"So how do you think your parent are gonna react," Juliet inquired reaching out for Sam's arm as a means of comfort. Sam looked so lost in thought and, as we walked she was quiet and her head was hung in shame. "I have no idea. I don't even want to think about it," Sam whimpered. She looked almost scared. I knew Sam's parents and when it came down to it, they were rather strict. "Is being grounded until the day I die an option?"

I wanted to laugh but, she sounded so serious. Although a part of me still felt bad for her, she was in this mess because of her own stupidity. She was the one who'd be paying the price. "I shudder to think about it," Sam mumbled and stopped in her tracks just as we reached the front of her house. "Someone text me tomorrow and make sure I'm still alive." I knew she wasn't serious about that but, I was just as aware as she was, just how much trouble she was going to be in.

Sam looked at her front door and then back at us, eyes almost on the verge of tears and seeing her like that broke my heart. "It's gonna be okay," I whispered wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. Sam clung to the back of my shirt, making a couple light sniffles against my ear. Being this close with her, I swear I could almost feel her heart beating against my chest.

"Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you girls." As she pulled away and our gazed searched for one another's, her eyes were wide and she had faint tears beginning to stream down her flushed cheeks. Again she sniffled, bringing her fingers to her cheeks to wipe away the tears and began to let out a light breathy chuckle as if to try and relieve some of the tension.

"Maybe if I'm honest and just keep my mouth shut, taking what they give to me it won't be so bad. My take no shit attitude doesn't exactly work with my parents." Juliet and I forced ourselves to join in with her giggling in hopes it would make her feel better, and once she had calmed down we watched Sam reluctantly wave us goodbye heading up her driveway.

Juliet and I both stood in silence not knowing what to say, taking a good look at Sam as she entered her house, knowing we wouldn't be seeing her for a little while. Knowing her parents, even after her suspension was over, she'd be lucky if she was ungrounded in time for prom. "How long has Sam been smoking dope?" It wasn't exactly any of my business but, in the moment that was the only thing I could think of. "I don't know. I've never seen her do it before so my guess is, not long," Juliet said as she began to walk again.

I followed Juliet, knowing we'd be parting ways soon and just kept to myself. My mind was concentrating on so many thing, I could barely get my head straight. "I wonder if her new boytoy has something to do with it," I mindless muttered unaware of what I was even saying. Again it wasn't exactly my business but, I was her friend. I guess at the end of the day, I was just concerned for her.

Now having approached Juliet's street, we stopped on the corner for a minute to finish our discussion. "I guess that's possible. I mean, we don't even know the guy so maybe that is the case. We'll just have to keep a watch over her." Even if that was the case, at this point Sam's relationship was none of our concern. Sure we cared for her, but I was more than positive her suspension would be enough to scare her. "Yeah, you're right. A-anyway, well I gotta go. I can't keep my dad waiting."

Juliet and I finally parted ways and, I continued the short distance to the pick up point. I could already faintly see Mark's silver Colbolt off in the distance and I just wanted to get home. At least once I got home I could just relax and pretend this whole mess never happened. Right now, I just wanted to see Mark's beautiful smile and feel the scruff of his face while we embraced for a kiss.

The closer I got to the car, the more my mood improved. No matter what I was facing, seeing Mark always brightened my mood and right now that was exactly what I needed. As soon as his sweet smile became clear in my vision I grew goosebumps. In the moment, it felt almost like the first time he had ever smiled at me. I became a little giddy and felt myself flush recollecting the memory.

With each step towards the car, his eyes seemed to be shining brighter. Once I was close enough I could make out through the windshield that he was beckoning me over with his finger. I found myself giggling and somewhat blushing wondering why he was clearly in such a hurry to get me in the car but, either way it didn't matter. Instead of questioning it another moment I picked up my pace and hurried to the car.

"What took you so long, I've been waiting forever," Mark asked in a breathy chuckle just as I got into the passenger side, and closed the door. I shoved my bookbag down between my legs, buckled my seatbelt and made note of the time displayed on the stereo. "I'm like fifteen minutes later then normal, that's not forever," I teased.

Mark laughed out even louder at my response, and swung his arm the best he could around my shoulder. "I know but, your smoothie is probably melted by now. Besides, since when does a guy need a reason to be so excited to see his girlfriend?" Just as quickly as his arm found the shoulders, it was then pulled away as he began to drive.

Mark was indeed sly, he knows just how to get to me. I knew I was his girlfriend but, I could never get tired of hearing him say that. It was just a reminder of the struggle we had to go through to get to this point. However, that didn't exactly matter anymore. I was entirely his, just as he was completely mine. "I stopped at Mcdonalds on the way over and got a coffee. I didn't know what to get you so I picked up a wildberry smoothie, I hope that's okay."

