Disclaimer: The only characters in this story I own are Jessica, Alan, Jessica's mom and Jared. Everyone else is not own by me nor do I know him or her or have any connections to them.
CHAPTER TWO
Jessica lied in her bed, in an empty room. She thought about the night before with Scott. Jessica turned over and she heard the door open and shut.
"Jessica?" She heard Scott's voice and looked up. "You wanna go for a... a walk or something?" He walked to her bed and sat down.
"Not really." She laid her head back down and felt his hand on her arm.
"Ok, you wanna stay in here and talk?"
"Ok." Jessica looked at the wall.
"I'm here for you, just like I was at home. " Scott told her. Jessica sat up and looked at him.
"It's weird having this big room all to myself until the others get back. I know this sounds selfish, but I don't want them back. I need a place to be alone and to think and so far, this is the only place I have."
"Well you can't stop them from coming back, but there's lots of places where you can be alone. Like the janitors closet." Scott placed his hand on hers.
"I'll pass on that one. They're coming home tomorrow. What do you think they will think of me?" Jessica asked.
"I don't know." Scott remembered Shelby. "Juliette will probably try to become friends with you, make you feel comfortable here and let you know she's there for you, but I think she might just be a little nosy. Daisy will come in here and give you a lot of meanings that will surpassingly help you in the world even though you don't understand half of it. She's a good friend though. She is there for you and she can keep secrets, but she is a little weird. And then there's Shelby!" Scott stopped talking for a moment.
"Are you going to tell me about her?" Jessica asked. She noticed a look on his face that she had seen before, one that she didn't like.
"Shelby might be a slight problem. She, Uh, she has gone through a lot and she is sorta tough. It's hard to get on her good side. Luckily, I am." Scott looked up at the ceiling.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Jessica asked. Scott looked down at her.
"No, why?" Scott asked.
"Because there is a look on your face. It's the same look you had when you kissed my cousin Ashleigh at the movies when I went to get you a coke. That looked that says you did something wrong and you're sorry. What are you not telling me?" She asked.
"It's nothing. It's nothing that will hurt you. It's just something that happened before you got here. I don't want to talk about it." Scott got up and paced around the room. Jessica got up and walked to him.
Jessica reached for Scott's hands and held them in hers. He looked at her and took his hands from hers and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her tightly. They pulled each other apart.
"I'll be back." He said and he walked out of the dorm. Jessica sat down on her bed. She started to lie back down when the door opened.
"Scott?" She asked.
"No, cliffhanger girls returning from a vacation in the mountains to rejoice the fellow cliffhangers of horizon." Jessica saw a young girl with brown hair just above her shoulders, followed by a girl with long, thin, brown hair.
"Oh we have a newbie. Hi I'm Juliette." The girl with the thin hair extended her hand and just as Scott said, was trying to become her friend.
"Leave her alone Queenie, I'm sure she has better things to do than listen to your barf teals." A blonde girl walked in and threw her thing on her bed. Juliette rolled her eyes.
"Hello newbie and welcome to horizon. I'm Daisy and this is Juliette and Shelby, as you already know." Daisy started to unpack her things.
"I'm Jessica." Jessica got up and started to walk out of the dorm when a tall blonde lady walked in holding a clipboard.
"You must be Jessica. I'm Sophie, your counselor. Have you had a chance to meet all the cliffhanger girls?" She asked.
"Yes mam. I'm just going to go for a walk." Jessica walked out before anyone could argue. She started to look for Scott when David walked up to her.
"So, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm David. And you are?" he asked.
"Jessica." She started to pass him.
"NA ah, ah. We need to talk. You know, become friends. So let's start with, why are you here at horizon?" He asked, not letting her pass.
"I killed a guy that wouldn't let me pass him when I was walking." She said. He stood up straight and she walked by and saw Scott.
"Scott?" She ran up to him and saw him talking to Shelby.
"Oh look here comes the newbie." Shelby said. " This should be fun."
"Shelby she's a really sweet girl. Try to be nice to her." He said.
"Not if she's after my man." She went to give him a kiss, but before she could he walked up to Jessica.
"Well I met everyone. They all seem nice." Jessica said to Scott. "Shelby doesn't seem as bad as you said she was." Jessica went for Scott's hand but he pulled his hand away and turned around. Jessica walked in front of him and saw that look again. He was hiding something from her and she had to find out what it was.
"Scott?" She asked.
"There is something I have to tell you. I um...I..." Scott went to tell her, but before he could Shelby walked up.
"Hi, Jessica right?" Shelby said, standing between Jessica and Scott.
"Yeah, and if I'm not mistaken you're Shelby?" Jessica looked at Scott.
"Yeah that's right. So, Jessica, I see that while I was gone you had a chance to meet my boyfriend, Scott. Am I right?" Shelby said as she took Scott's hand. Jessica looked at Scott who stood there, not looking at anything, just straight-ahead as if he were in a daydream. She looked back at Shelby who kissed Scott on the cheek.
