❛ I'm about to slap that smirk off your goddamn face, Jackson. ❜

chapter twenty four.

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      JAX'S EYES SHOOT open, his mind breaking himself from the nightmare and instinctively his arms tighten around Scarlett, who's resting by his side with her arm draped over his waist whilst he's laid flat on his back. His gaze drops down to her and his hand raises to brush some of her hair away from her face. She shuffles slightly when his hand comes in contact with her skin and her eyelids flicker open to meet his eyes.

Yawning quietly, she lets a warm smile be pushed onto her lips as she studies his face, her own hand raising slightly to rest higher up his chest, "You okay?" She mumbles, noticing the slight unease in his eyes.

He nods gently, one of his palms running smoothly up and down her bicep, "Fine."

She stares at him for a moment longer before speaking once more, "Is Abel getting home today?"

"Should be," Jax confirms with a small grin of excitement, "You mind coming with me to the hospital to finalise everything?"

"Sure," Scarlett allows her tried eyes close once more but she continues to speak, "Is Gemma setting the party up at the house?"

"I think so," Jax replies, "Why, you thinking' 'bout helping her out?" Scarlett snorts, causing him to chuckle, as he expected that exact response. There was no way on earth she would chose to help out Gemma Teller.

Jax slips out from beneath her, being careful not to from her suddenly. He relaxes her down on the mattress, and watches for a moment as she pulls the duvet closer to her chest, yawning into the fabric. He lowers down over her, pecking a soft kiss to her cheek before glancing around his room for his clothes.

As he gets changed, he soon a notices Scarlett's eyes open and staring across the room at him. He smirks at her and shakes his head in disbelief jokingly.

"I'll see you later," He chuckles as he pulls open his dorm door, "Get some more sleep."

"Happily," She hums, squeezing her eyes closed once more and snuggling deeper into the bed, causing him to smile brightly. She was nice and comfortable in his bed.

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      A SHORT WHILE LATER at the hospital, Scarlett slips into Abel's room after a doctor exits with a clipboard close to her chest. Jax is looking down at his son, his finger dancing gently on his chest until he notices Scarlett's presence and lifts his gaze to her.

"Everything all good?" She questions. She'd popped out briefly for a toilet break, but there ended up being a massive queue for the singular female bathroom. She presumed she'd been gone for most of the finalisation.

"Yeah," He answers, nodding his head out of the door, indicating towards the doctor who just left, "I think that was the last of 'em. Liability shit."

Scarlett hums in understanding, shoving her hands into her leather jacket pocket's as her eyes lower to Abel sleeping in his cot. Jax's brows furrow at her silence and anxious stature.

"Is something wrong?" His head tilts.

Her head snaps up once more, and she shakes it quickly to calm his nerves before swallowing, "With Abel leaving, I'm realising it's not just you. You have a son, Jax. We need to think about what we're doing," She says.

A smirk appears on his face as his repositions himself and leans against the wall to face her completely. He bites his lip before sighing, "You really wanna talk about this, huh? 'Cause the one upside of Wendy, she was usually too wasted for relationship chats."

"Well, unfortunately and painfully," She shrugs, "I'm sober."

"I can see that," He smiles.

Her jaw ticks, "I'm about to slap that smirk off your goddamn face, Jackson."

He clicks his tongue at the use of his birth name but his smirk never falters, "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

She glares at him as she shakes her head, "No."

After gently running a finger over Abel's head, Jax pushes away from the wall and moves around Scarlett to lean on a set of drawers instead. She turns on her heel to follow his movements.

"My shit was crazy before you left, Scar," He begins, "Even as best friends. That 'I gotta be with you every second or imma kill myself' type of crazy."

Her brows furrow and her previous agitation settles as she thinks about his words, "Wh—"

"Why do you think I wouldn't leave you alone when we finally became the age to understand what love was?" His eyebrows raise in questioning and she stays silent in confusion. He pushes away from the drawers, moving closer to her in the centre of the room, "Look, the way I feel about you hasn't changed. I can still go there. But this can't be the friendship we had. This is so much more. We've got to figure out what's right. But I'm not trying to avoid this, what we have. Just gotta take a minute to know what to do."

"Okay," She nods with a small smile, "But, can we take a minute to speak about you being in love with me when we were teenagers?" She teases lightly. She'd always had a deep down knowledge of his true feelings, because she felt the same. His words had confirmed her suspicions.

