Chapter 38
Sorry it's taken SOOO incredibly long for this little chapter to come out - I have been quite pressed for time - in that I haven't had much of it to myself lately...I have some great ideas, but they'll be coming a bit later in following chapters...so until then, well I kinda struggled with this chapter to fill in the gaps a bit...you'll see what I mean when you read it...anyways, hope you like it, fingers crossed chapters 39 and 40 aren't too far away.
thanks again for your patience, comments, suggestions, PMs, and support - Love to you all
and as always...
Rock on!
Simon and Jeanette were waiting in the reception area for the others as they all pushed through the door; Bruno was standing just behind the barred door on the other side of the desk, drumming his fingers on the desk waiting.
"So if he'd been let free where is he?" Brittany asked, hands on her hips as she looked around.
Eleanor shrugged as Alex pushed through and asked Simon, who'd sent the text out, "Ok, so run this by me, I'm doing what now?"
Simon nodded, "Yeah, that's the reaction I was expecting" he took a breath in, "Look, it seems Bruno needs someone to 'watch over him' so to speak until Friday"
Alvin gave Simon a look and folded his arms, "Huh? Wait, Bruno needs Alex to...whoa, that seems kinda stupid"
Jeanette shrugged, "Apparently it was that or Bruno get shipped back to his dad"
Alex nodded, "Ah...um, so why me?"
Simon shrugged, "I'm only the messenger, that's all the cops would tell me...in order to tell you. But Bruno's just through there" he said, pointing beyond the barred door, and shrugging at Alex, "Apparently you need to go in and sign something before they'll let him out"
Steph gave Alex a shove forward, "Well, off ya go then"
Alex stumbled forward, looking back at her, before heading to the barred door.
After being cleared to go through he was met with Bruno, who looked a little sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck, "Hey man"
Alex nodded at him and smiled, "Hey yourself, how you holding up?"
Bruno shrugged, "I'm doing ok...given the circumstances I guess"
Alex nodded again and there was a short pause as they waited for the officer to come back with the paperwork.
Bruno leant on the desk and looked over at Alex, "You're probably wondering why I chose you huh?"
Alex rested one arm on the desk and nodded, "Uh, yeah, now you mention it the thought had crossed my mind, oh, several times"
Bruno smirked, "Well, I couldn't use Steph, she now has a criminal record apparently, even though her charge was dropped, and I figured it may come back as bad publicity to the others...you were kinda my only choice"
"Nice to know" Alex stood with folded arms, a curious smile on his face, "So, what makes you think I don't have a criminal record?"
Bruno laughed, "You? Really? Come on, look at you, your mum's a teacher for starters, you come across as the, I dunno, how do I put this? The type of guy who isn't a rule breaker, a 'goody-two shoes' I think some people call it?" he made gestures with his fingers to emphasise his point.
Alex didn't budge, "Oh yeah? Well, why do you think we had to move schools then?" he pressed, keeping a straight face, his eyebrow rising slightly, "Not the only one with a black mark against his record"
Bruno stopped laughing and looked intently at him, "Come again?"
Alex stared at him a moment longer, then laughed, shaking his head, "Sorry, sorry, I couldn't keep it going, nah man, I'm clean"
Bruno exhaled and shook his head, "Seriously don't do that"
Alex patted him on the shoulder, "Sorry, but your face" he sniggered again, "Totally worth it"
Bruno shook his head, "Starting to regret this choice now" he smirked.
Alex looked at his feet then back at Bruno, "So really, why me?"
Bruno shrugged, "Look, you're literally my only option – I don't have anyone else I can turn to; it's either you or be sent back to my dad. I don't have any other family I can go to, without it being seriously weird and all cause I haven't been in contact with most of them. I don't have any real close friends I could just crash with" his face fell, "I don't know who else to ask"
He looked over at Alex, who shifted a little, as Bruno sighed, "I know this relationship, or whatever you wanna call it, hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, but I crunched through who I thought would be suitable, who I'd trust. I mean come on; could you imagine me in the care of Alvin?"
Alex laughed, "Yeah that's not good"
"No, no it's not" Bruno said, "And I think Simon may take the responsibility a little too seriously, know what I mean? And Theodore? Well as much as I'm coming to love the guy, I don't think he'd exactly be able to handle me...and there was no way I'd put that kind of pressure on any of the girls"
Alex nodded as Bruno's face fell slightly, "Look, you can say no, and I'd totally understand...I'd be slightly pissed off, but I'd understand" he sighed again, "I just...I just don't have anyone else, and I know my dad would kill me if I went back home...or I'd kill him...either way it's not gonna be pretty"
Alex thought about this a moment, then said, "So basically, you're now putting the guilt trip on me?"
Bruno shook his head, "No, nothing like that" he paused a moment, "Not intentionally anyway" he shrugged, "Just saying it how I see it, how I know it's gonna be" he folded his arms, "Look, I don't get along with my dad, at all, hence the walking out, and I'm not even gonna play the 'do this for Steph then' card, cause this has to be your decision"
Alex nodded, tapping the desk a little, and thinking aloud, "Hmm, well now you mention Steph, she would kill me if I didn't do this" he turned to Bruno, "So it's either accept this responsibility or have everyone hate the sh*t outta me cause I handed you back over to your dad" he sighed again
Bruno looked down as Alex contemplated this as Craig came to the desk with a few papers in his hand, "I take it you're Alex Harper?"
Alex nodded, "Yeah...so what's the deal then?"
Craig outlined Alex's 'responsibilities' for the next couple of days, which pretty much meant he'd have to keep Bruno out of trouble.
Alex looked over at Bruno and raised his eyebrows as Bruno swallowed hard, wondering if Alex would actually do this for him.
They both knew they didn't exactly have a solid 'friendship' and really hadn't even known each other for a whole two weeks yet.
Bruno started to inwardly panic; Alex had every right not to sign onto this thing.
