Disclaimer: Every once in a while, I run out of lines to use and I really don't exactly know what to say, these are not one of those time... I still don't own BiLB. Oh well, I guess the DVD will just have to do. And Mr. Rhys-Meyers, he would confirm this right now, but he is tied up right now in my basement... no worries he will get back to you later!
Author's Note: Okay, sorry all for the wait. Darn teachers of mine decide it is high time to pile Pixy with massive amounts of work, test, and essays! And to get my second ear pierce holes I have to pull a 92.5 average for the school year, and my average is at 86.75, Pixy is screwed! Well enjoy the story, I will update by Friday, and if you're lucky (and Pixy is not lazy), maybe tomorrow afternoon. Hope you like this chapter, and just to let everyone know, things are going to be a bit ruff for our young lovers.... sorry!
Summary: Sometimes, off the field life isn't as easy as it should be, and during those trying times of the "heart" and "spirit", you wake up and realize something. You've just got to get over it and just bend it!
Just Bend It
Chapter Six: I Might Just Break
Lunch at Dunham's Café was a very quiet affair on Jules and Jess' part, meanwhile, Joe and Cassandra played a longer game of catch up. By the time Jess arrived home, she learned more about Joe's childhood from Cassandra's mouth than she had ever heard from Joe's.
Jess rushed into her house, ready to run up the staircase, but was stopped by Shaheen's shouting. "Jessminder, where do you think you're going? You have been out all day and then you come home and greet your family?"
Jess flashed her mother a bright, not to mention embarrassed, smile. "Sorry mom, I'm just a bit tired."
Jess moved to continue her journey to her room, but Shaheen would have none of that. "Really, what were you doing all day?"
"I was out with Jules, Joe, and Joe's old friend, Cassandra."
Shaheen raised one single eyebrow. "Cassandra....hmmm... so is Joe involved with this Cassandra?"
"No, Mom." '...But he is dating me....' It was too bad Jess did not have the courage to say this out loud, maybe she and Joe would not bump heads so much if she could.
"Hmm... he probably will be soon enough. Hmph... go upstairs and take a nap, but come down as soon as possible I will need your help cooking dinner." Shaheen turned around and headed off to the kitchen where Pinky sat filing her nails. Jess stood on the stairs, frozen in the same position with only one sentence repeating over and over in her mind.
'...he probably will be soon enough.' And somewhere in the back of Jess' mind, in the deepest and darkest crevice, she was beginning to agree.
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Two days later, Jess ran down the same staircase, just like she had been doing for the last few days of her Spring Break, ready to jet out the door, except Shaheen was in her way this time.
"And where do you think you are going?"
"Well, I'm meeting Jules for breakfast."
"Really? And when were you going to tell me this?"
Jess smiled sheepishly at her mother. "When I met up with Jules."
Shaheen glared at her youngest daughter. "Fine go on, after all you've spent so much time with your family on your vacation!"
Jess kissed her mother on the cheek before she gave her a hug. "I promise, after I go out for breakfast and spend the day with Jules, and go out with Tony tomorrow night, I will be all yours."
"For the last seventy-two hours of your vacation, thank you Jessminder, you really know how to clear your time for family."
Jess smiled brightly at her mother's sarcasm before she kissed Shaheen and ran out the door, calling behind, "Bye, see you later."
Shaheen waved good-bye to the retreating form of Jess running down the street. "Well at least I know she won't be getting into trouble."
Jess ran six full blocks until she saw Joe's silver car parked underneath the shade of a tree, with Joe leaning on it with his arms crossed.
Joe looked down a the watch on his wrist, then he looked up at Jess. "You're five minutes late, and your hair is a bit messy." He moved to touch her hair but she batted it away with her own hand.
Jess rolled her dark eyes skywards, fully knowing why Joe was acting like something was shoved up his ass. "Would you like to run down a few blocks at top speed with your hair in a loose ponytail and find out what exactly happens to your hair." Joe gave her no answer. "Thought not. So don't we have to pick up Jules, so that we can get to your parents house on time?"
