Disclaimer: Don't own too much. The plot, Juliet, and that's about it.

Juliet

Chapter 3

Frustration

Later that night, Juliet lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She tried to relax and concentrate on sleep, but the image of a cigarette, burning in the darkness, made her eyes snap open. Why was she thinking about Dallas Winston? So far, he had been nothing but cold and downright rude to her. He deserved no space in her thoughts. So…why was she giving him one? Why was Dallas Winston keeping her up at night?

She went over their conversation from earlier in their head, playing through each look, remembering each scarce smile. Why was he nice and friendly when it was just them, but defensive and silent when others were around? It just didn't make sense. She sighed in frustration and turned on her side, facing the wall. She would put Dallas Winston and his stupid remarks out of her mind. She finally fell asleep, thinking of playing football with the boys.

The next two weeks went by, but Juliet didn't seem to notice. The boys and her played football in the afternoons, and hung out at the Curtis' in the evenings. Her days were fun, her nights peaceful. Dallas hadn't come around much. He dropped in occasionally and checked on Johnny, gave a scowl to Juliet, and then hurried out without so much as a backward glance. But what did Juliet care? He meant nothing to her.

One afternoon, she was sitting on the front steps of her own house, reading her favorite book, Jane Eyre. She hadn't felt like going to the DX with Soda and Steve, and sitting around the Curtis house alone didn't sound like a barrel of monkey's either. So she'd settled on reading outside in the warm sun. She'd just gotten to the part where Jane meets Mr. Rochester for the first time when an unpleasantly familiar voice interrupted her focus, "Good book?" She glanced up and saw Dallas hopping over the fence and striding towards her. She frowned and rolled her eyes before replying, "Yes, actually, it is."

He stopped and sat on the brick steps beside her and asked, "What is it?"

"Nothing you've ever heard of, I'm sure."

"Try me."

"Jane Eyre."

"Ah, Charlotte Bronte. Not bad, not bad at all."

She was stunned, and her face definitely showed it. She sputtered out, "You've read Jane Eyre? Are you kidding me?"

He replied, "No…what, I can't read from time to time?" She didn't say anything, just continued to stare at him with a look of utter disbelief on her face. He finally said, "Well don't look so surprised…"

Juliet finally found her words again and replied, "I'm sorry, I just can't…picture you…reading. Especially not reading Jane Eyre."

"What's wrong with Jane Eyre?"

"Nothing, it's my favorite book. I just can't see you liking it."

"Why not? I don't look like I can read or something?"

"No, you're taking this the wrong way. I'm just saying, you don't strike me as the reading type. And definitely not the Jane Eyre reading type."

He smiled slightly and replied, "And what's a 'Jane Eyre reading type', huh?"

"Well, smart, intellectual, feministic…maybe even a little philosophical."

"And I don't strike you as any of those things? Not smart, charming, intellectual?"

She laughed shortly and responded, "Charming? Who said anything about charming?"

"Alright, alright, I was joking. Seriously, though. You don't think I'm smart, intellectual, or feministic?"

"Hah! Feministic? You? You told me to keep quiet that first night at the Curtis house, with just a hint of an "a woman is to be seen and not heard" attitude. And then there's playing football with you. Oh, I'm sorry. Playing "a man's game" with you. You could not be any less feministic."

He didn't respond for a minute. He finally shrugged and stood up. He looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry," before walking away. Juliet's stomach flopped. She called out to him, "Another sorry? Wow. What's this one for?"

"You're reading Jane Eyre, so you've got to be intellectual and smart, right? You can figure it out."

He hopped back over the fence and strode across the street, never once turning around. Juliet stayed on the front steps, her face frozen in a look of shock. She thought to herself, "What the hell?"

That night in the Curtis living room, Juliet sat in between Steve and Soda on the couch. Her mind was in a daze. As hard as she tried to fight it, she couldn't get Dallas Winston's eyes out of her head. Those dark, brown eyes with their long lashes. She stopped herself before she went any further and settled into the couch deeper, trying to immerse herself into the conversation between Sodapop and Steve.

"No way, man, the Rocket 88 is way faster! The Chevy Corvette's engine pales in comparison!" Steve was practically shouting.

"So the engine on the Rocket is bigger, that doesn't mean it's better! The Corvette has better acceleration, and matches the Rocket for top speed. Plus the body on the Corvette is way better!" Soda argued back.

"You're crazy, Soda! No way the Corvettehas higher acceleration. And what does the body have to do with a race, huh?"

"I swear it does!"

"Oh yeah? Where'd you learn that?"

"It's just a known fact! Face it, Steve. In a race, the Corvette would totally smoke the Rocket."

"I will believe that when I see it."

Juliet smiled and ruffled Steve's hair. He turned with a smile and winked at her. She said quietly, "For what it's worth, I think the Rocket's better, too." She winked back as he smiled wider and flung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug.

That next week, Juliet was lying on her bed, still reading Jane Eyre. She didn't dare go read outside, afraid she'd catch the attention of an unwanted visitor. She'd gotten so used to the silence, she jumped a little when a knock came at the door. She called out, "Come in, Ma." She knew Steve wouldn't knock. And besides that, he was at the DX again with Soda.

Alexandra came in and smiled before sitting on the foot of the bed. She asked, "You enjoying your book?" Juliet nodded and replied, "Yeah, it's just as good as the last 36 times I've read it." Alexandra laughed and said, "I'm sure it is."

There was silence. Juliet finally broke it, "Was there something you needed, Mom?"

"Oh, just wondering when you were going to decide if you were staying here or not…"

Juliet groaned, shoving her bookmark into the book and tossing it onto the floor. She replied, "Not this again!"

"What do you mean, 'again'? I haven't brought this up in at least a month."

"Which means I've still got a month and a half left here. Give me some time, Mom!"

