The following weekend
Saturday
D-JAK Dojang
Without the help of Paige Wilson, I could never have got things sorted out so quickly; she was a genuine expert at her job!
She had arranged adverts, insurance, signage and the dozens of other things that were required to get the ball rolling. Most of these things I did not have a clue about! I had even given her a large advance on her salary, to help her and Megan out. Paige had full authority for the security and finances of 'D-JAK', as we had called the place. After a lot of thought, we had named the place after our parents: Damon, James, Alice and Kathleen!
Megan had appeared during some of the late evenings that Paige had spent getting things setup and, with Paige's permission, I had used her for some of our publicity material.
Marty was a genius with a camera, so I had asked him to take some staged photos of Megan in a white v-neck gi, in a number of different stances. Megan actually seemed to enjoy herself greatly! Turned out that the kid loved to have her photo taken and wanted to learn some martial arts skills!
I had ensured that either Dave or myself were with Paige and Megan for security each evening, as the nights were dark and cold. It occurred to me that maybe she should have a car that would help improve her security for getting to and from work; I would need to look into that!
I was getting a little concerned about D-JAK, as I would be getting a lot more exposure to what Dave called 'normal people'! He would constantly remind me that I would need to be courteous and also that I would need to tone down my language, quite a bit! The fucker actually threatened me with that damn swear jar!
What was it going to be like dealing with 'normal' people? I had tried that, over a year ago and look what happened! I had also started to gather together everything that I would need to teach the different levels of students. There was no reason for me to be nervous, but I was. Dave assured me that he would be there with me, every step of the way.
I was so damn lucky to have Dave!
On another note, I had Chloe and the British twins to sort out!
Chloe was grounded, till the middle of December and was not enjoying it so far; she was suffering through four weeks of no Fusion and no Josh, except at school! This was not as good as it sounded, because Josh had refused to talk to her for the first week, unless absolutely necessary. Chloe was still in the bad books with Josh and so far I could not get him to budge, but I didn't exactly put that much effort into it; Chloe would have to suffer the consequences of her actions; but I suppose I'll have to fix that, too! Yes, I was pleased that Dave had manipulated me into forgiving Chloe, but I was also kinda mad with Dave for doing that. But, ultimately, I knew that Dave had done the right thing, as usual!
The British twins... A conundrum!
Should I trust them and maybe bring them into Fusion?
Unlike Justice Forever, we didn't wander around the safehouse with our masks on and I was still uncertain about letting the twins see anymore faces!
That night
West Ridge
While laying in bed, with Dave, he asked me a question.
"Are you gonna go overboard with Christmas, this year?"
I laughed and cuddled into him.
"Maybe!" I replied; I loved Christmas!
"I assume you want a tree?"
"Of course!" You couldn't have Christmas without a tree!
"Can I dress you up as an elf?"
I thought about that one.
"Not me! I might look for some sexy Christmas underwear, though!"
"I could live with that, I suppose! Mistletoe?"
"Definitely!"
"Party?"
"Could do... I need to find out if the old man will be with us for Christmas."
"Marcus is not old!"
"To a seventeen year-old, anybody over thirty is old!"
"You really have led a sheltered life!"
The next day
Sunday
West Ridge
I had a visitor: Josh.
Josh was bored and needed somebody to talk to, about 'Fusion stuff'. He still wasn't talking to Chloe, so he had decided to come and see me, instead.
"You really need to start talking to Chloe; I've forgiven the little bitch!" I said.
"I know I should, but I can't... She obviously thought only of herself; I thought she cared about me!"
"What? Of course she cares about you, Josh!"
"She risked her life and could have been killed... Chloe is all that I have left, from my past life. She almost fucking threw that away!" Josh responded, almost shouting the last sentence. He was getting really worked up over this and I could see the emotion spreading across his face; he meant every word.
"It wasn't entirely her fault. She got herself all wrapped up in the whole 'Shadow' thing. It happens, believe me, I know! There are times when I feel that I just have to be Hit Girl; I need that release. Josh, don't let this come between you both; I promise you, you will regret it! You need Chloe and she needs you. She became a damn vigilante after what happened to you, last year and she almost lost you a second time, back in New York. I know you love her and she really loves you. Go talk to her. Go make up with her... Make out if that's what it'll take!"
Josh actually blushed.
"I'm being really stupid, aren't I?" Josh asked finally.
"Not really. Chloe hurt you, doing what she did. We all make mistakes Josh; I have made many whoppers in my short life and so has Dave. Chloe is young and so are you. You will make some big mistakes, too, before you're much older that will really piss her off! You've made one or two already that have pissed me off! A certain safehouse in New York comes to mind!"
"That wasn't entirely my fault!" Josh argued.
"I forgave you though, didn't I? I also forgave you for the motorbike incident!"
"You're not gonna let those things lie, are you? Point taken; I'll go see Chloe! Thanks Mindy," Josh said and got up to leave.
"Enjoy yourselves!" I said with a smirk.
Later that afternoon
Morton Grove
I got out of the cab and walked up to the front door; I was a bag of nerves.
The door opened, before I could knock. Dr Bennett was standing there, looking down at me. That woman always scared me for some reason!
"Hello Joshua, come in."
I felt a little confused.
"Mindy called and explained the situation. Chloe is still grounded, but I don't want her stupid mistake to come between you two; as far as friendship is concerned, anyway!" Dr Bennett announced. "Chloe is sulking upstairs... Just try not to wake the neighbours!"
I felt my face warming up, rapidly, so I bolted for the stairs, leaving Dr Bennett smirking.
..._...
