It's been over a week since my not-so-subtle conversation with Jack. I haven't talked to him and really haven't felt the need to. I've seen him outside, playing basketball or walking around the house in the middle of the night. He's avoided his pool all together after the stunt he pulled cutting his cuff off. Or at least I think that's why he's been avoiding it.

                  I was sitting on my window seat, reading, when my door slammed open. I jerked my head in the direction of the door, seeing a frantic looking Meredith. "What—"

                  "Will you talk some sense into my idiot of a brother?"

I stepped down off my seat and walked towards her. "Why? What's he doing?"

                  "He wants to throw a party and nothing I say will get him to stop. Please talk to him. He's so damn stubborn." She looked like she was about to stomp her foot like a five year old in a toy store.

                  I ran out of my room, feeling the small bit of anger in me spill out. "Is he insane? That's how he ended up here, he's not going to do that to my grandparents." I ran down the stairs with Meredith following behind me.

                  "He's out by the pool." She pointed towards the back door.

I wasted no time walking outside and finding James. He was lifting himself out of the pool by the time I made it to him. "Are you insane?"

He turned around to face me, an amused smirk playing on his lips. "A little. Why do you ask?" He plucked the towel from the lounger and attempted to dry himself off.

                  "You can't throw a party in my grandparents house. I don't even know what made you think you could."

He walked past me and started going back inside. "Don't walk away from me!"

James stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me. "You're so cute when you're angry."

                  James and I have been getting along since he's been here. But it's more like a friend feeling than anything. And he gets under my skin like any brother would do. I don't feel any attraction to him, even though he's definitely something to look at. But nothing mentally. And he knows that too.

                  "You're not throwing a party while my grandparents are out of town. They trust you to stay here, don't mess it up," I said as calmly as possible.

He stepped towards me again and I almost thought he was ready to give in. "What they don't know, won't hurt, right?"

                  "No! You're not—"

                  "It's only a small get together," He interrupted. "My friends just want to come visit, that's all. Meredith is making it a big deal."

I narrowed my eyes. "And you must think I'm stupid."

                  "You'll see."

                  "Famous last words."

He just smiled and tipped his head in my direction before walking inside. Once I cooled down and gathered myself, I walked inside as well to be met by Meredith. "And?"

                  "There's no stopping him," I muttered with a sigh.

Meredith's lips tipped down into a frown. "I'm sorry, I swear I won't let him do anything stupid."

I lifted my shoulders in a shrug and walked around her.

                  I went back upstairs and resumed my position before I was interrupted. My chest tightened with the thought of James throwing a party tonight. My grandparents would kill me. They don't even know about Jack, I can't imagine what they would do if they found out James threw a stupid party.

                  My concentration was deep in my book, I didn't notice someone calling my name. At first I thought it was all in my head until the voice got louder. They called my name again and I swear it sounded like Jack's voice. I turned my head to look out my window, and wouldn't you know it, Jack was leaning out of his window. I rolled my eyes and undid the latch on my window to push it open. "What do you want?" I called back.

                  "How do you say 'I'm sorry I'm an asshole' in French?"

For some reason, I had to fight the smile back on my lips. "You brought this on yourself, McKinnon."

                  "I know. Can you come over so I can apologize properly?"

It's only taken over a week. "I'll meet you outside."

                  Once he closed his window, I did the same. I took my time getting my shoes on and walking down stairs. I heard the TV on in the family room and Meredith's voice. It was impossible to watch anything with her because she liked to talk so much, but other than that, she's harmless.

                  The sun was setting, creating a beautiful cotton candy sky. My moment was ruined when I noticed Jack standing outside waiting for me. He lifted himself from the pillar he was leaning against and met me in the driveway. "No one's home, you can come in."

I nodded and followed him inside. But before I took a glance over the neighborhood to make sure no one saw. I couldn't let this get back to my grandparents. What I'm doing now is completely stupid. I'm just a sucker for an apology. Even better, it's going to be Jack's attempt at an apology.

                  We walked into his room and he gestured towards his bed. I took a seat on the edge while he sat in his desk chair. "This should be good." I sighed.

He rolled his eyes at me and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sorry for treating you that way, you didn't deserve it. I just have—"

                  "A lot going on, I get that. It's not excuse to treat me the way you did."

He ran a hand through his hair and leaned over his knees. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. It was really stupid on my part because you don't have to help me, but I need you to help me." The pleading in his voice only made my heart ache a little.

