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Chapter 6 - Chapter 3

Jason's POV

"You look tired, honey. Are you sure you're up to going out?"

I glanced at my dad for help, but his nose was buried in a biker magazine and he didn't bat an eye. Kind of convenient, the magazine, but in a house run by the woman standing in front of me, with both hands on her hips and that penetrating gaze that could see anything, not really a surprise.

My dad is a big guy. Not only is he tall with broad shoulders, he's built like a brick house. He's got bulging biceps, an affinity for tattoos, and a shaved head to boot. The tattoo thing we have in common, and though I can look him in the eye because we're pretty much the same height now, I'm more on the lean side. On the football field I was the go-to wide receiver because I was built for speed, while my dad would have been the center or fullback.

He's an intimidating dude, and when he wants to, he can look pretty damn scary.

Except he's so far from scary it's laughable. Don't get me wrong. My dad's temper has a slow fuse, and when it's lit, he has no problem using his size to intimidate anyone who wrongs him. And he's more than willing to back up that attitude with his fists. No one pushes him around. I mean, no one.

Well, except for my mum.

She has him by the balls, and he's totally fine with it. He told me once that a good woman was hard to come by and even harder to keep. He said that when found the right girl, I'd do whatever I needed to do to make her happy. Case in point? A few years back, dad took up line dancing because my mum wouldn't stop talking about it. Line dancing. Can you imagine? Talk about a bull in a china shop.

At the time I thought it was lame, and Alex and I used to razz him about it. A lot. I mean, he was about as far away from those line dancing guys as you could get. But my dad would just shake his head and grin. He told Nate and I that even though he had two left feet, it was worth it because it made mum happy. He said that one day we would learn what it meant to put someone else first.

One day we would learn how a smile could knock us on our ass.

All of that was fine-hell, it was his life and all- but I couldn't help but think that when mum got all up in my shit, he should at least stick up for me. Wasn't there some kind of guy code?

"Jason? Did you hear me? I think you're a little pale. Maybe you should just stay in. Your first day studying must have been intense. You might have overdone it."

Here we go.

"I'm fine."

The words came out a little sharp, and I heard my dad rattle his magazine-his warning for respect. Whatever. I needed to get out. I'd been pissed ever since Catherine blew me off at the library, and these days, my temper doesn't have a slow fuse. It can turn on a dime, and right now, I felt something brewing.

I needed to get out.

If only I could find my damn cell phone. It was here, among all the crap tossed unto the kitchen counter. There was at least a week's worth of newspapers piled up (who actually read the paper anymore?) along with an impressive amount of junk mail.

"Are you looking for this?" Mum asked gently, rooting out my phone from beneath an issue of Better homes & Gardens. Huh. Since when did my parents give a shit about landscaping?

"Thanks," I said, taking my cell phone from her. "Noah's gonna be here in a few."

"Where are you guys going?"

Mum and I glanced up as my sister Hailey walked into the kitchen. Two years younger than me, she was almost sixteen, and her attitude these days fluctuated between hostile and bitchy and, well, not much else.

"Out," I replied in answer to Hailey's question.

"Can I come?"

"No."

"You suck."

"Yeah. I know."

Mum crossed her hands over her chest and frowned. "You're not going anywhere, Hailey. Or did you forget you're grounded?"

My sister scowled. "Seriously? I wasn't that late."

Mum moved towards Hailey, and I took a step towards the back door, glad that Hailey had drawn mum's attention.

"Your curfew is eleven and you tried to sneak into the house an hour and a half late."

"But it's summer! None of my friends have to be home until, like, one or whatever."

"Yes, well, I don't care about your other friends. I care about you. And in this house we have rules."

Hailey's scowl deepened as she glared at me. "Like he ever came home before midnight."

She was right about that. I don't think I'd ever been given a curfew. A lot of things had changed after my accident, and maybe it wasn't fair, but Hailey was getting a lot of flack, and I didn't blame her for being upset about it.

"We're not talking about Jason right now," Mum continued. "We're talking about you, and while we're at it, I'd like to know who brought you home an hour and a half late."

I watched the exchange with interest, mostly because it was refreshing not to be under Mum's microscope. I got why she was so in my face, i really did, but man, she was suffocating sometimes.

