A/N: So, there's some Spanish in this chapter. I've only been taking the
language for two years, so if it's not perfect, I'm sorry. I've provided
translation for those who don't speak Spanish also. (And if you're not
going to read this chapter just because it looks like it's going to be all
about Jessy, it's not. Read on if you want to see Katey/Javier stuff.)
Never in her life had Jessica Anne Phelps looked so good, or felt so nervous. Jessy had spent the past two hours picking out a dress, doing her hair and makeup, and calming herself down. She hadn't even been able to eat anything at dinner.
"Jessy, are you ready to go?" James called to his daughter.
"Let me call first," Jessy replied. "5-8-3," she recited out loud as she dialed the numbers.
"He-lo?" Selena's voice rang.
"Hi, it's Jessy."
"Hey! Are you ready?"
"Yeah! Ready and nervous," Jessy giggled.
"Don't worry 'bout it. We'll meet you at the club in fifteen, alright?"
"Alright. Thanks again, Selena."
"Call me Sel! Everyone else does," Selena said brightly.
"Okay Selen- Sel," Jessy said.
"See you in a bit, Chika," Selena hung up the phone.
Jessy put the phone back and wrapped a white sweater over her arms. She had a pretty light yellow dress with a low neckline on. Her hair was pulled into a French twist as the back of her head. Her mother had given her tips on how to dress, since Cuban fashion was nothing like Illinois wear. Jessy felt as if she were still in the fifties, seeing as how they dressed.
"You look gorgeous," Katey said, wrapping her arms around Jessy's neck.
"You don't think it's too- too?" Jessy asked uncertainly.
"Trust me; you completely fit the part," Katey glowed at her daughter.
"Let's go, my beautiful women," James smiled as he entered the front hallway.
Katey and Jessy smiled as James wrapped a shawl around Katey.
"Look what I found, Doll," James held out an old photo ripped at the corner.
It was a picture of the two at Katey's first Country Club dance. James' arm was wrapped around Katey's waist and the two were smiling brightly. Yet it didn't exactly brighten up Katey's face as much as it did James'. Katey remembered what had happened later that night, when James practically mauled her in his car.
"Doesn't your mother look splendid, Jessy?" James looked to his daughter.
"Mom, you're beautiful!" Jessy exclaimed.
"Let's get going, we don't want you to be late," Katey said hurriedly.
Jessy climbed out of the cab when they had reached the party twenty minutes later. It was gorgeously decorated, lit up everywhere.
"Bye sweetie. We will be by later to pick you up," James kissed the top of Jessy's forehead and closed the window, driving off with Katey.
Jessy climbed the steps to the front of the party. Selena was waiting right by the entrance, staring off into the distance.
"Hey! Was wondering where you'd got to," Selena greeted.
"Sorry. We had a little car trouble," Jessy lied.
"No problem," Selena said. Jessy waited for her to continue on into the party, but she stayed with her back to the wall.
"Are you not going to..." Jessy asked.
"Go in there? No way. That place is too corny for me. We're gonna party!" Selena said, excited.
"Where are all of your friends?"
"Friends? Oh, you mean the snob squad. I just say they're my friends because my over-controlling mother was around. I hate those four! They seem to like me, but I just hang around them when I'm forced," Selena explained, still not making eye contact with Jessy.
"So who are your real friends?" Jessy asked.
"Don't really got any. 'Cept for you. You'll be my friend, won't ya Jess?" Selena asked.
Jessy nodded gratefully. She had Selena all wrong. She had imagined her to be a stuck-up snob, but she was wild and crazy once you got to know her. Selena was the type of girl Jessy had always wanted to be, but she never had the guts to.
"Good. You don't mind me callin' you Jess, do ya?" Selena asked, finally looking towards Jessy.
"No... not at all. It's better than your mother calling me Jessy Anne," Jessy laughed.
"Sorry 'bout that. My mother's a stuck-up snob like the rest of them. But you... you're different," Selena smiled.
"It's not a big deal. I loathe my middle name, though."
"I like it. Selena Anne... whatcha think?"
"Sounds good. Want to trade?" Jessy laughed.
"Trust me, you don't want my middle name."
"What is it?" Jessy asked curiously.
