A/N: Okay, just a note to all you Without You readers. I know it's been
awhile since I've updated that but it's because I'm a little stuck with it
for the moment. I've kinda run out of ideas for the moment. So I just
wanted to apologize for the lack of updates on that! Oh, and I have no
idea what really happens when you go bungee jumping. What I wrote in this
chapter is just what's in my mind. I have never been bungee jumping nor do
I truly wanna go........unless I can do it off something other than a
bridge. Oh and there's quite the little horror story towards the end. I'm
not good at writing those kinds of things, although with the amount of
horror movies I've seen you would think I would be, but I gave it a try.
**********************************
"Cinder?! What are you doin here? You come to listen to Shannon's band?" Jeff asked as he climbed out of his father's old rusted pickup. Cinder shut her mother's black Saab door and waved her drum sticks at him. He smiled as they walked up Shannon's driveway together. "I should have known from the drum set in your room."
"Yeah, ya should have," she laughed as they walked into the basement. Shannon smiled at the two of them while Chris gave Jeff an evil glare. Amy stood up from the ratty old couch that sat in there and smiled. "Amy, what are you doin here?"
"Shannon convinced me to play bass today," Amy answered as she shouldered her bass guitar. Jeff set his guitar case on the floor and placed his hands in his back pockets.
"So, what happens now?" he asked.
"We play man," Shannon exclaimed as he hit Jeff's shoulder playfully. Jeff smiled as Shannon set up a spare microphone. "You got anything specific ya wanna sing?"
"Why should he get to pick what he sings?! Shouldn't we, so we can give him a challenge?!" Chris exclaimed.
"Why not both?" Cinder asked as she sat behind her drums. She did a little drum roll to warm up and smiled as everyone took their places.
"Aerosmith, "Angel". I want you to try that one," Chris demanded as he sat on a stool holding his mic. They all smiled at each other and Jeff grew a look of amazement on his face as everyone realized that he was the missing piece. He strummed his guitar as he sang loudly, making Steven Tyler look like an amateur. When they finished, everyone but Chris gave him a standing ovation.
"You gotta stay with us!" Shannon exclaimed excitedly.
"Well, I mean, yeah, if you're sure," Jeff smiled proudly.
"No, I wanna hear you do one more song. I'm still not convinced you can handle this," Chris said. "Nirvana, "All Apologies"."
"No Chris. It's his turn to pick a song," Amy pointed out. Jeff looked up in thought before a large smile grew on his face.
"I heard this amazing song on the radio on the way over here. I'd like to sing that. Lifehouse, "Everything"," Jeff requested. "You guys ever heard of it?"
"Yeah, it's a beautiful song. Basically just guitar and keyboard with some bass until the end when the drums come in," Cinder replied.
"Right. So I'll start off and you guys follow," Jeff said as he started strumming away on an acoustic. Shannon picked up his electric guitar and Jeff's amazing voice sang away. Chris sat on the stool stone faced with his arms crossed, refusing to sing his back up. Cinder was forced to shine through with her back up talent. The two of them sounded perfect together. Shannon was amazed at how well the two of them sounded. It was like a puzzle being put together.
"You're in bro," Shannon immediately spoke after they had finished a perfect rendition of the song.
"Really? Ya'll mean that?" Jeff responded almost in a shocked tone.
"Yeah, you're perfect!" Cinder replied smiling at him. "And Amy, there's no way you CAN'T be in the band now."
"Yeah, I kinda got that feeling," she laughed.
"So it's final. Jeff, Amy, welcome to Peroxwhygen," Shannon said giving the two of them a large hug. Cinder laughed as she joined the group hug, only missing one band member. Chris had left during the congratulations festivities. When the group had parted the looked for him, but in the end shrugged their shoulders and went on with the practice, sounding better than they had ever sounded before.
**********************
"Cinder, what the hell happened to you?! Did you get in a fight with a mud puddle and lose?!" Adam joked as she and Jeff walked through the door to the house later that nite. Her face had been covered in dust and dirt and her clothes were caked in mud. She smiled and Jeff, causing her brother to give her a curious look.
"Jeff took me dirt biking," she replied softly.
"Dirt biking?!" Adam yelled. "Doesn't Mom have a rule about that with you?!"
"Adam, come on, I'm 16. I should be allowed to do this shit!" Cinder argued.
"Cinder, there's a reason why you're not supposed to be doin it!" Adam yelled.
"Oh? And what's that? I'm the little girl in the family so I'm too frail or some shit?!" Cinder exclaimed placing her hands on her hips.