                  "Is there a different reason you need my help?" I asked. "Someone in your position is more worried about graduating than going to prison. That doesn't exactly seem right," I said softly.

                  "The distraction is nice," He said sheepishly. "And I have no idea what's going to happen to me. Thinking ahead was kind of my thing before it was yours." The corner of his mouth tipped into a small smile.

                  Part of me wanted to accept his apology and help him, but another part was telling me I'm an idiot if I stay here a second longer. He was the boy next door again. The boy that just needed help with his schoolwork. Part of that's changed of course, but it was still the same. Jack needed a distraction and I'm his last resort for that too. "I've seen what happens when you need a distraction," I teased.

He laughed lightly and leaned back in his chair again. "Yeah, I don't plan on going for a swim in the deep end again. Literally."

                  "I'll start helping you again, under one condition."

                  "I have a feeling I'm not going to like this."

I grinned and leaned towards him. "You're going to start by being nicer to me."

His brows knitted together, almost like he was confused. "That's it?"

                  "Yes, and one sign of you being a jackass, I walk and I won't come back. Deal?" I stuck my hand in his direction.

He eyed me for a moment and wrapped his hand around mine. "Deal."

                  "We start Tuesday again." He released my hand from his grip.

                  "It's already Thursday, we should just start tonight." He suggested.

I stood up from his bed, starting towards the door. "Can't tonight. I have to make sure my house doesn't get burned down."

He stood up and met me by the door. "I saw you made a couple of friends."

                  "It's James and Meredith. Remember them?"

Jack looked surprised. "That's the geeky twins? Holy—"

                  "Still a pain, as you can see. James is trying to throw a party." I walked out of his room and started down the stairs. "If my grandparents find out, they'll kill me."

                  "You've done worse," Jack commented.

I turned on my heels to face him when I reached the bottom of the stairs. "You're hilarious."

                  Jack opened the door for me and I backed out slowly. "I'll be here all night if you decide teaching me French is more fun."

A grin slipped onto my lips "Where else would you be?"

His eyes narrowed into slits. "You're hilarious," He mocked. "Have fun with James."

                  "And Meredith." I added.

Jack has an annoying habit of rolling his eyes. "Whatever. See you Tuesday, Juliet."

                  His sudden change of mood confused me. I shook it off and walked back over to my house as quickly as possible without getting noticed. I slipped back in my house undetected by the twins and went back upstairs. I had to figure out a plan to diffuse this 'get together' as James liked to call it. But nothing was coming to mind. And teaching Jack French was looking better by the minute. I wanted no part in this.

                  It was a quarter after ten when the doorbell rang for the first time that night, signaling that the party was close to being in full swing. Music vibrated the house and more hollers of approval rang through out. My bedroom door opened and Meredith came trudging in with a grim look on her face. "How's it going?" I asked.

                  "Not as bad as you would expect, but still. It's just a bunch of his loser friends and their girlfriends. And a bunch of other girls I don't even know. I'll keep it under control, I swear."

I gave her a reassuring smile and nodded. "Thank you. Did you put all that antique glass away that I told you to?"

She nodded, "Under the kitchen sink."

                  "Good, thanks."

                  Meredith walked out soon after our conversation ended. The thumping of the music was too distracting to even read, so I set my book aside and went downstairs. There were more people than I expected, Meredith didn't exactly tell the truth about that. The hall was crowded near the kitchen and another crowd of people stood in the living room, grinding against each other to the music that pulsated against the walls.

                  I pushed through the crowd in the hallway and emerged into the living room to find James. He was pressed against the wall by a girl with dark hair past her butt and legs longer than I've ever seen. I walked up to him anyway, tapping his shoulder to get his attention. "Juliet!" He smiled. "Come to join the fun?"

The girl moved her face away from his neck long enough to look at me. "Hi, I'm Nora." She smiled. If I said she was hideous, I would be lying.

                  "Hi, Nora." I gave her a fake smile and returned to James. "You need to have everyone out of here in an hour, got it?"

Nora assaulted his neck again and the smile returned to his lips. "One hour, I promise."

                  If they aren't out in an hour, I'll call the cops myself.

                  Instead of going back up to my room, I walked outside. Without thinking, I walked over to Jack's and lightly knocked on the front door. His parents car and Anna's car was in the driveway so what I was doing was absolutely mental. By the time I gathered my thoughts, I was ready to bolt when the door opened. "Twice in one day? I must be special." Jack wiggled his eyebrows.

