As Ian is the last kid and I haven't written as much about him, this chapter is dedicated to the youngest Hudson. It's also the furthest into the future I've gone so far.
November 6th, 2041
He was screwed harder than a porn star in a gangbang and no amount of pleading, groveling, or bargaining was going to save his ass from the punishment he knew would rain down upon him once his mother got him home.
His parents had been in Thompson's office for about twenty minutes now and he was waiting for when her solid mahogany door would open and his name would be called to join them. As if being punished by Finn and Rachel wasn't bad enough, he still had the school to contend with. He was going to be expelled for sure. Ian Hudson would be the first and only person in his family to ever be kicked out of high school after less than three months of attendance.
It was his own damn fault. He knew better than to listen to Bartie and bring the weed he'd stashed at his house to school to give it back to him, but Bartie had somehow convinced him it would be fine. They would have no reason to search him or his locker if he played it cool. Playing it cool failed miserably however when his foot got caught in his messenger bag strap when he attempted to leave Global I, evacuating the contents of his bag all over the floor of Mr. Snell's room. The little baggie chock full of A-Train cannabis slid across the floor and landed right at the feet of his uptight and strict history teacher. Ian watched in slow horror as the middle aged man bent down to pick up the contraband and eye it distastefully before turning his fury filled gaze on him.
The man forced Ian to pick his things up and gripped his uniform lapel to drag him to the principal's office, chewing him out the entire time, where he had been sitting ever since. He had yet to see Thompson but when his parents had arrived, neither looked happy at having been called away from work in the middle of the day. Both were confused and when they asked him what he had done this time, he couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare at the floor.
He was definitely going to be expelled this time. It was his third strike and Thompson was not forgiving in the least when it came to breaking her rules. Once she made a senior boy cry after he accidentally scuffed up her new heel when his friend pushed him out of a classroom. There was no hope for him. Getting into a fist fight with his brother over a girl, skipping one out of three months of end of the day math classes to go get high with Bartie before he had to be home for chores, and finally getting caught with his main vice on school property was going to ruin his run at one of the best prep schools in all of Manhattan. His parents worked their asses off to provide the best opportunities for him and his siblings and how had he repaid them? By getting expelled. He was a fucking moron and it took ruining his life to realize it.
"Ian? Why don't you come in?" Thompson said as she opened the door and smiled at him. Well that was interesting. Was she that happy about kicking his ass out of school that she had to rub it in with a smile?
He stood up and towered over the petite woman as he hung his head and walked behind her into her dark and cold office. He hated coming to this place yet always seemed to end up there.
His dad stood up from his seat and offered it to him to sit in. Ian obliged and he felt his father put his hands on his shoulders and squeeze uncomfortably hard as he loomed behind him. Obviously he was fairly ticked off.
"Ian, do you have anything to say for yourself?" Thompson asked as she sat back down behind her desk and folded her hands.
He swallowed thickly and tried to ignore the disappointed stares coming at him from all angles, especially the one his mother wore. "I'm sorry. I should never have brought…what I brought, to school. It was stupid and irresponsible of me. I'll clean out my locker when we're done here." He bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"Why would you clean out your locker? You still have seven months of your freshman year to complete."
Ian's head shot up and he looked at his principal who appeared serious. "But what about the three strikes rule? If you get suspended three times, you get expelled because of the school's reputation or whatever."
Miss Thompson looked above him at his father before her hard eyes flickered back to him. She adjusted herself in her seat and spoke clearly. "While that is usually the rule, we are suspending it for the time being. I've been speaking with your parents and we all think that your behavior has a deep root that we need to find. You aren't a bad kid, Ian. You just have no focus. So, your parents and I have come to a compromise. If you serve one week of in-school suspension, meet with the school counselor twice a week, and attend all your classes, showing marked improvement from your current grades which are extremely low…we will allow you to stay here. You should consider yourself lucky because this policy is very strict and making an exception is a rarity. If I were you, I'd make these changes stick and try to stay off my radar from now on because next time, I will have no choice but to expel you."
Ian nodded quickly, internally vowing to change his ways…at least when it came to school. "Yes, Miss Thompson. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Tomorrow morning you are to report to the detention room and stay there. Same drill as the last two times."
"Yes, ma'am."
Miss Thompson stood and walked back around to the front of her desk, Rachel and Ian standing too. She put her hand out for his mother to shake and though she was smiling, Ian could tell his mother didn't care for Miss Thompson and the feeling appeared mutual. After their brief contact, she put her hand out for his father and her demeanor completely changed. She seemed like a giddy schoolgirl as she held his hand with both of hers and flashed a beaming smile at him. Her cheeks grew rosy as she pumped his hand repeatedly and for much longer than she had with Rachel.
Ian looked down at his mom and could see her roll her eyes at the display. "Are we free to take Ian home now?" Rachel interrupted, making Thompson drop Finn's hand finally.
She cleared her throat and pushed some hair behind her ear, somewhat flustered as she shook her head. "Yes, yes, of course." She leaned back against her desk and smoothed her hand over her chest, pursing her lips and exhaling as if she had just run a mile. Ian had a strong feeling that Miss Thompson had a minor crush on his father and that was the determining factor in her decision not to expel him.
They started toward the door until Thompson spoke again, "Oh, and Ian," they all turned back to face the principal, "if you bring illegal drugs onto my campus again, I will not only expel you, I will call the police. Possession is a crime and I will not be an accessory to it again."
