THE SPAWNS

What Do They Teach You at Nun School? 

Chapter X—Jayden

© DarknessAndLight

Dad walked up the stairs, following Belly before I could even tell him my new awesome idea.

            Oh well, his lost.

            I headed towards the kitchen, straight to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. There was left over pizza, and I was hungry. I didn’t know how long that slice had been in here though so I sniffed it. Hmm, good enough. I shrugged to myself, took a big bite and swung my bag over my shoulder, making my way up to my room.

            Up the stairs, I only got to hear my sister utter “Whatever you say” before closing the bathroom door very loudly behind her.

            I narrowed my eyes at my father. “Dad, what did you tell her?”

            He shrugged, ready to go back downstairs. “Nothing that concerns you.”

            Uh, what? “When you upset my sister it concerns me,” I replied dryly, shoving the rest of the slice of pizza in my mouth.

            He rolled his eyes at me—typical—and answered while walking towards the stairs. “Don’t worry about it, she’ll come around.”

            I turned around, ready to grab him and shake him. When it came to my sister, not worrying about it was not an option. “Hey, it’s not because,” I started to mumbled, mouth still full, before managing to swallow without dying, “I haven’t been around for a while that I shouldn’t be filled in on everything. What’s wrong?”

            Dad sighed heavily. “If she wants you to know, she’ll tell you.”

            Okay, this wasn’t amusing. “Dad, I’m serious here, what’s wrong?”

            “Again, nothing that concerns you,” he pressed.

            “And again, when it concerns my sister it concerns me.” I hissed in frustration. “Seriously, I’m sick and tired of not being filled in everything just because you all claim I’m stinking unobservant. That’s all you all ever do, you laugh, you pat my head or something and say “Aw, how unobservant.”,” I added in a rush. Everybody took me for an idiot. It pissed me off.

            “Jayden, I’m sorry you see things this way,” Dad told me, and he looked sad saying that. I think I hurt his feelings by blurring what I just had, but I couldn’t really help myself. It was just the way I felt. “but honestly, it’s not my story to tell, it’s hers.” He just left it at that and went back downstairs.

            Well, that was a lovely conversation. Not.

            Sighing, I walked in my room and dropped my bag on the floor by the door. I took a big gulp of water and changed into old tattered jeans and a t-shirt stained with paint. I had a new project in mind so there really was not point in moping.

            But as skipped down the stairs I heard the backdoor open. Dad was probably heading out to his shack. I was still pissed so I didn’t want to talk to him again just yet, especially if it meant telling him my new idea. He could use the silent treatment for a little while.

            As I reached the living room, my cellular that was in my back pocket started to ring.

            Before I could even say hello, a voice cut me. “Please, please, come and save me from the two Desperate Housewives!” Mai’s voice whispered hastily on the other end of the line.

            I laughed and threw myself on the couch, opening the TV, flipping through channels.

            “Sorry, no can do. I’m extremely busy at the moment.” For a second I worried that my clothes might stain the couch but shrugged the thought away. Worse case scenario, I’d tell Mom it was Dad’s fault.

            “I swear to god, if you don’t come and pick me up this instant next time I see you I’ll cut your balls off and make a fanny pack with them for each of the two hysterical overly estrogenic men with me right now!”

            Okay that was both funny and very terrifying. “You wouldn’t dare,” I answered her, straightening up and muting the TV.

            “Oh I would, I would dare.”

            I laughed, shaking my head. “Who’s being overly estrogenic now?”

            “Look, it’s awful okay!” she whined. “I’m hiding in the ladies room because I know the minute I go back to sit at that table they’ll ask me about every single embarrassing thing they can come up with, like what’s my menstrual cycle, have I been having cramps, do I need to shop for new bras, am I more favourable towards thongs or granny panties, do I need to go see an aesthetician for my personal grooming, honestly it’s like they’re trying to overcompensate for the fact I don’t have a mother presence in my life.” I could have sworn she was pulling on her hair as she ranted.

            “You prefer thongs, you already have way too many bras, you have your own aesthetician for that and your menstrual cycle is of thirty four days which means you should start your period in about one week, and you don’t have cramps and those are the many reasons why you postpone ever starting on the pill because you’ll have them more often and you worry it might make you somewhat normal,” I informed her, matter-of-factly.