Well, not only had he come in and immediately Alex had seen him as a threat, but he'd gotten into a revved up punch up with Alex, slept with his girlfriend and caused a riot with the police, of which now he was dragging him involuntarily in to.
He certainly was a liability that would be easier to turn a blind eye to, hand him back to his dad and wash his hands of the whole situation.
He looked over at Alex, who was cruising over the fine details of the paperwork and watched as Alex took a breath in and signed his name across the bottom.
Inside, Bruno sighed relief as Alex gave him a curt smile, "No sweat" he looked at Craig, "So he can go now right?"
Craig shook his head, "There is the matter of the fine to be payed" he fronted another piece of paper to Alex.
"Sh*t" Bruno said smacking his forehead, and turned to Alex, "Sorry, I forgot to mention that part"
Alex smiled, "Oh I get it, make me sign away then tell me about the money I have to fork out?"
Bruno lowered his head a little, "I'll make it up to you"
Alex looked at the money figure, "We'll work something out, but I don't want you to feel in debt to me either"
Bruno nodded, thinking about how much he already felt in debt to Alex anyway, without adding money on top.
Alex looked at the options of payment, as he tapped the pen on the desk, and got his wallet out, pulling the credit card out and filling in the details.
"I seriously owe you" Bruno said, looking over at the paperwork, "Big time" he sighed.
Alex didn't look up as he signed his name on the credit line, "Look, any one of us would have done this for you" he looked up and smiled at Craig, who took the paperwork to photocopy and then at Bruno, "You're like family now man, gotta look out for one another you know? Besides, you'd do the same for me right?"
Bruno nodded and smiled; "Right. Thanks"
Craig came back and handed a copy of the documents to Alex, "Alright, now don't let me see you here again" Craig said to Bruno and buzzed them through the barred door.
Steph ran up and almost barrelled Bruno over as she hugged him, spinning him a little.
He laughed and returned the hug, "Hello to you too"
She took a step back and held him at the elbows, glaring, "You are a %$# ing pain in the ass you know that?"
Bruno looked a little worried, as Steph continued to rant, "I mean come on, you picked a fight with a %$ ing cop! Who the %$# does that?! I should seriously knock the sh*t outta you"
Bruno's eyes widened as Steph's face relaxed, "But that's what got me in here in the first place...so I won't...that and I loves you too much" she smiled and hugged him again as he gently pulled her off, making a quick exchange with Alex, "Glad to know, um, mind if we go, I'd kinda like to get outta these PJ's now"
They all looked down to notice he was still indeed in his PJ's.
They headed out the station doors; Steph and Alex last to exit.
"Thank you for doing this" Steph said to Alex, hugging into him.
He wrapped his arm round her shoulder, "I didn't do this for you"
Steph nodded a little, "Um, yeah I know that"
Alex stopped her and turned her to face him, "Seriously Steph, I didn't" he shook his head, "I did this cause...well I didn't like the thought of sending anyone back somewhere they don't want to go" he shrugged, "Bruno seemed genuinely afraid or something of heading back with his dad" he shook his head, "I couldn't live with that if I were the one to send him back to somewhere he's so against going"
Steph looked down, thinking then back up at Alex, "So you did this because you couldn't live with that on your conscience?"
Alex shrugged, shaking his head slightly, "I'm not entirely sure why I did it; I still can't get over our brief yet complicated friendship so far already...I dunno, but I had a little voice telling me that I should, that it's the 'right thing to do', despite what's happened between us and all" he started heading to the RV, Steph keeping up step, "He's seriously gotta change his attitude though, I'll say that"
Steph nodded, "Maybe I can talk to him?"
Alex nodded, "Yeah, maybe...I'm not sure what I'd say"
"Even though he's your responsibility and all now?" Steph smirked.
Alex looked over and kissed her on the head, "Yeah even so...You seem to know how to talk to him, you do that and I'll just keep him outta sh*t"
Steph laughed as they headed into the RV and as they drove back to the hotel, Bruno answered everyone's questions about what had happened to him, while Alex explained his new role.
Back at the hotel they had explained the situation that 'something un-expectant' had come up to the hotel staff as Alvin slipped them a few bills to cover the considerably late, late checkout fee.
In their room as they were all packing their belongings Theodore poked his head through the adjoining doorway, "Soo, Alex, you're like Bruno's dad for the next three days then?"
Alex and Bruno exchanged a look and each shook their heads promptly, "Ahh no, %$# no" Alex said, "I'm just like his watch dog, making sure he doesn't get into any sh*t again"
"Which I'm not" Bruno added
"Which is good" Alex pointed out as Bruno stuffed the last of his belongings into his duffle bag.
Steph came out from the bathroom carrying all sorts of bathroom goodies as Brittany looked over and laughed, "Steph I don't think the towels are complimentary"
Steph looked down at her bundle, "We didn't use them, and they're nice and fluffy" she rubbed them against her cheek.
Simon dragged his bag into the other room and laughed a little, "So a trip to the cops and now you're gonna try to steal the towels?"
Steph dumped the towels, along with some other goodies in her suitcase, "It's not stealing, they're complimentary"
Simon stood over her as she tried to close her suitcase, now bulging with new clothes and a whole bunch of bathroom treats, "Yeah the shampoo and soap, that's complimentary, the towels?" he shook his head, "Yeah, not so much"
Steph folded the lid of her case over and leant down on it, wrestling with the zipper, "Shut up Simon, and gimme a hand"
Simon stood back shaking his head, "Uh-uh, no way"
Steph rolled her eyes and reached up, grabbing his hand and pulling him to his knees, "Seriously I need a hand" she thrust his hand onto her clothes, "Hold them down would ya? Thanks darl" and put her weight on the top of the case as Alvin came and helped to pull the zipper closed, Simon moving his hand at the right moment to avoid it becoming zippered in.