Ian nodded at her and exited the office, sighing in relief. He hadn't been expelled or arrested and didn't even have to do that much to keep in line, he just needed to actually do his homework, not skip math, and hang out with Mrs. Oberforth twice a week. He smiled to himself until he caught his mother's blazing eye. That's when he realized that his hell was nowhere near over.
"There is absolutely no reason you should be smiling right now so I would wipe that grin off your face if I were you." The corners of his mouth dropped and he stared blankly ahead of him as he followed behind his father out to the street. No one spoke as Finn got them a taxi and they squeezed inside. They remained silent until arriving home.
Rachel led Ian into the living room. "Both of you out. Your father and I need a word with your brother." Liam and Zach looked at each other and back at Rachel. "Out!" They jumped off the couch and chair respectively and rushed out of the living room, down the hall and into their rooms. Rachel watched them slam their doors shut before pushing her giant son onto the couch and standing in front of him. She took a deep breath and lightly placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going to try to be rational and reasonable here, but I'm not making you any promises. You broke our trust, you broke the school rules, and you broke the law. Now, explain yourself."
Ian stared up at his parents, the guilt gnawing on him even more. They looked so angry and disappointed in him, and not in the aggravated way they usually did whenever he got into a fight or was caught sneaking out of the house or various other grievances against them. They actually looked sad.
"It wasn't mine, I swear." His mother scoffed and Finn sent her a pleading look.
"You said you would let him explain, Rachel." Finn nodded for him to continue and he took a deep breath.
"The only reason I brought that to school was because I was returning it to Bartie. He had to stash it here because Uncle Kurt finally caught on that he was smoking in his room and he didn't want him to take it when he searched his stuff. I know it was stupid and reckless to take it to school with me, but I wanted to get rid of it."
"Do you really expect us to fall for that?" Rachel eyed him critically.
"It's the truth! I don't have any! It was Bartie's. Sometimes I smoke with him, but I don't have any of my own stuff. I swear, Mom."
"Did you honestly expect that statement to help your case?"
"I'm trying to be honest! I know I'm going to be grounded no matter what I say so I might as well lay it all out."
Rachel sighed and rubbed her temples. "Ian, I just don't understand why you think this behavior is okay. Drugs are illegal, not to mention just plain stupid and hazardous to do, and you could have been arrested and you were nearly expelled! It's just a good thing Miss Thompson has a pathetic crush on your father and didn't want to upset him."
"Yeah, she was really serious about kicking you out," Finn added. "Wait, pathetic? What's that supposed to mean?" He turned to Rachel who placed a reassuring hand on his chest, her features softening considerably.
"Not you, Finn. She's just delusional if she thinks she can sway your affections." Rachel smiled at him. "You're mine. Anyway," she turned back to their son, "Ian, this needs to stop. You can't keep skipping classes and not doing your homework. You need to stop fighting with everyone you meet. You need to find a more creative and acceptable way to vent your feelings. It isn't healthy to beat people up or talk back to your teachers and us." She sat next to Ian on the couch and took his hand in hers. "And the drug use needs to stop."
"Okay. I'll try," Ian offered. "So…can I go to my room now? I should work on my homework."
"Not quite yet. There's still a grounding to be handed out."
"Isn't suspension enough?"
"Nope. This is how it's going to happen: you are going to go to school and stay there all day, paying attention in class and not interrupting with your usual antics; you will meet with Mrs. Oberforth on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And every day after school…"
Finn cut in, "You'll be meeting me like you're five years old again so I can walk you to the community center."
Ian groaned and threw himself back into the couch, pouting like a child. "The community center? Why do I need to go there?"
"Because you're going to find a hobby. We don't care what you pick, you just need to find something to do between the hours of four and six. They have arts and crafts, music, sports, theatre groups…if you can't find something that interests you, we will choose for you."
"And then at six, your father will pick you up and bring you straight home for dinner and then you will do your homework. Miss Thompson has informed all your teachers that they are to write down all your homework and we are to sign off that you completed it all just like in kindergarten. And unless it's for school or your two hour community center time, you are to stay in this house. No friends over, and no sneaking out to see them, until further notice."
Finn looked at him sternly making him uncomfortable. "If you're going to act like a little kid, we're going to treat you like one. Until you get your grades up and prove to us that you are at least making an effort, this is how things are going to be. We tried giving you the freedom to figure things out for yourself and going on the honor system, but you abused that freedom. If you want it back, you have to earn it. Understand?"
Ian nodded confirmation and sighed deeply. "Can I go now?"
"Sure. I'd suggest getting to work on your homework now since you'll be on dish duty tonight," Rachel informed him before standing with Finn. He moaned again and dragged himself up from the couch, grumbling lowly as he walked out of the living room.
Finn and Rachel looked at each other and she took a deep breath. "I hope finding him a creative outlet will help with all of this. The only thing he's ever shown genuine interest in outside of beating people up are aquariums and fish."
"Well, maybe he'll grow up to be a pool man or a fisherman," Finn shrugged and put his arm around Rachel's shoulders, leading her toward the stairs, "or maybe he'll join wrestling or boxing so he can fight people and it won't get him into trouble."
