lately I've been super overwhelmed and thankful for how well this story is doing. I'm really sad that it's nearing the end but I already have an idea for a sequel in mind. (I'm also currently working on changing it into a modern day story with 100% original characters in hopes of publishing it). But for now enjoy the chapter that these two babes deserve.
Jane's eyes were forced open by the glaring sun poking through the window. The first few moments of her return to consciousness were confusing. When she set up her room she had specifically put her bed in a spot where she wouldn't get the sun in her eye every morning. Jane rolled over to her other side and stretched, her hand quickly blocked from going any further. She opened her eyes once again to find Mike still fast asleep. For a fleeting second she smiled, hardly getting the chance to finish wondering why he was sleeping next to her.
But the memories of the night before came rushing over her like a wave in the ocean, so powerful she was glad she was already laying down. Mike's peaceful, sleeping face beside her was shadowed by the terrified one he'd worn the day before. She wished she could reach into his brain and take away any recollection of what had happened with her father, leaving a perfect gap in between when they'd been on the couch to when her mom agreed to letting him stay over. Exactly how the night should have gone.
As she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes she could hear the sound of the fridge door opening in the kitchen, followed by something glass being set on the counter. She rolled off the side of the pull out couch and followed the noise down the hall. Standing in the doorway she saw her mom, dressed for work, next to a plate with what Jane was sure was a whole box of Eggo's on top of it.
She stood in the doorway only for a moment or two before her mom turned around and saw her. "How did you sleep?" She asked with her eyebrows together in concern
Jane pulled out one of the chairs at the kitchen table and sat down. "Good." She propped her feet up on the bottom of the chair next to her.
"You looked pretty cozy." Jane sent her mom a half hearted glare. "What time did you guys fall asleep?"
She shrugged. "I don't know, a little while after you left." She watched her mom grab a glass from the cabinet, then orange juice from the fridge. "Thank you for letting him stay."
Her mom brought the now full glass over, setting it in front of her before sitting down on the next chair over. "You really like this boy, don't you?"
She took a sip, using the time to debate whether or not to be completely open. Jane and her mom had always been open with each other about everything, but her teenage girl instincts were starting to kick in and tell her to give as little information about Mike away as possible. But that seemed unfair. "I love him." She said, choosing to ignore her instincts
"You love him?" She asked, clearly a little skeptical
Jane rolled her eyes, "Mama, I don't wanna hear the whole 'moving too fast' lecture, okay?" She said, though she knew she was bound to get it at some point. Jane was fine with getting a lecture, but getting it at 10 in the morning was not the ideal situation.
"I wasn't going to give you one." She said, which Jane immediately doubted. "As long as you don't get married at eighteen like I did it's fine."
The smallest hint of a smile appeared on her face. "I won't, believe me."
A beat or two of silence passed between them before Terry spoke again. "Have you told him, yet?"
"What?"
"That you love him."
During the seconds of pause in conversation Jane's mind had traveled back in time to everything from the day before. She wished she could get the image of Mike's terrified face out of her head, but it seemed determined to stay put. Though she didn't regret telling him she wished she had been able to under better circumstances. "Yeah." She eventually told her mom once her brain was back in the present. "He said it too."
She watched her think this over, practically able to see the gears turning in her head. If she was worried Jane wouldn't have blamed her. They were just kids, kids who had fallen in love in a month. On paper it seemed like a recipe for disaster. But Jane knew that they were meant to cross paths and to be together. It was as if she'd been living life 90% alive and Mike had awakened the last 10%. She felt truly alive now, like a caterpillar who had been hiding away for the longest time. Now she was starting to break out of her cocoon.
"Mike's a good kid." Terry said. "Good looking too."
"Mama."
"And I can tell he cares about you." She continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Which is why you two can stay here while I go to work."
Jane immediately perked up, "Really?"
"Yes." She straightened in her seat. "You have to keep all the windows and doors locked at all times. And don't leave the house unless it's absolutely necessary." Jane nodded eagerly. She would gladly up with a few rules after being allowed to skip school and be alone with her boyfriend. Besides all of the things her mom had just listed were things she would have likely done anyway. "And I'm going to try and come home early today. I'll call when I know for sure when I'm coming back."