Steph knelt triumphant, "Phew, I think I'm gonna need a new case soon"
Alex looked over at her, "Yeah, we already have limited space on the RVs without you cramming another bag of sh*t in there"
Steph poked her tongue out at him as Brittany came out from the bathroom, "Seriously, Steph, you gutted the place"
Steph smiled and shrugged, "I like pretty hotel stuff"
Eleanor poked her head through the door, "You guys ready?"
Alvin stood back and noted the cases and did a quick scout of the rooms, "Uh, yeah I think we got everything"
"Unless Steph wants a lamp or something too" Bruno joked.
Steph looked at the lamp and tilted her head, "They are pretty"
"NO!" Simon ordered, "You've got enough crap"
Steph laughed, "OK, ok, I guess I'm done then" she pulled up the handle of her case and began wheeling it to the lobby as the others all followed.
Down at the RV, Alvin was about to head into 'Hot Stuff' when Jeanette came over, "Um, Simon wants to know if you'd be ok riding with us?"
Alvin looked back at her from the top step, "Huh? Why?" he folded his arms in front of him as Brittany came to stand next to him.
Jeanette scuffed her foot a little on the gravel, "Well, he just mentioned that perhaps it might be good to start rehearsing, since we haven't done much of that and all"
Alvin smirked, "What, he wants us to start dancing round the RV? Yep plenty of room for that" he said sarcastically.
Brittany flicked him on the arm, "We can still sing you idiot" she looked down at Jeanette and smiled, "Sure, we'll head over" she looked back at Steph and Alex, "Well you two can duke it out whose driving then" she smiled and stepped down out of the RV.
Alvin sighed and plodded down the steps, swinging himself out the doorway and trudging over to the other RV as Brittany nudged him, "At least you got out of driving" she smiled.
Alvin shook his head and stepped into 'Einstein' as Simon started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.
Alex shrugged and plonked himself in the driver's seat, "I'll drive" he looked over at Steph in the passenger seat and motioned back to Bruno sitting at the booth, "You talk to Bruno"
Steph nodded, taking her belt off and going to sit next to Bruno at the booth, as Alex pulled out and began following Simon.
Bruno looked up at her and followed her with his eyes as she sat next to him.
"Ok" she started as Bruno leant on his arm, "Now we have to talk about your temper mister"
Bruno nodded, looking bored as if he'd heard all this before, as Steph continued, her voice rising a little, "I mean, I know you wanna feel like you're protecting me and whatever, but come on Bruno, you could've jeopardised you being here with that stunt"
Bruno lowered his head as Steph sighed, reaching out and touching him on the arm, "I'm grateful you'd be willing to do that, but I can't let you run that risk again"
"Yeah not on my watch any more" Alex called out as Steph nodded at Alex, "Exactly" then turned back to Bruno, leaning in a little and talking softer, calmer, "I care about you too much to see you make a huge mistake and run the risk of being thrown in jail or wherever" Bruno sighed and felt himself getting defensive, "It's not my fault, they were hurting you-"
"I wasn't exactly cooperating" Steph pointed out.
Bruno shook his head, "But they can't do that; they can't just treat you like that, I had to step in"
Steph shook her head, her voice surprisingly was still calm, "Yeah, actually they can" she folded her arms on the table, "Daddy used to be a cop"
Alex looked back at her in the rear view mirror briefly, "Whoa, seriously? Your dad was in the fuzz?"
Steph shrugged a little giving a sideways smile, "Yeah" she sat back against the wall, "But he was forced to resign or retire or whatever after my mum split" she played with the charms on her bracelet, "He went into a pretty deep depression and couldn't concentrate at work, so in the end a decision was made that he should resign and seek professional help to help him through" she paused briefly, and laughed a little, "Silver lining is that he was home more often to play and look after me and Cameron more...and we didn't have to worry about him went he went out on assignments...shame though on the other hand, he was ranking up to be a detective"
"That why he's so good at cracking you about your boyfriends?" Alex asked.
Steph laughed, "Yeah, pretty much. He's a human lie detector" she looked back at Bruno shaking her head slightly, "Anyway, if the cops have an arrest warrant for you, they can get you in by any means possible" she shrugged, "If that means but force, so be it" she tapped the table and sighed, "Look, I need you to control that temper"
Bruno sighed and leant on the wall near the window, "It's not my fault they label me so quickly, then when they bring up my past records, it's like they think I'm some juvenile delinquent and immediately place me in the bad boy barrel" he shook his head as Steph rolled her eyes, "Then don't let them label you"
"Huh?"
She shrugged, "Don't let them label you; Bruno you're doing this to yourself, they're labelling you as a violent guy cause you're giving them clear evidence of that. You go in all Hulk-like, of course they're gonna think you're some mad-ass kid who gets angry the second someone rubs you the wrong way"
Bruno made a dismissive noise and turned his gaze away from her, focusing on the view out the front windscreen.
Steph rolled her eyes and reached out, taking hold of his hands, "Bruno, you're not a bad guy; you're not a screwed up kid, and you're not a violent person" her voice calmed, "You're sweet and kind and gentle and-"
"So now you're trying to change me?" Bruno interrupted
Steph shook her head, trying not to laugh, "No" she looked up at him and stroked his face gently, "You know you're all those things, and more even, but you're playing too much to this bad boy routine" she lowered her hands and sat back against the back of the seat, "Frankly, it's getting a little old" she smirked, "We know you can throw a couple of punches"
Bruno sighed again as Steph folded her arms, "Ok, Bruno this is serious, you need to start thinking, honestly, about the situation before you jump in all fists and sh*t" she hesitated before adding, "Your mama didn't raise you this way"
Bruno closed his eyes and lowered his head, as Steph pressed, "Did she?"
He whipped his head up and snapped back at her, "No!" Steph had hit a raw nerve with him.
Steph reeled herself back quickly as Bruno shook his head, "No she didn't. Why?! Because she's not here, Steph! Thanks for reminding me"
Steph sat there with mouth open; Alex trying to concentrate on the road, albeit he would've rather been sitting with Steph and Bruno to try and act as mediator.
