I don't own anything that you recognize from the movie Jumper. I only own my OCs.

From Where You Are ~ Lifehouse


Once we entered the store, I felt safer.

I know that a store isn't the safest place in the world, but it's safer than most places.

I gave Anne half of the list and told her not to take too long, then I let her go.

I walked around the food sections.

I got everything that I needed in a matter of twenty-five minutes.

I figured that Anne wasn't done yet and got caught up in the clothes.

I sighed and walked over to the game and entertainment sections.

I was walking around and checking the DS, GameCube, PS2, and Wii games when I heard something.

I looked around the corner and saw a guy in all black with messy brown hair walking out of the aisle.

I blushed but shook it off when I thought that I was being ridiculous.

Though...he is cute...

I decided to follow him a little bit, but make it so he wouldn't notice.

Every second that I was with him, the more and more he reminded me of Griffin.

I started to get sad.

The guy saw me and started walking towards me.

I looked up at him with tears streaming down my face.

"What's your problem?" He asked, though, it seemed like he was threatening me.

I shook my head.

"Oh, I see. Too good to tell it to a complete stranger. Fine, be like that. Have fun wallowing in your own self-pity."

He said as he began to walk away.

"Griffin." I said simply.

He stopped dead in his tracks and paused.

I found that a little odd, but continued on.

"You remind me of my childhood friend named Griffin O'Conner."

He turned around to face me.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Melody, Melody Fishburn, though, I prefer Melody Zoelzer. It's my dad's last name."

The man seemed to ponder a thought or two for a second, and then replied.

"Well, I'm sorry to say that I don't know a Griffin O'Conner."

I looked down, even sadder.

The man seemed a little bummed that I didn't get happier and go 'oh, well, sorry for the mix up' or 'thank you for telling me, now I must be on my merry way' or something along those lines.

"You really miss that guy, don't you?" He asked.

I nodded so fast that, for a second, I thought that I was going to give myself whiplash.

He sighed and bent down to my level.

He looked at me for a couple seconds before tapping my shoulder softly.

A jolt went through my body like lightening, but it felt good.

I brushed it off, thinking that it was the same feeling that I get when anyone touches me, I'm just being more aware.

"Listen, I really can't help you. I'd like to, honestly, but I can't."

I was starting to calm down.

I rubbed the tears off of my cheeks and nodded again.

"Wh-what's y-our na-me?" I asked, kind of still sobbing.

He looked at me like he was trying to come up with something.

"Neal." He said after a second.

"Neal?" I echoed back.

He nodded this time.

"Ok."

A pause.

He got up and was about to walk away until I shot up and asked: "Would you like to have dinner?"

He stopped for a second, turned back around to me and answered: "Nah, I have other things to do."

I started to get scared.

"Oh, but please! It'll only be dinner! You don't have to stay or anything. You can get in, eat, and leave if you want!"

I partially yelled to him.

People were looking at this point.

He hesitated again.

"Alright, sure, whatever, as long as you keep quiet."

I smiled at this and it must have seemed odd because my tear streaks were still on my cheeks.

'Well, their goes Anne's plans.'

"Oh, one more thing. We have another guest too, though I wish we didn't have this guy. His name is Roland."

Neal immediately froze up and looked incredibly ticked off like the person in front of you in a line just took the last concert tickets after you've been waiting for five days to get them.

"Roland?"

He practically shouted throughout the whole store.

I got a little scared.

"Y-yeah. He works with my mom and my stepfather." He seemed to calm down a little, but not much.

"I'm sorry, I can't go to dinner with you now."

He was about to walk off when I grabbed his shoulder.

"How do you know Roland anyways?" I asked him.

He started fidgeting in the way that Griffin did and looked like he was debating whether or not to tell me.

"Are you a Jumper?" I whispered to him.

He froze again and stared at me shocked.

I smiled at him.

"Then no worries. I'm on your guy's side. I hate Paladins and I hate what they do. Though," I got out the list of Jumper names that I decided to take at the last second. "I don't see your name on the list."

"I'm a new Jumper!" He replied hastily.

That was too fast for my taste, but I decided to let it go.

My cell phone rang and I dug it out of my pocket.

I looked at the caller id on the phone.

Anne.

I answered the phone with a: "Hey."

{OMG! You would never believe the discount that they're giving here!} She practically screamed into the phone.

I had to take my ear off of it and it seemed that even Neal heard it.

I put my ear back onto the phone after I knew that she was done.

"Yeah, probably not."

{They have the cutest tops ever AND they're sixty percent OFF!}

"Heh, well, I'm making a prediction. I'm predicting that YOU'RE going to have to pay for your clothes." She whined at that.

