Chapter Five: You Got Me like a Loaded Gun

"I'm here." Manny announced, sitting down across from Jimmy.

"Looking good." He commented.

"So what else it new? Still pissed off about Craig?" She wondered, playing with Jimmy's hand. Manny was still feeling a little down about what had happened last night ... how she resorted to cutting herself again. She needed a distraction from her pain.

"Naw. It's cool. You're like the closest non-member to the band." He responded.

"Closer than Ash? Yeah right." Manny sighed, looking down. Her cut was still throbbing a little, but she had bandaged it up really tightly. "She's such a bitch, you know, telling me that I can't talk to Craig and be around him? The only reason why she hates me is because I had sex with her boyfriend before she did." Manny grinned.

"And you hate her because..."

"Shut up. I don't want to talk about her, or Craig, or having sex with anyone." Manny admitted.

"Not even me?" Jimmy joked as she rolled her eyes and yawned as if she were disinterested.

"Let's go do something ... shopping."

"And I'm paying." Manny nodded.

"Exactly."

"So what do I get out of the deal?" Jimmy wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"A whole, lot of fun." Manny admitted, between kisses, forcing herself to ignore the fact that if she couldn't have Craig, she didn't want anyone else. At all.

"I really appreciate you standing up for me like that." Danielle told her older sister, giving her a hug. "It really means a lot."

"I know, but he won't ever hurt you anymore baby." Shelby responded, trying to forget how she had let Walt's son feel all over her body. It gave her shudders just thinking about it. "You know you should've told me what was going on before you ended up here ... just like me."
"I didn't want him to hurt mom ... and I felt so ashamed." Danielle cried, trying to find the right words to explain how helpless she felt. "It's like ... I feel like I can never trust anyone again. I'm so lost Shelby. What do I do if I like find someone who makes it all better ... someone I love ... someone I'm married to ... and he wants to have sex? What am I supposed to do?" Danielle continued crying, burying her face deeper and deeper into her sister's sweatshirt. There was no way to reverse what had been done ... and at times, Shelby felt the same way.

She had lost Scott now. Her world, her everything, but Danielle was more important to her. Now, Shelby didn't know how to tell anyone that ... she was pregnant. And she knew that if anyone discovered what Will had been doing to Danielle ... the power he held ... he was the heir to everything her mother and Walt had. With her mother gone, Shelby had no control anymore and the only way they could stay here, and heal, was if she kept her mouth shut.

Manny kissed, Jimmy passionately, trying to make herself forget that Craig ever existed. "I should've done this a long time ago." She whispered.

"What?"

"Come back to you ... I mean it's not anything serious is it?" Jimmy shook his head, ignoring every emotion that told him it was ... that told him that Manny could be the one.

"It's just sex." He mumbled, letting himself imagine that he meant more to Manny.

"I mean I'm beautiful, I'm sexy." Jimmy began ripping Manny's clothes off. "Why can't I..." Her voice trailed off as Jimmy began sucking on her neck. Within seconds, they moved onto the couch completely involved with acting on their lust. It wasn't until after their wants were satisfied that Jimmy noticed Manny's wrist.

"What the hell?" He wondered. She followed his gaze, covering up her arm. "What are you doing to yourself?"

"Nothing." Manny lied, feeling completely vulernable and naked. "I ... I was cooking last night and I have like really bad aim ..." she babbled.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Don't tell anyone Jimmy. Please. I want to stay here. I want to get better, I'm just a little stressed and ... I'll do whatever you want. Please." She begged as Jimmy contemplated his options. Sex everyday wouldn't numb out the guilt of knowing that he let Manny do this to herself.

"You need help." He pulled on his underwear and rushed to the phone.

"No ..." Manny whispered. She couldn't let him ruin her life. She was finally back with Craig ... sort of ... "No!" Manny yelled, following Jimmy and hitting him over the head with one of the empty wine bottles they had drunken out of. Blood trickled from his head and it was done.

"I'm sorry about last night ... when I came on to you." Scott apologized to Jennifer after everyone had left the cafeteria and they were cleaning up everything.

"Uh-huh." Jennifer smiled. "But I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. You love Shelby. Go fix it. You know how." She responded.

"You are an arrogant son of a bitch, you know that?"

"I'm not a son of anything you jackass." Jennifer joked back. She was never able to "hate" Scott or not talk to him for very long.

"Why is it always about me?" Scott wondered, after a while. "Miss fix- it always solves my problems, but never her own. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No. Nothing." Jennifer lied, avoiding his eye contact.

"Then, what is it? Why are you here?"

"I'm here because, like every other teenager on this continent, I am royally screwed up." She answered.

"No. That's not good enough." Scott began to pry. "What's your deal?"

"You really wanna know?" He nodded. "I came here to get my boyfriend back only to find out that he's in love with someone else." Jennifer paused. "It sucks because I can't do anything about it."

Scott looked away. "Then why are you like helping me get back with Shelby?"
"So we can have a three-way." Jennifer joked, trying to laugh it off. But she couldn't just deny the fact that she'd almost told Scott how much she loved him. That she'd faked everything to come here and that nothing was really wrong with her ... that would sound too ... deranged.

(A/N: Go me ... with an update. Uh-oh review!! NL )