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Life Isn't Easy

isax

isax

Ten Thousand Club
As Anna and Jeff sat out at the gazebo, Anna sat on one of the benches as she let out a deep sigh before looking at the football jock next to her. "Honestly, I can find a job. It means a lot to me that you have taken over my medical bills but I am a senior in high school. I need to get my act together, sick or not. A job will be good for me." She said ever so softly as she smiled and looked up at the twinkling stars and bright moon that gave little but enough light during the night. The event in its entirety was one Anna would never forget. She wasn't used to be the center of attention but she enjoyed it while it lasted. Tomorrow at school, everything would go back to normal. She would be the silent and shy girl whom everyone pushed around and Jeff would return to being himself. The football jock, the best player at their school. Football was his sport and she was excited to see where he would commit. "Jeff?" Anna called out to him softly as she thought about everything. Them, the kiss, this entire event, the feelings they shared with one another. It brought genuine happiness to her life but this was a dream. It wasn't real and she wasn't ready to face her reality once more. "What happens tomorrow at school?" She asked him softly. "I'll go back to being my shy and quiet self and you, well you go back to being the most popular guy there with one hot girlfriend. So, tomorrow do we just act as though tonight never happened?" 


@Mendaian
 
     With hazel his eyes raised up to the sky, taking in the starry night around not only himself but Anna as well, Jeff let out a gentle sigh along with an even gentler smile. His mind began to be flooded with various thought, some of which he couldn't understand their reasoning, or fully comprehend their whole meaning. He did, however know that he had just had one of the best nights of his life with a Girl... No... Woman, whom he'd never thought he'd ever have the opportunity to be given the chance to do something so fun with. To him the silence felt... soothing, which was atypical for what he was taught all throughout his life. For Jeff silence meant that something was going wrong, that he was losing control of the situation he was placed in, ultimately which could lead to his demise or the lose of something/someone close to him. As if there is no sound, there is no life. He could remember his Pop's saying to him "If you hear, that means you can see, If you can see, then you can react, if you can react, you can live. Never place yourself in a place of silence, as that is the first step not only death, but also Damnation." This felt different to him, he was safe and happy, Oddly enough... without Clairé. Following that moment of what felt like an eternity of deep thought, the silence was broken, by a voice whom had accompanied him that night. In an instant he felt all his thoughts and memories flash before his eyes, before he returned back to reality, leaving his sub-conscious behind. Those words uttered by Anna, caught him off guard at first, sending a momentary look of shock on his face. At first the words, which he wanted to use to respond to Anna were following the lines of " You can barely manage with the pressures of high school why don't we focus on surviving that first before we look at the cold world as a whole?" After thinking it through,however he knew these words carried a sharp point, one much too sharp for the situation they were in. This... situation was one of actual joy, and happiness why ruin it? They already had one fight tonight, the last thing Jeff wanted was another fight. Moving his head from the upward look towards the sky from under the oak wood gazebo, to the gentle blue irises of Ana's eyes, he shared in her smile for a moment before responding to her statement. " Ana, why don't we focus on tonight first, before looking ahead. Ya made it this far without a job haven't ya? What difference will a few days maybe a week do? As for being a senior and having your shit together, I'm one as well and look at me, my life isn't any order!" His voice was gentle with tones of compassion and care, as his spoke his voice rose and fell with his emotion towards to situation, and topic at hand. 


     A star, or maybe a plane's light left of twinkle in his eyes, which moved cross his left eye's cornea as his gazed followed that of Anna's up toward the sky. It was entirely possible that neither of them would forget about this night, funny enough it was all possible by the University of Alabama, and honestly Faith. Jeff knew Anna wouldn't be here without Faith's input, which was something he needed to take advantage of, as he knew of Faith's feelings toward him. Looking back at what has transpired prior to the event today, with himself and Faith, he knew he'd have to apologize for that eventually. With that he'd probably get one of Faith's hackneyed "I Told You So" phrases, along with a scolding, so long as Clairé wasn't around. For what was no more than a micro-second Jeff's face went white, and his body frozen from the feeling of a chill, the thought crossed his mind "Clairé..."  What was he to do about her, and did she know of what was going on? There was no way she could have known, he had told her he was planning on blowing off Alabama, anyways so he was definitely in the clear.... for now. Letting out a soft sigh, and keeping his cool and composure for Anna's sake. It was then Anna spoke to him yet again, this time calling out his name in a very soft, and articulated manner.  He could smell her sweet scent and breath, as she spoke, it was similar to that of lavender and vanilla mixed together. While sweet, it wasn't over powering, it had... character, something which made him want to savor it that much more. It took him a minute to find not only his tongue in order to even articulate an appropriate answer, but when the thought of what to answer Anna with eluded him. At least catching his tongue Jeff opened his mouth and spoke " Yes Anna?" His voice tender and soft in return to hers, with the hints of his Irish accent ringing true still, even through the emotions of his voice. Silence then fell back down between the two of them as they both savored the time together. The moment this time felt shorter than before, as Anna spoke again, this time the question was one which he not only dreaded, but knew he had no answer for. It was this fear of no answer which scared him the most, of anything, there was no physical pain which could harm him more than the fear of not knowing what to do. His face went a flushed ghostly shade of white, as all the color drained from his face. He had no idea how to reply to this. It was as if someone had kicked all the wind out of his chest, leaving his without any oxygen to breath in, yet his body could not sum up the will to even try to breath in. The feeling was if his body, had no more will to live anymore, as he dreaded this decision. On one hand Anna was right, He could go back to being the Jock everyone knew and loved, with the girl who micromanaged his life. Or things could be changed for better or for worse, luckily for Jeff this decision was not one which needed to be made tonight at this moment, he had time thankfully.


     " Anna.... I don't actually know, I can not give you an answer to your question. As much as it pains me to say so, it is not easy for me to say. Thankfully for the both of us we have time to not only think this out, but to simply let this play out until we wish to intervene. Tomorrow, we do what we also do, take the day one step at a time, One class period at a time." With his voice shakes at first, Jeff found his confidence again and the will to breath. He knew he wasn't going to lie to the girl, he was going to be honest as much as he could be. " If anyone asks what he either of us did last night, we be honest, from there we play it by ear, and manage accordingly. That's the best we can do." Letting out a nervous laugh after he finished speaking, Jeff's eyes moved to his silver Rolex watch on his right wrist and check the time. 10:45 pm Tuesday the 16th. While he did not want to let the Night end so, sadly, Jeff knew both of them had classes tomorrow, and he practice, along with a "Showing" for scouts. He began to ponder the idea of just simply heading home, and having Anna stay at his place, as he was the only one home, and knew it was closer than her apartment. Then came the thought of the "Walk of shame" which Clairé and other girls would joke about. The thought of seeing girls come in either wearing the same clothes they worse yesterday, along with ratty hair, smeared make-up, and other attributes showing that a girl had made a random hook up, with a guy and stayed at his place without anything to wear the next day. Jeff didn't want to put Anna through this, but he couldn't help but at least put the option out there, as it would save both of them time in the long run. " I do apologize for saying this Anna, but I do believe I should be getting you back to your apartment, it is quite late now. To be frank with ya I don't want this night to end, but I do know we both have obligations tomorrow. I know it's quite a hike back to your place, you're more than welcome to stay at my place for the night. I can take you to school in the morning, and my sister's clothes probably fit you pretty well! I don't mean to impose of course, just putting the option out there." When he finished speak Jeff slowly stood to his feet, and gave a playful smile, before placing his left hand behind his head and giving a soft chuckle. With his right hand he gently extended it in the hopes to help Anna to her feet from his seated position, along with getting to feel her soft skin once again. " So? What do ya say?"
 
Anna was terrified to hear a response back from the football player sitting beside her. As the silence lingered, her stomach dropped every chance it could. For her, silence was not something to dread or fear. For her, silence could mean many things: it meant you both knew what the other was thinking and words did not need to be spoken. Another silence, the one many feared, is the silence of unknowing. Right now, sitting beside the football jock, the silence that lingered was one of fear. For Anna, she didn't want to really know what would happen tomorrow. She didn't want to go to school and act as thought nothing happened to them. To act as thought Jeff never kissed her or ever told her she was the girl of his dreams. She should have known everything he did and said was a lie. Was it a lie? As Anna thought back on the event of the night, she knew what occurred between them was in fact not fake. It was real which made letting him go back to being who he is at school much harder. With that thought alone, she sighed as she thought about her mother and father. They were her guidance in this world but as she said earlier, she was a senior who had yet to get things ready for college. She never thought about it because she always just wanted to curl into a ball and wither away but Jeff's words saved her. He was right. Cancer was curable, it just took time. Cancer may have had a good grip on her and held her back from so many things but she was not allowing that to happen anymore. She was going to be the old her. The one she missed. The one from Freshman year. She made a promise to herself in that moment to be as energetic as she was that year. It would be hard but worth it in the end. 


       When Anna was told by Jeff what he thought, she felt her stomach dropped completely and her heart shattered in that very moment. She truly understood everything he had told her. Taking life day-by-day was a good key to life, but for Anna it wasn't thrilling. Her days were the same everyday. As she thought about this, she wanted to response to Jeff but after thinking about it, realized saying what she wanted wasn't needed. "Everything he just said is so hard to grasp. How can I take it day-by-day? Why did I ask in the first place? You're so stupid, Anna. You already knew the answer to what would happen tomorrow. We're going to go back to acting as though the night they shared never happened." With that thought, Anna fell silent once more, staring at her feet and all the red bricks below her. The ones with names upon them to serve as a rememberance for that person. She sighed softly as she stared at the bricks before looking up at the twinkling stars again and embracing the night for what it is. It was a grand event, one Anna would never see again. The event was magical for her but nothing good ever lasts and with that thought, she met those beautiful hazel eyes once more and smiled sweetly. Extending her hand to accept his, she slowly stood and grabbed her purse with the other hand. "I don't mind staying at your house. I know the drive to mine is too long and we have class early tomorrow." She said softly before her steps followed in suit with his back to the front of the gorgeous venue as they waited for valet to bring around the gorgeous Ferrari. As she stood there next to Jeff, who was practically a foot taller then her, she smiled as she enjoyed the feeling of their hands touching. Her skin against his brought butterflies to her stomach as her face flushed a soft red color. She took in the scent of Jeff's cologne and smiled as she placed it into her memory forever. It was at this moment Anna took everything in as best she could, detail to detail so she never forgot the events of this wonderful night. With that she walked up to the car once it was brought around and got in after Jeff held the door open for her. As she got comfortable in the Lester seats, she took one last deep breath and smiled at Jeff as she looked at him. "Thank you for an unforgettable night." She whispered softly before she turned to admire the scenery of the city, all the lights reflecting upon her as they passed building by building. 
 
