Chapter 13

"Hey, Jordan would you mind coming into the store today? I know it's your day off, but we could really use the help today," Sheryl says.

I tilt my phone closer to my face. "Yeah, no problem."

"Thank you so much. You're great."

"You know it."

After shoving my feet into my converse and throwing on a sweatshirt, I run down the stairs and leave my mom a note.

I hurry out the door and begin the walk to the shop. The wind is blowing my hair into all directions, and it doesn't want to stay tucked behind my ears. I end up just giving up and let it fly into my face.

"Jor?" I hear a familiar voice say.

I turn around and see, through all my hair, Ray standing in a driveway with Shannon. I quickly try to pull my hair out if my face and fail.

"Almost didn't recognize you looking like a possessed little girl," he teases, grinning.

"Aw, so touching. I try." And I attempt to flip my hair but its already flying around in my face.

"What are you doing?" He asks, approaching me.

"Going to work," I answer, looking down at my phone.

"You late?" Ray asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Nah, just got called in. It's busy," I hold my hair back with both arms. Not only my hands, but my arms are blocking.

"Let me give you a ride," Ray says, smirking.

"I'm okay."

"No, Jor. Do we have to go through this again? Just get in my car," Ray says, moving towards the car.

"But you'll leave Shannon while you guys are hanging out." I try to keep my face straight while speaking her name. No, I can't seriously be jealous of him hanging out with his friend. He's known her longer than me. Which also means he knows her better. That also ups her chances of-

I need to stop. I hit myself in the face, then rub the sore spot when I realize that it actually hurt. I hear a snicker and turn to find Ray trying to cover it up with a cough.

"He was leaving anyways," Shannon says, shrugging, and walking back into her house.

"C'mon, lets go!" Ray says, grabbing my hand to drag me to the car.

I am too dazed by the fact that he just willingly took my hand to realize that he is also forcing me into his car. He could be a kidnapper in disguise, yet all I'm thinking about is the contact.

With his free hand, Ray opens the passenger door and lets me inside. I let out a sigh of defeat and climb in.

After the short car ride has ended, Ray and I walk into the book store. True to what Sheryl said, it is very busy today. Not very often does something like this happen, so this is great.

"Jordan, dear! Can you take this counter? I need to run and take some books out of the storage unit," Sheryl explains, waving me over.

"Oh, yes. Sure." I hurry behind the counter in order to help the others in line.

I help all the customers in line with their purchases and direct others to where certain books are. Then I find a familiar person standing right next to me.

"Ray! You can't be back here," I explain, shoving him lightly.

"I'm helping you," he explains, pulling out a chair to sit on.

"No, you're getting in my way."

"Ouch..." He puts a hand over his heart and fake-sniffles.

"I'm working. You can leave now." I push him off the chair. He climbs back on and smirks at me.

"But it's so busy. You need help!" Ray says.

"No."

"But-"

"Stop flirting, there are people waiting," a man in front of me says, frowning. I turn to him, my face heating up in embarrassment.

"We're not-"

The man gives me a pointed look and hands me a book. I shut my mouth and put the book in a bag.

"That will be twelve ninety-five," I mutter, not making eye contact. I take the money from his hands and he leaves.

Another book is placed in my grasp and I bag it as well, and the woman pays me then leaves. This process continues for a while before there is no one left in the line. I lean back in my chair, then close my eyes and let out a long breath. I feel myself slowly get drowsy and can't find it in myself to get back up. Sleep sounds marvelous compared to bagging books.

"Don't look so depressed." I jolt up and find Ray standing over me, smirking.

"What are you doing?" I exclaim, frustrated.

"Keeping you from sleeping on the job," Ray chuckles and my face flushes.

"I wasn't-"

"Uh huh..." Ray laughs again. "Your face! It was priceless!"

"Ha ha. Funny." I frown at him an turn back towards the shop which has more people in line now.

I help them all buy their things again, sighing. Since when has this place been so popular? Usually there are only four or five people total...

"So, what's yo name?"

I whip my head up to see Ray leaning on the counter across from me. He wiggles his eyebrows. I roll my eyes.

"What do you need?" I ask, irritated once again.

"Do I have to need something?" He asks, grinning.

"I told you, I'm working! If you aren't buying something, you've got to leave," I explain.

"Then I'll buy something." He immediately steps out of line and into the first aisle.

