A/N: A long one! Grab a drink and a sandwich before you start reading haha! Hope you like…

Chapter 21

That Wednesday around 9pm, Jess showed up at the Muir residence with a six-pack of Michelob and high hopes. The day of the pier fire and bank-skating session, Wentz did come by Jess' house, but ironically it was just as she and her mom were just about to sit down to the dinner that Jess had cooked. They naturally invited him to stay and enjoy the chicken tetrazzini and salad, but he politely declined, explaining that he'd just grabbed a burger with some of the guys after they left the schoolyard. Before he took off Jess managed to snake a couple more quick kisses off him at the front door while her mom was washing her hands at the kitchen sink. Wentzle was glad to hear that Muir had invited Jess to his party. "See ya Wednesday night," he had called over his shoulder before skating off into the dusk. Between now and then Jess hadn't seen him, so her nerves were alight with anticipation as she climbed the small stairway that led to the Muir's front porch. Several guys and one girl were sitting out there, drinking beer out of coolers and consuming different types of smokeables. Jess didn't know any of them, but they gave her lazy, amiable waves anyway, which she returned as she walked into the house. Inside the wood-paneled living room six or seven people were sitting on the couch and two overstuffed chairs, chatting loudly over the Bad Company song emanating from the stereo. Jess recognized Biniak, Kathy, PC and Allie, but the other people were strangers. As she passed through the living room she got varying degrees of greetings, which she returned accordingly before asking Kathy where the kitchen was, waving her brown grocery sack in the air to indicate her beer refrigeration needs.

"I'll let you keep those in my cooler, they'll be safer," Kathy offered. "It is in the kitchen though. C'mon, I'll take you there."

Back in the kitchen a transistor radio was tuned to KLOS, which was blasting out a tinny version of "Action" by Sweet. Leaning against various counters and appliances were Muir, TA, Jay, Nathan and a few other people that Jess also didn't know. One of them was a boy who was even younger looking than Baby Paul and Arthur. He bore a vague resemblance to Red Dog and Jess figured he might be a younger Muir sibling. Otherwise, what the hell was a 12 year old doing at a party like this, she wondered as Kathy directed her to take her beers out of the bag and put them into a large blue Coleman cooler with "Property of Mad Dog! STAY OUT!" written on the front in black Sharpie ink. "Guess my beer will be safe here, huh?" Jess quipped as she wedged the bottles into the open patches of ice.

"Well yeah, that and the fact that it's damn Michelob," TA scorned, but with a smile.

Defensively Jess shot back, "Hey, I like Michelob! It's the only beer that tastes really good to me."

"Exactly. It's basically a girl's beer," TA joked back.

"Hey! I like Michelob," Nathan countered, but before Jess could thank him for his support he added: "But only if it's the only thing left to drink." He chuckled as he took a sip of his Coors.

"Fine," she mock-huffed, "more for me then." Defiantly she grabbed the nearest bottle opener and popped the cap off her first beer, taking a good long swig. "Ahh, nice girl beer," she said with satisfaction.

"So Mikey, I hear you're grounded. What did ya do this time?" Jay spoke for the first time since Jess had entered the kitchen, addressing the 12 year old-looking kid. Although he hadn't greeted her formally he made a point of pinning her gaze with his liquid blue one when she finally made eye contact with him. Slightly disconcerted, she held the contact just long enough to be polite; just short enough to not be lingering.

"It's MIKE!" the kid barked, his voice a higher-pitched version of Red Dog's. Definitely his brother, Jess thought.

"Jeez, how many times have you been grounded just this year already?" TA ribbed.

Nathan shook his head condescendingly. "Kid, at the rate you're going they're not gonna let you out of the house until you're 30. Dude, seriously, you need to chill. Ya know, just be a kid and have fun…"

"That's what I was TRYING to do when I got grounded!" Mike howled in frustration.

Jay howled with laughter. "I bet you were, bro! I bet you were! Hey, did it involve cherry bombs again?"