     With his eyes looking down at Anna's waiting for her reaction to his statement Jeff, could not help but feel slightly bad for what was going to happen tomorrow. In his heart he knew there were no words he could speak to make the future situations any easier for Anna, and the sad part what the only thing making this whole situation seem more painful than hell itself is Clairé. It took all of his strength to not allow a frown to cross his cheeks, for Anna's sake, he didn't want her to even remotely think he didn't have control over the Clairé situation which would come sooner vice later. Jeff's moment to deep thought, was abruptly interrupted when he felt the smooth,silky like touch of a woman's hand grasp his own. Coming back to reality he gently clasped his hand with Anna's and gently helped her to her feet. The feeling of hold another's hand, whom he had shared such a beautiful and extraordinary night with, was one he hadn't felt in so long, ever since... Freshmen year when he and another woman shared a night out, after his first game he started for. Ironically enough however, that woman wasn't Clairé, for the moment Jeff pondered that night, trying deeply to remember who that woman actually was. Then it clicked to him who it was, and with shake he gave his head a quick mental shake, and focused on the task at hand, getting home. In an act of being playful, Jeff hooked his arm with Anna's giving her a gentle push and pull, as the walked towards the valet in order to retrieve his father's car, the black Ferrari. The lack was as quiet as any walk would be in the middle of a busy city, however there was something calming about the constant sound of the hustle of bustle of city life. What broke the silence momentarily for him, was Anna's answer to his previous question, that she would actually stay at his house with him. "Company... That's a nice change of pace.." He thought to himself, as he gave himself a soft smile, while he got a warm,and almost fuzzy feeling inside of his stomach, an ever so longing feeling. Giving her the acknowledgment that he had heard her answer Jeff, just gave a simple nod along with a soft smile. The Night was indeed a great one, one he wouldn't forget in a long time. As the walk drew to a near end, the valet gave a soft smile to the two of them, and simply extended his hand palm side up await for the car ticket. Jeff using his right hand reached into his satin tux jacket's inner left pocket, and pulled out a yellow ticket which he placed in the hand of waiting valet. While no words were exchanged between the two, the valet nodded and turned to go retrieve the car, leaving the two to wait for the car's arrival. With the spare time, Jeff reached into his back pocket to retrieve his leather Nautica wallet, removing a crisp twenty-dollar bill from his bill fold, and refolded the trifold wallet. After taking a moment to place the wallet back in his right back pocket of his tux pants, his eyes looked up to the sky. While it wasn't out of the question Jeff come this time next year wouldn't be anywhere near this city or any city in general, he knew he'd miss the sounds of the downtown city. There truly something so mysterious, yet soothing about it all. It was a very homey feeling, like a place you'd want to settle down, but more of... a corner girl, something you just crave like a change of pace. The schools which had gone completely out of their way to try and recruit Jeff, were ones which had huge major metropolises around them, which would give Jeff that taste of city life he wanted but none of them could compare to THIS city, and the memories he had within it. While he had a free moment, as he heard the familiar sound of the Ferrari fire up, and purr from the nearby echoy cement, and concrete parking garage, Jeff reach back with his left hand and pulled out his phone from his back left pocket, and began to discretely text one individual, with a simple question, whether or not he would receive an answer was the real question he wondered about. The message was directed at Faith, with the question of "So, you never told Anna about you and I, along with our past/history? You think that was a smart move?" With the final question mark being hit, Jeff's left thumb present the send button on the screen, and then locked his phone, returning it to it's previous position. Whether or not Faith would even given him the time of day, or even a response at that, was something Jeff knew would probably not happen. Just as his phone sank back into the contents of his pocket, the valet pulled up to the curb with his father's Ferrari, opening not only the driver's door, but the passenger's door as well. Jeff made his way towards the car, first helping Anna into the car, before closing the door behind her. Before he could make his way towards the driver's side door, the valet, called out along with running over to Jeff with a large, almost package-like envelope, in which he handed over to Jeff. The words of "Coach Saben wanted you to look this over and to call him whenever it is most convenient." were spoken by the valet, as Jeff gingerly took the envelope, and nodded at the valet. " Will do, Tell Coach Saben I say thanks." Jeff's voice did hold some form of curiosity, as he made his way around the Italian sports car, and into the driver's seat. Placing the envelope behind his seat, Jeff quickly buckled himself into the seat, by way of the seatbelt, his right hand moved to the right side of the black leather steering wheel, while his left moved to the opposite side. With a gentle press of the accelerator peddle, the car was off without any hesitations. 


     It was very long there after that they were on the highway, moving at speeds which varied with the flow of traffic, at times the two moved at the rate of 88-90 miles per hour, to a more safer speed of around 75. It was very much apparent the Ferrari wanted to taken at even greater speed, as every time the accelerator was even remotely touched the engine revved, and pulled both Jeff and Anna forward. However what made the night even more enjoyable and a sight to see was the cityscape behind, and to their right as the moved in a south-western away from the city along the beltway which wrapped around the city. It wasn't until they reached the High-rise bridge where they could truly enjoy the skylight, and skyscrapers of the metropolis. Decelerating the Ferrari, in order to make an exit to get on a connecting interstate that would take them west towards where Jeff lived, Jeff heard Anna whisper something. A phrase which did mean a lot to him; She was thanking him, for everything, the night in particular. It had become quite apparent to Jeff that despite the fight they both had earlier in the night, that the night was still a success. Taking a moment to formulate a proper response, Jeff for a moment looked over at her and flashed a smile, along with speaking. " Of course, it was my pleasure. Honestly I should be thanking you Anna, for allowing me to have such a great night out!" Turning his attention back to the empty road ahead, Jeff decided to have a little fun, and used his right foot to slowly press down on the accelerator, and his right hand quickly pressed the paddle shifter behind the steering wheel overtime to engine's RPM's reached around 8,000 to 9,000 rpm's. Letting out a soft laugh, he looked down at the speedometer, with a grin similar to that of a child who had accomplished something they had never dreamed of doing.  The Speedometer read 189 mph, before jeff began to ease off the throttle, which the car gave a slight protest as he began to use his left hand  in order to press the left paddle shifter in order to initiate the down shifting process. The highway they were on seemed to just fly by as if they were in a wrap-speed type of movement. Light-poles began to look like joined fence posts, and the foliage around them, began to look like one large green, black and brown blob. It was around the time where the vehicle had slowed back down to a relative speed of roughly 85, a sign appear ahead of them reading "Westlake Hills", which prompted Jeff to slow down even more as they exited the highway, and moved in a more rural, wooded, and hilly region of town. Following the road as they seemed to wind up through the hills, after roughly twenty-five minutes, the road began to straighten out, and in view came a rather large mansion, one inspired by the three story French Chateau's in northern France. The House itself was made of a Light shade of beige Brickmason Brick's, while the roof was a darker clay shingle brick. With a gentle turn of the wheel to the left Jeff moved the car into the driveway, up to the four car garage, parking the car next to his black Scion RX-7. As the car came to a stop Jeff placed the car in park, along with turning the key to the left in order to turn off the engine which quietly purred into silence. Unbuckling his seat belt with his right hand Jeff leaned back and grabbed the rather large envelope from the back seat, and removed the keys from the ignition. It was then with his left hand, Jeff pressed a button, and both doors slowly open, allowing Jeff to exit the car and stretch his legs. Looking over at Anna he gave her a quirky smile, and looked up at the house. " Well we are here, what do ya think?"
 
As the city lights passed, Anna stayed quiet as she continued to look out the window of the stunning black Ferrari. Seeing the city at night was a sight Anna adored. Seeing the different colors and the business of the city made her feel warm inside for reasons words could never explain. She enjoyed the ride as she tried not to fall asleep with the warmth provided by the comfortable leather seats. When the engine roared at every acceleration, Anna smiled from the sound and it enjoyed it. Sport cars made her happy and she enjoyed the once in a lifetime ride she got in one. When their speed hit rather close to 200 mph, Anna gasped as she admired the way everything looked at such a speed. She enjoyed seeing all the building and light posts lose their forms and turn into lines of color. It turned into one of those pictures of the city just full of different lines from the cars. A timelapsed picture but it was all so real. She was in love with the city and yet she lived so far from it. Her parents barley made enough money to provide and sadly that's what a lot of students at her high school don't realize. Anna is privileged to attend their school. She knows fully well she does not fit in at the school considering everyone had money and were sociable people. Anna was even lucky to have a friend at the school, Faith. She was a sweet girl who truly cared for Anna and Anna never wanted to lose her. She was her best friend despite their major differences.


When they arrived to the beautiful mansion, Anna gasped at the sight as she looked up and admired it. It was stunning with such extraordinary detail. It was breathtaking and as she stepped out of the car, she blinked when she heard the masculine voice break through her thoughts as she looked over at Jeff and smiled. "It's beautiful. Very similar to the French Chateaus. I am assuming that is what your family was shooting for." She said with her gentle smile never fading as she walked over towards him and sighed contently. "Does the house look as grand inside as it does outside?" She asked with a gentle laugh before she looked over when the door was opened and a man dressed in an elegant black suit stood awaiting for them to walk closer. "Good evening, Mr. Jeffery." The older man said as he smiled. "Welcome home. Madam, may I fetch you a refreshment?" He asked her to which Anna blinked and shook her head politely. "No thank you. I am fine." She said softly and the man nodded before disappearing once more. Anna smiled as she looked at Jeff. "Jeffery? It has a nice ring to it." She said softly before she walked in with the taller man and took a deep breath at how gorgeous the house really was inside. When she was right in the center, she admired the spiraling staircase that started at either end and met in the middle. She always adored staircases like this and as she walked around, her heels gave small sound against the gorgeous tile floor. The chandelier in the main room was the best part, lit up so bright and sparkling like a night star. Everything in he house just took Anna's breath away, but something caught her eye. She walked closer to what hung against the wall and smiled, gently grazing the edge of the canvas happily.


    "This is quite a masterpiece." She said softly as she took in how smooth the painting felt before taking her hand away from the edge and admiring the strokes. "The brushstrokes are clean and precise, yet they all give way that the one who painted this was left handed. The color scheme is that of night, the hues of blue and bright yellows here and there. It's stunning. Did one of your parents paint this?" She asked as she turned to face the man with captivating hazel eyes. She had never seen artwork so prestige and clean. She admired the artwork and could only hope hers would look similar to that one day in the future. 
 