"Uh, yeah I met S-Scott. I'll leave you two alone." Jessica's voice started to tremble as she walked away. Once she was out of their view, she started to cry and ran to the docks.
"So, she was after you." Shelby said looking over his shoulder, then back at him. He looked down at her.
"Shel, you shouldn't have done that." Scott started to walk away.
"Whoa, wait. Do what? Let her know you're off limits, that you're mine." Shelby looked at him as he turned around.
"You didn't have to make a big deal out of it. You didn't have to kiss me right there in front of her, or rub it in her face." Scott looked at her with his eyes focused on hers, his angry eyes that locked everyone out of his life, except those he gave permission to enter it.
"I wasn't making a big deal out of it. Goodness Scott I just got back from a hike in the woods. I thought it would be good to come back and give my boyfriend a simple kiss on the cheek without anyone making a big deal out of it." Shelby walked closer to him.
"You know what? Forget it." Scott went to walk away.
"Scott?" Shelby called out.
"I said forget it." Scott walked past Shelby and to the docks so he could look for Jessica. He saw her, sitting there, crying.
"Hey." He said as he sat down next to her. She immediately wiped her tears and tried to stop crying.
"I have to go back to the cabin, I'm really tired." Jessica went to get up and he grabbed her arm tightly. She looked at him and sat back down. "The last time you did grabbed me like that was when I went to leave for my aunt's and I was mad at you. Remember? You grabbed my arm and kissed and said let's not be mad anymore. And you called me and I called you. But one day, when it was your turn to call, you didn't. The phone didn't ring and I never spoke to you again, not until I came here." Jessica watched the bug's dive down at the water and quickly fly back up. She wanted so bad to be one of those bugs, and just fly away.
"I don't want to talk about the past. I want to talk about now." He said, watching her looking at the water.
"Good because I don't feel like talking about you lying to me and Shelby kissing you and, and." Her voice started trembling again.
"Well I was hoping we could talk about the past, just a little." She looked up at him and he wiped a tear from her eye.
"Ok, how long were you going to lie to me about her? How long were you going to act like it was just you and I and no one else?" She tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows.
"I forgot about Shelby when it was me and you together last night. I liked the way it felt when I was with you. It was like; maybe I'm not totally alone. Now I can have someone to talk about, I don't know, happier times I guess."
"So you were just going to lie to me. How long were you planning on lying to me?"
"I was hoping last night wouldn't end. That I wouldn't have to tell you the truth because we would be together forever at that spot." He said. He touched her cheek and she pushed his hand away.
"Now I remember some of the other fights we got into. You always talked about things that wouldn't happen. Put dreams into my head. You never had a grasp on reality and when I needed you to help grasp it, you spoke of dreams. You were never there when I needed you." She got up and this time when he went to grabbed her she slapped his hand, hard and walked away. He jumped up and yelled to her.
"I was there when your grandfather died. And when you dog died and great grandmother..." he kept going.
"STOP! You don't have to name everyone in my family that passed away. I know it's a lot and I don't need you reminding me. And Scott you know you was not there. You were there in body, but not the way I needed you there. You told me, they are in a better place and we have each other to hold. Just be thankful we have each other, forever. Never telling my its ok I'm here for you. Its ok to cry on my shoulder and get tears on my new shirt." She yelled to him.
"When I said we have each other forever I meant the same has its ok I'm here for you. Its ok to cry." She walked up to him. He stood on the edge of the dock.
"Then you should have told me that." She went to walk away again and he grabbed her shoulder.
"Stop, we're not done talking." Jessica turned around and pushed him into the water. Scott fell into the freezing water and swam up to the top only to see the back of her head, walking away.
Jessica stopped crying and wiped away her tears before she reached the cabin. She didn't want anyone to know she was upset, especially Shelby.
Jessica walked into the cabin and saw that there was a young black girl with long braided hair walking through it. Scott didn't mention her.
"Can I help... you?" Jessica said. The young girl turned around.
"Hi, I'm Kathryn. I left my sweater here and I was coming back to get it. I am a former cliffhanger. Who might you be?" Kathryn asked.
"I'm Jessica. I just got here the other day. So, how did you get out of here? Please tell me so I can do the same." Kathryn looked at Jessica and could tell she was serious. She was definitely a newbie.
"I, uh, I was here for almost 4 years. I spent my time here and I graduated. This place isn't so bad. You'll get used to it and once you're out of here, you'll wish that you had just one more day here. Trust me, I do."
"Yeah whatever." Jessica lied down on her bed. She remembered how Scott had come in to see her. She hated him. And she hated Shelby. Why would he lie to her again? Why would he hurt her?
"Well, Hank is waiting. It was nice meeting you." And with that, she was gone and Jessica was left in the room.