"No, because it's dangerous!" Adam replied.
"It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doin," Jeff spoke quietly.
"See?! I'm perfectly safe! I'm not gonna fuckin go off on some large jump!" she yelled as she pushed by Adam and run up the stairs with Jeff right behind her.
"I'm tellin Mom!" Adam yelled after her.
"FUCK OFF ADAM!" she yelled in response as she slammed her door shut in Jeff's face. He starred at the door, contemplating whether he should knock or not.
"Um, Cinder?" Jeff said softly. She threw the door open and pulled him inside her room.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," she apologized.
"No big deal. Matt and I have had worse fights than that," he laughed.
"I just wish my family would let me grow up and be my own person," she sighed.
"They will. They just have to get used to who you really are first," Jeff said.
"But what if I don't even know who I really am?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at him.
"Then you gotta find out," Jeff shrugged in response.
"Easier said than done," she laughed.
"How so?"
"Well, some of the things that I truly wanna do, I would never be able to do cause my Mom would kill me," she replied.
"Like.............?"
"Like bungee jumping. Or skipping a whole day of school. Or going on a road trip. Things like that," she smiled dreamily.
"Bungee jumping? Next Saturday. Skipping school? Friday we'll go on a road trip to the city. Your mom will never know," Jeff smiled.
"Yeah she will. The school will call her on Friday if I don't go. I don't have the best track record so they keep tabs on me," she replied.
"So you get grounded for a few days or something."
"But if I get grounded I can't go bungee jumping on Saturday," she joked.
"So we go on Friday on our way to the city."
"You're so rebellious."
"No, I just don't wanna be seen as a normal everyday Joe. Cause I'm not. I'm me and no one else can be like me. Just like you're you and no one can be like you."
"You're right."
"So? You gonna do it?"
"Jeff, you are the best!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He laughed quietly as he took her into his muddy body and lifted her off the ground.
*******************************
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Cinder whispered with a large smile on her face as she and Jeff started walking out of Wakefield High.
"Did you tell anyone?" he whispered back with an equally large smile.
"No, no one knows. I just told them all that I was goin to the bathroom and I'd meet them in class," she replied as they finally reached the doors.
"Yeah, I think Shannon suspects something though," Jeff laughed as they were finally free to talk as loud as they wanted.
"Probably. He may be blonde, but he's rather quick," she joked.
"Oh, and you're one to talk," Jeff responded as they walked up to his shiny, what looked to be new, pickup. He opened the door for her and smiled as she easily slid into the passenger seat. She looked around at the flawless leather seating.
"Wow, this is a hot pickup," she smiled.
"Thanks."
"Your father's?"
"Nope. It's mine. I paid for it using the money I got from working on the farms since I was like 10," he laughed.
"Wow. Must have cost you a fortune. What year?"
"It's a 2000. And it wasn't that expensive. I got it used. It was like 15 grand. Not too bad for something in this kind of condition. Although I did repaint it."
"What was wrong with the paint before?"
"It was brown," he laughed. "I knew I couldn't be in a brown truck so I painted it black and had white flames done on the side. Sure it cost quite a bit more, but it looks awesome."
"Yeah it does."
"So, bungee jumping first?"
"HELL YEAH!!" Cinder exclaimed punching her fist in the air as Jeff put on some Marilyn Manson. Cinder tilted her head to the side and gave off a half smile as she listened to the music. He quickly turned it over onto some pop station that was playing Britney Spears. She immediately cringed and shook her head.
"I should have asked about Marilyn Manson. Girls like you probably prefer Britney and NSYNC," Jeff said.
"Okay, first off, I HATE Britney Spears. Second, while I may be a closet NSYNC fan, I do prefer my rock music over them. And lastly, what do you mean girls like me?!" she exclaimed slightly offended.
"I just meant the cheerleader type. Sorry," he answered meekly.
"Okay, if it wasn't for Adam and Trish, I wouldn't be a cheerleader. And I'm not a little teeny bopper. I happen to like Marilyn Manson. Although he's not my fave. I'd rather listen to like Otep, Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, ummmmmm..........ya know, people like them," she explained.
"You're really not who you look like you should be. You seem like the blonde cheerleader type that thinks she's smarter than everyone else and just thinks she's the thang!" Jeff laughed at his response.
"I'm the complete opposite. You totally just described Trish!" Cinder laughed. "I grew up with Adam and Jay and all their friends. Do you really think I'm that girly?"
"No, I suppose not."
"And I do have my blonde moments. I do stupid shit all the time and get teased for it by Shane ALL the time," Cinder smiled.