     It was quite obvious to Jeff that Anna was indeed shocked, in a good way he assumed, about the house he lived. What was funny about this house, in particular for Jeff was that this was only one property his parents owned. His father was the type of man who loved to invest money in places, and property at that which he could enjoy and take others to during different times of the year. To Jeff however this house was is home, it could have been a small duplex apartment for all he cared, but it was where he could come home, and not worry about the world around him; Like his own personal retreat. Looking over towards Anna, and making sure she was out of the vehicle and gazing upon the architecture of the mansion in front of them. Coming behind her Jeff leaned into the passenger side of the car , and ran his hand under the passenger seat in order to retrieve that sketchbook. With that Jeff clicked a button, which allowed the doors to automatically close, once he made his way next to Anna. It was Anna's voice this time which caught his attention as she began to speak about the overall architecture of the building. "Yea it was my father's idea for having the house built in such a style I suppose. For as Irish as he is, he refused to live in another northern English house. He just simply refuses to have anything to do with that region of the world. Me mum says he picked this style of house to be his first, because it reminds him of the time his mom would take him on trains through the French mountains, where these houses are extremely prevalent. So I suppose he did hit the nail on the head as they say." His voice carried it's normal tone and accent when it came to his fathers backstory, however it weakened slightly once he spoke about a grandmother,however his smile never faded from his face. It was nice , and oddly relaxing to Jeff to take sometime to look over the house, and just truly appreciate the overall grandness of the property. It was however not that long before the silence of the night was broken, and the sound of the front door open, which sent a chill down Jeff's back. "Was Clairé here? There's no way her car isn't here.... Mum and Pops are here, Autumn is off in university. So who was it?" Looking over the corner of the corner to spy whom was opening the door, Jeff had forgotten about Sir. Williamson, the butler. letting out a sigh of relief, and hanging his head along with giving it a slight shake left and right. Looking back up, well in this case down at Anna, he laughed when she asked her second question. " I suppose so, if you consider my mother's taste in decor grand that is. It was kind of an agreement between my parents, that my father may pick the house, however my mother was the one who got to decorate, since she was normally the one to spend more time in the house than my father ever would. Come let me show you inside!" As Jeff spoke he placed his left hand on the middle of her back, and walked her towards the front porch, where Sir. Williamson stood, smiling as always. In return to Sir. Williamson's greetings Jeff nodded his head and looked into his eyes. " Good evening to you too Sir. Williamson. I assume everything is in order." With a soft chuckle leaving his voice as he and Anna made their way into the house, Sir. Williamson spoke again, this time to Anna, about a refreshment. He had totally forgotten to mention to her that in his father's household A refreshment typically meant a scotch or whiskey, however before he could answer for her she politely declined. It wasn't until Anna had asked about it, that Jeff realized that Sir. Williamson called him by his proper name, Jeffery. Leaving Jeff with the eyes of Anna staring at him with a very inquisitive look in them. " Oh you think that is fancy, my Pop's name is much grander than mine. But I suppose you are right in that it does have a rather.... nice ring to it.. I don't know I enjoy things being short and sweet hah." Jeff couldn't laugh at the end of his statement and wondering whether Anna would actually catch on to what he had exactly said. Part of him hoped his Irish accent would cover up what he said as it normally did, while the other part wanted to see Anna freak out, either manner would be interesting. " Now go on Las, have a look around, ain't no body gonna jump out and attack you here!" Now this made Jeff truly laugh, and give his head another shake, while he gave Anna a gentle push towards the main dinning hall, straight ahead. It was easy to tell where she would go after this gentle push, as he watched as she made her way towards his father's pride and joy, what he calls " Le nuit fatidique" or the fateful night. It was quite interesting how many people, including Anna are so attracted to that piece, yet Jeff knew his father would never sell the piece nor allow anyone to recreate it. Jeff however couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Anna take her time to appreciate every angle of the art piece. " Aye, it is. Me Pop's painted that for my mother, the night he proposed to her, it is quite an outstanding piece. it is a shame however my father rarely paints anymore, either too busy, or reminds him too much of his mum. It's a shame, but I suppose art which comes from the soul, is always better than art that comes from the pocket." 


     While Jeff allowed Anna to continue previewing his father's work, he made his way into the common's kitchen which was the next room on the right which was the larger of the two kitchens in the mansion. The room itself was roughly eight-hundred square feet, which contained a dark almost black-like charcoal color of granite countertops, with specs of silver making it seem almost like the night sky, two stainless steel gas stoves, two stainless steel restaurant size and grade refrigerators, one similar model deep freezer, along with a door to the pantry. Along walls along the main kitchen area was a row of dark maplewood cabinets, which seemed to wrap around nearly the entire kitchen. The room was however painted a shade of almost sand-like color to give contrast to the dark countertops. Once in the kitchen Jeff pulled out his phone, checking to see if Faith had finally texted him back. "Oh come on Faith, you're more a night owl than anyone I know." He'd quietly mumble under his breath, and released a sigh from his lips. Placing his phone back into his back left pocket, Jeff made his way to the far most right refrigerator and began to look through it's contents, thinking about what to drink. As much as he knew he would enjoy a late night drink, he felt it was better to stay sober in this situation, God only knew what other trouble he could get  into at this point, and he might as well be as clear minded in case a particular someone decided to drop in at midnight. Reaching into the back Jeff grabbed a Crystal pitcher, filled with ice, along with a tart lemonade his mother made before she, and my father left. Removing the pitcher for the refrigerator, and placing it on the island in the middle of the kitchen, while he turned to his right and open a cabinet and retrieved a crystal old fashion glass. With glass in hand he turned back towards the island and poured himself his drink before placing the pitcher back into the refrigerator. Looking at the time displaced on the two wall ovens on the opposite side of the gas ranges, he shook his head once again. "Time flies, when ya having fun I suppose."  His voice carrying tones of slight sadness, as the time read 11:35, and he knew they both had classes around 8:30ish, thus it would only make sense at least to him to take this time to prepare for bed. "Hey, Anna! we probably should head to bed soon, it's getting pretty late!" Jeff called up not knowing where Anna was.
 
When Jeff left Anna's side to go and grab a drink, Anna smiled softly as she continued to walk around and enjoy the beautiful structure and decor of the French Chateau inspired mansion. For Anna, this was a stunning home, one she could only ever dream of owning. It was no where up to par with her small house. It was more of a modern structure and had lots of windows. Anna's mother adored windows and the light they provided in the house which rubbed onto Anna because now she was the same way. Windows held a scenery outside that changed day to day. It was a new beauty that she adored sketching in her sketch book. With that thought, Anna smiled gently as she went up the stairs and walked into a room. The brown door was wide open and inside held a vast amount of books and more paintings. Once again, Anna's breath was taken away as she stepped further inside the library and took in every detail possible. The amount of books she found within it was more than a normal public library contained and she adored how the library was split in half with a second level which you could access by the spiraling staircase in the middle of the room. Anna never wanted to leave this beautiful room and she walked around with her hand grazing against every spine of every book. It sent chills through her body when she held a copy of Hamlet and realized they were First Editions. She flipped each page gingerly as her fingers grazed the older beige paper. The entire book was intact and that alone was a miracle on it's own. She smiled as she began to say the most famous soliloquy known to man in her head. She was such a bookworm but she didn't mind. She was brought of the trance placed upon her when she heard Jeff call out to her. She sighed softly at the mention of sleep. She wasn't all that tired but knew he was right. They had school rather early and with that thought, she put up the book of Hamlet and walked out of the grand library, walking back down the stairs and heading to where she heard Jeff's voice echo from. She took her time however, because taking in every detail required special attention that she didn't want to miss.


     While Anna was walking over to Jeff, his phone vibrated as he finally received the text he had been waiting for since he and Anna left the party. Faith had finally had the chance to reply to the text she had been avoiding for a good hour or so. Reason being she felt as though responding to the text wasn't something that she needed to do, but she did it anyways. She knew the past she and Jeff had was something important but she was not going to tell her best friend that. Anna was such a dear friend and Faith never wanted to see her hurt. She had seen it multiple times due to Claire and she never wanted to be the reason hurt was within those blue irises of her dear friend. It was with that thought that Faith responded. "I never thought about telling her. I didn't think it was something important. I'm glad she went with you. How did it go? She really likes you and I know you have Claire and all but she deserved a night of happiness for a change." Faith knew what could and could not happen at the event and she also knew if word got to Claire, Anna would be dead at school in the morning. That's why Faith cared for Anna. She hated to see people walk all over her the way they did, especially Faith. Just because Anna was nothing like the majority of the population at their school didn't mean Anna wasn't human. Faith truly wished people could see that but her hunch about Claire giving Anna hell the next morning was correct. She saw the article that went out, a picture of Anna and Jeff truly enjoying themselves but the contents of the article is what scared Faith. The article mentioned how the big shoot football star nodded to the fact that Anna was his girlfriend and kissed her right in front another group of girls for it to be known. After reading it, Faith simply sent Jeff the link as worry began to grow in the pit of her stomach. 
 
     While Jeff had a pretty good idea of where Anna had wondered off to, his thoughts stayed pressed to the task at hand, the aftermath of what was going to happen tomorrow. He knew that the events which would unfold tomorrow were not going to be pretty, by any stretch of the imagination. By now the pictures from tonights events would be all over social media, and it was going to be very soon that Clairé friends would catch on, and see pictures from the night. Feeling the vibration of his back pocket Jeff jumped in surprised, before reaching back into his back left pocket and slowly pulling out his phone to look at the message. Closing both of his eyes tightly, his hand slowly unlocked the phone by typing in his passcode. With one eye slowly opening he saw the message was from Faith as a response to his own message from before. "Oh you've got to be kidding me, You never thought..." Jeff squinted his eyes and read aloud the beginning of the message before grumbling to himself the end of it, before beginning to text out a response. " Really?! You never thought it was pertinent information for your best friend, who likes one of your ex's that you seriously dated? What kind of sense does that make? You share damn near everything, probably even underwear, and you don't tell her? The fuck? As for the Night Faith, it was nice, only one fight, and a few crackled knuckles in my left hand, but over all it was nice. Anna had a good time, I've got her here and at my place, since I didn't want Clairé to attempt to burn her house down. As for me having Clairé I'm pretty sure we both know she has me, I've been trying to get out of that relationship for the past four months. PLUS it was you and Autumn who introduced me to Clairé and Pushed really hard for us to date if I remember correctly." After taking a few minutes to furiously type out his thoughts into text form, and hit send. Setting his phone down on the counter for a moment and rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands and wrists, he heard his phone vibrate again, and wondered who it could be this time. Reaching over with his right hand he grabbed the phone and looked down at the message; It was Faith again, this time with a link. Unlocking the phone once again, and this time clicking the link, Jeff began to read over the contents of the article and let out a load groan, with an expletive of " Oh fuck meeeeeeeee" shaking his head and rubbing his face, his went back to his text chat with Faith and began typing out another message. " So, how fucked am i? I'm sure we both know Clairé is already going to kill Anna. Clairé is gonna go on a fucking witch hunt for Anna. And before you even say it, I did not nod to the question! This is why men can't have nice things, at all, ugh fuck my life. We can't tell Anna, she'll freak out all night and won't get any sleep. You need to help try and find a way to divert Clairé off Anna! You know her better than I do." Hitting the send button Jeff, couldn't help but continue to shake his head and gently tap his forehead into the hardwood cabinets, letting out a soft sigh. He knew it was only a matter of time before Anna would come back now stairs, and so after taking in a deep breath, and exhaling in order to compose himself for the interaction to come. Placing a smile on his face Jeff finished his drink, and placed the crystal glass gently in the sink, then grabbing his phone and placing it in his back pocket before then turning off the kitchen lights, and moving into the formal dinning room, where he meet Anna, she must had heard his call and came down.  Looking down at her with his smile, he gently placed his arm around her, and turned her back towards the stairs. " Let me take you to my sister Autumn's room, you can stay there for the night. I do apologize for the... rush, but I do believe you more than I, require at least a decent amount of sleep in order to be functional hah." With a soft chuckle began to make his way to the ascending staircase , which he led Anna to the third floor, and about a quarter down the hallway to a large white door decorated with different college logo's. Placing his hand on the door knob, Jeff slowly opened the door. Once the doorway was open, he reached his hand inside the room on the right side of the doorframe in order to hit the light switch. With the over head chandelier now illuminating the full room, it was definitely easy to tell a girl lived in this room. The bed was one made of solid oak, along with pillars with held a wooden chord, that wrapped around the entire bed allowing for a satin curtain material to enclose the bed. Jeff remembered the fight his sister Autumn and his father had about the bed, Autumn fought tooth and nail for this bed, and it cost his dad a fortune.  Normally a bed like that was never made in a california king size, along with the egyptian satin veil/curtain which went around the bed. But it was what she wanted, and she got it. On either side of the bed were two white nightstands, with a clock on the left and pictures of Autumn, with various friends and family members on the other side. Across from the bed was a white dresser, and bureau, which was covered in trophies, make up, and other random knick-knacks which she had collected, finally there was the french door, walk-in closet which lied to the left of the bed. Looking down at Anna, Jeff gave her a soft smile, and beckoned her to go in. " Well make yourself at home."
 