After pausing a moment Steph frowned and sat sideways, crossing her legs, "Ok, fine. So you're mama isn't here, and I'm sorry about that, I am" Bruno looked up at her as she continued, "And you can keep grieving for her and all, but dammit, you can't just keep punching on like some justice vigilante. Your mama would have wanted you to be the guy she knew you were, knows you are and knows who you'd turn out to be"
Bruno just frowned and pretended to look out the window.
Steph sighed exasperatingly and turned back around, "Fine...but you know I'm right...somewhere in that jumble of words I just said, there lies some truth"
She looked over at him, and shook her head, about to head back to the passenger seat.
She stood up and turned back to him, leaning down on the table, "Stop playing the bad boy card and figure out why you get so angry, why you let your emotions take over. Let everyone see who you really are" she stood upright, "Like I see you"
Bruno looked over at her with painful eyes as she headed back to the passenger seat and flopped down, rubbing her eyes as Alex reached over and gave her hand a squeeze and a reassuring smile.
Bruno shifted and looked out the window.
In amongst all that, Steph was right.
There was truth to what she said.
Why was he angry?
What was behind it all?
The death of his mother and his sh*t life thereafter was a pretty good start.
His dad and his lack of parenting skills; the way he always tried to pin his mother's death on him.
How because of that single event everyone he knew always judged the worst of him; he wondered if his father had spread any rumours about him trying to connect him to his mother's death.
Bruno shook his head and wiped a tear away, lowering his head into his folded arms on the table.
Alex looked back at him through the rear view mirror and then over at Steph, who shook her head and pulled her knees up tight, whispering, "He's gotta come to on his own" and looked back out the window.
Bruno thought through his life so far, the choices he'd made.
Defending Steph.
Defending others.
Defending his mother.
Defending himself.
All his life he'd been defending himself against people and situations to the point where it had become his default setting, feeling the need to defend himself at times when there wasn't a reason to even need to; despite the fact that, that wasn't who he was.
And up until now he'd escaped the consequences.
But he had friends, now who genuinely cared enough about him to know he wasn't like that; who were willing to help others see he wasn't like that.
Instead of dismissing him like everyone else who laid eyes on him, they took him in, treated him like family.
Hell, Alex, who he didn't have a great relationship with, put himself on the line by being his guardian.
All his life he'd only had to worry about one person, himself.
If he got into trouble, he had to face the consequences on his own, knowing that if anything were to happen to him, no one would probably care.
But now, now he had other people who would actually be devastated if something were to happen to him.
He'd not only jeopardise ruining his own life, but the lives of his friends.
His mama would be happy to know he'd finally found somewhere to belong again; found others who would care for him, who he could return the gesture to.
He knew she'd be heartbroken (again) if he just threw that opportunity to start afresh away.
Bruno suddenly felt a weight shift from him and looked up, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, at Alex and Steph, focused on the road before them.
He slowly and quietly stood up and came and wrapped his arms round Steph's shoulders, making her jump a little as she hadn't heard him sneak up on her.
"Thank you" he whispered.
Steph smiled and twisted herself round, kneeling backwards on the seat to face him and hugged him tight, as he buried his head into her neck, like a child, "No really, thank you" he looked up at her, his eyes a little red from tears, "You never gave up on me"
Steph shrugged and smiled, "You never gave me reason to"
Bruno smiled and reached over patting Alex on the shoulder, "And you too, and the others, thank you" he took a small breath in, "Really, thank you"
Alex smirked and reached a hand up, patting Bruno's, "No sweat, you're welcome. Just glad we could help you see what we've seen all along" he paused a moment and put his hand back on the steering wheel, "Ok, so it took me a little longer, but I can see what the others see in you too now"
Bruno smiled as Steph leant over and hugged around his waist, as Bruno stroked her hair and laughed.
Over in 'Einstein', the others were unaware of the epiphany that had occurred in 'Hot Stuff'.
They'd run through most of the songs and only had a few left to go through, but Alvin was getting bored.
He started mixing his own lyrics into the rehearsals, making everyone either stop in confusion, or laugh out loud and they'd have to start all over.
Simon was getting impatient, "Alvin seriously, we only have like, two more to go through, just sing it properly, and then you can continue being an ass"
Alvin groaned dramatically and slumped in the booth, "Geez, but we know them, and it's gonna be different when we're jumping about"
Eleanor tilted her head side to side, "Alvin kinda has a point" she turned herself round to face the front of the RV.
Simon glanced back at her in the mirror as she leant down on her hands resting on the back of the booth seat, "I mean, most of these we've done over and over, and the ones we haven't, well, we sounded pretty good I think" she shrugged, "Is it worth us going through them though if we can't move around?"
Simon took a breath in and calmed himself, "Fine. Fine, we'll stop then"
Jeanette smiled at him from the passenger seat, "Maybe next time we stop somewhere we'll have a chance to go over some of the routines?"
Simon looked at her and nodded, "Yeah, yeah ok, we'll do that"
There was a short pause before Brittany asked, "So now what?"
Alvin reclined his arms behind his head and smiled, "Britt, why don't you take your dear sisters in the back room? Have a girly sisterly chit chat or whatever"
Brittany looked over at her sisters and back at Alvin, asking slowly, "Why?"
Alvin just continued smiling, "'Cause you haven't had a chance for the three of you to really talk properly since we've been on this trip"
Eleanor rolled her eyes, "And this wouldn't happen to be a way for you to rid us girls so you can chat to your brothers?"
Alvin just shrugged, "Just touching base and all"
Jeanette looked over at Simon and back at Alvin, "Actually, there is something I want to ask to Britt"
Brittany's head whipped to Jeanette as she slowly stood up and slid out from behind the table, "Oh, um, well, come on then Ellie"
Theodore stood to allow Eleanor to slide out then went round to sit on the seat behind the drivers as Alvin strapped himself into the passenger seat.
The girls headed into the back room and closed the door.
Alvin looked back and made sure the door was indeed shut then turned and smiled at Simon, "Sooo, how ya doin'?"