Mike sullenly shook his straight strawberry blonde head. "Nah. My dad caught me sneaking out after bedtime to meet some friends." Everyone one in the room guffawed. "We were just gonna sit in the park and hang out," Mike protested. "And my dad acts like I was gonna steal a car or somethin'. 'snot fair," he pouted, looking at that moment more like a depressed eight year old.

"You sure you guys weren't really planning to knock over Star liquors?" Tony teased.

"I know, right? Hanging out in the park- man, if you're gonna get popped for doing something, at least make it something good," Jay chimed in.

"Yeah well, maybe next time I will," Mike snarled.

The Sweet song ended and "Slow Ride" by Foghat started. "Crank that up," TA told Muir, who just shook his head. "Dude, it's cranked as far as it'll go. It's a piece of shit but it's all we got in here."

"I'm going back up front," Kathy said to Jess. "You wanna come?"

"Sure," Jess agreed, kind of wanting to be away from Jay's ice-blue stare, which had barely ceased since she walked into the kitchen. She hoped Wentzle would get there soon.

On their way down the hall they met Allie coming from the living room. "Is Jim still back there?" she asked Kathy plaintively. Kathy merely jerked her head in the direction she just came from and kept walking toward the front of the house, Jess still behind her. As Allie passed Jess heard her mutter, "he better not be ignoring me. Better not!" Poor girl, she's got it bad, Jess thought with a twinge of pity.

In the living room Bad Company was still playing and the conversation was a bit muted as everyone was still working on their beer and pot buzz. Kathy sat back down in her old chair as Jess took the free spot on the couch that Allie had just left behind. Beside her, PC nodded another hello to her and then passed over the joint he was holding. Jess went ahead and took a small hit, then handed it over to Kathy, who took a much larger drag.

"Damn, save some for me," Biniak pleaded as he held his hand out for the joint.

Kathy passed it on, then tilted her head back and exhaled a huge puff of smoke. "So guys, how did that contest finish up today? I had to leave early to take care of some shit here."

"Yeah, I wondered where you got to," PC replied.

"What contest was this?" Biniak asked as he passed the joint to the girl standing up beside his chair.

"Some of the Zephyr guys had a pickup contest today at Ballona with some San Diego guys," PC explained, "but I only got one set in and then my fuckin' board broke on the rocks."

"Ooh, tough luck," Biniak sympathized.

"Yeah, whadda pisser, eh? I won that heat, too. Dinked me out big time," PC snarled. Jess realized that his accent was Canadian. She wondered how long he'd been in LA.

He continued to talk about the showdown as a new joint was passed around the room. "So yeah, both the Tavares brothers rode and they did well, and of course Sarlo fuckin' ripped, won every heat and against their best guy, too. And Stacy really stepped up to the plate a couple of times. You shoulda seen this one cutback he did, and on a mushy wave, too. We were pretty blown away, man."

"Yeah, he's improved a lot over the last year or two," Biniak confirmed. Jess vaguely wondered if he'd be coming to the party but at that point she'd much rather see Wentzle walk through the door instead. Hurry up, she silently bade him, where ever he was.

After the third toke her mouth was starting to get rather cottony in texture. She polished off her first beer and got up to get another one. Back in the kitchen Jay went to her side as she bent over the cooler and let his hand trail lightly down her long dark hair as it spilled over her back. "I didn't say hey earlier, so hey," he quipped with an innocuous smile.

"Hey back," Jess replied a bit guardedly as she tried to edge away from him a bit. She had no idea if Wentz knew about the little makeout session she and Jay had at the Zephyr party, but even if he didn't know, she didn't want him to walk in now and see Jay practically hitting on her. "So how have you been?" she asked him politely, her eyes on the floor, avoiding eye contact.

"All right. I told ya about my birthday party, right? Oh yeah, at the pool." He took a big swig of his beer. "Hey, don't you still owe me that kiss I asked for?" he teased.

Jess didn't need this, but wanted to fend him off as delicately as possible. "Sorry Jay, but I'm kinda seeing someone now," she tried to explain, but cut herself off at the sudden flash of rage in his eyes that came and went almost in the same instant.