"Well, can I tell you a secret?" Jeff asked leaning in closer to Cinder.
"Yeah, of course," Cinder said taking this as a serious matter.
"Under all this color, I'm really a blonde," he laughed.
"Gotcha," Cinder laughed as they pulled onto a deserted bridge. Off to the side was a little platform with bungee equipment sitting on it. Around the platform, two men stood, one smoking a cigarette and the other yawning with his arms crossed over his chest. Cinder took in a deep breath as Jeff stepped out of the truck. Cinder slowly followed as they walked up to the men.
"Hey, we're here to go bungee jumping," Jeff smiled as Cinder coward behind him.
"Alright, just fill out these forms," one of the men said to them, giving them each a clip board. They signed the designated papers and handed them back. Cinder looked over the edge of the bridge as a wave of fear swept over her.
"Jeff, I don't think I can do this," she whispered as they started to suit her up.
"Sure you can. I have faith in you. Have faith in yourself," Jeff smiled as he cupped her chin in his hand. A small smiled crept across her face as they situated her on the platform.
"We're gonna count down from 10 and then you'll jump. Don't think about it. Just go. Cause otherwise you'll second guess yourself," one of the men said to her, putting a hand gently on her shoulder. She nodded as she took in a few deep breaths, missing the first half of the count. "5.......4.......3.......2........1!!!!!!" She immediately flew through the air, a slight scream escaping her pink colored lips. Her long blonde hair that had been tightly pulled into a ponytail flew up in her face as she bounced back up. She screamed in excitement as she started to bounce around a bit.
"How was it?!" Jeff called down to her as she was helped into a little raft to be taken off to the side.
"GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND I'LL TELL YA!!!!" she yelled in return as they suited Jeff up. He smiled down at her as he closed his eyes and let himself fall towards the ground. She laughed happily as he let out an excited WOO. He ran to her as soon as they hit the shore and picked her up in his arms.
"That's such an awesome rush!" he exclaimed.
"It was great!" she laughed.
"So you're glad you did it?" he asked.
"Oh hell yeah!!" she exclaimed.
"Well, what next?" he asked as they climbed the hill to the pickup.
"Well, I haven't had any French toast in SO long. Why not run to Denny's and get some?" Cinder suggested.
"Ya know what? After something as invigorating as that was, I could do with some French toast," Jeff smiled.
****************************
"So, ya glad we skipped today?" Jeff asked as he and Cinder walked down the streets of the suburbs just outside the city.
"Oh hell yeah. This was the best day I've had in a long time. It's totally worth the punishment that I know I'm gonna get," she laughed as he suddenly stopped her in front of an old rundown, boarded up house.
"What's up with this place?" he asked curiously.
"Well, supposedly it's haunted. Years ago this woman lived her with her 3 kids and she went insane, I guess. So she killed every one of the kids in different ways. The youngest one loved chocolate. So she melted a whole bunch of chocolate and while it was hot threw it on the kid. Searing the kid so badly that she stabbed him with a fork because he was too ugly to even look at. The middle child loved to play video games. So she took the controller cord and wrapped it around the kid's neck then shoved him into the tv. Then there was the oldest who was also a girl. She had a thing for bubble baths. So the mother went into the bathroom one nite while her daughter was in the tub, listening to the radio, and threw it in there with her. Electrocuting her. The mother was so distraught in what she had done that she killed her self," Cinder explained in the creepiest voice she could think of.
"So they haunt the place?" Jeff smiled skeptically.
"Yeah. They would have torn down the place long ago, but everyone's too afraid to go in there," Cinder replied.
"Well, I'm not afraid," Jeff smiled as he looked at her dead in the eyes. Cinder's smile faded as she looked at the seriousness in his green eyes.
"Um, Jeff, I don't think that's a good idea," she said swallowing hard.
"Come on. You jumped off a bridge this morning. You skipped school. You came all the way into the city. You're a wild woman!" Jeff joked.
"I don't know," she stuttered.
"Cinder, there is NOTHING in there. I'm sure it's just a stupid story told to scare off teenagers like us so we won't go in there and have complete orgies!" he laughed as he took her hand. He began to drag her up the steps and she reluctantly followed. Jeff pushed the broken door open, causing it to creak loudly, making Cinder jump back in fright. He laughed at her as she pulled herself closer to his body. They walked through the dark dusty house slowly and quietly. Rays of sunlight shown through the cracks in the boarded up windows and walls. They walked into the living room where a broken tv sat. An old Nintendo sat hooked up to the tv and Cinder shuddered as a cold chill swept over the back of her neck. She looked around the room as Jeff left her side to explore a little bit. She crossed her arms, hugging her self, and bit on her lower lip. She stepped back in fear and a gasp escaped her mouth as she looked in a mirror, swearing she saw a white see through figure standing behind her. She turned quickly and sighed when she realized nothing was there. She smiled and shook her head as she walked towards the tv.
