"Angie!" an all-too-familiar voice called to her.
She stopped in her tracks, pondering whether she had actually heard the voice or if she was imagining it.
"An-gie!!!" the voice beckoned to her once more.
She was positive this time.
Her curls whipped around her face as she whirled around. There he was, leaning on the hood of his father's Expedition with a smug smirk on his face. The October wind fluttered his bleached locks in his eyes. She felt her heart swell to enormity, seeing him standing so confident with a sexy grin plastered on his face. Though the sun was shining brightly, it was very cold, his cheeks were rosy as was the tip of his nose. He knew how to drive her wild.
"Scott!" she exclaimed, dropping her backpack and running to him. She flew against his body and he enveloped her in his arms. It had only been a week that he was away, but a week was too long.
He lifted her off the ground. "Baby... I missed you so much!" he growled in her ear, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"What are you doing here?" she asked once he put her down.
He extracted a small package from his pocket. "First of all, this is for you." he said.
Angela accepted the box slowly, giving him a skeptical look.
"I got it for you on your birthday, but I kept forgetting to give it to you." he grinned.
"What is it?" she asked, examining the bright red wrapping paper.
"Condoms. So what do you say you and I go in the back seat and test 'em out?" he joked.
Angela look at him in shock.
"I'm joking." he chuckled; a genuine laugh. She loved to see him laugh. "Open it."
Angela grinned at him before eagerly infiltrating the packaging and coming up with a black velvet box. She looked up at him once more. "I... I don't understand..." she said slowly.
"Well," Scott began with a meaningful sigh. "why don't you open the box first?" he grinned.
She pushed open the top and nearly fainted at what she saw. It was a silver band with her name inscribed into the surface. Connecting the beginning and end of her name was a scattered line of rubies, all the way around. She was breathless.
Her brown eyes flashed up at his dancing blue ones. He smiled, pleased with the look of shock he had caused to appear on her features.
"Scott... you shouldn't have, this is too..." she stammered.
"Shhh..." he cooed, placing a finger to her lips.
"Thank you so much Scott!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him. "It's so beautiful!"
"Yeah, well... I try." he said with mock arrogance.
She kissed him warmly on the cheek, leaving slight traces of her red lipstick. "Now..." Scott trailed off, walking the short distance and getting her backpack while she slipped the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. "Hop in." he directed. "I'm taking you out."
She frowned. "I can't go out tonight Scott." she said regretfully.
"Oh come on Angie!" he whined, adding a pout to make it irresistible. "It's Saturday night, we're young." he reasoned.
"It's Tuesday afternoon, and I have to study for chemistry." she informed him, planting a light kiss on his lips.
"Tuesday?" he asked, suddenly addled. "Whoa, the jet lag must have really gotten me." But then his grin reappeared. "I won't give up." he informed her. "Hop in. At least let me drive you home."
Angela grinned, taking her backpack from him. She ran around the car and climbed in.
* * *
"Whatcha doing?" Clint asked, running his fingers over the surface of Timber's desktop.
"Oh, just this thing..." Timber trailed off from her perch on the bed with her books spread out all around her.
"What thing?" Clint asked, walking over to the bed and sitting on the one spot that wasn't littered with note or text books.
Timber sat back, setting her pencil down in the crease of her calculus textbook. "Well Clint, it's this thing that teachers give you." she said.
"What kind of thing?" he asked, becoming interested by the fact that there was something that he did not know and was about to learn about.
"Well, hmm, I'm trying to remember what the name is..." she trailed off, putting a finger to her chin and pondering her answer.
Clint leaned over on the bed to see what she was working on.
"Oh yeah!" she exclaimed smacking her forehead. "I remember what it's called!"
"What?" Clint asked, his curiosity reaching it's appex.
"It's called.... HOMEWORK!!!" she exclaimed.
Clint sat back, giving her a dark look. "You're mean." he accused.
"Your mom." she shot back in the same tone, going back to her assignment.
"Anything I can help you with?" he asked.
"Not unless you're familiar with calculus." she replied.
Clint rolled his eyes. "Smart ass." he said.