"Oh yeah? I didn't know that. I kinda thought you an' me had somethin' going," he said in a light-sounding tone, but there was a hint of something darker there as well.

"Come on Jay, you can't be serious," Jess gasped with disbelief. At the sincerity in her expression, Jay seemed to back off. "Pff, you know I'm just fuckin' with ya, Jess. Congrats to the lucky guy and hey, if you and him break up, gimme a call ok?"

And with that and a teasing wink, he walked out of the kitchen, leaving a relieved and slightly confused Jess standing on her own by the cooler. A quick glance around the kitchen revealed no conversations she could easily join, so she headed back to the living room, taking another beer with her in case she finished the second one as quickly as the first.

Once comfortably ensconced back in her spot on the couch, Jess noted that a few people had left the room and a couple more had walked in during the brief time she was gone. Jay wasn't in sight so Jess assumed he'd gone straight outside. The conversation was still on contests, this time skate-related ones. Jess mostly listened as PC and Biniak listed the more recent wins that the Zephyr team had made. A moment later Red Dog and Mike passed through the room on their way outside. "Hey man, you sure it's cool to smoke in here?" one of the people Jess didn't know asked as Jim walked by.

"Yeah, I'm just going to air it out real good before my parents get home," Jim replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "So smoke away."

"Yeah, smoke 'em if you got 'em," Biniak said with a chuckle.

"We got 'em," Kathy said as she pulled out a baggie of weed and a small pipe. "Humboldt holt, guys. Just delivered yesterday," she announced to the general delight of all except for Jess, who still lacked the knowledge to differentiate between the various varieties of California grass. After a few more minutes of smoking, drinking and conversation Jess needed to pee. She also wanted to refresh her makeup before Wentzle got there. She had decided to dress in a more casual but sexy way tonight, just to make sure he got the hint. That meant black lowrider jeans with a black belt to keep them from riding down and exposing her black lace undies, while on her upper body she wore the prettiest peasant top she owned, which was made of gauzy, almost see-through light blue material and embroidered around the low neckline with silvery thread. Black and silver flat sandals adorned her feet and showed off her pink painted toenails and the little silver ring that sparkled on the little piggy who had none.

"Hey Kathy, where's the bathroom?"

"Uhh, go through the kitchen and into the back hall and it's the second door on the left," Kathy replied a bit mushily. "Or is it the first door on the right? Never mind, I'll show you." She pulled herself out of the chair as Jess got to her feet, almost upsetting her third beer, which she had just opened. She picked it up and followed Kathy though the house. When they got to the bathroom, Kathy waved her on in. "Go 'head, I'll wait. I gotta go too," the blonde directed.

After Jess took care of her urination frustration she forwent the makeup touchup so Kathy wouldn't have to wait. "Appreciate it," the other girl slurred as she shut the bathroom door behind her. Kathy came out a few minutes later and Jess started to go back in, but the blonde girl touched her lightly on the arm, halting her forward progress. "Can I talk to you for a sec?" Kathy asked. "Like, in private?"

"Yeah, sure," Jess replied, trying not to feel any trepidation. She honestly had no idea what Kathy needed to talk to her about, but knew she hadn't done anything wrong. At least I think I haven't done anything wrong, she thought to herself.

"Come on, let's go to Jim's room so nobody will bug us," Kathy commanded. Jess had no choice but to follow as she was led to the last door on the hallway. Kathy went in first and fumbled in the dark for a light source. Finding a small desk lamp, she flipped it on to reveal a typical Southern California teenage guy's room: dirty clothes, shoes and socks scattered on the floor around an unmade double bed and the requisite surfing, skating and girlie posters on the walls along with a few model planes hanging from the ceiling. Almost like a movie set, Jess started to muse, but Kathy was already taking a seat in a wooden chair by the desk, which was covered not with homework but skateboard parts in various states of disrepair. Unsure of what to do, Jess gingerly sat on the bed, took another gulp of beer and waited for Kathy to get on with it.

