Episode VIII: Hurt
Standing at his locker, Shane gave his sister another look.
"You're happier about this than I am." Shane said. "Why is that?"
Kelly shrugged. "I don't know. I guess living with you and Dad all my life, I'm happy to have another girl in the house who knows the difference between a nice house smell and sweaty gym socks."
"My room does not smell like sweaty gym socks." Shane retorted.
"Gym socks, tee-shirts, they all stink." Kelly replied before putting a hand through her hair, which was its natural platinum blonde color today. "I'm starting to warm up to the idea, I guess. She's way easier to deal with than you are." Shane frowned. "Oh come on, you would rather die than to hear me ramble on about the hottest guys in the school."
"I guess you have a point." Shane said as Jayden neared them. "Wow. When is the last time I've seen you walk down these halls alone?"
"You know, I don't even know." Jayden said. "So, what's the plan today?"
"You ask that almost every day, you know?" Kelly responded.
Jayden shrugged. "I like to be prepared for any and all things. Especially the bad things."
"Well," Kelly said. "I'm going to see Dash after school. Do you want to come with me?"
"I saw her off yesterday and talked to her on the phone last night." Jayden said. "I'll probably see her this weekend, though."
"Oh. Okay." Kelly said.
"Despite us going to three different places," Jayden said. "Should we start walking to class?"
Shane's eyebrows rose. "Is this Jayden McDuelle opting to go to class before the bell has even rung?"
"I have a strange feeling. That's all." Jayden said.
"Hey, J.T," Scarlett said coming to them. "Can I talk to you for a second?"
"A very bad strange feeling." Jayden said to Kelly and Shane before looking at Scarlett. "Sure." The two stepped aside from the Mason siblings. "What is it Red?"
"I, um, I wanted to run this by you first." Scarlett said. "DeWayne and I… We're friends. Close friends. We're not dating, but that doesn't mean that we're not going to. So if it happens-"
"While I admire your need to tell me such little trivial things," Jayden interrupted. "Whoever you date is none of my business anymore. I don't want to look like the jealous , overprotective ex that I'm not."
"Helen told me to do this. She says that she knows you better than me now and that you would have a problem if I just up and dated the guy right off the bat." Scarlett replied.
Jayden turned to his feet and smirked. "I knew we were a little too close for comfort." Jayden then looked up at Scarlett. "It's fine Scarlett, really. If you want to date this DeWayne character, then by all means, date him."
Scarlett sighed. "You hate me, don't you?"
"No. I don't-"
"Say it." Scarlett cut him off. "I danced a bit too provocatively with a guy I hardly knew, ran off with him, and basically broke up with you so things between me and him didn't seem that awkward. You hate me for doing that. I know you do."
"I will never hate Scarlett Joann Chessex for as long as I live." Jayden stated. "We're friends, you and I. Probably as close as two friends can be without being one."
"Did you really just say my middle name?" Scarlett asked with anger. She hated people knowing her middle name.
"Call it payback for all those times you called me by mine." Jayden replied. "Anyway, date DeWayne if that's what you want. I will not look at you any differently than I do now. It's just my nature not to care about certain situations and this is one of them."
"Why is that?" Scarlett questioned.
Jayden shrugged. "With everything else going on in my life, your affair with some Lakehurst loser doesn't seem that important to me."
"I know what you're thinking." Scarlett said.
"Well, I bet you don't didn't see this one coming then, did you?" Jayden asked before walking away.
Scarlett huffed before nearly stomping towards the direction of the office. It was going to be a long day.
James, Steven, and Marc had been joking off since the trio arrived at school earlier.
"Man, that's hilarious!" Steven laughed as they walked down the halls. "Oh man, my class is this way and if I'm late, my dad will have one of those 'what were you doing' episodes. See you two later."
"Alright." James replied as he and Marc began walking off. "Say it again."
Steven grinned before turning towards his class before a smaller body collided into his. He looked down to see Chandra on the ground.
"Great." Chandra muttered as she picked up the papers that had fallen out of her hand. "Knocked down by…" Chandra looked up at Steven. "…You…"
"Yeah, me." Steven said. "Weren't you the girl that kept calling Ashton a junkie?"
"Yeah." Chandra answered.
"Oh. Just wanted to know." Steven replied as he extended a hand and helped her up. "You know, you're actually cute."
"Thanks…" Chandra said.
"But, I bet that you're still after Jayden, aren't you?" Steven asked. "It makes sense seeing that he's single now. Oh well."
"Wait. What do you mean, 'oh well'? And I haven't really talked to Jayden in a while now." Chandra replied.
"Oh…" Steven said. "Say, what was your name again?"
"Chandra." Chandra answered.
"Well I hope I'll see you around, Chandra." Steven said before walking away.
Chandra inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly, a smile coming onto her face. Forget Jayden, she was about to score Steven Manning, addict or not.
"Another day, another missing Nicole Campbell." Helen said to Jayden as she sat in Nicole's former seat.
"Tell me about it." Jayden said.
"What did you say to Scar earlier? She passed me in the hall like she was going to shoot someone." Helen questioned.
Jayden sighed. "I didn't say anything wrong… Per se… I just left."
"You just left?" Helen asked.
"Yeah." Jayden said. "She was telling me some B.S about her and DeWayne and how they could possibly be dating."
"And now you're mad? You poor thing." Helen said, spitting sarcasm on her words with a smile.
Jayden frowned. "No. I'm not mad. I just find it irritating that she's telling me this. What am I going to say? No, don't date DeWayne because he's a loser?"
