SORRY FOR THIS LONG ASS WAIT

it's written all over my face.

CHAPTER SIX

Stress was all Valerie could feel. She had no idea what inequality to write about for Sociology class. Being in Women's Studies, she should've been able to think of a few but none of them were clicking. She had about four different half papers done but she threw them all out. She didn't feel like writing and she couldn't force herself to write anything that wasn't half-ass at the moment. That's what she got for pushing the essay to the last minute.

Jack sat on the couch playing his guitar and she sat on the floor scribbling into her notebook.

"Stop huffing," Jack said, halting his guitar playing for a small moment. "You're ruining my jam session."

"Your jam session is ruining my essay." She huffed out even though he told her to stop.

"You've been writing that bullshit for hours," Jack rolled his eyes. "You live in a poor neighborhood, if you never got a full-ride you'd be working at a mini-mart your whole life, and you can't even afford a jug of OJ some weeks. If that's not inequality I don't know what is."

"If it's so easy, you write it." She crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Alright." He said and Jack crawled down to the floor. "I'm going to write this and you're going to learn how to play guitar."

"It's four pages, Jack."

He picked up on of her crumpled essays on the floor and flattened it out. "Now it's two."

She shook her head and took his place on the couch, picking up his guitar. "I know how to play a G major that's about it."

"Shh," Jack hushed her. "I'm writing."

Valerie let her eyes roll.

Jack was always good at English, he had to be to write his music with any substance. He also was good at History so she trusted him with this essay even if he was a little rusty, not being in school for two years almost.

The essay Jack picked up was one on racial inequality. She had two pages written on it but stopped there. She knew a lot about it, she had to. But she never experienced it. She was white trash from Detroit, classism and sexism she understood but that just seemed too personal. Jack was writing crazily on the paper. He had two black brothers, Jack knew how they could be treated. It probably made Jack angry as hell to think about, since those were his brothers and he didn't view them any different from him, but he had definitely seen somethings.

Stef was mixed, he was half-Latino but you couldn't really tell. Stef's mom, Mariana, was from Colombia. She got her citizenship when she married their dad, a native to Detroit. Valerie's mom's name was Andrea. She was from some place in Pennsylvania and was probably there now. That's all Valerie knew, her mom had left when Stef was born. Stef was born out of an affair and Valeries mom couldn't handle knowing that Valerie shared half her DNA with a cheater or something like that. It was screwed up.

Jack finished in half the time it would've taken Valerie and other than a few grammar mistakes, it was an acing mark. Those didn't even matter because she still had to go to the library tomorrow and type it up.

"Okay, now pick up the guitar, Val."

She picked it up. "I didn't think you were serious."

"I'm always serious."

She gave him a look.

"You know what I mean. Now let's teach you something easy," Jack paused to think of a song. "Wonderful Tonight. It's one of the easiest."

Her fingers burned. She didn't have the thick callouses Jack had from playing guitar every day for years. They were an hour in to Jack's lesson and she still did everything squeaky and off-tempo.

"I'm really not getting this. I can't find the rhythm. Do you have a CD or anything?"

Jack shook his head no.

She sighed. "Then I'm just hopeless."

"How can you be this musically challenged when Stef's one of the greatest in town?"

"I don't know! Stef must have gotten his music skills from his mom."

Jack looked up from the guitar to look at her. "You mean Mariana isn't your mom? You're kidding."

Valerie's brows furrowed. "You didn't know? How do you think Stef and I were only two months apart? What, did you think Mariana popped me out and then saved Stef for later?"

"I don't know," Jack raised his hands in defense. "I've never thought that much into it! Stef never called you his half-sister or anything so I just thought..."

Her eyes narrowed. "Do you call Evelyn your adoptive mom? Do you call Bobby your adoptive brother? Angel? Jeremiah?"

"No, you're right. I get your point." Jack said. "Sorry."

"It's all good," said Valerie. "Now, c'mon, teach me the song."

He tried to teach her some more but it didn't seem to go anywhere until he started singing for her. Valerie didn't understand the strumming until he did. Her chord-switching was still slow and staggering but she managed to make it somewhat sound like Wonderful Tonight with Jack singing it for her. Jack sounded beautiful, she loved his raspy voice in slow songs. Detroit Vandals didn't have many of those, maybe five or six, but they were her favourite ones to here. Loving Won't Leave Me Alone was obviously one of those. She wished they would make more but for right now hearing him sing the lyrics to Wonderful Tonight to her was enough.

"I love your voice." Valerie said unable to hold it back. "I know I make fun of you all the time but I really do love to hear you sing."

"Don't go all mushy on me." He said but he had leaned closer to her, their faces just not touching and he was staring at her in a way that made her face feel hot.

"I'm not." Her eyes flickered down his lips. They were chapped and rough. They'd probably feel just like his hands had against her skin while they played. Tough, but warm and inviting.

Maybe she was getting all mushy on him. But she wouldn't make the next move that she could tell Jack was waiting for her to make. She could hear every breath he took and she could hear her own heart pounding.

Valerie needed to move away. Cole and her had something good going on - she thought. She always did this though. She got something good and always ruined it. She didn't know what to do with boys like Cole.

She faked a cough and sprung back from Jack.

"Thanks for the help with the essay and everything. I think I'm gonna go to bed."

Jack didn't even look at her again. He just stared at the television. "Anytime. Goodnight."

Valerie let out a heavy breath when she shut her bedroom door. She felt like she hadn't breathed since almost kissing Jack.

She had no clue what the fuck she was doing. They had just become friends and of course she had to mess that all up by dry humping him on the dance floor and trying to make-out with him on the couch. Not to mention if she did do that she was cheating on her newfound boyfriend of only three days. Valerie was a mess.

Maybe I was just reading too far into it, she tried to convince herself. It was vain of her to just assume Jack was into her. But she had felt the tension in that moment even if it was all one-sided. That made her feel guilty. She didn't cheat but she wanted to and it wasn't even a week in.

Valerie needed to get a hold of herself. Whatever happened, she needed to ignore it.