Chapter 7: Family & Friendly Matters

~ February 18th, 2019 ~

Jackson Fuller was sitting in the school parking lot after his MMA training session waiting patiently for Ramona to finish so he could go home. The other girls on the dance team had informed him that they did not need a ride this week as they had things to do post-dance practice. Jackson was curious about this but gave the girls their privacy when they wanted it. Jackson was sitting with his head back and eyes closed just listening to the silence. In his home silence is a rare commodity so every once in a blue moon when he has a moment to himself, he just sits back and enjoys the quiet. That is until his surrogate sister ruins the moment by loudly tapping on the window of Steve's Audi.

"Wake Up Jackson!" Ramona practically screams at the relaxed young man.

"I swear you wait until the exact moment that I'm at rest to do that Ramona!" Jackson tells the young Latina as he rubs his eyes with his right hand. Jackson reaches to the left with his free hand and finds the button for the power lock unlocks the car door. With the locks disengaged Ramona opens the backdoor first and puts her single-strap red backpack on the floor of the backseat. Closing the door rather loudly, she then opens the front passenger side door and climbs in.

"So... how was your training session?" Ramona asks Jackson. The two always make small talk when they are alone to catch up. When the other girls are around usually one of them will ask Jackson about his afternoon and Ramona will just sit back and listen intently as her surrogate brother goes into what he did. On the days they have off of school Ramona has ventured once or twice with Jackson to see the training facility to see what goes on (and check out the guys).

"More of the same. I'm a little sore but in a good way." Jackson states.

Ramona reaches over and squeezes Jackson's bicep some. "Woah... not the scrawny Jackson Fuller that you were only a few short months ago." Ramona states.

In addition to martial arts training, the facility has a full gym for men and women to work out. Jackson's once flabby muscles are much firmer than they were even after football season. He's not a bodybuilder by any means but Ramona did wonder what he would look like in a year if he continued like this.

"Ok Ramona... you obviously want to talk about Valentine's Day or else you wouldn't have talked the girls into finding other means home. Ask me what you want to know already." Jackson says calling out Ramona. In all honesty, he is surprised that she wasn't hovering over his head when he woke up Friday or Saturday. By Sunday Jackson just figured she was biding her time to get him alone.

Ever since Ramona's father bought the old Gibbler home he has been trying to persuade his family to move in with him. Currently, the only person living with him full time is Ramona's uncle, Jimmy Gibbler. As the house was designed by the same architect as the Tanner/Fuller house the two structures have the same designs only mirrored. Ramona's room in the Guerrero house is the same size as the room Jackson and Max currently occupy. Ramona has started to spend the weekends in her father's home as it is considerably quieter than the Fuller house. Ramona has even convinced her father to remove the more... outlandish aspects of the old Gibbler house and turn it into something more modern (ala the Fuller house).

"What makes you think I care about your love life?" Ramona asks not looking at the Caucasian male. The silence was deafening and when Ramona looked to her left (without moving her head) Jackson was just glaring at her.

"All right..." Ramona finally relents. "Spill it... how long have you and Sienna been an item?" Ramona asks.

"We are not an item... or to be more precise, we are not dating. Or weren't." Jackson informs his nosy part-time housemate.

"That's not what it looked like to me..." Ramona says but cuts herself off before she completed her sentence.

"And Rocki..." Jackson adds smugly. He knew what Ramona was going to say.

"Who said anything about Rocki?" Ramona adds trying to deflect.

"Ok Ramona, I will share this with you if... IF... it stays between us." Jackson states. He glares at Ramona as he knows she can be a bit of a gossip.

"Ok..." Ramona relents.

"Promise me right now!" Jackson orders her.

"I promise that I will not tell anyone what you are about to divulge to me." Ramona reluctantly says holding up her right hand like she is being sworn in during a court trial.

"Ok, so ever since the day Rocki kissed me in the cafeteria I have been approached by a variety of girls... that you know, that wanted to find out if I was truly Full Lips Fuller, the best kisser in Bayview High." Jackson starts.