Anna smiled at Jeff before she nodded and thanked him softly. His house was so grand and beautiful. It was her dream house and maybe one day she would have a house like this but she shook off the thought before going to Autumn's closet and biting her lip at the sight of all the clothes. They were all so pretty and real material. Silk, satin, velvet, anything you could think of was here in his sister wardrobe. It was amazing and Anna couldn't help but become giddy as she explored the closet further more and sighed softly. It was amazing how much Autumn and Jeff owned. It made Anna curious as to what their parents did but as Anna continued to explore the grand closet that reminded her of a store in itself, Jeff's phone vibrated once again, alerting the hotshot athlete that Faith had responded to both messages he sent her in their text thread. Faith was worried for Anna. She knew once one of Claire's many minions got ahold of the story, Claire would be coming after her best friend. This was all a mess now and for Anna, this in itself could ruin her as a whole. It was this thought that made Claire's stomach twist and turn as she imagined her best friend being the same girl she was Sophomore year. The girl who just had no motivation to do anything. The girl with hurt evident within those beautiful blue irises. Faith sighed as she thought of this and texted Jeff back the best response she could. "I know that's important information. I want to tell her but not now. She really likes you and I don't want to be the reason she's hurt. You admitted to not nodding at the question, but you didn't deny you kissing her. You kissed her. That is what is going to drive Claire insane and that's what is going to make Claire go on a witch hunt for Anna. I'm coming over. Both of you can't be seen together at school tomorrow. It'll be hell for Anna but you'll get by without a single scratch. I'm on my way." With that, Faith groaned as she left her boyfriends house to which Nick completely understood. He never did get after Faith for always being there for Anna. If anything, Nick and Anna were slowly becoming close friends themselves which was a good thing. Anna needed more friends. Anna sighed softly as she walked back over to Jeff and smiled sweetly. She was completely oblivious to everything that happened up until she heard a door slam shut downstairs. From there, everything seemed to stop and go slow motion as if to tourture Anna. She heard footsteps against the stairs and her face turned pale white when she saw Claire emerge. "Jeffery!" Claire exclaimed with nothing but anger evident in her face. Claire was not having it. She could not believe what she just read and this time, she would succeed in getting to Anna. She was such a burden and just needed to get out of everyone's life. When Claire stood before Jeff and Anna, Anna bit her lip but soon felt the title below her hit against her body. Claire pushed her. This wasn't what Anna needed and with that, Anna stayed looking at the floor as Claire yelled at Jeff before she began yelling at Anna. "What the hell were you thinking Jeff? Anna your girlfriend? Ha, how pathetic. Everybody knows she isn't anywhere up to par with me. She isn't your type but you kissed her. Do you know how bad this is going to make me look tomorrow? Do you not care at all?" She asked as her voice raised with every question. She then turned to the fragile girl just sitting on the floor like an idiot. "And you, who the hell do you think you are kissing my boyfriend? You knew what even being near him would do to you, Anna. Stop being brave when you're nothing but a pathetic girl who should just give up already!" She exclaimed. Every word was like a dagger stabbing Anna's heart. Claire was so right. Why did she think attending with Jeff would be okay? That she would get away with it unscathed. She didn't say anything as she fell victim to her own dark thoughts. She should just give up. Give into the cancer. Thought Anna fell into such dark thoughts, the only thing keeping her sane was what Jeff told her as they sat under the stars at the gazebo. This was too much to handle but when she heard Faith's voice, she looked up with tears in her eyes. Faith froze when she saw who exactly was in Autumn's room. She knew this wasn't good and when she tried to move to Anna, Claire stopped her. "Don't you go acting like you're innocent here, Faith." She began. "It's sad you haven't even told your best friend that she likes your ex." Claire held such venom in her words and Anna looked at Jeff and Faith. They dated. What kind of best friend was she liking her own best friends ex? Anna didn't know what to say or do. He was frozen, stuck. Her world was hit by a tsunami of words. She couldn't handle it. 
 
     Watching Anna enjoy herself, through the exploration of his sister's room, made him happy for once in his life. That he was able to help someone like Anna, see what it's like on the other side of the tracks. While he knew Faith was a little more... open to doing so, Faith's background was not on par with Jeff's nor his family. Feeling the vibration in his back pocket, Jeff knew Faith had something to say to him,however it was his time to ignore her, and enjoy watching Anna have so much more fun enjoying her situation.  However as they say every good thing has to come to end eventually, and for Jeff that time was now. It was obvious that an echo rang out throughout the house, as the front door of the house closed, and a very familiar sound of heels clicked very rapid, and almost angrily on the tile floor, and then up the stairs. Before Jeff could say anything his eyes widened, as he saw the almost flaming like aura around the female who was almost racing up the stairs. It was Clairé and boy did she not look happy, one bit. It became ever more evident following the angry scream, which she let out as she made her way towards both him, and Anna calling out his Full first name instead of calling him Jeff.  "Ah Fuck me," Jeff spoke and tried to confront Clairé before she could make it to Autumn's room, and see Anna. "Claire wait..!" He yelled out before trying to grab her, but Clairé had already ducked under his arms, moving immediately towards his sister's room, going directly directly after Anna. Before Jeff could turn around, and try to grab Clairé once more the damage had already been done.  With the sound of a loud THUD, Jeff turned around to see Anna on the ground of the tile, and Clairé directly in his face, and not in the friendly wanting a kiss manner either, more of the i'm going to rip your fucking face off manner. It was the sound of Clairé taking a deep breath, that Jeff knew he was about to get his ears ripped of verbally by this woman. "And So it Begins" Jeff thought to himself, and stared into Clairé's hazel eyes as she began to scream, yell, and even push against his chest. While Jeff, and his family were well known for their short Irish temper, it took every fiber in Jeff's body to not scream back at Clairé and to get even further in her face, not to mention to raise his hand to her. Clairé was what you'd in a webster dictionary, if you looked up the words controlling, spoiled, and pampered. However it wasn't smart for Jeff to raise a hand, to Clairé as it would only add more fuel to the fire, in the situation not to mention adding more dirt which she had on him. For now Jeff had to let Clairé spit her venom, before he could not only protect himself, but also Anna. For what felt like an eternity, Clairé chewed out Jeff, whom stayed silent, in doing so Clairé had turned her attention to Anna now. Not this was going to get ugly, and Jeff knew it, oh he could already feel the amount of heavyweight shit, Clairé was about to drop onto her. It was without any warning Clairé's eyes pierced Anna's soul , and began to rip it to shred with the few words she spoke. However it wasn't soon after Clairé had finished tearing Anna a new one, Jeff heard another pair of softer footsteps quickly came running down the hall, Looking away from Clairé and Anna for a split second, his eyes spotted faith, with the look of what are you doing here?  Watching Faith take a step forward towards the two other females, Clairé stopped her, and opened her big mouth once again, this time with details that both Faith, and Jeff knew were not to be spoken by Clairé. It was with the cat being let out of the bag, Jeff's head sank as he felt Anna's eyes fall upon him, and Faith. Jeff knew he had to say something, and so the words softly came out of his mouth. " Aye, she's right Anna, Faith and I wanted to tell you eventually, but we wanted to wait till later. It was before Clairé and I ever started dating, back in Freshmen year, I'm sorry it had to come out like this." With his final words Jeff lifted his head and gazed at Clairé with a fire of hatred in his eyes.


     Once he was done speaking , Jeff clenched his hands into fists, and grabbed Clairé by her pants, and pulled her away from Anna, turning her so that she was forced to face him. Moving his right hand from Clairé back pant's loop, now to the grasp the upper portion of her shirt just above her left breast, with his left hand doing the same above her right breast. With his grip deathly tight on Clairé's upper clothing, Jeff pulled Clairé's face and body within centimeters of his, damn near picking her up off her feet. " Now Clairé It's my turn to speak, and knock you down a few pegs. You want to know EXACTLY what I was thinking, you Really want to know? Alright. Let me explain it to you in the simplest manner possible, so that it sinks into your head, and stays there you overprivileged, pampered I'm uncultured. Since you didn't want to be Civil about this, I think I'm inclined to forgo being Civil. Now What I was thinking WAS, you declined the offer I made to you Months ago, about going to this meeting because you're too stubborn to give change a chance. So I asked Anna,the day of if SHE wanted to go, she said yes. This getting through your thick skull? You want to know why I ask her, oh right of course you do because you want to micro-manage my life, so let me tell you. I did it because she deserved to do something special, she has the right to have memories which she can remember for the rest of life. Apparently this is something you like to take for granted. Now your next question, Anna as my girlfriend, right now i'm contemplating it, because you are too stupid, and headstrong to actually civilly talk to me about what happened. Now what happened was I was nodding to a question whether I would be thinking of speaking privately with Coach Saben, but you're too ignorant to simply ask me, you jump to conclusions. As for kissing Anna, oh yes I did kiss her, because it was a kiss Clairé, sometimes people do things for those who may never experience those things in their lives. Finally for how you and I look and whether I care or not? No, right now Clairé I could give a rats ass about how either of us look right now, and of course you want to know why. That is because you've already made a fool of yourself, look at yourself" Jeff angled Clairé so she could see both Anna in tears, with Faith next to her for a moment before roughly pulling her back to face him, this time pulling Clairé even closer to him  "You attacked a poor defenseless girl, who wanted nothing to do to you. Over what? Your image? Sorry Dear you just about fucked that, by attacking Anna, that's Low, even for you. So i'm going to put you down, and let you pick; You've got two options Clairé. You can walk your ass out of here civilly without saying a single word, still in a relationship with me, and we will work this out when you settle down. Or you get "Escorted" Out of my house, single, alone, and fuming, with no one but yourself to blame. It's my job to deal with you Clairé and take the brunt of your anger, i'm ok with that, I accept that within our relationship. But it's no reason for you to take your anger out on people who had nothing to do with this. So Clairé I leave this in your hands what is your decision?" Jeff's voice never rose past a whisper's level, and yet his voice stayed level and calm the entire time. Along with his voice never raising at any point, his eyes never left Clairé's, wanting her full and undivided attention. With his eyes still locked with Clairé's, his arms slowly placed Clairé back on her feet, and very slowly release his grip on her shirt. "So once again Clairé will you and I be walking out in a civil manner? Or do I need to use remove you forcibly?"
 
