Three
They started the movie after about half an hour of argument. They couldn't decide what to watch the girls refused to watch a horror and the boys refused to watch a romantic film. So they finally decided on an action packed fast paced film. Jess got the popcorn and her mum made juice up and made a tray of different snacks. She was a chef at the fanciest restaurant in the city and therefore made very excellent snacks and meals which Jess and Jake loved.
Their dad, Elliot had arrived from work during the movie. He had short brown hair and wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up with his tie loose and black trousers with leather shoes. He worked as a business man for an electronic company which always made Jess and Jake pleased because it meant they received a lot of free gadgets and gizmos to test out so they didn't complain. He greeted the boys and took his supper upstairs to his study where he would do yet more work. He filled out contracts, travelled everywhere around the world promoting and looking at different electronic ideas it was rare that he was ever home.
They pressed pause on the remote to stop the film for a while until their parents were gone. Larissa kissed Jess and Jake on the cheek then went upstairs to her room to do some reading of her recipe books for ideas on some new foods for the restaurant. Jake moaned that he didn't want her to kiss him in front of his mates especially with him being 16 years of age but she didn't listen and she just ruffled his hair laughed and went upstairs.
Now Jake was even more embarrassed his cheeks reddened and he scowled at her back as she walked upstairs. He sorted his hair mumbling angrily and pushed Jess off her beanbag for laughing. She shouted at him then kicked the back of his knees so he fell to the carpet then forced him down on his front then she held him down then sat on him and Arianna joined in by sitting on his legs whilst Jess sat on his back. He called for help, as he lifted his head from the carpet and wriggling to break free from the girls who had now grasped his arms behind his back firmly, but Brendan and Jason were too busy rolling about laughing to help. They actually ushered the girls off him rolled him on his back he looked up gleefully because he thought they were helping but he was wrong. They grabbed his arms and legs and lifted him and started swinging him from side to side. Jake tensed up and struggled but their grip was too strong. They then let go and threw him on the sofa with a thump.
He was stunned as he lay on the sofa blinking. He sat up and then he stood up quickly and he ran after them and grabbed them. He used his shoulder to shove the girls onto the sofa and wrestled with Brendan and Jason forgetting the very skilled talent they showed in the garden. He got beat well and truly.
He grabbed Jason's shoulders and rammed him to the ground without Jason paying attention but as soon as they fell Jason was ready for action a strange feeling welled up inside him. His insides squirmed then pumped and took over. Barely realising what he was doing, he grabbed Jake's shoulders and using his body weight rolled him over onto his back so he was on top with one knee resting on the fluffy rug. Now he was the one with the upper hand. He jabbed his other knee against Jake's stomach, Jake let out a cry and a gasp as the air was knocked out of him, Jason also kept his knee slowly putting pressure onto Jake's already winded stomach whilst pushing against Jake's hands forcing them back down to his sides. His face was full of concentration. Then Jake yelled,
"Stop, ok, ok, you win! Can you please get off me now?"
Jason couldn't hear his pleas something had taken control, he was not letting his guard down. Jake yelled and Jason's eyes changed from being harsh and cold to that of shock and confusion and he shook his head and rolled off Jake and crouched beside him while Jake caught his breath. Jason stood up and held his hand out to help him up without saying a word. He had never lost control quit like that before not during a joke, it was like he hadn't been himself.
He strode over to the sofa and sat on it silently his eyes glazed and unfocused. Images passed through his mind and he ignored them and blocked them completely as pain rose in his head and chest. Jess glanced over at him as he folded his arms and lounged in the seat not uttering a word his normal ferocious and cunning eyes were gone and vulnerable ones took their place. She tilted her head and made a face before slowly tearing her eyes away and looking at the television as she pressed the play button. What was up with him? He won had he not? She thought. He wasn't all there but yet he was thinking and thinking hard. His face was motionless but his brow was furrowed. She gazed one more time then turned back to the television.
Jason's mood brightened up as Jake made jokes about the events. Brendan kept casting him curious glances. He could not believe what he saw it was so unlike Jason. He confronted him before the film by whispering in his ear. Jason explained very plainly he did not want to go into it and gave Brendan a "don't ask questions" look then turned his head to the screen. Brendan opened his mouth to argue back but then snapped it shut and scowled before sitting back on his seat pushing away a wavy lock of hair from his eyes.
Jess and Arianna gaped at him. Jason had beaten Jake so easily with hardly any effort at all. Like he knew exactly what to do step by step. Well Jason was amazing at martial arts. That would explain it. Satisfied Jess continued watching the movie. Arianna and Jess sat beside each other on the sofa with Jason beside Jess and Brendan on the bean bag in front of Jason and Jake took his beanbag beside Brendan. Once comfy they began the movie.
About two or three hours later the movie was finished.
*
"Oh hey look at the time we better go. Thanks for the ace night though. It was really fun!" said Jason taking his empty can of coke through to the kitchen.
"Yeah thanks but it's getting late and we are no doubt going to get lost." agreed Brendan.
"I suppose, glad you two had fun though." said Jess leading the way into the hall. The two boys slipped on their trainers and swung their bags over their shoulders and Brendan grabbed the door handle.