CHAPTER TWO
Jessica lied in her bed, in an empty room. She thought about the night before with Scott. Jessica turned over and she heard the door open and shut.
"Jessica?" She heard Scott's voice and looked up. "You wanna go for a... a walk or something?" He walked to her bed and sat down.
"Not really." She laid her head back down and felt his hand on her arm.
"Ok, you wanna stay in here and talk?"
"Ok." Jessica looked at the wall.
"I'm here for you, just like I was at home. " Scott told her. Jessica sat up and looked at him.
"It's weird having this big room all to myself until the others get back. I know this sounds selfish, but I don't want them back. I need a place to be alone and to think and so far, this is the only place I have."
"Well you can't stop them from coming back, but there's lots of places where you can be alone. Like the janitors closet." Scott placed his hand on hers.
"I'll pass on that one. They're coming home tomorrow. What do you think they will think of me?" Jessica asked.
"I don't know." Scott remembered Shelby. "Juliette will probably try to become friends with you, make you feel comfortable here and let you know she's there for you, but I think she might just be a little nosy. Daisy will come in here and give you a lot of meanings that will surpassingly help you in the world even though you don't understand half of it. She's a good friend though. She is there for you and she can keep secrets, but she is a little weird. And then there's Shelby!" Scott stopped talking for a moment.
"Are you going to tell me about her?" Jessica asked. She noticed a look on his face that she had seen before, one that she didn't like.
"Shelby might be a slight problem. She, Uh, she has gone through a lot and she is sorta tough. It's hard to get on her good side. Luckily, I am." Scott looked up at the ceiling.
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Jessica asked. Scott looked down at her.
"No, why?" Scott asked.
"Because there is a look on your face. It's the same look you had when you kissed my cousin Ashleigh at the movies when I went to get you a coke. That looked that says you did something wrong and you're sorry. What are you not telling me?" She asked.
"It's nothing. It's nothing that will hurt you. It's just something that happened before you got here. I don't want to talk about it." Scott got up and paced around the room. Jessica got up and walked to him.
Jessica reached for Scott's hands and held them in hers. He looked at her and took his hands from hers and wrapped his arms around her body, holding her tightly. They pulled each other apart.
"I'll be back." He said and he walked out of the dorm. Jessica sat down on her bed. She started to lie back down when the door opened.
"Scott?" She asked.
"No, cliffhanger girls returning from a vacation in the mountains to rejoice the fellow cliffhangers of horizon." Jessica saw a young girl with brown hair just above her shoulders, followed by a girl with long, thin, brown hair.
"Oh we have a newbie. Hi I'm Juliette." The girl with the thin hair extended her hand and just as Scott said, was trying to become her friend.
"Leave her alone Queenie, I'm sure she has better things to do than listen to your barf teals." A blonde girl walked in and threw her thing on her bed. Juliette rolled her eyes.
"Hello newbie and welcome to horizon. I'm Daisy and this is Juliette and Shelby, as you already know." Daisy started to unpack her things.
"I'm Jessica." Jessica got up and started to walk out of the dorm when a tall blonde lady walked in holding a clipboard.
"You must be Jessica. I'm Sophie, your counselor. Have you had a chance to meet all the cliffhanger girls?" She asked.
"Yes mam. I'm just going to go for a walk." Jessica walked out before anyone could argue. She started to look for Scott when David walked up to her.
"So, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm David. And you are?" he asked.
"Jessica." She started to pass him.
"NA ah, ah. We need to talk. You know, become friends. So let's start with, why are you here at horizon?" He asked, not letting her pass.
"I killed a guy that wouldn't let me pass him when I was walking." She said. He stood up straight and she walked by and saw Scott.
"Scott?" She ran up to him and saw him talking to Shelby.
"Oh look here comes the newbie." Shelby said. " This should be fun."
"Shelby she's a really sweet girl. Try to be nice to her." He said.
"Not if she's after my man." She went to give him a kiss, but before she could he walked up to Jessica.
"Well I met everyone. They all seem nice." Jessica said to Scott. "Shelby doesn't seem as bad as you said she was." Jessica went for Scott's hand but he pulled his hand away and turned around. Jessica walked in front of him and saw that look again. He was hiding something from her and she had to find out what it was.
"Scott?" She asked.
"There is something I have to tell you. I um...I..." Scott went to tell her, but before he could Shelby walked up.
"Hi, Jessica right?" Shelby said, standing between Jessica and Scott.
"Yeah, and if I'm not mistaken you're Shelby?" Jessica looked at Scott.
"Yeah that's right. So, Jessica, I see that while I was gone you had a chance to meet my boyfriend, Scott. Am I right?" Shelby said as she took Scott's hand. Jessica looked at Scott who stood there, not looking at anything, just straight-ahead as if he were in a daydream. She looked back at Shelby who kissed Scott on the cheek.
