A/N: Sorry this is late! I hope no one was too concerned about the update delay...I woke up this morning and my keyboard was kaput...so I had to make an emergency run to the electronics store, ended up buying a $140 gaming keyboard (I may have made a mention that I'm not a nerd...total lie. I'm a huge techie nerd, I love my PC, built it myself...and now I got a hot keyboard to go with it...) anyhow, enough bragging. On with the story!
Thank you to the reviewers. You guys are awesome as ever.
And thank you, as always, to Greg for beta-ing.
Read.
XXVI.
They filled two of the crates with bottles of hard liquor, there wasn't too much room left in the truck after their grocery run, and then decided to run a few scenario drills in the grocery store – it was a wide space with plenty of obstacles, making for a good practice area. Jimmy devised different plots, demonstrating formations and hand signals and talking the four teens through tactics for handling various situations. Meanwhile, Ben kept watch, splitting his attentions between their surroundings, and Jimmy's lessons.
For the most part, the drills went smoothly, and Jimmy had to admit, the four teens made a good team. They moved with an almost eerie synchronicity. Roman and Douglas thankfully kept the obnoxious level to a minimum, and Gia even let slide a 'fuck' on Jimmy's part. The only sore spot was Kelsey, she rarely did as told, and the others were constantly glancing back to her at Jimmy's every command, as though more concerned for her well-being than their own. After a couple hours, Jimmy chose to call it a day. The bookstore would be their last stop and then they would head back to camp.
"Bookstore?" Roman complained, "Why do we need books?"
"Because knowledge is an invaluable resource," Ben said, his voice sounded like a low growl.
"You can wait outside, keep watch," Jimmy instructed, following Ben into the store. Douglas was the only one of the unharnessed teens to join them, shrugging at his friends as he ducked into the store as well.
Inside, there were rows and rows of shelves, lined with books. The whole place felt like it was coated in a thick layer of dust and it smelled of mildew. Jimmy sneezed, and made a face at Ben. Douglas made a beeline for the distant shelves, scanning each aisle he passed as though searching for something in particular.
"I feel like I'm back in school at the fucking library," Jimmy complained.
"You could've waited outside, too," Ben pointed out, wandering towards one of the shelves.
Jimmy frowned, watching the other boy a moment. Built like an athlete, dressed in rugged attire, a rifle slung casually over his shoulder and knife hooked to his thigh, Ben didn't exactly fit the image of a used bookstore patron, yet somehow, standing amongst those shelves, scanning the book titles, he seemed more in his element than he ever did gracefully fighting on the battlefield. There was a strange peace about Ben as he pulled out various books and flipped interestedly through their yellowing pages. Jimmy could only stand and stare, gaping at the contrastive beauty of the hardened soldier juxtaposed against the tranquility of towering book stacks: as if Ben were the very incarnation of strength and wisdom melded together into one incredibly attractive package.
At least, he stood and stared until Ben perked a brow at him and remarked, "I think I'm starting to understand why you hate the staring."
"Right," Jimmy flustered, excusing himself in a low fumbling mumble, "I'm going to go see if they have books with…pictures…and small words…or, you know, preferably none at all."
Ben snorted softly, smirking bemused at Jimmy's retreating form before returning to scanning titles.
Jimmy wandered through the aisles, not actually interested in the books. He passed Douglas at one point, the other boy seemed to have found what he was looking for and was browsing through it while leaning against a shelf. Some of the shelves had little placards, labeling the subject of the books that lined them, and Jimmy took to reading those instead, trailing his finger across each one he passed: American History, World History, Literature, Poetry, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Philosophy, Eastern Philosophy, Religion, Occult, Erotica, Self-Help, Psyc…
Jimmy paused, scrunched his nose, meandered back a few rows and reread the placard: Erotica. His heart instantly kicked into high gear. He shoved his hands in his pockets, glanced around. Ben's earlier comment, 'and you always call me the pervert…', rang accusatorially in his ears, and he flushed, assuring himself he was just interested in knowing what kind of ridiculous books fell under a subject like 'erotica', just for a good laugh, as he made an effort to skim the titles without actually looking as though he were skimming the titles. His eyes paused on one book in particular, heat rushing to his chest and head.