"Maude! What kind of a mother with half a brain names their child Selena Maude?"
Jessy snorted. Maude was the most hilarious name she'd ever heard of.
"I have an Auntie Maude. I hate her!"
"See? I told you."
"You're hilarious, Sel," Jessy smiled.
"Yeah? You're pretty awesome yourself, Jess. Whoa!" Selena whipped her head down the street.
There was a group of kids halfway around the corner dancing to the music playing in the Club. But they were doing it all different. These kids actually had moves.
"Now they're my kind of people!" Selena exclaimed.
"They're good."
"Good? They're way better than good! Look at how they move to the music! Come on, Jess. I think we're gonna make some Cuban friends tonight."
Selena grabbed Jessy's arm and began down the street.
"No, Sel. I don't-"
"Take that ugly sweater off first, though," Selena told her, not paying attention to what she was saying.
"But-"
"Just hang it on that rack over there. It's not gonna go anywhere."
Jessy reluctantly hung her white sweater on the rack, and turned to face Selena again. Now she was fixing her makeup in a compact.
"Come 'ere. Your lips look too dry," Selena told her. She rubbed some cherry-red lipstick onto Jessy's lips. "Smack 'em together."
Jessy did as she was told, but only to be presented by a new problem. Now Selena seemed to be shortening her dress at the bottom.
"What are you doing?"
"You're dress is too long. I'm making it look sexier."
"Sel, I don't-"
"Okay. One more thing."
Selena reached behind Jessy and took out her twist, letting her hair flow.
"Wow. I wish I could have hair like yours," Selena said with a bit of jealousy.
Selena had frizzy copper-red hair which flew everywhere. Jessy thought it was very unique, but she doubted Selena would feel the same way.
"Now you look Cuban!" Selena pulled back, admiring her work.
"What did I look like before?"
"A stuck-up snob at a Country Club. So did I, when my mother dropped me off. Now come on!"
"Sel, I don't know if I want to!" Jessy protested.
"What else do you want to do? These kids are cool, trust me."
"How do you know? You don't even know who they are!"
"So? What's life without taking risks, I always say. Now come on, you sexy thing," Selena giggled.
Jessy had to laugh. She clobbered over in her heels next to Selena. They walked down the street until they came within ten feet of the group. There were at least a dozen of them, maybe more.
"Ooo! Look at him," Selena squealed, pointing to a boy in the very middle of the throng.
"Wow," Jessy said dreamily.
The boy in the middle was dancing like Jessy had never seen before. He was moving his body in every other direction, completely clueless to his surroundings. It also happened that he was gorgeous. The sun still hadn't set, so it was light enough for her to see. He had messy black hair with many defined features. His left ear was pierced with a gold earring in his cartilage. Jessy couldn't see much more, he was dancing too quickly to see.
"Let's get a closer look," Selena whispered.
The two walked closer to the group, right as the music turned off. They all started to clap, congratulating each other in Spanish.
"Do you know what they're saying?" Jessy asked Selena.
"Kinda. My mother insisted on me taking Latin, only Lord knows why."
The boy in the middle shook hands with a boy about his size, speaking rapidly with him. He turned to talk to a girl behind him when he spotted Selena and Jessy.
"Hey!" the boy addressed the two girls. He advanced towards them, stopping five inches in front. "What're you doing here?"
"We saw you dancing! Great moves." Selena smiled.
"¡Quieren el baile!" the boy laughed to his friends, telling them the girls loved the dancing. Some of the boys laughed, and the girls just gave them dagger eyes. Jessy was beyond a doubt more beautiful than any of them, and they knew it.
"Uh..." Jessy stuttered.
"What? You don't speak the language?" he teased.
"Well, I-"
"We don't want any watchers, por favor. Go back to your fancy party, and we'll take care of the real dancing."
He turned his back to them, Jessy looking crushed, Selena looking angry. Jessy started to turn back, when Selena grabbed her arm, forcing her to whip around.
"Where are you goin'? Show 'em what you're made of!" she said fiercely. The music had begun again, and the boy was back to doing his moves.
"No, Sel, we really should-"
"Don't go chickening out! They're testing our strength."
Selena pushed Jessy into the crowd, making her stumble right into the boy. He stopped dancing for a second, and looked her straight in the eye.