A few moments later, Ray comes back, looking concerned. He approaches me and smiles nervously.

"What did you do?" I ask.

"Why do you assume I did something?" He says too quickly.

I give him a blank look. He sighs.

"I may or may not have accidentally kicked a little girl in the face and then may or may not have accidentally dropped an encyclopedia on their head..." He says quickly, avoiding eye contact. As if on cue, I hear a small whimper coming from the aisle he was just in.

I give him a questioning look.

"Look, it wasn't my fault! She may as well have walked up and smashed her head against a pole she was staring right at! She saw my foot there! And the book."

"Oh, yeah. It was all her fault." I roll my eyes.

"Hey, she was the one who decided to walk underneath me."

I frown at him. "Underneath?"

He flushes. "I also may or may not have climbed up the bookshelf..."

I let out a frustrated breath. Then I facepalm myself. And I have the urge to chuck a cantaloupe at Ray's face.

"Wow. Real nice."

The crying girl walks out and I notice bleach blonde pig tails on the side of her head. The girl Ray hit was Lizzie.

"Oh, no. Liz, come here," I say, crouching down and opening my arms to her. She runs over to me and envelopes herself into them.

"Did this meanie pants hurt you?" I ask.

She nods.

"Meanie pants?" Ray asks, looking amused.

I give him a flat look and he loses his smirk. "Hey, Lizzie. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were under me. Can I be forgiven?"

Lizzie shakes her head. Ray looks shocked and I smirk at him, amused.

"Uh... Oh. Okay... Why not?" Ray asks.

"Because you owe me now," Lizzie says, wiping her lay tears away.

"How so?" Ray asks.

"You have to help me bury a body." Ray and I both stare at her in shock. How old is this girl again?

"Aha! Your faces," Lizzie exclaims, laughing. "I'm kidding! Just get me a lollipop or something."

Ray smiles. "Alright, you jokester."

************************************

I sigh, looking at the clock once more. Jack was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. I stand and walk to the door, grabbing my backpack and throwing it onto my shoulder. The hallway is clear except for a girl entering the bathroom.

I walk out and begin to wander the hallway in search of Jack, who just so happens to be nowhere in sight. Joy.

If he had been absent, someone probably would tell me. And there is a basketball game today, so there is no way he's ditching today.

I decide to ask the front office, since I can't exactly roam around all period long. As I enter, the worker lady, Ms. Jane, greets me with a smile. I return it and step over to get closer.

"How may I help you, Miss Green?" She asks.

"Uh, I was just looking for Jack Marvin. Is he here today?" I ask.

"Let me check," Ms. Jane says, before addressing her computer. She hums a little to herself as she types. "Ah, yes, he is here!"

"And where exactly would I be able to find him?"

"Hm, Mr. Campbell's history class."

"Thank you," I say, before exiting the room.

I hurry to the correct hallway before searching for room 108, Mr. Campbell's. I had him as my teacher as a sophomore, and I actually knew him pretty well. I'm glad its his class I'll be interrupting.

I stop in front of the door and debate whether or not to knock. Is that what you're supposed to do? Is it like going to someone's house? Is it unethical to just enter? Or is it strange to knock?

I finally decide to stop fretting over knocking or not, and open the door. Of course, with my luck, I stumble over my own foot and faceplant into the carpet.

I hear a few snickers around me, and I stand up, my face heating up.

"Are you alright-" I look up to see Mr. Campbell looking at me with an amused smile. "I should've known it was you, Jordan. Always stumbling around, haven't changed much have you?"

"Aw, thanks, Salad."

Mr. Campbell give me a disapproving look and I smirk in victory. Once, I had been in his class After school and his mom came into his class. She called him Salad. That crazy old lady actually named her son Salad.

Of course, I found out quickly that Mr. Campbell hated his name, and apparently still does.

"What do you need, Jordan?" Mr. Campbell asks.

"I'm looking for a Jack." I quickly scan the classroom, in search of him.

"Sure, Jack, can you kindly follow Jordan into the hallway?" Mr. Campbell asks.

I now find Jack who is leaning back on the hind legs of his chair. He sighs and stands to follow me out the door.

"What do you need?" Jack asks, looking irritated.

"What are you doing in there?" I demand. "Are you kidding?"

