Valley Girl

Carver walked through the main house, trying not to linger in one room too long. He had spent the last hour or two with Jake, learning about the place that was Sherman Oaks. If there was one thing you could call Jake, it was a talkaholic. The boy hadn't stopped talking since they had met. But Carver didn't find it a negative quality. It made up for the fact that Carver liked to stay somewhat quiet. Jake had told him all about the town from the 'Valley Girls' to their mothers who the Needlemans had nicknamed the Vallians. Carver had listened intently as Jake rambled on though it seemed to him that there weren't many people Jake actually hung out with. The only person he seemed to hang out with was a girl named Sunny Bishop who was in Jake's words 'the complete opposite of every girl in the Valley'. He had also compared her to someone named 'Annie Hall' but Carver wasn't too great on the movie references. Apparently, the two had known each other since they were in diapers but hadn't gone to school together until last year when Sunny, who unlike Jake did not live in a mansion, had gotten into Jake's private high school on academic scholarship.

Jake probably wouldn't have left Carver if it hadn't been for an ebay auction he had to win for one of the twenty remaining copies of some Japanese horror flick made in the 60's. The boy really was a film geek, but Carver thought it was nice that he had a dream. He wanted to be something and he knew exactly what that was. It was admirable. So while Jake was cooped up in his room in front of the computer trying to win his foreign flick, Carver had decided to go out for a smoke and in the process explore the Needleman's house. He was by no means a smoker, but he had gotten into the habit of doing it when he was stressed or uncomfortable and that definitely applied to today.

As he wandered closer to the front door, he entered the kitchen where he was in for a surprise. A thin red headed woman sat at the table, her head turning when she heard Carver's footsteps. Carver guessed it was Aaron's wife. He stopped in his tracks, unsure of what to say. Kristina studied Carver for a moment. The boy looked unlike her own sons as he wore a brown hoodie, a plain blue t-shirt, ripped blue jeans and had messy dark brown hair. In her mind she had expected something more, but here she was faced with the boy she had not wanted and she felt bad. He was just a sixteen year old kid. "I'm Kristina." She tried to muster up a smile but couldn't quite manage that though her comment came out sounding relatively friendly. He nodded, not meeting her eyes and replied that it was nice to meet her.

"Did you see the linens I set out on your bed?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

Kristina couldn't stand the sound of her voice. She sounded anything but nice. It was wrong of her to let out her anger at her husband on the boy and she knew that. "Welcome to the family," she finally replied rising from the kitchen table. There was nothing more she could say until tomorrow. If she spoke more to Carver, she would end up leaving him with the impression that she hated him and that was the last thing she wanted. So she walked. She walked right past him, silently, not saying another word and leaving the boy alone in the spacious kitchen.

Carver didn't turn his head to watch the older woman walk out. It was clear she didn't want him here and there wasn't much he could say. He didn't want to intrude on her or Aaron. His first instinct was just to leave, but he couldn't. His mother had done everything she could to make sure he would get this life and he wouldn't let her down and just run away from it. He would stay. For a moment, he stood by himself in the middle of the empty kitchen, unsure of what to do next. The peace and quiet was welcomed but it let him alone with his thoughts and so he continued outside, opening the door and letting the cool air hit his face. It was refreshing and crisp. His feet led up down the driveway where he sat down on the garbage can at the end of the driveway. Looking down on the valley, he felt right for a moment. Maybe it was just a moment but it was moment that was nothing but perfection. Looking out at the view, he felt the sorrow and tragedy run out of his bones. He lit up with the cigarette from his pocket and watched the smoke fly into the air. For that simple minute, the world was just him, sitting on a garbage can in Sherman Oaks, feeling no more pain.

In the distance, he saw a shiny black Hummer stop on the road leading to the Needleman's house. Even though he was a whiles away, he could hear the laughter of teenagers. Out of the car appeared a guy and girl. They continued to walk along the road, the boy with his arm around the petite skinny girl. Carver peered down the road and soon they came close enough to see him. The boy seemed confused. Carver could see him better now and there was no doubt that he was Jake's older brother. The two shared similar features though the boy before him was taller, more built, and better looking. The boy picked up his pace more, leaving to the girl to follow behind.

"Hey what the hell are you doing outside of my house, kid!" he yelled as he approached. Carver slowly jumped off of the garbage can, the ciggarette still in his hand. He didn't reply at first, his eyes landing on the girl, who he could now tell had blonde straight hair and shining blue eyes.

"I asked you a question, you little punk. This is private property. You the yard boy from next door?"