"Okay." She said, getting up and following her mom out of the kitchen once she stood.
As they approached the living room, where Mike was still sleeping, they both lowered their voices. "Call me if you guys go out and when you come back. And if you need anything. If I call you must pick up the phone. If not you than Mike."
"Okay, I will."
Once Terry had her coat on she pulled Jane into a hug, kissing the top of her head. After a few moments passed she grabbed her purse and walked out the front door, which Jane locked the second it closed. Hearing her moms car pull away she turned towards Mike, still laying in the exact spot he had when she left. As quietly as she could she walked over and lay back down on the pullout couch, on her side facing him.
The only sound was occasional cars passing by, as people drove to work or school, and Mike's soft breathing. Jane could have happily watched him forever. She attempted to count his freckles but there were too many and she got confused without any way of keeping track of the ones she'd already counted. Instead she just looked at him and let her mind wander. She tried her best to keep her thoughts geared towards happier things, like sitting with her friends at lunch and everything and anything to do with Mike. An occasional memory of her father snuck in but she pushed it right back out.
After somewhere between thirty minutes and an hour Mike rolled onto his back. Jane watched his eyes open slowly and take in his surroundings, quickly falling on her. A smile spread on his face as he once again turned to face her. His slightly glazed eyes, clouded by sleepiness, combined with his messy hair was absolutely adorable.
He stretched slightly before speaking, his voice coming out quiet and groggy sounding. "Morning."
"Morning." She said, her own lips turning up just at the sight of him smiling. "Are you hungry? My mom left us some breakfast that I can heat up."
His eyebrows twitched towards each other, "She's not here?"
"She went to work." She told him, recapping what her mother had said to her before she left the house as they got up and headed towards the kitchen. Standing at the counter she put four frozen waffles into the toaster with Mike standing right next to her. Jane reached up and pushed his hair back, "I like your hair when it's messy." She said
Mike glared at her half heartedly. He then reached behind her head, hooking his finger in her hair tie and pulling it out with one yank. "Yours looks better messy."
She smoothed her hair down with one hand, trying to grab her hair tie back with the other. He quickly slipped it on his wrist and put it behind his back. "You have the advantage of having straight hair, it's not fair."
"Straight hair is boring." He said, catching her hand as she tried to reach around him and lacing his fingers with hers. "I love your curly hair."
Jane gave up on trying to get her hair tie back, taking out the now-warm Eggos and putting them on a plate before replacing them with four more. Once they each had a stack in front of them they sat down at the kitchen table, Jane at the head and Mike next to her. "Your mom is so cool." He told her as he cut up his food, "I can't think of any other mother who would agree to their kid being home alone twice in 24 hours, let them stay home from school, and having their daughters boyfriend sleepover."
She felt her cheeks start to go warm when he called himself her boyfriend, just like she did every time he reference their relationship so casually. "Your mom agreed to it." She pointed out.
"Yeah, only because your mom asked her. If I did it would have been a 'no'." He said, "I'm starting to think your mom is some sort of witch who can make people do whatever they want just by asking really nicely."
She grinned, remembering when she made her mom dress up for halloween when she was six. Jane had been a black cat and her mom had been a witch. "So since my mom is a witch, am I a witch too?"
"Definitely." He said starting to smile again.
After they finished eating they both brushed their teeth and silently agreed to stay in their pajamas. Since they couldn't leave the house there was no point in getting dressed. Mike asked to borrow a hairbrush, since he'd left his at home, and Jane reluctantly agreed. She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed that all of the strands out of place were quickly smoothed down. He seemed equally upset when she brushed her own hair.
They watched television on the couch, still pulled out. Every so often Mike would ask her a different variation of 'are you okay?'. She directed the question right back to him each time. Jane was just as worried about him as he was about her. The phone rang just as the morning news was wrapping up. Fully remembering one of her moms few rules Jane got to her feet and darted towards the kitchen so she wouldn't miss the call.
"Hello?" She said, trying not to pant once she picked up the phone.
