author's note: i've been receiving many questions about this story and am finding it difficult to keep up and answer them all. lol. So I've started a forum: Tribe Fanatics-topic-"from the eyes of a bohemian". There you can post any questions you have about this story as well as any of my other work. Whether it be about updates, plot changes, missing charactersor story direction, feel free to ask away and I'll answer.

also, for those who might be offended, this chapter includes some sexual activity.

Chapter Eleven

"I'll see you girls later."

"See you."

"Bye Bray." Salene waved as she and Trudy watched him walk down the hall. The redhead allowed her eyes to linger on Bray's receding figure longer than her best mate would have liked. "You're so lucky Trudy."

"Am I?"

"Yes," Salene turned to her friend as they started up the stairs. "He's really taking care of you. It's nice to see. There aren't many boys that would."

Nodding, Trudy smiled. "Bray's been good to me. Brady loves him."

Trudy watched as her friend responded with a smile but she could tell Salene was in deep thought. Her blue eyes had glossed over as though she were trapped in some fantasy. It didn't take rocket science to guess whom she was thinking about. Salene's affection for Bray was becoming more and more obvious by the day and Trudy was getting annoyed with it.

"I'm so glad he stayed last night." The brunette spoke purposefully.

"Bray stayed over again?" Salene's expression was innocent but her true feelings sang from her big eyes.

"Yeah. Mom and Dad had to spend the night in Liberty for some business dinner. He didn't want to leave me alone."

"That's nice."

"Yeah."

There was strained silence between the girls as they dodged fellow classmates in the hall. Trudy walked with a smirk sure she'd gotten her point across. Bray was hers and no one was going to ruin that. Salene wasn't smiling but she certainly didn't feel defeated. In some ways she was encouraged since things hadn't been going smoothly between Bray and Trudy. In fact, Salene was believing more and more that Bray was only sticking around because of Brady.

"Oh yeah," Salene suddenly spoke up. "Are you planning on joining Student Government this year?"

"Eh," Trudy shrugged. "I don't know. It's such a time consuming class."

"I know. I was just wondering."

"Are you going to take it again?"

"Maybe." The redhead swept some curls off her shoulder. "I got a B+ last year. I could use those credits this year since I'm absolutely positive I'm going to fail Algebra II."

"You always say you're going to fail and you never do."

"But this time I'm positive."

"Sure." Trudy laughed lightly.

"Do you think Bray will take the course?" Salene asked without thinking and regretted it immediately as Trudy stopped laughing.

"I doubt it." The young mother answered quickly. "He hardly has time enough now. What with taking care of Brady and work and Basketball. I think Bray and I both are going to take it easy this year."

Salene and her friend shared small smiles which barely masked their true emotions. Everyday it seemed as though their friendship was becoming a bit more fractured by the subject of Bray. Each threatened by what they considered to be the other's advantage. Trudy possessed Bray's child but Salene represented freedom and the ideal life of a teenager.

Suddenly their thoughts were broken by the loud screeching of the fire alarm. Immediately the hallway turned to chaos as students began to evacuate the building. Somewhere in the vocational wing Lex and Ryan were running through a corridor laughing.

"You must be joking!" Trudy exclaimed over the noise as she followed Salene back down the stairwell. "Who plans a fire drill before class starts?"

"It's probably a prank."

"A stupid one at that."

Outside the girls caught up with friends and congregated in a semi circle as they awaited the arrival of the fire department. Somewhere in the crowd Jack was complaining about not having time to grab his radio. The young Einstein was trying to rig an old transistor to receive messages from space. It was a possession he was very careful with and didn't like leaving it behind for anyone to touch. Not far from him Dal sat on the low, brick wall that ran through the school yard as he continued to read his book. He didn't know it was Zandra who stood in front of him laughing with her friends about this exercise shaving unwanted minutes from their class. At the farthest edge of the crowd Bray found himself standing next to Amber. She was taking these blessed moments to go over notes. There was a quiz in History class waiting for her. He wasn't sure why but he felt compelled to talk to her. After a silent moment of debate, Bray cleared his throat.