{AWWWW, but Mel, I really, REALLY LIKE these clothes!}

I sighed.

"I'm sorry, I just can't pay for them. We're already going to be punished today anyways." I said looking up at the nearest clock.

It read 6:45 pm.

"It's practically dinner time and I haven't fed the lazy jerks plus serial killer their food yet."

{Serial killer? Who's that? Oh, are you talking about Mr. Roland? Come on. I know that he looks like it, but he certainly doesn't act like it.}

"Neither did Grandpa Happy, but you know that he was an assassin!" I shot back.

It was quiet on the other end of the phone for about two seconds.

{Do you really think he's a serial killer?} I heard her whisper back.

I sighed and fidgeted.

I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but I didn't want to lie to her either.

"Look, we don't really have time for this conversation. I have another guest coming over and I have to figure out a way to make him and Roland not kill each other."

She laughed hard on the phone that I had to pull it away from my face again.

Neal heard it and didn't look too happy that she was laughing.

"Done yet?" I screamed back into the phone without putting it back on my face.

She quieted down and I put it back onto my ear.

{Yeah yeah, ok. So, what do you plan to do?}

I smiled.

"I think that my ten-year-old self wants some payback."

I could feel her smile at the other end and I had to pull the phone away from my ear again as she shrieked.

{Yeah! The sister that I know and love is back in business!}

I couldn't help but laughing a little.

"So, when we get home, follow my lead."

{M-Kay!}

With that, she hung up the phone.

I hung up my phone and put it away.

"Nobody ever says goodbye anymore." I told Neal.

He nodded with a small smile on his face.

"So, how are you going to get Roland to not recognize me or me attack him?" He asked. "Well," I started.

"I can't make you not attack him, but I'm trusting you to not do anything rash. As for the 'not recognizing you' part, I think I have an idea. Follow me!"

I grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him towards the clothes section and towards Anne.

If she couldn't help, I don't think it's possible.

We finally got there and Anne had quiet a bit of clothes in her shopping cart.

I stopped as soon as she noticed me.

"Whoa. You have, um, quite a bit of clothes there."

She laughed.

"I bought some for you too silly!"

I shook my head at her hyperness.

"Ok, listen Anne. This is our guest, Neal."

She looked at Neal as he nodded towards her.

She smiled and blushed.

She then pulled me towards her.

"Wow, he's hot Mel." She whispered in my ear.

I looked at her discussed.

"Can't you think about other things when you see a guy?" I whispered harshly back at her.

She shrugged and let me go.

"Anyways," I said walking back to Neal and glaring a little at her.

"We need to change his appearance because him and Roland have-"

"It's MR. Roland, MR. Geez, you never really like giving respect to people, do you Mel?" I got a little ticked off at her.

"I just don't like this guy and he hasn't done anything to make me respect him, so, no."

She frowned a little, but shrugged after seeing my point in her head and, apparently, agreeing with it.

"Back to the point. Neal and Roland don't really get along, so, we need to make Roland not recognize Neal."

Anne looked at me puzzled.

"Ok? Why don't we just have him eat elsewhere?"

I paused.

A good point.

I smiled at her and she got the idea that was going through my head.

She smiled too.

"Ok, let's go home."

Anne jumped up and down with glee, and then started to the checkout aisle.

I tugged on Neal's jacket, like I did with Griffin's t-shirts, and headed off towards the direction Anne went.

"Does she know about us?" Neal asked in a whisper.

"No. I promised Griffin that I wouldn't tell anybody about Jumpers or what they do or even who's after them." I whispered back.

"Hey you two lovebirds! Hurry up! I want to start the party!" Anne yelled at us. I blushed and Neal had a tint of blush on his cheeks.

"Anne!" I yelled at her.

She knew that she was going to have it then.

She squealed and giggled as she ran around to the other side of her cart.

Once I reached the cart I scolded her.

"Act your own age, Anne! You're not a kid anymore so stop acting like one!"

She laughed a little.

"Yeah yeah. Sorry mom!" She mocked.

I was taken back and looked down sadly.

She noticed and quieted down, knowing the truth behind our close relationship.

I practically had to raise her since she was born.

Dad, though, took care of the diapers; I pretty much did the rest since mom wasn't really, well, doing anything.

She normally was out doing God knows what or in front of the computer.

She never had any time for Anne, or me, so someone had to step up and raise Anne.

Poor Neal looked a little lost and uncomfortable in the awkward silence Anne and I created.

The cashier rung up our bill and we paid for it.

I tugged on Neal's jacket as we made our way to the car.