            “Aw, I can’t believe you remember that conversation” she crooned.

            “Trust me, there was no way I could forget that conversation.” I shuddered. Ew.

            “But wait, you calculate when I’m going to start my period?”

            Oops. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut… “What, I just want to know around what time I have to worry about your sudden erratic behaviour,” I answered with a guilty grin that was obviously unnecessary since she couldn’t see me. I’m sure my tone implied that guiltiness though.

            “Bitch,” Mai simply replied curtly.

            That was expected. And because I was a moron, I decided to push my luck. “Also, it prepares me for any other red incidents that might happen on my bed cover.”

            “You know what? You’re suddenly very not entertaining anymore.” I laughed but she ignored it. “I think I’m going to go back with the two drama queens.”

            “You do that,” I chuckled.

            “Yes, I will. And you better keep your eyes open because I’m going to come and collect my fanny packs!”

            I snorted. “Freak.”

            “Blame it on PMS,” she shot back and hung up on me.

            I sat on the couch laughing alone for a good five minutes before deciding that if I wanted to have time to start my new project before we went to eat at the Torres, I had to go now. Dad was probably in his own shack and I could just sprint in mine and lock my door and ignore him if he tried to come and talk to me. I was very good at those childish silent treatments.

            I stepped out into our backyard, and as I had guessed, my father was in his shack, getting canvas out. I passed quickly in front of it and hurried to mine. My shack looked a lot like my father; built in wood, with a door in the middle and a small window on both side of it, metal roof that does not need changing and at the right angle so snow falls from it in the winter, all in all, it was a modest looking cabin and it served its purpose.

            After stepping inside, I locked the door behind me and went straight to my drawing table to make a few sketches of what I had in mind. When I had something decent looking, I put some music on and got a cube of red clay out, that I had safely wrapped in a plastic bag. With a metal wire, I cut a chunk of it, and started to wedge the clay on my table, throwing it forcefully on it, to get the any air pockets out. The last thing I wanted was for the sculpture to explode once I cooked it, though I cared more about the silicon mould I would make over it.

            I heard my father try to open the door and knock on it, but I ignored him. After all, I was unobservant, so why would I realize someone was beating repeatedly on my door? I also saw by the windows Lilibeth going to her tree to climb in it, a book in her hand. Part of me thought about just letting everything on the table and meeting up with her, but another part of me realized that she probably wanted the time alone.

            When I was almost done, beating the clay, I heard the door wiggle again, and then the lock being unlocked. I barely had time to register what was happening and I was thrown down on the ground by a freaky ninja that pressed her knee in the family jewels.

            Maika grinned down at me. “I came to collect.”

            Well, she had been fast…

            “Knee… balls… ouch,” I tried to breathe, in between the pain noises I was doing. I tried to wiggle a little but all that amounted to was for her to press harder.

            “Oh, I’m sorry, is there something wrong?”

            “I’d like to point out that we end up in compromising positions like these way too often,” I groaned.

            Maika just flicked my nose. “Hey, don’t act stupid and you wouldn’t get your balls squishes.”

            Okay, sure, it would have been nice of me to go and save her from her fathers, but that was no reason to put my reproductive abilities in jeopardy.

            I pointed it out. “Don’t break my balls, please, or else the Eaton line will die with me,” I whined.

            “Next time I tell you to come and pick me up, you drag that nice looking ass of yours into your fancy car and you drive to wherever you’ll need to drive and you pick me up, capiche?”

            “Capiche!”

            Maika gave to taps that were closer to slaps on my cheeks. “Good Jay-Jay-Poo,” and then got back on her feet in one swift movement.

            I stayed on the ground for a second, trying to find my breath and my balls. “Jeez woman, seriously, what do they teach you at nun school?”

            “That what you have between your legs is a manifestation of the devil,” she pointed at me in faux-terror. I would have rolled my eyes if I hadn’t been trying to get feeling back in my balls.

            “Crazy ninja,” I mumbled, and went to stand back in front of my clay. Maika had thrown herself on my old couch that was strangely comfortable, flipping through an art magazine. She was getting cozy. “So, how did you manage to free yourself so quickly?”