Okay, fine, what did it matter if he was sort of, maybe, slightly interested in what those books might say. He was an average teenage boy, with raging hormones and healthy sexual needs, after all, and, yes, okay, he had no fucking clue how to go about satiating those needs.
Or Ben's needs.
Jimmy reached forward, hesitated. Besides fumbling around naked in the dark hoping to grab onto the right something and move it in a way that felt good, or asking the camp pediatrician for advice, what other options were there? He darted a quick look around as though expecting some nosy sales-clerk to round the corner, sighed haggardly and quickly snatched the book off the shelf. It was a slim red paperback; the cover illustrated two older men with absurdly shiny six-pack abs and huge biceps tangled in an intimate embrace. He made a face at the picture, wondering 'seriously, who the fuck had muscles like that' as he thought disparagingly about his own scrawny frame – he was still growing, goddammit – and then, trying to look inconspicuous – forgetting, of course, how ridiculous it was to try being inconspicuous in an abandoned bookstore during the apocalypse, he flipped nervously through the pages.
Oh good, there were pictures, Jimmy acerbically noted, because he definitely needed a diagram of…filatio?
"What the hell is…?" Jimmy whispered, wrinkling his nose. He gave up trying to make heads or tails of the terrible sketch of two men-like figures doing…something…to one another and opted instead to read the unfortunately descriptive passage. Instantly, he thought of Ben and him and blood flowed to parts of his body he really didn't need it flowing to at that exact moment, and he hastily flipped from the page, wondering in quiet aggravation, why the fancy word…they couldn't just call it a blowjob and, holy fucking shit, who knew there were so many different ways to…well…suck, and then landed on a passage about lubricant usage and his jaw unhinged. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying to shove those new images back out of his mind, and nearly dropped on the spot at the sound of approaching footfalls. He slammed the book clumsily back, turned to face the opposite shelf and stare at it as if he were actually very interested in…what to expect when you're expecting? He stumbled away a couple feet, shoved his hands in his pockets and warily eyed the boy that rounded the corner, his heart pounding erratic in his chest, his face undoubtedly a deep shade of red.
Ben perked a brow curiously at Jimmy, though made no comment, moved into the aisle and scanned the 'Erotica' shelf for half-a-second. Instantly his hand went for the same book Jimmy had only just been looking through.
"Ben," Jimmy hissed in surprise and slight reproach. Ben paused, glanced at him wide-eyed.
"What?" he whispered innocently, and then he shrugged and half-smiled in a sheepish sort of way, looking to the shelf with an expression that begged rational diatribe. Jimmy sighed. He turned his face away in silent concession. Ben plucked the book up and Jimmy listened for a few seconds to the slow rustle of paper as Ben skimmed those explicitly detailed pages.
"Did you still want to hang out when we got back to camp?" Jimmy wondered quietly.
Ben didn't answer, and the pang of his silent rejection spread through Jimmy's chest. He rolled his gaze back towards the other boy. Ben was staring at the open book in his hands, but his eyes were unfocused, his brow wrinkled in thought, his mouth forming a taut, disconcerted frown.
"Never mind," Jimmy murmured, hating the quiver of his voice. He wrapped his arms around himself and started away.
"I always wanted to make out in a bookstore," Ben commented and Jimmy paused, glancing confused back to the other boy. Ben had closed the book but he was looking at the other titles lining the shelves now, as though completely disinterested in his own conversation starter.
"What?" Jimmy demanded, taken about at the randomness of Ben's confession.