She didn't make Jess wait. "Look, I don't want to sound like I'm prying here, but I heard you and Wentzle were hanging out a lot the day of the fire." Gee, I wonder who told you that, Jess thought sarcastically, but realized it could have been a Z-Boy as much as it was one of the Dogtown girls. After all, she and Wentz were being pretty open about things, except for him taking me around the corner and kissing me. But it was still pretty obvious what was going on, I'm sure…

She realized that Kathy was waiting for her to reply to her statement. "Y-yeah, we hung out for the afternoon while everyone skated banks," Jess replied a bit sheepishly. Where the hell was Kathy going with this? Don't tell me she's into Wentzle, she thought with a silent groan. God, is every guy in this town claimed?

Kathy leaned forward, her pretty face softening a bit as she assumed a slightly sympathetic expression. "Jess, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Wentzle's seeing someone already. A girl in Marina del Rey that he met surfing a while back. And I know for a fact that they were together today at the contest in Ballona. In fact he's probably still down there right now." At the distressed look on Jess' face, Kathy's tone got even kinder. "Hey, I am so sorry. But I thought you should know before you got too into the guy, ya know?"

Jess shook her head, struggling to keep her sudden tears of hurt and anger from leaking out of her grey eyes. She drew a ragged breath. "I…had…no idea," she got out in time. "I mean, it's almost too late…I really was into him."

Kathy gave an exasperated sigh. "C'mon, Jess. You guys hung out for one afternoon and I bet nothing even happened, right?" When Jess shook her head negatively, Kathy continued. "So there ya go. I know he's a cool guy and a total fox but you gotta face the facts: he's taken. Pull yourself up, chica."

"So if he's taken then what was he doing with me?" Jess choked, still close to crying despite Kathy's attempt to comfort her.

Kathy sighed again. "Ay, nothing he hasn't tried with other girls before. Hey, I'm sure he likes you but I know he's not going to break up with this other chick anytime soon. Their families are really tight and everything. I just couldn't stand by and watch him two-time her with you and see you get really into him. And believe me, nobody would have told you the deal besides me."

"What about Deb?" Jess countered. "She was around when Wentzle asked me for my number and never said anything afterward.

"Deb doesn't know Wentzle or this chick," Kathy explained. "She's not up with all the Dogtown happenings like I am because she doesn't live or work there. I'm sure if she knew she would have warned you. She likes you, Jess. And I do too. I really hope you don't hate me for this," Kathy near-pleaded. Jess met her eyes and saw the sincerity within. "Of course I don't hate you, Kathy. I'll probably thank you for this tomorrow, but tonight – aww, hell. This is such a pisser, I don't know what to do right now," Jess wailed.

"Aww, it's gonna be all right. Here, gimme a hug," Kathy offered as she leaned forward and extended her arms toward Jess, who automatically responded in kind. "Everything's gonna be ok," Kathy whispered again as she gave Jess a big squeeze. "Just forget about him and go party," she added in an attempt to bolster Jess' spirits.

"Forget about who?" A male voice cut through the room, causing both girls to jump and pull apart from the embrace. Angry at having their privacy disturbed, they whipped their heads toward the doorway and beheld a somewhat drunken Jay leaning against the doorframe.

"Jayboy, don't you know it's not nice to eavesdrop?" Kathy asked acidly.

Jay sauntered into the room and sat on the bed beside Jess. "I'm not a nice boy, don't ya know that, Kath?" he drawled with a lopsided smile. To Jess he said, "Some asshole hurt your feelings? Let me know who and I'll fuck him up. Pow!" He pounded his left fist into his right palm to emphasize his words.

"It doesn't matter, Jay. It's all taken care of, isn't it, Jess?" Jess only nodded sadly.

"No, for real," Jay continued. "You're a sweet girl and you don't deserve to get hurt. Look at me," he directed. After a bit of hesitation, Jess did so. His eyes were soft and showed no sign of anger or darkness, although they were a bit glazed from the beer and pot. "For real, you're a good person, Jess. And hey, I like you and I'm not seeing anyone, am I, Kathy?"

Looking a bit put-upon, Kathy vaguely replied "Far's I know you're not."