"He needs to realize how serious his actions were. Drugs on school property? What was he thinking? And I'm definitely going to have a word with Kurt and Blaine about Bartie. Do you think Ian was telling the truth about not having any of his own?"
"I think so. Ian has never really been one for lying when directly asked about things. He's too scared of you." Finn chuckled and kissed the top of Rachel's head.
"I guess we'll see how well this plan of ours will actually work tomorrow. I feel if he just finds something to strive for, he'll work harder. He's never had any major goals and it's led to his drifting."
"Not everyone can be you and know just what they want out of life by the age of two. Some of us can take a while. He'll figure it out."
November 7th, 2041
The next day was pure torture as Ian sat in the detention room alone working on reading To Kill a Mockingbird. He wasn't huge on reading anything but he supposed the book was alright. It just would have been a lot better if his teacher didn't try to shove theme after theme found in the book down his throat. That was the part about English he never liked, they never just let you sit and enjoy the story, you always had to be dissecting it piece by piece and it took the joy out of reading.
Growing tired of trying to figure out what three themes were found in chapter three, Ian put the book away and started working on math. Algebra, simple enough. Too simple really. He finished the in class worksheets as well as the homework in about thirty minutes. It hadn't even been a brain teaser. That was why he hated going to math. It bored him to tears to listen to the teacher explain how to show all work and solve the problem three different ways. If you knew how to solve the problem already, why bother learning another way to do it? Math wasn't challenging enough and if he didn't have such low participation and homework grades, he'd be passing no sweat since he always passed the quizzes and tests with 90 or better.
He finished his other subjects just as quickly and turned them in to the teacher stationed in the detention room to give to his subject teachers. He had finished everything but English by the time lunch rolled around.
"Time for lunch, let's go," Mr. Douglas announced as he pushed away from his desk and stretched. He led Ian down to the cafeteria and when they arrived, all eyes were on Ian. Hushed conversations began as he walked passed table after table to get to the line. It was unusual for there to be kids in in-school suspension as most of them were hoity-toity rich kids who were all vying for spots at Ivy colleges and needed to be perfect in their pursuit of a high school education or scholarship kids who simply couldn't afford to act out. Ian was an anomaly among them.
He and Mr. Douglas made it to the lunch line and stood there silently as they waited for it to creep along to the women dishing out the expensive, restaurant quality school food. The food was Ian's favorite perk of attending a private school.
"Hey Ian," a soft feminine voice called from behind him. He turned around to find Artemis Erikson standing behind him with her hands folded neatly in front of her. She was short, even shorter than his mother, with bright auburn hair done in a single braid over her shoulder, brilliant deep blue eyes hidden behind bright purple glasses and a light dusting of freckles across her nose. Though he didn't really know Artemis, she was kind of cute albeit a bit on the strange side. Her nose was always in a book and she didn't talk much, preferring to sit alone and focus on her journal she wrote in when she wasn't reading.
"Hey Artemis." He waved to her and turned back around, grabbing a tray.
"I heard you got your third strike. I'm surprised you're still allowed on school grounds. Thompson isn't usually known for leniency."
Ian shrugged and stepped up in line, ordering a cheeseburger and French fries. "She's got a thing for my dad so she didn't expel me."
"Oh. That's…nice?"
"Worked out for me. My mom isn't too pleased about it though."
"I would assume not."
Ian paid for his lunch and turned back to Artemis. "I gotta go back to the detention room. I'll see you around Artemis."
"Yeah, see you around. Good luck with your suspension," she called after him as he walked away.
The rest of the afternoon dragged by at a dreadful pace and having finished all his work, including English, he literally had nothing to do. After doodling for a while, Ian began to nod off but was quickly awoken by Mr. Douglas chucking a white board marker at him and yelling 'no sleeping!'.
Though it seemed like days spent in that classroom, he was finally allowed to leave but was quickly reminded that he had a meeting with Mrs. Oberforth when he nearly bowled her over making a mad dash for the stairs. She walked him back to her office and sat him down in the seat across from hers.
Their session lasted until 3:30 and all they had basically discussed was if he had done his homework. He explained how everything was finished by noon and she was rather impressed that it had all come so easily to him.
"Math is easy. It's just numbers and formulas and you're either right or wrong. There isn't a gray area," Ian explained when Mrs. Oberforth asked him why math was his favorite subject.
"If it's so easy, why do you think you're failing?"
"I know why I'm failing. It's freaking boring. Everyone in class seems perplexed by the simplest questions and we spend an entire class period going over one question while I'm finished with all of them in ten minutes. There's no challenge, so why bother wasting my time twiddling my thumbs when I can be doing something else I enjoy a lot more."
"Have you ever considered testing out and moving up to the next grade level?"
Ian sat up in his chair and leaned forward, attention showing on his face. "You can do that?"
"Oh yes. If the work isn't suited to the student there are ways we can fix that. There is no reason to keep you at a lower level if you're ready for something more advanced."
"That would be nice, I guess."
"You'll need to bring your grade up first however. Though it may seem tedious and redundant, you have to go to class."
"I know. After almost being expelled, I'm starting to realize that life isn't as big of a joke as I make it out to be."
"Life can be quite demanding and serious. But don't forget, it's okay to have fun too. It's just finding the balance that we struggle with sometimes." Mrs. Oberforth looked at her watch. "Well, our time for today is over. I'll see you on Tuesday at the same time, if I don't see you in the halls. Have a great afternoon, Ian."