"Hey,"

Amber looked up startled. "Oh. Hey."

"Remember me?" Bray noted the questioning look on her face. "The hospital?"

"Yeah I remember." Amber nodded though she didn't seem thrilled to be speaking with him. "How are things?"

"They're alright." Bray nodded slightly as he looked away.

Though he had started the conversation, he almost appeared to have no interest in continuing. Amber was puzzled by this as she wondered why he'd spoken to her in the first place. She wasn't aware that it was only when she looked back at her notes that Bray allowed his gaze to rest upon her. He watched her movements intently with slight amusement in his sienna eyes. Feeling awkward Amber was compelled to speak again.

"How's Brady?" She'd learned the name through Salene.

"She's fine. I only hope her mother is going to be." Bray spoke absently and caught himself too late. "She's had it rough." He explained.

"Haven't we all?" Amber answered just as absently.

"No," Bray found himself explaining further. "In different ways than the rest of us."

"Why? Aside from her pregnancy what makes her so special?" Her sudden sharp words made them look at one another again and Amber frowned apologetically. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

Bray nodded though he wasn't at all disturbed by her honesty. There was something about Amber that struck a cord deep within him. He knew she was a freshman but she seemed much older than her years. She wore a confidence and assurance he envied. It was as if the petty hardships of everyday life were unable to reach her. Amber stared back at his distant expression in curiosity.

"How are you these days?" She wanted to say that he seemed troubled but decided against it.

Bray shrugged. "Things could be better I'm sure. But they can always be better right?"

His voice wavered only slightly and he hoped Amber didn't notice. Now that he was actually speaking with her, he felt overwhelmed. Somewhere in his brain a red light of warning was flashing. Something telling him that this was dangerous ground. For Bray to indulge these vague thoughts of a girl he didn't know could be catastrophic to the fragile bubble in which he was now existing.

"Yeah," Amber nodded and finally cracked a small smile. She liked his eyes. In the interest of being social she continued. "So I heard you play Basketball?"

"Yes."

"Are you any good?" Bray laughed, a real laugh. The first he'd had in awhile. Amber looked at him in confusion. "I say something funny?"

"No." He shook his head. "I don't believe I've met anyone so blunt before."

She looked at him, her lips pursed in such a way that made Bray's breath catch in his throat. "Is that a bad thing?"

His laugh faded as he again shook his head, lost in the blue of her deep eyes. "No. Not at all."

Smiling, Amber felt a warm flush creep into her face. She was surprised when Bray smiled back. A connection had been made.

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Martin shuddered as he leaned his head back. His breathing was erratic and his pulse was racing. Beads of sweat were forming on the back of his neck and under his arms. Suddenly he gasped and dug his nails into the leather cushion. He felt his body convulse involuntarily and a small, satisfied smile played on his lips. For several minutes he sat panting before his eyes began to focus once more. His heart rate had slowed and the intense sensation in his loins was ebbing away. He finally looked over at his girl friend who was now taking a large swig of her beer.

"Not bad," He whispered.

"Is that all I get?" She watched as he zipped his jeans. "Not bad? I deserve a damn Emmy for that performance."

Martin rolled his eyes. "Don't act like you don't love doing it."

"I don't."

"Well then how'd you get to be such a pro?"

"Shut up." She snapped though her tone was only half serious.

With wild, pale eyes, Martin studied her exotic features with a lustful smirk. Ebony was the definition of beautiful and quite often Martin found himself wondering why she was with him. She could have anyone that she set her sights on, even with that incredibly, nasty, diva attitude of hers.

"Come here." He commanded, his eyes following the sultry lines of her curvaceous silhouette. She was wearing her black leather halter. His favorite. Ebony ignored him as she lit a cigarette. "I said come here." He spoke again, an edge to his tone. When she continued to ignore him Martin grabbed her arm and yanked her over to his side.

