Disclaimer Kurama is not mine. (pouts)
A/N So here's the second chapter! Again, I've squished two chapters together for length. I have a feeling this will happen... a lot. :P Hope that's not a problem with anyone. You get more of the story this way, you know.
In this chapter our boy Kurama shows up! Woo-hoo! ;) But before I let you get to that, a word from my beta: "–dies- I AM GOING TO HANG MYSELF BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER. XX"
Right. Enjoy!
Life Goes On
By: SunshineandDaisys
Chapter 2: Mr. Mysterious
Two very dull hours later, the teenagers emerged from their punishment.
"Be quiet, Miss Dee." Stella imitated Mr. Kort - the teacher in charge of detention. "Please erase your writing a little more quietly, Miss Dee. Then I was like, I think you've got your hearing aid turned up a little too loud, MR. KORT."
Jess laughed. "I know, that guy is so annoying. And he has to be over 65, I swear."
Having missed their study hall, the two girls nearly ran to their next class, which unfortunately was Mrs. Pluff's.
Jess was pretty sure the teacher hadn't forgotten the homework incident from yesterday. But it wasn't Jessica's fault; she already had a report to do in History on the founding of America, a Math test to study for, and another report in Science on acids and bases. She also had to read a book about some stupid black horse, and then Mrs. Pluff told her to write an essay for her Language Arts homework? No, it was not her fault. She was stressed out and wasn't thinking - never a good thing.
They walked into the class to find Mrs. Pluff, who'd just been standing up to teach.
"Who can remember what we talked about..." She trailed off as Stella closed the door and gave them both icy glares.
"Ladies," Mrs. Pluff repremanded. "you are tardy. I won't accept it. You both get detention tomorrow, unless you can give me a good excuse as to why you're late."
The girls exchanged weary looks.
"Mr. Kort forgot that we actually leave detention," Jessica answered dryly.
"Oh, I should have known. I've come to expect nothing less of you, Miss Matthews. But what about you, Miss Dee?"
"Same," Stella replied. "We were both in detention for starting the food fight." She waved a hand at the students' messy states for emphasis.
"Very well. I suppose that means Miss Matthews will have detention for the next two days, and you will be joining her tomorrow. Now class is behind because of you two, so hurry up and take your seats. No more hold ups."
Jessica took her seat next to a nerd named Bradley, who was picking his nose as usual. Stella's seat was on the other side of the room with her fellow cheerleaders. They were staring at Jess in obvious contempt for getting peas mashed on their Gucci purses, no doubt. Jess just smiled and waved. They all sneered and turned their attention back to Mrs. Pluff, who was currently instructing the class on the many exciting ways to use pronouns, proving that cheerleaders could do anything in sync.
Mrs. Pluff's class was one of the last, followed only by Geometry and extracurricular activites. Stella had to stay for cheerleading practice, leaving Jess with the usual dilemma of riding the bus or taking the long way home.
'God, I wish I had a car,' she thought miserably.
"Do you want to sit by me on the bus?" a nasal voice asked.
Jess spun around to see Bradley shifting uncomfortably in his loafers and staring at the ground.
'Nononono...'
"Sorry, Bradley, but I think I'm going to walk."
"Oh, um, okay. Um, goodbye." You couldn't have paid him to move faster. Jess shook her head and turned to see six feet of shoulder-padded glory standing in front of her.
"He can't help it, Jess. I think most men are attracted to you."
"Chad," was all she could say.
"Look, I'm willing to forgive you for lunch if you'll just--"
"Don't you have football practice to get to?" Jess crossed her arms.
"Yeah, but--"
"Wouldn't wanna get on coach's bad side, if I were you. You've heard what happened to Alan Rickman."
"Who's Alan Rickman?"
"Exactly. Well, bye now." Sidestepping Chad, Jess sped off in the direction of downtown Fern. Once she reached the wide cobblestone circle lined with shops, she sighed. Shopping had never been her favorite thing to do, and certainly not her strongpoint, but she did need some new shirts.
Trying to stay away from anything green, Jess maneuvered through endless racks of clothing. She finally settled on a purple shirt and two green ones before making her way through the dinner crowd thronging the sidewalks.
The best thing about Fern was that you really didn't need a car. The only reason Jess rode the school bus, after all, was so that she could get there more quickly - walking would take too long.