"Try supporting her decision, nitwit." Helen said. "She thinks that if you two can be like you once were, at least she'll have a safety net just incase this DeWayne character is as big as a loser as we both think."
"Safety net? Does she thinks that she'll break up with him and I'll be there waiting?" Jayden asked.
"Let's be honest. Yes you will." Helen answered. "You will always be there for her if she needs it. Do you want to know why?" Jayden nodded and Helen smirked. "Because you love her."
"Heh. Now I know you're crazy." Jayden said. "While I may put Scarlett above a lot of girls, love is something this playboy does not do. And do you want to know why?" Helen nodded. "Because no one seems to be the right one yet."
"Tch, yeah right. I could have you eating out of the palm of my hands if I wanted to." Helen said.
Jayden lifted an eyebrow. "Really? I do remember a certain-"
"And now it's over." Helen interrupted. "So, help with this worksheet?"
Manny smiled brightly as she hugged her husband.
"What's the big news?" Maxwell asked.
"Danni's coming back Friday." Manny said.
"And…?" Maxwell questioned. Though he loved his daughter dearly, her return was something that his wife was neither this excited about. Unless… "What have you two done?"
"Nothing." Manny said childishly.
"Dimples?" Maxwell questioned while raising an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you but you can't tell anyone else and you can't get happier than I am." Manny said. Maxwell's eyebrow had yet to fall as he stared at his giggly spouse with an amused face. "Danni's got an apartment!"
"An apartment? I thought she was staying in your place in L.A?" Maxwell asked.
"Well…" Manny replied. "That was before she decided to move here! Isn't that a good thing?"
"Yes." Maxwell said. "But what else are you excited about?"
"I was thinking that you and I could throw her a house warming party and we can invite some of her friends and your mother and stepdad and-"
"Dimples, Dimples, Dimples," Maxwell cut his wife off. "This isn't Danni's first house…" Manny gave her husband a disbelieving look. "Okay, so technically it is her first home outside of us, but, we don't have to go overboard. Besides, the last time your dad and my mom were in the same place, we almost didn't get married, remember?"
"Well… I already talked to your mom, so…" Manny drifted off.
Maxwell sighed. "Fine. We'll do this house warming, but no one knows about the Jay thing, okay?"
Manny kissed Maxwell. "It's a deal."
Jacquelyn was currently walking to second period, not really paying attention to anyone or anything.
"Hey, Jackie," Shane said. Jacquelyn stopped and looked at him. "I wanted to talk to you."
"I can't right now." Jacquelyn said.
"Then tomorrow? Before the game?" Shane asked.
Jacquelyn sighed. "Sure Shane."
"Thanks Jackie." Shane said. "Well, uh, my class is this way. See you tomorrow, I guess. I mean, I'll see you later, but I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay Shane. I get it." Jacquelyn said with a small smile. "See you around."
Shane watched Jacquelyn walk away with a smile. Today might be a good day. He still had a day of football practice ahead of him and Nicole waiting for him. If he could make everyone happy, today would end well.
James sat at his normal seat in Media Immersion and logged onto his computer quickly.
"So what's going on?" Steven said sitting beside James.
"Nothing much. Heard that there was a party going on this weekend. Mary and I thought about going." James said.
"Yeah. Bet she already posted up on her page." Steven said.
James grinned. "Wouldn't hurt to check." James clicked a link to Mary-Jane's page. "Yeah, you were right about that."
"Tyler Walton? Who is that?" Steven asked.
James frowned. "Some guy we met at Lakehurst during that stupid meeting. Wonder why he's on her Friends' List?"
"My guess is that he's a friend." Steven answered.
James clicked on Tyler's page.
"What are you doing?" Steven asked.
"Just trusting my guts on something." James said as Tyler's page came up. "Just trusting my guts…"
"Does that say…?" Steven did not finish his statement as he saw the anger in James's eyes. "Man… I didn't know that…"
Amber walked into the class and sat in her normal seat. James waited for her to log onto her computer before sending her a message.
KingBrooks1002: Do you know?
StellAmber9822: What?
KingBrooks1002: About MJ and Tyler.
StellAmber9822: ?
KingBrooks1002: Saturday…
StellAmber9822: OK…
KingBrooks1002: That's where she was! She slept with him!
StellAmber9822: R u sure?
KingBrooks1002: It's on his page!
StellAmber9822: Srry. I'll talk to her.
KingBrooks1002: Watever.
Amber looked up to see James and fought the urge to smile. Scarlett Chessex was a genius for this waiting plan.
Scarlett looked at Jayden, who was painting quietly, his face showed his focus on the picture. Though she hardly cared about what he was doing, she did care that he had said only two words when she entered and they were "Hi Red," and nothing else.
"You know," Helen muttered beside Scarlett. "If you keep staring, you might be able to burn a hole in his clothes for everyone to see."
"I'm just trying to figure out why he's ignoring me." Scarlett said quietly.
Helen shrugged. "I don't know. Why not ask him?"
"Next to him lying?" Scarlett questioned. "Good one Helen."
"Hey, annoying neighbor," Jayden looked at Helen, who called to him. "Why are you ignoring Scar and don't lie to me."
"Sorry. Just really into work today. Seriously." Jayden answered. "What did you want to talk about?"
"See? Problem solved." Helen said stepping to her easel.
"I just wanted to talk." Scarlett said to Jayden. "Like… What are you doing after school?"
"I haven't thought about it." Jayden said. "Shane has work and football practice, Kelly's working and going to see Dash, Dash is busy, and I'm sure you are going to be busy as well. So I guess I'll just sit at home and get double-teamed by Renée and Jenée. You?"
