Glitter

I hadn't expected him to be waiting outside the O'Reilly's driveway, leaning against a shiny black limousine. He had brushed his hair across his face, and the silver of his lip ring gleamed in the fading afternoon sunlight.

"What are you doing here?" Jack said when he saw me.

He had pulled away from the car and was walking towards me when Sam drove up behind us, honking his car horn at the obstructing limousine.

Shooting Sam a worried glance, I met Jack halfway down the driveway and softly nudged him back to his car. I didn't want Sam to meet him and tell him that I was a maid. I'm sure that many wouldn't understand - proud of the work they did and all that, but that was what I had been raised to believe.

Cleaning up after other people was work for the beggars, my mother always told me.

Five years since I'd last seen her and I still believed it.

"I was going to ask you that same question."

He grinned at me. "Well, the couple that live here are sort of friends with my parents. They heard that I was in the state so they invited me over for dinner."

If it were physically possible, my eyes would have fallen out of their sockets.

"Small world," I muttered, looking again at a frustrated Sam. He was honking an angry, tuneless melody at the limousine driver.

Jack seemed oblivious t0 it.

"Your turn." He told me. "What could you, friend to the great Alex Gaskarth and poor room mate to his bitchy girlfriend, find reason enough to be in this magazine perfect suburb?"

I held my hands behind my back to hide the crossed fingers and smiled up at him.

"I, well, I was just paying the O'Reilly's a visit." I hoped to god and all that was holy that he would be satisfied with that answer.

He wasn't.

"Oh, really? So are you family friends too or ...?" Waving two fingers in the air, Jack waited for me to finish his sentence. I didn't bother.

"You know what..." I looked at my wrist watch and feigned worry, "...I'm late for an appointment. Maybe I'll see you around, yeah?"

He frowned. "Wait, why don't you join us? Bad manners to bring an extra but I don't have a plus one."

My head was shaking before my lips had even parted.

"I don't think that that would be such a good idea."

Sam honked again. This time, he screamed out an obscenity. I doubted that he had caught sight of me standing beside the limousine.

The 'move your fucking car' caught Jack's attention, finally, and the man turned. I noticed the back of his ears and cheeks start to redden.

"Drive around, you dumb fuck!" Jack yelled.

I sucked in an involuntary breath and took a step back when I heard Sam's car door open and slam shut.

This didn't look like it was going to end well.

"What did you sa...?" Sam's angry shout trailed off when his green eyes met mine. Confused, he looked at Jack, then back at me then turned back to Jack. "You're parked on private property. Move your car before I sue your ass for trespass."

Jack took a step forward and pulled me behind him. Unprepared, I stumbled back and hit the limousine hard. The driver, who had been sitting in the car the whole time, got out.

"Mr. Barakat..." he turned to Jack. "Perhaps we could just find a parking spot and drive in?"

The name caught Sam's attention because in an instant, he had turned from sociopath on a rampage to laughing idiot. Moving towards Jack, a smile on his lips, he slapped the man on the shoulder.

"Jack?! What the fuck are you doing here?"

Jack studied him for a second before realization took hold. "Sam the Bam Man?"

My eyes widened.

Sam was laughing, "The one and only."

They embraced before Jack pulled away. "I thought they'd shipped you off to Army Camp, dude."

Sam shook his head. "They tried to, but failed. And didn't your loving parents cut you off or something? What's with the limousine?"

Realizing my moment of escape, I side stepped the talking man-couple and walked away; hoping that neither of them would notice the movement.

Sam did.

"How do you two know each other?" he was pointing at me but kept his eyes locked on Jack.

Jack glanced at me and his smile got wider. "It's a long story."

"That he wouldn't be able to tell you, even if his life depended on it, ay Jack?" My sudden verbal rush brought me both their attention.

"It was nice meeting you again Jack." I gave him a small smile then nodded once at Sam.

When I turned to walk away, Jack was still trying to stare me down.