"Thank you."
"Why do you do your homework so early anyway? Most people don't do it until late." he pointed out.
"I like to get it done." she replied nonchalantly. "And I'm almost done. I just have two more problems."
"Can I look through your stuff?" Clint asked, already heading for the bureau.
"Sure..." she mumbled upon seeing him already searching through her drawers, fondling her accouterments.
"Ooooh! A thong!" Clint giggled, holding the black undergarment up and waving it around.
"Oh! I retard!" she exclaimed, pointing to him.
Clint dropped his arms to his sides dejectedly. "Okay, once you get in homework mode, you get all crabby." he said.
"Sorry. I'm just really mellowed out and in a snappy mood right now." she explained, perusing her text book while sticking her pencil through her sloppy bun.
"What do you want to do when you're done?" Clint asked.
"Well, assuming I'm never going to finish because you keep bugging me!" she giggled, throwing a pillow at him.
Clint laughed, dodging it. "Okay." he said, picking it up from the floor and sprawling across the top of her bed which wasn't occupied by school supplies. "I promise to be silent until you finish. It's just that I haven't seen you for a long time." he said, hugging the pillow to his chest and watching her work.
"Where's Bob anyway? I figured he would come see me, but since I am no longer cool enough for him..." she trailed off.
"Shh!" Clint scolded. "You're studying!"
Timber grinned at him.
"And Bob is pro'ly taking a nap right now. That's what he was doing when I left anyway..." Clint replied. "Now study!"
She went back to her work, her pencil darting across her notebook page, scrawling various figures. Clint watched her intensely with amazement.
"I can feel your stare." she informed him, breaking the silence. "It's noisy."
"Sorry." he said. "And SHHH!!!"
Timber giggled.
"Shhhh!!! Timber! What kind of student are you??!! You'll never get any work done with your terrible study habits!" he reprimanded.
"Done." she said, shutting the notebook, then the text. "I just have some French reviewing to do."
"What French are you in?" Clint asked, opening her French workbook.
"Advanced, my parents speak." she said, taking the book from him.
"I speak it too." he said proudly.
"Really?" she asked.
Clint nodded. "Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?"
She threw a pillow at him.
* * *
"Try to substitute another word of phrase for the word fear." Trevor advised, running his fingers through his silky brown curls.
"Um..." Kelly put the end of her pencil in her mouth, she found she could think better that way.
Trevor continued to pace the length of her bedroom, marveling at how much pink she could incorporate in the decorations. He felt as if he had gotten lost in a washing machine full of whites and that one, pesky, red sock. He turned to her when she did not provide him with an answer.
"I'm thinking!" she giggled. "Um... how about terror?" she suggested.
"No, Kelly, try something with a little more punch. Something that would appeal to a teacher who was looking for a very advanced speaking pattern."
"Huh?"
"Try a word with more than six letters." he said flatly.
"English is hard!" she lamented. "Where's a damn thesaurus when you need one?"
Trevor laughed.
"I'm so stupid!" she continued, burying her head in her pillows. "I'm literarily inept!"
"Literarily?" Trevor asked.
"I told you! When I can't think of words, I make some up!" she whimpered.
Trevor sat down on the bed beside her. "Kelly, sit up." he directed. She sat up and looked into his blue eyes. "Come on babe. You can do it."
"Can't you just tell me and I'll owe you one later?" she asked with a hopeful grin.
"No, you have to think of it on your own." he laughed.
"But that's too hard..." she breathed, noticing how his lips were closing in on hers.
"You... can..." he touched his lips to hers ever so gently. "do it." he finished, pulling back, but not too far.
"Consternation." she spat out, having no clue where the word had come from.
Trevor laughed. "See?"
"Wow... you're good." she said in a daze, sliding her arms over his shoulders. "So let's say I wanted to just write the whole paper..." she pressed her lips to his again.
Trevor sighed with contentment against her lips as her tongue found it's way into his mouth. He ran his fingers through her short hair, enjoying the fluidity at which her mouth moved against his. She felt herself edging backwards as he lay her down on her duvet, rolling on top of her...