'Unless I get up at 5:30,' she thought with amusement. 'But that's highly unlikely.'
Thinking about whether or not to tell Stella she had added to her green collection, she allowed herself to get distracted. Before she had even noticed, she'd walked straight into the crosswalk on a red light. Abruptly realizing what had happened, Jessica stood like a deer in headlights, preparing to die where even as a hand reached out to pull her back. Once she was safely on the curb, she spun around.
Standing beside her was a tall, red-headed boy with some of the most gorgeous facial features she had ever seen. His intensely green eyes were full of worry as he stared down at her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Uh," she said intelligently, just realizing she could speak. "Yeah, wow, I'm so sorry! I don't usually do stuff like that. Endangering my life for no good reason, I mean."
"That's probably a good thing." He smiled.
She smiled nervously back. Her little red light fiasco had gone unnoticed, for the most part, because it had happened so quickly.
'Damn, he just saved my life!'
"So, uh, thanks. That was really noble and brave and all that crap. You should get a medal or something."
"Yes, I'll pick that up on my way past the Brave and Noble's."
Jess grinned; she kinda liked this guy. Not many people would've stuck around to see if she were okay, or would've even saved her at all. And Stella didn't even crack corny jokes with her. It didn't hurt that he was verifiably hot either. Surely it wouldn't hurt to start a conversation...?
"So what is my the name of my rescuer?" she began casually, walking a little ways down the sidewalk.
"Suiichi," he answered, following her. "Yours?"
"Jessica," she said. "Do you mind if I ask if your name is Chinese?"
"You just did." He looked amused. "And actually, it's Japanese."
"So you live there?"
"Sometimes." He glanced to see her reaction. She simply raised an eyebrow.
"You have more than one home?"
Suiichi stuffed his hands in his pockets, a mischievous smile on his lips. "Perhaps."
"Uh- huh . Okay then," Jess continued. "if you won't tell me that, will you at least tell me why you're here in Fern?"
"Well," he began slowly. "It's a long story - you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Let's just say I'm here on business."
They continued to walk down the sidewalk.
"Business?" Jessica pried. "How old are you anyway?"
"My," he smirked, "aren't we nosy?"
"Sorry," though she really wasn't. "Just curious. But if you'd rather not say..."
"I think we'll go with fifteen for now."
"That's how old I am." Jess said, curiosity about to kill her. "What business are you in at fifteen?"
"You wouldn't believe me," he reiterated.
"My, aren't we Mr. Mysterious."
"Yes," He shrugged with a grin. "I suppose this is only confusing you."
"Yeah, it is." She frowned. Suiichi laughed at her expression.
They'd reached the end of the sidewalk. He turned to her.
"Well, it's been nice talking, Jessica. Maybe I'll see you again sometime."
"You too," she said. "Sue-chee... Sorry, my stupid American tongue..."
He laughed again. "What about 'Kurama'? Could you say that?"
"Yes," Jessica said slowly as if to say 'Duh'. "Why 'Kurama'?"
"That's what my friends call me."
"Oh, well, if we're going by nicknames, then call me Jess. That's what my friend calls me." She said the last part with a scowl. Kurama smiled at her.
'Whoa, steady, heart.'
"Sure, Jess. Goodbye."
And with that, he disappeared into the crowd. Jessica was left standing alone as she wondered who this mysterious guy was… and why did she like him so much?
Jess came home to find a note taped to her bedroom door.
Jessica,
When will you learn to come home right after school? Since you are LATE, we are probably at McDonalds right now. Eating delicious burgers. Without you. Try and be home on time tomorrow.
Love,
Your Starving
Family.
PS. Why did you have to go to detention?
Since her family was out, Jess decided now would be a good time to wash her clothes. She wasn't sure what her mother would say if she found out about the food fight she had started.
'Best not to find out,' she thought staidly.
Sitting atop the washer in one of her long night shirts, Jess found herself thinking about Kurama again. What was his damage! She'd never met anyone so mysterious in her life, though she credited that to growing up in Loser Central. He was such a fascinating indiv--
Buzzzzzz-
Jumping a mile high, she ended up in an unceremonious heap on the floor.
After regaining herself, Jess placed her wet clothes in the dryer and decided to fix herself a sandwich. As Jess sat at the kitchen table eating her PB&J, it occured to her that this moment was just about pathetic. Here she was, eating a sandwich in her nightgown because she'd probably managed to ruin her favorite outfit, dreaming about some guy who'd saved her life from ending due to her own stupidity. Part of her thought it would've been better if he hadn't...
