Liz and Robert got married at the end of January in a quiet courthouse ceremony. Jess wore the only button-up shirt he owned, feeling out of place in the tiny room filled with strangers from Robert's life. Luke had been invited but left as soon as the ceremony was over, disapproving of his sister's decision and worried about her bringing a complete stranger into their lives. But Liz had a mind of her own, and once she made a decision, no one—not even Luke—could talk her out of it.

Liz had hoped that marriage would bring stability, but the addition of Robert made the already cramped apartment feel suffocating. He was a loud and inconsiderate inhabitant, working the night shift and arriving home just as Liz and Jess were starting their day. Despite their best efforts to stay quiet and avoid confrontation, Robert made his presence impossible to ignore—stomping around, turning the TV on loudly, and banging cabinets as he rummaged for food. By mid-morning, when Jess was at school and Liz was at work, Robert would attempt to sleep through the relentless city noise but often failed. He would emerge from the bedroom irritated, muttering curses about the neighbors or the traffic outside.

Liz tried to mediate the tension, reminding Jess to be patient and pleading with Robert to be more considerate. But her efforts felt like patchwork on a crumbling wall. By February, the strain in their small home was palpable, and it wasn't just at home.

At school, Jess's frustration boiled over. He faced detention after getting into a fight during recess. It started innocently enough: Jess was reading a battered copy of Carrie, a book he'd borrowed from the library. He had a pencil to take notes in the margins. But a nosy classmate noticed and immediately reported him to a monitor.

"Hey, Mariano," the monitor said, looming over him. "You're not allowed to take sharp objects to recess. I'm going to have to confiscate this pencil."

"Why?" Jess asked, defiance flickering in his eyes as he clutched the pencil tightly.

"It's dangerous. It could be used as a weapon," the monitor replied, his tone calm but firm.

"Seriously?" Jess frowned. "It's just a pencil."

"Yes, Mariano," his classmate chimed in mockingly, stepping closer. "Anything in your hand is potentially deadly. You can't be trusted with a pencil."

The boy reached out and snatched the pencil from Jess's grip.

"Hey!" Jess shot up from the bench, anger rising like a flame.

"Now you can't vandalize books or stab anyone," the boy taunted, twirling the pencil between his fingers.

"Guys, cut it out," the monitor warned, stepping between them, but the tension crackled in the air.

"What are you even reading, anyway?" The boy tilted his head to glance at the cover. "Carrie? Who's Carrie—your girlfriend?"

"No," Jess shot back. "That would be your mother."

The insult wasn't clever, but it hit its mark. The boy's expression darkened. With a smirk, he snapped the pencil in two.

Something inside Jess snapped too. He grabbed the boy by the shirt, his frustration and anger finally boiling over. Before he could act further, the monitor stepped in, yanking Jess away and escorting him to the principal's office. Jess sat silently in the office, his hands trembling, as the weight of what he'd done sank in.

But much to Jess's surprise, the principal seemed more concerned about the book he'd been reading than the fight.

The principal's face was stern as he leaned forward, holding Jess's book like evidence in a courtroom. "Does your family know about the kinds of books you've been reading?"

Jess tilted his head, biting back a smirk. "Yeah, they're thrilled I'm literate."

The principal's eyes narrowed. "Carrie is hardly appropriate for someone your age. Don't you think a story like this could influence your behavior?"

Jess feigned a thoughtful expression. "You're right. I was just about to practice telekinesis in the cafeteria."

"That's not funny, Mariano."

"Let's agree to disagree," Jess replied evenly.

The principal let out a heavy sigh, placing the book on his desk like it was contaminated. "You're facing detention for your actions today, and I'll be contacting your parents."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "What about the other guy? You know, the one who broke my pencil. Is he getting detention for property damage?"

"This isn't a negotiation," the principal snapped, clearly flustered. "And I don't need your advice on how to handle this."

Jess leaned back in his chair, his calm defiance radiating as he muttered under his breath, "You sure could use some."

The principal ignored the jab, his voice clipped as he gestured toward the door. "You'll serve your time in detention after school. Don't test my patience any further, Mariano."

Jess stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Wouldn't dream of it."

As he left the office, he caught sight of Carrie still sitting on the principal's desk. "You might want to read the ending," he called over his shoulder. "It's a real blast."

x

"Welcome to the Breakfast Club," Jess thought to himself as he entered the detention room. Ironically, with himself, there were exactly five kids there.

"Welcome to the Breakfast Club," the principal said out loud, smiling proud at himself for the witty comment. Jess rolled his eyes, mostly angry at himself for thinking of the same joke as the principal.

"You're all here because you did something reprehensible today. Now, I have a meeting to get into, so Mr. Martinez, some of you may know him as your literature teacher, will stay here with you for the next hour. Now, you must do the assignment he prepared to you, and if you don't stick to his rules he has permission to turn this detention into a suspension. Have I made myself clear?" The principal pointed dramatically to the students sitting in their chairs and looking bored to death at him.