* * *
"Jeanine, I'm very proud of you." Mr. Richards said, smiling. "Your test scores are magnificent."
"Well... I have a good tutor." she said with a coy grin.
"You don't seem to be needing one!" he laughed, skimming over her test once more.
"Well..." she searched for a way to get him to change his mind. "I... I don't think I should stop with the tutoring just yet."
Mr. Richards did not object, knowing she never needed tutoring in the first place.
"I should at least go on the patch first." she joked, causing him to laugh again.
"Well." he finally said, setting the test back into her file and turning to her. "It looks like today's session is over."
"So soon?" Jeanine asked, raising an eyebrow. She wanted to do anything possible to stay in his company.
"Yeah, well it's four thirty already." he said, motioning for the clock. "I have to get some more tests done."
She frowned. "Okay. So... same time tomorrow?" she asked.
Mr. Richards nodded. "Same time."
Jeanine smiled lasciviously at him before gathering her books and heading for the door. She paused in the door frame. "I'll be looking forward to it." she added, exiting.
Her face burned with shock that she had actually articulated those words as she headed for her locker. A plan suddenly dropped into her head like a mysterious package from the sky...
* * *
Mr. Richards made his way out of the building through the front entrance, headed for the parking lot. He stopped upon seeing an unmistakable figure sitting on the steps in a short skirt and a white button down. Her golden hair, which had recently grown to her collar-line, fluttered in the harsh wind.
"Jeanine... what are you still doing here?"
Jeanine looked up at him with mock surprise. "I... I..." she stammered, trying to sound upset and succeeding gracefully at it. "My mother... she forgot about me." she finally said wryly.
Mr. Richards paused for a moment, not quite sure how to react to her information. "I'm sure she didn't forget about you." he assured her.
"Yes she did." Jeanine stated, pouting her full lips. "She always forgets about me. All she cares about is work."
The truth was that Mrs. Alba was sitting at home waiting for her daughter to return from school. She had Tuesday afternoons off, given she worked a few extra hours on Saturday.
"That's unfortunate." Mr. Richards said sympathetically. "Where do you live? I'll give you a lift."
"Well... It's not that far. It's just that I hate to walk alone. I'm always afraid some weirdo will jump out and try to kill me." she laughed. "I live a few streets that way." she pointed in the direction of her house.
"Come on. I'll give you a ride." he said, motioning with his free hand for her to follow him.
"Are you sure?" she asked, as if she didn't want to impose.
"Yeah! Come on." he said cordially, bounding down the rest of the steps.
Jeanine grinned at his back, gathering her books and following him.
* * *
"No. No, no, no, and NO!" Clint objected, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly. "I do NOT want to see her!"
"I thought you guys agreed to be friends!" Timber pointed out.
"Yeah, but it's too soon. I don't feel like seeing her." he said.
"Come on! We're just going to stop by for a minute! We're already here!" she reasoned, taking him by the wrist and practically dragging him the rest of the block to Kelly's house.
"I'm not going in!" Clint nearly shrieked.
"Fine then, you can freeze your ass off out here!" Timber scolded, skipping up to the front porch.
Clint wrinkled his nose, torn between two sides. He finally gave in and ran up the front walk to joining her.
"Well, well, well." Warner Tembolli said, opening the front door with a wry smirk on his face. "If it ain't Clitoris."
"Shut up kid. You remember what happened to you last time you got on my bad side." Clint warned.
"Yeah, I did you mom! That's what happened!" Warner retorted.
"Hey Warn, where's your sister?" Timber asked interrupting him.
"Upstairs." Kelly's little brother replied, opening the door wider and motioning for them to enter. "Go on up, but I don't want to here any ugh, ugh, ugh coming from her room."
Clint's eyes widened at the younger boy's imitation of sexual noises.
"Let's just go Clint." Timber said quickly, pulling him by the arm towards the steps.
"That little shit's going to get it." Clint muttered. "He's such a wise-ass."
"He's just messing with you Clint." Timber said dismissively. "I mean, it's SO easy to do!" she giggled, placing a hand on Kelly's bedroom doorknob.