"A friend," Hailey said, her eyes sliding away.

"I'd like to hear the answer to that."

Those words came from my dad, and his nose was no longer buried inside his magazine. His eyes were now on Hailey.

"Just a guy from school."

"A name would be good," Dad said, and I could tell he wasn't impressed with his daughter.

"Tyler Jameson."

Huh. He was bad news.

Hailey's eyes widened slightly, and I knew she was begging me to keep quiet. For a moment I had one of those weird blips, almost like my brain slows down and speeds back up again. It's a freaky sensation and I hated it.

"Jason, are you alright?"

I nodded, not trusting myself to answer, and shoved my cell into my front pocket at the same time a knock sounded, and then one of my oldest buddies, Noah, walked in through the door.

"Hey, Mrs. Smith." He smiled at my mother and nodded to my dad before his eyes slid over to Hailey.

"Nice hair," he said with a grin.

"You suck," she said glaring at him.

Noah threw his hands into the air. "What did I do?"

"Nothing," Hailey shouted. "Forget it." She pushed past my dad and headed back upstairs.

Noah rocked on his feet and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Man, your sister. What's up with her?"

"Who knows?" I replied.

Noah raised his eyebrows i question. "You ready?"

My mum stepped in front of me, her hands sliding up either side of my face. Her fingers were cool, their touch gentle. "Where are you going?"

"Gonna hit the movies," Noah answered.

My mum's eyes softened, and for a moment I saw the fear that still lived inside her, and I felt like shit. It was fear that I had put there, and I'd be the happiest person on the planet if that look would just go away. But I had feeling it was not happening anytime soon. Maybe it never would.

"We'll be okay mum. We're just heading over to the next block. Their driving is running up."

"It's what?" She asked.

"Running up." Man, get me out of here.

A heart beat passed. Maybe two.

My mum cleared her throat, her eyes falling away.

I glanced over to Noah and shrugged.

"Okay," she said stepping away. "Be safe," she whispered.

"I got him," Noah said with a grin. "No worries."

"You better Noah. Don't forget. We know where you live."

That was my dad, and I nodded to him before following Noah out to his truck. A beat up and rusted Chevy, it sounded like shit, and I was pretty sure the exhaust wouldn't have passed any kind of emission test, but to Noah it was the best ride ever. He'd saved all his money two years ago, and as soon as he'd gotten his license, he'd bought the thing from Old Man Bill's used car lot.

And Old Man Bill had owned the car since it was new.

I slid inside and leaned back, just now thinking of what I'd said. Running up? I'd meant to say the drive-in was still up and running. That was the problem with my brain these days. Sometimes I skipped words or got the order mixed up and didn't know it until later, if I figured it out at all.

Noah threw the truck in reverse, and after a few seconds, we were heading out of town.

"So how did it go?"

"How did what go?" I replied. But I knew what he was getting at. He's been ribbing me about Catherine ever since he found out she would be the one tutoring me for my government test.

"Don't make me hurt you," he said with a chuckle.

Noah was a good guy, with an easy smile and an I'm up for anything kind of vibe going on. His mum was black-as in Jamaican-and his dad was white-as in basic american. And Noah? Well, he'd ended up somewhere in the middle. His dreads were an ode to his mum, even though she made sure he always trimmed it to just below his shoulders, but the blue eyes, they were all from his dad.

He was probably the funniest guy I knew, and he would do anything on a dare. Like once he'd run naked across the football field during cheer-leading practice. It had earned him fifty bucks and a week's worth of detention. But that was Noah. Up for anything.

"It was alright."

"All right?" He snorted. "Catherine Moss is one of the hottest chicks in Sun City. Damn, that girl has a nice ass. And her attitude? Off the charts. AT-TI-TUDE."

Okay. Noah was one of my best buddies, but I was starting to get annoyed. I really didn't want to talk about Catherine.

"She's got attitude for sure," I muttered.

"I know, right?" Noah sped down the road. "I took Civic with her last semester, and after that Trevor guy moved out of state-"

"Trevor guy?"

"Yeah, you know the guy she dated for, like, two years."

Huh. How did I not know that?