"¿Tienes miedo?" he whispered, asking her if she was afraid.
Jessy stared at him blankly.
"Are you afraid?" he asked, cutely rolling his 'r's.
"No," she said indignantly.
"Then dance," he said, taking her hand and spinning her around.
Jessy had no idea what happened right then. She felt her body take off, moving without consent. It turned, kicked, and jumped in every which way, moving in sync with the cute boy. The rest of the crowd moved apart from them, the boys nodding approvingly, the girls scowling and whispering to each other. The music then abruptly stopped, and the two kids came to a halt.
Jessy smiled, putting her hands on her hips and smugly smiling at him.
"I've seen better," he said, wrapping an arm around a cute girl near him.
"What?" Jessy asked; she couldn't believe it what he said.
"I said, I've seen better. What? Don't speak English either?" he said in an annoyed tone.
All Jessy could do was feel hurt. But she didn't let it show, she just held her head up, and walked back over to Selena.
"Come on. He's a jerk," Selena said, patting Jessy on the back. They began to walk away, when Jessy stopped.
"Wait here."
Jessy walked back over to the boy, standing in front of him to get his attention.
"What now?" His arms were now around two waists.
"What's your name?" Jessy asked, glaring at him.
"Why?"
"Just answer the question, please."
"You tell me first."
Jessy sighed.
"Katey... Miller," Jessy lied.
"Katey Miller, huh? Rafael Suarez," he held out his hand.
The rest of his friends left, leaving him, Jessy, and Selena. Jessy's eyes grew wide. This was Rafael? Her Rafael? It couldn't be. Rafael was supposed to be this... God. He was supposed to be this sweet, kind boy who looked gorgeous. This was an idiotic, pompous boy who looked gorgeous, but better.
"Are you going to shake my hand or not?"
She took his hand, staring off into space.
"¡Rafael! ¿Dondé eres?" Jessy heard this voice off in the distance, asking where Rafael was.
"¡Aquí!" Rafael responded, letting go of her hand, responding where he was.
"¡Buscando por tú!" a young man came towards them, telling Rafael that he had been looking for him.
"¿Cuánto tiempo?" Rafael asked for how long, turning to look at the man.
"¡Treinta minutos!" the young man responded, saying for thirty minutes.
"Lo Siento Javier," Rafael told him he was sorry.
"Who's your friend?" Javier asked him, nodding towards Jessy.
"She's not my friend," Rafael told him. Jessy didn't flinch.
"Well who is she?" Javier asked.
"Katey something," Rafael said, not looking back at Jessy.
Javier looked at Jessy for a minute.
"Katey... what?"
"Mil-" Jessy began.
"Miller? Katey Miller?" Javier asked with hungry eyes.
"Uh, yes. Katey Miller."
Javier looked at her, studying her inch by inch, over and over.
"You're not Katey Miller," Javier said instantly.
"How do you know? I don't even know you," Jessy said, putting her arms on her hips.
"But I do know Katey Miller. You're not her."
"Javier, no..." Rafael began to stop Javier.
"How do you know Katey?" Javier advanced towards Jessy.
"She's... my mother," Jessy told him truthfully.
"What? Your..." Javier cussed in Spanish. "Who's your father?"
"Why should you care?" Jessy looked him straight in the eye.
"Just tell me who your father is!" Javier yelled.
"James Phelps," Jessy whimpered.
"¿Ese perro?" Javier yelled in a whisper. He began to yell in Spanish when a black cab pulled up to the side of the street.
"Jessy! Selena! What are you two doing down here?" Katey ran onto the sidewalk.
"Your name is Jessy? You're Jessy Phelps?" Rafael asked in amazement.
"Yes," Jessy blushed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry, I just-"
Javier's head had been pressed against the wall until now. He looked up, only to see Katey standing right by Jessy. His eyes grew as big as they ever could, his hands began to sweat, his body tingling all over.
"Jessica, who are these people?" Katey asked.
"You should know," Javier said bravely.
Kately looked up, straight into Javier's eyes. She felt sparks flying everywhere possible, her body warming up, forgetting about anyone and everyone in the world except him. Every moment she had ever spent with him flashed before her eyes, every feeling she had ever experienced floating up.
