Live For the Sake Of Living

Recovering from my time in the hospital was quicker than it had been the last time - the doctors only kept me there for a few days, and then sent me home with instructions to stay at home and rest for a week to get my strength back up. After that, I was allowed to go back to school. But I didn't.

Jesse and Rhiannon, relieved to hear that I was okay, would come over daily, sometimes together and sometimes alone, and would keep me company. They'd bring schoolwork I had missed and help me get it done, and then brought current work every day, helping me get through that too. I was grateful for all the help they were giving me - they could have easily just left it all up to me to do on my own, but both Jesse and Rhiannon had told me that there was no way I was going to fail the eleventh grade for a second time because of other people who had issues that they felt needed to be taken out on me.

Their hard work, help, and determination rubbed off on me, and I got a phone call from the school letting me know that I would be passing and going on to be a senior, and I couldn't be happier.

But despite the fact that I was alive and well enough to go to school physically and go places with my friends, Brian would have none of it. With everything that had happened to me, he still didn't want me to step foot outside of the house. He wanted to keep me inside this bubble and keep his little girl safe when him at home, as he had said - I just rolled my eyes. But I understood where he was coming from. What with the car accident, the time Aryn pulled a knife on me in the alley, and then the scene in the warehouse, Brian was afraid of actually losing me for good if something else happened.

Even I was a little scared to step out of the house for awhile after I got out of the hospital. Aryn may have been locked up, but there were still other people out there who wanted to hurt me, and even inside the school I no longer felt safe. So for awhile, I was glad that Brian kept me in the house, because I knew it was the only place no one could get me.

Once Jesse heard that I wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon, he had the band come over to the house to hear me play and eventually we began working together in the basement of the house, and the guys helped me learn their songs. Brian would sometimes sit in on our jam sessions, which awed George and the others once they realized who he was, and Brian actually said that for being a garage band, we were good - even better than his band had been when they first started out.

But after awhile of being locked up in the house, it started to get old. I wanted to go out with Jesse and Rhiannon and the guys in the band and go have fun, or go on a real date with Jesse. Before everything happened, we hadn't had a chance to do so. But Brian would put his foot down every time and suggest that Jesse just come over and hang out in the living room, but I knew that we'd get virtually no time to ourselves because someone would always walk in on us.

With Jesse's and me relationship, I was worried that the lack of alone time and intimacy was only going to pull us apart faster than we had come together.

I heard a knock on the door, but stayed where I was on the sofa, knowing Brian was in the kitchen and would answer it.

"Hey Jess. Charlie's just in the living room," I heard his muffled voice, and then the door shutting. Moments later Jesse walked into the room, sitting down next to me on the couch and turning me to him to plant a kiss on my lips.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked once we had pulled apart.

"I wanna take you out."

I sighed. "I know you do, but you know what the Nazi Commander said - I'm not allowed to go anywhere unless he's with me."

"I know, but we can still ask," Jesse said, and he stood, pulling me up after him and practically dragging me into the kitchen. Brian and Michelle were seated at the table, plans for the wedding laid out between the two as they continued to work on the final touches. They wanted the wedding to be in late June, and they only had a little over a month - about six weeks - to make sure reservations hadn't fallen through and to tie up any loose ends that hadn't been covered.

Hearing us enter, Brian looked up, his eyebrows raised. "What's up, guys?" he asked, sitting back in his chair.

"Daddy, Jesse wants to take me out," I said, trying to be as sweet as possible.

"Out where?"

"To the movies," Jesse answered, considering he hadn't even told me where he planned on taking me, if we were allowed to go.

"Can we go?" I asked, giving the best pout I could, that I had learned from Brian himself.

"Sure you can go," Brian answered, and my eyes went wide not thinking he'd be so quick to answer in the affirmative. "But I'll have to go with you."

Sighing, my spirits sank - leave it to my dad to have a catch.

"Brian, just let them go out," Michelle said, looking up from whatever details she was finalizing.

"Baby, you know how dangerous it is for her-"

"Well I'm sure Jesse can handle it and take care of her," Michelle cut in. "Can't you, Jess?" she asked, looking at us with a smirk. Jesse nodded enthusiastically and I smiled, leaning further into him.

"But Michelle-"

"Brian, you can't keep her in a bubble forever..." she pointed out, giving my dad a hard look and finally he sighed.

"Alright. But I want you to come straight back here afterwards- OW!" Brian hissed, recoiling after Michelle kicked him in the leg under the table. "Alright, go before the woman beats me up more," he said, leaning down to rub his shin.

Hearing his answer, Jesse and I wasted no time in putting our shoes on and going out to the car. I was finally free, for at least the night, and I never felt better.

I felt the cool glass of the car window press harder into my back as Jesse's front pressed harder into mine. His hands were on the roof of the car as he braced himself, his lips meshed against mine as my arms were up around his neck. Sliding past my lips, his tongue pressed into mine, warm and wet, ad I felt myself get even more heated up, losing my breath faster. I pulled him even closer, lifting my hips into his and not caring that we were in the middle of the cinema parking lot where anyone could see us - I was too into the moment to give a damn.

Letting my lips go free, Jess moved down my jaw and to the hot skin of my neck, sucking and biting. Letting out a moan, I opened my eyes and moved my hand so I could see my watch. It was already quarter to eleven, and I knew if I wasn't home soon, Brian would worry.

"Baby," I gasped out quietly, but Jesse just let out a groan and kept going until I called for him again, pulling back to look in my eyes.

"I gotta be home soon," I whispered, and he nodded, leaning in to press his lips to mine once more before letting me get in the car and going around to the other side to take me home.