Joe sighed, but nevertheless headed for the driver's side, while Jess entered the passenger side, both staying completely silent.
Jules had felt the extreme and undeniable tension between Joe and Jess as soon as she entered the car. She had tried to lighten the mood with silly jokes and stupid stories about her mother trying to play matchmaker, but neither part of the couple were willing to break their silence. Joe was pissed at Jess and Jess was pissed at Joe for being pissed at her.
This was the ugly side to the beautiful relationship. Joe and Jess both were very stubborn and very bull-headed when it came to certain things, and these were one of those times. Their relationship only had one small bump in its way, a bump that could rival Mount Everest. The problem: Jess' unwillingness to tell her parents about her relationship with Joe. And when she and Joe fought, they really made each other mad.
After watching her pathetic attempts fail time after time, Jules decided it would be best if she just stayed quiet...and she did. The only sound that filled the car on the trip was the lull of the turned and ignored down radio.
Diana Richards greeted her son, her son's friend, and her son's girlfriend warmly, especially her son's girlfriend. She led them to the kitchen as if it were the first time they had ever set foot in the storybook-like house, instead of the millionth time. "Oh, Jules, it is so good to see you. I thought you were not going to visit this time!" Diana exclaimed as she bustled around the kitchen.
Jules sat down in a chair around the breakfast table, waving at Jonathon. "Never! I have to visit every time I come Mrs. R, I think would go mad without your good cooking."
Diana laughed, but kept on stirring the pout of potatoes in front of her.
Jess and Joe sat next to each other, both very silent and very somber, Jonathon took a look at both of them over the top of his opened newspaper. "So... who died?"
Jess and Joe stared at Jonathon, wondering what he meant.
Jonathon eyed them both closely. "Well somebody had to have died if you're both acting so grim... I hope you both know you're depressing. Don't have any big news to tell us, do you?"
Joe snorted but stayed quiet. It was Jess who spoke up. "No, we don't have any big news, we're both just a bit out it."
Joe glared angrily at his cup of orange juice. "And what has the orange juice ever done to you?" Cassandra said as she walked into the room, taking the vacant seat right next to Joe.
"Nothing."
Cassandra poured herself some orange juice. "Well, you sure are glaring at it as if it stabbed you in the back."
"Maybe it has."
Then there was silence.
Jules slyly took a glimpse out of the corner of her eye at the very disgruntled looking Jess.
Diana rushed to the table and rested a large bowl of home fries in the middle of the table, along with mini omelets. She did her routine of taking off her cricket ball decorated apron and hung it on a hook, but instead of taking the seat between her husband and son, because it was occupied by Cassandra, she pulled a chair from the side of the room, and took a seat between Jules and Jonathon.
"Hope you all don't mind, but I had to invite Cassandra, I haven't seen her in years." Diana said happily, as she grabbed her husband's newspaper out of his hand and threw it behind her.
Soon enough, everyone around the table was eating. Even Joe and Jess.
"So Jess, how will you be spending your last few days, here?" Jonathon asked, trying to start up a conversation around the table."
"Jules and I going to shop for some new gear today and tomorrow she, Joe, and I are going to this club with my friend."
"Really?" Cassandra asked.
"Yea, you could come if you would like." Jess extended the invitation, hoping somewhere in her mind the woman would say 'no.' But Lady Luck was either a) very mad at her b) ignoring her c)on a lunch break or d) all of the above, because Cassandra actually said 'yes'.
Jess smiled, then went right back to her breakfast.
Diana looked at her son and Jess with puzzlement, and not to mention curiosity, written all over her face. "Why are you two so grim?"
Jules eyed both Jess and Joe wearily, as if they were a slowly ticking time bomb.
"I've asked them that already, honey. Don't bother trying again. Joe won't answer and Jess isn't going to give you a real answer."
Diana lightly slapped Jonathon's wrist. "Now really, what's wrong with you two. Is there anything you would like to say?"