Simon shook his head, "Fine Alvin"
Alvin cocked his head sideways and glanced between Theodore and Simon, "Seriously you two need a better way to answer that, other that, 'we're fine'"
Simon opened his mouth to say something but closed it and shook his head instead.
Alvin shook his head slightly, "Uh uh, come on, there's none of the girls around, or Steph, or the other guys; just us three brothers sitting here"
Simon glanced over at Alvin then back at the road and drew a breath in, "No, no I'm not going to divulge anything"
Alvin reclined back and looked over at Theodore, letting out a sigh, "Simon, I'm just asking because you brought it up with me before about you and Jeanette; I'm trying to show my concern here for you"
Simon couldn't help but force a chuckle, "Oh is that what you're doing?"
Alvin nodded as Theodore pointed out, "Tell Alvin about the lingerie thing Simon"
Simon's face flushed as his eyes widened, and Alvin looked at Theodore in surprise then over at Simon, grinning, "Oh so there has been some progress then?"
Simon gripped at the wheel and spoke through clenched teeth, "Thanks a lot Theodore"
Theodore simply shrugged, "Simon, just talk to Alvin, geez"
Alvin poked Simon in the arm, "Sooo what's with the lingerie? Jen show ya?"
Simon shook his head, "Not exactly"
Alvin sat back in the seat, a little confused, "Huh?"
Simon took a breath in as Theodore settled himself, leaning against the window, "Well, I know Jeanette bought some...lingerie...like I told you before"
Alvin couldn't help but snigger a little; 18 and Simon still blushed at the mention of a woman's unmentionables, and nodded.
Simon continued, "Well, I mean, and I suppose we haven't really had a chance to...like be alone or whatever..." he could feel his face starting to burn up; man he was embarrassed, but these were his brothers, he was supposed to feel like he could talk to them about these sorts of things – because if he couldn't talk to them, who could he talk to?
"And so, well I don't want to do anything...but it'd be nice to step things up a little, I mean why buy something like that if she won't show me?"
Alvin paused briefly before nodding, "Done? Ok, well, clearly she's a little apprehensive to wanna show you, come on it's Jeanette, we have to psyche her up before heading to the beach"
Simon nodded as Alvin smiled, "But she's bought the piece, and she's told you she has it" he thought a moment, "You seen it?"
"That's what he was trying to do but we almost got busted" Theodore added.
Simon rolled his eyes, "Yes thank you Theodore"
Theodore just beamed as Alvin smirked back at him and turned back at Simon, "Right, gotcha. Well...let's see, maybe we can help you out a bit"
Simon shifted uncomfortably in the seat, "Yeah, like what?"
Alvin shrugged, "We'll just set it up so you and Jeanette get some time alone to...have a fashion show"
Simon looked over at him with eyebrow raised as Alvin shook his head, "Ok, bad choice of words, but you know what I mean yeah?"
Simon nodded, "But how's that gonna work? I mean we've already stayed in heaps of hotels; we got these RVs so we could use them, and so far, we've stayed in more hotels than in these"
Alvin nodded slowly, "Yeah well we'll find another camping ground then, you offer a tent up for Bruno to join the rest of us roughin' and sh*t and take Jeanette in the back room, and then" he tipped his cap, "Wham bam thank you mam" he smiled at Simon who tilted his head side to side, "I dunno Alvin...you don't think Jeanette would see through that? Or Bruno for that matter?"
Alvin rested his feet up on the dash, "Simon, lemme talk to Bruno, I'll just explain that you and Jeanette need a moment of whatever, he'll be fine with it, stop making excuses"
Simon sighed, "I'm not making excuses"
Alvin scoffed, "Right" and turned back to Theodore, "How 'bout you then?"
Theodore looked stunned, "Huh? What about me?"
Alvin looked between Simon and him, "You know, want me to fix somethin' up for you and Ellie?"
Theodore shook his head and stammered out, "Uh, n-no, that's fine"
Alvin folded his arms, "Come on Theo, I'm your big bro here, talk to me"
Theodore avoided eye contact.
Simon looked back in the mirror at him, "You told Alvin about what Eleanor said?"
Alvin looked at Simon, "The fact she's ready?"
Theodore blushed bright red.
Alvin laughed, "Yeah, yeah I know about that" he turned to Theodore, "Look, buddy, just cause she's ready, don't mean you have to...there are other things you could do instead of screwing around" he turned back around, "Let's see, well you could..."
Theodore's eyes widened in slight horror as Alvin started rattling off a number of different 'options'.
Meanwhile the girls were all lying on their stomachs on the bed in the back room facing inward towards each other.
Brittany lay there playing with her hair, "OK Jeanette, what's up?"
Jeanette looked down at the bed spread and slowly over at Eleanor then at Brittany, "Ok...well, ok I'm just gonna come out and say it" she took a breath in, "I think Simon may be wanting to move things forward a little more"
Brittany gave a small smile, "Yeah and?"
Jeanette frowned a little; her sister wasn't getting it, "Britt, as in, he wants to move forward" she emphasised each word.
Brittany nodded slowly; she had totally understood, "Yes Jeanette, I know what you mean. Simon wants to get a little more...um, intimate with you, right?"
Jeanette looked down and nodded.
Eleanor patted Jeanette's arm, "I tried telling her that it wasn't a race and she and Simon could take things at their own pace, right?" she looked over at Brittany who just smiled and propped herself up on her elbows, "Yeah of course it's no race" she looked over at Jeanette, "But you've at least shown him that sexy number you bought right?"
Jeanette blushed, "Well, no"
Brittany sighed dramatically, "Jeanette! Poor Simon! I mean he knows you have it right? You've at least told him that?"
Jeanette nodded, "Yes but-"
"Then just show him!" Brittany interrupted
"Well I would but-"
"Sh*t Jeanette, you can't just tell him you have it and then deny him from seeing it, that's just mean" Brittany continued.
"Brittany!" Jeanette yelled, trying to get her attention.