"Javier...?" Katey whispered, before everything went black.
A/N: Longest chapter! Review..!
Never in her life had Jessica Anne Phelps looked so good, or felt so nervous. Jessy had spent the past two hours picking out a dress, doing her hair and makeup, and calming herself down. She hadn't even been able to eat anything at dinner.
"Jessy, are you ready to go?" James called to his daughter.
"Let me call first," Jessy replied. "5-8-3," she recited out loud as she dialed the numbers.
"He-lo?" Selena's voice rang.
"Hi, it's Jessy."
"Hey! Are you ready?"
"Yeah! Ready and nervous," Jessy giggled.
"Don't worry 'bout it. We'll meet you at the club in fifteen, alright?"
"Alright. Thanks again, Selena."
"Call me Sel! Everyone else does," Selena said brightly.
"Okay Selen- Sel," Jessy said.
"See you in a bit, Chika," Selena hung up the phone.
Jessy put the phone back and wrapped a white sweater over her arms. She had a pretty light yellow dress with a low neckline on. Her hair was pulled into a French twist as the back of her head. Her mother had given her tips on how to dress, since Cuban fashion was nothing like Illinois wear. Jessy felt as if she were still in the fifties, seeing as how they dressed.
"You look gorgeous," Katey said, wrapping her arms around Jessy's neck.
"You don't think it's too- too?" Jessy asked uncertainly.
"Trust me; you completely fit the part," Katey glowed at her daughter.
"Let's go, my beautiful women," James smiled as he entered the front hallway.
Katey and Jessy smiled as James wrapped a shawl around Katey.
"Look what I found, Doll," James held out an old photo ripped at the corner.
It was a picture of the two at Katey's first Country Club dance. James' arm was wrapped around Katey's waist and the two were smiling brightly. Yet it didn't exactly brighten up Katey's face as much as it did James'. Katey remembered what had happened later that night, when James practically mauled her in his car.
"Doesn't your mother look splendid, Jessy?" James looked to his daughter.
"Mom, you're beautiful!" Jessy exclaimed.
"Let's get going, we don't want you to be late," Katey said hurriedly.
Jessy climbed out of the cab when they had reached the party twenty minutes later. It was gorgeously decorated, lit up everywhere.
"Bye sweetie. We will be by later to pick you up," James kissed the top of Jessy's forehead and closed the window, driving off with Katey.
Jessy climbed the steps to the front of the party. Selena was waiting right by the entrance, staring off into the distance.
"Hey! Was wondering where you'd got to," Selena greeted.
"Sorry. We had a little car trouble," Jessy lied.
"No problem," Selena said. Jessy waited for her to continue on into the party, but she stayed with her back to the wall.
"Are you not going to..." Jessy asked.
"Go in there? No way. That place is too corny for me. We're gonna party!" Selena said, excited.
"Where are all of your friends?"
"Friends? Oh, you mean the snob squad. I just say they're my friends because my over-controlling mother was around. I hate those four! They seem to like me, but I just hang around them when I'm forced," Selena explained, still not making eye contact with Jessy.
"So who are your real friends?" Jessy asked.
"Don't really got any. 'Cept for you. You'll be my friend, won't ya Jess?" Selena asked.
Jessy nodded gratefully. She had Selena all wrong. She had imagined her to be a stuck-up snob, but she was wild and crazy once you got to know her. Selena was the type of girl Jessy had always wanted to be, but she never had the guts to.
"Good. You don't mind me callin' you Jess, do ya?" Selena asked, finally looking towards Jessy.
"No... not at all. It's better than your mother calling me Jessy Anne," Jessy laughed.
"Sorry 'bout that. My mother's a stuck-up snob like the rest of them. But you... you're different," Selena smiled.
"It's not a big deal. I loathe my middle name, though."
"I like it. Selena Anne... whatcha think?"
"Sounds good. Want to trade?" Jessy laughed.
"Trust me, you don't want my middle name."
"What is it?" Jessy asked curiously.
"Maude! What kind of a mother with half a brain names their child Selena Maude?"
Jessy snorted. Maude was the most hilarious name she'd ever heard of.