"Hey...wait before you go," the boys paused as Jess rustled about in her bag fetching out of it a pen and a piece of paper, "Here." she handed them the piece of paper with her and Arianna's email addresses and phone numbers, house and mobile. "It's our contact details so you can talk to us or plan to meet up if you want." she smiled.
"Oh well see you soon then." Jason grinned taking the piece of paper from Jess's fingers and winked. Jess grinned back and gave him shove towards the door he stumbled but did not fall.
"See you...tomorrow maybe?" asked Brendan opening the door and looking at the two girls his eyes rested on Arianna and she caught his gaze before he shyly looked away.
"Yeah sure," Jess turned to Arianna as if asking if she was ok with it and she nodded, "Yes, what do you two want to do?"
"How about we meet somewhere and then discuss then?"
"Yes sounds a good plan where do you want to meet?" Jess leaned against her doorframe casually.
"Err...how about the park? We know where that is. It would make sense to go there."
"Oh yeah, it is perfect! Ok see you there at about one o'clock or half -past one?"
"One-thirty, that will give us time to get ready."
"Yeah good point, ok see you then. Bye!" Arianna joined in with the goodbye and gave a small wave.
"Bye! And thank you!" the boys chorused. Whilst walking down the path with Jake behind jacketless in the now chilly night air. His breath came out in little wisps. He rubbed his hands together trying to create heat.
Jake walked them so far with them then ran back inside the house it had gotten colder as they walked along the empty road and even just being outside for a few minutes made him freeze. He shivered as he got inside and leapt on the sofa to try and gain some warmth but not before he hugged Jess tightly. She screamed and chased him round the living room with a cushion which she had swept up with considerable speed.
Arianna joined too her usual shyness disappeared. Jess and Arianna wielded the cushions like weapons and fought against Jake with focus. They parried his swipes and stabbed at him and at one point had disarmed him. Jake stumbled back shocked, they had never been able to do this before so advanced. They closed in on him and began playfully hitting him constantly. Jake slid down the wall and crouched in a ball to try and lessen the blows.
"Hey, two on one not fair! Stop, you're messing up the hair!" cried Jake shielding his face with his arms.
"Get over it your hair was a mess before." said Jess hitting his hair more to make it worse. She laughed hard.
He looked like a really fluffy toy and she started using her hands to muck up his hair. She was then pushed onto the sofa very forcefully taken unawares. Arianna carried on but he then stood up quickly and ran to his room and slammed the door and leaned against it. He heard them coming up the stairs he pushed against the door firmly hoping they wouldn't be strong enough to barge through.
They tried the door but didn't bother annoying him further so the two of them walked over to Jess' bedroom giggling. Jake walked over to his bed and flopped onto it breathlessly before picking up his guitar and beginning to play quietly in his black and white coloured room with the many posters of various bands he liked. His room was a bit of a mess with clothing and CD's everywhere and of course many sheets of music and lyrics which he wrote himself were scattered about where he could see them or crumpled if they were failed attempts. He practically lived in his room and Jess rarely ventured into because she didn't like disturbing him when he was in his own room it was his private space and she would hit him for going into hers without permission. This earned her a little respect.
*
Jess' room was deep purple and white mainly. Her furniture was old French style white with pewter handles. Her blind was purple with white curtains framing the window. She had a silver simple bed frame and the duvet cover on it matched the room and as did the many different scatter cushions she had piled on it. The carpet was light in colour to tone in with the décor beautifully.
She also owned a beanbag which sat in a corner. Her room was a mismatch of items scattered on the floor and surfaces; half-read books, bags with ice-skates and roller blades in them, she had a few pens and scraps of various poetry that she worked on with Jake for his songs, some CD's. She had a make-up case on her chest of drawers that she never used and a jewellery stand which was bare except for few items.
A laptop sat closed on her desk with a pen pot she had made in primary school oozing with multi-coloured stationary decorated with feathers and all sorts. A shelf above her desk contained some fictional books and a dusty dictionary. She had various posters stuck on the walls with the smiling faces of her favourite actors and bands. A photo frame collection sat on her bedside table consisting of many with her and Arianna and also Jake and her parents.
Arianna dropped onto the white beanbag and sighed. Jess had brought up more snacks and was now wrestling with the sofa bed type thing that Arianna was going to sleep on. Once she set it up they both got into their pyjamas and crawled into their beds they watched yet another movie and talked and read magazines.
Eventually Arianna drifted off and Jess turned off the light and snuggled down in her covers she gazed out of her window at the stars. She began thinking about Jason and Brendan how they had all acted like they'd all known each other for ages. It was strange like they were meant to meet, meant to be friends and their display of martial arts moves was unreal they had performed perfectly even without practice that in itself was not normal. She and Arianna just performed a routine of gymnastic moves which she had been learning in her practices with Carmen who was an amateur gymnast. Jake had been learning his song for ages too. However she thought, she and Arianna were very advanced in gymnastics considering they just copied Carmen's routine moves, perfectly. Now she was scared.
The boys just knew exactly what to do and, although yes they looked fit for the job, they had said they had not trained she recalled Brendan mentioning it but that was impossible! She thought he was just being modest but what if? No, they would have had to do years of training to reach that standard. Her brother didn't just pick up a guitar and could play every tune. He had to take lessons and practice and work hard. They didn't. No way, but where is the logical explanation? With all these thoughts running through her head suddenly Jess fell into an uneasy sleep.