Jenthello

I rolled out of bed with a groan in an attempt to attack my alarm clock.

“Shut up...” I mumbled through my pillow. It had been a long two days and I wished it wasn't real. I was really beginning to hate Jenna, she was making everyone believe I was something I never wanted to be. That and the fact that she was so bent on not letting me take control again, she didn't sleep for the last two days.

This of course left me exhausted, confused, disorientated, and in a drier need of caffeine. I also had to deal with the damage that was done in the last two days. I had detention today thanks to Jenna's need to explain gravity to Juliana and using Kaylen as an example.

~*~

“So...if I drop an apple from a tree...that's gravity,” Juliana thought out loud as she stared up at the tree looming above our heads. Jenna chugged down the soda in her hand and looked up at the tree as well.

“Yeah, like...” she looked around and spotted Kaylen and Derrick walking by with their followers. A grin formed on her face as she grabbed a nearby trashcan and pulled it over. “It's like if you throw trash away,” she begin. As Kaylen got closer, Jenna took hold of her honey brown ponytail and pulled her over. She forced her leg in front of Kaylen's causing her to fall backwards into the contained mass of old food. “See? Gravity!” she smiled. Juliana simply stared at her in shock. Derrick, of course, laughed at what had just happened and made no attempt to help his girlfriend out.

~*~

To make a longer story short, lunch ended with a food fight and Kaylen stuck in a trashcan for an hour. Funny but...I wasn't fond of my first experience in detention.

Shane still hated me with the intensity of a thousand burning suns. Jenna found it funny to announce to the class that he was gonna be playing a show at a bar next week. Mostly because that's all he would be doing the rest of his life so it would be nice to perfect that skill now. When it came to Art class, the two of them always went back and forth insulting each other. Sometimes I thought he hurt Jenna's feelings...but then she would admit to me that she was still madly in love with him.

When it came to Juliana...I didn't think she would ever catch on...I didn't really expect anyone to for that matter. Working with her...well Jenna working with her was odd. Juliana went on and on all day as she destroyed every order and talked about life...or what she understood about life. I had never realized until now how much she had confided in me. I knew things about her that no one knew, things that would ruin her “good girl” reputation at school. Juliana wasn't a bad person, she was no where near it. Honestly she was one of the nicest, most pure people I had ever met. She simply had a hard life...a harder one than me. I wondered sometimes...was she really as stupid as she let on or did she just act oblivious to avoid the world around? If so, she was much smarter than I thought.

Of course, Jenna wouldn't be thinking about this. She spent the six to eight hours of work eating Biscoti and Shortbread cookies. I'd be surprised if Juliana and I had jobs to go back to.

But aside from all this, aside from everything she had done in that last two days along with making my mother think I was a criminal because she came in the house covered in spray paint. On top of all of this...I had a date. It was a date with Gerard but that wasn't the point...I wasn't ready for a date.

I sat at home staring in the mirror for the last hour...speechless...and simply drugged up on energy drinks to keep from passing out. I glanced over the outfit that Jenna had insist I wear. It was a little black dress that tied behind my neck and stopped right above my knees and these extremely pointy boots that made me look like I owned a Cat-woman costume. This also reminded me...I had to do something about her and these shopping sprees. It wasn't that I didn't like the things she bought...it just wasn't me...then again, this didn't make me look that much like a baby prostitute so it wasn't her either.

“I heard that...” she pouted at me through the mirror.

“I was hoping you would,” I stuck my tongue out at her with some childish face I made up on the spot.

“See, there you go again. You can say all this to me but can't stand up for yourself when Kaylen says something,” she started. “And we all know where that got her...that was awesome” she snickered to herself.

“Yes...her trying to sue me for ruining her three hundred dollar shirt is awesome,” I rolled my eyes as I rested my head in my hand slumping on my knee.

“You can't say it wasn't funny though,” she pointed out. I only shrugged it off not wanting to openly agree with her ways. I yawned as I struggled to keep my eyes open. I glanced at the clock then at the time on my cell phone to make sure it was right. “For someone who doesn't want to go on a date, you seem pretty anxious...” she pointed out.

“It's my first date...what do you expect?” I snapped at her. “Great my first date and I wasn't even really there when I told him we were going out.”

“Your welcome,” she smiled at me.

“Jeni! Gerard is here!” I heard my mother yelled up the stairs.

“Just remember, do exactly what I told you and it will be fine,” she said before I left. I rushed down the stairs to find my mother interrogating him.

“Is she...” my mother made a gesture toward her nose as if she were inhaling something. Gerard just stared at her as he tried to back away.