"You too, Mrs. O." He waved goodbye and trekked to his locker on the other side of the school, running into part of the reason he was in his current predicament.
"Ian, hey man." Bartie clapped him on the back as he walked up behind him. Being a hobbit like his father, Bartie only came up to Ian's shoulder…and that was with his unruly curls bouncing on top of his head. "I'm sorry you got caught with my bag, man. That's rough."
"Actually, it's been kind of a wakeup call. The suspension may come back to haunt me down the line, but it's made me realize a few things."
"Okay…" Bartie agreed slowly, expecting more anger from his cousin. "If it makes you feel any better, my dads went ballistic when your mom told them what happened. I'm sentenced to a month of solitude and volunteering for the charity my dad donates to for the animals. I guess I'm going to be scraping shit out of cages or something."
Ian felt a little better knowing that all he had to do for punishment was find a hobby and do his homework. He got off relatively easy considering what happened. He shoved his necessary books into his messenger bag and slammed his locker shut. "Tough break, man. Well, I need to go. My dad's waiting outside for me to take me to the community center."
"Why are you going to the community center?"
Ian slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the stairs. "My parents are making me find a hobby. They think it'll help give me focus and keep me off drugs."
Bartie laughed. "That's stupid."
"I don't know. Everyone else in my family has something that is their thing. My mom's thing is Broadway, my dad's thing is teaching music, Roxy's is art, Liam's is cello, Zach's is football and basketball…and singing and dancing. My thing is being the fat, aggressive, smartass. That's not exactly a good thing to be."
"And you're going to find your thing at the community center?"
"Probably not. But two hours after school every day is part of my punishment so I gotta go whether I want to or not. I'll see you later, Bartie."
Instead of walking out to find only Finn waiting for him, he was mortified to find both of his parents front and center giggling like teenagers. He cringed as his father's hand slid down to his mom's ass as he leaned down to kiss her.
"Is this part of my punishment because it's incredibly embarrassing…?" Ian commented, breaking them apart.
Rachel turned to him. "No, but if it's incentive not to get suspended, that's fine with us." She pulled him close for a hug and he went slack in her arms.
"What are you doing here? I thought Dad was meeting me?"
"I had nothing to do today so I figured I would join your father for a walk to pick up my baby boy." She pinched his cheek and slipped into baby talk, earning them a few stares and snickers from a group of kids coming toward them in the courtyard. Rachel made kissy noises and puckered her lips as she placed both her hands on his cheeks and pulled his face down to kiss his left cheek. He fought her the whole way and tried to pull her hands off him, whining and averting his eyes, but she was persistent. "Oh I'm sorry, am I still embarrassing you?" She chuckled and pulled away going back to Finn and wrapping her arm around his waist.
"Can we just get this over with?" he grumbled, leading the way off school grounds out to the street.
Rachel turned to her husband as they walked along behind their youngest. "We've turned into our parents."
Finn snorted and made a face. "Are you trying to make me feel old?"
"I can make you feel young again after we drop the kid off," she suggested with a coy smirk, slipping her hand into his back pocket and squeezing his backside.
"I can hear you, you know, and it's gross!" Ian yelled over his shoulder.
When they arrived at the community center, Rachel explained the plan. "We are going to find you a class to join then your father and I are going to work out and wait for you. Then we're going to stop and get Chinese on the way home. So, let's find you an activity!" Rachel clapped her hands together and walked over to the bulletin board to see what classes were available.
Based on what Ian saw, nothing really captured his interest, at least until a familiar face walked by wearing nothing but a pink and gold one piece bathing suit.
"Hey Ian, what are you doing here?"
"Hey Artemis," he greeted, his eyes falling from her face down her tiny body. He had never seen her so bare before as she was always covered by her bulky school uniform and didn't try to sexy it up like a lot of the girls did. She had curves in all the right places and her muscle tone made her look like a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition model in her little pink suit. Ian had never thought of Artemis as more than a school acquaintance, but now he was starting to think maybe he should.
"Are you okay?" she asked, scrunching her face in worry.
"Wha-?"
"You kind of blanked out there."
Ian shook his head and tried to stop imagining dirty things about Artemis Erikson. "Oh, um, yeah, I'm fine. What did you say?"
"I asked what you were doing here. It's just that I've never seen you here before. I come nearly every afternoon."
"Oh, uh, my parents are making me take a class or something." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, avoiding looking anywhere but Artemis's face.
She shook her head in understanding. "Oh, well, if you decide to try swimming, I guess I'll see you later. I have synchro practice…which I need to be getting to now," she explained, looking at the clock on the wall and realizing the time. She waved again and started down the hall to the elevator.
"I had no idea you did synchronized swimming," Ian called after her, gaining her attention once more.
"I've been swimming since I was a baby and I started synchro when I was seven. I'm sorry, Ian, but I really need to go. I just came out here to give my mom her phone but she left already."
Ian smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck again and waving her off. "Yeah, right, I'm sorry. I'll see ya."
She smiled at him again and waved before entering the elevator.
He had no idea what just happened, but suddenly he found himself wanting to get to know Artemis better. It may have been the testosterone in him, but it was doing funny things to his heart.
"Who was that?" Finn asked, coming up behind him and putting his hand on his shoulder.
Ian had completely forgotten his parents were there. "Oh, that's this girl in my class. She's really nice."