"Exactly how many girls that I know?" Ramona asks in surprise.

"That is not important. More than two but less than the whole school." Jackson says. "Anyways, as you know Rocki doesn't' like labels so we are not in a relationship. We kiss every so often... as you've seen, but that's it. The girls in question started popping up immediately after that incident but they all have a personal reason why they don't want to be exclusive with me either. So we have spent time getting to know one another. During Christmas break my kissing partners were all out of town so I went out on the 28th by myself. After a drive, I helped Sienna out of a potentially bad situation, and ever since we have started spending time together." Jackson relates.

"Sienna's the reason the girls won't commit... right?" Ramona asks her surrogate brother.

"Good guess," Jackson replies.

Ramona can understand how some girls in the school might think that. The Sienna that Ramona first met would probably have made their lives miserable at the drop of a hat. Over the last few months, Ramona and her teammates have noticed a sizeable change in Sienna's attitude. The Argentinian girl suddenly believes that Jackson is the reason for her personality change.

"So the two of you have gotten close over the past two months?" Ramona asks seeking clarification.

"Very close," Jackson says with a look that Ramona has never seen on his face before.

NO... Ramona thinks in her head. She wouldn't... "Exactly how close?" Ramona asks trying to provoke some kind of telling response from Jackson.

"Close enough that I would not divulge to anyone how close," Jackson says quite sternly.

Ohhhh... Jackson has never been this protective... the guarded about anyone or anything. Ramona thinks to herself. "So... where does that leave Rocki and your other girls?"

"I have a few more Valentine's Day dates to fulfill still. As I take them out I am telling the girls that I will not be their kissing partner any longer."

Ohhh... if he's putting a halt to kissing other girls then he has it real bad for Sienna! Ramona thinks. Jackson starts the car and is about to put it in drive when Ramona asks him one final question.

"Do you love Sienna?"

"I haven't said the words... but I think I do." He answers sincerely before taking the car out of Park and shifting into first gear.

~ Friday, February 22nd, 2019 ~

While Ramona had kept the most private aspects of her conversation with Jackson locked up (as promised) everything that was told her before the promise was up for grabs. Rocki was curious what her best friend had learned and Ramona was more than willing to share... to a point. Rocki understood the spot Ramona was in and the fact that if she divulged Jackson's secrets not only would Jackson be furious at the both of them but he would never share anything private with Ramona again.

One final bit of information that Jackson share with Ramona that wasn't of any real value to her but was of interest to Rocki was that Jackson had two dates over the weekend but his Friday was free. So, Rocki waited for Jackson to come out of the school Friday afternoon (her last class was close to the student parking lot) and she waited in her car for Jackson who was parked several cars away. Jackson saw her as he made his way to Steve's Audi and he waved hello before unlocking the car, climbing in, and starting the vehicle up.

Once he made sure that he could get out safely, Jackson headed off to his destination, the MMA Dojo. What he did not know was Rocki was only a car behind him. Rocki's little beater was nowhere near as nice as Steve's Audi (or Jackson's Acura) but it worked and got her from Point A to Point B safely and got good gas mileage. Rocki pulled into the parking lot as Jackson was walking into the Dojo carrying his training bag.

Rocki sat in the parking lot for a good fifteen minutes before she locked her car and ventured into the Dojo. She quickly learned that she was not the sole observer as there were several people in the, what she would later learn was dubbed, the fishbowl. Some were potential students, some were cheerleaders, and others were onlookers. One of the girls told Rocki that the trainees could not see them as this was a One-way mirror. The instructor had it put in so the trainees were not distracted by fans or the people looking on while they trained.

