Chapter 44: Wild and Free

Do more things that make you forget to check your phone

___

Malakai let both Fabian, Jaimie-mae and her new puppy into his house.

"Hey man," Malakai said as he came in for their bro hug/hand clap thing.

"Hey Jaimie. I see Fabian has spoiled you with a new pet."

She nodded with a small smile. "Mhmm."

"Um, come in or whatever," Malakai said as he guestered them to enter into his apartment.

Fabian had brought her to meet some of his friends. He knew eventually they'd really like her company because if he did, they would too. He was also showing her off, but he kept that part to himself.

He couldn't wait to have her play a video game against them, have them underestimate her and then she'd beat their asses and then he could rub it in their faces about how amazing his girlfriend was.

As they came into the living room, Jaimie-mae gripped the back of Fabian's shirt tightly. He put his arm around her waist and rubbed it up and down her waist in comfort.

"Hey guys," Fabian said as he pulled away from Jaimie-mae and sat down on a single couch.

Simultaneous "hey Fabian's" came from the two boys sitting around on the couches.

"Woah, look at that. Fabian wasn't lying when he said he got himself a cute girl," a boy with brown cropped hair and dark eyes said. "Hi, my name's Daniel."

She waved at him and offered a small smile.

Fabian waved her over and she shuffled forward. When she was in reach, he pulled her down onto his lap and she yelped.

"That guy with the blond hair is Jerry," Fabian said quietly.

Jerry nodded to her in acknoledgement. "Hi."

"Hi," she replied. "Is it okay if i put Fae down?"

"Go ahead babe. No one here is afraid of dogs," Fabian said as his hand slipped under her shirt and subtly caressed her soft skin. "Right Jerry?" he teased.

"Shut up," Jerry grumbled.

Jaimie-mae's heart rate picked up and she felt like she could have moaned just from the way he called her 'babe'.

She placed Fae down and watched as she eagerly trotted away and sniffed around the apartment.

"Video games anyone?" Malakai asked as he strolled into the room with a bunch of cans in his hand.

The boys nodded and Malakai placed down the cans and then turned on the tv and grabbed controllers from under the coffee table.

Fabian took the controller from his hand and scooted back with Jaimie-mae still in his lap.

"Want a drink Jaimie?" Malakai asked as he grabbed a cold beer.

She looked at the selections on the table and then back at Malakai. "Do you have gingerale here?"

"Yeah i think i do. Let me go get it real quick." Malakai ran into the kitchen and then came back with a can of gingerale and a cup of ice. "Here you go."

Jaimie-mae got up from Fabian's lap and grabbed the drink. "Thank you," she said quietly.

She sat back on Fabian's lap and then scooted back a little to get comfortable. Fabian groaned quietly which made Jaimie-mae immediately sit up.

"Sorry, did i hurt you?" She asked.

The boys all chuckled and Fabian just smirked and pulled her back down onto him. He swept her hair to one side and placed a delicate kiss on the back of her neck. She shivered lightly.

"Who wants to try to play me in Mario Kart?" Malakai asked as he entered the game.

"Me," Jerry said immediately.

"Okay cool. Lets do a challenge. I've got some sweet stuff in the back and everytime you knock someone out i'll give a candy. If you get a higher place than me, i gotta give the control to someone else and one of my sweets to the winner and then so on," Malakai explained.

"Alright lets do it."

Everyone agreed so Malakai went and grabbed a big bag of candy from the back. He shared 3 peices each to start off with to each boy.

"Jaimie is playing too," Fabian said. "Give her some candy."

All the boys except Malakai looked at him in shock. He just dropped down three candies and sat back onto the couch.

"Watch me beat your asses," Malakai said as he started the game.

First it was:

Malakai .VS. Jerry

Malakai won and Jerry reluctantly gave up one of his candies to Malakai which left him with only two.

Then it was:

Malakai .VS. Fabian

Fabian won that round and took the extra candy away from Malakai.

"Looks like i beat your ass this time," he smirked.

Next was:

Fabian .VS. Daniel

Fabian won that round again and Jaimie-mae clapped in excitement and kissed him in congratulations on the cheek.