Brittany stopped suddenly and looked at Jeanette, "What?"
Jeanette took a breath in, "Ok, so I told Simon what I bought, and yes I do, mostly want to show him, but..." she lowered her head "I'm afraid"
"Of what?" Brittany asked, slowly sitting up on her knees
Jeanette looked between her sisters, "Well, you're...well, you, I mean look at you"
Brittany looked down at herself as Jeanette nodded towards Eleanor; "And Ellie's got all those curves that guys go crazy over" she looked down at herself, "Look at me, what have I got?"
Brittany looked her sister up and down, "Well, you're smart"
Jeanette rolled her eyes, "Gee thanks" she said sarcastically and lowered her head.
Eleanor scowled a look at Brittany and wrapped her arm round Jeanette's slender frame, "Oh Jeanette, you're gorgeous; and you've landed a great guy in Simon, he loves you for you, he thinks you're beautiful"
Jeanette managed a small smile, "I know that" she whispered softly, "But I don't feel that way" she sighed, "What's the point of exposing my body and vulnerabilities to Simon if I don't feel beautiful myself?"
Brittany tilted her head and said softly, "Jeanette, you are beautiful, like Ellie said. I mean we share the same gene pool here, I couldn't have gotten all the beauty genes right?"
Eleanor shook her head at Brittany and sat herself up, "Gee Britt, for a second there I thought you were onto something" she said sarcastically.
Brittany held her hands up, "What?!" she reached up and pulled her hair out from its ponytail and shook her hair out, "Look, what I mean is that Jeanette is still cute and stuff, but all she needs is a boost in confidence"
Jeanette sat up and crossed her legs, resting her elbows on them, with her chin, "Uh huh, and how do we do that then Britt?"
Brittany thought a moment and pulled her hair into a side pony tail, "Ooh I know" she said, clicking her fingers, "Make over!"
Eleanor rolled her eyes, "That's your solution to everything"
Brittany folded her arms, "Well, if we can boost Jeanette's confidence via her looks then why not?"
Eleanor shook her head, "It's not just about outward appearance Britt"
Brittany rolled her eyes, "It'll be a start Ellie" she looked at Jeanette, smiling, "How 'bout it? Little makeover?"
Jeanette shrugged, "I don't see how that's gonna help Britt, I've been made up before, like performing and what not"
Brittany waved her hand dismissively, "Yeah but that's just a bit of makeup and hairspray" she shook her head, "I'm talking something drastic"
Jeanette reeled her head back and sat up straighter, "How drastic are we talking?" and started playing with her hair.
Eleanor shifted her legs to the side of her and leant on one hand, "Yeah, what are you planning?"
Brittany giggled, "OK, so it won't be heaps drastic then, but it'll be enough to notice a change" she smiled widely, "So I'm thinking maybe we add some subtle highlights in your hair and we'll style it to look amazing every day, fake tan, maybe some lash extensions and maybe" she studied Jeanette's face, "Sweety we need to get you some new glasses"
Jeanette reached up and touched her glasses, "But I like these ones" she ran her fingers around their round rims.
Eleanor nodded, "They suit you"
Brittany groaned, "But you've had the same style for six years Jeanette, fashion trends change"
Jeanette thought a moment then nodded slowly, sighing, "OK, alright, we'll give it a go...but my glasses are the last thing to change"
Brittany rolled her eyes, "Fine then...and maybe a new wardrobe too" she gave a curt smile.
The girls sat in silence for a while before Brittany asked, "So...you'll show Simon what you bought?"
Jeanette nodded hesitantly, "Um, yeah, I will...but what if it leads to Simon wanting to...you know"
Brittany shrugged nonchalantly, "Go with it"
Eleanor slapped Brittany's leg, "Britt, that's not helpful!"
"OW!" Brittany frowned rubbing her thigh, "Eleanor!"
Eleanor turned to Jeanette, "You don't have to 'go with' anything" she shrugged, "Just go as far as it feels comfortable; when you start feeling uneasy, stop"
Jeanette nodded as Eleanor added, "Start by just kissing each other"
"But make Simon strip down to his underwear too" Brittany added quickly.
Jeanette looked at Brittany a little wide eyed as Brittany shrugged and said dryly, "He sees you in your underwear, you gotta see him, it's only fair"
Jeanette looked at Eleanor for some kind of reassurance, as Eleanor thought and eventually nodded, "It might make things easier for you; you'll feel less vulnerable"
Jeanette took a breath in and sighed, "This is all sounding like more work than it should be"
Brittany stretched and lay back down, "Only 'cause you're making it more work"
"Well, weren't you a bit apprehensive with Alvin?" Jeanette asked.
Brittany looked a little taken back, but said honestly, "Well, yeah, of course" she played with a loose thread on the bed spread, "And I was inwardly freaking out when we were just down to our underwear, knowing there was nowhere else to go but...well to strip off completely" she giggled, "That was totally a weird feeling...but a good one" she laughed, "A very good one"
Her sisters nodded giggling and shaking their heads trying not to imagine anything, as she continued, "And, well, it was...different...but a nice different, a good different" she shook her head, "But I understand that it's not a stage you're up to, and although me and Alvin, we've taken our relationship further, you both shouldn't feel any pressure to take yours further if you don't want to"
Eleanor and Jeanette nodded as Jeanette lowered her head then lifted it slowly, "Um, Britt?"
Playing with her hair, Brittany looked at Jeanette, "Yeah?"
Jeanette coughed a little, "Um, what was it actually like?"
Brittany stared at her a moment, "What?" she thought she'd misunderstood her sister.
Jeanette felt her face getting warm again, "What was it like...for you?"
Brittany was taken aback a little as Eleanor added quickly, "Minus the details, I really don't want any visuals of you and Alvin and...ew"
Brittany giggled before taking a breath in and folded her arms underneath her, "Well...it was great, but not like Hollywood great"
Jeanette tilted her head as Eleanor nodded albeit with a confused look on her face.
