Chapter Three: One Special Pastry

Days pass with no meaning and no rhythm. I look at the circled date on the calendar, December 20. It was the last day of classes before the Winter holidays and it was also my Dad's birthday. I sighed and picked up my cell phone. The phone rang four times before it went to voicemail.

"Hey Daddy, it's Jenna. I was just calling to wish you a happy birthday and see how London is treating you. I miss you and can't wait to see you on Christmas. Love you Daddy."

I looked at the time. He was probably at a meeting of some kind….or on a date. My father and I are close. I used to be closer with my mother but the divorce caused us to lose that connection. When she moved out I point blank refused to go with her. Dad and I had spent the rest of summer hanging out, watching movies, and reconnecting. It sucked that he was halfway across the world but business called. I'd see him in a few days. With that fact contenting me I got up and dressed for school.

As this was Spenser Academy we continued our coursework as usual. Spenser wasn't the type of school to go easy on us when the holidays were near. In fact, they were the exact opposite. The majority of my teachers loaded me with homework and projects. Ruining student's vacations was probably the highlight of their year.

Reid was waiting for me at the door when our last class let out. He slung his arm around my shoulders, which he'd been doing since we started talking a month ago, and led me down the hallway.

" Kinnamon, are you going to Nicky's tonight?"

I bit my lip and hugged my books closer to my chest, "I'm not sure, I wasn't planning on it."

In truth, I had wanted to go to the library and look up psychological disorders. I figured now would be the best time to go. Students were done with classes and wanted a night off before starting any remaining schoolwork. I was starting to get extremely worried. The black outs were much more frequent and I'd come out of them with migraines that left me aching for hours. I wanted answers.

"Well plan on it because you're coming. Mal said she'd bring your ass over around eight tonight. If you hide from her I WILL find you."

I narrowed my eyes at him, "And why is it so imperative that I join you?"

He smiled broadly, "Because most everyone is leaving tomorrow and I want to see you before I head home. Also because I wuv you." With this last part he planted a sloppy kiss on the side of my head, mussed up by hair, and ran off down the hallway attacking Pogue who was walking with Kate.

When I got back to my room Mallory was sitting on her bed grinning. "Reid already messaged me saying not to take my eyes off of you. Although I'm sure he wishes he was the one with those orders." She waggled her eyebrows and flipped a page in her magazine. I flipped her the bird.

"Sometimes I really hate you."

"If by hate you mean love with a passion so deep you can hardly stop yourself from throwing me down in the middle of a crowded room and marking your territory, then yes, I believe you."

I smiled at Mallory and shook my head. "That is exactly what I meant."

We sat around catching up for a while until half past six when she went to get a shower. I grabbed a pair of denim skinny jeans and a tight black scoop necked tee. Throwing on my favorite brown boots I hooked my iPod up to the dock and scrolled through my music, landing on What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club.

Sometimes I really don't know if I can control my actions. I started dancing around the room in a spaztic wonderland. I shimmied the mini-fridge door open with my hip and grabbed a Red Bull. I continued dancing and gulped the sweet contents down in under forty seconds. It was when I tossed the Red Bull into the trash and began another dance round.

I was whirling around my room just getting my groove on when he bust out laughing at the door. I kept dancing and turned to face him.

"Are you having a seizure," he said between laughs.

I shimmied some more. "You're aching to join me Garwin. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt ya'know."

He scoffed, "How original."

I continued dancing again when the song changed and started screaming the lyrics.

"I wanna, I wanna, I wanna touch you, you want to touch me too," I pranced over to him and pulled on his arm until he was in the center of the room with me. I continued to dance and put my hands on his shoulders, forcing him into movement.

He laughed and started dancing with me, twirling and sashaying around the room. We were really into it when the door opened again and Mallory walked in. We stopped dancing and she looked at us.

"You two are spaztic," she said before shutting the door and leaving. Reid and I looked at each other and busted out laughing.

"Kinnamon Buns, you are one special pastry," he said as he twirled me once more around the room.

Nicky's was packed but the warmth radiating from all the bodies was comforting. This was only to be expected, it was like Reid had said, everyone wanted to hang out once more before leaving school. Reid and Tyler led the way over to a table where Caleb, Pogue, and Sarah sat. We took off our jackets and placed them on a chair at the table. Reid threw his jacket on last causing the whole pile to fall to the floor. As I leaned over to pick them up my shirt slid up some making the other tattoo I had visible.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo Jenna. What's it say?" Sarah and I had gotten a little closer since the beginning of February when I'd started hanging out with the boys more.

It was weird how I'd begun to hang out with them again. Something had compelled me to go talk to Tyler one night. I'd walked upstairs to his and Reid's room and was about to knock when I saw the door was cracked. I opened it and walked in. Tyler wasn't there but Reid was…..with a girl. I started busting out laughing as I had taken in the situation. She was in the middle of….servicing him….with her mouth. The look on his face had told me it was far from enjoyable. She'd pulled back at my laugh and Reid hastily covered himself.

"Carry on my wayward son," I'd said before opening the door to leave, "Oh, and honey, go easy on the teeth, you're hurting the poor boy."

Tyler had come to my room the next day, Reid having told him what happened, and we'd laughed until our sides hurt. From that moment on I saw at least one of the two boys every day.

I tossed the jackets on the chair and turned towards Sarah and lifted my shirt up on the side. She read it quickly so I could roll it back down.

'Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all'

Sarah smiled, "That's beautiful. Did it hurt? I heard the ribs are the worst place to get one." I was about to say something else when Reid wrapped an arm around my waist and began pulling me towards the pool tables.

"Someone's grabby," I said huffily, waving an apology at Sarah from across the way.

He smiled, "Aw, stop pretending like you don't have a crush on me Kinnamon buns."

I rolled my eyes and preceded to watch him play Tyler. Mallory and I chatted at their sides until Aaron Abbot walked over looking for an in.

Reid was smirking, "Yeah, I'd love to take your money again Aaron."

Pour Some Sugar On Me came on over the jukebox and I grabbed Mallory's hand, "Stay and watch the inevitable fight if you want but I'd rather go dance. We can draw the eyes of a man who doesn't need to throw a few punches to prove himself."

Reid frowned at my words but didn't say anything. Mal agreed and we proceeded to join the few couples who were already dancing.

At the end of the night when we piled into Tyler's hummer I was a couple contacts larger in my phone and Reid was as sulky as ever.