Mystery Boy

The morning came too quickly and I was woken up by the feeling of Jacky running his cool hands over my bare back. I blinked a couple times before I rolled over and smiled at him, watching as he blushed and turned away.

I smiled and shook my head at him as I reached over and pulled my shirt on, leaving my bra on his floor. " I have to go," I said as I laid back down and looked up to him. He sat next to me criss-cross and nodded.

"Want a ride?" I asked as I tangled my fingers with his, staring up at his smooth face and the dark bruise on his cheek and eye.

He smiled and nodded before standing up and leaning down to try and pull me up with him. I groaned and closed my eyes, tugging on his hand. He chuckled and dropped back down onto his mattress. He climbed on top of me, causing me to groan as his entire body laid flat on top of mine.

"You're heavy!" I said with a laugh as I opened my eyes and tried to shove the grown boy off of me.

"Come on," he murmured with a smile on his face, "You've gotta go."

I smiled at him and nodded. "You're right. I just hope my Dad doesn't kick my ass."

Jacky sent me a sympathetic look as he hopped up and went over to a pile of clothes near the couch. He picked up the first shirt he could find and held it to his nose. I laughed loudly as he shrugged and pulled it over his head. "You're nasty!" I laughed, forgetting to wonder if his dad was home or not. When my loudness didn't bother him I figured it wasn't an issue.

Jacky did the same thing when he found a pair of pants on the floor, expect this time he just pulled them on without sniffing them. I watched him as he watched me. He got dressed quickly and then turned to me, waiting for me to want to go so that he could probably go upstairs and finish getting ready. I smiled and climbed out of his bed, standing in his boxer shorts and my shirt. "Come here," I said as I motioned with my fingers, "Then I'll leave. I swear," I said with a laugh as he dragged himself across the room and into my arms.

He smiled down at me as I leaned up to kiss his jaw and then his cheek bone, where the bruising was the darkest. His right hand grabbed my left hand and our palms pressed together as he stood chest to chest, our fingers in between each other's. I kissed down his neck until I got to where his shirt started, then I smiled up at him.

"When do your parents get home?" I asked, a sly smile on my face.

Jacky just stared down at me with a look that seemed to be asking me why I'd want to know.

I bit my lip and looked down at our bare feet. "I don't want to go to school," I told him, hoping that he'd understand that I was thinking the two of us could stay here.

Jacky tossed his head back and groaned when he realized what I wanted. His fingers found my chin and made me look at him as he shook his head.

"Why not?" I asked, "If I go home I'm going to be grounded. I just want to postpone that."

He sighed and fidgeted with the thread of his jeans. "We can't stay here," he told me softly, "It's not safe for you."

I smiled up at him and nodded. "Okay," I said, "We can go to school, but can I see you at lunch?"

He smirked at me, "Ronnie's mad?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

I rolled my eyes and pushed away from him so that I could go and get dressed. Charming was still lazing on the couch so I clapped my hands and called out for him. His head lifted off of the fabric and he moved to look at me. I called his name one more time and patted the ground next to me as I sat on the edge of Jacky's bed so that I could slip into my shoes.

Charming ran over to me and I grinned and petted his ears. "Time to go home," I told him as I stood up. I turned back to Jacky and pointed to the window, a silent question.

He shook his head and pointed to the stairs. I nodded and told Charming to follow me. I knew Jacky was following too and I smiled when he caught up to open the basement door for me.

"Hang on," he said as he peaked out of the door and looked into the kitchen. He held up one finger as he walked out and then grinned at me. "Come on," he said as he motioned for me to come with him.

I smiled as Charming and I hopped off of the last stair and went over to him. He walked me to his front door and grinned when I leaned against the door, my arms folded over my chest. It was still slightly dark outside as Jacky's hands found my waist and my lips found his.

"My house, 8:30, okay?" I said when we pulled away.

He nodded and then motioned for me to go. I called for Charming and then I was hurrying down the block, hoping to god that I wouldn't be ambushed the second I walked in the front door.