"Cameron," the girl said as she finally caught up with him. Before the boy could come any closer to Carver, a voice from behind the three saved the day.

"Looks like you've already met our new pseudo brother."

Carver turned to see Jake roll down the driveway hill on his skateboard. He stopped next to Carver and gave him a small smile. "By the way, I won the Japanese thriller. Cost me a fourth of my bar mitzvah money, but I am now the proud owner of a film relic," he added to Carver before looking back to his brother. The confusion in the boy's eyes was evident.

"What are you talking about, Jake?"

"Pseudo brother. Long story having to do with Fresno and a will. But this here is Carver Michaels turned Needleman…or I guess that's only if we actually adopt him."

Carver couldn't help but smile. Jake was playing off the situation like it was nothing. Carver appreciated it though Cameron didn't seem any more pleased than he had before. Before he could say anything else, Jake intruded again.

"Well, you better get in and check it over with the parental units. What did mom say? One more curfew and you'd be the family Cinderella?"

Cameron shook in his, obviously annoyed at his younger brother and kissed the top of the girl's head before walking past Carver and Jake towards the house. Jake looked triumphant replying to Carver, "Told you I had your back." Carver's eyes were on the girl though. She had stayed quiet for awhile but now she eyed the two boys, questioningly.

"So what? You're new here?" she asked. She was a pretty girl, unlike most of the girls back home. She reminded Carver of a celebrity, like one of the girls he'd seen on tv.

"He got here this morning. Just like the website said. Kid from Fresno in three days or less," Jake replied with a smirk. The girl shook her head and let out a little laugh. Carver still had the desire to say something to her, but he wasn't sure what.

"I live next door. Lauren James," she told him, pushing a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear. It was simple action but even that seemed to be beautiful. Carver wondered if all the girls in Sherman Oaks were like her.

"Carver…Carver Michaels."

She laughed. It was a sweet laughter. Everything this girl did seemed to be flirtatious in some way, but Carver didn't mind it in the least. "It's nice to meet you, Carver Carver Michaels," she said sweetly , her smirk forming under her lips. Jake looked between them. How come every guy seemed to fall for Lauren James? Jake sighed, slightly shaking his head.

"Ok well bye bye James…we should probably be going, right Carver?"

Jake felt slightly ignored as the two still had their eyes on each other. Lauren reached into her Kate Spade pick purse and pulled out a piece of paper before looking at the two boys in front of her. "Why don't you stop by here tomorrow night. My friends are throwing me a surprise birthday party. But consider it you're welcome party," she replied as she held out the paper. Carver reached out to take it, their hands meeting for a moment. Jake rolled his eyes.

"You know, usually surprise parties are a surprise. That's why they're called surprise parties," Jake replied with fake smile. Lauren shot him a glance and he shrugged, looking back at Carver who opened his mouth to respond.

"That's great. We'll see about that. Now so long…have a good night. Don't you have something called a curfew?"

Again Jake had responded before Carver could say anything. Lauren stepped away from them though the two boys stood still. "I'll look for you," she replied, giving him one last look before turning her head and walking away. He watched her go. Part of him knew she was just having fun. Part of him didn't care. As she disappeared, Jake turning Carver towards the house and shook his head.

"Don't think what you're thinking," he told Carver as the two began to walk back to the house, Jake with his skateboard in hand.

"What?"

"She is a total off limits girl. I mean besides the fact that she's my brother's girlfriend and a total flirt, she's a party girl, doesn't care about anything or anyone. As your Butch Cassidy, I feel I have the duty to protect you," Jake replied. The words went in one ear and out the other though. You couldn't help but be intrigued by a girl like Lauren no matter how bad it would all turn out.

"So I guess I should just throw this out?" Carver said as he prepared to rip up the party invitation. Before he could make a move, Jake snatched it from him in a split second.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I thought you didn't want to go to the party?"

Jake eyed the invitation and slipped into his jeans pocket with a hidden smile. "You just got invited to Lauren James's birthday party. There's no way we're not going to that party. I don't care how much of an outsider you are." With that, the two boys disappeared into the house, Carver feeling suddenly more excited about this whole new future.

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That's all for now. I'm writing up the next parts of the chapter now and it will include Lauren's birthday party, the introduction of Autumn Matthews(The Summer Character), her closeted gay brother, the James who live next door, and maybe even Sunny Bishop. More drama is to come.

Please help me by commented on the story and in what way you want it to go. I don't know how much I'm going to keep the same as The O.C. as far as couples go. And beware, Lauren is really nothing like Marissa! Also, question for anyone who reads this, would a kind of bantering/future romance seem cool with Lauren and Jake or not?