I barged straight into Chloe's room and shut the door behind me.
"What the..." Chloe started, but I didn't let her finish.
I dived onto the bed, pushed her down and kissed her, full on the lips. I saw her eyes almost double in size and she moaned... I felt something else that was doubling in size, too!
..._...
"Damn it to hell!" I announced, pulling my clothes back on.
"You yanks really have a way with words!" Josh replied, as he pulled up his trousers, but was still staring at my bare chest.
"You Brits have a hell of a way of forgiving somebody, without using any words at all!" I responded.
We had had one hell of a time, together. My legs were still tingling and thanks to Josh, I also needed a shower! I was really pleased that Josh had come over and more than a little surprised that Mom had let him in! It also concerned me that I hadn't all that quiet, during the... Er... Activities!
"Mindy suggested that making out might help to break the ice between us!" Josh responded, with a smug grin.
"I really am sorry, Josh. I didn't mean to put other people in danger," I started.
"Chloe! Let's just leave things as they are, okay?" Josh said and gave me a kiss.
..._...
Josh flew past my Mom and out the door as fast as possible.
I just stood there, at the bottom of the stairs, feeling intensely embarrassed.
"You two sounded like you were having fun!" Mom commented, with a knowing smile. "So he forgave you?"
"Yeah! Things got a bit messy, but he eventually forgave me!" I replied, blushed and then bolted back up to my bedroom and started giggling uncontrollably!
West Ridge
My cell rang.
It was Dr Bennett.
"Hi, Doc!"
"Mission accomplished!" Dr Bennett said and I could hear the laughter in her voice.
"Did they..." I prompted.
"I heard noises that I definitely never expected, or wanted, to ever hear from my daughter!"
"They do get a bit noisy!" I admitted.
"Tell me about it!"
Morton Grove
A text arrived.
It was from Mindy: 'I could HEAR you two from here!'
My mouth dropped open!
Then another text came in; Mindy again: 'Semen comes off easier when it's FRESH!'
I felt mortified!
The Farm
A text arrived.
It was from Mindy: 'By the SOUNDS of it, you hit the spot!'
My mouth dropped open!
Then another text came in; Mindy again: 'I heard forgiveness EXPLODED everywhere!'
I felt mortified!
West Ridge
When I got home, Mindy was giggling on the couch.
"What's up!" I asked.
Mindy passed me her cell and I looked through her recently sent texts.
"You have a dirty mind, Mindy Macready!" I said, laughing. "So they made up or should I say 'made out'?"
"From what Dr Bennett says, they were loud!" Mindy said and started laughing.
The following morning
Monday
West Ridge
The weather was getting colder and we had a tiny bit of snow!
I know it's only November 25th, but I'm still starting to get excited about Christmas. Dave says I'm just a big kid! Even better news; Marcus will be with us for Christmas. He said that he needed to be in Chicago anyway, so would look forward to Christmas with us and maybe even the New Year!
I told Dave the good news.
"God, he's being brave!" Dave commented.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, indignantly, knowing exactly what he meant.
"Well, he'll have to put up with Little Miss Christmas and her giddy behaviour!"
"It's not my fault I enjoy Christmas and get a little overexcited!" I retorted.
"You do excite easily, I'll agree to that!"
"Asshole!" I growled, then laughed.
That afternoon
I was in a good mood and apparently an evil one, too!
My cell rang, soon after lunch.
"Hello Chloe!" I said cheerfully!
"You - are - an - evil - bitch!"
"What?" I asked innocently.
"Don't play innocent, with me, Mindy Macready!"
Oops!
"I will not have people sending texts about what people may, or may not, be spraying over my naked body!" Chloe stormed.
I then heard a voice, from Chloe's end of the call.
"Who is spraying what over your naked body?" A boys voice asked.
"Fuck dammit!" Chloe yelled and the connection was cut.
Oops!
Lake View High School
I was going to fucking kill Mindy!
I span around to find Josh's best pal: Mike Taylor.
"As to who, that is my business. As to what, well you'll find out once you reach puberty!" I retorted angrily. It had to be a damn boy, who overheard my outburst! Mind you, Mike was okay, it could have been much worse!
"If you dare..." I started, pushing Mike up against the wall.
"Chloe, leave Mike alone!" Josh said, running up, followed by my best friend, Avery.
"Oh, I might have known! It was you who was..." Mike started, grinning.
"Shut up, if you know what's good for you!" I interrupted.
"What is going on?" Josh asked.
"Mike overheard a conversation I was having with that evil bitch, about you and me, last night!"
"Oh!" Josh said, blushing.
"If either of you two breath a damn word, I'll cut your fucking testicles off!"
Avery gasped at my language.
"Avery, get a grip!"
"You need defusing!" Josh stated and before I could reply he had grabbed me and then kissed me. I went all limp, before he stood me back up.
I started to shout at him, but couldn't.
"Damn you, Joshua!" I said and felt slightly damp in places that I wasn't about to mention! "I need the bathroom!"
"Wow Josh, please kiss me like that!" Avery said, hopefully.
"He does, he'll die a hideous death!" I called back down the corridor.
West Ridge
A text appeared: 'I hate you SO much right now!'
Lake View High School
Mindy replied to my text: 'You're the one with a BIG mouth!'
She was a real bitch!
Mindy sent another text almost immediately: 'Maybe you should stick SOMEBODY in it!'
I wanted to throw the damn phone down the corridor. Damn, my face was getting hot! Take a deep breath Chloe, she's just trying to wind you up... She's succeeding too!
West Ridge
"Oh, you are so evil!" Dave commented, looking over my shoulder at my cell.