"You like her?"
"Dad…" Ian grumbled and walked back to the bulletin board searching for something in the pool. He found what he was searching for in the form of the community center's swim team. The team didn't exactly have tryouts and anyone could join regardless of skill level and they were always accepting new people. "I'm joining the swim team."
"The swim team? Are you sure?" Finn and Rachel shared a glance. Ian wasn't usually one for extreme physical activity.
"Yes. I like swimming. You told me to pick something and I did."
"If it's what you want to do, we have no problem with that. Let's go sign you up." Rachel slipped her arm around Ian's and led them over to the front desk.
Fifteen minutes later, Finn and Ian were in the locker room changing. "You're positive you want to join the swim team? They have other stuff."
"Why did you bother giving me a choice if you just wanted me to pick what you wanted?" he questioned, aggravation in his voice.
"We wanted you to pick what you wanted, Ian. We're just surprised by your choice. You haven't ever shown interest in anything athletic before and swimming is hard work."
Ian played with the hem of his shirt as he sat down on the bench. "It's better than football or basketball and I'm actually quite fast in the pool. Apparently Mr. Gordon told Coach Meyers that I was fast and he asked me to try out for the swim team a few weeks ago."
Finn was shocked. "I had no idea. Why didn't you try out?" He sat down next to him to listen.
"I just didn't want to. All the guys on the team are assholes."
"You shouldn't let them ruin something you have interest in. There were guys on my football team who were horrible but I still loved the game and I didn't let them get me down when I was on the field. I loved being in glee club with your mom and even though we both caught a lot of shit for it, we didn't let the slushies deter us from enjoying our time in the club. You can't worry about what other people think; you have to be yourself and have fun. Focus on doing your best and doing what you love. If it turns out you love swimming, then swim."
"I guess."
Finn slapped him on the back and stood up, ready to find his wife and get in a workout…then maybe take a trip to the sauna and steam it up a little more. But first he needed to make sure his son would be alright. "Do you need me to go with you to meet the coach?"
"Nah, I'm okay."
"Okay. Remember, have fun and if you decide to try something else, we'll try something else."
Ian sat alone in the locker room, watching his father exit, and sighed. While some of the guys on the swim team at school were assholes, most of them weren't that bad. The real reason he didn't want to join the team, besides the fact he couldn't due to his low grades, was because he simply didn't feel comfortable enough in his own skin to go around wearing skin tight bathing trunks. Unlike the rest of his family, Ian had always struggled with his weight and was bigger than everyone else. He found comfort in food and cookies were his ultimate downfall. It didn't help that he was also a sleep eater and his appetite was always ravenous. Every other guy on the swim team looked like Michael Phelps in his prime while he looked like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters. The thought alone of standing next to those guys made him want to shove cookies into his face so the chewing could drown out the sound of the voice in his head telling him he wasn't good enough.
But his father had made some good points. He couldn't let other people keep him from enjoying himself. And maybe it would turn out that he hated being on the swim team, but maybe it would end up being fun.
He pulled off his t-shirt and grabbed the towel his mother had packed for him, draping it over his shoulder, and left the locker room to hit the pool. Humidity smacked him in the face when he entered the vast natatorium and he could feel the sweat already. The pool was gigantic and split into four sections. Two sections were lined for laps, one in the shallow end and the other the deep, while the other two remained open. A basketball hoop was set up with some fun floaties at the edge of the open shallow area while diving boards of various heights were at the edge of the open deep end. In the open shallow end he could see the girls from the synchronized swim team moving in a circle to their coach's count and caught the eye of Artemis. She smiled at him and her cheeks grew red before she flipped back into the water and her legs shot out straight up, before bending at the knee and twirling.
He walked further down the pool to the lined deep end and saw about twenty kids doing laps all at once while the coach spoke to a woman with a clipboard. He was a very short, balding man but appeared to be in great shape. Despite his size however, Ian walked up to him nervously, coming to a stop on his left side to stand there and wait silently. The man continued talking to the woman until Ian cleared his throat and caught their attention.
"Can I help you?" he asked, annoyed at being interrupted until he realized he was talking to his chest. His eyes widened comically and he tilted his head back to see Ian's face.
"Hi, uh, my name is Ian Hudson and I just signed up for the swim team today." He held his towel tightly.
The coach looked him up and down, clearly judging his appearance. "How old are you?"
"Fourteen, sir."
"Fourteen?" the coach yelled, turning to the woman who was equally astounded. "How tall are you?"
Ian's eyes blinked around the room, unable to handle all the attention being directed at him. "I'm six feet, five inches, sir."
"And you're only fourteen?"
"I started puberty early and it took over really fast."
"Apparently." He scratched his head and turned to the woman with the clipboard. "Erica, why don't you add…what was your name?"
"Ian Hudson, sir."
"…Ian here to the roster." He started walking toward the end of the pool and beckoned Ian to follow him. "Have you ever swam for a team before, Ian?"
"No, sir. Only for fun and in gym."
"I'm assuming you like swimming since you signed up for the team?"
"Yes." He wasn't sure where he was going with his line of questioning.
"Good, good. Before I can assign you to any races or anything, I'm going to need to see what you can do and if you decide to stick with the team, you're going to need to get a suit that won't drag." They both looked down at Ian's baggy swim trunks.