Scarlett frowned. "Yeah right. And why'd you walk off earlier?"
"You mean next to the fact that the bell rang?" Jayden responded.
"Forget it." Scarlett said looking at her painting.
"Okay… Never knew it was such a bad thing for going to class and doing class work in class." Jayden said. "But, whatever. You can't win when it comes to the Coyne Cousins."
"Uh… No part in this." Helen stated.
"Of course Helen. My bad." Jayden said with a smile.
Nicole smiled. "Thanks Mr. Mason."
"No problem." Gavin said as Nicole began eating her meal at the Dot. "Just remember to be ready in fifteen minutes."
"I will." Nicole said.
Gavin sighed. "Nicky… I talked to your parents the other day and," Nicole looked at him with a slight hint of hope in her eyes. "I'm going to be honest with you, they're still pretty mad at you. Angrier than I originally thought."
"Oh…" Nicole said, her eyes now on the floor.
"Hey, hey, don't do that." Gavin said. "Shane promised he would help you get your life back, right? And if there one thing Emma is good at, it's making determined children who will not stop until they get their way or something with equal value."
"Like Jackie back…" Nicole muttered.
Gavin exhaled quietly. Teenagers got harder and harder to deal with as time changed.
"I'm not getting into Shane's love life, but I know that he really cares for you." Gavin stated. "Why else would he be doing this?"
"Mr. Mason?" Nicole began. "Do you think that… Well, without me-"
"Don't think that. You're important to a lot of people who would rather have you alive and stoned than dead." Gavin interrupted.
"But Mrs. Cameron wasn't so happy when-"
"Ah, that's just Emma for you. Always taking every precaution because, well, she's Emma." Gavin said. "Don't think too hard about that. Besides, between you and me, I think she likes you."
Nicole smiled weakly. "I hope so."
"Hey, like I said, you live with me, not her. So you only have to worry about my rules." Gavin replied. "And my rule says that you have to have a full stomach before helping around the Dot. So eat."
"Sure thing Mr. Mason." Nicole said.
On the way to lunch, Jayden was surprisingly joined by Chandra, who seemed to be glowing with anticipation. From the small time he would walk with her, he knew that she was excited to tell him something.
"Hey Jay!" Chandra practically squealed.
Jayden chuckled. "Okay Bambi, what is it?"
"Okay, okay, remember when you said that I was the hottest seventh grader and could get any boy that I want to prove a point to Mary-Jane?" Chandra asked quickly. It took Jayden a moment to slow down Chandra's words and then nodded. "So, the other day, Dustin kissed me!"
"Dustin… As in Dustin Hayes?" Jayden asked. Chandra nodded. "But you said that you thought he was-"
"That's not what I wanted to talk about!" Chandra interrupted. "Earlier today, I was walking down the hall, and bumped into someone. Now, while I was in my usual crabby morning mood, he basically told me that he had a crush on me!"
"And this person would be…?" Jayden asked.
"Steven Manning! Can you believe that?" Chandra asked excitedly.
Jayden frowned. "Steven Manning?"
"Yeah!" Chandra said with a smile.
"Hmm… Bambi, I don't know about this one." Jayden said, causing her to pout a bit. "But… I guess if it'll shut Mary-Jane up and make you happy, two birds with one stone. Plus, it'll give me a reason to monitor that pill-popping-"
"Hey! Leave him alone." Chandra said. "No one is talking about Vanessa and Jacob."
"Fine, Bambi. Do what you please. Just don't hurt Dustin in the process." Jayden replied. "And if you ever need me, scream."
"Sure." Chandra said with a smile.
Mary-Jane stood near James's car waiting for him so the two could go out to lunch like any other day. However, he was strangely later than normal.
"Mary-Jane!" Amber called as she jogged towards the car. "Mary-Jane, James is pissed!"
"Pissed? About what?" Mary-Jane asked.
"You and Tyler? You didn't do it, did you?" Amber asked. Mary-Jane did not answer, her eyes widening. "Mary… Come on… Why?"
"I-"
"Oh there you are." James said coming towards the two girls.
"James, I'm so sorry." Mary-Jane said.
"Sorry?" James repeated. "You go out and have sex with a guy you hardly know and the only thing you can say is sorry?"
"It wasn't supposed to happen." Mary-Jane said.
"You know… I don't even care. It's fine by me." James said. "Amber, did you want to come to lunch with me?"
"…" Amber glanced at Mary-Jane. "…Sure…"
"Let's go." James said getting into the car.
"Sorry." Amber whispered to Mary-Jane.
"Don't worry about it." Mary-Jane said as Amber got into the car. James cranked his car up and drove off. Mary-Jane then took out her cell phone and dialed a number, waiting a while. "Well Tyler, looks like I'm free for Saturday."
Inside the cafeteria, Gabrielle, Ashton, Vanessa, Aaron, and Jordan sat at their normal table talking.
"I can't wait until the game tomorrow!" Jordan said happily.
"Yeah. Your brother seems to be pumped up about it too." Vanessa said.
Jordan nodded. "He loves the Degrassi/Lakehurst game because he gets to hurt people with twice the force."
"I have a feeling that he's not the only one who loves this game." Aaron said.
"Of course I love it!" Jordan replied. "My mom and dad have always came to the homecoming game and Spinner usually has this big feast at home. It's like an unofficial holiday with us. That means that we'll be preparing today after school."
"Sounds like fun."Aaron said.
"I'll say. You can count me in." Vanessa added.
Ashton frowned. "Brie, something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. Just…" Gabrielle paused. "Well, my dad's in town and he wanted to see me."