"I don't know. I guess it's a nerd thing," Ben said, he turned somewhat, leaning his shoulder casually against the shelf and looking up at Jimmy almost shyly as he explained, "You spend hours at a time, several days out of the week in a bookstore, or a library…school library was definitely high on my list…and I don't know…you start to think about whoever you're crush is at that moment, and then, of course, you start to fantasize about them walking in and seeing you and, I don't know, losing their mind for a moment and actually deciding to talk with you…or, hell, maybe you imagine yourself being brave for once and call out to them. The conversation turns to flirting and then the flirting turns into…" he trailed off, lowered his eyes, shrugged again and repeated, "I always wanted to make out in a bookstore."
Jimmy considered Ben's confession a moment, the pain subsiding, replaced with a soft, fluttery feeling in his chest. He put his hands in his pockets, meandered back slowly, and carefully leaned back against the shelf beside Ben, staring distantly at the books across from them, as color tinted his cheeks.
"Well…we are in a bookstore," Jimmy noted.
"We are," Ben confirmed.
"And you did call out to me…just now," Jimmy mumbled.
"Being brave for once," Ben acknowledged, smiling slightly.
"For once," Jimmy teased, smirking at Ben, and then flustering, determined, "And I'm pretty sure we're flirting right now."
"A little, yeah," Ben agreed.
"You do realize we're on an op," Jimmy pointed out, even as his hand reached out to rest on Ben's hip, furling in the shirt fabric there.
"Practice op," Ben corrected, straightening and repositioning slightly in front of Jimmy, "No enemy for miles around. Remember?"
"Yeah, but it would set a really bad example for our trainees," Jimmy persisted vaguely, even as he leaned forward and slipped his eyes closed as Ben's mouth caught his own. He sank back against the bookshelf, Ben's body pressed firm against his own, their lips parting in a slow, pleasant motion. Jimmy's tongue dove in, met and played with Ben's momentarily. Ben gripped the shelf with one hand, balancing his weight, as he held Jimmy against the wall of books, his other hand wrapped around the back of Jimmy's neck, fingers curled in his hair. Jimmy wrapped his arms around Ben's lower waist, attempted drawing the other boy closer, as if there were a 'closer' to get. They held one another like that for countless seconds, mouths working together in a sumptuous dance.
Ben pulled back a bit, Jimmy moving forward with him at first, reluctant to lose their connection, and then Ben whispered, breath hot on Jimmy's mouth, "Then I guess we'll have to wait until we get back to camp."
"Okay," Jimmy agreed, relief swarming through him. He pressed another kiss to Ben's mouth, relaxing his grip round Ben's waist and whispering, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Ben replied quietly, placing a few delicate kisses along Jimmy's jawline and murmuring, "I'm sorry too." He smirked, remarked humorously, "Next time I think to ask that we not be angry at each other on an op, I might just ask the aliens to go home instead; something tells me that it's more likely to happen."
"I'm not good at this," Jimmy admitted, burying his face in the crook of Ben's neck a moment, if only to breathe in the other boy's scent and reassure himself that he hadn't yet managed to push Ben too far and lose him altogether. He nibbled the skin a bit, absently massaging with his mouth and tongue.
"Feels pretty good to me," Ben distantly murmured, his voice low and husky.
"That's not what I meant, perv," Jimmy muttered, pulling back to glare meaningfully up at Ben.
"You're trying," Ben noted, then he sighed and confessed, "And it's not like I didn't know you weren't good at this and what I was getting myself into from the start."
Jimmy shook his head, dropping his eyes to stare frustrated at Ben's shirt front.
"Also…I guess I was…a little…kind of…jealous," Ben mumbled confession. He sighed and went on to say, "He does look at you…in a way…as if he wants something…and I don't like it, and then you react…and I can see the way you react, even if you can't..."
"I don't get what you mean. He bothers me, yeah, but not in that way," Jimmy returned.
"You sure?" Ben pressed, Jimmy met his eyes a moment, then Ben pulled away, paced a few steps, turned back and sighed, frustrated, "On the way up, I heard…and it's been bothering me…but he…and, look, just, don't get mad or anything, I just want to know…why was he…holding you?"