"These are the only ones I have."
Coach waved away his worry. "That's fine for now. You'll also need a swim cap and a really great pair of goggles. If you want to know about any of this stuff, Erica can point you in the right direction. For today, I'm just going to have you swim some laps so you can get a feel for the water and we can see how you move. So get in there!" He yanked Ian's towel off his shoulder and pushed him into the pool without warning. Ian allowed himself to sink before resurfacing and wiping off his face. He started swimming and lost himself in the water.
An indeterminable amount of time passed and he had done so many laps Ian wasn't sure how many he had done. His body was a giant prune and he was growing tired and out of breath with each stroke until he had to stop against the walkway in the center of the pool separating the deep and shallow ends.
He gripped the edge of the walkway and leaned his head against the wall taking deep breaths as he tread water. Though he was exhausted, it was a good exhaustion and he felt invigorated from his exercise. His muscles were in for a world of hurt once he vacated the pool and got himself home, but with more practice, it would hurt less and, he hoped, slim him down.
Ian opened his eyes and turned around to kick off the wall and swim back down to the other end of the pool until a bobbing head protruding from the water, stopped him.
"Having fun?" Artemis asked, treading in front of him and splashing water around.
"More than a barrel of monkeys," he replied dryly. "I saw you doing your synchro. You were really good."
She shrugged and laid back to float on the water. "I'm okay. Most of the girls on the team are much better than me."
"You're probably just saying that to be modest."
Artemis pulled her legs under again. "So you joined the swim team?"
"Yeah. I've always liked swimming. When I was younger I would pretend to be a shark and attack my sister. She was pissed when I bit her leg."
Artemis chuckled. "So I guess that means I'll see you here on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays then. Synchro has the same practice schedule."
"Cool. It'll be nice to see a friendly face." A whistle blew and caught all the swimmers' attention.
"Alright everyone, we're done for today. Hit the showers," Erica yelled out through the flurry of splashing water and colorful bathing suits exiting the pool.
Ian and Artemis swam to the end of the pool together and climbed out, grabbing their towels and taking their time walking toward the locker rooms.
"I know you were in in-school suspension all day but, you don't by chance know what the homework was for math, do you?" Artemis asked, drying her arm and looking up at him with her big blue eyes. They looked like dark little pools and sparkled in the light.
"Oh, page 23 questions 9, 10 and 12, all parts. They each have about seven parts."
She groaned and threw her head back. "Great. It's going to take me hours to get through my homework tonight."
"It's not that hard."
"It's math. Of course it will be hard. I suck hardcore at math and always have and I don't know anyone who can even help me. My parents excel at history and literature and they passed that down to me as well as their horrible adding skills."
"If you want, I could help you with your math sometime. It's the one area I don't suck, even though my grades do."
Artemis's lips spread into a large grin and she glowed in appreciation. "Really? That would be fantastic."
"Yeah, it's no problem. I'm grounded and not supposed to have people over but if I explain that I'm tutoring my parents might allow it. You could even have dinner. We're stopping for Chinese on the way home."
Her eyebrows dipped together, "I don't want to impose…"
"You won't impose."
"Well, I will only accept if it's alright with your parents. I don't want to get you in further trouble." They stopped at the girls' locker room door. "Really, thank you. Your help would mean so much, truly. Um, I suppose I'll meet you by the doors?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll see you out there."
"Great." She blushed again and opened the door, not taking her eyes from his until she was well inside and the door was shut.
Ian's heart flip-flopped in his chest at the thought of possibly being alone with a girl at his house. He had never really had any girls over, at least outside of a group of friends. Scrambling for the boys' locker room, Ian changed, barely taking the time to dry off, and rushed to find his parents.
On the way out, he crashed into the coach. "Ian, hey, we missed a few points earlier and I realized I never actually introduced myself. I'm Coach Ed, you can call me Coach Ed. And this is for you." He handed him a manila folder with a few papers in it regarding the team. "And it isn't mandatory, but we do offer conditioning classes if you would be interested in putting on some muscle."
"Yeah, yeah, I'll think about it. Thanks Coach Ed. Um, I suppose I'll see you on Monday for practice then. I need to go meet my parents."
"Of course. See ya Monday, Ian. Nice meeting you." He put his hand out for Ian to take and shook his hand in a firm grip before allowing him to leave. When he arrived at the entrance of the building, his parents were waiting both with wet hair and goofy grins on their faces. It was disgusting how sickeningly sweet they still were after spending most of the lives together, not to mention a lot to live up to.
"Ready to go?" His mother started for the door, but when he realized Artemis still hadn't arrived, he had to stop them.
"Actually…I know that I'm grounded and not supposed to have people over, but my friend Artemis, the girl I was talking to earlier, she could really use some help on her math homework and I kinda said I would help her and that she could come over for dinner if it's alright with you guys. I wouldn't ask if it weren't for school purposes." He rubbed the back of his neck, just waiting to be shot down.
His father shrugged. "Fine with me."
"Finn," Rachel smacked his arm, "he's grounded, and we said no friends over. Or did you forget that he brought drugs to school and got suspended?"
"No, I did not forget. But they're going to work on homework. It's not like he invited her over to make out like someone in this room used to do." She smacked him again at his response and Ian cringed. Thinking about his parents being his age and making out was just creepy. His father pulled his mother away and leaned his head closer to hers so he was unable to hear the conversation further. They both glanced over at him every few seconds and he could see his mother's frustration with his father dissolve from her features as she caved.
