‹ Prequel: In Over My Head
Sequel: P.S I'm Dying,
Status: Finished(:

Loving The Jerk Who Might Have Feelings

Lord of the Rude, Much?

Moving sucks. Especially from the fabulous New York City to a city in Ohio that I didn’t know existed. “What’s the city called again, mom?” I ask fidgeting in my seat next to my twin brother Nate. He’s got his earphone-hoodie combo on, so his eyes are closed and he’s pretending he’s not here. On his other side is our little sister Masie. Joy, our adopted sister/ cousin, is lying on the floor in the back of this small SUV.

“Lincoln’s Pass” my mom says impatiently, she was painting her fingernails black, “Athena, we’ve lived here before”

“Yes, well, I’m afraid my mind suppresses sad memories” I reply bitterly. I don’t want to be here. No one does, and no matter how happy Mom acts, we all know she doesn’t either. Nate especially hates the idea of coming back here. He blames me for all this so he isn’t speaking to me. That’s just fine with me.

She turns her head and gives me a disapproving look. I return her a grimace.

My mother is beautiful; she has deep black hair and glimmering midnight-blue eyes. She’s the perfect size; tall, but not too tall, thin, but not bone-popping-out thin. Mom is partially psychotic, and I say that in the most affectionate way. She’s the randomest person I know, next to Joy, and she’s also the most sarcastic, next to Dad.

I glance at my dad through the rearview mirror. He’s handsome in a modest way. Pretty chocolate-brown hair (that he passed on to me), shiny hazel brown eyes, a tall structure, and a limber frame.

Mom and Dad are both around in their early thirties and still looked like teenagers (without the worry lines), and yet they had four kids.

I sigh; Dad has only been around for half my life time; 8 years. They had Nate and me when they were 17, but dad had run away or something, then when we found eachother again, he had already adopted Joy. Mom said she didn’t want to get back together, but surprise, surprise; they got married in, like, a week and moved us all to New York. Mase popped out four years later, and then here we all are.

My whole family is messed up. I mean Dad had been off hunting his non-dad whom had killed dad’s mom and sister but not before raping the latter and producing my cousin whom lives with us; I nearly killed myself seven months ago, Nate is probably clinically depressed; Mase, my not so adorable four year old sister, is extremely strange; and Joy is really weird.

I honestly don’t know how I got in this position. Well I do, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to accept it.

“Dad, are we there yet?” I ask fidgeting again, it’s freezing and for some bloody reason I’d decided to wear a pink spaghetti strap shirt and a plaid skirt.

He glances at Mom before looking at me through the rearview mirror. Dad looks tired, and I suppose he should since he’s been driving for two days straight. My parents don’t believe in airplanes, or something. “Nearly, just five more hours”’

My jaw drops and he laughs, “I’m kidding, oh-brilliant-daughter-of-mine”

I glare and Mom chastises him about me being in a temperamental mood as if I wasn’t there. “Ever, women are very sentimental beings; do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Women... something... something... are... something... mental, right?” Dad says as he runs over a coke bottle. I watch it from the window until it disappears.

Mom rolls her eyes and huffs, “Honestly!”

He chuckles, “You know you love me”

She doesn’t reply, but that makes him smile wider. They are constantly doing things like that. And in public! It’s embarrassing.

Finally we stop in front of our old house. It looked the same and in a second grandpa comes running out to welcome us. I know what you’re thinking, an old man running? As if. But my grandpa is only 46.

He was a teen parent, like my Mom; actually, grandpa was thirteen when he had my mom. It’s more drama to the story.
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We settle in; Mom, Dad and Mase taking their old room, grandpa taking the guestroom down stairs and Nate, Joy, and me sharing this old room.

“Dibs on this bed” Joy says collapsing on Nate’s old bed, “Ah, marsh mellows”

Don’t ask.

I look around the room; it looks nearly the same. Purple walls a wide spread of paperback books I’d left behind, plus some of Nate’s old shoes. Unfortunately, Nate and I shared rooms when we were small, before Joy started living with us, so there were only two beds.

Nate eyes the pink covers wearily as he sits down. My brother is probably the complete opposite of me. He’s got Mom’s eyes and hair. I’ve got Dad’s hair and my Aunt Violet’s hazel green eyes. He likes black. I like pink. He’s a loser. I’m not.