"I have an Auntie Maude. I hate her!"
"See? I told you."
"You're hilarious, Sel," Jessy smiled.
"Yeah? You're pretty awesome yourself, Jess. Whoa!" Selena whipped her head down the street.
There was a group of kids halfway around the corner dancing to the music playing in the Club. But they were doing it all different. These kids actually had moves.
"Now they're my kind of people!" Selena exclaimed.
"They're good."
"Good? They're way better than good! Look at how they move to the music! Come on, Jess. I think we're gonna make some Cuban friends tonight."
Selena grabbed Jessy's arm and began down the street.
"No, Sel. I don't-"
"Take that ugly sweater off first, though," Selena told her, not paying attention to what she was saying.
"But-"
"Just hang it on that rack over there. It's not gonna go anywhere."
Jessy reluctantly hung her white sweater on the rack, and turned to face Selena again. Now she was fixing her makeup in a compact.
"Come 'ere. Your lips look too dry," Selena told her. She rubbed some cherry-red lipstick onto Jessy's lips. "Smack 'em together."
Jessy did as she was told, but only to be presented by a new problem. Now Selena seemed to be shortening her dress at the bottom.
"What are you doing?"
"You're dress is too long. I'm making it look sexier."
"Sel, I don't-"
"Okay. One more thing."
Selena reached behind Jessy and took out her twist, letting her hair flow.
"Wow. I wish I could have hair like yours," Selena said with a bit of jealousy.
Selena had frizzy copper-red hair which flew everywhere. Jessy thought it was very unique, but she doubted Selena would feel the same way.
"Now you look Cuban!" Selena pulled back, admiring her work.
"What did I look like before?"
"A stuck-up snob at a Country Club. So did I, when my mother dropped me off. Now come on!"
"Sel, I don't know if I want to!" Jessy protested.
"What else do you want to do? These kids are cool, trust me."
"How do you know? You don't even know who they are!"
"So? What's life without taking risks, I always say. Now come on, you sexy thing," Selena giggled.
Jessy had to laugh. She clobbered over in her heels next to Selena. They walked down the street until they came within ten feet of the group. There were at least a dozen of them, maybe more.
"Ooo! Look at him," Selena squealed, pointing to a boy in the very middle of the throng.
"Wow," Jessy said dreamily.
The boy in the middle was dancing like Jessy had never seen before. He was moving his body in every other direction, completely clueless to his surroundings. It also happened that he was gorgeous. The sun still hadn't set, so it was light enough for her to see. He had messy black hair with many defined features. His left ear was pierced with a gold earring in his cartilage. Jessy couldn't see much more, he was dancing too quickly to see.
"Let's get a closer look," Selena whispered.
The two walked closer to the group, right as the music turned off. They all started to clap, congratulating each other in Spanish.
"Do you know what they're saying?" Jessy asked Selena.
"Kinda. My mother insisted on me taking Latin, only Lord knows why."
The boy in the middle shook hands with a boy about his size, speaking rapidly with him. He turned to talk to a girl behind him when he spotted Selena and Jessy.
"Hey!" the boy addressed the two girls. He advanced towards them, stopping five inches in front. "What're you doing here?"
"We saw you dancing! Great moves." Selena smiled.
"¡Quieren el baile!" the boy laughed to his friends, telling them the girls loved the dancing. Some of the boys laughed, and the girls just gave them dagger eyes. Jessy was beyond a doubt more beautiful than any of them, and they knew it.
"Uh..." Jessy stuttered.
"What? You don't speak the language?" he teased.
"Well, I-"
"We don't want any watchers, por favor. Go back to your fancy party, and we'll take care of the real dancing."
He turned his back to them, Jessy looking crushed, Selena looking angry. Jessy started to turn back, when Selena grabbed her arm, forcing her to whip around.
"Where are you goin'? Show 'em what you're made of!" she said fiercely. The music had begun again, and the boy was back to doing his moves.
"No, Sel, we really should-"
"Don't go chickening out! They're testing our strength."
Selena pushed Jessy into the crowd, making her stumble right into the boy. He stopped dancing for a second, and looked her straight in the eye.
"¿Tienes miedo?" he whispered, asking her if she was afraid.
Jessy stared at him blankly.