She opened the door, her jaw dropping and her eyes popping out of the sockets at what they saw.
Kelly quickly rolled off of Trevor, smoothing her dress and furiously running her hands through her hair. "Timber!" she exclaimed. "We were just, studying..."
"BIOLOGY?!?!" Timber shrieked, wanting to burst into laughter but knowing it wouldn't be appropriate.
Kelly's face when ashen when she saw Clint standing behind her friend.
"So this is Trevor." he whispered.
He gave a slight motion of his head before turning and leaving.
Kelly started to object. "Clint! Wait!" she cried.
Trevor sat on the corner of the bed, chomping on the gum that was once in her mouth. "I thought it was going to be your parents." he said with a grin.
"Look you male gigolo!" Timber snapped. "Why don't you two get to studying as opposed to swapping spit!"
She shut the door and ran back down the stairs, hoping to catch up with Clint.
* * *
"It's this one right here on the right." Jeanine said, pointing to her house as they neared it in Alan's shiny, silver BMW.
"Alrighty." he said chipperly, pulling into the driveway.
The wind rustled the trees that were situated beside her front door, bandying the leaves from the trees, causing them, to drift to the grass; oranges, red, browns, and yellows covered her lawn. They sky was a baleful grey, forewarning them of the darkness to come. Jeanine looked over at Mr. Richards as he put the car in park. She felt the slight vibration of the vehicle under her seat, causing her to tingle with the already rushing blood.
"Well..." she began, nervously clearing her throat. She decided at that moment that he wanted this as much as she did. She would have to act upon that feeling in order to let him know how much she wanted him. "I guess this is my stop."
"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked, one hand poised on the steering wheel in a confident fashion.
Jeanine nodded, clutching her books to her chest. "Thanks for the ride." she said hurriedly, holding her breath and mashing her lips to his briefly.
She had clearly caught him off guard. He looked at her for a moment, her heart thudded in her chest. She knew that she should probably get out of the car, but her hands would not move to open the door, not until she was sure of his reaction.
Alan gave her a cool smile. "No problem." he said.
She audibly released her breath, maintaining her composure. "See ya." she said, opening the car door and climbing out of the expensive vehicle.
She walked up to the side door as one does when they were trying to place their steps carefully as if they didn't know they were being watched. It wasn't until she was just inside that she heard his car speed off.
"Wow..." she breathed, leaning against the door.
* * *
Timber raced down the street, trying to catch up with the figure that was walking steadily away.
"Clint!" she called out to him, her voice lost in the wind. "CLINT!!!" she cried louder. "WAIT!!!"
He pretended not to hear her, the anger building inside him fueling his body to keep up such a quick pace.
Timber finally caught up to him, out of breath. "It's not like you guys are still going out." she sputtered.
"That's not even it!" Clint exclaimed, all his pent up anger coming out in the form of screaming. He stopped walking and stood before her on the street. She rested her hands on her knees and squatted down, trying to catch her breath in the cold air. "I mean, I couldn't give a fuck to a hen if she's boning that guy now... I'm just trying to imagine what she was doing with him while we were still going out! She said she only kissed him once, but based on what I just saw... I don't believe that!"
"Oh COME ON Clint!" Timber exclaimed, trying to be a few decibels louder than he was. "Let's at least PRETEND we're rational here!"
Clint pouted, not having anything else to add to his argument.
"She was NOT cheating on you! And she is NOT having sex with that loser." Timber clarified.
"How would YOU know!?" he screamed back.
"Hello?" she said, gesturing to herself. "I'm one of her best friends. I think she would tell me something like that!" she said sarcastically.
"You think?" Clint asked, calmly.
"I know." she corrected herself. "She was NOT cheating on you."
Clint studied her face for a moment, turning her spoken words over in his head. His eyes suddenly went wide. "You knew she was hooking up with that guy!" he accused.
Timber opened her mouth to object. "No--- okay, so yeah I did! But she only made out with him once! And then there was today... but..."