The boys seemed to be watching her in amusement because she seemed so into it.

Then came:

Fabian .VS. Jaimie-mae

Fabian won that round again but Jaimie-mae begged for another round.

"Please. Give me one more try. Rematch," she said with her smile that made all the boys agree with her after her second time asking.

This time it was:

Jaimie-mae .VS. Malakai

This was where it got good. Fabian just sat back and watched in pride as his girlfriend easily finessed the game and came out on top.

"What the hell?" Malakai growled when they finished the last lap and she came breezing through as first.

Jaimie-mae smiled cheekily and put her hand out. "Candy please."

He grumbled but gave Jaimie-mae the candy.

"Alright, who's next?" Fabian asked with a smug smile as he looked around.

"Me," Jerry said. "Imma beat her, unlike you Malakai."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever. Play the game."

At the end of the game, Jerry was sweating and cursing while Jaimie-mae was grinning from ear to ear, soaking in the compliments from her boyfriend.

Fabian kissed her neck and then her cheek. "Good job Jaimie-baby."

She giggled quietly. "Thank you."

She looked over at Malakai who had Fae in his lap, stroking her fur and shaking his head in disbeleif.

"Alright, your turn Danny," Fabian said.

This game was tense and close. They kept up with each other until the last lap where Jaimie-mae just drifted around the corner and sent Daniel spinning out on the course.

She once again won the game and had an extra three candies in her pile.

Fabian laughed and pulled her in for a quick kiss. "My girl!"

Jaimie-mae hid her blush into Fabian's neck and the rest of the boys cooed playfully at her.

"She's so shy," Daniel said with a chuckle.

Fabian nodded and kissed her hair. The boys looked away, not used to the amount of PDA circulating around the room. They couldn't really complain though because none of them really found it gross. It was more cute than anything. They could handle a bit of cute.

"My lord. You've placed a mark on her already," Malakai said through a smirk.

Fabian looked down at Jaimie-mae and sure enough there was a love bite right there above her right collar bone. It was fading, so it definitely wasn't fresh.

Fabian craned his head down and kissed the spot then began sucking on it to make it darker. Jaimie-mae stuffed her head into his shoulder to muffle the small moan threatening to escape her.

"S-stop," she said into his shoulder. But it was to late, the soft moan of pleasure escaped her and she could feel her face burning with heat.

"Not gonna lie, that was pretty hot," Daniel said with a smirk.

Fabian glared at him then looked down at the piece of art he left above her collar bone and smiled.

"Okay new game, i'm tryna win my candy back," Jerry said to stop Fabian from going in for another make out session with Jaimie-mae's neck.

"Yeah. And your pride," Fabian joked.

Jerry scowled and flipped him off.

"I'll choose the game this time," Jerry said as he picked up the controller and searched for a game.

Fabian's phone rang in his pocket so he moved Jaimie-mae over and grabbed it from his pocket. He checked the caller ID and got up.

"I'll be right back Jaimie."

"Okay," she said after she took a sip of her gingerale.

"Oh, how about Call Of Duty?" Jerry asked.

"No!" Fabian said immediately.

"Why, scared i'll beat you?"

"No," he growled. "Go easy."

The boys looked at Fabian strangely from his sudden mood swing, but they immediately switched choices.

"I'm gonna take this call. Play without me. Remember, go easy."

He walked out of the room and a faint 'hello' could be heard.

"Okay. How about... some Fortnite?" Jerry said with a smirk.

"Jerry i don't think that F-"

Jerry cut Malakai off. "I didn't know you let Fabian boss you around."

Malakai's eyes flashed with anger. "I-"

Jaimie-mae's significantly softer voice cut through the tension. "Let's just let Jerry have a turn for now. And then i'll beat you and Danny at another game."

Malakai and Daniel chuckled and the air in the room instantly became more relaxed.

"Alright, same rules apply except it's whoever gets the most kills gets the candy."

"Kills?" Jaimie-mae asked quietly.

"We're just knocking them out. Should be easy enough for you," Jerry said with a smirk. "Just watch me and Daniel play first so you know how to play."