"Get a grip C. There is nothing in here," she whispered to herself.
"HELP. MOMMY, NO!!" faint screams echoed in her ears. She perked up as she looked over to Jeff who had opened the closet in the living room.
"Did you hear that?" she asked fearfully.
"Hear what?" Jeff asked with a chuckle.
"Nothing, never mind," she replied. She heard heavy footsteps come from the upstairs as dust fell from the ceiling. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the dust as an insane laugh was heard. Jeff looked up instantly and looked around.
"Was that you?" he asked as he walked back her side.
"Nno," she stuttered in response.
"Hmmmm.......let's go see who's up there," he smiled at her as he pulled her along behind her.
"No, I'm not goin up there!" she exclaimed in a whisper holding her ground.
"Fine, I'm goin. You can stay down here by yourself," he replied as he began up the stairs.
"Wait! I'm coming," she said quickly as she run up behind him. He shook his head slightly at her as she gripped onto his arm tightly.
"Gees Cin, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were scared," he said sarcastically.
"Shut up Jeff," she growled.
They found their way into the bathroom and both shivered from the amazing cold in the room. Jeff left Cinder's side and examined the tub. Cinder felt eyes staring at her back and instinctively turned around, although she wished she hadn't. Standing in front of her was a small boy about the age of 5, covered in chocolate with holes all over his body, blood running out of them. Her chest heaved heavily as a scream escaped her, causing the boy to fade away and Jeff to run up to her. She turned around, her face completely white as Jeff held onto her shoulders.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I saw a boy. A little boy. He was covered in chocolate and holes and blood. He was staring at me. Then disappeared," she explained, although she wasn't sure how with all the fear that was flowing through her body.
"Yeah, okay," he laughed as he led her out of the bathroom and back into the hall. They heard the footsteps coming from a bedroom at the end of the hall and Jeff pulled them to it. He put his hand on the door knob which was so cold it felt as if it had been set in ice. He shivered but shook it off and continued into the bedroom. There was a bed sitting in the middle of the room and on one side there was a dip. There were old blood stains on the sheets and pillows, showing where the mother must have killed herself. Jeff once again left Cinder to explore the room. She stood rooted to one spot and watched him closely. She heard a quiet crash and looked towards the vanity that sat in the corner. An old trinket box was sitting on the floor open. She picked it up and a bullet sat on the floor. She closed her eyes tightly as she placed it back on the table of the vanity. Not 2 seconds later and the box had fallen on the floor.
"Jeff," Cinder cried dryly.
"What?" he asked releasing an annoyed sigh.
"I just picked up this box and it fell off again," she replied.
"Maybe you didn't set it on there well enough," he smiled as he placed it back on the table himself. Again, not 2 seconds later, the box had fallen right back onto the floor in the same spot. "Okay, that's creepy."
"SEE?!" Cinder yelled placing her hands roughly on her hips. She looked to the floor and around her feet sat a fresh pool of blood. She screamed as she jumped into Jeff's arms. He pulled her back with him into the wall as they watched a stream of blood move to the bed. The stains of blood on the bed had become fresh as a figure formed on the dip of the bed. It was a figure of an older lady, about 40, with a bullet hole in her chest and the middle of her head. She looked at them and laughed insanely. Cinder was the first to release a high pitched scream, closely followed by Jeff. They quickly ran out of the house and down the street, not stopping till they arrived at the truck.
"Holy shit!" Jeff yelled gasping for air. "What the hell was that?!"
"It was a fuckin ghost Jeff!" Cinder yelled as she put her hand on her forehead. "I can't believe that all happened."
"Wow, what a day, huh?" Jeff smiled.
"I think I've had all the excitement I can handle for one day," she replied shaking her head as she slid into the truck.
"I'm sorry for pulling you in there. I didn't believe any of that was real," Jeff apologized as they headed for home.
"Yeah, well, the next time you try to pull me into a creepy old house like that again, I'm gonna put my foot down and refuse!" she exclaimed as she folded her arms.
"No you won't. Who are you tryin to kid?" he laughed.