Claire bit her lip the entire time Jeff spoke to her. She was angry, her judgement was clouded and she couldn't believe Jeff was defending the bitch that was crying in his sister's room. It was all so sickening and when she was placed down to her feet, Claire crossed her arms. She didn't want to lose Jeff but this was not something she wanted to handle. She never wanted Anna anywhere near him again. She sighed as she looked at Jeff before shaking her head while laughing. "I don't need you. I don't need a man who defends a bitch like Anna. I can escort myself out, but I hope the crybaby realizes the kiss you shared was nothing more then just something she can remember. It meant absolutely nothing to you." She said loud enough for Anna to hear before she walked down the stairs and out to her car. Her and Jeff were threw, even though anyone knew Clair would go running back to him eventually. Claire couldn't survive without Jeff but with the pampered girl finally gone, Faith sat next to her best friend and rubbed her back. "Anna." She said softly but looked up at her best friend who now stood up. Anna felt too many emotions at once. She wasn't going to school tomorrow. She was going to stay home and mind her own. Anna was broken and she looked like it. She took a deep breath as she looked at Faith, her best friend. Anna let out a small smile before talking. "I'm okay." She said ever so softly before she sighed again and hugged Faith close before pulling away. "Anna, what're you thinking?" Faith asked worriedly as she saw the hurt in Anna's blue irises. "Me? Nothing at all. Absolutely nothing. I just think it's best I should leave." She said softly before she looked towards the door and her blue eyes locked on Jeff's eyes. It was like the entire surrounding turned black and it was just her and Jeff as they never looked away. Anna smiled a small smile before looking away while taking a deep breath once again. "Thank you for tonight, Jeffery." She said simply and laughed softly. "Still has a nice ring to it." She added before Faith offered to take her home and Anna shook her head. "No, best friend. It's alright. I think I just need to walk." She said and Faith shook her head. "You can't walk alone, Anna. It's late and you live a good distance away." Faith intervened and Anna smiled. "I know. I'll be alright. Take notes for me in class tomorrow?" She asked before turning away and walking towards the doorway to leave but bit her lip as Jeff stood before her. She looked up at him and sighed gently. "Excuse me, Jeff." She said softly.  
 
     For once in his life Jeff felt, emotionally exhausted, to the point where he just wanted to lie down, and just pass out in the oblivion of his mind. It felt somewhat of a relief however to see Clairé pick the smarter of the two routes and see herself out, under her own power. What did annoy Jeff was the fact that Clairé even after the scolding he gave her in return, felt she still even had the right to speak. He thought he made it very clear her terms and conditions, of her options, yet it seemed as always she had to have the last word. However when it fell down to actually reminding Clairé of their agreement, it was too late the final die were cast, and the words were spoken. Jeff's eyes narrowed at Clairé as she spoke, and the urge to cover her mouth... no break her perfect teeth with his fist grew ever larger in his mind even more, once again it was not smart for anyone in this room for that to occur. " You need me more than you think Clairé, you're weak minded, and hearted. You wouldn't know kindness if it ripped your own heart out in front of ya!" It wasn't very long after that Clairé made her exit out of his home, and towards god knew what. Shaking his head Jeff looked over at both Anna and Faith, and slowly shook his head exhaling a deep breath which he had taken in. " Well... That went mildly better than what I could have expected, at least it is over now,  it's all over." His voice carried the tones of exhaustion, and mental fatigue as he watched Faith comfort Anna. Part of him wanted to help Faith and Anna, while the other portion which he knew was the correct answer was that he had meddled enough in Anna's life tonight. It was best to let faith do what she does best, soothe the wounds of those around her. That ability which Faith had was one which Jeff couldn't help but be jealous over, that Faith seemed to have the power to simply mend all problems, physical or emotional. Watching Anna sit there, hurt Jeff deeply, as he knew the reason she even felt this way was because of him. He simply thought he was doing the right thing by helping her and showing her a good time, which back fired in the end it seemed. Following the continued conversation between Anna and Faith, Jeff felt a pair of eyes gaze upon him, which he slowly met were the blue eyes of Anna. She thanked him, him of all people for the night. Jeff gave her a look of confusion with his brow raised, as she could be thanking for what had occurred tonight. Everything had gone wrong, honestly nothing had ever gone right.  What caught him off guard the most was the Anna called him Jeffery, instead of Jeff, and commented the ring to it. Of all the things which occurred tonight, that was what Anna commented on. It then came to a delegation that it was time for Anna to leave, not with Faith however, but by foot. Jeff knew it wasn't a good idea, but it wasn't his place to stop Anna, he knew that was what she needed, to clear her mind, to be alone. Jeff's eyes drifted over to Faith's and nodded to her, to simply allow Anna to do this. It was neither his place nor Faith's place to stop Anna. For Jeff time seemed to fly by, as with the blink of an eye Anna had moved from the tile floor to being in front of him. Speaking the phrase "Excuse me", with a nod Jeff moved out of the doorway for Anna to pass by him. 


     Once Anna had moved past him, He moved back in front of the door way, in order to block Faith from running after Anna. " We need to let her go right now Faith. This is her time to think, you did your best"
 
Faith groaned as she looked at Jeff and took a deep breath before she began to shake her head and pace the room. "See, that's the thing though. Anna makes rash decisions when she needs to think." Faith began as she sighed and sat down on Autumn's bed, looking at Jeff as she shook her head. "I should've told her about us. I should've told her you were my ex but I just didn't think she needed to know right at this moment. She really really likes you, Jeff. She has ever since she and I became best friends. If she never got cancer she would never have ended up like this. Weak and frail. She was such a strong girl before. Athletic and sociable. That's the Anna I wish you could've seen. That's the Anna I want back and I though that pushing her to talk to you would bring her sociable side back but I was wrong." Faith said simply with a bite of her lip before she sighed softly. She was scared for what Anna was going to do and with that thought, Faith left the house but before she did she looked at Jeff once more. "I know what crushed her the most. Claire saying your kiss meant nothing is what crushed her. I could see it because not even the look she gave us when she found out about us was up to par with the look she gave me about the kiss. You know for a girl a kiss isn't just a kiss. I'll se you tomorrow." She said simply and with that, all the chaos within Jeff's house stopped. It all fell to silence and it wasn't the good kind. Anna stayed out all night, walking home to just get away. When she got home she showered and embraced the day. She was going to school and she was going to face everything thrown at her. She wasn't weak. 


When morning came, Anna walked through those doors feeling like a different person. She knew what the day would hold but she was going to take it minute by minute. She went straight to her locker and sighed as she noticed the football group beside her. The usual ones of course but Claire just so happened to be with them. It was irritating for Anna but she let it go and when she shut her locker, she smiled at the sight of Jeff and took a deep breath before walking over to him. At this everyone gasped but Anna didn't care. She was so broken inside nothing else could possibly phase her. "Thank you again for last night, even if the end of it wasn't as pleasant as we hoped. The good memories will always last. Thank you for a good time, Jeffery." She said softly before she smiled that genuine smile she gave him at the event. With that, she turned to walk away but stopped when Claire stood in front of her. Anna gripped her textbooks on either side as she embraced herself for what was going to happen. 
 
     Jeff knew now that Anna had left the house,leaving just him and Faith, he held his head in his right hand and gently shook his back and forth while Faith spoke. "So you think babying her, and trying to micro-manage her life right now is gonna help her that much more? Come on Faith ya aint stupid, she's gotta learn some how, and hovering over her like a helicopter does her no good. Leaving her be right now will." His voice trailed off as he looked to his right to a picture of his sister, and very closely could see Faith in the shot, carrying some girl on her back. It was during this time Faith had spoken out once again from his sister's bed, however it was their relationship, then about Anna's past. This was honestly the last thing he wanted to hear from Faith at the current moment. There was no way they could change Anna back to her old self, they had to accept her for who she was now. At this point in her life it was quite possible that the old Anna had died, not only tonight, but the night when she found out she had cancer. " Yea think, you know it's kinda frowned upon if you go after ya best friends ex, especially the one ya had your first time with ya know. she only knows about you and I dating, not the nitty gritty, just wait till she hears bout that. As for her liking me, you don't think I did notice ya twit. As for her old self Faith, it's gone, it's dead ya need to stop holding her to those standards, move the fuck on accept her for who she is now." After finishing his response, he let out a soft groan,as he walked over and laid on the bed next to Faith, realizing that in reality this never would have happened if Faith hadn't hoped for the old Anna back, by pushing her to be something she couldn't be anymore. " Fucking Faith, ya Fucking Moron ya know that Faith?" Giving a soft chuckle, as he sat up and noticed Faith the moved from his sister's bed to the doorway, meant she was leaving, however their eyes met as she gave her closing statement to him. This time It was about what actually was the nail that sealed the coffin, the final comment Clairé made about the kiss." Hey wait!, you can't just say that and fucking leave! What the Fuck Faith! Ya could at least tell me whether or not Nick is gonna show up here and attempt to kick my ass, since you probably didn't tell him ya with your ex!" At first Jeff's voice was serious, yet his final statement, he couldn't help but chuckle at as he said, trying to get a raise out of Faith, and to try and make at least some light and life out of the previous situation. " Oh come on Faith that was funny, even you know it!" He shouted down the hall, as he heard the front door slam soon after. Once all was quiet, through out the Fonténot mansion, Jeff let out a sigh, and made his way down the stairs, in order to lock the door like he should have previous to him, and Anna coming in, maybe then the whole situation could have been avoided, or been worse. Everything at this point was just pointless what if's, as there was no going back, only to look forward. With the twist of a deadbolt lock, Jeff locked the front door, and began to undress from his tux, and into more comfortable clothing. Removing his phone and wallet from his pants pocket, and looked down at his phone, while walking up the stairs to the third floor where his room resided. First order of business was to text, Clairé as it was possible that she had cooled off by then. The message which was quite long, was one more of consolation, in order to try explain his reasoning for his actions. It was not his goal, by any means to gravel to Clairé to take him back, but leaving things where they were at, left a horrible taste in his mouth. Jeff never liked leaving things to chance to be figured out, he wanted to have control of the situation. It was also not smart to leave Clairé in control of their situation, as she would only implode things even further into oblivion. Once he finish typing his novella of a message to Clairé, and hit the send button, Jeff found himself in his white undershirt, and a pair of blue and green plaid boxers. Next Jeff sent a message to Faith, a short one at that " By the way, I'd like to not have a confrontation from Nick, because he gets the idea you're cheating on him with me, so if you could tell him you weren't at your ex's house that would be awesome." This message left him with a smirk on his face, as he hit send and fell back into the cold embrace of his bed. Knowing that no one would indeed text him back that night, he simply laid there staring up at his ceiling and shook his head, as he released a sigh. It was this sigh, which caused his eyelids to slowly close on him, allowing the grip of sleep to tighten around him, and pull him to it's depths.