"Are you afraid?" he asked, cutely rolling his 'r's.
"No," she said indignantly.
"Then dance," he said, taking her hand and spinning her around.
Jessy had no idea what happened right then. She felt her body take off, moving without consent. It turned, kicked, and jumped in every which way, moving in sync with the cute boy. The rest of the crowd moved apart from them, the boys nodding approvingly, the girls scowling and whispering to each other. The music then abruptly stopped, and the two kids came to a halt.
Jessy smiled, putting her hands on her hips and smugly smiling at him.
"I've seen better," he said, wrapping an arm around a cute girl near him.
"What?" Jessy asked; she couldn't believe it what he said.
"I said, I've seen better. What? Don't speak English either?" he said in an annoyed tone.
All Jessy could do was feel hurt. But she didn't let it show, she just held her head up, and walked back over to Selena.
"Come on. He's a jerk," Selena said, patting Jessy on the back. They began to walk away, when Jessy stopped.
"Wait here."
Jessy walked back over to the boy, standing in front of him to get his attention.
"What now?" His arms were now around two waists.
"What's your name?" Jessy asked, glaring at him.
"Why?"
"Just answer the question, please."
"You tell me first."
Jessy sighed.
"Katey... Miller," Jessy lied.
"Katey Miller, huh? Rafael Suarez," he held out his hand.
The rest of his friends left, leaving him, Jessy, and Selena. Jessy's eyes grew wide. This was Rafael? Her Rafael? It couldn't be. Rafael was supposed to be this... God. He was supposed to be this sweet, kind boy who looked gorgeous. This was an idiotic, pompous boy who looked gorgeous, but better.
"Are you going to shake my hand or not?"
She took his hand, staring off into space.
"¡Rafael! ¿Dondé eres?" Jessy heard this voice off in the distance, asking where Rafael was.
"¡Aquí!" Rafael responded, letting go of her hand, responding where he was.
"¡Buscando por tú!" a young man came towards them, telling Rafael that he had been looking for him.
"¿Cuánto tiempo?" Rafael asked for how long, turning to look at the man.
"¡Treinta minutos!" the young man responded, saying for thirty minutes.
"Lo Siento Javier," Rafael told him he was sorry.
"Who's your friend?" Javier asked him, nodding towards Jessy.
"She's not my friend," Rafael told him. Jessy didn't flinch.
"Well who is she?" Javier asked.
"Katey something," Rafael said, not looking back at Jessy.
Javier looked at Jessy for a minute.
"Katey... what?"
"Mil-" Jessy began.
"Miller? Katey Miller?" Javier asked with hungry eyes.
"Uh, yes. Katey Miller."
Javier looked at her, studying her inch by inch, over and over.
"You're not Katey Miller," Javier said instantly.
"How do you know? I don't even know you," Jessy said, putting her arms on her hips.
"But I do know Katey Miller. You're not her."
"Javier, no..." Rafael began to stop Javier.
"How do you know Katey?" Javier advanced towards Jessy.
"She's... my mother," Jessy told him truthfully.
"What? Your..." Javier cussed in Spanish. "Who's your father?"
"Why should you care?" Jessy looked him straight in the eye.
"Just tell me who your father is!" Javier yelled.
"James Phelps," Jessy whimpered.
"¿Ese perro?" Javier yelled in a whisper. He began to yell in Spanish when a black cab pulled up to the side of the street.
"Jessy! Selena! What are you two doing down here?" Katey ran onto the sidewalk.
"Your name is Jessy? You're Jessy Phelps?" Rafael asked in amazement.
"Yes," Jessy blushed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm sorry, I just-"
Javier's head had been pressed against the wall until now. He looked up, only to see Katey standing right by Jessy. His eyes grew as big as they ever could, his hands began to sweat, his body tingling all over.
"Jessica, who are these people?" Katey asked.
"You should know," Javier said bravely.
Kately looked up, straight into Javier's eyes. She felt sparks flying everywhere possible, her body warming up, forgetting about anyone and everyone in the world except him. Every moment she had ever spent with him flashed before her eyes, every feeling she had ever experienced floating up.
"Javier...?" Katey whispered, before everything went black.
A/N: Longest chapter! Review..!