Jimmy blinked, "What?"
"When we were setting the perimeter up, I overheard…there was some commotion and then…and then you told him to let go and…"
"Oh," Jimmy frowned, rolling his eyes and muttering, "That. That was nothing…" He winced and mumbled explanation, "I guess I kind of…sort of…blacked out for like a second and he grabbed me before I kissed pavement. He thinks I just tripped and that I'm a graceless clout, so that's going to be fun for the next few days, but that's all it was, no big deal."
Suddenly, Ben was gaping at Jimmy as though he'd grown a few more appendages.
"You blacked out," Ben repeated, incredulous, moving back to cup Jimmy's cheek in his palm, "And you didn't think you should mention that at some point? I mean, shit, this may just be a practice op, but we're still away from camp, and the enemy is still out there."
"It's not a big deal. I don't sleep much, you know that, I didn't really sleep last night, and I haven't really eaten much today. It happens," Jimmy insisted.
"It happens," Ben, again, repeated. He was starting to sound like a dubious parrot, "How often does it happen?"
Jimmy shrugged, lowering his eyes to the ground and absently nibbling his inner cheek.
"Jimmy," Ben whispered, his tone overwhelmed with concern.
"Not often," Jimmy hastily lied, "It doesn't happen often. I was just…nervous…today…because of our fight…last night…and the one before the op."
Ben raised a brow, still skeptical, "Nervous. Right. Or maybe you need to start taking better care of yourself."
"You know, you're starting to sound like Dr. Glass," Jimmy complained, then snorted softly and jestingly added, "Or Hal."
"Low blow, jerk," Ben returned.
"No, actually, as I think about it, you do, you sound just like Hal right now," Jimmy pressed on, smirking coyly to let Ben know he was only joking, "You might want to be careful with that, you know, keep it up and you might turn into your brother."
"Will you shut up," Ben growled, dragging Jimmy into another kiss.
Jimmy smiled against Ben's mouth, then pulled back, touched his forehead to Ben's and mumbled, "Don't worry about Roman, okay? I don't know what he could possibly want from me, or how he looks at me, but I do know that he's…he's not you."
"And being me is a good thing?" Ben prompted.
"A very good thing," Jimmy confirmed, leaning into another kiss, which Ben settled into, fitting himself snug against Jimmy once more but at the slap of footsteps rushing their way, they broke hastily apart, attempting to look innocent and not quite so flushed when Douglas crashed round the corner, gasping for breath and darting a dark look between the boys.
"If you two are done copping a feel…"
"What? What the fuck are…we weren't…" Jimmy began to stammer protest, cheeks blistering with heat. Ben's mouth quirked comically, his eyes widening ever so slightly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was it supposed to be a secret? Because you guys aren't actually as discreet as you think you are," Douglas bit out, "You do realize that half the camp knows what's going on with you two; the other half is either in denial or just too stupid to connect the dots."
"I really don't know what you're…" Jimmy attempted again, a lump forming in his throat at the prospect of half-the-fucking-camp knowing he and Ben were making out behind closed doors. For crying out loud, he talked to these people, interacted with them, believing they were completely in the dark, now how was he supposed to look them in the eye knowing they were probably staring at him wondering how long ago he'd last been with Ben and what types of things they'd done to each other and thinking who-the-hell knew what about it?
"Two young teenage boys sneak off together, alone, at every opportunity when there are plenty of hot babes at camp drooling over them that they could be sneaking off with alone? If you can't figure that one out you're an idiot, a prude, or both. Seriously, I've been accused of prudery on occasion but please don't insult my intelligence," Douglas insisted.
"Not that many people know," Ben murmured in an attempt at being reassuring. It wasn't reassuring.
"Well exactly how many people do know and why didn't you fucking mention to me sooner that there are more people who know?" Jimmy demanded.
Ben looked at Douglas in exasperation.
"Did you come here for something or…?"