I place my hands on my hips and glare at him, “That’s my bed”

He grimaces, “Go sleep with Joy”

I glance back and see her doing a type of snow angel with the bed sheets, “No”

“Well, I’m not moving”
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Nate gives a snore and I kick him with my pretty pink sock-covered feet; this was why I didn’t want to sleep in the same bed as my fraternal twin brother. Ugh.

Nate gives a start and sort of rolls over making his deep black hair fall onto his closed eyes sort of adorably. Gr; stupid brother cuteness.

If only his personality matched.

_______________________
“WAKE UP!!!”

I twitch, “WHAT?!” I yell with my eyes still closed.

“We’re going shopping” my mom says with a childish voice.

I groan and roll over, rolling onto Nate. “Urgh” he moans trying to push me away.

“Aw, my itty bitty babies, asleep together like when you were smaller, let me get my camera!”

At once Nate and I both stood, “We’re up! We’re up!!”

“Why do we have to go shopping?” Nate groans as he munches on his cereal. Secretly I’m glad, finally a little freedom, but knowing mom she’ll probably tie a leash around my neck and haul me around the mall.

“Uniforms and etc…” she shrugs eating a chocolate muffin that my gramps made.

“What do you mean uniforms?” I nearly gag, “Aren’t we going to public school? Since when does public school require uniforms?”

My mom looks at me with innocent wide midnight-blue eyes, “Oh didn’t I tell you? The old high school burnt down and all the kids that would’ve attended it are going to Lincoln Prep in North L.P”

“How come you never told us?” Nate asks.

She shrugs again, “Slipped my mind, anyways this is good because they’ve offered me and your dad jobs there”

“Where is dad, anyway?” Nate asks but I start coughing violently, “You don’t mean to say that you two will be working there; in my new school; around other teenagers?”

Mom smiles evilly, “Why that’s exactly what we mean, Athena. Anyway, Ever, Joy, and Mase got up early to go see the town, they’ll be gone all day so I decided to take you two to go buy everyone’s school clothes”

She stands and heads outside. Nate and I groan deeply and follow. I gave grandpa a kiss on the cheek (he was on the computer typing) and then climbed into mom’s old blue car.

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The mall is rather small in my opinion compared to all the shops in New York, but its a mall none-the-less.

“Okay, well Athena and I will go get the clothes, Nate you can go look around but don’t spend much” mom says starting to drag us into a preppy looking shop.

“Mom! Why can’t I go with Nate?” I protest.

“You know why” she says not even looking back at me.

“Please, mom! I promise to behave and-and I’ll be with Nate, he’s such a goodie-two-shoes, you know that mom!!”

She contemplates that for a second, combing back her wild black bangs with her thin fingers. “Fine, but you better stick with Nate or you’re grounded, meet me at the front of the mall at 6:30”

I don’t mention that I can’t be exactly grounded if I’m going to be at boarding school starting tomorrow, I just give her a peck on the cheek and skip off.

“Hello, dear brother of mine” I said happily linking arms with Nate as I catch up with him.

He grimaces, “You’re so spoiled, and don’t even think we’re going to Abercrombie, I need to go to Hot Topic”

I shiver, “Eww isn’t that that place with vampire-employees?”

Nate ignores me and tolls me forward.

As we enter the store, I immediately get freaked out, everything’s nearly all black; gothic, I note. Ugh, and the music is like butcher knives to my innocent ears.

I could tell Nate was right at home. He wanders off to look at band tee’s while I stay there looking like an idiot in front of the Goths and emos. They snicker at me and look away. I pout and cross my arms in front of my chest.

Just because I’m wearing a short Abercrombie pink tee and Hollister brand skinny jeans didn’t mean they can go ahead and stare at me like an outcast. They’re the outcasts! This is just their store!

Suddenly, a boy approaches me. He has hair so black it’s nearly blue, styled in a messy, spikey way, over his striking ice-blue eyes. I blink. Wow, those eyes are quite mesmerizing. Then I realize he’s speaking to me, “... need something? Abercrombie’s right across, y’know, I’d be happy to point you in the right direction” he says patronizingly.

I scoff at him and put my hands on my hips; God, he looks ridiculous with his choppy hair all over his pale face and those stupid black gothic clothes and lip piercings, “I don’t know who you think you are, but you can’t talk to me that way,”

He takes a step back, obviously surprised at my awesomeness but then regains himself, “Whatever, look, Princess, I dunno why you’re here but you’re obviously lost or something, leave and save yourself the embarrassment; imagine if one of your Barbie friends spotted you here?” he gasps sarcastically.