“Uh...I don't think so,” he nervously laughed as he almost bumped into me.

“No, I'm not sniffing Sharpies again mother,” the words came out of my mouth without me telling them to. My mother's scared expression shot up along with Gerard's. I could hear Jenna rolling with laughter in my mind.

“Wow...” Gerard's mouth was still open from the interrogation, “I've...never seen you in a dress.” I looked over what I was wearing again. Compared to his converse, baggy jeans, unbuttoned collar shirt covering a t-shirt...I felt overdressed. Of course, at that moment my father left his studio where he had resided for the last two days, to join the rest of society. He gave me a once over before doing the same to Gerard. His calm expression fell to a sadden one. It sounded like he was sniffing away a tear.

“Oh god...” he took a deep breath, “It's happening...” he turned away and retreated to his studio again.

“Let's go before someone else pops up,” I rushed to the door and swung it open to see Derrick standing there.

“Hey there sexy.” he smirked as he eyed me like a vulture. Did I forget to mention that Jenna had been constantly flirting with him a lot lately. I slammed the door and turned away.

“Let's go out the back door,” I smiled and dragged Gerard along to another escape route.

~*~

I wasn't sure why, but Gerard's car was extremely awkward these days. Juliana, Gerard and I would always talk, laugh, eat, and fight in this car but lately it was silent and weird. We both exchanged looks and nervous laughs as I tried to pull my dress down so that it was longer.

“You look fine,” he told me as he came to a stop light.

“Oh...thanks,” I tried once more to add to the length of my dress but it didn't work. “So..uh...” I tried to find something besides him to look at as I spoke. “Where are we going?”

“It's a surprise,” he smiled.

“I don't like surprises.” I mumbled as I thought about Jenna's sudden appearance into my life. Yeah...defiantly didn't like surprises these days.

A few more minutes into driving, I realized we where leaving town. Slowly, the suburban way of life that I was used to disappeared and we came across the deserted outskirts of town. Suddenly, I felt like I was in the makings of a horror movie. I glanced over to see if he was looking at my confused expression but he was still looking straight ahead at the fading of the sun in the distance. He seemed to be humming some song from the radio as he beat on the steering wheel...with an extremely off beat tone. I couldn't help but laugh at it.

“Are you laughing at me?” he started as he turned off the road and came to a stop.

“No not all, I was simply laughing at that cloud over yonder,” I quickly made up to avoid what I knew was coming.

“Oh really now? The cloud? Well I think you're lying and you know what liars get,” he tried to explain as seriously as possible. I knew very well I was about to have a flashback to middle school within the next few seconds.

“No, don't, I'm seriou-” before I could get the rest of the word out he begin violently tickling me. I squirmed and squealed as I tried not to laugh and tried to get away from him. I missed moments like this, we hadn't had them lately...it made me miss when everything was simple back in middle school when me and him were like brother and sister. “Gerard! Stop!” I barely got out over my laughs. He slowly came to a stop to pulled me up from my uncomfortable position between the two front seat. We both just stared, there was this unusual feeling in my stomach right now...enough to make me want to throw up but I kept it in. I looked over his deep hazel eyes and pierced nose and tried not to blush. The thought that I was in the middle of no where, thankfully, came back to mind.

“So...what are we doing out here?” I asked. He shook his head as if lost and looked around.

“Oh um...” he scanned the area once more as if he were confused. “It's part of the surprise.” with that he got out of the car and came over to my side.

Well this could be interesting...

“Go away!” I yelled as loud as I could without Gerard clearly hearing me. He opened my door and helped me out.

Fine...for now...

“If I knew you owned heels, I would have told you not to wear them,” he laughed as I stumbled to balance on the sand and rock that covered ground. I glanced up and saw Wishor Mountain and the lake across from that. I glanced down at my boots and rolled my eyes.

“Did I tell you how much I hate you?” I mumbled.

Everyday

“What?”

“Oh not you, I was talking to my boots,” I assured Gerard as I held onto his shoulder for support as I moved around. He only nodded, hesitantly of course and looked over the mountains.

“Well,” he took my hand in his. “Come on,” he begin rushing up to the path of the mountain like an excited child.

“Wait, we're going hiking?” I asked trying to stop him from walking up the path but he continued.

“Well not exactly but kinda,” he thought as he dragged me along.

“But wait...I..I'm not the hiking type,” I tried to explain but before my struggling did any damage he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

“Don't worry about it, I'll carry you. Trust me, you'll like it,” he assured me with a pat on my back and a laugh.