"Yeah. I did actually. Remember how we were on this really dangerous mission to loot a shopping complex and we had to be really quick and efficient about it because the enemy could appear at any moment and attack? Well, this is any moment and the enemy has appeared…stay calm though, folks, you didn't miss everything, because luckily, we're still waiting on the attack part," Douglas said in a mock-cheery voice.
Jimmy and Ben exchanged a look.
"Shit," Jimmy griped and Ben growled under his breath.
They shouldered their rifles and followed Douglas to the front of the bookstore. Roman, Gia, and Kelsey, it seemed, had wisely fallen back to the inside of the store. Kelsey was ducked behind the front row of shelves, Roman standing at its end beside her, and Gia peeked curiously out the window.
"Get away from there," Ben hissed instruction to Gia. She glanced back at him once, and then scurried away from the window, joining Kelsey behind the book shelf. Douglas moved next to Roman, the older boy watched Ben and Jimmy approach with a strangely dark look.
Jimmy knelt behind the front counter, where the register was located. Propped over its top, it gave him a clear view of the store front. He held his rifle at ready. Ben slunk stealthily up to the window, peering out. He studied the horizon a moment, though nothing was in sight, and strained his ears for indication of the advancing enemy. It didn't take him long to hear what had the other four excited, and he furrowed his brow and looked back at Jimmy.
'Not Skitters,' Ben mouthed.
Jimmy wrinkled his brow in confusion and returned, 'Then what?'
Ben crawled back to the counter, both boys sliding behind it to speak in low voices. The other four watched them anxiously from their hiding spots behind the bookshelves, they all had their own rifles at ready, but it was obvious in the awkward way they held the guns that they felt uncertain about using them.
"Humans. About nine, maybe ten of them. All men from the sounds of it, older…and armed, I'm betting from their confidence," Ben reported, "They're poking around the backside of the grocery store, but it won't be long before they wander to the front and spot our vehicles."
Jimmy cursed under his breath and glared accusingly at Ben, "Why didn't you hear them sooner?"
"Uh…why didn't you hear them sooner?" Ben returned snarkily.
"You're the one with the super hearing," Jimmy pointed out.
"Well…I was a little busy, remember?" Ben gestured to the back of the bookstore and shot Jimmy a meaningful look.
"I'm sorry, I forgot," Jimmy grumbled, "Being horny is your kryptonite."
"I'm not even going to bother with the obvious response to that one. Shit, what do we do? I mean, sure, we could probably wait them out here, they don't sound like the types that would poke around a bookstore, but when they see our truck and bike…" Ben whispered.
"They'll definitely take them, or at the very least, come looking for us," Jimmy returned.
"Uh, hey, I got an idea, why don't we just go talk to them?" Roman called quietly. He was squatting on the floor, leaned back against the bookshelf, looking around the corner to Jimmy and Ben.
"Not a good idea," Jimmy answered.
"Why not? They're human, not Skitters. It's not like they'll attack us," Roman replied.
"Actually, it's exactly like they'll attack us," Ben muttered, "Why don't you shut up and let the grown-ups talk for a minute, okay?"
"Why don't I come over there and cram this rifle down your throat?" Roman seethed in return, readying to advance on Ben. Jimmy had to maneuver quickly, practically throwing himself in Ben's lap to hold the boy back, and the sudden move caused Roman to halt dead in his tracks.
"Now's really not the time," Jimmy hastily reminded them both.
"Why don't we slip out and drive off?" Gia piped suggestion.
"They'll hear us, see us. And if they're smart opportunists, they'll hop in their rides and quietly follow us right back to the 2nd Mass," Ben explained, disgruntled.
Jimmy shifted back to his seat and glanced around the counter.
"How much do we want to bet that they're smart?" Douglas wondered.
"Always bet that their smart," Jimmy grumbled.
"I still say we try talking to them," Roman said, "Try giving them the benefit of the doubt, but keep gunmen in position just in case Mason is right and they do attack."