"Really?" Aaron asked.
Gabrielle nodded. "Yeah… I just don't know what to do or say."
"I'll come with you." Ashton said. Gabrielle, Aaron, Vanessa, and Jordan looked at Ashton. "It's just a suggesting. Calm down."
"Whatever you say." Aaron responded.
Jayden sat his table with a huge sigh.
"Scarlett's mad at you." Shane said. "Thought I'd tell you that."
Jayden shrugged. "What's new?"
"I'll tell you what's new." Kelly said. "Mr. McCall gave us another one of those pop quizzes that no one passed."
"So what's so new about that?" Shane asked.
"Because he actually told us that this quiz wouldn't count." Kelly answered. "His fiancée is pregnant."
Jayden snapped his fingers. "That'll do it."
"Getting a woman pregnant makes a man happy?" Kelly questioned.
"No. It's the process of getting her pregnant that makes him happy." Jayden answered.
"Ugh! I should've seen that one coming!" Kelly said with disgust as Jayden and Shane laughed. "Jacob, get your friends."
"Well Kelly, you should've seen it coming." Jacob reasoned. Things like this were best left for Dakota. "Even if it wasn't completely-"
"You're no help." Kelly interrupted before sighing. "Where's Dash when I need her? I'd settle for Nicky."
"Really? You're taking a liken into Nicky staying with you." Jayden said.
"I know." Shane said. "It's weird because everyone thought that it was my idea but you wouldn't know it if you spent two minutes with the two of them."
"Sounds like you're jealous because you can't spend time with Nicky." Kelly said.
"Whatever. Loser." Shane mumbled.
"You know what I'm going to do today?" Jayden said. "I think I'm actually going to spend an entire afternoon doing nothing."
Kelly gasped. "Are you sick? Have you been drinking with Dash?"
"No. Neither." Jayden answered.
Shane grinned mischievously. "Are you depressed about Scarlett?"
"You do remember that she lives beside me, plus I dated her cousin first who is as attractive an as single as ever, right?" Jayden responded.
"That's what we all say." Shane said.
"No." Jayden said. "But I'm going to spend today doing nothing because… Well, it's new to me."
"So is speaking German, but I don't want you to try that either." Kelly said. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Jayden frowned. "What's so wrong with me doing nothing?"
"Dude, you're the only person I know that purposely annoy your neighbors just so they can shout at you and give you something to do. You're constantly into something." Shane said.
Jacob nodded. "You do start a lot of trouble when you're bored."
"Which is why it's wrong with you doing nothing." Kelly said. "Why don't you help at the Dot today?"
"Why don't you help at my dad's office today?" Jayden shot back.
Again, both Mason children immediately hushed. They still had flashbacks on the last time they did that.
"Thought so." Jayden said.
Scarlett gave Helen a glare that the shorter girl seemed to brush off.
"Let's be honest Scar," Helen said. "You're about as hopeless as a fish that can't swim."
"And you got to that conclusion based off of…?" Scarlett asked.
Helen shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel it."
"You feel it?" Scarlett repeated.
Helen nodded. "Yeah. I feel it. This DeWayne guy is going to make you realize how stupid you are and in the end, you're going to wish that Jayden stayed, well, Jayden."
"First off, me and J.T aren't really 'friends' at the moment. So I could care less about who he wants to be or be with." Scarlett said. "Secondly, I don't even date DeWayne so why are you and Jayden making a big deal about it?"
"Let's see if I can answer that in order, shall we?" Helen replied. "Okay, you and 'J.T' as you like to call him, are always going to be friends and I'm sure if he turned around and kissed me now you wouldn't speak to me for a week." Scarlett gave a thoughtful look at that statement. "And to answer the second question, you and I both know that you want to date DeWayne and I'm sure Jayden has a pretty good guess that you do. So we have all the reasons to make a 'big deal about it'."
Scarlett stood up. "I'm going to get a soda."
"I wouldn't go up there right now." Helen said pointing to Jayden, who was also at the soda machine.
"Watch me." Scarlett said walking away.
"Stupid, stupid girl." Helen muttered.
Jayden stood up after retrieving his soda and turned around.
"Jackie. Hey." Jayden said.
"Hey." Jacquelyn said before Scarlett stepped beside her.
"And Scarlett." Jayden said before smiling. "Wow. Two exes at one time. I must be in some serious deep trouble."
"Actually, I came to get a soda. Like any other day." Scarlett said.
"Grape, I presume." Jayden replied as he stepped to the side and allowed Scarlett to access the soda machine.
"Hey, Jay," Jacquelyn said. "Has Shane been talking about me? Like, as much as says he does?"
"Depends. If he used the words 'all the time' then, yeah, about that much." Jayden responded. "Seriously Jackie, I don't know what you did to my friend, but I think he's becoming something akin to a sissy. I mean, who cries over spilled milk? All relationships have their good and their bad. Sometimes, you just have to know when to let go."
"Seriously?" Jacquelyn asked.
"No. I don't think he's serious." Scarlett said. "And you know something Jayden, cry me a river, okay?"
"Whatever are you talking about?" Jayden asked.
"'All relationships have their good and their bad'? You're messing with me." Scarlett stated.
"No. Honestly." Jayden said. "For you, I'll do to DeWayne what you did to Helen. And in the end, we can-"
"Save it." Scarlett interrupted. "I've apologized and I've been honest to you. I see that getting the same thing is too much for you."
"Never." Jayden said. "I'm sorry for what I've done…" Jayden paused as he thought about him and Laura. "Whatever I've done is worse. Believe me."