"What do you-" His eyes widen in realization. "Oh, tutoring. Did I not tell you? I got my grade up and they told me I don't have to get tutored anymore unless I drop to an F again."

"Oh." I don't know whether to be relieved or not.

"So, you can be relieved of the job of trying to teach an idiot basketball player." With that, Jack starts towards the door, looking irritated again.

"Hey, wait-" Without thinking, I grab the back of his shirt. What I didn't realize before now is that the floor is wet. I skid for a moment before hitting my head on Jack's hard back and falling onto the ground.

I sit up and rub my head. I hear a low chuckle and look up to see Jack offering me a hand. I look at it in awe. What happened to the irritated guy who was storming away?

"Are you going to sit there and stare at my hand or take it?"

My face flushes as I grab it and he pulls me onto my feet. He looks at me expectedly. I frown in confusion.

"You stopped me...?" Jack says.

"Oh, right! I don't think you're an idiot basketball player, Jack, okay?" I say.

He looks at me quizzically for a moment, as if he doesn't know if I'm being serious or not. Then he nods and heads into the class. This time, I don't stop him.

***********************************

"Can you please tell me where we're going?" I ask for about the hundredth time. I stare out the window and watch the city pass.

"Nope. It's a surprise," my mom says, smiling at me troughs the rear view mirror.

"But why?" I ask, folding my arms.

"I told you, this is to make up for the lost time with you when I'm always working," she says, turning up the radio a little.

"Mom, it's fine. You have nothing to make up for," I assure her.

"Mhm..." She says, pursing her lip in disbelief.

I sigh and decide that there is no point in arguing. It's obvious that she's keen on keeping this a secret.

After about ten minutes, we pull up into a huge parking lot that I immediately recognize.

"We get to go shopping!" My mom exclaims, looking overly excited.

I smile back in return. My mom and I used to always go shopping together when I was younger. This is a pretty exciting moment.

We head into the first store we see and my mom immediately walks towards the back where there are 'sale' signs. Wouldn't expect different.

I find myself looking at some jewelry on a table near the front. After a while, we get bored of this store and was to the next. And the next. And the next. Soon, we're worn out and ready to leave.

"Thanks for today, mom. I had fun," I say, walking back to the car.

"Yep, I had fun too. I wish we could do stuff like this more often," my mom sighs.

"Mom, don't worry about it. Okay?"

She sighs again. "Alright. Hey, I have a surprise for you." My mom looks excited now.

I look at her in curiosity. "What is it?"

"Jacob's coming home next week!" My mom says, unlocking the car.

"Really? How long?" I ask, getting into the passenger seat.

"Oh, about three weeks. He's on break."

Jacob. My favorite brother. My only one too. He is coming home. I smile to myself.

**********************************

"Wait, really? I haven't seen him in forever!" Sierra cries happily. I smile and nod.

"His plane gets here at around nine, so you can come over then," I suggest.

"Yeah, for sure!"

The warning bell rings and we both hurry into math class.

The rest of the day goes by in a flash. Nothing exciting. All a boring blur. But I am too giddy with anticipation of tonight to pay attention to anything else. I haven't seen Jacob in over a year now.

On the walk home, I feel my phone vibrate. I look down and pull it out of my pocket.

'Hey, what are you doing tonight?' -Ray

Oh, I never told him about my brother coming, did I?

'My brother Jacob's coming home. Hey, you should come meet him.'

'Wow, that's awesome. I'd love to.' -Ray

I smile at my phone. Tonight just got better.

**********************************

"Jacob! Hey!" Sierra runs towards the front door. My head flips in that direction and a guy with blonde hair, tan skin, and who is pretty tall walks in. I gasp.

"Jacob! You look so... Different," I say, approaching him.

He laughs his deep laugh. "I realize. A year can do that to you..."

I smack his arm. "Ouch. You sure can hit," Jacob comments. Then his gaze falls on Ray who has now stood up and is heading towards us. "Who's this?"

"Um-"

"Wait! Did you, Jordan Green, get a boyfriend?" Jacob basically screams.

My face heats up and I stare in shock. "What-"

"You've got a fine looking fella here, Jordan," Jacob says.

"Yeah..." I slap a hand over my mouth and my eyes widen. Crap. I'm an idiot.

Ray smirks and chuckles. Jacob laughs along with Sierra and my mom who is coming through the doorway with two suitcases.