Somehow, that became Joe's snapping point. "As a matter of fact, I do." He stood up from his chair.
Jules cringed and started to fill her mouth with as much food as she could find, she was even so desperate, that she ate some sliced up pears, even though she absolutely detested pears.
"I have to sneak around with my own damn girlfriend around her family, because she is not willing to tell them the truth! And quite frankly I'm sick of it. Every time she has said she was going to tell over these last three years, she has chickened out–"
"I'm sorry Joe, but I don't think my–"
"How would you know if they're ready if you haven't aske–"
Jess, now very angry, rose out her chair facing Joe."Because they are my parents!"
"You always use that as an excuse!"
"It's not an excuse, it's the truth!"
"I'M SICK OF LYING!"
"I KNOW!"
"Then why can't we just tell them?"
"I've already told– you know what, never mind." She turned to look at a very shocked Mr. and Mrs. Richards. "Thank-you for the breakfast, have a good day." Jess stormed off in the direction of the front door, with Joe hot on heels.
Jules swallowed the food in her mouth. "Welp, that was interesting."
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Joe drove Jess home, after they both cooled down about two notches. They took a long walk around the neighborhood before they could actually form sentences that did not involve either one of them yelling at the other. The car jerked to a stop as Joe pulled up to the spot he had been parked at hours before, six blocks away from Jess' house. There were no hugs are kisses, just two short good-byes and a slammed car door.
Jess stormed into the house, still upset at Joe for bringing up what was going on between them at his parent's house, in front of his parents. Of all people, it just had to be his parents.
"Jess, I thought mom said you were going to be out with Jules?" Pinky asked from the living room chair.
"I was, but now, I'm not."
Pinky finally saw the expression on her sister's face, and she knew what was going on. "So, you got into a fight with your goreh?"
Jess looked around the room crazily, searching for anyone that might have heard what Pinky had said. "Are you crazy? Do you want someone to find out I am going out with HIM?"
"Don't be so paranoid... plus everyone is out. Megana went with mom to the market, the house is empty besides you and me."
Jess plopped down in a chair. "It was horrible, we fought directly in front of his parents. I was so angry that II stomped off, leaving Jules their."
"That bad?"
"Yea, that bad. Joe doe not just seem to understand how mom and dad would react if they found out about us!"
Pinky shook her head sympathetically. "Men! All I can really say is that most of them really are a bunch of idiots."
Jess pinched the bridge her nose, warding off her oncoming headache. "I know, and I am dating the King of Idiots."
Pinky laughed lightly. "I won't debate with you on that!"
Jess only groaned and leaned back on the couch.
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Jess once more, ran down the stairs of her house, calling back a rushed 'good-bye' to her parents, she exited the house, running the six blocks to Joe's parked car. Tonight would be on of the last nights she would spend in England, and she hoped that it would be a fun and exciting meeting with her friends and her boyfriend.... even if he was acting like a jackass... and so was she...
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That's a wrap! This chapter was brought to you by the crazy mind that is Pixy and your local sponsors. Reviews? Praise? Critique? Praise Señorita Botón, she is waiting for your call... and so am I!
P.S.: REVIEW TIME!
Daemon X: Hope this chapter answered some of your inquiries =^_^=
Chrisfaithalin: (Hope I spelt that right) Thanks a bunches, I love positive reviews.
Pirate-Jazzy: Here *shoves chapter six into Pirate-Jazzy's hands* there is no need to be so pushy *indignantly walks off with nose in the air* I mean, really!
Arwen51: I hope your still around, wouldn't want to cause anyone's death... unless it was the person who invented Geometry, then I might reconsider my position on that.
Organized-chaos: I love Julinder too! YEA!
Charlie: Cassandra, her *Pixy looks at her creation* she's harmless *Pixy smile like the Cheshire Cat*.
Ears91: Thank-you, don't worry about Cassandra, really she is harmless *Pixy's smile seems to impossibly widen*.