He smirks, his hands raising to both of her cheeks and pulling her into a kiss. She drops her hands from her pockets, lifting them slightly to settle one on the back of his head and the other on his arm. Slowly, he pulls away with his forearms resting comfortably on his shoulders as he smiles down at her.

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        SCARLETT SITS behind the club bar with her feet up on the wooden surface and her ankles crossed whilst she watches the 4 in a row game being set up next to her boots. Juice is sat opposite on a creaky stool, giddily messing up with the child's game for them to play together.

"You ready to get your ass beat, Juan?" She teases, swinging her legs off the bar so she can play more comfortably.

Juice introduced himself to her as Juan when they first met more than a decade ago before he was even involved with the Club. As much as she liked the name Juice on him, Juan occasionally slipped out, even after not seeing him for eight years.

"You're the only person I will ever let call me that, apart from my sister," Juice mutters, as he focusses on dividing the counters for them both.

She slides the red counters closer to her, "I'll stop, if you want. I know Chibs doesn't like his real name, or at least doesn't like me using it."

Juice's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, "What's his real name?"

Scarlett smirks mischievously but as she goes to lean closer and whisper the name into his ear, a shout echoes across the room, causing her to shoot back.

"Don't you fecking dare, Letty!" Chibs roars, and she snaps her gaze to him, spotting him by the poole table with his index finger pointed directly at her.

She laughs, "I won't, old man. Calm down."

"This fecking lass and calling me old man," She hears him grumble as he turns and lowers to strike the white ball, "The cheek of her."

She smiles triumphantly before facing Juice once more, "Sorry. You'll have to catch him when he's blackout drunk and ask him then. That's what I did. Always works."

Juice grunts, dropping a yellow counter into a slot, "Only problem is when he's blackout drunk, I'm much further gone. I can't hold my alcohol well."

"Yeah," She hums, releasing a red counter next to his, "A certain diaper incident shoots to mind."

Juice's eyes widen in horror as he realises what she's just said out loud. He hears footsteps behind him and his forehead drops to the bar as he grunts in embarrassment.

"What's this about a nappy incident?" Chibs strolls open, stopping beside Juice and slapping a hand down on his back as the old man looks curiously between the two, "Eh?"

Scarlett laughs, reaching across the bar and patting Juice's shoulder apologetically, "Probably best I don't say."

"You what? No! Come on now, Letty," Chibs shoots back in shock that she was choosing to avoid embarrassing Juice. He motions around the room to all the ear-wigging men, "Give us all somet' to laugh about. What is it then? Don't keep me waiting all bloody day, lass."

Scarlett follows his finger, her eyes snapping to a familiar female stops in the doorway awkwardly, "Donna?" She exclaims, quickly forgetting Chibs impatient question, "What you doing here?"

"Come for a drink, haven't you, lass?" Chibs smiles happily, "Letty, pop a bottle for her."

Scarlett punches his arm across the bar roughy, shutting him up quickly, apart from a small wince passing his lips as he rubs his bicep, "Shut up. Go back to snooker, old man," She directs before moving her hand to hit Juice's head as it continues to rest on the surface while Chibs trudges back to the table, "And you, go fetch Opie."

Juice shuffles off the stool, mumbling under his breath, "Yes, mom."

Donna chuckles as the man slinks off down the hallway and she takes his place in the bar stool. Her eyes study the Four In A Row game set up, "This is what you do at work?"

Scarlett shakes her head as she pushes the child's game to the side for them to resume later, "Only with Juice."

"You and Jax spoken yet?" Donna questions.

Scarlett smirks, remembering the long night previous, "Oh, we spoke, alright."

Donna smacks her lightly on the arm as she laughs in surprise, "You forgive him then?"

"Might as well," She shrugs, "Says he hasn't touched Wendy since she got pregnant. I have no reason not to believe him."

"You trust him enough?"

Her head tilts, eyes narrowing, ". . . Yes. But that question is confusing me slightly. Am i not supposed to?"

Shaking her head, Donna laughs gently, "No, no. You are supposed to trust him. I'm just making sure you actually do, and aren't just forgiving him for the sake of it."

"I trust him, Donna," Scarlett reassures with a small sweet smile which her friend can only understand to be truthful.