Rocki soon found Jackson who started in the physical training area. He was currently on the bench press and looked to be lifting about 100 pounds which she thought was quite respectable (for him). What she noticed more than the amount of weight was his muscle definition as she lifted the weights. His once scrawny arms that she rather enjoyed punching were, while still on the lean side, very well defined and his muscles were starting to grow. She didn't know how many times Jackson had lifted but she counted twenty-five before his spotter helped him return the bar to the rack.

Next Jackson adjusted the weights on the Leg extension machine and worked out there until the trainer blew the whistle and told everyone to switch up. Jackson finished his rep, stood up, and got ready to go to the next area. Rocki could see the group line up and when the whistle blew to begin the guys in Jackson's group began going through calisthenics-like moves. They would do push-ups, squats, rolls, and any number of other moves when the train gave a short whistle blow. This went on for a good half an hour after which the group downed a bottle of water to rehydrate and then it was on to their martial training. This piqued Rocki's interest as she watched the oldest Fuller go through the training motions like he was a pro. He punched, kicked, dodged, and grappled like he had been doing it all his life. Seeing it was 4:30 PM Rocki watched as Jackson climbed into the ring. The ring was on the far side of the training facility and the only way to see what was going on (from the fishbowl) was to watch via a television monitor.

Due to his growth spurt over the summer, Jackson Fuller now stood just under six feet tall which easily towered over Rocki's 5 foot 3 inches. This all came into her mind as Jackson stood looking up at someone that was easily a foot taller than herself. This guy had a lean build but as he was shirtless Rocki could see his six-pack abs and muscular arms and legs. He had a snarling expression on his face as he took up a fighting stance ready to lay into Jackson. Rocki saw that her friend that she made out with looked unphased by his taller buff opponent. Jackson got into a side stance, as opposed to the taller guy's head on (standing more like a collegiate wrestler).

Someone yelled, "FIGHT!" and the taller guy lunged in trying to rush Jackson and tackle him to the ground. Jackson not only stood his ground but delivered what Rocki could only describe as a push kick. Jackson stood firmly on his left leg, lifted his right leg up parallel to the ground, and when the taller opponent was within grappling range pushed forward and landed squarely in the man's face. As she analyzed the move she realized her description didn't do the move justice as this all happened in seconds and the taller man didn't even register Jackson's movement. Rocki barely believed it herself. The move doubly stunned the guy as he not only hit him in the face but sent him crashing down on his back. Rocki could swear she heard the man's head crack against the ring.

Jackson took a new combative stance as he waited for his foe to recover. Unlike the movies, this guy did not get right up. He was dazed and as it wasn't a real fight Jackson allowed him time to recover. Once the trainer made sure the guy could continue Rocki watched the bout. Jackson was methodical in the bout laying punches, kicks, and taking the larger man off his feet several more times before she watched Jackson knock him on his stomach and get him in what she was told is called a heel hook. The taller guy tried to fight his way out of it but Rocki eventually sees him tap out.

Having never watched a fight like this Rocki is quite impressed by Jackson. Both fighters are cheered on, Jackson for winning and his opponent for putting on a good fight and learning from his loss (well, one would hope he learned from his defeat). The trainer ends the session and this group all makes their way to the showers. Rocki makes her way out of the facility and back to her car but as she reaches into her sweater for her keys she finds they are missing. Rocki begins frantically checking her pockets but hears a jingling sound from behind her.

"Lose something?" The familiar sound of Jackson Fuller's voice asks as he shakes the keys.

"How..."

"The girl you were talking to is a friend of mine. She swiped your keys as she knew who you were." Jackson explains. "Do you think you're the first of my fan club to track me here and try and sneak out before I got cleaned up?"

"So how many people have done this?" Rocki asks taking her keys from Jackson's outstretched hand.

"Ahh, ahh, ahh... that would be telling Miss I don't believe in labels," Jackson states.

"So, off to go collect Ramona?" Rocki asks in an annoyed tone.

"No actually. She and the girls on the dance team are having a girl's night out. So, my evening is surprisingly free."

"Ohhh Really?" Rocki says with a glimmer in her eye.