    Jeff's eyes slowly fluttered open, as the sound of an glaringly loud pop song was going off near his ear, what also felt weird was the feeling of what felt to be a hand on his chest, then there was hair, not his hair on his face and nose, a dark blonde's hair in his face. It took him a moment to finally piece everything together , as he rolled over and found himself looking into Clairé's still sleeping face, which was pressed near his shoulder. Using his right arm to silence the alarm on the other side of Clairé, Jeff looked over at the clock which read 5:45 am, he looked up at the ceiling, and shook his head. If what had happened last night was so vividly engrained into his memory, he could have believe that yesterday was once again a normal day, that nothing had happened. No Night out, No fight, nothing, just another day. With his left hand, Jeff gently removed Clairé's hand from his face, along with gently removing her hand from his chest, as he sat up, and got out of bed. Looking back at Clairé over his left shoulder, he turned back towards the bed, and pulled a blanket over her, and leaned in to kiss her forehead. Jeff knew what he did last night was wrong to Clairé and was true to be unfair to her, but it was something he needed to do for Anna, and he knew that. "Sometimes you gotta make sacrifices for the ones you care for." He whispered to himself, and gently smiled, as he made his way into his bathroom which was to the left of his bed, closing the door behind him. Jeff turned on the lights illuminating the white marble bathroom, and looked himself in the mirror, as he pulled off his white undershirt she slept in, and prepped himself for a shower. Feeling the hot shower water hit his skin, it was soothing, and relaxing, it was as if the problems of last night washed directly off his body, and left him feeling calm and refreshed.  After spending ten minutes showering, Jeff turned off the water, and covered himself in a towel, before taking the time to deal with various portions of his personal Hygiene, including brushing his teeth,flossing, shaving, etc. Once he was dry, and now wear a fresh pair of boxers, Jeff, turned off the lights in his bathroom, and began to get dressed in a pair of his workout clothing. which included a bright blue nike tank top with the sides removed, and a pair of black nike athletic shorts, a pair of blue Saucony training shoes, and socks. It after this he packed his duffle bag with another fresh pair of school clothes before grabbing his backpack, and duffle bag and slinging them over his shoulder, and made his way over to the right side of the bed and gently sat on it, as he gave Clairé a gentle shake. " Hey... sleepy head, I'm heading to the gym, I'll see you in class. I love you." His voice was quiet, and caring as he smiled down at her and leaned in to kiss her cheek then her lips, as he stood up from the bed, and grabbed his phone, wallet and keys to his car from the night stand next to the bed. He heard Clairé mutter an "I love you" in return, as she fell back asleep. Jeff made his way down the stairs, and out the front door, which was still locked, towards his Rx-7, unlocking the doors with his key ring. After opening the passenger side door, and loading his work out duffle bag, and backpack into the car, he gently closed the door, and walked around to the driver side door in the dark of night, in which he opened the door, and got in. Pushing his key into the ignition, and turning the key as forward as it would go, to get the engine to turn over. After hearing the engine start and begin to heat up, Jeff turned the heater on, and pulled of his phone from his right pocket, and began texting Faith a message. " So guess who I just woke up to in my bed this morning?", he slowly rolled his eyes, and tapped the send button, before awaiting not only for his car to warm up, but for Faith to scold him for allowing such a thing to happen. After waiting five minutes for the car to finally be warmed up, Jeff placed his car in reverse, pulling out of the driveway, into the street, where he shifted the car into first gear, and with that off to school. 


     Once he arrived at the  school's parking lot Jeff, looked at his stereo's clock 6:36 am, and smiled roughly two-and-a-half hours to workout, and get back into his "Qua". While Jeff did love his house, it was nothing compared to the gym, that was for sure, he loved it so much his coach and trainers even had a key made for him to get into the school's gym even before the janitors got there. Jeff spent the next two hours, working his chest, arms, and core, along with an hour of pure cardio, leaving his upper body, sore but enjoyably so, the feeling that he had actually done something right for once, that he was coming one step closer to achieving his dreams. Once he finished the two hour work out, he made his way to the locker room, in order to grab a quick cold shower to wash the sweat off his body, along with freshening up. Once he was finished showering, and dry he slipped into a University of Alabama Crimson Tide, Muscle T shirt, along with a fresh pair of black athletic shorts, these pair with University of Alabama embroidered into the seam. Tossing his duffle bag into his football locker, Jeff grabbed his backpack, and made his way towards his school locker, where his football friends were normally congregated to wait for him. "What's up guys." He said as they turned and smiled at him, along with a variety hand shakes, and comments on his outfit. " Nah man, I didn't commit, but they did give me these Fresh clothes though, pretty nice right?"  It wasn't too long after the Clairé showed up, and smiled as she came and stood by Jeff, holding his hand. Things seemed as they normally would be, until Anna showed up. That was where shit hit the fan, at least Jeff hoped it wouldn't, as every looked over at Anna as she came up and thanked Jeff for the previous night. "You're Uh.. Welcome Anna, it was a pleasure, I'm glad it was a pleasure for you to go, and you don't need to call me Jeffer..." It was before he could finish which he felt Clairé's hand leave his, and she was now in front of Anna. "Uh Oh... Claire..." Jeff sighed, as he began to reach out and attempt to grab Clairé by her back bra strap, and and shirt before something bad were to occur. 
 
Faith was so tired from all the events of last night. She knew Anna wasn't going to be okay and she needed to be there for her. She just hoped Anna didn't push her away because of hers and Jeff's past. Faith wanted to know what happened between Anna and Jeff, however. She had to know. Anna as taking all of this way to hard to be all over a stupid kiss with a stupid boy. At that Faith sighed and got dressed for school. While doing so, she heard her phone ring and grabbed it, frowing at what she read by Jeff. She quickly responded as she rfingers hit rapidly against her screen. "That's gross but good for you I guess. I knew you all weren't over. There's no way in hell Claire's would have let that happen but you know what I think. Jeff, what exactly did you and Anna talk about last night? I'm starting to think something other than he kiss happened." Was all she said before she began to head to school. He had athletics first period so she didn't even go inside the main building. She went straight to the softball fields to get the girls ready and in shape.


Jeff was with Claire. He was with Claire. They made up. They were fine. Anna was just nothing but a random girl and last night, the words he spoke, him telling her he was paying her medical bills all meant nothing. She was nothing and she failed to realize that. She needed an outlet by drawing in her sketchbook, but she never did get that back either. This was all a prank. It had to be. Just something to really dig into Anna's skin. That's all it was. One huge prank that Anna fell for. She didn't even look at Jeff anymore. He played with her emotions and in the end killed her inside. Everything wasn't real. What she saw right now, was real. Soon the silence was broken by Claire who laughed which cause Anna to look at her a bit worried with what she said. "Awe hun, does it hurt knowing what happened last night meant nothing? Why would Jeff ever hold feelings for you? You're an outsider. You can't support him for who he is. You also are sick with cancer. Very sick with cancer." At this, everyone looked completely shocked and Anna gripped her textbooks tighter as she fought back tears. She had cancer, yes. She had it but it didn't make her so different from anyone else. The infamous cheerleader continued her spill as every word seeped into Anna's flesh and bones, attacking her like a parasite with a host. "You could die tomorrow for all we know and Jeff doesn't need that. You were just his one night fling. You were like all the girls who wait at those events for a date, except he just took you rather then you waiting. Let's also not forget he only took you because I didn't go. You just filled in and nothing more." Claire added and right when she was about to continue, she felt Jeff try to grab her and she shrugged him off. "No Jeff, she needs to hear this." She said before looking at the already broken Anna. "You are nothing, Anastasia. Jeff, nor any other guy in this school wouldnt date you. You're better off giving up and just going back to who you were and being the shy girl in the corner. And drop the obsession with my boyfriend. I've seen your sketchbook, in fact everyone has. It's pathetic really. Get a life and get out of mine." Claire finally finished her rant and by this time, a bigger crowd had formed and Anna felt her heart beating hard against her chest as she felt her eyes water up. She needed that. She needed to be broken one last time and with that, she chuckled and took a deep breath before looking at Claire then at Jeff. Everything he told her at the event was genuine, Anna knew that. She wasn't one, like Claire, to say it out loud and ruin things. She just kept the memories, well memories and nodded at Claire in acceptance. "You're right, Claire." Anna began as everyone fell silent to listen to her. "I am one stupid girl for thinking Jeff would actually give me the time of day. I was just the rebound girl and I see that now. I was just a charity project he wanted to make feel better. I was nothing. I am nothing. You're right." Anna said simply as the tears began to stain her cheeks. This was nobody's fault but Anna's. She let herself get too deep in and it was all biting her in the ass now. Anna didn't need anymore embarrassment so she turned around and walked away, out to her truck where she slammed the door and took a deep breath in to try and control her breathing. She was so broken everything hurt and with that she texted Faith she needed her. She needed someone and before Faith could come anywhere near her, she texted Jeff. A short one. One she needed to send for herself. 


"You can stop paying my medical bills. Thank you for a wonderful night. Wish the good in it could have lasted a little longer." 


With that, Anna heard a knock on her window and unlocked the doors, falling into her best friends hug as she cried and cried. Her crying was so bad that Anna started to get sick and Faith knew this wasn't good. To think, this all started because of Faith. It sucked knowing that but Faith wanted to know what it was that hurt Anna so bad. It wasn't the kiss. "Anna, what did you and Jeff talk about last night? What happened?" Faith asked softly and Anna bit her lip as she looked at her lap and smiled before shaking her head. "I'm not a person to tell others. Just know they're good memories." She said simply and after an hour long crying sesh, Anna found the courage to go to class which just so happened to be gym. Anna didn't dress out like usual and just sat in the bleachers. She was facing reality but when she heard girls whispering she looked up to see Zach. She didn't know what he was doing here, considering he had school himself but when he sat infringed of her, Anna smiled. "Hey." She said simply and Zach smiled before looking out to the boys and locked gazes with Jeff. He knew what happened and Zach knew how Jeff treated the entire situation as though it was all a charity case for Anna, but Jeff knew their feelings from the event were real. Zach smirked at the thought and turned back around to look at Anna as he tried to make small talk. Anna wasn't into it, though. She was so focused on Jeff and who he was now compared to the Jeff she saw at the event. It was too much to handle but when Anna locked gazes rather quickly with Jeff, she knew he got her text and she bit her lip before shrugging and looking away. "I'm sorry, Zach. I can't do this." She said softly and walked away quickly. Nothing was going right so Anna skipped class the rest of the day and hung out at the practice fields for the soccer girls. Coach Red always let her in when she wanted to kick so goals or do footwork. Mess around a bit. This was another outlet for Anna when she didn't have her sketchbook. The only bad thing was football boys were out at the field right next to her but she had earphones in and ignored them. She was alone and every kick, all her footwork was done so gracefully. The kicks became more intense with every single one. She was thinking of Jeff, Claire, Faith, Zach. Everyone really. She was letting her built up emotions out but when she kicked one, she wasn't all that focused and when she heard a grunt, she looked over in shock to see who she hit. It was Jeff. What was this giant doing here at the practice fields. He should have been with the football team but noticed no one was at the field. She didn't want to know why he was here but she took a deep breath and took out her headphones. "Sorry. I didn't see you there." She said simply, keeping a distance. 
 