"Fine, you can have your friend over, but only to work on homework. It might be good for you to work with someone. Perhaps it will help bring your grades up. Now, where is she?" Rachel looked around seeing no one.
"She's probably still drying off. She said she would meet me down here." Two seconds later, Artemis came running off the elevator.
"Oh, thank goodness you're still here. I had hoped I wouldn't miss you. Hello, I'm Artemis," she put her hand out for his parents to shake, smiling brightly at them and wearing her trademark purple glasses.
"Lovely to meet you. My son informs us you will be joining us for dinner. I hope you don't mind Chinese," Rachel implored.
"Not at all. I love Chinese food."
"Are you a vegetarian?" Finn asked.
Artemis glanced over at Ian who rolled his eyes. "N-no. I'm a fan of chicken."
Finn made a show of puffing air out of his mouth in relief. "I like you already. Any fan of meat is a friend of mine." Rachel crossed her arms haughtily, backing toward the door.
"If you meat eaters are ready to go, I'm hungry and would like my veggies and rice. Let's move."
Forty-five minutes later, they were greeted at the door by an old fat Tinker and their new black Newfoundland puppy, Happy, so named because he always appeared to have a smile on his face. Artemis shied away from the rambunctious pup that had taken an immediate liking to the tiny girl and grew anxious when he stuck his nose up her skirt.
"Back off, crazy. Go lay down!" Ian pointed toward the living room but the puppy didn't understand, just tilting his head and swiveling his ears before barking and following his father into the kitchen where the food was and his brothers could be found.
"Is your new hobby picking up chicks? Who's the girl?" Liam inquired as he grabbed his General Tso's and a plate, making his way to the dining room.
Rachel tsked. "Liam, that is extremely rude. This is Ian's friend from school, Artemis."
"Like the Greek goddess, nice." Zach flirtatiously winked at her as he handed her a plate, making her blush and giggle and setting Ian's blood ablaze. He had forgotten to take into account his brother's insatiable flirtatious nature when he invited Artemis over.
"Yes, my mother has always been fascinated with Greek mythology and Artemis is her favorite Greek goddess. My younger sister is Athena and I have a younger brother Apollo. Most people just find our names weird but I quite like them."
"Well, I think Artemis is a lovely name." He flashed a winning smile making her swoon.
Ian stepped between Zach and Artemis, his jaw set and his eyes hard. "Why don't you go sit down?" he suggested to his brother, his teeth gritted and voice gruff.
"Calm down, baby brother." He condescendingly patted his head until Ian gripped his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, forcing a squeal from his mouth.
"Don't call me that!"
"Break it up, chuckleheads!" Finn smacked their heads together and Ian released him, Zach mockingly laughing at him before darting out of the kitchen to the dining room.
Rachel leaned closer to Artemis. "I apologize for my sons' behavior. I wish I could say it wasn't like this every day but that would be a lie. Would you like anything to drink?"
"Water's fine," she answered shyly.
"Okay, go sit down, make yourself comfortable." Rachel shooed her out of the kitchen and dished out her own plate of food.
Dinner went smoothly other than Ian's constant glare at Zach every time he spoke to Artemis. It was the fact that Zach always had to take everything Ian had that had caused Ian's first suspension. He very nearly had his first girlfriend until Zach had to come in and charm her away. She ended up picking neither of them but the fact remained that Zach only wanted her because Ian had shown interest first. There was no way Ian was going to let Zach sneak in and woo another girl he had growing affections for.
"Thanks for dinner, Mom, Dad, time for homework. Come on, Artemis, let's go." Ian jumped up from his seat, carrying all the empty dishes into the kitchen to deposit them in the sink before helping Artemis from her chair and leading her to his room, taking a moment to smack Zach in the back of the head. The constant smug grin on his face flew off as he leaned back in his chair and tried to punch Ian before he was out of reach, failing and instead falling backward in his chair.
Rachel closed her eyes and rubbed her temples as she tried to think about anything other than her sons' childish behavior. "Ian?" she called as a thought struck her.
"Yes, Mom," he replied tersely.
"You have until nine and then Artemis needs to go home. Your father can drive her."
"I can?" Finn finally perked up.
"Yes, you can. I need to get ready for bed…" She gripped his hand and bit her lip, Finn smirking, his eyes growing dark as he understood her meaning.
Ian scrunched his nose in horror, retreating down the hall to his room while Liam and Zach shoved away from the table and followed him, hot on his heels.
"How the hell did Roxy survive 18 years living in a room right next to them?" they could hear Zach asking aloud.
"Well, that cleared the room fast."
"Do we have to wait for bed?" Finn asked, growing anxious.
Rachel stood up and sauntered toward the stairs, picking up the pace and squealing as Finn followed her upstairs, unzipping his jeans as he went.
Down in Ian's room, he was sweating as Zach spoke with Artemis, making her laugh and feel good and special. That should be him doing all those things. She was his guest.
"Did you wanna go to the kitchen to work on this? We can spread out more."
"Sure." Artemis stood up from the desk chair and to his chagrin, Zach stood as well.
"Mind if I join you? I have homework to work on as well."
Ian's nostrils flared but he smiled pleasantly at Artemis, "How about you go set up? I'll be out in a minute. I just need to grab my calculator."