"Oh, cool, you don't have school either." The familiar voice of her friend Kelly said on the other line. "Why don't you have school?"
"My mom let me stay home." She answered simply, "Why don't you have school?"
"There was a storm two days ago and a bunch of trees fell down. One of them landed on the school so we get to have a few days off while they make some repairs."
Jane's eyebrows went high on her forehead. "Wow."
"I know." Kelly said. Jane could practically see her friend sitting at her desk with her feet propped up as they talked, the way she always did when she was on the phone. "We haven't talked in like a week, and I wanted to check in. How is everything?"
The single most loaded question someone could have asked her. Of course it came from Kelly, who she hadn't even told about her dad getting out of jail the first time. "Kinda crazy."
"How's that boy?" Kelly asked. Jane could hear the hopeful excitement in her voice. "What's his name again?"
"Mike." She told her. "He's good. He's here right now."
"Is your mom there?"
"… no."
She heard her friend let out an excited squeal. This was, by far, the juiciest experience Jane had ever told Kelly about in their five years of friendship. "Oh my god, how'd you pull that off?"
"Extenuating circumstances." Jane said, then gave her a very brief summary of what had happened. She mentioned only her dad getting out of jail once, and only said that he came over and was yelling at her on the front porch. In order to spare her friend of having to worry about her she said that the door had been locked so he couldn't get in. While she told the story Mike came in, leaning on the wall on the other side of the phone. He was clearly confused as to why she was telling such an edited story but stayed quiet. "So, yeah." Jane said when she finally finished, "Things are kinda crazy."
There was a beat or two of silence before her friend spoke up again. "Holy shit Jane." She said, letting out a sigh. "And he was there with you?"
"Yeah."
"How did he take everything?"
Jane smiled at Mike, and he quickly did the same to her. "Really well, considering." She said. "He's really supportive and understanding of everything and just… he's great."
She watched his face start to turn pink while she clearly talked about him.
"I was thinking of coming down to visit some time." Kelly told her. "Promise when I do you'll introduce me to Mike." Her voice turned dreamy when she said his name, likely trying to do an impression of Jane
"Of course."
Shortly after they bid their goodbyes, Jane once again promising her friend she would introduce her, and hung up the phone. She was surprised Kelly wasn't getting in her car to drive down that very moment after being promised she would meet Mike. But Jane was thankful none the less that she would get to spend a good portion of the day alone with Mike. Since they had finished all of their school work the day before they could do almost anything they wanted, as long as they stayed inside.
Back in the living room they returned to their spots on the pull out couch and looked back at the television. She watched a report about how kids who listened to music with headphones too loud were likely to experience hearing damage later in life. Jane seriously doubted the story would cause any kid to turn the volume down. As the woman on screen wrapped up and started to transition into another report Jane could feel Mike looking at her. Sure enough when she turned towards him he was watching her.
"What?" She asked, starting to smile again
"You look cute." He said simply
Jane smiled even wider, closing the distance between them and pressing her lips against his. One of his hands quickly got lost in her hair as he kissed her back. She could feel him wrapping one of her curls around his finger and was suddenly glad he had never given her hair tie back. Her heart started to beat faster and faster the longer they kissed, remembering how they had the day before.
It didn't surprise her that, due to her lack of dating experience, she had never though much about making out with boys before. That is until she actually did it. As soon as the threat of her fathers presence subsided, and the police left, it was all she could think about. In his room when he packed his things, sitting on the couch next to him all night, laying so close to him while she struggled to stay awake. She couldn't get the memory of the way she had felt out of her head. It was just one of the many things she had never experienced before meeting Mike. And it was a feeling she wanted again.
She kissed him harder, his lips parting ever so slightly as she did. Under her hands, placed on his cheeks, she could feel his face heating up. Jane hoped he wasn't able to feel hers do the same. With his arm wrapped around her waist he pulled her closer to him, though she couldn't get much closer anyway. Still it wasn't close enough. She didn't want there to be an inch of separation between them.
