask, thinkin' the worst.
"Not too bad, I think. He got beat up by a few older guys." Manny says, slowly.
Anger builds in my chest, I kill 'em. "Text me the address and sit tight, I'm comin' to get ya." I say, before hangin' up the phone.
I turn and go down the aisle, the phone clutched tight in my fist. Who the hell would beat up a kid like Luke, he's a nice guy. Fuckin' high school kids, I think, shakin' my head. Haley and Alex are lookin' at me, with worry written all over their faces.
"Everything's okay, we just gotta pick Luke and Manny up." I say, lookin' between the two.
"Why can't one of my parents pick them up?" Alex asks, lookin' confused.
"Why, what happened?" Haley asks, still lookin' slightly worried.
"Look, don't freak out. But, Luke got into a fight." I say, lookin' between them.
"What?!" They both shout at once.
The 29th of March, 11:09 pm. Haley's POV.
Worry fills me, as I look over the party. I'm standing between Alex and Clay, clutching my pendant. The music is so loud, that I swear I can feel it. The people who walk by us, shoot us looks. I guess a pregnant lady and a hulking tattooed guy stick out a little at a high school party.
"How are we supposed to find them?!" Alex asks, having to shout over the music and people.
"We'll find 'em." Clay says, stepping forward into the party.
People move out of his way, as me and Alex follow behind him. The house is dark and full of people dancing, talking, making out and drinking. We make it to the far end of the room, near a staircase. I look over the room, but don't spot them, just a sea of people. Someone bumps into me and I stumble forward, I quickly get my footing back. I look over my shoulder and glare at the guy.
"Watch it." I tell him, glaring.
"You shouldn't have been standing there." He says, back.
"The fuck you say?" Clay asks, taking a step towards him.
"Nothing." He says, quickly. He looks over at me. "Ah... sorry, miss." He says,before disappearing into the sea of people.
I look over at Clay and glare at him, even though I enjoyed that a little. It's nice having a boyfriend who can be scary sometimes, sometimes. Clay just looks down at me and shrugs, I try not to smile at him. A girl with brownish-blonde hair, wearing a dark pink tee and a boy with blonde hair, wearing a powder blue polo shirt, with a white collar, come down the stairs.
Clay grabs the boy, by his collar. He looks up at Clay, with fear in his eyes.
"Chubby Spanish kid and a white kid, with curly brown hair, you seen 'em?" Clay asks, glaring down at the kid.
"Are you looking for Bobby and Luke Dunphy?" The girl asks, looking between me and Clay, looking slightly scared herself.
"Yeah, well, we're looking for Luke." I say, giving her a warm smile.
"They're up stairs, the second door on the right." The boy says, looking over at me, then back at Clay.
Clay let's go of him and goes to the stairs, I follow behind him.
"Sorry about him, he means well." I say, looking over at the two, as I go up the stairs.
Alex follows behind me, as I reach the top of the stairs and go down the long hall, following Clay. He reaches the second door on the right and throws it open, going into it. Me and Alex follow. It's a cute little room, it's obviously a young child's room. With posters of cartoon characters on the walls and a comforter and sheets with the Avengers on them.
Manny and a Hispanic girl wearing a light blue hoodie, with long black hair and chocolate brown eyes, which have tears in them, are in the room. They're sitting on the bed, with Luke lying between them. I gasp and cover my mouth with my hand, tears filling my eyes, as I look my little brother over. His tee is torn, dirty and stained with blood, his blood. I barely recognize him, his face is so bad. One of his eyes are swollen up like a baseball, his nose is clearly broken, his lips are busted and bleeding. Each of his cheeks have bruises, darkening with each passing second.
"Motherfuckers." I hear Clay mutter, standing next to me, his fist shaking at his side.
"What happened?" I ask, going to the bed and pushing the girl out of the way. I run a hand through Luke's hair.
"I'm fine." Luke mutters, looking at me with his good eye.
"No, you're not, Lukey." I say, fighting back tears, rubbing his head.
"Who did this?" Clay asks, the anger clear in his voice.
"It doesn't matter, Clay." I say, not wanting him to go looking for a fight and beat up some high school kid. Clay looks at me, the anger clear in his eyes. I shake my head, then give him a strong look. He sighs and unballs his fists.
"Jimmy and a few of his friends." Manny says, looking between me and Clay. "Two of them held Luke's arms behind his back." He says, looking down at Luke.
I shoot Manny a dirty look, why did he have to open his mouth. And Jimmy, huh, that little prick is giving me more and more reasons to kick him in the balls.
"Pussies." Clay mutters, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.
Alex stomps out of the room, looking angry herself.