                  "I decided hearing you try to speak French would be more entertaining than that mess at my house."

                  Just was he stepped away from the door, another guy appeared coming down the stairs. He looked older than Jack, but only by a couple of years. He had white hair and piercing blue eyes I noticed when he stood beside Jack. "Who's your friend?" He smiled, throwing an arm around Jack's shoulders.

                  "Juliet, this is my obnoxious cousin Paxton."

He looked me up and down, a grin surfacing on his lips. "Ah, Juliet. The girl next door. It's good to finally meet you." He stuck his hand out in my direction and I hesitated before I shook it.

Paxton scanned me again and looked at Jack. "She's definitely prettier than you described."

I looked at Jack, and to say he didn't look amused was an understatement. "Ignore him. He clearly doesn't know how to act around people."

                  "I'm sure he didn't have nice things to say about me." I teased.

                  "Oh, nothing but nice things. He even said—"

                  "Pax!" Jack hissed. "Go home, please."

Paxton looked at Jack, his grin turning into a smirk. "See you later, Jack." Paxton then looked at me. "I hope we get to meet again."

I don't because something didn't feel right. "It was nice meeting you, Paxton."

                  He gave Jack another knowing look before stepping out of the house and leaving. There were only two cars in the driveway so I'm not sure where he was walking to.

Jack stepped out of the doorway again and made the gesture for me to come in. "Parent's are sleeping, but Anna's out by the pool on the phone."

                  We made it back to his for the second time that day. I was surprised to find all of the work already on his desk, like he was actually working by himself. Which clearly, he has. But for some reason, it was still surprising. He really needed a bigger distraction than homework. Whatever works for him. "So, Paxton seems interesting."

Jack let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, right. Interesting doesn't even cover it."

                  Jack retrieved the chair from the corner of the room and put it next to his desk. "I don't think I've ever seen him before," I noted. "Does he live close?"

Jack sat down and I took the seat next him. "Florida. He's just in town for a bit. He hasn't been here for a few years."

                  I opened my mouth to speak, but there was a knock on Jack's door and it opened. Anna stepped through and smiled. No hint of surprise. "Hey, just wanted to let you know I'm going to bed." And she looked at me. "It's good to see you, Juliet."

                  "See you in the morning," Jack said.

She sent another smile and left.

                  Jack didn't say anything. He was scanning through his worksheets, pulling one out that was filled with French words. "What was that?" I asked.

He continued going through his papers without looking in my direction. "What was what?"

                  "Does she know?"

Jack dropped his papers and looked at me. "We tell each other everything. Trust me, she won't tell my parents."

                  "Trust you? I said not to tell anyone and you did," I hissed in a whisper. Then I remembered I was a dumb ass and told James. Real smart.

He looked utterly defeated when he spoke again, "It was this morning because I felt guilty about it all week. She got me to crack. She slapped the side of my head, called me an idiot, and told me I needed to fix it."

                  Ah, so Jack didn't really have any intentions on apologizing, his sister made him feel worse than he was already feeling. "Sorry." I sighed. "I just can't—"

                  "Have anyone finding out, I know. And I'm sorry, I should've told you I told her. But I know she wouldn't say anything."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

                  We went into full work mode for what seemed like hours, but an hour had only passed. He kept up his end about being nice and I kept my end up and helped him. I still couldn't get over Jack speaking French. He's surprisingly good at it once he get's the word down. There are some things I could listen to all day and one of those things is Jack speaking French.

                  I wrote another list, except with sentences he needs to learn. And the last one I wrote hopefully he gets. When our session was over, he walked me outside. I looked over at my house and saw a line of people still leaving. More like stumbling anyhow. Can't wait to see the mess James stirred up. And I can't wait to make him clean all of it.

                  I looked back up at Jack and sighed. "I guess I'll see you Tuesday."

                  When I look at him, I have so many questions. So many questions I probably don't want to know the answer to, but I need the answers to before I lost my mind. "I'll see you Tuesday." I started backing away slowly before turning on my heel and walking towards my house.

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I'm going to start speeding things up in the next chapter!!

Can you guys tell me how I'm doing? Should I continue or...

Thank you!! :)

Parted rouhgly edited Nov. 8th, 2015.