"H-he isn't my boyfriend, Jacob..." I say, trying to calm my blushing cheeks.

"Aw, someone's turning red," my mom says, before heading up the stairs.

"Mom!" I complain and stomp to the couch and sit down, folding my arms. I know that eyes are on me, but I refuse to make any contact.

"Hey, Jordan, we're just teasing. No need to pout like a two year old," I hear Jacob say.

I ignore still. I will not budge-

And I'm on the floor. With a laughing Sierra on top of me. She pins me down and I struggle to get out of her grasp. No success.

"Look at me now."

"You can't make me."

"Oh yeah?" Sierra challenges.

"Yeah."

And I feel my stomach lurch as fingers tickle it. Laughs are forced out of me and I try with the small amount of energy within me to get Sierra off. I am now laughing so hard that tears appear in my eyes.

"Please! Oh- Hah! Please! No!" I plead between murderous laughs.

That just makes the tickling worse.

"I'm dying! Help!" I screech.

"Look at me. And stop pouting, you banana sandwich," Sierra says.

As soon as the words leave her mouth I look into her eyes, mine blurry with tears. I am released.

I groan and curl into a ball. I wipe the tears from my eyes and rub my sore stomach.

"Come on, I didn't stab you," Sierra says, rolling her eyes.

"What-" I stand up. "What kind of insult is banana sandwich?"

She shrugs. "I spend too much time with Eli." Eli, her maniac little brother. That does sound like an insult that would come from him.

"As much as I enjoy watching you guys have your amusing BFF moments, lets go do something," Jacob says, stepping between us.

"Such as? It's too late to really do much..."

Jacob smirks. "Then lets stay up all night watching scary movies."

***********************************

Scary movies are usually something I am somewhat alright with. But this living nightmare of terror is a whole new story.

My eyes are glued to the screen, unable to look away. The disturbing images are some that will never go away. My mouth hangs open as my heart goes racing. This can't be a healthy heart rate...

"Ouch, Jor! You've got a tight grip," Ray hisses into my ear.

I look down and realize that I've clasped his hand in my own. I must be cutting off his circulation by now.

I immediately release his hand and attempt to hide my blush. Then a deafening screech from the movie sends me jumping a mile.

I hear snickers around me and all three of the others attempt to hide it with a cough. I scowl at all of them and sit on the opposite side of the couch, away from them.

After a moment, there is silence in the movie. Until a shrill shriek about bursts my eardrums and I scream, covering my ears and closing my eyes.

Suddenly, I feel a pair of arms wrap around me. My first instinct is to go ninja-status and karate chop the face of the enemy.

"Ah, ow," I hear a low voice groan. "Can you not just accept my attempt at a comforting moment?"

I open my eyes to see Ray sitting next to me. I open my mouth to respond, but he shakes his head. Then I'm lifted onto his lap. I try to keep the burning of my face away, but I know I fail because Sierra starts chuckling with Jacob.

"There, that's better," Ray says, and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"Aww..." I hear the unmistakable voice of Jacob. "You guys really need to get together."

I choke on my own spit. I'm coughing, feeling like I'm about to die. Once my fit is over, I glance wide eyes at Jacob who is laughing so hard, he falls off the couch.

************************************

I hear the click of a camera. At first I ignore it and remain in the subconscious. Until I hear a giggle.

My eyes fly open and Jacob and Sierra are huddled over me with their phones out. I stare at them in confusion. Then the couch underneath my back vibrates. I sit up, shocked. But, alas, it is not a couch I find I have been laying on. It's Ray, who has his arms around me.

And my face is on fire.

"Oh.... I... W-what... When... I..."

"Jordan, you're hilarious," Jacob says.

"Huh? What?" I ask, frowning.

"You're cute when you're all stuttery and confused," Sierra explains, smiling.

I feel the hand over me move away and I look down to see that Ray is now awake. He notices me and smiles.

"You're adorable when you're tired," he says finally.

My face flushes. I open my mouth in shock. Was that a compliment? Or is he mocking me?

"What time is it?" Ray asks, looking away from me.

"Around one," Jacob says.

"No way," I say. "We slept that long?"

"Correction, you two slept that long. Sierra and I were awake, but you two were too cute so we left you there," Jacob says, smirking.

And, of course, my face has now become a tomato.

"N-no. I... I..."

"Don't even try, Jordan. Don't even try."