113My phone rang shrilly, making me groan and turn in bed, pulling my pillow over my head to block out the sound. But the ringing didn't stop. It just went on and on and on. And on.
Cursing bitterly, I sat up in bed, reaching for my phone and answering the call without looking at the Caller ID, "What?!"
"Whoa, someone needs some serious anger management classes." Came the easy-going male voice from the other end.
I groaned in irritation, "David, go away."
"Get out of bed, it's already seven! We have school today remember? First day of junior year? You need to get out of bed!" He sounded annoyingly cheerful for what I thought was an ungodly hour in the morning.
"I'm perfectly happy in bed. In fact, I'd be perfectly happy missing my first day. I got back home only at two in the morning from the airport!" I mumbled, flopping back down in my bed, letting my eyes shut.
"Sophia Grace, are you seriously ditching me on our first day back?" David's voice was accusing and I couldn't stop the rush of guilt I felt. If our positions were reversed I would have killed him for even thinking of leaving me alone to face the masses on the first day. It wasn't as though I didn't have other friends, but well, David was my best friend. School was just always better when you had your best friend with you.
I sighed, "You're evil incarnate."
David chuckled, "I love you too. See you in a bit!"
I placed my phone back on my bedside table and dragged myself out of bed. When my mother came in some time later to wake me up she was surprised to find that I had showered and dressed.
"What?" I asked her, frowning at the stunned look in her eyes.
She shook her head, "How long have you been up?"
"Around half hour?" I guessed, pulling on my knee-high black boots. I loved them because they were so comfortable, and so incredibly warm. In the slightly biting wind of early September they were ideal. "Why?"
She gave me a puzzled look, "It's only six thirty now. You don't have to leave for another hour at least. I thought, after last night, you'd want to sleep in." That said, she shrugged and left, not seeming to notice me seething.
David Quinn was dead to me.
The car pulled up outside my house at seven forty five and a short honk announced its arrival. I was tempted to ignore it and just stay in the house out of spite, but then Mom had to ruin it by ushering me out of the house.
"Hi boys!" Mom called out to the car, waving.
"Hey Mrs. Grace!" Came the answering chorus.
Muttering profanities under my breath, I walked to the car and let myself into the backseat, slamming the door harder than was necessary.
"Hey! Watch it, the car is still relatively new!" The boy at the driver's seat protested, turning around to look at me with mischievous green eyes, something between a smirk and a grin playing along his lips.
I glared at him, "I should have known it was your idea."
"David did go along with it, Anya. I shouldn't take all the credit." He said, his smirk-grin widening.
"That's not my name." I said sharply, looking pointedly away from him, only to have the same face looking at me with an expression of delight from next to me. I narrowed my eyes at the boy sitting next to me and faced forward, only to see yet again, the same face, this time watching the scene play out before him with amusement.
I should tell you something about my best friend and his current companions. Well, for one, David was not an only child like me. He had two brothers, Jack and Christian; and they weren't just brothers. They were triplets. Identical triplets.
All three of them were tall, broad-shouldered, with perfect bodies – I would know, having bathed with them several times when we were younger. Though, their bodies got more perfect with time, I suppose. They had dark red hair that looked almost brown until the sun touched it; and all of them had green eyes. While they wore their hair in more or less the same way, longer in front, flopping over one eye, and short in the back; the shades of green in their eyes were starkly different – again, this knowledge came from several years of knowing them. David's eyes were a cat-green, pale and eerily omnipotent; Christian's a more blue-green that flashed a strange shade of aquamarine at certain times, and Jack's eyes were a sharp emerald green. Aside from this distinction though, there was not much that lent itself to helping people differentiate between them. They dressed in more or less the same way, constantly wearing one another's clothes, a habit that only served to further confuse the people around them. Well, most people. I had yet to make a mistake.
After that description, I think it would be redundant to say that the 'Quinn Brothers' as they were popularly called, were the target of every single female member of the student population at Clara Academy. Till date, somehow, all of them had managed to remain stubbornly single aside from the occasional casual date, or in Jack's case the not-so-occasional ones, but it was only a matter of time before they fell. After all, women could be quite persistent when they knew what they wanted.
David reached out and put an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side, hugging me, even as I stayed stiff in his hold. Jack put the car in drive again and it began to move; I met his gaze in the rearview mirror and he winked at me. It's probably necessary to mention that Jack was also an incorrigible flirt. Somehow though, this didn't seem like his usual devil-may-care wink. There was something different in his eyes as he looked at me.
"Oh come on, Sophie, it was just a joke!" David said finally, frowning as he pulled away. I had refused to hug him back.
"Hey Christian." I offered in a civilized manner as I met his blue-green gaze.
"Hey Soph." He said with a grin, "I'm sorry my brothers are such idiots."
I shrugged off his apology, "It isn't like you can do anything about idiocy. Some people are just born with it."
Jack rolled his eyes, "Such a fucking drama queen." He muttered, just loud enough for me to hear.
