by Sarah Carter
The next morning she wakes up and groans. Once again she feels exhausted. Throwing back her covers, Kayla looks down. “MOM!” she yells. “Holy…Mom!”
Her mom bursts into the room, her eyes frantically searching for the danger. “What? What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean, what’s wrong?” Kayla shouts, gesturing to her body. “Look at my legs. Now tell me I’m not sleepwalking.”
“Ummm,” is all that her mom responds with. She stares down at Kayla’s mud-covered legs.
“I have cuts, Mom! Cuts on my legs,” Kayla exclaims. “I’m getting hurt now!”
Her dad stumbles into the room. “What’s going on?”
“Dad, look at me! I’m covered in mud. Do you still seriously think I’m making this up?”
Her dad crosses his arms, and his voice remains calm. “I told you I did this when I was your age. It passes. What do you want us to do, put an alarm on your door or install surveillance cameras?”
“No, but I’m wandering around outside. What if I fall off a cliff?”
“Kayla, my dear,” her dad starts. “What cliff could you possibly fall off of around here?”
Kayla moans. “Fine, a bridge then. I’m going to walk clear across town, jump off the Jefferson Bridge, and plummet to my death in the icy river.”
“Okay, now you’re being dramatic.” Kayla’s mom sighs. “We’ll dead bolt the lock at night, but I don’t think you’re going to get into too much trouble.”
“Whatever,” Kayla exhales. “I need to take a shower and clean up.” Her parents shake their heads and leave the room. Kayla grumbles as she strips the sheets off her bed.
An hour later, she is standing by the front door waiting for Jackson. When he pulls up, Kayla yells, “Bye! I’m leaving for school!”
“Bye, dear,” her mom replies.
Kayla groans and walks out the door. She is absolutely exhausted. When she gets to his car, Kayla opens the door and mumbles, “Hey.”
“Not even a good morning?” Jackson asks. “I’m giving you a ride. You could at least be polite.”
Giving him an evil glare, Kayla mumbles, “It’s not a good morning.”
“What happened now?” Jackson asks, pulling away from her house.
“Nothing.” Kayla sighs as she looks out the window.
“Did someone have nightmares?”
Slightly annoyed, Kayla says, “No, do you really want to know?”
Looking out the corner of his eye, Jackson replies, “I don’t know. How personal is it? Did you have lustful dreams about me?”
“Ewww, no. I’ve been sleepwalking, and I don’t mean around the kitchen sleepwalking. I mean outside, probably in the woods. I was covered in mud when I woke up this morning.”
“Um, have you talked to your parents about this?” Jackson asks cautiously.
“Yeah, they kind of blew it off. My dad said he used to do it, and I’ll be fine.”
“Uh-huh, I don’t get your family.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Jackson looks at her. “Just that you’d think they would show more concern.”
“My thought exactly, but whatever, parents are dumb. Hopefully, I don’t kill myself next time.”
“I think you’ll be fine. It will probably pass soon.”
“Now you sound like my dad.”
He reaches down by Kayla’s feet and brings up another Tupperware container. “Eat these; you’ll feel better. Actually, you should eat these before you go to bed, or eat a handful of leaves. They’ll help keep you asleep.”
“How are you so insightful about it?” Kayla asks, opening the container. She lifts it up and sniffs the brownies.
“They taste fine,” Jackson says with a laugh.
Raising an eyebrow, Kayla says, “Yeah, right.”
“I dare you to eat one.”
She grimaces. “I think I’ll pass.”
“Double-dog dare you.”
“Fine.” Kayla laughs. She picks up a brownie and looks at it. “Here we go,” she whispers, taking a bite. Chewing, she grins. “Hey, these are good. Did your mom make them?”
Shaking his head, Jackson says, “No, I did.”
Shocked, Kayla stops chewing and gawks at him. “You bake?”
“Among other things.”
Kayla bursts out laughing. “Seriously?”
