Chapter 4: Charming Disaster

I got off at 2 P.M. the next day. Sleep again wasn't kind to me last night. I was dreading tonight more than anything. Sitting in the same room with Jack for two hours was two hours too many. I sometimes felt too nice, and other times I felt like I had my reasons. One of them being Jack's position in a murder case. Sure, I've wondered if he actually did it. But I wasn't about to ask. Other times I feel like the biggest asshole because he just needs help.

And then it hit me.

That's what he meant last night. Just ask and get it over with. Now it was eating at me and I really wanted to ask. But of course, he's going to tell me he didn't do it. What's the point of wasting breath? I didn't exactly know Jack enough to tell if he was lying or not. And yet, I'm agreeing to help him. Because he's just a boy that needs help.

When I pulled into the driveway, Michael was already waiting. I had totally forgotten about him wanting to talk. I hesitated, but got out of the car. He was leaning against his car, waiting for me. "Do you want to come in?" I offered, trying to keep my tone as pleasing as possible.

He smiled and slightly nodded.

My grandparent's weren't home, they rarely were during the week. They liked to take small road trips to go to antique stores and auctions, not that I was complaining. It was nice to have the house to myself every once in a while.

Michael followed me inside, closing the door behind him. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked, setting my keys down on the counter and retreating to the fridge. I got out two bottles of water, handing one to Michael.

"You haven't answered my calls or my texts over the past week."

"I've been busy," I lied.

He eyed me, the grey of his shirt making his green eyes stand out. "It takes five seconds to answer a text."

"I guess that's how long it took you to find a girl to make out with," I snapped, feeling aggravated at this point. I didn't mean for it to come out sounding so harsh.

It's not like we were dating, but he knew my intentions. I guess I wasn't clear of his. "I'm sorry," He said. "I was drunk and—"

"I don't care." I sighed. "It's not like we're dating, but you invited me and it was just a slap in the face."

"I get it. It was stupid and I'm sorry. But I want to make it up to you."

It was taking everything in me not to give in because of the way he was looking at me. Like a little lost puppy. "I'll call you," Is all I said and I felt good.

I walked him back out to his car and he left. We didn't have much to say after that. I could tell I hurt his feelings but maybe now he'll understand how I felt. I didn't have intentions on calling him anytime soon. Maybe I do care, it just makes me mad because he invited me personally and then decides to 'hook-up' with someone else. Not saying I wanted to hook-up with him.

I showered and changed out of my work clothes. I slipped on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before pinning my hair back out of my face. I heard the front door close, signaling that my grandparents made it home. I let out a sigh and made my way down the stairs, but I heard multiple voices. Slowly, I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, trying to figure out who they belonged to.

I heard my grandma and grandpa clearly, but there was another female voice and a male's voice. They did sound familiar, but I couldn't place it until I walked into the living room. "Juliet, you remember the Roedan twins?" She asked.

I hesitated, but nodded. "Uh, yeah."

James and Meredith. They were always a pain in the ass when we were kids. They've been friends of the families since I can't even remember. I haven't seen them since we were like, twelve. The company my grandpa used to work for was owned by their parent's. And now that I think about it, it was kind of odd they were here right now after almost six years...

James was definitely attractive. Dark hair, pale blue eyes that reminded me of stormy ocean waters. Meredith wasn't much different. Except she had blonde hair now. She was still drop dead gorgeous. Puberty hit both of them like a brick. "Hi, Juliet!" Meredith piped, bringing me into an unexpected hug. "I'm glad we get to spend the summer together."

"What?" I blurted, not really meaning to.

She pulled away, a smile still on her face. "Our parents are traveling for the summer on some business. Your grandparent's offered for us to stay with you guys while they're gone."

"We could've stayed by ourselves," James said flatly.

Meredith spun on her brother. "Well if you didn't get caught throwing that stupid party, you could've stayed home."

James rolled his eyes and focused on me. "What do you do for fun in the suburbs anyway?"

"Um—"

"Why don't we get dinner started?" Grandma interjected and I was grateful. Like they need to be reminded that I don't know the definition of fun.

I couldn't tell if Meredith was just being nice or she had another motive.

After dinner, James stormed off somewhere. He was just really happy to be here. Meredith stayed behind to watch a movie with me. It was her recommendation and her choice of movie. If Lindy could see me now. "Sorry about James," She mumbled. "Ever since our parent's got divorced, he's been a real pain in the butt."

"I thought they were on business?"

She nodded. "They still run the company together. Dad moved out and we live with our mom. Neither one of them are ever home, so it doesn't matter."

"I'm sorry."

She smiled weakly. "It's okay. We knew it was going to happen. It just hit James harder."

An hour later, I attempted to sneak out. Trying to sneak out of the house wasn't exactly a walk in the park, either. I threw my backpack out my window while Meredith was in the bathroom. When she came out, I told her I was just gonna go for a walk. "This late?"

"Yeah, it helps me sleep," I lied quickly.

She just shrugged. "Well, be careful. I'll see you in the morning."

"What about James?"

She shrugged her shoulders again. "He'll probably be back soon."

"Okay, well see you in the morning."

I just smiled and we both left my room. I waited for her to go into the guestroom before making my move downstairs.

I got out of the house with no problem because everyone was asleep. I retrieved my bag from the side of the house and ventured towards the McKinnon's. To my surprise, Jack was already waiting outside. "You're late." He smirked.

"And you're annoying," I snapped.

He just grinned and opened the door. "It's good to see you too, Juliet."

I stepped inside the house, Jack following close behind. I heard the door close and I turned around. Jack started walking up the stairs. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"My room?" He stepped backwards off the step.

"Wouldn't the kitchen be easier?" My heart was betraying me.