"So you knew that she was making out with that guy when they went for 'tutoring' sessions and you took me there to see it!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"No!" Timber contradicted. "I knew she made out with him once, but I didn't know it was a regular thing! I had no idea he would even be there today! I swear Clint! I would never do shit like that." she promised sincerely.
Clint frowned. "Well... it's not like I like her anymore anyway. I mean, we're just friends." he began walking again. "And she has the right to do whatever she wants."
Timber fell into step beside him, linking her arm through him. "Who're you trying to convince? Yourself or me?"
Clint grinned. "I'm SO over her."
"Are you really Clint?" she asked teasingly. "Is that really how it goes? Is that how it went down? Is that the situation?"
He laughed. "Yeah." he said. "When you fall off the horse, you just have to get back in the saddle of another one."
Timber shot him a skeptical look that he didn't seem to catch. "I don't remember the adage going that way..."
* * *
Angela couldn't go more than a few words in her text book before marveling over the ring on her finger. She had a chemistry test the next day, but was very distracted. It was a good thing she knew most of the information. She just had to review.
A soft rapping on her window startled her at first, but then she slid off her bed and went to it, peering out cautiously. She saw no one. Thinking she was hearing things, she went back and plopped down on her bed, laying back and holding the book above her head so she would have a good view of the ring while at the same time being able to read.
click... tick... click... Angela's eyes shot over to the window. Yes, someone was definitely out there. Thinking it was just Jeanine or Timber playing a practical joke, she set her book down and went to the window, sliding up the pane.
"Who is it?" she sang, expecting Timber to jump out and try to scare her.
No one.
She looked down to the lawn of her backyard and saw no one.
"Um... hello?" she asked, beginning to panic.
"HEY BABE!" Scott exclaimed, swinging towards her from the gingham that ran beside her window.
"AGHHHH!!!" Angela screamed, jumping back and tripping over her trash-can. She ended up landing flat on her butt on the soft blue carpeting of her floor.
Scott burst into giggles, attempting to hoist himself through the window in his inhibiting state.
"What are you doing here?!?!" Angela exclaimed, clutching her chest and trying to catch her breath.
"Coming to whisk you away..." Scott grunted, trying to uncatch his foot from the curtain. He only succeeded in tumbling into the room and landing on the floor beside his girlfriend.
Angela giggled, planting a kiss on his lips.
"I missed your birthday, so you're going to relive the moment of turning sweet sixteen with your loving, not to mention gorgeous, boyfriend.
"But since he's not here, I can spend my surrogate birthday with you... right?" she quipped.
"Angela!" Scott exclaimed in disbelief, but spoiled it by laughing. "That was mean! I would expect that from Timber, but not from you!!"
"I think she's rubbing off on me." Angela said, kissing his nose.
"Get up! Get ready! We're going out!" Scott urged, getting to his feet and smoothing his nicely pressed khakis.
"Oh Scott... I can't. I have to study." she groaned, accepting his hands as he helped her up.
"I'm not taking no for an answer." he said firmly.
"It's going to take me forever to shower and get dressed..." she mumbled.
"You don't need to." he said with a sly grin.
"I'm in my pajamas Scott, I think I should at least put something on..." she reasoned.
"Believe me." he whispered. "We're going to a very special place. "You don't need any clothes, any make-up... anything. Just you."
"I don't need clothes?" she asked with a suspicious smirk.
"Well, if you wanted to be naked, that would be fine with me." Scott grinned.
"Why? Where're we going?" she asked.
"It's a surprise... but you have to hurry up, it's almost dark." he said, taking her hand.
She sighed. "Scott..." she moaned.
"Come on." he directed, taking her hand and leading her to the window.
"Wait a minute there Scotty. We can take the door this time."
* * *
"Hey Bob, where's Clint?" Dave asked, wandering into the office where his brother was sitting at the computer in his underwear.
"He's out with Timber." Bob replied, not tearing his eyes from the screen.
"And what about Dad?" Dave asked.
"He and Sheila went to the grocery store."
"And Scott?"
"What the hell do I look like? First person omniscient?" Bob demanded, still not looking away from the computer screen.
"What?" Dave asked.