            Without looking up at me she replied, “I told them you had called my while I was in the bathroom, being all hysterical, per usual.” She turned a page. “I escaped my captors by being using standard situations.”

            “Bite me.” Mai snapped her teeth at me playfully. “But I mean, come on, it’s not that bad. And your fathers love you!

            She closed the magazine. “And I love them too. Just in small doses!”

            I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable.”

            “One of my many qualities,” Maika yawned, stretching her arms out. “So what are you doing exactly?” She got back up on her feet.

            I pointed to the sketches on my table with my chin. Maika looked through them. “Ooh, clever, I like it.”

            “Yeah…” I shrugged. I was still in the developing process. “We’ll see…”

            “Want me to beat some more clay,” she offered.

             “Sure.” I nodded. This wasn’t the first time she was helping me with a project, the fact that she had the keys to get in was proof enough, so she knew exactly what to do. “So, anything new,” I asked, after she had tightly wrapped the plastic around the block of clay closed.

            “Oh, same old, same old. Overbearing fathers and all,” she trailed and threw the clay on the table. I had to admit, wedging the clay was a good way to work up anger.

            “Of course…” I shook my head at her, rolling my eyes. But then I frowned. “Hey, do you know what was wrong with Cole this morning?”

            She wrinkled her nose. “You caught that?”

            I groaned. “Give me credit, I’m not that unobservant”

            “Well…” she trailed teasingly.

            I slapped her butt. “Sister, I can tell when he’s eating something out of the ordinary just by the smell of his farts. I’m kind of knowledgeable when it comes to my bestfriend,” I pointed out. I had spent all my childhood with him, and the last year I had actually lived with him. I doubt he could hide anything from me for very long, unless he really wanted to.  

            Mai sighed. “His parents are just being the same. Cole would want them to understand him better, and to be the parents for once, but I doubt that’ll ever happen.” She shrugged like it was out of her control, which it was. “They asked him if he was in love with you.” She laughed.

            “What?”

            “Yeah, they figured since he’s not dating anyone and you two are just so close,” she left it at that and just kept chuckling and throwing the clay on the table rhythmically.

            And of course, we were definitely close; Cole was like a brother to me. No way was he in love with me. Though everyone was always telling me how clueless about everything I was, like I wasn’t seeing something huge. Maybe that was it…

            “But huh…” I scratched my head without thinking about the clay on my hands. Oh well... More pressing matters… “Is Cole gay?”

            Maika broke in a fit of laughter, doubling over, “Cole is not gay, trust me.”

            Ah! Not that out of it! “It feels like I’m missing some important part of an inside joke though, like I’m out of the secret.” I pouted a bit.

            My ninja of a friend snorted. “You should.”

            “What am I not getting? What are you two keeping away from me?” It hit me just then. “Are you two… are you two going out or something?” Suddenly, the idea of them actually being together felt very plausible. They were undeniably close, with many common hobbies, and they hung out together and as far as I knew, both hadn’t dated anyone. Just like that, the possibility that they were going out was real, and I didn’t like it. It’s not that I didn’t want them to be happy, I did want them happy, just not together, just not in a way that would change the dynamic of our group, not in a way that could completely destroy our friendship. Going out with a friend couldn’t end on good terms, could it?

            For one second, I was honestly frightened.

            Luckily, Maika answered with the right words. “Dear lord no.” I sighed in relief. “Jay, you need to understand where he’s coming from. All his life his parents have flaunted their sexual lives at him, all his life they’ve been way too open about these things. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m an awesome friend, but I’m never going to be what he’s looking for. What he wants, what he needs is a girl that will listen to him, a girl that completes him, a girl that’ll be able to be the mature one, that can keep him in line. He needs a quiet, probably even shy girl, a girl that doesn’t create commotions and scenes wherever she goes.”

            “Kind of like Lilibeth,” I trailed thoughtfully.

            She took a few seconds before answering. “Exactly like Lilibeth.”

            “But where do we find a girl like her for him? Do we know anyone like Lilibeth,” I asked frowning.

            Maika snorted. “I can think of one person…”

            I stared at her, confused. “Really? Who?” I honestly couldn’t think of anyone.

