A/N - OMG, omg, omg . . . Take a deep breath . . . I'M UPDATING! It's a short chapter, but it got my creative juices flowing, and I have a feeling that this story won't EVER be left again. And if it is, I'll let you all hurt me. Badly. Inside.

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Chapter 7: Talking With a Teacher and Going to a Bar

The next few weeks seemed blurry and strange to me. The band still had practices, but I went to less and less, knowing that Jimmy would be there. It was lonely, to be honest. I felt a stab of anger every time I thought of him.

He and Summer would walk hand in hand down the halls. She's be giggling at some incredibly witty thing he'd said, and he'd kiss her on the cheek and smirk maliciously at me as he walked past. Even my feeble attempts to insult her like I used to would be turned away by a: "Whatever, Jones."

Everything was wrong, but at least Jimmy hadn't tried to hurt her since the terrible game of water polo. I felt at least a bit more secure, knowing that as long as I stayed away from her, she'd be alright. So I stayed away. I kept my head down. I did my schoolwork, and actually turned it in on time. I worked extra hard for Ms. Kaines' class, but nothing I wrote seemed right. The rhymes were too forced, the rhythm was all wrong, the subjects vague and confused.

One day, about three weeks after the water polo incident, Ms. Kaines once again held me back after class. I wasn't worried about missing my next class, because it was the last period of the day. I went and sat down in one of the desks at the front of the room, waiting for Ms. Kaines to tell me what was up.

"Freddy, I want to know what's going on," she said, sitting on the corner of her desk. It was not what I was expecting. It caught me off guard, so I shot back, a little more venomously than I had intended:

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She smiled kindly, ignoring my tone of voice. "You've been out of it for the past few weeks," she said simply, standing up and going around to the back of her desk. She picked up a few pieces of paper. "Listen to this: When everything is said and done, I wonder what I could have done, to prevent the things I'd done, from being done again." she looked up sympathetically, and I blushed. It was a poem I'd handed in a few days previously, entitled Everything I've Done. "I mean, you can only used the word 'done' so often in a stanza." She put the papers down and stared, penetratingly, at me. "You're slipping, Freddy, and I would like to know why."

I sighed. There was no point beating around the bush. Ms. Kaines was a very smart lady. She'd figure it out eventually, and then she'd talk to me again. Not that I minded talking to her, but Summer was out there, Summer and Jimmy, together, outside the classroom door . . .

"It's Summer, isn't it?"

My head whipped back to stare at Ms. Kaines. I hadn't even noticed that I'd been staring at Summer and Jimmy, but when I did notice, I felt my face grow hot.

"Yes," I said, shakily, looking down at my hands, which still sported faded tattoos from out last gig across the knuckles. Billy's design, black flames leaping around the band's letters: SoR. "I don't know when it happened. It came up when I wrote that song a couple of weeks ago, but it's just gotten worse." I looked up into Ms. Kaines' brown eyes, which were crinkled with concern. It was then that I realized just how much I liked that teacher.

"Have you tried to talk to her about it?" Ms. Kaines asked, shuffling some of the papers on her desk.

"I can't!" I almost sobbed. "Jimmy won't let me get anywhere near her, and when I do, she blows me off! It's like he's brainwashed her or something. The Summer Hathaway I used to know wouldn't let anyone push her around and control her like he does."

"I have to admit, I agree with you," Ms. Kaines said quietly, frowning. "She was such a headstrong girl, but now . . . It's like she's lost her spine." she looked down at me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry, Freddy. I'll talk to the principal and councillor, to see what we can do about it. As for you, you should go home and get some rest." she smiled suddenly. "You're a good kid, Jones. Have a good night."

"You too, Miss." I left quickly, not looking around, thinking about everything we'd said.

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I'd taken to going to the bar near Summer's apartment, Sammy's Heaven, every night after I finished my homework. That night was no exception. I walked in at 9:30, as always, and made my way to the bar. Today, a girl named Sandra was behind the counter. She looked up at me and grinned.

"If it isn't Mr. Jones," she said in a fake southern drawl. "Your usual, I presume?"

"You presume correctly, Miss Sandra," I grinned back, playing along. A few moments later, my strawberry vodka was in my hand. I threw down the proper amount of money and went to sit down in a free chair at the bar. There was an attractive brunette sitting beside me, and I turned to introduce myself.

"Summer?" I gasped.

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A/N - So I hope you all liked that chapter. Here's to my lovely reviewers who probably hate me for leaving this so long.

elementBLUE - I don't like it when they make Freddy seem all girl-obsessed but emotionless. I tried to put feelings into my Freddy.

sweetcaroline - Well, my update wasn't very soon, but I didn't update. Yay for me.

i am not a chipmunk - Yes, I sang to you. You are my sunshine! Sunshine. Yay. As I said before, Jimmy will not be killed off. There wouldn't be a sequel that way.

Nanners-77 - Spawn of the Devil? I wouldn't go that far. He's only a distant relative!

wyverna - The kick-ass work has been kept up, though I'm not sure if it's still kick-ass.

Insert Bad Cliche Here - Still a tiny chapter, but I hope you liked it all the same.

Kara Black - Hahahaha aren't we funny! Lol. Thanks. Hope you like this one.

GlamGlitterRockFabulous - Hahaha I love drama. Especially short bursts of it.

r-k-bubblez - I made you speechless? Wow. That's awesome!

Kristine - Here's more of Ms. Kaines! Hope you liked it.

Parcie05 - I wouldn't be so evil to end it last chapter. There's at least two mroe to go. . . Maybe three.

Vampirehelsing - Yay! You like it! I'm back in the groove. There will be more, and definitely sooner.

Violetpixie - I am continuing! See?

ZaCkIsAwEsOmE - No it's not the end. I'm not THAT evil.

Remussweetie - Yes it has been a while. I promise to NEVER let it go that long again!