Brittany bit her bottom lip, "Umm, ok well you know how in movies sex is all magical and both partners reach an amazing climax and then they snuggle into each other's arms and drift off to sleep?"
Eleanor and Jeanette nodded as Brittany frowned, "It's nothing like that. It hurts, it's sweaty and smells funky, it's messy afterwards, you're not guaranteed to climax at all, and the guy when he's done will probably roll off you kiss your cheek and fall asleep"
She shrugged and laughed, "Sorry for the lack of glamour, but there is nothing glamorous about the whole thing..." she thought a moment and closed her eyes thinking, a smile creeping over her face softly, "But it is amazing at the same time. You feel so close, like" she tried to find the words, "Like you're one for a minute or so, like you could do anything"
Jeanette and Eleanor smiled a little as Brittany added, "Then as quickly as it began, it's all over" she laughed again.
Jeanette smiled, "So, but you and Alvin will get married now right?"
Brittany's eyes widened, "What?!"
Jeanette was taken aback, and stumbled over her reply, "Oh, well, I just thought that, well, because you've...you know...um, that you'd get married and stuff"
Brittany nodded her head slowly, "Well, eventually I hope so, yeah, but sh*t Jeanette I thought you meant like now!"
Jeanette shook her head as Eleanor laughed, "I get what you were asking Jeanette" she smiled at Brittany, "We've all got time though"
Brittany sighed dramatically and pretended to wipe her brow, "Thank freakin' goodness for that" as the sisters all laughed.
Over in 'Hot Stuff' Steph and Bruno were busy making their way through a packet of M Steph had moved to sit next to Bruno on the small lounge behind the driver's seat.
"You're not even gonna share one?" Alex pleaded, looking back in the mirror.
Steph shook her head and grinned, "I said you can have one when you guess correctly which state I was born in"
Alex rolled his eyes and rested his head in one hand, steering with the other, "I'm no good at this, I'm gonna guess something totally wrong"
Steph laughed and threw a few more M&Ms™ in her mouth as Bruno urged him, "Just have a guess man"
Alex grumbled something and took a wild guess, "Um, ok, it's not a southern state, 'cause you don't have a southern accent"
Steph nodded and popped a few more pieces in her mouth, "Uh huh, process of elimination, I like it, keep going"
Alex sighed, "Uhh, and you were all excited to wanna visit New York, so I'm guessing that's out"
Steph nodded, "Yeah, keep going" she waved her hand in small circles.
Alex tapped the wheel a few times and slumped his shoulders in exasperation, "Gimme a hint?"
Steph shook her head as Bruno pointed out, "Oh come on, you gotta give Alex something, he's got 50 states to narrow down"
Steph giggled, "Well he's knocked out a fair few"
Alex called back, "Not enough, I need more info"
Steph laughed, "Umm, ok, ok" she thought a moment and sipped her water, "Ok, and I'm giving you a majorly big hint here, starts with an 'N'"
Alex thought a moment, "Umm"
Steph picked all the blue M&Ms™ from in her hand and ate them one by one, "Alex do you even know all 50 states?"
Alex was getting frustrated, "Yeah, I'm kinda trying to drive too, so concentrating on two things at once here"
Steph smirked, "Right, right, sorry. Forgot, you're a guy and can't multitask" and twisted sideways so she rested her legs up on Bruno's lap.
Bruno laughed, 'Hey we can too"
Steph dismissed him playfully, "Yep, whatever"
Alex started guessing, "Not New Jersey"
Steph shook her head, "Nope, not there"
Alex tried again, "Any of the North type states?"
Steph tiled her head, "Wha'd'ya mean?"
"Like Dakota or Carolina?"
"Oh...no, none of them" Steph added, taking another mouthful of water and proceeding to eat all the yellow and brown M&Ms™
Alex snapped his fingers, "Nebraska!"
Steph clapped her hands, "Yay you got it!"
Bruno shifted a little under the weight of Steph's legs, "So you're originally a Nebraskan girl?"
Steph nodded, "Uh huh, born and bred there...then we moved to LA probably a year or so before mum split when daddy got a transfer" she tipped the rest of her handful into her mouth, "Daddy moved from a small force in the burbs just outside Lincoln to the heart of the LAPD, and was gonna do study or something to climb the ranks to becoming a detective...then mum ran out, daddy had a meltdown and was made redundant or whatever"
Bruno whistled, "Harsh"
Steph shrugged, "It's been better for him" she stood up and went to sit in the passenger seat, tipping more M&Ms™ into her hand and offered them to Alex, "Although I reckon he still misses it sometimes"
Alex picked a few from her hand and popped them in his mouth, as Steph snuck a few more, "But he's so outta training by now, he'd probably be no good on the force anymore anyway"
Bruno lifted a water bottle to his lips, then paused asking, "So what's he do now?"
Steph paused a bit, thinking.
She actually had no idea what her dad did any more for work.
She knew he got up, left for work and arrived home in time to make dinner.
Steph looked puzzled as she turned to Bruno, "I dunno"
Alex gave her a quick glancing look, "You don't know what your dad does?"
Steph shook her head, "I know he does a nine to five job...I just don't know exactly what he does" she stared out the window, trying to think, "He doesn't wear a uniform, he always takes a packed lunch, he's generally home by five or so"
After a brief pause Bruno added, "Maybe he's still in the force and didn't wanna tell you?"
Steph frowned at him, "Why would he do that?" she bit the inside of her cheek, "No, why would he not tell me? I mean I'm older now, I'd be fine with it"
"Really?" Alex asked
"Huh?"
"You said before you were happy knowing he was home more often and that he got outta the force; can you really say you'd be fine with it?" Alex pressed.
Bruno nodded, "Yeah, you did say that"
"OK, ok" Steph said defensively, holding her hands up, "So I might be a little pissed off he'd been keeping this a secret from me, but he was happy there, so if daddy's happy then I'm happy"
Alex smiled and nodded his head, "Yeah sure"
Steph frowned at him, "I would!"