The principal left and Mr. Martinez entered, leaning his back against the blackboard.

"If you have any homework, get to it. If you don't, I have something for you to work on. And before you ask – no, sleeping is not an option. You're here to think about your choices, and maybe learn a thing or two. Any questions?"

One boy, sitting right behind Jess raised his hand. Mr. Martinez signaled for him to start talking. "Is this going to be on the test?"

A flicker of amusement crossed Mr. Martinez's face, but he didn't miss a beat. "Yes, Mr. Jenkins. Reflecting on why you gave your math teacher a hard time is exactly what the curriculum's been missing."

The students chuckled lightly, breaking the tension in the room. Jess leaned back in his chair, sitting near the door with his bag propped against the wall. His plan was simple: survive the next sixty minutes with as little interaction as possible.

"Alright, since none of you look particularly inspired, here's your assignment," Mr. Martinez continued, distributing papers. "You're going to write about choices—good ones, bad ones, and the consequences that follow. Keep it honest, or don't bother turning it in."

Jess stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him. If he were to be completely honest, the idea of filling these hours with writing wasn't as bad as it sounded. At this point, he had already read enough stories to want to write a few of his own. He grabbed a pen that had been forgotten on his desk and was about to make a draft of something when he felt a gentle poke from the boy identified as Jenkins. He turned around to look at him.

"You're the kid who fought Jake Arnold today, aren't you?" he asked with a wide grin. Jess didn't sayanything, but confirmed the information with a smirk. "That guy is a loser. You know, once I changed his locker code. Nobody could figure it out. He started crying and begged his mom to come pick him up, didn't show up for a whole week." The other student said laughing.

"Might I know when exactly this happened, Jenkins?" Mr. Martinez asked, raising his eyebrows in mock disapproval.

"In my dreams, sir." The student replied, looking down, but still trying to hold back his laughter. Jess also looked down, trying to control his own laughter.

"I'm Vincent. What's your name?" the student asked in a whisper.

"Jim Stark," Jess replied, deadpan.

"I could see that," a girl who was sitting in the back of the classroom replied with a smile. "Sarah," she introduced herself with a little wave for both boys.

"No it's not," another girl, sitting on the opposite corner, said annoyed. "His name is Mariano," she corrected.

"Actually, his name is Jess. Mariano is his last name," the last boy, who was sitting in the first chair in the middle row replied, sounding very proud to be the one who knew the most. "I'm Leonard and she who has no sense of humor is Kristy." He concluded the introduction. Kristy crossed her arms and breathed heavily, staring at the blackboard.

"Well, I guess this is the moment when each of us tells our sob story to explain how we wound up here... Volunteers?" Vincent said, his eager gaze sweeping the group, but no one took the plunge.

It was Mr. Martinez who broke the silence. "Jenkins, since you're so keen on hearing stories, why don't you start with yours?" He proposed, looking up from his newspaper.

Vincent blinked, caught off guard. "Uh, well... I might have set up a fake announcement over the PA system this morning."

The group perked up at that.

"What did it say?" Sarah asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Oh, you know, just your standard 'Due to unforeseen circumstances, all math classes are canceled for the day.'" Vincent smirked. "Half the school cheered. Until the principal found out."

The group burst into laughter. Even Jess shook his head, amused.

"That was you?" Leonard said, his voice cracking with disbelief. "I heard that! I thought it was real!"

"Yeah, so did the math department." Vincent chuckled.

Jess glanced at Mr. Martinez, who covered his face behind the newspaper to hide his own amusement. As the conversation slowly began to flow, Mr. Martinez watched from his seat, occasionally interjecting with dry humor or guiding the discussion back when it veered off track. The students, hesitant at first, started to open up, sharing complaints about school, home, and the things that landed them in detention.

By the end of the session, the tension in the room had dissolved into something lighter. When the bell rang, Jess realized he'd barely thought about the time.

As they left the room, Vincent nudged Jess's shoulder. "So, James Dean—see you around?"

Jess smirked. "Maybe." He picked up his backpack and threw it over his right shoulder and turned to Mr. Martinez, handing him the paper.

The teacher looked at him suspiciously and raised his eyebrows in surprise when he noticed the boy had actually written something in it. He watched as the students left the detention room and their unexpected connection behind.

x

Jess let the door slide shut behind him as he entered the apartment, His mind still processing the events of the day. He was looking forward to the solitude of his room, but as he moved further into the apartment, muffled voices stopped him in his tracks.

"Liz?" he called, his voice cutting through the quiet. She wasn't supposed to be home at this hour. Then again, routine was never her strong suit. Following the sounds, he hesitated outside her room. The door was slightly ajar, and against his better judgment, he nudged it open.

The scene hit him like a punch to the gut. Robert stood shirtless by the bed, his posture stiffening the moment he noticed Jess. Across from him, a woman with disheveled hair and smudged makeup adjusted her wrinkled dress, her movements jerky with embarrassment.