Jane leaned closer and closer to him until she was practically pushing him onto his back. He pulled her down with him, their lips never separating. She propped herself up on her elbows so the space between them was minimal. His hands were now placed on her hips, a few of his fingertips slipped underneath the hem of her shirt. Whether he'd done so on purpose or by accident she wasn't sure of, but she didn't particularly care. The feeling of his hands on her bare skin sent a shiver up her spine.
She moved so her knees were on either side of his waist, her shirt sliding up a bit more. Her heart started beating even faster still as he kissed her harder. Jane could even feel her pulse in her brain which gave her a bit of a headache. But not a bad one. Her mind seemed void of all thought that didn't relate to Mike. Mike's hands on her back, his tongue touching hers. She couldn't think of anything else, and she didn't want to think of anything else.
He sat up, Jane still sitting on his lap. His lips left hers and trailed up her jaw. Jane's hands ran through his hair, his still gripping her waist. She felt as if every inch of her skin was on fire it was so hot. She couldn't help but be a little worried that she would spontaneously combust at any second. There was no longer an inch of space between them, allowing her to feel that his skin was almost as warm as hers.
Jane wrapped her fingers around the hem of his T-shirt. Reading her mind, in a way only he could, he pulled away from her long enough to pull it over his head. His lips immediately found hers again. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest just as fast as hers was. Just as she reached towards the hem of her own shirt Mike pulled away from her, grabbing her hand and stopping her. His face was as red as hers felt.
A small frown appeared on her face, her eyes darting back and forth between his. "What's wrong?" She asked, her brows pulling together
"I just…" His voice trailed off, panting just enough for her to notice. She couldn't help but wonder if his brain felt just as clouded as hers was. "Do you really want to do this?"
She starred at him. Her heart was now pounding out of nervousness. "You don't?"
"No, no, it's not that." He said immediately. "It's just that things have been really crazy recently and I don't want you to regret anything."
Jane was even more confused than she had been before he offered any sort of explanation. "You think I'm going to regret anything having to do with you?" She asked skeptically, "Not likely."
"This is a really big deal, Jane." He told her, suddenly sounding serious
She sighed, leaning her head back. Why did he always have to be right? It was probably the only annoying thing about him. Picking her head back up and looking at him once more she found him starring at her with lust-clouded eyes. How he managed to think rationally and objectively in the middle of making out was a mystery. Jane's mind was only just starting to clear because they had separated. "Fine." She said simply, making it clear in her tone she agreed but wasn't thrilled.
He kissed her, a quick peck before he wrapped his arms around her waist again. She rested her head in the crook of his neck. The only sound was their breathing and the television across the room. Mike took his shirt, only holding it for a matter of seconds before Jane grabbed it out of his hands and tossed it to the end of the pull out couch. Just because they weren't going to do anything more didn't mean she couldn't take advantage of the fact that his shirt was already off. He laughed and held her tighter against his chest while her face broke out into a grin.
They sat together and watched movies until lunch, Mike putting his shirt on when she left to go to the bathroom. Once noon rolled around Jane searched her kitchen for something to eat. The only lunch-type food she found were meat and bread for sandwiches. She desperately wished they could go out and get something but didn't even bother mentioning it. Her mom was being extremely lenient with them and she had no intention to break any of the rules that had been set. Except for the no food on the couch-only snacks rule.
With plates in their laps they watched soap operas. The only thing that was on during midday for housewives. Jane looked at him halfway through her sandwich, her mind once again replaying everything that had happened. She wished she could go back and time and tell Mike that she would be okay by herself and that he could go home. The guilt that it was her fault he had been there was still eating away at her. She knew he had been trying to be brave for he, which made her heart swell with gratitude.
"Do you know how amazing you are?" She asked him after the title sequence for Days of Our Lives played the fourth time that day.
He looked over at her, confusion written clearly on his face. "What?"
"I feel like my mind made you up. You're too good to be true." As if to prove her point she reached out and pinched his arm
"I'm real." He said, taking his arm back. "Where's this coming from?"
She shrugged, watching Josh Taylor deliver a dramatic yet horribly done monologue. "I don't know. It's just…" Jane sighed, setting her plate aside and turning towards him. "Last night was really scary, and you held it together so well."
