Chapter Three-Hundred and Thirty-Nine
Jessica crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one foot. "So, you're back from Florida?" She sneered, looking John over to see that the circles under his eyes had returned. He'd dropped weight, his usually caramel colored skin was now the color of pale brandy, his hair had lost its shine, and he obviously hadn't shaved for at least a few days.
Claire shoved herself between Jessica and her man, her lip curling. "Go away, Jess." She snapped, letting John place a hand on her shoulder.
Jessica stepped forward, yelping when Claire gave her a hard shove into a booth. "You bitch!"
"Leave us alone." Claire growled, turning back to John before Jessica could respond. She touched his cheek, biting her lip when she saw the shock, pride, and attraction in his eyes. John's eyes shifted above her head, and Claire turned, landing a hard punch to Jessica's nose. "Back the fuck off!" She ordered, ignoring the way her stomach turned at the sight of blood rushing from the other girl's nose.
Jessica wiped the blood under her nose, smearing it over her face. She screamed as Claire faked toward her, scurrying out of the Ice Cream Hut like a mouse in the path of a cat.
John gave a classic burner smirk, wrapping one hand around Claire's waist and pulling her into the strongest kiss he could manage at the time. "You're so fucking hot." He whispered, tangling his fingers in her fiery hair.
Andy chuckled, punching Brian on the shoulder. "Alpha called to alpha." He grinned, ignoring the urge to kiss Allison since he knew she didn't like kissing in public like John and Claire did.
Justin scribbled in a blue notebook, listening as Steve rambled on about some kind of new idea he had. "Steve, you're nuts. A computer could never fit in your pocket." He rolled his eyes as Steve babbled on about what he would call this device. "A Smart Phone?" He laughed, shaking his head. "You're insane, man. No way can we stop work on the laptop right now, your 'smart phone' can come next." He nodded. "Uh huh… alright I'll see you at work tomorrow." He sighed as he hung up, rubbing his head as he flipped the book closed. "Ohh… shit…" He cursed when he saw that John's name was scribbled onto the back of the cover.
"Phoebe!" Amelia screamed as a loud splash echoed from the backyard. "Phoebe!"
Justin bolted to the backdoor, freezing when he saw Phoebe sinking to the bottom of the pool. "Shit!" He rushed down the steps of the deck, his heart stopping when John's thin form appeared at the gate.
"Mouse!" He pulled his shirt over his head, diving into the deep end without a second thought to the fact that he couldn't swim very well himself.
Justin could swear that the entire world was holding its breath. He waited for John and Phoebe to break the pool's surface and just as he was ready to dive in after them, John lifted Phoebe over the edge of the pool. "Phoebe!" He rushed forward, jumping back as John glared at him.
"You were supposed to be watching them!" He shouted, flipping some water from his hair as Phoebe started to cough up the water. He shoved Justin backwards, causing him to fall into the grass. "She could have died!"
Justin shrank back when he saw John's eyes go black, the pupils being swallowed by the irises. He flinched as John's hand wadded in his t-shirt and he raised the other as if to punch him. "John…"
Just as John's fist started to move toward Justin's face, he was pulled back by a hand around his hips. "Let me go!"
Andy pinned John under his own weight, praying that his strength would hold out longer than John's could. "John. Don't be Jacob." He grunted as John struggled underneath him.
"No!" John screamed, kicking and squirming as Andy held him.
Claire shoved Andy off of her man, able to hear the true fear in his voice. "Stop! He's having a flashback!" She jumped back as John writhed on the ground, forcing tears back as he started to twitch. "No…" She whispered, all to aware of what was happening. "Call Dad!" She ordered, taking John's head in her hands and clamping his jaw shut as the seizure took him.