"Well, just think about it, Julie! Think of all the possibilities! You'd stay close to Steve and all of your new friends. You'd be out of that neighborhood your father lives in. You'd be back home! It's the right decision!"

"Right or not, I don't want to make that decision right now. You'll have to wait."

"I wasn't asking for a decision right this second, Julie. I just wanted to know when you were going to do the decision-making!"

Juliet laughed dryly and got up off the bed, grabbing her leather jacket, and answering as

she did so, "How's August 31st sound to you?"

"Would you be serious for one minute, please?"

"Mom, this is the exact reason I left. You are over-bearing, and you're suffocating me. I can't handle it."

"I'm not suffocating you, Juliet. I simply asked a question!"

"And you're trying to pressure me into making the decision that you want! It doesn't matter to you what I think or what I feel. What matters is that you get your way. That's the way it's always been. I was stupid to think anything had changed." She left the room and hurried down the steps, trying to take as little time as possible. She opened the door and headed outside, sliding into her black leather jacket. As she opened the gate and stepped out into the sun, away from the cooler shade of the trees, she immediately shrugged out of the jacket and tossed it on the other side of the fence. She knew no one would steal it here.

She headed down the street, not caring where she went. She didn't understand how that conversation had turned into a fight. It had lasted for maybe five minutes! She just didn't understand why her mother couldn't leave her be. She was twenty years old, for Christ's sake, she didn't need her mother butting into her life.

She was so absorbed in her inner rant, that she didn't notice the person walking in her direction until she'd plowed right into him. She immediately snapped back into the real world and cried out, "Glory!" She blinked a few times and looked at the person she'd run into. He was tall, with dark hair and bright green eyes. He was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans with black Converse. He was staring at her, but not angrily. It was more of a look of confusion. He asked, "You okay?" She replied quickly, "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" He nodded. She continued, "Jeez, I'm sorry."

He shrugged, smiled, and replied, "Don't worry 'bout it. It's all good. What's your name?"

She sighed and smiled, holding her hand out as she answered, "Juliet. You?"

He shook her hand and said, "I'm Mark."

"You new around here?"

"Yeah, kind of. I lived here for a while when I was younger. We just moved back last week."

Juliet smiled and started walking again, motioning for him to follow her, "Ah. So where'd you move to?"

"Which time?" He laughed.

She paused and said, "There have been many?"

He laughed again and said, "Only about twenty-three in the last twenty-one years that has been my life."

"Wow, that's quite a hefty list."

"The first place I remember being is Kansas City, and then here. Then we moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, but that didn't last long. Then came Houston, Texas for about a year. Then Richmond in Virginia, Tallahassee down in Florida, then back up north to Rhode Island in Providence. That was all in the space of a year and a half. Then we came back to Texas in Dallas. Then comes Boise, Idaho, Des Moines, Iowa, and Louisville, Kentucky. One important thing to remember about Louisville, don't mispronounce it," He laughed. Juliet smiled, enjoying listening to him ramble. He continued, "Then we moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the country music capital of the U.S. Then it's up to Rochester, New York, then back south into Charleston, South Carolina. I haven't been back to the East Coast since then. After that, we went to Albuquerque, New Mexico, then Helena, Montana, and Ontario, Oregon. That was the longest time I spent anywhere. A year and a half solely devoted to Ontario. Finally we get to where I just moved from, Salt Lake City, Utah. And now I'm here."

Juliet's head was spinning. There was no way she would ever remember all of those cities, and she had no idea how he could. She finally asked, "Why do you move so much?"

Mark stopped smiling and said, "My mom's got some issues. Mainly with men."

Juliet nodded and replied, "I understand. My dad's got problems with women. But he doesn't move around to get away from them."

He laughed again before replying, "We should set them up. Maybe they'd straighten each other out."

Juliet laughed shortly before answering, "That could work, if my dad didn't live in Texas."

"Ah, Texas. The only state other than Oklahoma where I've ever lived more than once." This time, Juliet joined him in his laughter.

They reached Juliet's front gate. She pointed at the house and said, "This is my house. I should probably go inside. But I'll see you around, okay?" Mark smiled and nodded. She smiled widely at him before turning and walking to her front door, picking up her discarded jacket along the way. She turned on the top step to wave to Mark, but he'd already started walking back the way they'd come. Disgruntled, she went inside and to her room.

AN:

Hey guys! Sorry this took so long. I was in this theatre competition, so I was concentrating on that. But here is chapter 3!

Note #1: Like my Jane Eyre reference? I read it in 10th grade. I just picked some classic novel for Juliet to read, nothing too fancy, but nothing generic. Hope you liked.

Note #2: I'm anticipating questions about Mark, this new guy. About what, I can't be sure. But do you guys hate the idea of him being around? This was just a little teaser about him. He will be in later chapters, but I haven't quite decided on how much yet. So, let me know if you like him or not!

Note #3: I don't know if any of you watch Gilmore Girls, but I got the entire series for Christmas. And throughout the past few chapters, I've based Dallas off of Jess, and Alexandra off of Emily Gilmore. Just a little bit, though. In Gilmore Girls, Jess is to Rory what Dallas is to Juliet. He's a jerk when they're around others, but when it's just them, he's a genuinely nice guy, and the macho-man-façade melts away. And Emily Gilmore is to Lorelei how Alexandra is to Juliet. Always has the best intentions, but doesn't understand that her daughter doesn't want the same things she does. Anyway, just thought I'd point it out.

Note #4: Some of Dallas' behavior will get explained better at some point. The why's of his actions get explained, but not for awhile.

Note #5: Thanks to my few reviewers and favorite-story-adders! You really helped keep my spirit up! I love you all!

Please, please, please, PLEASE review! I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions!

Love always,

DC