Jay threw his hair back, a smug smile on his face. "Free and easy, that's me, homes." Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little ziploc bag that was half full with a dark, crumbly substance. For a second Jess was startled – don't tell me that's heroin, she thought with a sinking heart. "Hey Kath, got your pipe on ya?" Jay inquired as he opened the bag carefully.

"Only if you're gonna share," the blonde replied as she dug it out.

"Well duh, of course I am," Jay shot back as he took the pipe from her and packed some of the material into it. Jess didn't speak, just watched as Jay lit up and took a big hit. Then he handed the pipe to her. "It's hash, ya wanna try some? Good stuff," Jay offered as he exhaled the smoke, which was sharper and darker smelling than pot.

Jess accepted the pipe and the lighter from Jay, who was watching her expectantly. "You sure Red Dog doesn't mind people smoking in his room?" Jess asked with trepidation.

"Naaah-oooh, we spark up in here all the time," Jay assured her.

"But hey, go easy on that stuff at first," Kathy broke in and warned her. "It might make you really light-headed until you get used to the buzz."

"She can handle it," Jay responded broadly. "Go ahead Jess, fire up."

Jess did so, taking a smaller than normal hit like Kathy advised. Unlike pot, the hash buzz hit her a lot faster, making her instantly higher than she'd ever been before. "Whew, you weren't kidding, Kathy," she told TA's sister as she passed her the pipe.

"Yeah, Jay gets some good stuff," Kathy agreed, then took a hit.

"Thanks to my stepdad, he's totally connected," Jay bragged. He got the pipe back from Kathy and put a little more hash in it, then lit up again. After Jess had taken a second hit, Red Dog showed up in the doorway, a half-full fifth of whisky clutched in one rough hand. "What the fuck are you druggies doin' in my room?" he demanded, but with a knowing grin.

"Spanking our monkeys. What does it look like?" Jay jibed as Kathy handed Jim the pipe. He lit up and inhaled with great satisfaction. "Holdin' out on me, bro," he ragged Jay as he passed the pipe to him. In exchange Jim handed the whiskey bottle to Jay, who took a big slug, then handed it to Jess, who managed a smallish sip without making a really bad face. "Aw, c'mon, you can do better than that," Jay teased. "Go on, turn it up!" Jess obliged but couldn't help choking a bit as the burning liquid rolled across her palate and down her throat.

Jim started to hand the pipe back to Jay, but he generously let Red Dog hold on to it and take a second hit.

After he'd done so, Red Dog told Kathy, "Some friends of yours just got here, thought you might want to know."

"Right on," Kathy said, getting a bit unsteadily to her feet. "Jess, are you gonna be…?"

Jess nodded affirmatively, then took one last sip of the whiskey and handed the bottle back to Jim. "I'm fine now, Kathy. You should go talk to your friends. I'll be out in a minute." In reality she was a bit too dizzy at the moment to risk standing up, but she didn't want to confess that aloud and look like a lightweight. And Jay seemed to be well-behaved enough to be alone with for a bit.

As soon as Kathy and Red Dog left, Jay turned sideways a bit to face Jess. You gettin' off on that hash?" he inquired eagerly. When she nodded yes (honestly), he slunk one arm around her shoulders and started to pull her close. "Wanna make out?" he asked in his most enticing voice.

"Oh Jay, I dunno…" but Jess' words were cut off when Jay put his mouth to hers, giving a single closed-mouth kiss and then attempting to push the tip of his tongue past her lips. Instead of giving him entry Jess dropped her head, breaking contact. "I dunno," she whispered again, her head seriously spinning from both intoxication and confusion.

"C'mon, foxy, let's finish what we started," Jay urged. "I know you want to," he added as he put one hand to the back of her head and tried to urge her forward for another kiss.

Jess held back, not really willing to be in this situation right now. She was still reeling from Kathy's revelation about Wentzle and Jay was cute, but right now he just wasn't an acceptable substitute. Instinctively she pulled away from his grasp, trying to find the words to let him down gently and not piss him off.

