Chapter Ninety-Three

John rolled over in his sleep, wrapping his arms tightly around the girl at his side. He smiled at his dream, the image of him in a black tux and Claire in the most beautiful wedding dress standing at the alter in the middle of the woods. His dream self smiled as he said the words "I do." He leaned down, pressing the sealing kiss to her lips, sealing their vows.

Claire sighed as the heat of John's body warmed her under the blankets of his bed, breathing his scent as she slowly woke. The early rays of morning sun filtered through his window, landing on John's cheek and showing the warm caramel tones in his skin. She noticed that he seemed to be getting his normal tan back, the dullness left from the withdrawals of the meth and other drugs in his system seemed to have given way to a healthier glow. She smiled, running her fingers over his beard, curling a few of the hairs around her finger and gently pulling them straight to see how long he'd been able to grow it. She giggled as John made a face in his sleep, his nose wrinkling as he turned his face to the pillow. "John…" She whispered, knowing now that it was best to wake him as gently as possible to avoid scaring him. "Sugar… time to get up."

John shook his head, burying his face in her chest as he hugged her even closer.

Claire rolled her eyes, rubbing her fingers through his hair as she tried to coax him from his slumber. "Come on Sugar, we've gotta get up."

John sighed, lifting his head to look at her. He placed his hand on her cheek, running the pad of his thumb under her eye, feeling the long lashes on his finger tip. He smiled, kissing her rosy lips as the sunlight hit them.

Claire wrapped her hand around the back of his head, her fingers touching the nape of his neck. She pushed herself closer to him, gasping as he flipped on top of her his weight resting on her as his arms supported some of his mass while he let his hips rest on hers. She moaned as his mouth found hers letting him show her what he couldn't say. She could feel his manhood becoming hard under his sweatpants and boxers, knowing what his body wanted and that he was fighting his instincts to love her the way he wanted to. "John…" She breathed, feeling him start to move against her. "Not yet."

He nodded, pushing himself back on his knees before crawling out of the bed. He pulled a t-shirt and flannel from his dresser, tugging them on before grabbing a pair of the new jeans that Clarissa had bought him. He pulled them on, buttoning them over his hips and zipping the fly closed as Claire gave a little whistle at how his butt looked in the new Levi's. He smirked, turning around to look at her as she waggled her eyebrows at him.

She giggled, walking over to him and slipping her hands into his back pockets as he wrapped his hands around her waist. "You've got a nice ass." She squeezed his butt, emphasizing her point with her nails.

He dropped his hands a little, resting them over her rear just before Thomas knocked on his doorframe.

Thomas raised his brow at John, pointing to his daughter. "Claire, get dressed. John, watch the hands."

John nodded, letting Claire go to her room to dress.

Claire squeezed John's hand as they walked up to the school, noticing that he wasn't as tense as he normally would be at school. "Do you think the-"

He nudged her, making it clear he didn't want people to know of the acupuncture.

Dominic walked them inside, watching as they turned to go to their lockers and he went to his. He paused when he saw Jessica's cousin Jade waiting for him there, setting his Bender Glare in place as he walked up to get his stuff.

Jade looked up at the tall boy, noticing that he hadn't shaved for a couple days. "Are you growing your beard out?" She asked, remembering how nice his cousin looked with his.

Dominic shrugged, popping his locker open and placing his coat inside before he grabbed a textbook for his Spanish class. "I just didn't feel like shaving." He slammed his locker shut, starting off for his class in hopes of getting away from the girl.

Jade ran after him, her fingers brushing against his shoulder. "Wait." She jumped as he turned on her, forcing herself to look him in the eye. "I know that you don't like Jess very much-"

"Like her isn't even on the scale. It's more of a hate and murder with my baseball bat scale." He growled, looking the girl in the eye.

Jade nodded, knowing what a pain Jessica could be. "I just want you to know that I would never be as nuts as she is. My aunt Katelyn actually sent her to a mental hospital when she was ten for being a little boy crazy…" She looked up at the young man before her. "I'm sorry if she embarrassed you with what she said the other day."

He cocked a brow, leaning on the locker beside him. "What? About me being a good lover?" He chuckled as she nodded, shaking his head with the fuzzy memory. "I was drunk off my ass and I had a few joints in me, so I don't remember a whole hell of a lot about that other than taking her virginity."

Jade nodded, remembering how Jessica had bragged to her about it. "She's kind of a slut."

Dominic tilted his head, faking offense at her words. "Does that make me a man-whore?"

Jade covered her mouth, kicking herself for offending the boy she had a crush on. "I'm so sorry- I didn't mean anything bad about you… it's just Jessica hasn't ever been the most moral and she's, she's a little nuts."

Dominic laughed, starting to see that Jade wasn't crazy like Medusa was. "I'm fucking with you." He smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "I think she might have just slept with me because I look like John." He looked up as a ruckus rose over by John and Claire's lockers. "Excuse me."