"Ow!" She slapped his leg as she sunk into his forceful embrace. "Do ya have to be so rough?"

"You love it." He murmured and inhaled her intoxicating scent. An enticing blend of Cover Girl, Vidal Sassoon and Obsession.

They sat in silence, the smoke of her cigarette curling around them in the dark. As Ebony nestled her braided head into his shoulder, she didn't know Martin's thoughts were on someone else. That even while he held her, his mind was fixated on a gentler face, a softer body, the fresh scent of a purer girl. She didn't know that while Martin was satisfied with her physically, his heart stilled yearned for another.

"Hey, you guys done yet!"

Ebony and Martin jumped as someone banged on the fogged up window. With irritation, Martin rolled down the window and narrowed his eyes at Axel.

"What the hell do you want?"

"They wanna know when you're coming out man."

Glaring at the crowd of rowdy kids around the bonfire behind Axel, Martin growled. "It's none of their damn business! Now get the hell out of here and leave us alone!"

Ebony gave Axel a death glare as he nervously nodded. "Okay, okay. Sorry Zoot."

Rolling up the window, Martin could hear the others laughing at Axel as he trudged back to the fire. What a cock block. His friends could be such idiots sometimes. Aside from the fact that they thought he was some sort of James Dean reincarnation, he wondered why they even hung out together. The truth was they were mindless, foolhardy sheep and he, in his desperate need for destructive self expression, was their leader.

"Morons." Ebony muttered.

"Tell me about it."

"I told you we would've been better off sneaking into Wellington. That bar on South street never checks Ids."

"I know."

"Or we should have just gone parking by ourselves."

"I wanted to have one last bonfire of the season."

"But did you have to invite them?"

"Shut up." Martin muttered under his breath annoyed with her griping.

Ebony snuggled deeper into his embrace. "Don't tell me to shut up."

"Shut up."

She responded by pinching his arm and moving out of his reach. "Jerk."

"Cow." Martin frowned as he rubbed his injury.

Ebony snuffed out her cigarette on the bottom of her boot. "Why can't we ever have a normal night together?"

"You hate normal. That's why you're with me. I bring excitement into your life."

"Oh yeah and snogging in the car is so exciting. Would it kill you to be a little romantic sometimes?"

"Romantic?" Martin scoffed. "This from the girl who can't get through a school day without pulling me into a janitor's closet to get it on."

"It's called Passion. You should look it up sometime."

"I don't need to look anything up. I know what I'm doing."

"You like to think so."

"Oh, leave it out." Martin rolled his eyes. He was tired of this conversation. This wasn't how he wanted to spend his Friday night. "Get over here and quit your whining."

Ebony smirked and slid across the seat. As long as she'd known him, this was the dynamic of she and Martin's relationship. Theirs was not the cliche' high school romance. No, the love between them was raw and gritty and sometimes down right ugly. It wasn't something that could be explained to the little people of the world. Ebony knew she wasn't Martin's first choice and he was well aware that he wasn't hers either. Still there was a comfort and acceptance that they had yet to find in others.

"Hmm," Ebony sighed as Martin kissed her neck, his hands already sliding up her halter. Slowly she allowed him to lay her back on the seat and wrapped her legs around him. She was surprised when as she tried to kiss his lips he turned his head away roughly. "What? Can't I kiss you?"

"Not until you've brushed your teeth." Martin frowned thinking of their earlier activity.

"Ugh!" Ebony pushed him off and slipped from under him. "You're such a pig!"

He watched her jump out of the car with a sigh. So much for that. He was about to follow and service his needs with alcohol when his cell phone vibrated in his back pocket. Looking at the number he frowned. Bray. With added annoyance he hit the talk button.

"Yeah? What the hell do you want?"

cock block-term used when a guy is trying to score with a girl and is blind sided by his or her friends.