I narrowed my eyes at him, "Excuse me?! I got four hours of sleep because of you!"
"Yeah, well, we got no sleep at all." Jack retorted, pulling through the school gates, heading towards the parking lot.
I folded my arms across my chest, "And that's my fault?"
His eyes met mine again in the rearview mirror, "Well I don't know about David but in my case, yeah, it was your fault." He continued to mutter under his breath and I thought I heard him say, "It's always your fault."
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What the fuck did I do?"
Giving me a mildly exasperated look, Jack turned off the car's engine and got out. The three of us followed suit, letting him lock the car once we were out. He gave me a sardonic salute by way of goodbye and strolled away, Christian walking beside him. While David and his brothers were as tight as thieves, in school, he hung out with me; he said it was because he needed some semblance of a life apart from them but I always had a sneaking suspicion that there was some other reason. Something he wasn't telling me.
"What was that about?" I muttered, looking up at my best friend, forgetting that I was annoyed with him.
He shrugged, walking towards our lockers, "So, how was summer with your Dad?"
I frowned at the change of topic but didn't comment on it, "Okay I guess. We went to the Hamptons to stay at Natalie's vacation house there." I didn't want to say much more about the entire affair, but David being David, seemed to sense my unease.
"What happened?" He asked, looking down at me with concerned eyes.
I sighed, pursing my lips, "I really don't want to talk about it." I mumbled, "Not now."
He studied my face for a long moment and then nodded, taking my hand in his and squeezing it comfortingly. He let go then and continued walking, and I fell into step beside him, absurdly feeling a bit better.
"How was your summer?"
He shrugged, "Oh you know, the usual." Here, his lips curved into a grin, "Jack got into a fistfight with some guy at the resort and he ended up in the kid's pool. You should have seen him freak out, it was pretty hilarious. Not at the moment, obviously." He added.
I chuckled, "I don't get why he's so afraid of water when you two aren't."
David shrugged, "He doesn't really have an explanation for it. I think it had something to do with Mom's…" He dragged off, a shadow crossing his face. He shook his head, "Anyway, Dad was furious, but he couldn't really do anything about it."
"How come?" The triplets' father, Walter Quinn was a force to be reckoned with when it came to his sons. Unlike most affluent families who had tales of family dysfunction and discord, the Quinns had always been incredibly close-knit. Father and sons looked out for one another, and the camaraderie and love was evident to anyone who knew them. It was one of the reasons I had hung out with David as often as I had growing up. My parents were in a bad place in their marriage and the atmosphere at my house had been permanently crackling with anger, resentment and hatred. To escape this, I would stay over entire weekends at the Quinns' so that I didn't have to deal with my quarreling parents. They had finally gotten divorced when I was twelve.
"Jack had been flirting with the dude's girlfriend. Aquaphobia or not, he had it coming." David said dryly.
I rolled my eyes, "He never learns, does he?"
"Sophia!"
I glanced up just as I was tackled, and was so taken aback, that I would have lost my balance and gone sprawling had David not stepped behind me and caught me.
"Oops." The female voice muttered sheepishly as she pulled away from me and met my gaze, "I keep forgetting how skinny you are."
"I am not skinny by any stretch of imagination." I muttered, getting myself upright, "I just lose my balance easily."
"Sure." The girl before me said with a single raised brow in a tone that indicated she didn't believe me in the least. She turned to David, who still had his arm around my waist and grinned, "Hey Dave!"
"Hi Anna." He greeted with one of his easy grins, "How come I don't get a greeting like that?"
I rolled my eyes as I watched Anna's cheeks flush with color. Remember how I said Jack was an incorrigible flirt? Well his brothers were too, just not with me. Thank God for small mercies.
"Um, because, I-uh—"
I took pity on the girl and interrupted her, "So I take it you missed me?"
Anna turned to me with grateful eyes, "Yes! Of course I did, is that even a question? How were the Hamptons?"
"Luxurious, over-the-top, you know, same old same old." I said, shrugging.
By this point you have probably already figured out that Clara Academy is one of those schools. With school uniforms, tennis courts, an indoor swimming pool, two gyms, and students who were from ridiculously rich families. Yes, I was one of them, though I liked to believe that if someone were to look at me, they wouldn't be able to tell.
For one, my house didn't have a mile-long driveway and an arching entrance with a valet to take my car. I didn't even have a car actually, though my father had offered to buy me one. I didn't see the point when I had the Quinn brothers to chauffeur me around. Do I use them? Yes, I do. Tirelessly, but they never complain. Well, Christian and David don't at any rate.
Dad had been the one with all the money, though a substantial amount of it came to Mom through the divorce. She wasn't a gold-digger though, and she steadfastly proved this point by investing most of the money in my education and putting away the rest to add to my already large trust fund. She wanted none of it for herself, which I found quite admirable. My father did too, though he would never admit to this out loud.