"So did you."
"Yeah, but I knew what was coming." She said. "You've never had to deal with anything like that before. I can't even imagine what it's like to be in that kind of situation when you never have before." Mike stayed quiet, his eyes fixed down on the plate in his lap. She desperately wished she could read his mind and hear what it was that he was holding back. Jane wanted to hug him and never let go. She wanted to take away whatever pain had been caused by her fathers arrival, even if it meant adding it onto her own. She could handle it. She'd been handling it for years. Mike had never had to carry something like this around before. "And you stayed with me, and had to listen to everything we told the police. Do you really know how much that meant to me?"
He looked at her again, "I would never have left you after that."
"And then everything that happened the first time he showed up." She continued. "How you totally dropped everything and came to help me even though you had no idea what was going on. And you stayed with me then too." Jane reached for his hand, linking her fingers between his. "I really meant it when I told you I love you. It wasn't just because I was scared."
Mike squeezed her hand gently, "I meant it too."
She smiled at him, her stomach doing a backflip. For a fleeting moment she had wondered if he would have responded the same if they had been under different circumstances. It was certainly a relief to hear he truly meant what he said. "Do the guys know anything about my dad?"
"Sort of." He said. "I had to tell them something when I asked Dustin to cover for me when we stayed at Lizzie's."
"What did you say?"
"I told them that you and your dad got in a really bad fight and that he stormed out and you asked me to come over." He told her. "They pretty much gave up on asking me questions because I never answered any of them."
Jane nodded a few times. "You can tell them tomorrow." She said
"Really?"
She knew she couldn't keep it a secret forever. And if they were anything like Mike she knew she could trust them. "Yeah. I think it's time." Jane would also have to fill both Max and Lizzie in on why she and Mike hadn't shown up to school that day. If she didn't get the chance to see them in the morning it would be inconvenient to tell her at lunch when half the people at the table had no idea what was going on.
xXx
Jane's mom sat in the car while she and Mike walked up to his house. The sun was close to setting and he couldn't stay forever. There was a heaviness that had settled over her on the ride there. Being near Mike was instantly comforting, what was she going to without him? As they approached his front door their hands held on tightly to one another they both hesitated once they stood on the doorstep.
He turned to her before he went inside. "Promise me you'll call me if anything happens or if you even need to talk? I'll tell my family to stay off the line just in case."
"You don't have to do that."
"I'm still going to." He told her, letting his bag slide off his shoulder and land on the ground. "Promise you'll call if you need to."
She squeezed his hand to reassure him. "I promise."
Mike wrapped his arms around her, his forehead pressed against her neck. "Even if it's 3 am you can still call."
Jane laughed, her arms tightly wrapped around her waist. "I can promise you I'll be asleep by then."
They stood in silence, both reluctant to let go. She hoped her mom would continue her streak of patience. Jane was in no way ready to say goodbye to him, even if they would be seeing each other again in a little over twelve hours. She loved him more than she thought she could love someone. He, with no hesitation, was unconditionally supportive of her. Mike was too good for the ugly world they lived in, and she felt like she had to protect him at all costs.
"I don't want to say goodbye to you." He said, reading her mind yet again.
"I'm going to see you in thirteen hours." She told him. "And you can call me too."
Mike pulled away, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I love you."
"I love you too."
She kissed him despite the fact that her mom was almost definitely watching them. It was dangerous how attached she had gotten to him in such a short time. The fact that she could hardly stand to even say goodbye to him was exactly the kind of thing her mom would have warned her about had she given her the 'moving too fast' lecture. Yes, they were moving fast. Just fast enough to keep up with the craziness that their lives was throwing at them. At any moment Jane could trip and fall. Which would have been scary if Mike wasn't there to pick her up.
Reluctantly they separated before Mike turned towards his house. Once the door closed behind him she practically had to run back to her moms car so she wouldn't follow him inside. As her mom pulled out of he driveway Jane could feel a sense of dread settling in her stomach but she pushed it down. She reminded herself that she would see him in the morning and that he wouldn't disappear overnight.