Too late. After her second act of resistance the darkness began creeping back into Jay's eyes. "What's your problem?" he hissed through half-clenched teeth. "Why're ya being so uptight? I thought you were cool!" he chastised, his voice rising to a near-shout.

Jess' hand flew up to her head. "Oh god, I think I'm gonna puke," she mumbled in a quavery voice as though she was on the verge of tears. Not really true on either count; she was certainly dizzy but not nauseated, nor did she really want to cry. Still, this should be a good excuse to get away from him, Jess thought feverishly as she began to stand up. No guy wants to deal with a puking or crying chick.

She was right. Jay let her stand up and walk to the door unimpeded, although he couldn't resist a parting shot: "Go get your shit together and then get your ass back in here," he commanded as she stumbled out of the room. Not bloody likely, Jess thought angrily as she quickly walked down the hall. The bathroom door was slightly ajar so she closed it noisily as she passed to make it sound like she'd gone inside, then slunk into the kitchen, where a few people were still hanging around and the radio was blasting "Evil Woman" by ELO. That's me, the evil, lying, sneaking out woman, Jess thought, but with no shame. Whatever it took to get out of Jay's clutches, she'd do it. At least I didn't have to struggle or scream rape, not that I would have hesitated to do so, she thought as she walked briskly down the hall and through the living room, paying no heed to the people around her.

She got out the front door without incident, but stopped in her tracks on the porch at the sight of Jim's younger brother tackling another kid of similar age and knocking him to the ground at the bottom of the front steps. They began to wrestle, rolling from side to side on the narrow walkway. Off to her right, he heard TA amusedly say: "Check it out, Muir. Why's your brother's fighting his supposedly best friend?"

Muir leaned over the railing and drained the last of his beer. "Fighting? I thought they were kissing!" Red Dog's voice rang out loud and clear, causing the two wrestlers to instantly break apart and stand up, embarrassedly smoothing down their hair and brushing off their clothes.

In any other circumstances Jess would have been amused, but all she could think of now was escape. Without as much as a sidewise glance, she quickly skipped down the stairs and hit the sidewalk at a trot. She had no idea if she was even going in the right direction towards home and she didn't care. All I want to do is get the hell out of here and away from these people. The hell with 'em, I don't need 'em. Screw that deceitful Wentzle, screw that obnoxious Jay, screw the lot of 'em. I'll find another crowd to hang out with that's better. And even cooler. The hell with Dogto-

Her thoughts were cut off at the sound of sneaker-clad footsteps on the darkened sidewalk behind her. She took a quick peek over her shoulder and was just able to make out a male silhouette in the near-blackness and he was coming up fast. Oh god. Jay's figured out my game and he's out to track me down, Jess thought, the primitive part of her brain suddenly terrified into fight or flight mode. Even if she wasn't completely fucked up from the hash and the booze, there was no way she could outrun a male in his kind of shape and not being from the neighborhood, she knew of no hiding places to duck into. And of course the street was empty of passing cars and the houses closest to her were dark, so she could forget about rescue from that quarter. There was only one course of action left to her – she dug out her keys, put one between each finger, and spun around to confront her would-be attacker. Although she almost fell over from the action of spinning so quickly, she managed to recover, planting her feet in a secure stance and instinctively baring her teeth in a silent snarl. Come on and take me if you think you're tough enough, Jayboy!

Immediately her shadower pulled up short a few yards away, putting his hands out defensively. In the darkness of the tree-lined street Jess could only get a dim impression of his outline, but he seemed to be taller than Jay. Hurriedly he exclaimed, "Whoa, easy there! We know each other. It's Stacy, the guy from Math class!"

Sure enough, as he spoke he edged close enough for Jess to clearly see his distinctive hair and familiar features lit up by the streetlight on the far corner. Still in near-panic mode with her heart literally slamming against her ribcage, she couldn't speak for a moment but just stood there shaking as she slowly lowered her key-studded hand to her side. "Are you ok?" Stacy asked concernedly.

"I dunno…Do people faint forwards or backwards?"

And with that stammered reply, she proceeded to find out the answer firsthand.