"Anyway," Noah continued. " Troy Lewis tried his hardest to get in her pants. Like, the guy pulled out all the stops. He must have asked her out five or six times. The dud seriously does't know what the word No means. One day he grabbed her ass, felt her up real good. I was about to step in because, you know, I don't like that kind of shit, but she slammed her foot down on top of his." Noah snorted and glanced at me. "And she was wearing those high-heeled things. It had to hurt like hell. And then she nailed him with a hard right."

"What do you mean nailed?"

"I mean she slammed her fist into his face."

"She punched Troy Lewis?"

"Damn straight she did. Dude's nose was bleeding all over the place, and he cursed her up and down." Noah's grin was huge. "She didn't care. She sat in her seat and took all her shit out, her books and stuff, put them on her desk as if nothing had happened, and then she told Troy that next time she would aim for his junk. Told him that she had a pair of steel-toed boots at home and that she would be wearing them till the end of the semester." Noah slapped the steering wheel. "Asshole totally deserved to get his balls kicked in, though it never happened because he never went near her again."

"Huh." It was all I had.

"Yeah," Noah replied. "That chick is fierce."

About ten minutes later, we pulled into line at the drive-in, and once inside, we cruised for a spot near the back. It's where all the action's at. The downside is that the walk to the concessions booth is long, but the upside is...it's where all the action's at.

Monday night at the Bloopers Drive-in was double feature night. Sadly for Noah and I and all the other guys who'd shown up to hang out in the back, the movies were both chick flicks. Which meant that most guys would end up getting lucky and arguing with their girl. That's the thing about chick flicks-they either make a girl question her relationship or put her in the mood for some heavy making out. It was a fifty-fifty shot, but since I was solo, I guess it didn't really matter all that much.

A bunch of guys we knew from school were already parked. And a couple of them were tossing a football around, cheered on by a group of girls, most of whom were already halfway to loaded.

I nodded to a cut blonde sitting on the tailgate of a truck. Her name was Lauren, and we'd partied together in the past. She patted the empty spot beside her and I grinned. Things were looking up.

After we parked, Noah and I hiked to the concessions booth. We were both taking it easy tonight, Noah because he was the designated driver, and me because if I came home with beer on my breath, mum would kill me. That is if she could get past my dad. And like I said, dad is built like a brick house. No way was I messing with that.

I volunteered to pay for our food and had just ordered two large popcorn and a couple of cokes when I heard a soft voice behind me.

Catherine.

I don't know how I knew it was her. I just did.

I grabbed the tray off the guy in the red-and-white-stripped apron and turned around. Catherine and a girl from school, Anabeth, I think her name was, were chatting with Noah.

I walked towards them and stopped a couple of inches away, not smiling when I saw her, not reacting at all. The girl thought I was a moron. She'd been pretty clear about that.

She was still wearing the same clothes she'd had on at the library. White T-shirt that fit just right and those short shorts that showed off a whole lot of tanned leg. Her girlfriend was dressed for a night out in jeans and a jacket.

"I hope you brought a gallon of bug spray."

Catherine looked at her girlfriend and then back at me. "Excuse me?"

I nodded to her legs. "You're gonna get bit up for sure, and we'll be able to play connect the dots on your legs."

"That's alright," Noah said, putting his arm around the other girl. "I've got my fishing crap in the back of the truck, and I know I've got lots of spray. So you girls gonna hang with us or what?"

"No," Catherine said.

"Yes," her friend said.

Catherine's eyes darted to mine, and I saw something there but I wasn't sure what it was. "I mean," she said slowly, "we can or not...it's up to you."

Was that her way of apologizing for being such a bitch at the library? Did I care? I studied her for a few seconds, because I could see this going one of two ways. Either we were gonna be friends or not. Friends made for a much better summer.

The other option wasn't one I wanted to think about. At least not yet.

"Follow me," I said with a shrug. "We're parked at the back."

I guess I was gonna find out.

...........................

Ahhhhhhh!

So this is a heads up. Not all the chapters have a lot of drama and such, but still do the needful.

Anyway today's poll is on Disney Animated Movies.

Team Moana or Team Lilo and Stitch

Why is this even and argument. Anyway I would love to hear your opinions on this one.

Bye Freddo's.