Jack snorted. "Not really. You said you didn't want anyone to know, my parents could wake up. And then what?"

I just stared at him for what felt like too long. "Fine."

I followed him upstairs, scared I might fall over in the dark. Almost tripping on the last step, I grabbed the back of Jack's shirt. "You okay?" He whispered, a hint a laughter in his voice.

I quickly dropped my hand and placed it against my chest. "I'll live." I swallowed the lump in my throat and stepped on the landing.

We walked down a long hallway, stopping in front of the last door. The light from his room was seeping into the hallway from the crack in the door. He turned around, pointing to the other end of the hall. "Parents are all the way down there, they won't be able to hear anything."

My mind went blank.

He knew what I was thinking because the corner of his mouth perked up. "Totally not what you're thinking there." He tapped the top of my head like a child. "I just have a feeling you're going to be yelling at me. Quite a lot."

"At least you think ahead." I pushed past him, ignoring the burn in my cheeks. I've never been in Jack's room so this was going to be an experience.

And I need to get my mind cleansed after this.

Jack's room wasn't really messy, but it wasn't organized either. His desk was cluttered, his bed messily unmade, and his bookcase was crammed and books were falling out. "Thought I would be poetic," Jack's voice made me jump.

I turned from his bookshelf and faced him. "About what?"

He gestured towards his room with wide arms. "Thought I would let me room match my life. Out of whack. Chaos walking. Charming disaster. Sums my life up."

"Very poetic of you, McKinnon."

He put a hand over his heart. "I try."

"So, where do we work? The only clean part of your room is the bed." And I could smack myself right now.

"You're just on a roll tonight." He laughed and walked to his desk.

He piled all the books and moved them. Instead of taking them to the shelf like I thought he was, he just dropped them down on his bed. Nice.

He dragged one of the chairs from the corner of his room, placing it beside the desk chair. Guess he didn't think ahead on everything. We sat down, Jack was much closer than I would like him to be. I could feel his breath lightly against my neck and that's when you know someone is too close. And yet, here I am, not telling him to move.

Maybe I was scared. I am a wimp.

"I brought my notes I took last year, they should be able to help you," I said. I pulled out four notebooks and sat them down on the desk. "I know we went to different schools, and if anything, these should help you more. They helped Lindy."

He took the first notebook off the top that was labeled French. "I don't even know why I chose French," He mumbled, picking at his bottom lip. "Thought it was an attractive language."

I let out a small laugh. "An attractive language? I guess you can put it that way."

Jack pulled out a few folders from his backpack and sat them down on the desk. "I have too many worksheets to count. I've been working on the others, but I looked at the worksheets for Chem and French and I don't even know where to start."

For a moment, I forgot who Jack actually was. That he's not on house arrest for being a suspect in a murder case. And that he's just the boy next door that needs help with homework. But he's not and I need to put that idea out of my head. "Did you do it?" I blurted. I closed my eyes tight, instantly regretting letting the words slip out.

Jack's laughter was nothing less than surprising. I opened my eyes to find him laughing at me. Actual gut wrenching laughing. "What's so funny?" I asked, feeling more stupid by the second.

He leaned back in his chair, holding his hands up in defense. "Just kind of surprised me, I guess."

"That's what you meant last night, right?"

He narrowed his eyes at me and leaned forward. "Why does it matter?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" I spoke slowly. The mischievous glint in his eyes were nothing less of unsettling.

"It wouldn't matter. No matter what I say to you, you wouldn't believe me."

"That doesn't answer my question," I said firmly. "And what makes you think I wouldn't believe you?"

He smiled again, which I think was even more unsettling. "What would make you any different?"

"Don't answer my question with a question," I grounded.

"You have a weakness for people like me. People that can't help themselves. That's why you're here, right? Because my mom made you feel guilty. You don't even care what I did."

His words made my chest tighten because he was right. "I'm the only person that's willing to help you and you're being an ass."

"Then leave. Nothing is keeping you here."

I should keep my pride and collect my things and walk out. But I didn't. I sat there, glaring at Jack, plotting ways that I could hit him and get away with it. "I said I would help you, so that's what I'm going to do," I said calmly in a small voice. "If you want me to leave, I'll go."

His expression softened. He opened his mouth to speak, but he snapped it shut.

"Then we should get started." I tore my gaze away from his and grabbed the chemistry text book. Jack was still quiet. I haven't decided if that's a good or a bad thing.

Jack didn't talk much after that. He asked questions relating to the work and that was it. I didn't bring it up again and he didn't offer. He was actually cooperating. I didn't have to yell at him like he thought I would. Maybe get mad, but not actually yell. I watched him work, his profile hardening when he didn't get something.

And hearing Jack speak French was definitely something. I watched his lips as he spoke, almost zoning out completely. "Was that it?" He asked, breaking me out of my trance.

I nodded quickly. "Yeah, just keep practicing."

I wrote a list of words for him to practice and pushed it towards him.  "Just practice these until Thursday and start reading my notes."

He scanned over the page and nodded. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet." I teased, almost regretting it.

I stood up and started walking out of his room.

I felt Jack on my heels as I made my way down the stairs and out the front door. "You didn't have to walk me outside," I mumbled, turning around to face him.

"I may be an ass, but I'm also a gentleman."

The jury was out on that. "Whatever you say, McKinnon. I'll be back Thursday."

Just as I turned around and started walking, he said, "And the answer to your question is that I don't know."

How could you not know if you murdered someone?

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I'm gonna be speeding things up soon!! This is just the start, hahaha.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts, and if you want to vote, that would be fantastic also. :)

Thank you guys for all the positive feedback so far!

Song: Alone Together by Fall Out Boy

Part roughly edited Nov. 8th, 2015.