Bruno brought his leg up on the seat, "Why not just call him and find out?"
Steph looked back at him and let out a laugh, "Oh yeah right" she mimicked her hand into a phone and held it to her ear, "'Hi Daddy, yeah I just wanted to know what you do for work...why am I asking now? Oh because it's only just dawned on me that I have no idea what you actually do" she put her hand down and rolled her eyes, "Yeah that'd go down great"
Bruno laughed, shrugging, "Worth a shot"
Alex nodded, "Yeah, c'mon, you got us all curious now"
Steph sighed and frowned looking between the two guys before rolling her eyes and pulling her phone out from her pocket.
She grumbled under her breath before pressing the speed dial for her dad and held the phone to her ear.
Ron was sitting at home on his day off.
It'd been a while since he'd last had the day off to himself and sat peacefully in the kitchen reading the paper slowly and sipping on a fresh cup of coffee.
He'd planned to get a few jobs done around the house that needed to be done, that he knew he couldn't get done when Steph was at home.
Like clearing out that mass of dirty washing piled in her room.
He flipped the page of the newspaper to a full page coloured ad of the Chipmunks and Chipettes' concert in Vegas and smiled.
They were a good bunch of kids and he was thankful for their friendship to his daughter. They'd stuck together since they were in elementary school.
His phone started buzzing and the smile faded.
If that was work calling him in, he was going to be majorly annoyed.
He picked it up and looked at the caller ID and sighed relief when he say the name 'Bear' flash up.
He tapped the phone screen to pick up, "Yes my baby girl what can I do for you now?"
"Hi daddy...hey what if this was Alex calling from my phone, that'd be weird right now huh?" Steph commented.
Ron sat up a little and folded his arm on the table, "I suppose it would be, but then again, why would Alex call from your phone when he has his own?"
Steph shrugged, "Dunno, maybe he lost it"
Ron shook his head, "What do you want Stephanie?"
Steph took a breath in, "Daddy what do you do?"
Ron looked confused and leant back in the chair, resting his arm across his chest, "What do you mean what do I do?"
Steph clarified, "Like for work?"
Ron paused, eyebrows raised and managed to fumble out, "Oh you know, just work stuff" he leant forward putting his hand across his face.
Dammit now she asks.
For years she'd never known what he'd done and he was thankful she'd never asked, "Where's this coming from?"
Steph didn't miss a beat, "Just up in conversation, so what kind of work stuff, like where do you work?"
"In the city"
"Yeah...where in the city?" she pressed.
"In a building"
Steph frowned, "Daddy why can't you tell me what you do?"
"Why are you suddenly so interested?" Ron asked, trying to keep calm.
Steph started to become frustrated, "Because it's suddenly dawned upon me I have no idea what you actually do for a job daddy" she paused before asking, "Daddy, are you still working as a cop?"
There was silence.
"Daddy?" Steph asked
Ron sighed.
Sh*t.
She was gonna go mental on him.
Thank goodness she was road tripping.
"And if I am?" he replied calmly.
Steph bit her tongue, "Then I guess I'm happy for you"
Ron was a little shocked at the response.
"But dammit daddy why didn't you tell me?!" she screamed down the phone.
Ron held the phone away from his ear.
There's the response he was expecting, as Steph continued, "I thought you said you wouldn't go back on the force daddy?"
"Look, Bear..."
"No, daddy, no Bear. Tell me why you never told me you were going back on the force?" Steph asked.
Ron sighed and held his head in his hand, "Steph, look, I was only placed on forced retirement with the opportunity to come back to the job if I could prove myself capable again. And I did"
"After your mother left, well, it took me a while to acknowledge the fact that I'd be raising two kids on my own and needed to get back to work. I sorted a few things out, as you know and then managed to talk to my superior who pulled a few strings for me to be able to juggle my shifts so I could still be home to look after you and Cameron"
Steph huffed as Ron added, "Baby, what else could I have done? This is my trade, this is what I do...you'll be happy to know, however I'm mainly on desk bound, so I'm not out on the street...unless they're desperate for some back up, ok?"
Steph was still silent as Ron pressed, "Stephi, talk to me honey"
"Does Cameron know?"
Ron sighed, "Yeah, yeah I let him know"
"When?"
"I don't know, a few years ago"
Silence.
"Bear, why are you so upset for? I did what I could with the knowledge I have to work in a field I'm damn good at. I think I've done a pretty damn good job at maintain my position while still being able to be a single parent, right?"
Steph nodded, "I suppose"
Ron shook his head, "Look, I don't really know why I'm having to explain myself here, I've been able to give you everything you've asked for haven't I?" he took a breath in and let it out slowly, "I'm sorry I didn't discuss this with you sooner ok? But I am the parent and you're the child remember"
Steph rolled her eyes and nodded, "Yeah I know...I just wish you'd have told me sooner"
Ron nodded, "Yeah ok, I'll give you that one, sorry Bear"
There was another short pause before Ron asked, "So what did you think I did?"
Steph laughed aloud, "I seriously have no idea, it never crossed my mind until the guys brought it up...just knew you left, you worked, you came home...and I got stuff!"
Ron laughed, "Yes you did" he looked up at the time, "Well, if that's all baby girl, I'm gonna have to get moving"
"Yeah, that's ok, where you going?"
Ron stood up and closed the paper, "Oh, just out to lunch...with a friend" he said casually.
Steph smiled, "Ok well have fun then, love you daddy"
"Love you too Bear" Ron smiled as they both hung up.
He took a mouthful of coffee and made a face, realising it was now cold and tipped it down the sink just as there was a knock at the door.
He smiled and headed to the door, opening it up, "Ready to go then?" Tahlia asked.
Ron smiled and grabbed his keys and wallet from the bench near the door, and shoved his phone in his pocket, "Where we headed?"
Tahlia smiled, "I know a great Mexican place?"
Ron nodded, "Sounds good to me" as they headed towards Tahlia's car.