Scarlett looked at Jayden in confusion, trying to think of whatever it is he was talking about. His eyes showed that he was deeply apologetic for the mysterious event, everything else about his composure made her believe that the event had not even occurred in the first place and he was just trying to make her feel better.
"Besides," Jayden said. "You never cheated."
"No. No I didn't." Scarlett said before Jayden hugged her. "Uh… Okay."
"Lighten up Red. People are going to start saying that we hate each other. And we don't." Jayden said before releasing her. "Now, come on Jackie. You and I are going to walk and talk about your problems and I'm going to tune you out to think about something unimportant and you can get mad about how men don't listen. Doesn't that sound like fun?"
Jacquelyn smiled and rolled her eyes. "Not really, but I guess it's better than talking to no one."
"My point exactly." Jayden said.
Dustin had noticed that Chandra continued to glance around the cafeteria every other minute, searching for someone he could not figure out who it was.
"Are you alright?" Dustin asked her.
Chandra nodded. "Oh yeah. Perfectly fine."
"No you're not. You're looking for something or someone." Dustin replied. "So what is it?"
Chandra sighed. "I'm looking for Steven. He said something to me earlier and I just wanted to know what he meant by it. That's all."
"Steven? Ashton's brother?" Chandra nodded. "Oh… Well, what did he say?"
"He said…" Chandra now doubted telling Dustin this. Especially after it was clear that he liked her. "Well, he called me cute and said that he hoped that he'd see me around." Dustin gave a slight nod. "I was thinking that-"
"Maybe he liked you? Enough to date?" Dustin interrupted.
"…Yeah." Chandra answered.
"Even after…" Dustin paused. "Never mind."
"But you know how Steven can be. He's kind of like Jayden. He says things that he doesn't mean." Chandra replied. "So you shouldn't worry."
"I'm not." Dustin lied.
"Okay." Chandra said.
After lunch, Jayden began to walk to class alone for the simple fact that he was growing a bit frustrated with the day. Between teachers and Scarlett, he really wanted to just go home and take a long nap. Of course, being who he was, there would always be that one person that will never respects his wishes of being left alone.
"So, Mc-fool," Laura said catching up to him. "What are you doing today?"
"Since when did we become friends?" Jayden replied. "You're already throwing nicknames and making plans. Sooner or later Nathan's going to find out that he was right."
"You mean the same guy that's moping around because Nicky isn't there to have sex with him? Yeah. I'm sure he's worried about me." Laura said. "Ass that he will never have."
Jayden lifted an eyebrow. "So sure are you?"
"I don't give it up for anyone. You have to be… Someone of importance." Laura replied with a smirk.
"Look," Jayden said stopping. "What do you want from me, hmm? You basically introduce my friend, who I look to as a sister, to the wonderful world of alcohol. Oh, that includes a day working at the Dot and a Saturday of school. Next, you somehow get Nicky off of my back, for whatever reason. Then you blackmail me about my brother. And finally, you try to console me about Scarlett. And did I mention this was all because I didn't punch you in the face?"
"Are you done?" Laura asked boringly.
"And people say that I'm confusing to understand." Jayden muttered.
Laura scoffed. "You might as well stop pretending to be so mad at me because you're not."
"Don't push your luck." Jayden replied.
Laura shoved Jayden lightly. "Fine. I'll just keep pushing you instead."
Jayden looked around the halls for anyone important. Seeing that there were none, he figured he could satisfy Laura, just this once.
And the girl was thoroughly surprised when he had her pinned against a row of lockers behind her.
"Sorry. I don't do encore presentations." Jayden whispered in her ear, stopping her struggles.
"Who says I'm asking for that again?" Laura asked angrily. She hated feeling restrained.
Jayden looked down in-between them and Laura followed his eyes to the opening on her shirt that revealed a bit of her cleavage. Jayden then made eye contact with her with a smirk.
"Despite being a diehard annoyance," Jayden said. "You're still a girl." Jayden released Laura's jacket and stepped back, allowing her to zip her leather jacket up completely. "I guess since Shane is currently working on Nicky and Helen has Scarlett, I can focus solely on you."
"Really?" Laura asked crossing her arms.
"Yep." Jayden said. "Meaning that by this time next week, it will be I that blackmails you."
"What was that thing that you told me? Oh yeah. Bring it." Laura said.
Jayden smirked. "Game on then."
Emma opened her door to see a grinning Manny.
"What have you done?" Emma asked suspiciously.
"Oh quiet. You sound just like Max." Manny said walking past Emma. "But I need your help."
"My help?" Emma replied. "Manny, I'm starting to think that you're up to something."
"We're going to throw Danni a home warming." Manny stated. "You're going to help me because… Well, I can't get Summer and Taylor up here to do it with me. Well…"
"Well….?" Emma said.
"Nothing. But you're going to help me." Manny paused and smiled. "Please?"
Emma sighed. "Sure. So what did you have planned?"
"Let's see…" Manny said.
After the final bell, Jacob watched as Vanessa nearly skipped towards him. He had to admit, the act was very cute.
"Hey." Jacob said.
"Hey," Vanessa said before a kiss. "Sorry that I can't go for tutoring today. There's a meeting for track today and I want to give it a try."
"Oh. Go ahead." Jacob said. "I don't think that we're going to have practice until Dakota returns, so I'll be free all afternoon."
"Great!" Vanessa said. "But," Jacob frowned at the sudden change in her voice. "I promised Bambi that I'd hang out with her Saturday so that hampers another day."
"No problem. Seriously." Jacob said.