"Hey, kid," Robert greeted, his voice unnaturally casual, as though trying to downplay the situation. "You're home early."

Jess's eyes darted between the two of them. The woman's face flushed, her gaze flitting nervously as though searching for an escape.

"You never told me you had a kid," she said, her tone accusatory but hushed.

"He's not mine," the man said, without moving his eyes away from Jess. "Jess, let's talk about this. From man to man." He said carefully.

Jess felt his heart race, the words freezing him in place. From man to man? Robert's tone was condescending, like Jess was supposed to understand this as some kind of bonding moment. He clenched his fists, his knuckles white as he fought to keep his composure.

"Unbelieavable," Jess scoffed, unable to ignore the storm building inside of him. He glanced at the woman once more—her eyes wide and uncomfortable—and then back at Robert, who was still trying to play it off like nothing was wrong.

The woman looked away, embarrassed, clearly wanting nothing more than to disappear. Jess didn't know what to make of her.

"Kid, relax," he said, his voice rising in pitch. "We're all adults here—well, almost adults. Just—just don't tell your mom, okay?"

Robert seemed to realize the conversation wasn't going the way he planned. He ran a hand through his hair, glancing nervously at the woman, who was hastily smoothing her dress. "It's not what it looks like, alright? Just—give me a second to explain."

"I don't want to hear it." Jess snapped, interrupting him. He turned on his heel and stormed out, slamming the apartment door behind him. He had no idea where he was going or what he was going to do.

As he stepped onto the sidewalk, a familiar voice called out to him from behind.

"Jess?"

He turned around to see Emma standing a few steps away, her brows knitting in concern. It took him a moment to process her presence, his mind still spinning.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone sharper than he intended.

"I-You didn't go to the library today..." she started to explain, but was interrupted by the sight of Robert catching up with them. His face was livid.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, her voice soft but insistent.

Jess shook his head. "It will be," he said curtly, taking her hand and leading her down the street. They walked around the corner and he guided her to an alley where there was a fire escape.

"Why are you here?" He asked again, this time more gently, as she stopped in front of him.

"Well, since you didn't go to the library I decided to come here to see if everything was okay," she responded.

"I had to stay in school a little longer today, that's all," he explained.

"Did you get detention or something?" She asked with a chuckle. He felt embarrassed. In her world it didn't make sense for a person to do anything that would give them some sort of punishment.

"Nah," he laughed it off. "We had to do a school project." He lied, hoping she wouldn't ask further questions. He stood quietly looking at his shoes.

"What's going on?" Emma asked. Jess didn't answer. He was still in shock, his mind racing as he tried to process everything that had just happened. "Jess," Emma said, stepping closer, her voice gentle but firm. "you're scaring me, what's up?"

Jess let out a frustrated breath, his hands shaking slightly as he ran them through his hair. "Nothing," he said, his voice strained.

She reached out, gently grasping his arm, pulling him to face her. "Fine, don't tell me." Her eyes were soft, but there was determination there too. "But I'm your friend, you can count on me, you know..."

Jess's eyes met hers, a flicker of vulnerability breaking through his guarded expression. He was torn between pushing her away and pulling her closer, the weight of the moment pressing down on him.

Without thinking, his hand guided her a step closer, their faces just inches apart. Emma froze, her breath catching as the tension between them grew. Jess's heart pounded, and at the last second, he dropped his gaze, stepping back.

"I shouldn't have..." he began, his voice barely audible. Embarrassment colored his cheeks as he turned away.

"Jess," Emma said softly, reaching for him. Her fingers brushed his arm, stopping him. She hesitated, her own heart racing, before leaning forward and placing a quick, awkward peck on his cheek. Her face flushed as she pulled back, but she didn't let go of his arm.

Jess blinked, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. A faint smile tugged at his lips, breaking through the storm cloud that had followed him.

Before her nerves could overtake her, Emma leaned forward, her lips brushing his. He instinctively pulled her even closer. Their movement wasn't coordinated as they both navigated this uncharted territory. He could feel her warm breath and wondered if they were doing this right. She was the first to pull away. He looked at her, unable to read her expression. She avoided his gaze, her cheeks burning red.

"Was it bad?" He asked failing to hide his own vulnerability. She looked at him, her expression difficult for him to interpret.

"What? No. Why? Was it bad for you?" She asked, her voice cracking in panic.

"No. Not at all." He shook his head with determination, squeezing her hand lightly. "Let's get out of here... do you want some ice cream?"

"Okay," she said quietly.

Jess stepped out of the alley and looked around to see if it was clear before signaling for her to follow him. They walked side by side, their hands brushing occasionally, causing them to flinch from a mix of fear and excitement.]

A.N.: There it is, the moment I had been waiting for. I hope you enjoy it. It's really important for me to read your thoughts on the story. Would you like to know more about the new characters? Where do you think the story will go from here?