            But she just shook her head at me, not giving me an answer. Damn ninja. “Well, Nikki’s in love with him,” I pointed out.

            Maika chocked on her breath, or maybe her saliva, point is, she was definitely surprised. “What? How the hell do you know that!?”

            I looked down sheepishly. “She told me.”

            She rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

            “Anyway, those two could work.” Sure, Nikki didn’t exactly fit the description Mai had given me but I knew she liked Cole a lot, plus she loved cat, wasn’t that enough to win Cole over?

            “I love you Jay, but for the sake of everyone, please, don’t try to match these two together.”

            I frowned, yet again. “Why not?”

            “Do you trust me?”

            I grinned. “No.”

            “Jayden,” Mai said in a reprimanding voice.

            “Fine, whatever.”

            After that we just kept on chatting about useless things, and Maika left shortly after. She needed to get ready for tonight; she was invited at Cole’s house too. Nikki would be there too. And even though she had told me not to do it, I didn’t see the wrong in trying to set my friend in the right path. Cole was alone, that much I could tell. He never went out with anyone, not once had he been on a date with any girl, as far as I knew. It wouldn’t hurt him to get out a bit and enjoy himself.

            Around four o’clock, I wrapped all the clay I had taken out in a humid towel so it wouldn’t dry, and got out.

            Lilibeth was still in her tree, and I figured she had been alone long enough now. Of course, she had to climb to the highest branch possible, so it took me a little while to reach her. Whatever I believed about my sister, one thing was sure, she was in incredible physical shape—climbing in trees was a piece of cake to her.

            When I finally reached her, she smiled at me, moving so I could sit beside her.

            “Good book?” I inquired.

            She shrugged. “I haven’t been able to read that much… I’ve just been thinking…”

            She sounded sad again. I frowned. I didn’t like her thinking about things that made her sad. “About what?”

            “What’s the right thing to do, Jay? Doing what’s best for yourself or doing what’s best for the other?” There was something close to desperation when she asked this to me. My heart broke for her.

            “I don’t care about myself Belly, I just care about you,” I told her truthfully. I hated this, I hated feeling helpless, and I hated the fact that she wasn’t letting me in.

She sighed, looking up towards the sky. “Life sucks.”

            “Tell me about it…” I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her against me. “Do you… do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

            “I don’t want you to be mad,” my little sister whispered against my shoulder.

            I stroked her hair. “Trust me Belly, there isn’t anything that you could tell me that would make me mad.”

            “I wouldn’t be so sure…” She sighed again, and then look at me in the eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

            “Of course.”

            “When are you going to realize you’re in love?”

            I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “What are you talking about?”

            She gave me a small smile. “It’s a little obvious, I just think you’re the only one that hasn’t realized it yet…”

            “What?” Had Cole talked to her about that date-turned-into-rape thing? Jesus Effing Christ, if he had, I would beat him up with his stinking fluffy cat!

            “It just seems obvious to me, that’s all.” What was she talking about? God dammit, had everyone teamed up today to make me feel like an unobservant idiot?

            I raised my eyebrows. “Are you implying that I’m unobservant?”

            She shook her head, looking at me with those wise dark blue eyes of hers. “No, I’m implying that sometimes maybe your brain thinks that not accepting something that is obvious is better than accepting it because it means changes and you don’t like changes. You’re a constant boy.” There it was, that small smile again. It was getting just a little bigger.

            I half smiled at her, giving a small squeeze. “And you’re a constant girl.”

            This time she smiled fully. “I got that from my brother.”

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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for making you wait soooo long for the next chapter. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one, and forgive the mistake, I didn't have time to proof-read cause it's like five fourty AM and I should go to bed! 0_0 Oh and congratulations to missy_bee for picking the name of this chapter. There were a looot of good options from everyone though, so I might use one another one for a future chapter.. keep your eyes open, I'll dedicate the chapter to whoever invented it! :)

Anyway! For the title for the next chapter, in Cole's POV, you have three options:

A) Drowned Puppies

B) The Question Sort of Answered Itself

C) Or simply something you came up with, and if I pick your porposition, that chapter is dedicated to you! :)

Sooo, I think that's all! :D Thanks for reading! :) Don't forget to vote and comment, mamma loooooves comments! ;P