"Uh, yeah I met S-Scott. I'll leave you two alone." Jessica's voice started to tremble as she walked away. Once she was out of their view, she started to cry and ran to the docks.
"So, she was after you." Shelby said looking over his shoulder, then back at him. He looked down at her.
"Shel, you shouldn't have done that." Scott started to walk away.
"Whoa, wait. Do what? Let her know you're off limits, that you're mine." Shelby looked at him as he turned around.
"You didn't have to make a big deal out of it. You didn't have to kiss me right there in front of her, or rub it in her face." Scott looked at her with his eyes focused on hers, his angry eyes that locked everyone out of his life, except those he gave permission to enter it.
"I wasn't making a big deal out of it. Goodness Scott I just got back from a hike in the woods. I thought it would be good to come back and give my boyfriend a simple kiss on the cheek without anyone making a big deal out of it." Shelby walked closer to him.
"You know what? Forget it." Scott went to walk away.
"Scott?" Shelby called out.
"I said forget it." Scott walked past Shelby and to the docks so he could look for Jessica. He saw her, sitting there, crying.
"Hey." He said as he sat down next to her. She immediately wiped her tears and tried to stop crying.
"I have to go back to the cabin, I'm really tired." Jessica went to get up and he grabbed her arm tightly. She looked at him and sat back down. "The last time you did grabbed me like that was when I went to leave for my aunt's and I was mad at you. Remember? You grabbed my arm and kissed and said let's not be mad anymore. And you called me and I called you. But one day, when it was your turn to call, you didn't. The phone didn't ring and I never spoke to you again, not until I came here." Jessica watched the bug's dive down at the water and quickly fly back up. She wanted so bad to be one of those bugs, and just fly away.
"I don't want to talk about the past. I want to talk about now." He said, watching her looking at the water.
"Good because I don't feel like talking about you lying to me and Shelby kissing you and, and." Her voice started trembling again.
"Well I was hoping we could talk about the past, just a little." She looked up at him and he wiped a tear from her eye.
"Ok, how long were you going to lie to me about her? How long were you going to act like it was just you and I and no one else?" She tilted her head to the side and raised her eyebrows.
"I forgot about Shelby when it was me and you together last night. I liked the way it felt when I was with you. It was like; maybe I'm not totally alone. Now I can have someone to talk about, I don't know, happier times I guess."
"So you were just going to lie to me. How long were you planning on lying to me?"
"I was hoping last night wouldn't end. That I wouldn't have to tell you the truth because we would be together forever at that spot." He said. He touched her cheek and she pushed his hand away.
"Now I remember some of the other fights we got into. You always talked about things that wouldn't happen. Put dreams into my head. You never had a grasp on reality and when I needed you to help grasp it, you spoke of dreams. You were never there when I needed you." She got up and this time when he went to grabbed her she slapped his hand, hard and walked away. He jumped up and yelled to her.
"I was there when your grandfather died. And when you dog died and great grandmother..." he kept going.
"STOP! You don't have to name everyone in my family that passed away. I know it's a lot and I don't need you reminding me. And Scott you know you was not there. You were there in body, but not the way I needed you there. You told me, they are in a better place and we have each other to hold. Just be thankful we have each other, forever. Never telling my its ok I'm here for you. Its ok to cry on my shoulder and get tears on my new shirt." She yelled to him.
"When I said we have each other forever I meant the same has its ok I'm here for you. Its ok to cry." She walked up to him. He stood on the edge of the dock.
"Then you should have told me that." She went to walk away again and he grabbed her shoulder.
"Stop, we're not done talking." Jessica turned around and pushed him into the water. Scott fell into the freezing water and swam up to the top only to see the back of her head, walking away.
Jessica stopped crying and wiped away her tears before she reached the cabin. She didn't want anyone to know she was upset, especially Shelby.
Jessica walked into the cabin and saw that there was a young black girl with long braided hair walking through it. Scott didn't mention her.
"Can I help... you?" Jessica said. The young girl turned around.
"Hi, I'm Kathryn. I left my sweater here and I was coming back to get it. I am a former cliffhanger. Who might you be?" Kathryn asked.
"I'm Jessica. I just got here the other day. So, how did you get out of here? Please tell me so I can do the same." Kathryn looked at Jessica and could tell she was serious. She was definitely a newbie.
"I, uh, I was here for almost 4 years. I spent my time here and I graduated. This place isn't so bad. You'll get used to it and once you're out of here, you'll wish that you had just one more day here. Trust me, I do."
"Yeah whatever." Jessica lied down on her bed. She remembered how Scott had come in to see her. She hated him. And she hated Shelby. Why would he lie to her again? Why would he hurt her?
"Well, Hank is waiting. It was nice meeting you." And with that, she was gone and Jessica was left in the room.