Luke Caddal strides into the clubhouse, hugging a few other men and slapping his hand on their backs as a greeting before marching over to the two women, "Hello, ladies," He steps behind the bar, before his head snaps back to Donna in shock, "Donna? I thought you had a thing about not coming into the clubhouse?"

"I'm just here to speak to Ope briefly," Donna answers.

"You two okay again?" Luke's brown raise as he begins to pull himself a pint.

"Yeah. I'm surprised Cami didn't tell you," Donna purses her lips, "You two usually have to tell each other everything."

Luke snorts, "Didn't bother telling me her wanted proposal scene, did she?"

Not listening to his words, Scarlett watches with an open mouth as he serves himself and she reaches out to slap his tatted arm, "That's my job, Caddal. You're stealing my job."

He waves her off, before pulling a stack of dollars from his pockets and throwing it carelessly into the money till. The same money till Scarlett had spent at least two hours sorting before her shift started.

She jumps off her stool, gently shoving at his back and getting him out of behind the bar, "Unbelievable," She tuts.

He jumps up onto the seat beside Donna, placing his full tankard down onto the wooden surface with a thud, "Wasn't aware you were so precious about your job as a barmaid."

"Be quiet and drink your beer then fuck off," She snarls, dropping back down onto her chair with his money in her lap as she begins to sort it out to coordinate with her system.

Juice walks back down the hallway and heads straight for the bar. His hands shake Luke's shoulders before he occupies the seat beside him. A moment later, Opie is strolling into the room, and Donna hops from the chair and away from the group to speak with him.

Luke whirls around on his seat to face the couple as they chat, "Bets that they end up kissing right here?" He clicks his fingers over his shoulder at Scarlett and Juice, "Like some movie type shit."

"Five dollars," Scarlett pushes Luke's own five dollars to the side as she prepares to lose.

"You seriously think they won't?" He peers back at her momentarily, to which she just shrugs.

"They will," Juice snorts, "Now that they're back to being all dopey with each other. Every time I see them together recently, they're all over each other."

The trio sit silently and watch the couple as they discuss family problems and upcoming events, such as Abel's homecoming party. Donna throws her arms over Opie's shoulders and Luke straightens, his feet tapping with excitement, whilst Juice smirks back at Scarlett. Eventually, Donna presses up onto her tiptoes and pulls her husband in for a kiss.

Luke shoots up off his seat, both his arms straight in the air as a celebration. He cheers loudly, causing Opie and Donna to break apart and snap their heads to him. He freezes under their confused stares and slowly relaxes back into his seat, "Shit, sorry. Please continue."

"I worry about you, man," Opie chuckles before turning back to his wife.

Completely ignoring his comment, Luke whirls around and holds his palm out in front of Scarlett with a cheeky grin pulled across his lips. She rolls her eyes as she clicks the till closed, picking his five dollars off the bar and slapping the notes into his hand.

"Five dollars richer," Luke sucks his teeth.

Juice nudges him, "Use it to afford a nicer venue to propose to Camille."

Luke points at him, humming in agreement, "Good idea, Juicey."

Scarlett raises her brows, "You're about to go and buy cigs, ain't you?"

"As seen as you stole my last pack, I may use your cash to fund my new pack," Luke hops off his seat, downing the remaining alcohol in his tankard.

"See you later, Scar! Love you!" Donna calls as she rushes out of the Club, sending the woman one last wave before exiting.

"Love you too!" Scarlett shouts after her.

Luke pats Opie's chest as they bump into one another, "You two are looking so happy recently. It's great, Ope. Seriously. It's like high school again."

Opie chuckles lowly, rather wishing to forget the messy crime filled years of high school that he spent mucking around with a particular group of people.

"He's right, Opie," Scarlet agrees from a few feet back, causing both of the men to face her, "You and Don are finally comfortable again."

"I'm well aware," He hums.

"Well, that's good then and," Luke begins, "this is us warning you not to—"

"—fuck it up," Scarlett, Luke and Juice all finish in unison with the same grin plastered across their faces.

"Warning understood," Opie shakes his head in disbelief but he can't help let a small chuckle pass his lips before he begins to make his way back down towards the dorms.

Luke and Scarlett share a glance, "He loves us."