Putting her clean clothes back on, Jess resolved to hole up in her room and do some homework. She had remained there until her family came home chanting "WE LOVE TO SEE YOU SMILE!", which did not improve her mood in the least.
Jessica's mother had come up and handed her some french fries before interrogating her about school. She only gave her usual reply:
"You know, Mom, just the same old, same old."
Her mom had no idea who Chad was, and if Jessica had her way, she never would. Her mother would no doubt make it worse, giving her dating advice and bugging her all the time. If she wanted to go insane, she could easily manage that without her mother help.
Mrs. Matthews also didn't know why her daughter had detention. Jess had simply said that she'd mouthed off, which wasn't a lie, exactly. Her mother hadn't seemed too convinced, but she'd let it go. Jess had already decided against telling her mom about detention today, and unless she got a phone call from Principal Trenton, there was no reason for her to know.
Her mom left, and everyone had settled into the living room watching the usual Tuesday night shows.
Jessica didn't really enjoy spending time with her family, especially not while she oogled the hotties on Gilmore Girls, so she opted to watch it in her room.
After Rori had finished snogging her boyfriend, Jess clicked off the TV with a sigh. Life seemed more boring than ever right now, moreso even than during Mrs. Bryson's lengthy descriptions of the Himalayas this morning. But today, she smiled in recollection. Something had happened. She had met someone.
A guy.
A nice guy... a nice guy.
'But what kind of fifteen-year-old is in business?' she wondered for at least the fifteenth time today. 'Or has two names!'
This was definitely something that would plague her already crowded thoughts for a while. But right now, her brain was too tired to think. Jess fell asleep trying to remember whether or not the boy had had an accent.
While Jessica was dreaming of her mystery man, her parents were talking in the living room.
"Tom," her mother said, "are the boys asleep?"
"Yes."
"What about Jess?"
"Yes."
She nodded and turned off the television.
"Tom, we need to talk. I'm worried about Jessica."
Tom sat down with a heavy sigh. "Margaret, we've discussed this. Jessica is fine. She's an average teenager."
"No," Margaret argued. "She's not fine! She never smiles, and she's always in trouble. I got a call from her principal today at work saying she started a food fight. And yesterday, she told a teacher to stick her homework assignment up her ass!"
Tom looked shocked at the idea of his daughter saying something like that, but then he laughed.
"It's not funny, Tom! When I asked her about it, she lied to me! Jessica never used to lie. She used to tell me everything..."
"Margaret," he began with a smile. "Have you forgotten what you did in highschool?"
She instantly went a shade pinker. "No, Tom, I haven't. But that's completely different, and you know it."
"Is it now?" he asked. "I knew you in highschool, dear. I believe your daughter resembles you in more ways than your hair color. Of course, she hasn't locked the Math teacher in a closet yet."
"That we know of, anyway" Margaret muttered. "But if she's anything like me, we need to watch her more closely."
"Of course, dear."
"I mean, what if she gets expelled? Or what if she does something drastic, like those kids at Columbine! Or if she..."
Tom put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Relax and forget about it for now. I'm confident our daughter has enough common sense not to do anything irrational like that. Try to get some sleep, dear."
He kissed his wife on the cheek, and with a nod, she got up and went to their room.
Tom's smile vanished as soon as he heard the bedroom door close. In its place was a deep frown as he walked without a sound to his daughter's room. Peeking inside, he saw that Jess was asleep on her bed, still in the clothes she had been wearing that morning.
No matter how many times he told his wife that Jessica was an "average teenager", he knew it was a lie. The truth was, Jess had inherited something, and she would never be anything near average. All he could do was hope and pray that she would never have to face it like he did. No daughter of his would have to go through that.
But even with those last reassuring thoughts, something in the back of his mind wouldn't agree. It was as if, deep down, he knew Jess would continue to grow further away from them; but not for the reasons her mother assumed.
Tom shut her door and padded back to the living room with the same unnerving lack of sound as before. Cameron Diaz was supposed to be on Letterman tonight - he didn't want to miss that.
End A/N For everyone who knows what was in this chapter originally... hush. It'll come eventually. :D 'Till then, how about a review?