A look of contempt passes over his face. “My mom isn’t into cooking that much, and I had to learn how to cook with the Kiej leaves. I’m not a gourmet chef or anything.”
“Awww, no four-course romantic meals for me?”
“I don’t think I would cook a romantic meal for you anyway.”
“Whatever, you can’t resist my animal magnetism.”
Jackson’s laughter fills the car. “Oh, you have no idea.”
“It’s not that funny,” Kayla mutters.
“No, it’s funnier than you think, but you wouldn’t understand.”
Scowling, Kayla says, “Jerk.”
“Oh, Kayla, it’s nothing bad. I promise. Just ignore me.”
“Is that possible?” Kayla inquires with a smile.
Jackson tilts his head. “It could make for a long car ride to school.”
“It could,” Kayla says. She looks at him thoughtfully. “Can I ask you for a favor?”
“Depends on the favor, because no, I won’t sleep with you.”
“Really? I think your ego is about to bust out your windshield! Get over yourself.”
Putting his hands up, Jackson says, “All right, sorry.”
“I’m not going to ask you to sleep with me, and you can’t tell anyone about what happened in my kitchen.”
A surprised look passes over Jackson’s face. “You don’t want anyone to know we got hot and heavy all over each other?”
“No, I just don’t want people to get the wrong impression.”
“You have a reputation to uphold that I would tarnish?”
Kayla laughs. “I have no reputation period. I get along with everyone…except Jude, but I don’t have experience with guys. I don’t want it to seem like I was throwing myself at you. People may get the wrong impression.”
“Kayla, you didn’t do anything. I was the one who threw myself on you and…it got a little heated. I won’t say anything to anyone if you don’t want me to. It’s not like I want to brag about it.”
“Thanks. So charming.”
Jackson groans. “I didn’t mean it that way. Stop thinking I’m disgusted by you.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Nooo, I think you're beautiful.”
She raises her eyebrows. “What?”
“I just…have to keep my distance.”
Kayla snorts. “If you need to keep your distance, you shouldn’t give me rides. I have to sit right next to you.”
“As long as you aren’t sitting on my lap, I think we’ll be fine.”
“I’ll try to control myself.”
A grin crawls across Jackson’s face. “You’re not repulsed by me?”
“Oh, trust me, I’m not repulsed by you. I just don’t want to date someone who toys with my emotions.” Jackson nods in agreement. She turns to look out the window, and they drive in silence all the way to school.
During their first class, Kayla tries to concentrate, but she’s so tired that her thoughts keep drifting. On the way to second period, Jackson comes up beside her. “You look like you’re going to fall asleep on your feet.”
“I feel like it,” Kayla moans. “I’m so tired. It’s like I didn’t even sleep last night.”
“Poor baby,” he says, patting her on the head. “Hold on a second,” he suddenly says, turning away from her. “I have to do something.”
Kayla looks up just in time to see Jackson grab Jude. He picks Jude up by his shirt and drags him down the hallway. “Jackson,” Kayla yells. “Stop!”
Jackson shoves him down an empty hallway. “You and I need to have a discussion,” he spits out at Jude.
<
br /> Stepping beside him, Kayla grabs Jackson’s arm. “Jackson, stop. As much as I want to see you kick the hell out of him, I don’t want you to get expelled. How am I supposed to win the bet fairly if you don’t go to school here anymore?”
“I…never…want to see you touch her again,” Jackson growls.
Jude glares at Kayla. “Have to have your boyfriend fight your battles, huh?”
“He isn’t my boyfriend.”
“We all know what your problem is, Jude,” Jackson sneers.
Looking at him, Jude snorts. “And what’s that?”
“You like her. You like her so much it makes you lash out. The problem is, she doesn’t like you back, never has and never will, and that is what bothers you. She’s so far out of your league. You try and tear her down any chance you get because you’re angry she rejected you.”