Of course it was. He didn't have to get me something but, it was nice that he thought of me."Thank you." Fearing my smoothie may have begun to melt by now, I peeked down seeing it in the cup holder and took it into my grasp. Suckling on the straw I found it had indeed begun to melt but, it was still refreshing nonetheless.

"Do you... smell something?" I was so caught up in my own little world so relieved that my school day was finally over that I almost didn't hear him. However, the word 'smell' set an alarm off in my head. I stared blindly out my window pretending to not hear him, hoping he wouldn't ask again. I knew exactly what it was he was smelling and, I had no idea what I was going to tell him. "It smells like a skunk," he continued. A chill shot over my body not knowing what to say but, he was so persistent.

I certainly didn't want to throw Samantha under the bus so I had to make up a lie and quickly. "I walked with Sam and Juliet home and we passed by a group of guys along the way. I'm pretty sure they were smoking pot." I brought my attention back to Mark, hoping I could get a reading on him. For a moment his eyes stayed focused on the road but, when he did look over his face was so serious and I could only shoot him a nervous smile. "I hope you're not lying to me. It smells pretty strong for someone who ONLY walked passed them."

I could sense it, he knew for a fact I wasn't being entirely honest. I just wasn't sure what it was he thought I was lying about. "Just look in my eyes. I didn't smoke anything," I confessed innocently biting the end of my straw. "I am looking in them, and they're beautiful." Knowing I lied to him, I didn't deserve such a sweet comment however still, I blushed and hung my head shying away from his gaze.

Suddenly without much warning, I was jolted forward with such a hard force and, lost grip of my smoothie when Mark slammed on his breaks. Within a fifth of a second my cup had emptied it's slush all across my lap. I gasped as the freezing cold liquid seeped into the fabric and tried to catch my breath from the sudden wave of shock.

"Fuck you asshole! See, this is why I hate driving in LA. Even these side streets can be bad." I glanced up at Mark who was still completely unaware of the spill. "What the fuck happened?" As we continued to move again Mark's response to my cry was to look back over at me with a sigh. "Some jerk just cut me o..." Instantly upon realizing I was covered in my smoothie, Mark looked away trying to hide the grin on his face.

"It's not funny," I whined. I shook my head and watched as he silently snickered to himself and finally we had arrived home. Mark parked the car, took his coffee in hand, and took one more good look at me before opening his door. "It's a little funny." He said giggling even harder while swiping some of the goop from off of my leg with a finger from his free hand, and put it to his mouth.

While he got out of the car, I took my bag in hand and sat for a moment sulking before finally getting out and following him. Today had been such a disaster. I just wanted to clean up, stuff my face with good food and cuddle up with Mark for the night."Go change your clothes and I'll throw those in the wash for you," Mark offered, unlocking the front door.

Stepping inside felt amazing. After the day I had, knowing I was home was such a relief. Today was by far one of the worst days I had in awhile and the smoothie incident just brought new meaning to the phrase, 'when it rains, it pours.' Without stalling, I kicked off my shoes and I threw my bag carelessly over the back of one of the kitchen chairs, quickly trying to make it to the bathroom to wash up.

Just trailing through the kitchen and down the hallway, I was already beginning to undo my jeans and by the time I had reached the bathroom, I was able to strip them completely. I allowed them to drop to the floor and stepped out of them. With a bit of smoothie still streaming down my legs, I plucked the washcloth out of the shower that I had used this morning bringing it with me to the sink and ran the faucet.

Feeling as if the liquid was finally becoming sticky, I was quick to wet the cloth and began to furiously swipe at my skin. Just as the cloth made contact a thought occurred to me that made me laugh. I had told the girls my dad was picking me up but, neither questioned how I was about to walk with them home when I as suppose to be 'waiting for dad.' I found it kind of funny that neither one of them even realized that.

"Knock knock." I peered up to see Mark stand in the doorframe, shaking me from my reverie. He was still tapping his knuckles against the already open door and was studying me in my underwear. He extended his arm out to me and was holding what appeared to be a pair of his sleeping pants. His eyes still locked on me like glue and the smile only my face only got wider.

"Don't say it," I demanded jokingly ripping the pants from his grasp. His response was sticking his tongue out me playfully. "It doesn't need to be said. However, you know what I'm thinking," he confessed bending over and swiping my jeans from off the floor. "Nice ass," he belting out coming to a full standing before giggling like a little school girl and running away before I had the chance to say anything.