"You three get Luke to the truck and watch after him, okay." I say, getting to my feet and going to the door.
Clay catches me by the arm.
"I ain't letting you go down there alone." He says, in a low voice.
"I'll be fine, big guy." I say, lightly pushing his hand off my arm. "Get my brother to the truck." I say with a small smile.
He just nods, still not looking too happy.
I go down the hall, then down the stairs. I look around the party for Alex and spot her making her way to the backyard. I follow her, worried about why she's going out there. She more easily pushes her way through the crowd, then I do, but she's not four months pregnant.
I see her stop in front of a tall guy, with tall curly blonde hair. I stand behind her, maybe a foot away from her.
"What's wrong with you?!" She shouts up at him, as the songs change.
I can't help but notice the crowd that gathers around me, my sister and the guy.
"Alex! I've missed you." The guy says, drunkenly, reaching out to touch my sister.
She slaps his hand away, before he can touch her.
"You think beating up a my little brother is okay, Jimmy? He's just a kid!." She shouts, as the music starts back up.
But it's too late, the crowd is already watching, whispering to each other.
"He had.. it.. it comin'" Jimmy says, swaying a bit, as he looks down at her.
The fact that he's drunk makes me more nervous, than I already am.
"You're pathetic,Jim!" Alex shouts, shoving him.
The crowd cheers her on.
"Don't touch me, you cunt!" Jimmy shouts back, slapping Alex hard across the face.
The crowd gasps.
The smack knocks Alex's glasses clear off her face, I don't see where they land. She stumbles back, holding her face. Before I know what I'm doing, I'm shoving Jimmy back.
"The fuck is wrong with you?!" I scream, slapping him, hard across the face. "You don't ever touch my sis..." I get out, before he shoves me back.
A few shouts and screams leave the crowd.
Fear shoots through me, as I stumble back. The force of the shove turns me, making me trip. I see the ground rushing towards my face, I squeeze my eyes shut. All my thoughts are on my child, my arms wrapping around my belly protectively. Alex catches me, stopping me from hitting the ground and pulls me to my feet, worry written all over her face.
Angry shouts and curses are thrown at Jimmy, but no one steps forward.
"Are you okay?" She asks, sounding more worried than she looks. I nod, tears blurring my vision. I could've lost my child, I think, keeping a hand pressed to my belly. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Alex shouts, looking over at Jimmy.
I look over at him too, tears still in my eyes.
"Keep actin'... li.. like that an... and I'll give you some of what your br... brother got." He says, slurring his words slightly, his eyes on me.
Then it happens, one of Clay's large fists crashes into Jimmy's face. Jimmy yelps in pain, as he stumbles back. Jimmy looks up at Clay, holding his face with both of his hands, looking scared. Clay throws another punch into Jimmy's ribs. Jimmy stumbles back again, holding up his hands.
The crowd falls quiet.
A guy, with a red beard and another guy wearing a red baseball hat come running, the one with the beard punches Clay hard across the face. Clay turns to them, like he hadn't been punched at all. He punches the one with the beard, hard in the face, then the chest, making him stumble back. The one wearing the baseball hat takes a few swings at Clay, but Clay dodges all of them, but one. Which he shrugs off, before attacking the guy with a few quick punches.
One catches the guy in the stomach, making him double over. Clay grabs the guy's head and knees him hard in the face, even from where I'm standing, I can hear the sickening sound of the nose popping and giving way to Clay's knee. Clay then hits him twice in the ribs, before letting him drop.
A black guy, wearing a black and yellow tank top, with tribal tattoos on his arms, hits Clay over the head with a beer bottle. My chest tightens and hurts, like I got hit myself. Clay stumbles forward and the guy rushes him, Clay throws an elbow over his shoulder, as he turns. The elbow hits the guy across his jaw, making him take a step back. He shakes it off and looks up at Clay, who's facing him now. The guy grabs a nearby chair and tries to hit Clay with it, Clay catches it and rips it from the guy's hands. Clay swings the chair, hitting the guy hard in the knee with it. There's a horrible snap and bone tears through the skin, blood spraying people nearby and the ground. The guy screams and falls to the ground, clutching at his knee.
The guy with the red beard jumps on Clay's back, trying for a headlock. But Clay bucks him and throws him over his shoulders and down onto the ground in front of him, one of the guy's arms still in his hands. I know what he's going to do, before he does it. Clay twists until there's a loud pop, the guy screams in pain, as his arm falls to his side, sticking out the wrong way.
Clay then turns and goes back to Jimmy, I almost forgot about him. Jimmy tries to stumble away, but Clay grabs him.