Juice flicks his computer open with a short laugh erupting from his mouth, "Looks that way."

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SCARLETT WANDERS out of the convenience store with Chibs by her side, both of their arms filled with stacks of bottle of beers. Gemma had ordered them to go buy some refreshments for Abel's homecoming and for them to leave them at the clubhouse so she can pick them up later. Chibs was sure that Gemma meant different things than alcohol but Scarlett managed to convince him to just spend their balance on beer.

"Scarlett," A small voice calls her name, and she glances down the street, spotting Wendy making her way over.

Turning again to Chibs, Scarlett piles her stack on top of his before balancing the truck keys on top, "Shove them in the back, please," She requests, motioning towards Camille's truck that it's parked up next to his bike.

"You gon' be alright?" He questions, eyes narrowing at Wendy for a moment before they flick back to Scarlett in slight concern.

She chuckles, "Yeah. I'll be fine. You can ride back to the Club if you want. I've got it."

He shakes his head, "I'll wait."

Scarlett sighs, "I'm fine."

"Never said you wouldn't be," Chibs begins to walk away, "It's her I'm worrying about. I remember when you lot were kids. I also remember the fights."

Rolling her eyes, she mutters, "Jesus christ, Chibs. I'm not gonna start a street fight right here with her."

A few feet away, Wendy listens and watches at they mumbles back and forth. She clears her throat, causing both of their heads to snap in her direction. She raises her hand in a small wave to remind them of her existence. Scarlett smiles back at her before shooing Chibs away.

"I'm sorry," Scarlett apologises, moving closer so they can properly engage in a conversation.

Wendy sees Chibs out of the corner of her eye, with his arms crossed over his chest as he leans back against his back after placing the beers in the truck bed.

"He's protective of you," Wendy chuckles.

Scarlett shrugs, "Is there something you want?"

Wendy swallows thickly, her fingers beginning to fiddle as her mind runs rapid. She'd seen Scarlett and Jax in Abel's room at the hospital that morning with their arms around one another as they pulled away from a loving kiss. Wendy believed she was getting somewhere with her husband, but obviously he'd moved on with the same woman he'd never shut up about during their first few years of their marriage.

"Are you with Jax?" Wendy questions simply, folding her arms over her chest to stop her hands from fidgeting.

Scarlett face falls in surprise and she stares blankly at Wendy for what feels like five minutes until she rolls her shoulders back and replies, "I don't know exactly how to answer that."

"Do you love him?" Wendy shoots out quickly, her face slowly revealing her anger.

Scarlett's wall begins to build up as she recognises the temper on the woman's face. She clenched her jaw slightly, "I'm not comfortable speaking about this with you."

Wendy repositions herself slightly, "I don't give a shit what you're comfortable with."

In shock, Scarlett lets out a loud laugh.

"We spoke the other day at the hospital and you didn't think to mentioned that you're sleeping with my husband?" Wendy continues to push, her tone getting harsher.

Scarlett smirks, "Ex-husband."

"Two more months before that's official, okay?" Wendy snaps, "He's my husband and Abel is our son."

Taking a deep breath, Scarlett licks her lips and speaks calmly, "You need to check into your sober-living home, and get some time. If you and Jax are destined to be together, or whatever the fuck you've got stuck in your head, he'll be there when you get out."

Wendy nods before her brows raise in questioning, "And where will you be?"

"In his bed," Scarlett grins before rotating on her heel to return to the truck but Wendy's agitated voice causes her to come to a halt once more.

"She'll never let you be with him," She snarls, "Gemma hates you."

Facing her again, Scarlett shrugs, "It's mutual."

"She'll do whatever she can to keep you guys apart," Wendy keeps going, her face now displaying fake sympathy and guidance, "You may as well quit while you're still ahead, or alive, for that matter."

Staying silent, Scarlett watches as Wendy gives her one last small glance before turning and heading back up the main street. Scarlett thinks about shouting one last smiting comment but stays silent, instead squeezing her eyes shut for a moment to contain her increased anger for the woman.

"Letty!" Chibs calls for her, "Hurry up, would you?"

. . . .

erm, so for some odd reason this chapter randomly unpublished and deleted the title and i cannot remember for the life of me what it originally which is so annoying so 'preparation' is the best i can do rn, and also fairly sure i've used this gif before but just like act like i haven't pls x