Vanessa smirked. "You're such a nerd." She kissed him again. "See you later, Isaacs."
"Yeah." Jacob said as Vanessa walked off.
Chandra was currently grumbling as she walked towards the girls' locker room. If there was one thing she hated, it was being called out in front of the class about a question she did not know. And Toby knew she did not know the answer to that question.
"Hey." Steven said.
"Oh… Hey." Chandra replied.
"The game is tomorrow," Steven said. "I was wondering if you wanted to grab a bite to eat afterwards. Or before if you prefer."
"Sure." Chandra said without thinking. "We can go before because I actually have to study…"
Steven grinned. "Study, yeah. I'll see you then, okay?"
"Okay." Chandra answered. Steven walked off and Chandra slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Study? Now he thinks you're a nerd!"
Ashton watched as Gabrielle knocked on the door for the third consecutive time.
"I don't think he's here." Ashton said. Gabrielle looked at Ashton with a saddened face. "Hey, look on the bright side. We still have all afternoon-"
The door opened to reveal a groggy looking Jay.
"Dad…?" Gabrielle said.
Jay blinked before looking at Gabrielle.
"Well, you sure get your looks from your mom." Jay said before stepping aside. "Come on in." Gabrielle and Ashton stepped into the apartment. "It's only this neat because I just moved in. Give me some time."
Gabrielle said nothing as she and Aston sat on a small gray sofa, leaving room for Jay who sat beside Gabrielle.
"This is so awkward." Jay muttered.
"I know." Gabrielle said.
"It doesn't make it better that you brought your boyfriend along." Jay teased, though both children noticeably blushed.
"H-he's not my b-boyfriend." Gabrielle replied. "He's my tutor, Ashton."
Jay looked over to Ashton and studied him. The boy was definitely Craig's son on appearance alone, in Jay's opinion, with hair that nearly covered his eyes. From what Alex had told him, Jay would not doubt that there was some relationship, other than the teacher-student one, there. In fact, looking at how close the two sat, he was pretty sure he was right about them dating. His daughter was not bad-looking at all. She was his daughter after all.
For Ashton, he had grown both impatient and irritated about the whole thing. It seemed as if there were only three people who did not look at him and Gabrielle as a couple. They were himself, Gabrielle, and Gabrielle's mother. Ashton nearly gagged at the happy look his own father gave him when he had brought a girl home.
"So…" Jay stated. "I bet you're wondering why I left, huh?"
"Mom says not to worry about it, so I never did." Gabrielle said. "I've always wanted to at least know what you looked like, but I didn't necessarily want to-"
"You are my youngest child and my only daughter." Jay said. "When I had heard about your other two brothers, I always ran. I was not ready to be a father and I really didn't want to think about it." Ashton noticed how angered Gabrielle seemed to have become. "But," Jay continued. "I knew that it was now or never, so I always kept tabs on you and your brother while I dealt with the fact that my oldest son needed a lot of attention. His mother needed my help, after all. That, plus there's rumor that you could be my second daughter had gotten me a little… Confused."
"So you ran?" Gabrielle questioned.
"Actually, I took in your older brother, Randy, and he and I lived in Michigan for a while. When his mother seemed to have gotten her life straightened, I came to find all of my 'alleged' children. You," Jay said before smiling. "You are special because I signed your birth certificate. Of course, your mom has no clue about this, but I did just to make you better."
"Better?" Gabrielle repeated.
"Yeah. To be honest, Brie, I was a loser. I fell in love with this… Woman, who deserved better, I guess. And now…" Jay paused. "Well, it's a lost cause and as a Hogart, I don't cry over spilled milk. So it's better to just leave her alone and focus on you guys."
"You said that I had two older brothers and a possible older sister. Who are they?" Gabrielle said.
"Well, for the sister, it's a surprise." Jay said, gaining a sigh from both preteens. "But for your brothers, one of them you go to school with. Nathan Hogart?"
Ashton nearly fell out of his seat after that one. Nathan was a jerk, a loser, stupid, and anything else that would make a person be deemed the 'worst student in school' award. And Gabrielle… She was so different. She was not perfect, but compared to Nathan, who wasn't?
"No… Way…" Gabrielle and Ashton muttered in unison.
Kelly was led into a small bedroom where Dakota lied on the bed on her back, her dark red hair sprayed out around her head.
"You have a visitor." the man that led Kelly said as Dakota sat up.
Kelly smiled. "Hi Dash."
"Hey." Dakota said as the man left the room. "What are you doing here? I thought you had to work?"
"I asked for some time off so I could come and see you." Kelly said. "Are you okay?"
Dakota sighed. "Terrible. If I thought I was hated in school, here is worse."
"Why?" Kelly asked.
"There's a rumor that 'normal' addicts just go to hell. Child celebrities get to go to rehab first." Dakota said. "The 'normal' people here believe that I'm only here because of my parents and stepparents. They say that I should've asked for the Ritz or a Hilton Hotel."
"Oh… Dash, I'm really sorry." Kelly said.
"What're you sorry about? You're not the alcoholic, I am." Dakota responded. "And I'm going to stay here until I'm fixed."
Kelly sighed. "Dash, you're not broken. You just have a small problem. And I'll be there to help you. That way-"
"This time." Dakota interrupted. "I mean, what happens if this progresses? What happens if something bad happens to me? What happens-"
"You'll be fine." Kelly cut her friend off with a smile. "And heads up, Jay and Shane said that they would probably come up here on the weekend. You know. Band stuff."
"You guys are really going to support me through this, aren't you?" Dakota asked. "Even if Jayden knows the paparazzi are right outside."