My wishing didn't get me very far because the second I was in the yard, my dad was yanking the front door open and yelling at me to get in the house.

"Relax," I said as I slid through the doorway, "I'm fine."

He glared at me and then I noticed that Ina was sitting behind him on the couch. My eye hardened as she looked up to me.

"Where were you?" Dad asked, grabbing onto my arm so that I couldn't storm off.

"Don't worry about it," I told him, knowing I couldn't be honest and tell him that I camped out shirtless in Jacky's bedroom, with his abusive father right up stairs.

My dad gave me a hard look, "Don't worry about it?" he repeated, looking at me like he was staring straight through me. He was about to speak when Ina cut him off.

"You were with Jacky, weren't you?" she asked, standing up and walking over to stand next to my father, "You had sex with him, didn't you?"

I set my jaw as her accusation hit me like a car. I folded my arms over my chest and glared at her. "No," I spat, watching as my father, who was still incredibly angry, relaxed just a tiny bit. When Ina continued to glare at me, I continued, "I would've," I said rudely, "But he didn't want to."

By the look on both of their faces, I could tell they were livid. Then in my head, I could hear the names that Ina wanted to call me. I didn't run off, I just stood in front of them with my arms crossed and my jaw locked.

"Airea," my father growled, "You've only known that boy a few days."

I shrugged, "He's hot," I said, knowing it would make them both a little bit madder. "You're just lucky it was his house I went to instead of Ronnie's, because Ronnie probably would've actually let me do something with him," I snarled, watching as Ina tightened her hands into fists and my father locked his jaw.

They didn't know what to say to me. I could see it in their eyes. And I didn't have anything more to say to them, so the three of us just stood there, not even glaring at each other, just at the floor and the walls. After a minute or two, I scowled, "Just ground me already so I can get out of here," I growled at my father, watching as his head snapped up to me.

"What?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I have to get ready for school," I told him, enunciating each word, "I smell like Jacky."

"Go to your room," Ina said automatically because my father's eyes were shut tight as he cringed.

I rolled my eyes and turned to walk off with Charming following me. I pushed open the bedroom door to see Decklan sleeping with his face shoved into his pillow. I rolled my eyes and put Charming on my bed, knowing he wouldn't jump off.

I grabbed some clothing from my dresser in the closet and a towel, before heading off to the bathroom to take a shower, telling Charming to be quiet, although if he barked for an hour it wouldn't wake Decklan up.

I took my time in the shower, letting the hot water burn my skin as I adjusted to the temperature. I washed my hair and my body before getting out and brushing my teeth.

I dressed in a pair of ripped black jeans, a white shirt that fell off of one shoulder, and then I also planned on wearing my favorite black biker jacket.

I was ready around 7:30 so I went back into the bedroom and threw myself down onto the bed. Decklan had already gotten up and was now taking my place in the bathroom while Taite sat in the bathtub with Dad helping him.

I knew that they were ignoring me now. They were probably each trying to think of ways to punish me while they were this quiet about what had happened. I sighed when I realized that I'd be leaving Charming alone all day long, without anyone to let him outside or bring him some food. So I led him out to the kitchen around 8:15 and filled his bowl with the food I took from Ronnie's house.

He ate quickly as I sat at the kitchen table with Easton, who was scarfing down a bowl of cereal and smiling at me as I rolled my eyes at him playfully.

Dad called out for Easton to hurry up and go get into the car so they could leave.

"See you later," I said as Easton ran off to get his shoes and his jacket.

"Bye Airea!" he shouted as Dad came walking into the room with Taite in his arms, along with both of their backpacks. He looked at me once and shifted Taite up higher in his arms.

"Jacky's outside," he said before turning and walking away.

I jumped up quickly and grabbed my bag out of the bedroom. As I jumped out of the front door, I saw Jacky leaning against the side of my car, his arms folded over his chest. A smirk came to his lips when he saw me.

"Hey," I greeted as I walked over and stood in front of him.