~ 8:16 PM ~

Jackson Fuller found himself at Stow Lake for the first time with one of his female companions. Normally he took his dates out of the city to avoid Sienna or anyone that might report back to Sienna that Jackson was spotted with one of his secret partners. Rocki was not afraid of Sienna, if anything it was the other way around. As such Rocki picked this spot and Jackson obliged.

The pair were situated in Jackson's car which he had traded out with his mother's boyfriend and the two were currently locked in a passionate embrace. Rocki is straddling Jackson's lap, her lips are locked on the young man beneath her and she is giving him her all. Unlike previous encounters, Rocki seemed to be the more assertive one this time which is odd in her mind. As she deepens her kiss Jackson seems to be pulling away at times.

Since their first kiss, Rocki has noted that Jackson has become quite assertive and very skilled in the kissing department. She knew he had other partners to practice with and didn't mind this but there was something different this time around. His skill was still magnificent but it was his enthusiasm. He just wasn't reciprocating her passion.

Pulling away from Jackson Rocki asks, "What's wrong?"

"I know this is going to sound cliché, but... it's not you, it's me." Jackson states sighing.

"You're right... that is cliché." Rocki states.

"I... I just don't feel right about this. I'm sorry... my heart just isn't into this. It just doesn't feel right or the same." Jackson explains.

"It's because of Sienna... isn't it?" Rocki asks.

Jackson sighs as Rocki is the one girl that has more facts than any of the other girls. "Yes," Jackson says reluctantly. The more he thinks about it, the more he doesn't feel right being in this kind of position after being in such an intimate one with Sienna. Some guys could put it out of their minds and just look to add notches to their belt (or bedpost). Each girl is unique and special in their own right and Jackson loves that about them... but they are so special and he wants them to be happy. They all deserve that special happiness that he is starting to believe he has found. However, Jackson is no longer sure he can honestly provide the other girls that happiness given how he feels about Sienna.

Rocki plants one last kiss on Jackson's lips and returns to her seat. "I understand." The understanding was sincere but half-hearted. As she reaches over and fastens her seatbelt she begins to think she made a terrible error in judgment not committing to Jackson one of the many times he asked her to. While she likes the man he has become she now realizes that however many girls he has moved past her.

Once they are properly situated in the car Jackson starts the engine and once the car is warmed up she shifts into reverse. Once they've backed out of the parking spot Jackson shifts into first gear and they begin their journey back to the Harmon family home. The drive to her house is quiet as Rocki thinks about everything that has occurred between herself and Jackson since they first started spending time together. She had kept her feelings bottled in for so long, she only now realized that the reason she spent so much time with Jackson was that she was fond of him, more so than he ever cared to realize.

When he pulls up in front of her home Rocki doesn't say anything. She unbuckles her seatbelt, leans over, and places a kiss on Jackson's cheek. Pulling away the last thing Rocki says before exiting is goodnight. Jackson says nothing as Rocki's tone is obviously half-hearted given how their night went and he doesn't want to say anything that might turn the night from slightly disappointing to god awful. Jackson needed to get home, not because he was going to be late or anything, he just wanted to go lay on his bed and mull over in his head what was going to happen over the next two nights with his final two Valentine's day dates. As much as he was planning to make sure his last two dates had a fabulous time he knew he had to break it to them about what the future holds. He didn't know how well the others would take it. Rocki seemed unphased for the most part but she was always hard to read. Would Casey and Trinity be as understanding? The pair seemed to be getting more and more affectionate with him. Were he a true player he thought that he might be able to bed the two of them in short order.

But that wasn't who he was.

Jackson cared for the pair so much that he could never do that to them and Sienna. Casey and Trinity were the first after Rocki to spend time with him and helped his confidence. No, he would take them out, and let them choose where they would have dinner and what they would do afterward. At the end of the evening, he would break the news about the change in his feelings and their overall relationship. It was going to be a very long weekend, Jackson thought to himself.

To Be Continued