"That's who those people were? Huh. Never knew." Kelly said. "But he's coming. I promise and he promised. He made me promise to tell you that he promises." Dakota giggled a bit. "See? Smile. We're friends till the end."
"Thanks Kelly." Dakota said.
"So…" Kelly said looking around. "What do you do for fun in here?"
Helen sighed. "Tell me why I agreed to do this with you again."
"Because you didn't like DeWayne so I asked him to invite a friend." Scarlett said. "Please don't cut up."
"I'll try." Helen said.
Scarlett and Helen walked into the McDonald's nearest their home to find DeWayne standing with the boy from Saturday.
"Helen," Scarlett introduced. "This is Alex. Alex, this is Helen."
"Hey." Alexander said.
Helen gave him a slight nod of acknowledgement a move Scarlett figured she picked up from Jayden.
"So," DeWayne said as the two girls sat the table. "What did you two want? On me."
"How about I go help you order?" Scarlett suggested.
"Sure." DeWayne replied and the two left Helen and Alexander at the table.
"Let's not beat around the bush, okay?" Helen said. Alexander nodded. "I'm only here because my cousin asked me to. If you are a loser in any shape or form, I will not only rip your tongue out and use it to wipe myself, but I will also be very, very angry about losing my sleep. Got it?" Again, Alexander nodded. "So, tell me about yourself."
Alexander had heard stories about Helen Sinclair-Coyne and chose not to test to see if any of them were true or not. Plus, on a scale of one through ten, she easily made a ten in his book.
"Well, I play basketball and I run track." Alexander said. "I play drums for Alternate Zero, DeWayne and my band with this guy named Tevin."
Helen nodded, her eyes slightly narrowed. She realized that she had made a mistake. DeWayne was not the Lakehurst Jayden, this guy was.
"You?" Alexander asked.
"Cheerleader. Scarlett's cousin. That's all you need to know." Helen answered.
Alexander nodded.
While he may be attractive, Helen realized the large difference between this guy and her ex-boyfriend. Jayden did things for a reason. Alexander would do things because Helen told him to.
Helen smiled. "This may be the beginning of a great friendship. Or more."
"Hopefully." Alexander responded.
Shane sighed heavily as he fell face first on his bed at his father's house.
"Hey Shane." Nicole said poking her head into his room. "Are you alright?"
"Tired." Shane moaned through his pillow.
"Oh…" Nicole said as she moved towards his bed. "I, um, I asked your dad if it was alright if I go to school tomorrow and he said yeah."
Shane rolled onto his back and looked at Nicole.
"Seriously? Are you sure? I mean, you've been having those random outbursts and throwing-up for the past two days." Shane said.
"I'm better! Really! I held my lunch down today, jogged with Mr. Cameron, and I even learned how to make your dad's chili." Nicole said. "No cigarettes, but two packs of sunflower seeds."
"Oh." Shane said. "Well, if you are alright and can do it, then sure. Come back to school. A lot of people are worried about you."
"Seriously?" Nicole asked.
Shane nodded. "Seriously."
"Oh… Well, I'll be there to see you guys beat Lakehurst." Nicole said with a smile.
"I'm…" Shane was interrupted by a yawn. "I'm sure you will."
"You're tired. I'll come back later." Nicole said.
"No. Stay." Shane replied. "Just don't get angry if I fall asleep on you. It's been a real long day."
Nicole smile. "Sure."
Ashton sighed heavily as he stood in front of Gabrielle's apartment.
"Well," Ashton said. "Today has been really weird."
"Nathan's my… My…" Gabrielle had yet to finish that sentence since learning about it.
"Hey," Ashton said. "Don't think about it too hard. You're ten times better than him."
Gabrielle blushed lightly. "S-seriously?"
"Yeah." Ashton said.
"Thanks Ashton." Gabrielle said before spotting Steven's car. "Steven's here."
"Well, I'll call you. Make sure you haven't committed suicide for being related to such a loser." Ashton said. "I wouldn't blame you. My brother tried to send me to jail."
Gabrielle smiled. "See you later."
Ashton walked towards Steven's car and got in.
"Tell me," Steven said to Ashton. "What do you have on your friend, Chandra?"
Scarlett frowned when she saw Jayden stepping out of his mother's red Mercedes seconds after DeWayne had dropped her and Helen off.
"Hey Jayden." Helen said.
Jayden looked at Helen. "Hey. Where are you two coming from?"
Helen sighed. "Meeting DeWayne and his better-than-him friend at McDonald's. You?"
Jayden groaned. "Work."
"Oh. That does sound bad." Helen said. "Did you get the track information?"
Jayden nodded. "That and basketball and made it into my dad's office in time. Pretty good, huh?"
"I guess." Helen said before glancing at Scarlett. "You okay?"
"Fine." Scarlett said.
"I have to go in here because quite frankly, I'm hungry." Jayden said to the two. "See you two later. Oh, and Red," Scarlett's eyebrows rose. "You owe me a massage."
Scarlett smiled lightly. "Whatever J.T."
With that, Jayden walked towards his house and entered.
"You so love him!" Helen said as she walked towards their front door.
"I do not!" Scarlett protested.
"Yes you do!" Helen said with a smile.
"Shut up Helen." Scarlett said as the two entered their home.
Inside of his house, Jayden was called to the entertainment room where his mother sat.
"Hey, Dad said that you wanted to talk." Jayden said. "What's wrong Mama? You look kind of down."
Manny sighed. "I'm fine. I just want to talk to you about, well, me." Jayden and Aaron gave each other identical confused looks before looking at Manny. "My ex-fiancé came back into town recently and I'm pretty sure he's going to do something that involves me losing my temper."