"Okay, so probably I'll stupidly follow. But I'll hate you for it afterwards!"
"Do you hate me now?"
"No, I guess not. Just something else I would have never been able to do. Although I didn't want to do it in the first place," she laughed.
"Stick with me and you'll be doin more things you never thought you would!" Jeff laughed.
**********************************
"Cinder?! What are you doin here? You come to listen to Shannon's band?" Jeff asked as he climbed out of his father's old rusted pickup. Cinder shut her mother's black Saab door and waved her drum sticks at him. He smiled as they walked up Shannon's driveway together. "I should have known from the drum set in your room."
"Yeah, ya should have," she laughed as they walked into the basement. Shannon smiled at the two of them while Chris gave Jeff an evil glare. Amy stood up from the ratty old couch that sat in there and smiled. "Amy, what are you doin here?"
"Shannon convinced me to play bass today," Amy answered as she shouldered her bass guitar. Jeff set his guitar case on the floor and placed his hands in his back pockets.
"So, what happens now?" he asked.
"We play man," Shannon exclaimed as he hit Jeff's shoulder playfully. Jeff smiled as Shannon set up a spare microphone. "You got anything specific ya wanna sing?"
"Why should he get to pick what he sings?! Shouldn't we, so we can give him a challenge?!" Chris exclaimed.
"Why not both?" Cinder asked as she sat behind her drums. She did a little drum roll to warm up and smiled as everyone took their places.
"Aerosmith, "Angel". I want you to try that one," Chris demanded as he sat on a stool holding his mic. They all smiled at each other and Jeff grew a look of amazement on his face as everyone realized that he was the missing piece. He strummed his guitar as he sang loudly, making Steven Tyler look like an amateur. When they finished, everyone but Chris gave him a standing ovation.
"You gotta stay with us!" Shannon exclaimed excitedly.
"Well, I mean, yeah, if you're sure," Jeff smiled proudly.
"No, I wanna hear you do one more song. I'm still not convinced you can handle this," Chris said. "Nirvana, "All Apologies"."
"No Chris. It's his turn to pick a song," Amy pointed out. Jeff looked up in thought before a large smile grew on his face.
"I heard this amazing song on the radio on the way over here. I'd like to sing that. Lifehouse, "Everything"," Jeff requested. "You guys ever heard of it?"
"Yeah, it's a beautiful song. Basically just guitar and keyboard with some bass until the end when the drums come in," Cinder replied.
"Right. So I'll start off and you guys follow," Jeff said as he started strumming away on an acoustic. Shannon picked up his electric guitar and Jeff's amazing voice sang away. Chris sat on the stool stone faced with his arms crossed, refusing to sing his back up. Cinder was forced to shine through with her back up talent. The two of them sounded perfect together. Shannon was amazed at how well the two of them sounded. It was like a puzzle being put together.
"You're in bro," Shannon immediately spoke after they had finished a perfect rendition of the song.
"Really? Ya'll mean that?" Jeff responded almost in a shocked tone.
"Yeah, you're perfect!" Cinder replied smiling at him. "And Amy, there's no way you CAN'T be in the band now."
"Yeah, I kinda got that feeling," she laughed.
"So it's final. Jeff, Amy, welcome to Peroxwhygen," Shannon said giving the two of them a large hug. Cinder laughed as she joined the group hug, only missing one band member. Chris had left during the congratulations festivities. When the group had parted the looked for him, but in the end shrugged their shoulders and went on with the practice, sounding better than they had ever sounded before.
**********************
"Cinder, what the hell happened to you?! Did you get in a fight with a mud puddle and lose?!" Adam joked as she and Jeff walked through the door to the house later that nite. Her face had been covered in dust and dirt and her clothes were caked in mud. She smiled and Jeff, causing her brother to give her a curious look.
"Jeff took me dirt biking," she replied softly.
"Dirt biking?!" Adam yelled. "Doesn't Mom have a rule about that with you?!"
"Adam, come on, I'm 16. I should be allowed to do this shit!" Cinder argued.
"Cinder, there's a reason why you're not supposed to be doin it!" Adam yelled.
"Oh? And what's that? I'm the little girl in the family so I'm too frail or some shit?!" Cinder exclaimed placing her hands on her hips.
"No, because it's dangerous!" Adam replied.
"It's only dangerous if you don't know what you're doin," Jeff spoke quietly.
"See?! I'm perfectly safe! I'm not gonna fuckin go off on some large jump!" she yelled as she pushed by Adam and run up the stairs with Jeff right behind her.
"I'm tellin Mom!" Adam yelled after her.