He smiled and ducked down to kiss the side of my mouth, his eyes moving to the living room window. I looked over there and rolled my eyes when I saw my father standing there, helping Taite put shoes on, but also watching the two of us. I reached up with my right hand and tangled my fingers in Jacky's hair before letting my hand slip to the back of his neck and lead his mouth to mine.

"You ready to go?" I asked after a simple kiss.

"Yeah," he said back as he nodded.

I smiled at him and then unlocked the car. As I was about to stick the keys in my pocket, Jacky reached for them. "Can I?" he asked, nodding towards the driver's seat.

My first instinct was to tell him no, then I thought about it and shrugged. "Be careful with my baby," I warned him, pointing my finger at him.

He grinned and nodded. We both walked over to that side of the car, but I continued on towards the Radke house. I knocked on the door a couple times quickly and put a bright smile on my face when Ronnie's dad opened the door.

"Is Ronnie here?" I questioned, hoping that I'd be able to talk to him and apologize for flipping out yesterday.

Russell shook his head. "No, Derek and Ronnie picked him up earlier," he told me.

I furrowed my eyebrows together in confusion. "Ronnie?" I asked, wondering if he had meant someone else but got the names mixed up. "He picked himself up?"

Russell laughed and shook his head. "They have another friend named Ronnie. Just came back into town the other day."

I nodded, "Oh okay, well, if you see Ronnie before I do, will you tell him I need to talk to him?"

Ronnie's dad nodded, understanding which Ronnie I was talking about. I sighed, knowing that if the 'new' was going to be hanging out with us, that this would get confusing for everyone.

I went over and got into the passenger's side of my car as Decklan's friends pulled up on the curb. Jacky grinned at me and started the car, revving the engine loudly and laughing at the sound it made.

"Come on, we're going to be late," I laughed as he charged backwards out of the driveway.

We got to school soon after and Jacky and I got out of my car and locked it, the keys being given back to me and then shoved in my bag. Jacky took my hand as he lead me into the building. I smiled up at him when he wasn't looking and watched as the people around us glanced at the two of us uneasily.

"Don't worry about them," Jacky leaned down into my ear and murmured, "You're just so beautiful."

I bit my lip and then smiled at him as we walked over to where the guys said they usually met up before class started. The same stair well we met up at during lunch yesterday.

When Jacky and I walked up hand-in-hand Derek and Ryan whistled jokingly, acting like it was a huge surprise that the two of us were together. Ronnie rolled his eyes at me and turned away. I was thankful that he was the only one that was holding my attitude from yesterday against me.

I glanced around the small group of boys and stopped on a boy who had hair that was long in the front and cut shorter in the back so that his bangs hung in his eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with a black and white striped tie. His jeans were tight and black and his belt matched his tie exactly. He turned around and grinned at me as I walked over to him.

"You must be Ronnie," I asked with him with a smile. "I'm Airea."

He nodded and bit his lip. "Nice to meet you. I heard you just moved here not too long ago. How're you liking it?"

I nodded and shrugged, "It's alright," I said, drawing out the word so that they knew I was just joking around. They chuckled, Jacky included. I talked with him for a couple minutes before walking over to Ronnie and sitting on the steps next to him.

"I'm sorry," I told him, resting my head on his shoulder as he looked away from me. "I shouldn't act like such a spoiled princess. "

Ronnie glanced to me and nodded. "It's fine, you're not used to this kind of shit yet, I shouldn't get mad at you for wanting to be who you've always been."

I sighed and nodded. "I don't care about that," I said, then reworded when he gave me a hard look. "Not as much as I used to, anyways."

Ronnie chuckled and wrapped his arm over my shoulder. "So, what's up with you and Jacky?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. "I think we're dating," I told him, trying to keep the grin off my lips.

"He's opening up to you, isn't he?" Ronnie asked, smiling as Jacky talked animatedly to Ryan about something.

It was nice seeing him not be so quiet. I knew that he couldn't be a silent person if he was going to hang out with these crazy guys, but when I was around he seemed to stop talking all together. Until now.

Ronnie and I hopped up and walked over to the group. I wrapped my arms around Jacky's waist from behind as he continued to talk about guitar and things he wanted to do for their album.

