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Sundown xx :)

Song: Wouldn't it be Nice?- The Beach Boys

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older?

Then we wouldn't have to wait so long

And wouldn't it be nice to live together

In the kind of world where we belong

You know its gonna make it that much better

When we can say goodnight and stay together

"Hey, slow down Will, you'll give yourself a heart attack!" Jack yelled as they walked towards the entrance of the school. The cold air circled around and bit at them. Will slowed his pace down when they reached the door, before turning around to face Jack.

"C'mon, we'll be late."

Jack fidgeted nervously with his gloves as he began to take them off.

"Is my hair alright? Does it scream out 'I am a smug, married, responsible man with a steady job and income'?"

"No, it screams out 'Liar!'. I want you to remember, Jack McFarland. You owe me. I'm doing this so you can score points with your son, now c'mon, lets go in there and be parents." Will said sternly. He had tried to avoid Jack for the past few weeks, as he found himself becoming increasingly irritated with him since the New Years party.

Jack nodded and followed along.

"How much are countries these days? I'm interested in buying one." Karen inquired as she sat at her desk, while Grace worked at her own.

Suddenly there was a buzz at the door. Both women jumped in fright and remained in their spots. Grace looked at Karen.

"Karen?"

"What?"

"The door."

Karen looked over at the glass door.

"Its…uh pretty?"

Grace sighed as she placed her current drawing down on the desk. "Who's behind the door?"

A relieved smile crossed Karen's face. "Oh you can see her too? Good! It wasn't the pills"

Karen returned to filing her nails.

"KAREN!"

"Ok, ok geez honey! Maybe you should have something to relax yourself. I know it must be hard living with that personality every day, but taking it out on your friends is the first step on the way to losing them."

Grace rolled her eyes and opened the door herself, allowing Josephine to enter.

"You!" Karen said, suddenly snapping into seriousness.

"I suppose so." The girl replied.

An awkward silence seeped into the room. Karen froze. What am I supposed to do now?

"You uh…want lunch or a boat or something?"

"Lunch is fine."

"Alright! Fine! You demand so much of me! We'll go shopping, and then go into the tacky stores and pretend like we are actually interested in purchasing their 'unfit to be worn' clothing. It'll be a blast, c'mon, what do you say? Is that good enough for you?" Karen sneered, feeling that she had to do the polite thing.

Josie smiled. "Sure, whatever, as long as we can look at shoes and laugh at the big sizes."

She really does belong to Karen! Grace thought to herself.

Karen stood up with a smile. "Gracie, I'm just going on a short lunch-break, I'll be back, ok?"

"No you won't"

"No, I won't, but I will think of you when we go through the big shoes."

Grace shook her head as her friend left. Once again, she was alone.

I have to get out of here.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up

In the morning when the day is new

And after having spent the day together

Hold each other close the whole night through

The happy times together we've been spending

I wish that every kiss was never ending...

Will pulled out Jack's chair for him at the table they were assigned to. As they sat, they both assessed the other three couples they were sharing the table with.

"Hi!" one of the fathers said, leaning forward and shaking hands with the two. "I'm Alan, this is my wife Katie, this is Nigel and Dana and this is…uh…"

He was cut off by the third woman at the table "I'm Marcie, and this is my husband, Dwayne. Celia's parents"

"Poor Celia" Jack whispered out of the corner of his mouth. Will hit his friend's leg under the table.

"Ow…Oh yeah. I'm Jack and this is my…er…husband. Will." Glances were exchanged around the table, Marcie appearing to be the most shocked out of the parents.

"How can you be married and have a child?"

Will and Jack could both see that this woman was not only surprised, but also completely disgusted. Fun! The other two couples didn't seem to mind, they actually smiled.

"Well, you see, we got married at Niagra Falls, when we realized that I had knocked Jack up. Our dear son, Elliot, who was named after my father, grew rapidly, giving him the physique and mentality of a 15 year old boy in just a few months." Will replied sarcastically to the question.

Alan, Katie, Nigel and Dana all grinned. They detested Marcie, Dwayne and their wretched child, Celia.

Will stretched out his arm and rested it on the back of Jack's chair triumphantly. At least this woman will make the afternoon entertaining.

Jack, playing along, shuffled his chair closer to Will's so they were sitting as close as possible. They nodded slightly at each other, knowing that they had to perform and squeeze their act to rags, both for Elliot's sake, and for the sake of this naïve woman.

All during lunch, they listened to Marcie and Dwayne drone on about their new four-wheel drive and their new curtains and their trip to Bermuda, to the point where the other 6 members of the table were ready to gag.

"…and Celia is by far the most talented in her ballet class, the teachers all tell her that her leotard is stunning and that she is the prettiest girl and that her makeup is flawless."