"Nevermind." Bob said, shaking his head dismissively. "Scott's with Angela."
Dave rolled his eyes. "Should've known." he muttered. "Why aren't you out with Timber? I would think that you would be first to rush over there."
"I dunno, I just didn't. Clint's with her." Bob replied.
"What are you doing?" Dave asked. "Are you looking at porn?"
"No." Bob replied. "FYI, I'm playing tetris."
Dave nodded slowly. "So you'd rather play tetris than go see your best friend?" he asked. "Or look at porn..." he added in a muttering tone.
"It's not that I would rather... I just didn't go see her. Why do you guys always assume that I have to go see her?" he demanded.
"Okay, spill it." Dave directed. "What? Did you guys get in a fight?"
"No Dave!" Bob exclaimed, extremely annoyed. "I hate it how you all assume that my behavior is so predictable."
"Well if it weren't so predictable in the past, then we wouldn't assume..." Dave murmured, turning to leave. He turned back. "Scott's with Angie?" he asked.
"DAMNIT!" Bob exclaimed.
"Sorry! Didn't know you'd snap like that!" Dave said apologetically.
"No, it's not you Dave." Bob laughed. "I lost my game. But yeah, Scott is with Angela... I mean, she is his girlfriend."
"Which is beyond me anyway." Dave muttered.
"What's eating ya bro?" Bob asked, leaning back in the swivel chair.
"Well... I mean..." Dave began, then cleared his throat. "I mean, I just don't think it's fair. Scott treats her like shit! He cheated on her and he still gets the girl. That's the most unfair thing I've seen in my life! Why does he always get the girl?" he lamented. "He's the main character and we're all just supporting characters. He gets the girl, end of story. But then there's Angela who has no idea he cheated on her! She's going to go on loving him while he continues to be a jerk behind her back! The damn male whore..." he finally took a much needed breath.
"Whoa there turbo..." Bob said, a comic grin spread across his face. "Calm down."
Dave took another deep breath then took a seat on the chair across the desk from his brother. "It's not fair Bob." he stated sadly. "Fair to her."
"Dave... just think of it like this." Bob began, leaning back further and causing the chair to whine under the weight. "The situation is like..." he looked up at the ceiling for the words. "A nuclear bomb." he finally supplied. "I mean, it's in the air, sailing towards the earth. It's going to drop soon and we're all too close to the landing spot not to be there when it comes down, so there's no use in trying to run. This bomb is unequivocally going to drop. Something that big can't stay in the air forever. The only thing we don't know is when it's going to drop."
Dave stared at his slightly older brother, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Wow." he said plainly. "You're good."
Bob shrugged. "Secrets aren't secrets unless someone knows, and the thing is, once someone knows, it all goes to Hell." He smiled satisfied.
Dave sighed. "So we wait." he said dismally.
"We wait." Bob reinforced.
* * *
"Where are you taking me Scott?" Angela asked, his hands over her eyes as he helped her out of the car. She had had her eyes closed for a duration of the trip, not having the slightest clue where they were.
"Just watch your step." he directed.
She felt the cold pavement beneath her bare feet.
"Now sit." he said, easing her to the ground.
Angela obediently followed.
His presence left her for a moment, but she kept her eyes closed. She felt him sit down behind her, his legs opening to create space between them for her to sit.
"Can I... open them now?" she asked.
"No, not yet." he said, re-covering them with his hand.
Angela leaned back against his chest, feeling the steady pounding of his heart beneath her head. It wasn't until that moment that she realized how tired she was.
"Open them." he said, as soon as she began to drift.
She opened her eyes to a flash of light and colors. "Wow..." she said breathlessly, seeing what was in front of her for her eyes to feast on.
Scott kissed her ear, holding her closer to him.
"It's beautiful Scott..." she whispered, not wanting to spoil the perfect moment. "It's so beautiful..."
"I love you." he said, kissing her cheek.
"I love you too."
He wasn't able to capture it for her like he wished he could; he knew she loved sunsets. But showing her one in a clear sky, away from the artificial lights of the city, was the closest thing to bottling it for her to keep for always.
* * *