Kayla adds, “I knew that was it. Of course your ego would be bruised. You think you can have any girl in this school, but you’re just a loser. I have better taste in guys than to waste my time with you, and you can never tempt me to feel otherwise.”
“I don’t like you,” Jude snaps. “How could I like you? Why would I like you?”
“Because she’s intelligent, beautiful, and funny. Stop wallowing in the rejection and deal with the fact that she just isn't that into you,” Jackson snarls.
Kayla grabs Jackson’s arm. “If that is what's causing the bug up your ass, Jude, get over it.”
“That isn’t my problem,” Jude says, eyes narrowing in anger. “If you tell people that, I promise—”
Jackson snatches him by the shirt. “You promise to what, leave her alone? I think that’s what you were going to say, because if you’re thinking otherwise, you’re going to have a really bad day.”
“Come on, Jackson,” Kayla whispers. “Leave him alone. He’s an idiot. We have better things to do.”
“Yes, we do,” Jackson retorts with a very suggestive tone.
Jude glares at Jackson with his nostrils flaring. “So she’s giving it up to a guy who ultimately doesn’t want to date her. There’s a surprise.”
“You know what? Her lips are super soft, and she is a fantastic kisser. And let’s not forget how sexy she is. Does that make you jealous?” Jackson whispers as he shoves Jude against the wall. “I had her body pressed against mine last night, and it took everything in me to step back and respect her, because that is what she deserves…respect. If you had shown her some, you may have gotten further than you did.”
“Jackson,” Kayla hisses. “Shut up!”
He releases his grip on Jude and steps back. “Come on,” he mutters, grabbing her hand. “Let’s go.” Jackson looks at Jude one more time. “You bother her again, and my fist is going to get really acquainted with your face. I won’t worry about expulsion then.”
“Is that a threat?” Jude replies, his voice shaking.
“Yes, yes it is,” Jackson answers with a steely voice before turning and pulling Kayla back down the hall.
She runs to keep up with him. “Hey, I’m a lot smaller than you, slow down!”
Jackson turns around. “Sorry.”
“You promised you wouldn’t tell anyone,” Kayla groans.
“And I won’t, but I can guarantee it got under his skin, and I figured you wouldn’t mind that.”
Thinking about it for a second, Kayla says, “Good point.”
“Anyway, I’m not embarrassed by it. I’m sorry that you are,” he murmurs, turning to walk away.
Kayla darts after him. “I’m not embarrassed by it,” she emphasizes. “I told you what my fear was.” He doesn’t respond, and they walk in silence to class. The bell rings just as they enter the room. Kayla is relieved they aren’t late.
Their teacher stands in front of the class. “All right, today is the last day to work on your paper. I’ll give you passes to the library, if needed. Remember, this is a big part of your grade, so put the proper effort into it. All right, get started.”
Reaching down, Kayla pulls her binder out of her bag. With a smile, she retrieves her essay and waves it at Jackson. “I am so going to own you after we get our essays back.”
Jackson smiles and holds out his hand. “Let me read it.”
“No, you can read it when I win the bet. We’ll exchange essays then. That’s how we will find out who wins.”
He smirks. “Sounds good to me. Maybe you will finally see how a proper essay should be written.”
“Whatever,” Kayla says, leaning forward. “You are so full of yourself.”
A wicked grin passes over Jackson’s face. “I could say something grossly inappropriate and twenty shades of wrong.”
“You're horrible,” Kayla exclaims with disgust.
“So bashful. Wait until you get to college. You’ll blush for the entire four years.”
Glaring at him, Kayla says, “I am going to go hand in my essay and ignore you.”
“If I didn’t think I would get suspended for sexual harassment, I would slap you on the butt as you walked away.”
Kayla giggles. “Don’t you dare touch me.” Jackson just wiggles his eyebrows as she playfully glares at him. She walks up to her teacher and sets her essay on his desk. “Here’s my paper. I’m all finished.”