"Please, stop!" Jimmy shouts, holding his hands up.
Clay just hits him again and again, Jimmy drops to the ground. Clay gets on top of Jimmy and starts raining down punches, turning Jimmy's face into a bloody mess. I stumble forward, my arms wrapped around my belly, tears slipping down my face.
It's so quiet, I can hear the sickening sound of fist meeting flesh.
"Clay, stop!" I shout, looking down at him. He doesn't. "Clay, please stop!" I sob out, more and more tears slipping down my face.
He stops and looks over at me, with anger sketched on his handsome features. The anger slips away as his eyes meet mine, a look of shame replaces it.
"Are you..." He trails off, looking more ashamed of himself.
"I'm fine, Clay." I say, giving him a weak smile. "Really, me and the baby. We're fine" I say, his eyes going to my belly.
He slowly gets to his feet, that look of shame not leaving his face. He takes a step towards me, as I feel someone grab one of my arms. I look over at the person and see Alex, the right side of her face is a rosey pink and her glasses are still missing. She pulls me behind her and steps back, keeping me behind her, looking up at Clay.
Blood drips off his fists and little dots of blood dart up his hoodie, that looks still sits on his face. The look makes me want to pull him into a hug and tell him everything's okay.
"Stay away from her." Alex says, looking up at him.
"He wouldn't hurt me, Alex." I say into her ear, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"That bloody mess, that use to be Jimmy says different." She says, nodding at Jimmy.
Jimmy's on all fours, spitting out some teeth. His friend with the baseball hat is stumbling away, holding his nose. While the other two lay on the ground, moaning in pain.
"I..." Clay tries, looking between me and her. "Alex... I didn't..." He trails off, looking even more ashamed of himself.
"Cops!" Someone shouts and the crowd breaks apart, people running off in every direction. People run past me and Alex and into the house, while others run to the fence. Some jumping it, while others just can't seem to get over. Alex keeps an arm on me, but I keep my eyes on Clay, who hasn't moved. His dark brown eyes are full of pain and sorrow, I just want to pull him into my arms.
"Jesus." A young looking cop mutters, seeing Jimmy and his two friends. He looks over at Clay and sees his bloody fists. "D... don't move!" He shouts, pointing at Clay.
The anger comes back so quickly, like it had never left. Clay turns around and faces the cop, his fists balled at his side. The cop's eyes go wide, a hand going to his gun. Clay takes a step towards him.
"Clay, don't!" I shout, getting him to look back at me. His eyes land on mine and I just shake my head once, that look of shame finds its way back to his face. "Don't" I mutter, more tears coming to my eyes.
Clay slowly puts his hands in the air.
I would like to thank A.M.D.Y.X for reviewing again. ThanksTrick for all the kind words, hope you don't mind if I keep calling you Trick. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the fluff, I will be giving fluff another try in a few chapters. Hopefully, that will be better. Thanks again, Trick.
I would like to thank SideshowJazz1 for reviewing again. Yeah Manny doesn't seem to have much luck with the ladies, does he? Maybe someday he'll find the right girl, maybe. Thanks again Jazz.
I would like to thank ODA for reviewing again. So... that's a way to start off a review. I wouldn't say they got along, they just don't hate each other. You will be seeing some of Clayton's family before this story ends, you'll be seeing them one way or another. I guess, Clayton isn't one for speeches. Dylan will play a role later on in the story, but you'll have to wait and see. I'm trying to think up something that I like and I actually feels works for Gloria, because I really do like her as a character. But as of now I'm drawing a blink on her, but I'm gonna try and work her into the story before the end.
You will be seeing some more 'Fluff' before the end of this story or at least I'll be trying again at 'Fluff' before this story ends, hopefully it will lead to 'satisfied readers'. Yeah, that could be a lot of fun to write. But if I was going to write that, a lot of people would die, a lot! Who knows, maybe sometime down the line.
It's funny, how many times you ask for something in one of your reviews and I've already written it. Hopefully Clay's fight with Jimmy and his friends, satisfied your itch for some action. Anyway, Thanks again, ODA, you're awesome man.
I would like to thank Albry11 for reviewing again and following. Thank you, Albry. Someone taking the time to read and review my story, means a lot. Since I know there is a lot you can do with your free time, so, I want to take the time to thank those of you who do review and show that your feedback is appreciated. Well, you're going to have to keep reading to find out if Clayton stays or not (He writes, grinning like a madman.) Thanks again Albry for all the kind words.
I would also like to thank Pointshoe11 for following, thanks.
And now I would like to thank you all for reading and finally remember all reviews are appreciated, much love to all you guys and girls.