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     To Jeff, what he was about to hear, and watching hurt him so deeply that, it left him oddly silenced and unable to move. For a split second he felt that Clairé's words were right in that Anna did near to hear this, but for all the wrong reasons which Clairé was spouting. What Jeff wanted to tell Anna was something of a completely different matter, yet he figured Clairé had to have known this as this was why she was making such a huge scene. Looking back at it now Jeff could remember that scene extremely vividly, as they were now forever engrained into his memory. That feeling of helplessness, and urge to stop Clairé from her verbal onslaught of Anna, but his own fear paralyzed from intervening. It all started with that laugh, it wasn't quite nasally, nor was it a throaty laugh it was just... a mix between a hyena's, and a women you'd see in hollywood laughing obnoxiously at a really petty joke. However Jeff now knew it could silence an entire High school hallway and draw the attention of everyone within a forty yard vicinity, that and Clairé's pissed off, "I'm going to rip ever ounce of flesh and muscle from your body, and then douce you in high molar acid to let you suffer while I watch." voice. It was from here where shit just hit the fan over, and over again for Anna, and Jeff knew it. Clairé had begun another rant, and this one was for the kill, no holds barred, just a straight up verbal street fight between a grown adult, and.... a five year old girl, I'm sure you could see how this would end. With his eyes set soundly on Anna's position all Jeff could do was just shake his head, sit back and watch while listening. It was obvious to him that Anna wanted to run, but she was in even more fear than he was. If Jeff didn't know Anna better, he'd almost be afraid she'd make an even greater fool of herself by doing another tactic people do when they're scared, "Wet themselves". With every word which spilled so toxically from Clairé's lips, Jeff couldn't believe he actually kissed those lips, and didn't have chemical burns all throughout his face, or body for that matter. The thought of something so toxic could be wrapped in something so... beautiful baffled him for a moment, before something snapped his paralysis, it was a vibration. Multiple vibrations which stemmed from his back left pocket, his phone. Once he came to Jeff quickly jumped into action and grabbed a fist full of Clairé's shirt from the middle of her back with his left hand, and placed his right hand over her mouth, before speaking. "That's enough Clairé, You've said what you needed to say." His voice was quick, and hasted as he wanted to squash the scene before it could implode any further, however his actions were too late. Clairé had spilled everything, the cancer diagnosis, the sketchbook, everything. No stone was left untouched by Clairé's venom. Something was eerie about the momentary silence within WestLake High's halls, it was as if something or rather someone died, and it's presence began to fume through out those halls. The silence was however broken, by a voice a quiet one which came from in front of both Jeff and Clairé it was Anna. Looking down at her Jeff's face told Anna to stay quiet, but apparently she didn't want to take his advice, and she spoke with streams beginning to fill the corners of her eyes. It was there words which hurt Jeff the most however in that these words while genuine, held no malice or spite, that he could tell of, these were real words filled with a cringe worthy amount of pain. It was the type of pain which people wanted to come to you and comfort you, as you went through this tragic moment, like a car crash. That was the type of pain which Jeff heard from those words, and he had to watch as Anna looked like a puppy which had been kicked and abused over and over, and yet still wanted to be loved, however this time it seemed like she had no more will to live. It was then when Jeff had to watch Anna, who was finished speaking turn around and begin walking away, not towards class, but out of the school as a whole. Yet what hurt the most was not being able to go after her and comfort her, nor anybody else doing that in general. Everyone just watched as the eerie silence feel back over Halls. It wasn't until the loud "CLANK" of the door slamming closed did life within WestLake High's halls begin to revitalize and things continued as normal, as if nothing happened. 


     Once Anna had left Jeff, removed his hand from over Clairé's mouth, and released his grip on her shirt and bra strap he had taken a hold of. However unlike before where he'd normally just let her walk, Jeff gave Clairé a shove away from him, and a glare of anger, yet word anger couldn't even begin to describe fully the emotions of loathing he felt currently. " You had one job Clairé, One fucking Job keep you mouth shut, One Job and you fucking blew that. Now look what you did, you just ruined a poor girl's existence. And yet you find that okay, as if it was called for? What is wrong with you?" Jeff never did once raise his voice, nor did he wish to make a scene, but he needed to make it clear his emotions currently especially to Clairé. Shaking his head at her, Jeff during and began to make his way to his first block class, which is football posse followed suit. Taking out his phone, from his back left pocket Jeff looked at the message from Faith, which must have been a from earlier this morning, which he was just now receiving. Unlocking his phone, he began to quickly text back a message. " You think I told her to come back, after what happened? I went to bed alone, and woke up with her all cuddled up to me like nothing had happened. As for what you think Faith, if I could have figured that out a long time ago, I wouldn't be dating Clairé now would I? As for what Anna and I spoke about that night, plenty of things were said, are for what mattered and what didn't, would be a loaded question in the eyes of a girl don't ya think? Oh and by the was Hurricane Shitstorm Clairé just made land fall on the State of Anna, ya might wanna go sort that out." With that Jeff hit send, and looked up to see his first block class in view to the right of his current position, it was with this sight that the bell rang all throughout the halls. Jeff than began to say goodbye to some of his closest friends, with his group and told them he'd see them in gym or in the field later that day for practice. During so he kept his cool about him, and made it seem to his football brothers that everything was alright. Walking into the classroom Jeff sat in his usual seat, in the back left corner of the room, where he set his black, and red backpack next to his desk, and proceeded to prop his feet up on the desk, and pulled out his phone. He wanted to make it very clear to his professor of Senior English and Literature that he was not planning on participating today in any manner. Around him sat some of his football friends, and they began talking within themselves about what was going to happen this friday for the game. Some of the issues had to do with Jeff, which he answered quickly with answers like " Dont sweat it guys, we're gonna be just fine." Or " It's not like they are any good of a team." and finally responses which followed the lines of " Yes, even all this shit I can focus on the game.". One response however which made everyone in his group laugh, especially due to his accent was " Women, don't ever mess with them, you slip up once, and BAM they will run your guts through the meat grinder. No man can control a bloody woman especially a crazy one, them bitches have no leashes." It was to the point where the teacher had to stop class, and let everything settle down before they could continue. Jeff was hit with the hackneyed comment from the teacher of " You want to tell the rest of us Mr. Fonténot what exactly is so funny?" To which said in return " No Sir, just some stupid shit, ya know women." With this the class returned back to normal, however Jeff's phone now vibrated once again, to which he lazily gazed down at the message. It was from Anna, and his head leaned back and he wanted to yell out the word "Fuck" however stopped himself,and slowly shook his head. It was for the best that he looked at the message, before even more shit hit the fan, which inevitably it would, rather Jeff wanted it to or not. Unlocking his phone, his eyes read over the message which was uncharacteristically short for something Anna would text him. It was short and to the point. To which Jeff answered in an even more brief response of "No.You're not in your right mind to start, and whoever said they ended? Step up, and defend yourself neither myself nor Faith can forever."  To this he hit the send button and placed his phone back in his back left pocket, before moving his attention back forward towards the teacher, and the Football talk around him. This was where Jeff belonged, living a drama free life, with nothing but football chatter surrounding him. This right here was what he missed, and oh did he savor every last minute of it while it lasted his first block class. 