"FUCK OFF ADAM!" she yelled in response as she slammed her door shut in Jeff's face. He starred at the door, contemplating whether he should knock or not.
"Um, Cinder?" Jeff said softly. She threw the door open and pulled him inside her room.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," she apologized.
"No big deal. Matt and I have had worse fights than that," he laughed.
"I just wish my family would let me grow up and be my own person," she sighed.
"They will. They just have to get used to who you really are first," Jeff said.
"But what if I don't even know who I really am?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at him.
"Then you gotta find out," Jeff shrugged in response.
"Easier said than done," she laughed.
"How so?"
"Well, some of the things that I truly wanna do, I would never be able to do cause my Mom would kill me," she replied.
"Like.............?"
"Like bungee jumping. Or skipping a whole day of school. Or going on a road trip. Things like that," she smiled dreamily.
"Bungee jumping? Next Saturday. Skipping school? Friday we'll go on a road trip to the city. Your mom will never know," Jeff smiled.
"Yeah she will. The school will call her on Friday if I don't go. I don't have the best track record so they keep tabs on me," she replied.
"So you get grounded for a few days or something."
"But if I get grounded I can't go bungee jumping on Saturday," she joked.
"So we go on Friday on our way to the city."
"You're so rebellious."
"No, I just don't wanna be seen as a normal everyday Joe. Cause I'm not. I'm me and no one else can be like me. Just like you're you and no one can be like you."
"You're right."
"So? You gonna do it?"
"Jeff, you are the best!" she exclaimed as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He laughed quietly as he took her into his muddy body and lifted her off the ground.
*******************************
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Cinder whispered with a large smile on her face as she and Jeff started walking out of Wakefield High.
"Did you tell anyone?" he whispered back with an equally large smile.
"No, no one knows. I just told them all that I was goin to the bathroom and I'd meet them in class," she replied as they finally reached the doors.
"Yeah, I think Shannon suspects something though," Jeff laughed as they were finally free to talk as loud as they wanted.
"Probably. He may be blonde, but he's rather quick," she joked.
"Oh, and you're one to talk," Jeff responded as they walked up to his shiny, what looked to be new, pickup. He opened the door for her and smiled as she easily slid into the passenger seat. She looked around at the flawless leather seating.
"Wow, this is a hot pickup," she smiled.
"Thanks."
"Your father's?"
"Nope. It's mine. I paid for it using the money I got from working on the farms since I was like 10," he laughed.
"Wow. Must have cost you a fortune. What year?"
"It's a 2000. And it wasn't that expensive. I got it used. It was like 15 grand. Not too bad for something in this kind of condition. Although I did repaint it."
"What was wrong with the paint before?"
"It was brown," he laughed. "I knew I couldn't be in a brown truck so I painted it black and had white flames done on the side. Sure it cost quite a bit more, but it looks awesome."
"Yeah it does."
"So, bungee jumping first?"
"HELL YEAH!!" Cinder exclaimed punching her fist in the air as Jeff put on some Marilyn Manson. Cinder tilted her head to the side and gave off a half smile as she listened to the music. He quickly turned it over onto some pop station that was playing Britney Spears. She immediately cringed and shook her head.
"I should have asked about Marilyn Manson. Girls like you probably prefer Britney and NSYNC," Jeff said.
"Okay, first off, I HATE Britney Spears. Second, while I may be a closet NSYNC fan, I do prefer my rock music over them. And lastly, what do you mean girls like me?!" she exclaimed slightly offended.
"I just meant the cheerleader type. Sorry," he answered meekly.
"Okay, if it wasn't for Adam and Trish, I wouldn't be a cheerleader. And I'm not a little teeny bopper. I happen to like Marilyn Manson. Although he's not my fave. I'd rather listen to like Otep, Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, ummmmmm..........ya know, people like them," she explained.
"You're really not who you look like you should be. You seem like the blonde cheerleader type that thinks she's smarter than everyone else and just thinks she's the thang!" Jeff laughed at his response.
"I'm the complete opposite. You totally just described Trish!" Cinder laughed. "I grew up with Adam and Jay and all their friends. Do you really think I'm that girly?"
"No, I suppose not."
"And I do have my blonde moments. I do stupid shit all the time and get teased for it by Shane ALL the time," Cinder smiled.
"Well, can I tell you a secret?" Jeff asked leaning in closer to Cinder.
"Yeah, of course," Cinder said taking this as a serious matter.
"Under all this color, I'm really a blonde," he laughed.