***

"So do you have something you want to tell me?" Immediately a lump formed in my throat, one in which I knew would be too difficult to try and swallow away. The hairs on the back of my neck, my arms and even legs seemed to be standing on end and my face began to burn. I had some idea of what Mark was referring to but, I prayed I was wrong. "Uh, what do you mean?"

I tried to play coy but without the need to have to turn around, I could feel his gaze boring into me like a slow burn. Of course I had a general idea of what Mark was referring to however if that was the case, I just couldn't figure out he would know. "I went to throw your jeans in the wash and found 'this' in your pocket."

I clung to my glass of water, bringing it to my lips and, as much as I didn't want to look back at him, I had to. I took a deep breath in and a sip from my glass swishing to around in my mouth before turning around to face him. Mark stood just at the edge of the room where the kitchen and hallway meet with my jeans laying over one of his arms and my detention slip in his hand.

"I just figured there may be something you want to tell me. Like... oh I don't know, maybe why you have detention to begin with and why you didn't tell me about it." He made it sound as if I was trying to hide it from him. I wasn't specifically trying to do that, I just preferred if he didn't know. Although, he sure knows now and I was caught.

The best thing I could do was just explain what happened and be honest about it. "Promise you won't be mad?" I knew no matter what my excuse was, when it came to school Mark's teacher instincts kicked in. It was almost like second nature. There was no real excuse I could give him that would be acceptable in his eyes. "I got caught skipping last period with Sam and Juliet."

Interestingly enough he barely flinched at my confession. Instead his eyebrow slanted upwards and his eyes glanced over me, studying me as if he were trying to get a feel for if I was telling him the whole truth. "Oh I get it. Let me guess, because you were high, it impaired your judgement, correct?"

I of course was completely shocked by his statement and definitely didn't appreciate the sarcasm. I had already told him I wasn't the one smoking and, it appeared that he still refused to believe me. "So not only are you getting high but, you're skipping class too. Fucking brilliant."

I don't know what it was but something inside of me ignited into a furious rage. It was one thing for him to be hassling me over school but, what angered me even more was the fact that he refused to believe me. "I already told you, DAD. I wasn't smoking. Yes, I skipped class and yes I was around it but, I didn't do it!" The muscles in my arms, shoulders and even my abdomen were beginning to tighten as this built up rage continued to engulf me.

"I can't believe you just said that," Mark whispered in a hushed tone. I watched as he began pinching the bridge of his nose, hung his head and shook it in what appeared to be disapproval. The huff he made was barely audible but, I could hear it nonetheless. Mark looked back up to me, as if waiting for be to apologize for the way I had just spoke to him but, being stubborn I stood my ground, staring right back at him.

Without saying another word to me, Mark focused his attention back on my smoothy covered jeans that were now leaking onto his arm and began grinding his teeth. Just the look on his face told me there was something on his mind. Something he probably wanted to say but was holding back. I, trying not to seem phased by our confrontation brought my glass slowly back to my lips, just wondering what he could be thinking.

As he looked back up to me and his lips opened ever so slightly, I thought he finally got the courage to say it but, he stopped himself. "What? Got something you wanna say, SIR? Then fucking say it!" Almost instantly I regretted that little snide remark but still, I was far too deep to back down now.

One way or another, he needed to understand I wasn't a child. Maybe finally snapping was the only way to drill it into his thick head. Instead of regretting my comment, I internally patted myself on the back."You know what... I'm not dealing with this right now. While I do your laundry why don't you sweep or something, it's the least you can do. God knows you haven't done anything else since you got here."

Now more then ever I was completely livid. The claws were out, shots were fired and all I wanted to do was scream to release some anger. The only reason I had never done any housework was because most often, he refused to allow me to. However, I'd be damned if I let him throw that up in my face. Very quickly the tension in the room was beginning to thicken, my blood was boiling and, if I spoke one more word this was going to turn extremely ugly.

With smoothie now beginning to drip from off of my jeans and onto his feet, he peeked down watching as it dripped and immediately turned back towards the hallway. "The only reason I don't do housework is because you won't allow it. Usually you do it all because you're so fucking methodical."

"You always have to have the last word. For fuck sake, shut up already!" As I watched him make his way back down the hall in a huff, I was completely stunned. He had never said anything like that to me before and, I couldn't believe he just did. The fact that he even had the nerve to tell me to shut up was only evidence that I was pushing his buttons just as much as he pushed mine.