     It was here when the second bell of the day rang, signaling the end of first block and that students needed to make their way to their second block, which for Jeff and many others of the athletes in his first block was Gym. Standing up, and giving his back and legs a good stretching before leaning down to grab his backpack, along with departing the drab english class, Jeff's eyes looked around at all of his friends around him and nodded, as they made their way out of class towards the guy's locker room, on the other side of the school. On the way to class Jeff, passed one particular kid, Zach, who always seemed to want to pick a fight with him. The kid just always seemed to talk shit, which poked and prodded at Jeff's last nerves. To Jeff the kid was pretentious, a prick, and most of all was about a touch away from having his ass jumped and beat faster than the blink of an eye. Zach was one of those kids who talked a bunch of shit, about how he could do something so much better and spectacular than another person, yet when it was time to nut up or shut up. He'd always find a way to weasel out of it every single time. That was a characteristic Jeff loathed most about Zach was that he was by means a man of his word, matter of fact he'd most likely go more out of his way to go back on his word than he would actually protecting his word. It was back in sophomore year, Zach had tried out for the varsity football team, as it's Starting Quarterback, making such a big deal about how he was so much better than Jeff in every manner imaginable. That was until the second day of practice when Jeff watched at that time the Defensive line Leader, Senior Deforest Buckner give Zach the hit that everyone on the whole team wanted to see. It was a full tackle scrimmage, Red Team vs. Black team. Jeff was the Quarterback for the Black team, while the Red Team was lead by Zach. The Red team had the ball on their 32 yard line, with it being 3rd and 15. The play called was a bubble screen to the Slot receiver on Zach's left, his weak side. The defense was playing a 3-4 Cover 4 zone read, dropping two safeties, and three corners deep, and having one corner and two linebackers covering the middle and right side of the field. Jeff knew Zach couldn't have asked for a better play to the defensive read, yet the idiot called an audible for a played called Four Verticals, which had the two outside wide outs run a go route, while the tight end played on the offensive line, and then ran a stutter step 10 step hitch route, and the slot receiver running a drop off hook route. Zach wanted to go for the flashy play, to show everyone on the team he had the balls to defy not only the coaching staff, but that he could lead their team to another championship. That however didn't last long past the initial thought of the play. Once the ball was snapped , It was obvious the play called was a bust, as Jeff watched DeForest Buckner run through the right side of the  offensive line forcing Zach to throw the ball up in the air towards the receiver running the go route on the right side of the field. It was then when Zach felt the wrath of a 315 pound defensive tackle, running at full speed hit him, who hit him without any remorse. Part of Jeff cringed when he saw the hit, which sent Zach's helmet flying, and leaving him laying on the ground gasping for breath, and with a bleeding nose. It was known all throughout the school that year, that Deforest had made Zach his bitch, as the words whispered to Zach while Deforest was still ontop of him were the reason why Zach quit the team. " Stay down and quit, or get up and the next one won't be the last, Bitch." It was this memory which Jeff had most fondly enjoyed about Zach, however he knew that one day, another memory could be made one where it wasn't Deforest beating down Zach, that it was Jeff, releasing all of his pent up anger towards the school's fool. Once in the locker room Jeff began to listen to all the talk around him, and the plans for today were, all while he changed out of his "street" clothes into something more comfy, which included a University of Alabama cropped top tank top, and pair of black adidas athletic shorts, along with his pair of saucony work out shoes. The plans for today did however include, what plays they should go over, defensive scheme's,etc. Once he was done changing Jeff along with the other guys in the locker room made their way out of the school towards the football stadium where gym class was to be held, at least for his group of friends. When the double doors opened, and the heat of the day, hit his face Jeff let out a happy sigh, as the scent of fresh air filled his nostrils. "Today was turning out to be a decent after all" he thought to himself, as he began to have some chatter with those around him, about his new clothes, and plans for after High School. " I know man, this clothes are super fresh, and clean! It's super crazy how far Universities would go to get people!" Excitement filled his voice as he felt a toothy grin come across his face, Jeff was finally enjoying himself fully today, he couldn't wait to play. For WestLake High, they were known for being a sports prodigy school, however this year was a big one for WestLake as it was it's largest graduating senior class, and for the football team carried an unheard of four five star recruits, with Jeff being the top dog. As for the remaining senior football players, the lowest star ranking was a 3-star punter, who arguably is the best punter in this year's class. For Jeff he was proud to be apart of this class of amazing athletes, many of which looked to him for his decision so they could possibly be apart of the same team he was. The Mystery of where Jeff Fonténot was to land for University ball was that swirled all throughout the entire nation, as so many schools had made a go at trying to get his attention, some even doing some not so legal things in the eyes of the NCAA in order to get his attention. It was after a five minute walk from the school to the stadium, where the girls had been waiting where things for Jeff got even more fun, as things went as normal. Captains picking their teams for today's game. Nothing had changed in this sense as Clairé was Jeff's first pick, as even though he was upset with her, she was his best receiver, knew how to get past any defender better than any Wide out he had ever played with. It was just too bad she was a girl. The game started after roughly 3-5 minutes of picking and decided who would be with who, with Jeff's team getting to defense first. Following about 30-35 minutes of full contact play, Jeff had his hands on his bare hips, and looked up into the bleachers where he Saw, and locked stares with Anna who was with Zach. Jeff had felt someone else's eyes gaze down upon him during the game, but took no meaning behind it, until now when he realized whose eyes they were. His eyes broke it's gaze at Anna at looked at Zach as he gave him a pair of Middle fingers, and looked back towards the game he was playing, he wasn't gonna let Zach ruin his day for him. It was within the next twenty minutes, when the bell rang again to single the end of second period, that the game was finished, the score 35 to 14, a rather handy shut down by Jeff's team, and a rather fun game. After having a quick meet, and good game hand shakes between the teams Jeff Looked back to the Bleachers to find Anna, who was again gone. It seemed she had snuck out sometime within the last twenty minutes of class, but this was to be expected when you sat next to Zach for thirty minutes. 


     Jeff knew just the place to look for Anna in a time when she had no sketchbook, which laid harmlessly in his backpack. However with this morning's interesting beginning made it impossible for Jeff to confront Anna until hopefully now, as he made his way to the soccer fields another 10-15 minute walk west of the stadium. And lord and behold, Jeff had found Anna,oblivious to the world around her kicking around a soccer ball, with actually a fair amount of skill. However it was a fair gander to say that Anna's emotions were raising as he made his way closer, with her kicks and dribbles becoming more and more aggressive in nature. It was the final kick however which held the absolute most amount of emotion Jeff had ever seen from the girl, especially since it was all concentrated into one ball. That was now flying directly at him, at chest level. He blinked for a moment, before feeling the ball hit square in between his chest, in which he let out a loud grunt before taking a single step back, and wrapping his hands around the ball. He then heard Anna talk, and speak a statement which he found to be bullshit. She knew he was there and was firing to get her anger out on him and try to hurt him. Jeff was quick with his retorsion, to her statement after taking a minute to regain his breath. " Yea okay, Ya knew I was there the whole time, but I wouldn't disagree if you told me that it was for this morning, or well everything the past two days or so. Look I didn't for see what happened this morning actually happening. But ya can't put all of what happened on me, nor Faith. You need to step up Anna, actually defend yourself even against Clairé, you literally fall over and die at the even smallest problem not going your way. Yea you have cancer, so fucking what? You're literally going to let that make you who you are now? Ya know Faith keep talking about this "Old Anna" this Anna who I never met, and would actually defend herself and have a backbone. Ya know where the fuck is she?! Because I'm pretty sure she'd step up to the fucking plate, and man up."  Jeff had let his temper flare out there, something he rarely did with someone like Anna, but this time it felt needed, called for. The thing which Anna needed to hear. "Was this how Clairé felt? No... Her reason was different mine is pure, mine is to spark a flame in Anna, not beat her down." He thought to himself as his eyes looked down at Anna, and shook his head before releasing a sigh from the deepest parts of his chest. " I'm sorry Anna, but I know can't do this anymore, and neither can Faith i'm sure. We can't keep defending you from yourself, and the world around you. Ya know it's killing Faith right? For her having to watch her be like this, she misses the old you. The one who would fight for herself.... Look ya probably think i'm a mad man for coming out here and confronting you after this morning, but ya know what? I think you're the mad man, for being out here thirty minutes before Clairé and the varsity soccer team show up. And Anna next time Clairé chews you out, try to not have the look of you're being chewed out by a cheerleader, she's a soccer player ya know hah. " Jeff's voice was now calmer, and more control, however the more he spoke especially the end made him laugh slightly. He had to add some humor to the situation, to make it at least some what bearable. " Oh and when did you and Zach hook up? I didn't know you were into pretentious, asshole,lying, pricks now." 
 
Anna was at a complete lose on what to say or do because she knew everything Jeff was telling her was true. She did need to stop taking everything out on him and Faith. She knew very well how much it affected Faith and Anna sighed as she continued to listen to the football hot shot before she bit her lip and looked at him. She let him speak, not saying a word so she didn't interrupt him. "The old me huh? I miss my old self too ya know. It's not just Faith. Leave it to Faith to tell Jeff about this side of me though. She always has the best interest at heart, right?" With that thought, Anna came to and was about to reply to what exactly Jeff was telling her, up until he mentioned a name she really was starting to get tired of hearing: Zach. Zach was one of Anna's best friends during middle school. He was a sweet boy, one Anna truly did hold feelings for, but then again, they were both just in middle school. Zach was pretentious, and an asshole, and a prick. Anna knew that, it just never bothered her much until high school. Her and Zach still talked here and there but Faith informed Anna Zach had feelings once again. Feelings Anna didn't have in return because right now, the only one she truly liked was Jeff. When they kissed last night at the event, she felt that spark. She felt butterflies fill her stomach and her mind get fuzzy. No guy has ever been able to do that to her before. Only Jeff but he was happy with Claire. Anna had to respect that. Anna laughed softly though before sighing while shaking her head. "Zach and I aren't hooking up. He's not my type." She said simply before sighing softly and biting her lip, looking at Jeff. "I like you, Jeff. I'm positive you already knew that but I needed to say it out loud." She admitted. Admitting to Jeff she liked him was a huge step for her. Anna never once wanted to admit to Jeff she liked him. She always feared rejection but at this point, nothing else anyone could say would ruin her. She was tired of being weak and whether Jeff knew it or not, he helped push her in the direction she needed to be heading with his very blunt talk.


     "I miss my old self too, you know." She began cautiously before holding her hands out and motioning for Jeff to toss her the ball before she began to bounce it on her knee, kicking it up once it rolled to the top of her foot then kicking it into the net. A perfect shot at a goal and she smiled in satisfaction as she watched the net catch the ball gently. The swoosh sound from the ball meeting the air still sounding in Anna's head before she took a deep breath. "You don't know much about me, do you Jeff?" She asked softly. "We'll start with you saying I'm crazy for being out here 30 minutes before Claire shows up. When it comes to soccer, I don't care if Claire comes. Want to know why? She won't come anywhere near me on the soccer field. Do you know why I let my cancer define who I am? Because my doctor, my specialists, told me the beginning of my Sophomore year I couldn't play any sports. I had to give up soccer. Cancer took the most important thing away from me, Jeff." She began simply, biting her lip before looking away and looking out at the field, smiling as a memory came to mind. There was a reason why Claire and Anna didn't like each other, though many didn't really know about it. Anna was just like everybody else at this prestigious school. She came to play soccer, play hard and get a full ride to her dream University. Everything was planned out. Her eighth grade year she was asked to try out at the most beautiful high school in town. She accepted of course, but knew what it was going to do to her and Claire. Claire and Anna were really good friends. They hung with Zach mostly throughout middle school but that summer before Freshman year was different. They both played for the same select team, both got asked to try out at their dream high school and both made the team. What ruined such a good relationship, however, was the fact that Anna made the Varsity team her freshman year, and was captain. What happened after that was pretty self explanatory.


     "Claire and I both played together throughout middle school for a select soccer team. We were really good friends, Jeff. Great friends, actually. When we got asked to try out for the team here, we both made varsity. Of course we were both so happy for each other, and happy that we could play another four years together. It was when I got chosen for captain that ruined everything. All the upperclassmen hated me, Claire began to as well. I wanted to stick it out, play for myself, but it wasn't possible with a team that despised you. I missed Claire and I wanted her to be my friend again so I gave her the position for captain. I gave it up. My goal and dream all to have her as my friend again. Than I got cancer my Sophomore year, got told I couldn't play soccer anymore, and that's why I am where I am now. Claire never did become my friend again after I gave up captain for her. Everything I thought was going to fix things just bit me in the ass instead." By this time, Anna took a deep breath once again and looked at Jeff. "So you know, I miss my old self too. I miss playing the sport I love. I miss being a strong girl and not letting anyone bring me down. I miss being happy but when something takes everything away from you, it's hard to come out of that funk. I want to be that Anna again. I want to play soccer again, I want to be active again. It's just hard and it's just too late." With that Anna smiled weakly at the football player. "I'm sorry." She began and when she noticed he tried to say something, she stopped him. "Wait, I'm not finished. I'm sorry, Jeff. I'm sorry for ruining yesterday for you and even today. I'm sorry for hurting yours and Claire's relationship even though that was something I didn't mean to do. I'm sorry you're spending money on a charity case like myself, but what I'm not sorry for is kissing you. I'm not sorry for liking you, a lot. I'm not sorry for the drawings of you or going up to you in the hallway this morning. Everything Claire said this morning was needed. She killed me. Every single word pierced my bones but if she hadn't done that, and you hadn't come out here to tell me what you did, then I wouldn't have the motivation at this moment to go back to who I was. I may not be able to play soccer anymore but I'm tired of being weak, so thank you." With that, Anna tiptoed and kissed Jeff's cheek softly, biting her lip as she pulled away. "Good luck on your game tonight."  
 
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