"Funny, the aerobics instructor at the gym tells Jack the exact same thing." Will snickered.

"Gee Will, you're looking uncannily like a blimp today, did you plan that or was it just plain coincidence?" Jack replied.

Will cringed slightly before speaking again. Why today? I am not in the mood for this. Not in the mood for…him.

"Aw Jackie, I don't think you realize how adorable you are when you get defensive"

Will looked at Jack, who in return picked up a napkin and pretended to wipe off some non-existent food from Will's face. Will grinned and pecked Jack on the cheek.

The other two women, Katie and Dana cocked their heads to the side as their smiles stretched across their faces. Marcie gritted her teeth.

"Don't you think that it's wrong to parade that kind of lifestyle around your son? What if he begins to…follow it?"

Jack released a loud sigh before leaning forward to address his listener. "Well, Missy…"

"It's Marcie"

"Ok, Macy…don't you think that it's wrong to parade that kind of fashion around your daughter? I mean, what if she begins to follow it? Crushed velvet? Really!"

Marcie pursed her lips and squinted her eyes, nudging her husband Dwayne while mumbling "say something". He just shrugged.

"Wow!" Jack laughed bitterly as he directed his comment to the rest of the visitors at the table. "I didn't know that you were important enough to have a spokesperson."

"Good Lord honey, I can't believe I am in the food court" Karen exclaimed as she analysed her surroundings..

Josie sucked on the straw of her milkshake. "Well, I'm getting to know my mother, you're having your first experience of the common people…I tell you, it's a day of discovery!"

"I work with Grace Ampler. It doesn't get more common than that."

"I think its Adler."

"Hmm, Adler would work better. Maybe she should change her last name to that."

Josie nodded as Karen watched all the 'common' people walking by. Her eyes lit up at the ample opportunities to mock.

"Hey! She's never going to fit into that size! That woman looks pregnant!" Karen giggled.

"That's because she is pregnant, and those clothes are for the baby."

"Oh."

Josephine jumped up.

"Well…nice of you to bring me here, had fun, had a blast, best time ever, but I've gotta go. Bye Karen!" She said as if on fast forward while turning and walking off in a hurry, leaving a confused mother behind.

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray... it might come true

Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do...

We could be married and then we'd be happy,

Wouldn't it be nice?

Once they were out of the perimeter of the school, Will quickly snatched his hand away from Jack's.

"Oooh someone's got their lacy panties in a twist." Jack teased.

"Get away from me. I wear briefs and boxers." Will said angrily, stalking past Jack.

"Like a REAL man. Hey! Slow down!"

Jack ran to catch up with Will. He grabbed Will's arm, forcing him to stop. They lingered on the footpath of the park they were walking through.

"What do you want?"

"What's with the 'tude?"

"The 'tude?" Will said, screwing up his nose. "Don't use that abbreviation around me again please. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine"

Jack was shocked and slightly hurt at his friend's sudden hostility. What did I do now? Good one Jack.

"Then why the hell have you been little Miss Snappy Pants from the minute we left the lunch? And why have you been distancing yourself from me since New Years? Is it because you realized that you will never be me?"

Will rolled his eyes and furiously stormed off. He couldn't exactly fathom exactly why he felt this way towards Jack, but only that he did.

"Leave me alone Jack" He breathed out. He continued to walk fast as Jack jogged a little to keep up.

"Hmm, no. Ok…is it because I always take your soap?"

"That's you?...No." Please just stop talking.

"Uh, is it because I made you rent 'Raise Your Voice'?"

"NO."

Will suddenly froze with realization. It hit him like a semi trailer on the freeway. No!

"Then WHY the hell have you been brewing all things aggressive and dishing me up a huge, lumpy, fattening serve of it?" Jack yelled to Will's back. He was beginning to feel frustrated now. When his friend didn't answer, he began to speak again.

"William Truman…Wh…"

"BECAUSE I HATE THE FACT THAT I THINK I AM FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU!" He yelled, whirling around and confronting Jack's wide eyed face. Jacks mouth gaped open as there was a motionless, suspended silence between the two.

"There. I said it. Now please, I just want to go home." Will sadly pleaded.

Jack nodded quietly. Will turned around once again to walk off. Before he could escape, Jack grabbed his hand and dragged him into a short, fervent kiss. They both quickly pulled apart and awkwardly avoided eye contact.

"So…what do we do now?" Jack asked.

Will looked up. "There's a 'we'?"

"There could be." Jack answered nervously before they began to quietly walk home.

"One thing…" Will said as they strolled. "We shouldn't tell the girls yet."

You know it seems the more we talk about it

It only makes it worse to live without it

But let's talk about it...

Wouldn't it be nice?

Hope you're enjoying it so far!

Next Chapter: Jack begins to feel the pull of keeping a secret relationship and Karen and Grace become suspicious.