"Oh okay."

Fae's ears perked up and she immediately hopped up off of Malakai's lap and jumped off the couch. She barked and walked up and made herself comfortable on Jaimie-mae's feet.

Jaimie-mae leaned over and picked up her puppy. Fae wagged her tail and licked Jaimie-mae's cheek as she scratched behind her ears.

The game finally loaded and Jaimie-mae watched as Jerry's character glided down to the ground.

"What type of game is this?" Jaimie-mae asked, slightly intrigued. "What's the point?"

"Be the last one standing," Malakai said simply.

"Is it like minecraft or something. Do you build forts?..." Jaimie-mae drifted off when she realized what Jerry picked up off the ground.

Seconds later, shots went off and Jaimie-mae's heart rate went haywire.

Fae immediately hopped up and started nuzzling into Jaimie-mae's side. Fae whimpered and Malakai watched out of the corner of his eye as her puppy scooted around trying to get Jaimie-mae's attention.

When Jaimie-mae didn't react to her cute little puppies whimpering, Malakai knew things were very wrong. He cursed to himself when he remembered what Fabian had told him not to long ago.

"Yo Jerry. Stop the game!"

Jerry scoffed. "Yeah right. You guys need to stop acting like pu-"

"Maybe you really should stop," Daniel said seriously as he glanced at Jaimie-mae.

Malakai snatched the controller away and shut the game off. "You're a freakin' child. Can't even shut off a simple game. Some things are more important than winning," he growled.

Malakai neared Jaimie-mae and made the same mistake Fabian did the first time he had seen one of her panic attacks. He touched her.

Jaimie-mae flinched back and swung a punch that landed right on his cheek.

"Ah, shit!" Malakai stumbled back and touched his cheek gingerly in shock.

"What the hell? Did she just punch you?" Jerry asked.

"Yup. And it hurts like a b-tch. I'd hate to feel her right hook."

Daniel laughed quietly. "Should i call Fabian?"

Malakai nodded.

"Yo Fabian!" Daniel shouted out. Jaimie-mae cried out for help and all three boys cringed.

Malakai slapped him, hard. "That's not what i meant idiot."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Jaimie-mae whispered.

The boys watched helplessly as Jaimie-mae apologized to herself.

Fabian came running into the room. "What's wrong?" He scanned the room and when his eyes landed on Jaimie-mae, they widened.

"Shit, I told you to go easy."

He immediately stepped forward and stooped down so he could talk into her ear. "Jaimie-baby, come back to me so you'll be safe. I'll take you out for ice cream like I promised a few weeks ago. Come back to me, please."

Daniel, Malakai and Jerry all flinched when her hand shot out and grabbed Fabian's wrist suddenly. She was still out of it but she still found the strength to grab his wrist for comfort.

"That's it. Good Jaimie-baby. Come back to me."

Fabian felt her grip tightening on his wrist so he encouraged her further. "Good baby. You're doing so good. Come on, i'm here for you."

The boys watched in slight awe at the scene in front of them. Jaimie-mae's tears came to a halt and her hiccups lessened until her eyes weren't so distant and she looked around.

When her gaze caught with the three other boys she flinched. "I-im sorry," she said quietly. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Back there to the right," Malakai directed her with a point of his finger and a sympathetic gaze.

She got up and before she exited the room, she turned back and looked at them. "I'm sorry."

Before anyone could say anything, she sped out of the room and made a beeline for the bathroom, locking it behind her.

After two minutes of tense silence, the boys looked up from their hands.

"Bloody hell. What was that?" Jerry said.

The other boys glared at him with clenched jaws.

"Man Fabian. I never knew it was that bad," Malakai said sadly.

"What's bad?" Daniel asked as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Her PTSD is bad. That's one of the reasons I got Fae for her. The dog's supposed to sense Jaimie-mae's anxiety before we do. Even her sometimes."

Malakai stooped down and picked up Fae, petting her fur. "Fae noticed. I guess I just didn't realize soon enough."

"Why did she apologize?" Daniel asked as he nodded his head in the direction of the bathroom.