"Ben and me are the only ones who can actually shoot with any reliability," Jimmy pointed out, "So which one of you guys wants to go out and talk to them?"
"Well, shit, I will," Roman started forward.
Ben scowled, snapping, "Sit down. It was a rhetorical question, dumbass."
"Well, how do you know they'll attack? We're all human aren't we?" Roman demanded, then shot Ben a cruel look and amended, "Most of us are, anyway."
"Actually, none of you are," Jimmy retorted, then winced when Ben flinched beside him, whispering apologetically, "I mean…I didn't mean…"
"Rome might be right. Maybe they won't attack us," Gia spoke up, "I mean, they would have to be completely without human decency and compassion. We're only kids, after all, who attacks a group of kids? No one could be that heartless."
"Surprisingly, a lot of people could and almost definitely would attack a group of kids. We make easy targets," Jimmy haggardly espoused, "And honestly, no one really has decency or compassion, hell, those aren't human traits at all, and I'm surprised you haven't figured that out yet, with the way they treat you all at camp."
Gia faltered, her eyes dropping sheepishly to the ground, a gray feeling settling over the group.
"I know they'll attack because, for your information, I do have quite a lot of experience with this kind of situation, and I've made the mistake of attempting to 'just talk', trusting that 'no one could be that heartless' enough times to know all it gets you is a thorough ass kicking, but if you're real lucky, they'll leave you alive enough to learn a lesson for next time," Jimmy griped. He flustered, glared around the counter, mostly because he knew they were all looking at him now and he didn't want to see those predictable expressions, a mixture of shock and horror with a touch of pity. As if that's what he needed; pity from five of the most depressingly pitiable members of the 2nd Mass.
"Why don't we attack them before they attack us?" Kelsey spoke up, and suddenly the attention shifted to her.
"Because we don't attack people," Jimmy stated unsteadily, disquieted by the small girl's contribution. Her words from the drive over suddenly rushing to the forefront of his mind: Do you always kill what you hate…?
"Maybe she's on to something, though," Ben whispered, "We could catch them by surprise, corner and disarm them, then talk to them, find out what kind of people they are. If they seem like the bad sort, we'll knock them out and take off."
"I don't know," Jimmy squirmed, "I don't like it."
"At this point, our only other option is to wait and hope they go away," Ben insisted.
Jimmy sighed, relented, and said, "Okay. Fine. So what's the plan?"
"Right now they're all in the grocery store," Ben said, "We can converge on them there."
"I don't want to be a Debby Downer, here," Douglas spoke up, "But there's nine of them and six of us, only two of which can claim to be of any use, as you both seem so fond of insisting. Element of surprise aside, how the fuck do you honestly expect us to corner and disarm these people?"
"Dougie," Gia hissed reprovingly and he shrugged apologetically at her.
Jimmy rubbed a hand over his face and straightened, plans formulating in his mind, as he recalled battle formations and tactical maneuvers that he'd spent long hours listening to Weaver, Professor Mason, Dai, Anthony, and other veteran fighters discussing through the late night and straight into early morning.
"We could put Doug and Kelsey on the exits, block their escape," he said to Ben, "Then I'll take Roman, you take Gia. We'll try picking them off one at a time, separating them from the larger group, subduing them. We'll head north, you guys south, and spiral inward."
"Maybe," Ben allotted, then darted a wary look to Roman, and, just below a whisper, said, "I don't want you going with him, though."
"I know, but I need Roman," Jimmy mumbled, shrugging unhappily at Ben's perturbed look, and the smug smirk that twitched in the corner of Roman's mouth, as he clarified, "Gia is the best shot of the four, she can hit the broadside of a barn at least, and Roman likes to go in swinging…kind of like you…and he has the super strength to back it up."
"It's a perfect swap," Roman noted. Jimmy and Ben both darted looks with varying degrees of annoyance and threat his direction.
"This way Gia can be your sniper and Roman can be my heavy arm," Jimmy concluded.
"You said that we wouldn't have to shoot anything," Gia whispered.