I can feel the anger bubbling up inside of me but before I can do anything, like stab him to death with one of my heels, Nate appears in front of us, “Hey, what’s going on?” he asks holding a Forever The Sickest Kids tee in front of him.

The guy nods at Nate like he’s known him his whole life. They do the guy-handshake thing all guys do and he says, “Just escorting Barbie out”

“My name’s Athena!” I say angrily.

He smirks, “I’m Alex, it’s a pleasure to meet you” he says it with sarcasm dripping off every word.

I growl, “C’mon Nate, let’s get out of this stupid place, it’s so lame”

“Er, well I guess I better go—“but the guy interrupts him, “You know her?” He scoffs at Nate.

I can see Nate panicking, “Uh, no, uh, not really, our-our moms are just like friends and uh, they made us come here together, um, yeah”

A little pang of hurt ricochets in me, but I shrug it off; I didn’t want people knowing Nate was related to me either, so whatever.

The Alex guy shrugs like he could care less and I don’t think he can, but glares at me as we leave the damn store.

“Who was he?” I ask.

“Alex Winters, apparently he goes to our new school, I thought it was nice to have made a friend, until you ruined it”

“I didn’t ruin anything” I scoff, “’Sides we don’t even know each other, apparently, so there you go, you guys can be best friends now while I, your not-sister, disappear into the background or something”

Then I walk away from him.

“Wait, ‘Thena, I didn’t—“but I’m already around the corner and in a new store by then.

“Welcome to Hollister, what’s up? We have a new collection of per--- whoa”

I stare at the welcoming person. Damn he’s hot and apparently he’s checking me out too. He has a nice tan that he couldn’t have gotten anywhere around this rainy place, plus a great set of six packs with gorgeous brown-blonde locks.

“Hi” he says, sort of shell-shocked, as he stares at me with wide honey brown eyes.

“Hey” I say in my flirty voice.

“You’re not from around here are you? ‘Cause I think I would’ve spotted you before”

I giggle, “Well, actually no, I’m sort of new here; I’m going to be going to a boarding school around here on Monday,”

“Really?” he asks excitedly, “I go there too, I just work here every other weekend and vacations for college tuition- too much info?” he laughs nervously.

“Lol, well actually you haven’t given me your name” I giggle, “I’m Athena Night”

“Arthur James- AKA AJ” he says politely sticking out his hand for me to shake; I do and I find that I like his hands, they’re rough and manly.

“Er, do you wanna go get some Ben&Jerry’s? I’m on break in five minutes” AJ asks.

I smile seductively, “Yes, please”

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“So some old lady actually kissed you while you were on the job? That sounds disgusting” I laugh, licking ice-cream off my spoon. AJ laughs, too, “Yeah, kind of sick, but the manager didn’t get security since the lady bought around 300 bucks worth of Hollister stuff; it was a pretty weird day”

I giggle and my eyes glance around the shop, 6:15; holy shit!

“Er, AJ, I’ve got to go, um, my Mom is well waiting for me and er,let’s just say, I’ll be dead if I don’t get over there now, and it’s been fun”

He stands as I stand, “Yeah it has,” then he takes my hand and kisses it. I blink and blush, not really expecting that.

AJ caresses my blushing cheek, giving me a peck there, and I practically float away.

I blink twice then remember that my mother is going to decapitate me if Nate finds her without me.

I hurry to the front of the store where Nate’s waiting, “Where were you? You’re lucky Mom hasn’t---“

“Hello, off springs”

We both turn. Momis walking towards us with a mountain of bags underneath her arms, “Woo, that was a long line, so where did you guys go?”

“Abercrombie” Nate says, just as I blurt out, “Ben&Jerry’s”

She stares at us, bewildered.

“We mean that we went to both, um, Mom” I say quickly.

“Oh, that’s nice; hey did you know that you two were nearly born in Ben&Jerry’s? Oh I remember, it was winter and I was there with Damian James—“

“Our Godfather?” I ask; I hadn’t heard about him in a long while. The last time Nate and I saw him, we were in diapers.

“Dad’s cousin?”

“Yeah, oh it was so cold, ugh and that bitch Brittany—oh I mean that, uh, not nice girl Brittany Barnes came round and got in a row with me and then you guys got angry, too, I suppose and made me go into labor, God it hurt”

We both laugh knowing the rest of the story.
♠ ♠ ♠
dun dun dun,