I liked hearing his voice. He had a nice voice, a smooth voice, and even with the curse words thrown in, he didn't sound harsh.

The bell rang a few minutes later. Jacky called out goodbyes to his friends and then turned around and took his fingers between his. "Ready?" he asked, the excitement about his band still running through his veins.

I nodded, "Yep!"

Jacky shook his head at me and lead me off in the direction of my first hour class.

"What's your favorite color?" I asked as we navigated through the halls.

"Black," he said softly, as I crinkled my nose in protest.

"Doesn't count," I replied.

He rolled his eyes. "Red. Yours?"

"Orange."

We walked to class in a comfortable silence, at least between us. The rest of the school seemed loud and energetic. Jacky nudged me with his elbow when he got to the commons area, I looked up at him and followed his gaze.

Standing near the senior courtyard was Decklan. He was standing with a few of his friends and across from him was a group of boys. They were shouting insults back and forth between them.

Decklan was standing up in some guy's face while a brunette girl stood in between them. She looked to be pushing them away from each other. The other guy shoved the girl out of the way and then swung his fist at Decklan, connecting with his jaw.

"Oh my god!" I shouted as I ran over there, letting go of Jacky's hand and taking off. I didn't know why I felt like I should stick up for Decklan, we weren't even technically step siblings yet.

"What's going on?" I shouted as I raced over, shoving the bulky boy away from Decklan.

The boy laughed and shook out his brown hair. "What's this Gray, got your little girl friend standing up for you now?"

I rolled my eyes as Jacky walked over, obviously knowing that I could handle myself. "I'm not his girl friend, you prick," I shot back at him, noticing the girl that he shoved rubbing her arm. "And," I continued, "If you ever touch a girl like that again, I'll get people more manly than you to shove you around and make you their bitch," I growled, turning my nose up at him in anger.

Decklan rolled his eyes and grabbed my wrist, yanking me behind him. "Get out of here, Airea," he said in a hostile way.

I rubbed my wrist and glared at him as Jacky walked over and reached out for my hand. The brunette boy who was fighting with Decklan was watching Jacky now, cautiously, like Jacky was a bomb just waiting to explode and kill them all.

"I'm his girlfriend," I growled, "Asshole."

Jacky glared at Decklan as I rubbed my wrist once more. Then he moved his harsh gaze over to the group that was against my almost step-brother. His gaze was dark and threatening, and for a split second, I knew why the whole school was intimidated by him.

The minute bell rang loudly threw out the building, causing people who were watching with curious and cautious eyes to scramble off towards their classes so they weren't late.

I tugged on Jacky's hand and pulled him off towards my class. He glanced back over his shoulder at the boys we'd left behind. I shook my head at him and then shrugged. "It's fine, Jacky."

He looked down to me and shrugged, too. "You okay?"

I nodded and grinned up at him. "I'm perfect."

He smiled and nodded before he stopped walking. The halls were practically empty now as I turned to lean my back against the wall. Jacky stood in front of me, one hand on my hip and the other tracing my cheek bones.

"Your eye looks worse," I said as I reached up and ran my thumb over his eyelid.

He shrugged and bent his head down a little bit more.

I took his cue and leaned up on the tips of my toes so that I was at the right height to press my lips against his. I grinned against his mouth when I felt his silver lip rings pressing back against my skin.

"We're late," I whispered as the last bell finished ringing.

Jacky seemed to ignore me as he kissed my mouth over and over again. I laughed as he kissed my cheek and then pulled back to grin at me.

"I don't want to go to class," I whined, hating the fact that I was late again, but not caring to try and be on time anyways.

It wasn't until he kissed my neck and made me laugh that the teacher poked his head out of the classroom and glared at us. "I suggest you both get to class, Ms. Tollefson," he said harshly, giving Jacky a look. Then he added, "Now."

I rolled my eyes as I turned my attention back to Jacky who was slipping away from me. "See you in a little bit?" I asked as I pecked his lips. He nodded and kissed my cheek before taking off down the hall towards his own class room.