He smiles. “Very good. I’m looking forward to reading it. I’m not surprised that you’re getting along with Mr. Blakely. His paper was excellent as well.”
That makes Kayla frown. “That’s good.”
“What are you two going to do for the rest of class?”
“I have no idea. Go to the library?”
Her teacher nods and grabs his book of passes. Bending over his desk, he writes out two passes. He rips them off and hands them to Kayla. “Here you go. Don’t get into any trouble.”
“We won’t, thank you.” She smiles and spins around to return to her desk. She bends down and picks up her backpack. “Come on, we’re going to the library.”
Jackson raises an eyebrow. “Who says I want to hang out with you?”
Kayla just looks at him. “Seriously? Fine, stay here. Stare at the wall for the next hour.”
With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Jackson grins. “All right, I know you just want me near you. Can’t control yourself.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
He stands and follows her out of the room. “So what language do you want to learn?” Jackson asks as they make their way to the library.
“I don’t know. I’m just going to embarrass myself with any of them.”
“How about a sexy language like French?”
Laughing, Kayla says, “A sexy language, huh? So I can whisper inappropriate comments to you.”
“Oh, baby, I can’t wait.”
Kayla giggles and shakes her head. “No, I think it would be cool to learn Russian. I mean, it’s not something people usually learn as a second language, and I think that would be cool.”
“Fine, I’ll teach you Russian then. We can start when we get to the library.”
“I can trust you with this, right?”
With a perplexed look, Jackson responds, “What do you mean?”
“You aren’t going to teach me to say things that actually mean something else and are totally horrible, are you?”
Jackson puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her against him. He laughs and kisses the top of her head. “I’m not that mean.”
A little shocked by his proximity, Kayla tenses and whispers, “I just wanted to make sure.”
“I think I’m taking this jerk thing a little too far.” Jackson sighs with a chuckle.
“See, it is possible for us to get along and be friends.”
Jackson suddenly lets go of her and backs off. “I guess.”
“I don’t get you,” Kayla says. “It’s like half of you wants to be my friend and the other half wants to flee because you hate me.”
“There isn’t a single part of me that hates you, Kayla. I just have to be careful about how close
we get.”
Kayla rolls her eyes. “Whatever, Jackson. I can resist jumping your bones.”
“That’s what you say, but I know the truth.”
With a groan, Kayla walks into the library.
The rest of the day is uneventful. She and Jackson brainstorm for their story during creative writing. They haven’t really figured out a plot yet, but they decided what animals would be on their fictional planet. They spend much of their time talking about Jackson’s life abroad.
Finally, it’s the end of the day and they are sitting in front of Kayla’s house. “Thanks for the ride home,” she sighs. “I appreciate it.”
“Do you have your key this time, or do I have to scale your house again?” he inquires with a grin.
“No, I have it,” Kayla says with a laugh.
Jackson smiles. “At least if I need to sneak into your room at night, I know how to get inside.”
“How very Edward Cullen of you. Like you would climb in my window anyway. That would break all your stupid rules.”
“You never know, I may be in need of a good time.”
Kayla makes a gagging face. “Yeah, the last thing I would do is have some heated make-out sessions with you in my room.”
“Mmhmm, that’s what you say.”
She opens the door and looks at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Ego.”
“All right, text me if you need a ride.”
“I kind of threw your number across the house, I don’t know where it went,” Kayla bashfully mumbles.
Jackson bursts out laughing and pulls out his cell phone. “Okay, what’s your number? I’ll text you in the morning, bright and early.”
“555 – 1323, if you just send me a message, I’ll save your number that way.”
“Yeah, but then you may just overload my phone with texts.”
With a groan, Kayla says, “Doubtful.”
“All right, then I’ll send you a message. Have a good night.”
“You too. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye,” Jackson says.
Kayla gets out of the car and shuts the door. She waves at him as he drives away. Shaking her head, she turns and goes into her house. “I have no idea how to feel about him,” she finally mumbles to herself