"She's sweet like that. She's probably thinking she ruined our fun or something like that. Which she didn't, but that's her personality. She cares about everybody before herself," Fabian said quietly. A small ghost of a smile lingered on his face which Malakai noticed.

"So whipped. But I see why you like her," Malakai said as he lightly shoved Fabian. "She's a beast at video games."

Fabian chuckled. "Yeah she is. You guys owe her your candy."

All the boys except Jerry laughed.

"Why the sour face Jerry? No need to be such a sore loser," Daniel said as he swung a pillow in his direction.

Jerry scowled. "I'm not a sore loser."

Before anyone could correct Jerry and tell him he was a freakin' sore loser, the bathroom door clicked open and Jaimie-mae stepped out with puffy eyes. She was dragging her feet a little and stray hairs from her ponytail stuck to her forehead. They were wavy and it made her look cute.

Fabian got up and grabbed her hand, placing a kiss on the inside of her palm.

"You alright? We can leave if you want," Fabian said as he flickered his eyes around her face.

"No. Let's stay for a little longer," she replied quickly.

Fabian furrowed his eyebrows and pushed the hair out of her face. "Are you sure?"

She nodded and dropped down onto the couch. "I wanna play a game," she stated so everyone could hear her.

After a few seconds of silence, the boys shrugged. "Alright."

***

"Come on Jaimie! Do it!" The boys encouraged. "Do it! Do it!"

Jaimie-mae couldn't believe she was doing this. "What happens if someone comes?"

"Then it's every man for himself. If you get caught, welp oops," Malakai whisper yelled.

She shook her head. She was doing it. She was actually doing it.

Jaimie-mae counted down in her head then dove into the deep end of a strangers pool gracefully.

When her head surfaced the boys laughed and cheered her on quietly. "Yeah, right on!"

She wiped her hand over her face and threw her head back with a happy laugh. She felt so wild and free. She didn't feel scared in that moment and she freakin' loved it.

"I didn't think she'd actually do it," Jerry said with a smirk.

All of a sudden, a room at the top of the house lit up with a yellow hue.

The boys all cussed under their breaths and ducked down. Jaimie-mae's eyes widened.

"Jaimie, quick get out of the pool. Let's go," Fabian said as he rushed over to the edge of the pool.

She swam over to him and grabbed his outstretched hand. He swiftly pulled her up and out of the pool. Water drops from her t-shirt, shorts and long hair splashed on him but he didn't mind.

"Come on, we gotta go."

Jerry, Daniel, Malakai, Fabian and Jaimie-mae rushed over to the fence separating the backyard from the other houses and began climbing over it. The boys made it over a whole lot easier because they were significantly taller.

The backyard light switched on and Jaimie-mae panicked and practically threw herself over the fence. Her foot got caught and she stumbled and fell face first into the lush grass.

When the boys heard the thump behind them, they turned around and their eyes widened. They rushed forward towards Jaimie-mae's figure laying face down in the grass.

"Jaimie-baby are you okay?" Fabian asked hesitantly as neared her to help her up.

When she didn't reply he began to panic but a small muffled giggle stopped all the boys movement. She lifted her face from the grass and revealed a cheeky smile.

"That was so much fun," she squealed. When she realized people would hear her she slapped a hand over her mouth.

The boys looked at her weirdly as she lifted herself from the grass and brushed off her soaked clothes. She laughed quietly and wiggled her eyebrows around. She did a few tiptoes around in the grass then skipped forward, all with a smile on her face.

When she didn't hear them following her, she turned around and raised an eyebrow, hand on hip. "Are you boys planning on getting caught, or..."

She turned back around and sprinted away into the darkness, barefooted. Fabian was still holding her shoes.

She was moving so fast that the boys had to sprint as well to keep up with her and they had longer strides.

"What the hell? Does she do track or something?" Daniel asked as they slowed down to a jog.

Fabian just shrugged and smiled as he watched his girlfriend who was skipping along happily in front of them.

"She's freakin' crazy," Jerry said with a shake of his head.

The boys all looked at each other simultaneously.

"She's one of us."