"Why are you telling us this? Dad'll shoot the guy, I'll cover for him, we all get off and move back to Newport, life is good." Jayden said.
"Despite the numerous friends and 'family' your father has, we're not the mafia Jayden. Well… Anyway," Manny said switching subjects. "I'm telling you both this because I said it'll change your view on two people that you know. Someone whom you, Jayden, hate, and someone who you, Aaron, trust the most. These two people are the son and daughter of this man."
"Who Mama?" Aaron asked. "I don't think Jordan is this guy's daughter."
"She's talking about Brie." Jayden stated. "Gee, and they say that you're the smart one."
"Yes, Jayden, and be nice." Manny said gaining a small sigh from her older son. "Jay Hogart is the father of Nathan Hogart and Gabrielle Nunez."
"Brie's dad is in town…? I bet she's… Confused." Aaron said.
Jayden frowned. "Your ex-fiancé is the father of Nathan? Huh. Doesn't this bring me to a whole new level of anger."
"Why?" Manny asked.
Jayden shrugged. "I don't know. I hate the guy so I guess I'll hate the man that Danni said that I should hate for cheating on you." Manny gaped. "Yeah, Danni called me like two days ago and told me that I should hate this nameless guy. I guess being a jerk is a genetic disorder in their family."
"Now Jayden, you can't hate a guy for who his father is and what his father did." Manny stated.
"Oh, I hate Nathan because, well, he's a jerk. He deserves it." Jayden replied. "I hate this Jay character because Danni basically gave me an in-depth description on how it happened. Her birth, that is. Plus he left his kids. Now if there is one thing I do hate, it's a parent that either adopts or aborts."
"I aborted my first child. Do you hate me?" Manny asked. Jayden and Aaron sat stunned. "Well Jay? Do you?"
"I…" Jayden was unable to respond to the question, his mind replaying his mother's last statement over and over.
"Does Dad know?" Aaron questioned.
Manny nodded. "He does. I guess it was the first lesson he ever taught me."
"You had an abortion? To one of Dad's kids?" Jayden asked.
"No. Craig's." Manny stated.
"Well I'll be…" Jayden said. "I could've been Dash's real half-brother. Weird…"
"You never answered my question." Manny said.
Jayden grinned. "I could never hate you, abortion or not. I guess… It's just weird thinking that a mother as perfect as you would do that. it doesn't make sense."
Aaron idly rolled his eyes. His brother always kissed up to their mother and it normally worked. And judging by the smile on her face, it was working now.
"I wasn't always like this Jay. I had to learn how to be a good mother." Manny said. "And as a good mother, I can't have my boys just running about with their girlfriends to avoid that happening again. Danni is grown, so I'm not as worried as I am you two. Well, you Jayden."
"What?" Jayden said.
Aaron smirked.
"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys that, just incase some stupid reporter digs into my history and pulls it out. Be prepared for it." Manny said.
"We'll be ready." Jayden said. "And speaking of ready, shouldn't you be getting a call your wife A.J?"
Aaron glared at Jayden. "She's not my wife."
Jayden stood up. "I've never seen a man reach a mile in one step. Think about it."
Aaron sighed and turned to Manny who gave him an apologetic look as Jayden left the room.
"You know he's only doing to you what Danni did to him." Manny said. "Besides, he's just mad that he and Scarlett no longer dates. You should be proud that you're better than him in almost everything now."
Aaron grinned. "Thanks Mama."
Walking to get her son, Emma peaked into his room to see that his light was still on. She opened the door wider to see that Shane and Nicole were asleep in his bed. Shane's back was to Nicole, but that did not stop the girl from hugging him.
"Oh my-"
"Ssh." Gavin interrupted. "That's the quietest I have ever heard her sleep."
"With our son?" Emma whispered fiercely before a small flash came beside her. Gavin and Emma looked at Kelly who had her phone out and ready. "Kelly!"
"Payback is… Well, you know the saying." Kelly said walking away.
Emma sighed. "I guess I should just go on home then."
"It might help." Gavin replied. "I'll send him there tomorrow so you can chew him out then."
Emma smiled. "Sure thing Spin." Emma gave her ex-husband a hug. "See you later."
"Bye Mom!" Kelly called from her bedroom.
"Bye." Emma responded turning Shane's lights out and closing his door.
Gavin grinned. "Heh, I guess I should tell Max that my son got a girl in bed first, huh?"
Emma scoffed. "You two and your pride."
Gavin laughed as Emma walked away. As she left the house, she could only think about one thing. The possibility that Shane and Nicole might do something behind her and Gavin's back. She trusted that Shane would either tell her this or not do it at all. But Nicole… Emma had little trust for her.
"I hope you're right Spinner." Emma said starting her car up.
The Fitzgerald twins were currently in Deanna's room while the girl brushed her hair out.
"So, Jayden and Scarlett did break up. I guess that's a good thing." Deanna said. "Especially since it was pretty pathetic of you to cry over a girl who's taken."
DeWayne smirked. "Give me more credit than that. I know what I can and can't have."
"Speaking of which, Dad called." Deanna said, now looking at her brother. "He gets another hearing tomorrow. Of course, Mom has little to no care, but that's to be expected, right?"
"Yeah. Well," DeWayne said. "I'm going to go shower."
"Hmm." Deanna said before DeWayne left her room. Deanna then took her cell phone and dialed Mercedes' number. When she got her on the other line, she smiled. "Forget about Helen. There's another Coyne on my radar."