She smiled back and exited the bedroom, Ian closing the door behind her. "What the hell are you doing, Zach? Artemis is my guest, not yours, so stop hitting on her!"
Zach crossed his arms and grinned. "This is more than just a tutor session, isn't it?"
"Whether it is or not, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave Artemis alone. You can get any girl you want. You already took one from me. It's kind of a shitty thing to do to your brother."
Guilt washed over Zach at the memory and figured his brother was right and he kinda owed him for getting him suspended the first time. Of course he ended up suspended himself for that too, but he had been the one who set Ian off.
"Fine. I'll do my homework in here."
"Thank you," he sighed, the tension slipping from his body.
"If it's any consolation, I think she really likes you. But don't wait too long to make a move if you do like her. You don't want to end up in the friend zone."
The corner of Ian's mouth pulled up, a silent thank you for the brotherly advice. He grabbed his bag and found Artemis set up in the kitchen already.
Too soon, nine o'clock came around and Finn was climbing out of bed, leaving a sleepy and well satisfied Rachel twisted in the sheets to take Artemis home. Her eyelids were heavy and her cheeks were flushed as she sat up and pulled her legs close to her chest.
"How do you think the study date went?"
Finn tugged his sweatpants on, grinning at her. "Hopefully they were more productive than we ever were."
"Perhaps we should have checked on them."
"I'm sure they were fine. Artemis doesn't strike me as the type to move quite that fast."
Rachel yawned and laid back on the bed, stretching, pressing her hands flat against the headboard as Finn climbed over her to give her a kiss. "I'll be back shortly. Try not to fall asleep on me, hot stuff."
"I make no guarantees. It's been a rough day…not that I'm complaining." She chuckled and wrapped her arms around Finn's neck, pressing her swollen lips to his in a heated and sexy kiss. "Do try to hurry back…" She pecked him again and pushed at his chest to make him move.
"I hope traffic isn't too bad," he mumbled to himself as he left the bedroom.
From the stairs he could hear laughter in the kitchen and walked in to find Artemis staring a little dreamily at Ian, a big bright smile on her lips and Ian red-faced as he fought to breath from whatever had been so funny. His grin faded when he saw Finn walk in.
"Hey Dad."
"Hey. It's nine which means it's time for Artemis to go home." He threw his thumb over his shoulder to signal going.
"Wow, the time went really fast," Artemis added, looking at her phone. "I can't believe we've been sitting here just talking for over an hour."
"See? I told you math was easy and wouldn't take that long."
Artemis started putting her things away. "Not all of us can be math whizzes. If you stop skipping classes and just do your homework, you'll easily bring your grade up. You have to be the smartest in the class."
He blushed at the praise and stood as well. "Only when it comes to math. I'm pretty awful at everything else."
"Like I said, if you ever need help with any of your other subjects just give me a call. Heaven knows I owe you for the math help."
"I'll probably take you up on that offer. To Kill a Mockingbird is killing me."
She laughed again and draped the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I need to go. I'll see you at school tomorrow, maybe." She turned her head towards his father. "And perhaps, if I'm allowed, I can come over tomorrow to help you with To Kill a Mockingbird. It really isn't that tough of a book."
Finn rubbed his chin and nodded. "I'm sure I can clear it with the warden."
"Great. Then I'll meet you afterschool tomorrow. Thanks again, Ian."
"And thank you. Have a good night."
They all walked to the door, Happy following behind them as he had been sitting in the kitchen watching Artemis all evening after Zach had brought him back from his walk, and waved to her as she got on the elevator.
Closing the door, Ian fist pumped at earning another date with her. Sure, it wasn't a real date, but it was a start, a foot in the door and that was all he needed. He would wait for the right in and strike when it arrived, asking if perhaps she'd like to do something other than homework with him sometime. He hoped the sparks he had felt all night were mutual and it wasn't merely his brain playing tricks on him. Ian really like Artemis and it would be stellar if she liked him too.
Ian meandered down the hallway to his room to find Zach sprawled on his bed in his boxers, reading a Maxim.
"Please tell me you at least got a number?" he inquired, not bothering to spare him a glance and flipping a page.
"Better. She's coming over again tomorrow night."
"I guess getting suspended and being forced to find a hobby wasn't all bad after all. Just goes to show that crime can pay."
"Except for the fact that I'm grounded until Mom thinks I'm rehabilitated. I'm going to be staring at these four walls for the rest of high school."
"At least you have Bianca and Naomi to look at," motioning toward the large breasted and nearly nude swimsuit models gracing their walls.
He shrugged and pulled his shirt off. "True."
As he settled in for bed, Ian's mind raced with possibilities of what the next night would be like until his mind drifted to further down the line and back again to what had led to his fortunate misfortune.
He had to try to be better and less confrontational if he wanted to succeed and honestly, he was tired of being the troublemaker his parents were always talking about quietly, discussing ways to help him release his anger in less destructive ways. For the first time since he was little, he felt excited about the next day and what it could bring and he felt positive about the future.
Ian snorted when he realized the irony of it all, his parents had set out to punish him for his behavior but instead wound up giving him something to strive for. He guessed that was what they had been trying to accomplish all along.
Either way, life was looking up and Ian couldn't be any happier about it as his exhausting day finally caught up with him and he slipped into a quiet sleep.