"Gotcha," Cinder laughed as they pulled onto a deserted bridge. Off to the side was a little platform with bungee equipment sitting on it. Around the platform, two men stood, one smoking a cigarette and the other yawning with his arms crossed over his chest. Cinder took in a deep breath as Jeff stepped out of the truck. Cinder slowly followed as they walked up to the men.
"Hey, we're here to go bungee jumping," Jeff smiled as Cinder coward behind him.
"Alright, just fill out these forms," one of the men said to them, giving them each a clip board. They signed the designated papers and handed them back. Cinder looked over the edge of the bridge as a wave of fear swept over her.
"Jeff, I don't think I can do this," she whispered as they started to suit her up.
"Sure you can. I have faith in you. Have faith in yourself," Jeff smiled as he cupped her chin in his hand. A small smiled crept across her face as they situated her on the platform.
"We're gonna count down from 10 and then you'll jump. Don't think about it. Just go. Cause otherwise you'll second guess yourself," one of the men said to her, putting a hand gently on her shoulder. She nodded as she took in a few deep breaths, missing the first half of the count. "5.......4.......3.......2........1!!!!!!" She immediately flew through the air, a slight scream escaping her pink colored lips. Her long blonde hair that had been tightly pulled into a ponytail flew up in her face as she bounced back up. She screamed in excitement as she started to bounce around a bit.
"How was it?!" Jeff called down to her as she was helped into a little raft to be taken off to the side.
"GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND I'LL TELL YA!!!!" she yelled in return as they suited Jeff up. He smiled down at her as he closed his eyes and let himself fall towards the ground. She laughed happily as he let out an excited WOO. He ran to her as soon as they hit the shore and picked her up in his arms.
"That's such an awesome rush!" he exclaimed.
"It was great!" she laughed.
"So you're glad you did it?" he asked.
"Oh hell yeah!!" she exclaimed.
"Well, what next?" he asked as they climbed the hill to the pickup.
"Well, I haven't had any French toast in SO long. Why not run to Denny's and get some?" Cinder suggested.
"Ya know what? After something as invigorating as that was, I could do with some French toast," Jeff smiled.
****************************
"So, ya glad we skipped today?" Jeff asked as he and Cinder walked down the streets of the suburbs just outside the city.
"Oh hell yeah. This was the best day I've had in a long time. It's totally worth the punishment that I know I'm gonna get," she laughed as he suddenly stopped her in front of an old rundown, boarded up house.
"What's up with this place?" he asked curiously.
"Well, supposedly it's haunted. Years ago this woman lived her with her 3 kids and she went insane, I guess. So she killed every one of the kids in different ways. The youngest one loved chocolate. So she melted a whole bunch of chocolate and while it was hot threw it on the kid. Searing the kid so badly that she stabbed him with a fork because he was too ugly to even look at. The middle child loved to play video games. So she took the controller cord and wrapped it around the kid's neck then shoved him into the tv. Then there was the oldest who was also a girl. She had a thing for bubble baths. So the mother went into the bathroom one nite while her daughter was in the tub, listening to the radio, and threw it in there with her. Electrocuting her. The mother was so distraught in what she had done that she killed her self," Cinder explained in the creepiest voice she could think of.
"So they haunt the place?" Jeff smiled skeptically.
"Yeah. They would have torn down the place long ago, but everyone's too afraid to go in there," Cinder replied.
"Well, I'm not afraid," Jeff smiled as he looked at her dead in the eyes. Cinder's smile faded as she looked at the seriousness in his green eyes.
"Um, Jeff, I don't think that's a good idea," she said swallowing hard.
"Come on. You jumped off a bridge this morning. You skipped school. You came all the way into the city. You're a wild woman!" Jeff joked.
"I don't know," she stuttered.
"Cinder, there is NOTHING in there. I'm sure it's just a stupid story told to scare off teenagers like us so we won't go in there and have complete orgies!" he laughed as he took her hand. He began to drag her up the steps and she reluctantly followed. Jeff pushed the broken door open, causing it to creak loudly, making Cinder jump back in fright. He laughed at her as she pulled herself closer to his body. They walked through the dark dusty house slowly and quietly. Rays of sunlight shown through the cracks in the boarded up windows and walls. They walked into the living room where a broken tv sat. An old Nintendo sat hooked up to the tv and Cinder shuddered as a cold chill swept over the back of her neck. She looked around the room as Jeff left her side to explore a little bit. She crossed her arms, hugging her self, and bit on her lower lip. She stepped back in fear and a gasp escaped her mouth as she looked in a mirror, swearing she saw a white see through figure standing behind her. She turned quickly and sighed when she realized nothing was there. She smiled and shook her head as she walked towards the tv.