"No, I said you probably wouldn't have to shoot anything," Jimmy reminded her, then sighed and offered up his most sympathetic expression – which looked more like a melancholy glower – and in the best comforting voice he could muster said, "You'll be with Ben, so you probably still won't have to shoot anything. It'll be mostly for show."
"Are you sure about putting those two on the doors?" Ben wondered, motioning to Doug and Kelsey, "I mean, they can stand there and look pretty intimidating with their rifles but it won't do any good if they can't pull the trigger."
"Do we have a choice?" Jimmy returned. He frowned, "Take the girls up to the front side of the store; I'll take the boys around back. If any of them do try getting out of the building to gain an upper hand, they'll most likely go the way they came in, and they'll be more put off by some gangly behemoth boy than a skinny little buck-toothed girl."
"Hey, watch it," Doug complained as Kelsey whimpered, "I was going to get braces before the aliens invaded…"
"It'll take us longer to get around, so give us a minute before you move in," Jimmy instructed Ben.
"I'll know when you're in place. Super-hearing, remember?" Ben replied, and then cheekily pointed out, "And, you know, my kryptonite will be in the back."
Jimmy rolled his eyes, though a soft smile played on his lips.
"That's just so sweet that…that you're making me sick, Mason," Roman scoffed. Ben turned a dangerous glare on the older boy.
"You do anything stupid that puts him in danger, I'll be the one doing the rifle cramming," Ben growled warning.
"Is that a threat or are you hitting on me?" Roman jeered, "Because it would be a cold day in hell…"
"Let's move," Jimmy barked instruction, lifting his rifle at the ready and slinking towards the bookstore exit, the others following hastily behind. He paused at the door, his hand on the handle preparing to push it forward. He looked to Ben, and murmured, "Be careful."
"You too," Ben returned, and then smirked suggestively and teased, "After all, wouldn't want to miss our date tonight."
A blush crept across Jimmy's cheeks. He nodded stiffly, returned his focus to the matter at hand, and shoved the door open.
.
.
.
A/N: Yay, so Ben and Jimmy finally make semi-amends! Woohoo!
Okay, hurrying to get this up for everyone...please let me know what you think! Input always appreciated.
Reviewers: SassySavanna190, you've been the earliest reviewer as of late, so I'm worried you might've been freaking out. Here's the update, glad you loved last chapter and it's got you thinking back on things that happened chapters ago...because everything is important! And I love writing jealous Ben, he's too obvious if even ever-oblivious Jimmy can catch on. JDMlvr1, LOL, that would be an odd response, "Oh yeah, my dad used to smack me around all the time, so I totally know how to take a hit..." not Jimmy's style, no. Well, thank you for reading and reviewing, you're awesome as always! WhisperMaw, LOL, not really what I meant when I said Jimmy would be getting his edge back, but I'm glad he's earned your favor again. I imagine he might've lost a bit of it again this chapter, maybe? Oh well, just trust when I say he should be making a return to bad-ass status by the end of this story. I'm glad you liked Roman too last chapter, and that Kelsey has you intrigued. Typhoonboom08, I was pretty stoked to see another review from you! Glad you approved of the chapter, Jimmy can pay attention when he wants to...and I'm pretty happy to hear that you're a little interested in seeing Gia's overall role, she's sort of slid under most people's radar, so I'm glad someone's noticed her. Cookie97, so...don't write anymore fluff pieces...got it. Teasing. :D . I told you guys there was a point in the story where the boys wouldn't stop fighting. They do stop eventually, though, I assure you...but then other bad things happen so...yeah. IcicleLilly, I know, I'm mean like that...making it seem like they'll make up and then taking it away! Seriously, though, that was all them constantly at one another's throats like that...I couldn't get them to stop...ugh, boys. I'm glad you dug Gia last chapter, she has her moments I think.
Thank you for the reviews you guys! Hope to hear from you again this chapter, and I'll see you all...wait, what is today...?