Hearing his stomping trail down the hallway and down the stairs to the laundry room, I didn't know what I wanted to do more: continue to bitch or grab the broom and show him up. I took a moment to ponder my options and decided best to just bite my tongue and suck it up. If this continued, we'll probably end up saying something we would later regret.

Although in the moment I didn't particularly care because there were many things I would have liked to say, I had to think of what it might cause in the long run. Yes, I was fuming and he did have a lot to say about me. However I couldn't bring myself to say anything drastic knowing I'd be speaking out of anger. 'I guess that's the downside of living with someone. They know exactly how to push your buttons.'

Now beginning to feel sick, I turned back around to the sink dumping the remaining water out as I just couldn't stomach it. I was beginning to hyperventilate from the adrenaline coursing through my veins, I was sweating and shaking from pepped up rage. I grasped a hold onto the countertop and keeled forward drawing slow, deep breaths trying to get myself to calm down. When I finally stopped vibrating and managed to catch my breath, I swallowed my pride and made quick movement to the corner of the room that Mark had his mop and broom set against.

'I don't do anything around here? He'll eat those words. I'll make these floors fucking spotless.' As I grasped the broom in hand and pulled it out from the corner, I snickered at the thought and quickly shook it away realizing in the moment I just didn't care enough. I still had all intentions of sweeping, I just didn't care enough to make them spotless. As long as he sees me doing housework it'd be something he could never throw in my face again.

***

The few minutes we had spent apart while we were doing our own thing was thankfully enough to calm me down a bit and relatively quickly too. This wasn't over, and I knew that. However, at least it was enough time for me to begin to calm down before I explode and, that I was grateful for.

I tightened the broom handle in hand and continued to brush along the hardwood floors taking with me anything in my path, collecting it into a neat pile. I found something oddly satisfying about cleaning while I was under so much stress. It wasn't relaxing in the least but, it did give my mind something else to focus on. That was, until I heard Mark's heavy footsteps booming their way back upstairs.

"You know what, I just thought of someth... Oh woah, you're actually cleaning. I didn't expect that. I may like things done a certain way but really, how hard is it to sweep. You can't possibly screw that up." I clung even tighter to the broom handle and forced myself to look up at him. Both of his eyebrows raised, arms crossed at his chest and he bore a smut grin as he continued to watch me sweep. His comment was not anything genuine, it was a jab and I didn't much appreciate it.

"I don't mind doing housework but, don't get use to it. I'm not your fucking maid." I bent down, slamming the dust pan against the floor completely proud of that little lash out. I lived here too and it was only fair I clean what and when I can and I knew that. However Mark was the one to do most of the cooking so any cleaning done in the kitchen would most often be from his mess.

"And I'm not your babysitter but yet, you still act so childish." That was all I needed to hear to entirely lose all control. I began to shake with anger, tense up and it felt as if the gates of hell were opening from within my body. I always thought Mark had still somewhat seen me as a child but, now at least it was a confession made from his own mouth.

Still squatting to the floor, I watched as he trotted his way through the kitchen, completely avoiding my gaze. His head was held high and I was sure he certainly felt proud of himself. Perhaps, he even felt high and mighty. I had an overwhelming urge to knock him off his high horse however, that wouldn't lead to anything good and I knew I'd regret it later.

Beginning to gnaw so hard at the inside of my cheek that I could almost taste blood, I resumed my focus back down to broom and dustpan in hand. Taking my attention away from Mark and our current situation, I kept to myself and swept the pile I had collected into the dustpan. However, my attention was broken when I heard the sound of furious rustling from behind.

Curious, I peeked over my shoulder and seen Mark who had my bookbag hiked up onto the table pulling out it's contents. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just go through stuff," I contested letting go of the broom. I allowed it to drop onto the floor and took a stand, rushing to the table grabbing my binder and sketchpad for visual arts from his hand.

"Look at this shit (YN,)" he interjected flinging my bookbag halfway across the table, spilling it's out remaining contents. "I knew you had homework. School started four days ago and I've already begun to give my students homework so I knew you would have homework too. Come to think of it, I haven't seen you do any of it this week." He was right though, I hadn't. I loved what we had over break so much that when we got home for the night, all I wanted to do was spend the rest of the evening with him.

"Why are you so damn irresponsible! So you're smoking pot and, you clearly don't care about your education. Real fucking winner you are." Just the way his words rolled off of his tongue and his tone of voice made me cringe. I felt as if he were talking to me as if I were a dog, or... a child. Of course that was no surprise being I now knew he thought of me in that light.

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(Sorry to cut it here but, because of this chapter's length I wanted to split it into two parts. Please continue to next part to read the continuation.)