"Get a grip C. There is nothing in here," she whispered to herself.
"HELP. MOMMY, NO!!" faint screams echoed in her ears. She perked up as she looked over to Jeff who had opened the closet in the living room.
"Did you hear that?" she asked fearfully.
"Hear what?" Jeff asked with a chuckle.
"Nothing, never mind," she replied. She heard heavy footsteps come from the upstairs as dust fell from the ceiling. She looked up, shielding her eyes from the dust as an insane laugh was heard. Jeff looked up instantly and looked around.
"Was that you?" he asked as he walked back her side.
"Nno," she stuttered in response.
"Hmmmm.......let's go see who's up there," he smiled at her as he pulled her along behind her.
"No, I'm not goin up there!" she exclaimed in a whisper holding her ground.
"Fine, I'm goin. You can stay down here by yourself," he replied as he began up the stairs.
"Wait! I'm coming," she said quickly as she run up behind him. He shook his head slightly at her as she gripped onto his arm tightly.
"Gees Cin, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were scared," he said sarcastically.
"Shut up Jeff," she growled.
They found their way into the bathroom and both shivered from the amazing cold in the room. Jeff left Cinder's side and examined the tub. Cinder felt eyes staring at her back and instinctively turned around, although she wished she hadn't. Standing in front of her was a small boy about the age of 5, covered in chocolate with holes all over his body, blood running out of them. Her chest heaved heavily as a scream escaped her, causing the boy to fade away and Jeff to run up to her. She turned around, her face completely white as Jeff held onto her shoulders.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I saw a boy. A little boy. He was covered in chocolate and holes and blood. He was staring at me. Then disappeared," she explained, although she wasn't sure how with all the fear that was flowing through her body.
"Yeah, okay," he laughed as he led her out of the bathroom and back into the hall. They heard the footsteps coming from a bedroom at the end of the hall and Jeff pulled them to it. He put his hand on the door knob which was so cold it felt as if it had been set in ice. He shivered but shook it off and continued into the bedroom. There was a bed sitting in the middle of the room and on one side there was a dip. There were old blood stains on the sheets and pillows, showing where the mother must have killed herself. Jeff once again left Cinder to explore the room. She stood rooted to one spot and watched him closely. She heard a quiet crash and looked towards the vanity that sat in the corner. An old trinket box was sitting on the floor open. She picked it up and a bullet sat on the floor. She closed her eyes tightly as she placed it back on the table of the vanity. Not 2 seconds later and the box had fallen on the floor.
"Jeff," Cinder cried dryly.
"What?" he asked releasing an annoyed sigh.
"I just picked up this box and it fell off again," she replied.
"Maybe you didn't set it on there well enough," he smiled as he placed it back on the table himself. Again, not 2 seconds later, the box had fallen right back onto the floor in the same spot. "Okay, that's creepy."
"SEE?!" Cinder yelled placing her hands roughly on her hips. She looked to the floor and around her feet sat a fresh pool of blood. She screamed as she jumped into Jeff's arms. He pulled her back with him into the wall as they watched a stream of blood move to the bed. The stains of blood on the bed had become fresh as a figure formed on the dip of the bed. It was a figure of an older lady, about 40, with a bullet hole in her chest and the middle of her head. She looked at them and laughed insanely. Cinder was the first to release a high pitched scream, closely followed by Jeff. They quickly ran out of the house and down the street, not stopping till they arrived at the truck.
"Holy shit!" Jeff yelled gasping for air. "What the hell was that?!"
"It was a fuckin ghost Jeff!" Cinder yelled as she put her hand on her forehead. "I can't believe that all happened."
"Wow, what a day, huh?" Jeff smiled.
"I think I've had all the excitement I can handle for one day," she replied shaking her head as she slid into the truck.
"I'm sorry for pulling you in there. I didn't believe any of that was real," Jeff apologized as they headed for home.
"Yeah, well, the next time you try to pull me into a creepy old house like that again, I'm gonna put my foot down and refuse!" she exclaimed as she folded her arms.
"No you won't. Who are you tryin to kid?" he laughed.
"Okay, so probably I'll stupidly follow. But I'll hate you for it afterwards!"
"Do you hate me now?"
"No, I guess not. Just something else I would have never been able to do. Although I didn't want to do it in the first place," she laughed.
"Stick with me and you'll be doin more things you never thought you would!" Jeff laughed.