Anna nodded understandingly, "What about Natalie? Is she beginning to show?"
I winced as I felt David's surprised eyes on me. While the two of us weren't exactly phone people, Anna was. She had kept in touch with me throughout the summer so naturally she knew everything that had happened. Including the fact that my father's new wife was pregnant.
"Just about." I said, managing a thin smile, hoping that it was enough of a hint that I didn't want to talk about this. Anna always got my hints.
"Well, I'll see you at lunch then? Unless we have classes together."
It was my turn now to give her a grateful smile, "Yeah, I'll see you."
David and I continued walking in silence till we reached our lockers that were next door to one another. No, we hadn't gotten that lucky; David was just that good at charming poor unsuspecting girls.
"What class do you have first?" David asked finally, breaking the silence.
I glanced up at him, very glad hat he had decided not to bring up the dreaded topic immediately, "Biology with Stern." I said, glancing at my new schedule.
He nodded, frowning, "I have History with Wilkins." He took my schedule from me and scanned it, his frown deepening, "Looks like we only have one class together, and that's after lunch. I'll see you later?"
I nodded, throwing my arms around him to give him an impromptu hug. He stiffened for a moment before hugging me back, "What was that for?" He asked, pulling away with a grin.
"I missed you." I said simply, grinning back, "Save me a seat for lunch!"
He nodded, chuckling softly as he turned and walked in the opposite direction.
Biology was a drag, Trig more so, but it was Geography where I truly suffered. I was walking with a few girls from my previous class who were not really friends but more than passing acquaintances. One of them, Kate, let out a delighted squeal when we walked into the class, making the rest of us turn to look at her in confusion.
"Yes!" She squealed again, pumping her fist in the air, "I was hoping and praying I'd end up in a class with one of them. God, isn't he gorgeous?"
Another girl, Courtney I think, made a sound of approval, "Which one is he? Christian?"
I felt a sense of foreboding as I turned to look at whom they were talking about and met piercing green eyes that seemed to be watching me thoughtfully. I raised a single brow, and Jack's lips curved into a slow smile, the kind that always made something in my stomach turn to jelly. Shaking my head, I walked past the girls, mumbling my goodbye as I went to sit in a chair in one corner of the class by the windows. I loved sitting by windows, especially in dull classes, it gave me something to do when I wasn't listening to the teacher.
"Did you miss me over the summer?" His voice was low and his lips were at my ear, his warm breath fanning across my cheek. As I always did, I fought back the urge to close my eyes and lean closer to him, and forced myself to shy away and look up with a frown.
"What was that about?" I asked, my gray eyes narrowing at him.
Jack slid into the chair next to me, making several girls in the class groan in disappointment and glare at me. Yes, he chose to sit next to me, and that became my fault. He raised a single brow, "What was what about?" He asked, his green eyes studying my face intently. It was something he did once in a while and it had always unnerved me. It was as though he were committing my face to memory. Though, one would think that after seventeen years of knowing one another it would be more or less committed to memory by now.
"This morning, in the car." I elaborated, frowning.
His eyes filled with understanding as he shrugged and looked away, "It was nothing."
"It was not nothing." I said, rolling my eyes, "But whatever. I'm not going to argue with you."
"Why not?" Jack teased lightly, sitting back in his chair, "It's always such fun when we argue."
"Hey Sophie." A male voice called from somewhere in front of me.
I turned away from Jack to grin at the owner of the voice, "Eric, hey. How was your summer?"
Eric Langdon gave me a meaningful smile; "It would have been a lot more fun if you'd been here too."
I felt two things at once: my cheeks heat and Jack's suddenly intense gaze as he looked between Eric and me. "I told you I had to go to my Dad's. Summer is kind of my only time with him."
"Yeah, you did tell me that." Eric conceded with a sheepish smile, "Hi Jack."
"Langdon." Jack acknowledged, his voice a little tight. He waited until Eric was out of earshot before leaning closer to me and asking suspiciously, "Since when were you and Langdon so close?"
I scowled at him, knowing my cheeks were still red and hating it, "Why is it any of your business?"
"It just is." He said simply, "Do you like him?"
"Jack!" I protested, looking towards the door, willing the teacher to come in.
"You do?" He sounded strangely strangled and I had to turn to look at him. His green eyes were wide as though he were just realizing something, and that vein at the curve of his neck which thrummed prominently only when he was emotional was pulsing. Why did he care about this?
I sighed, "No, I don't like Eric Langdon." I said, facing forward once more.
"Then what was that about?" Jack asked, sounding a little less on-edge.
I furrowed my eyebrows, staring at him in confusion, "That was inane conversation."
"It didn't sound inane." He said, frowning.
I couldn't help an incredulous laugh, "What is wrong with you today?"
He opened his mouth to say something then hesitated, something flashing in his green depths as he shook his head and turned away from me. "Nothing." He muttered, running a hand through his hair, "Never mind."
I wanted to question him further, but the teacher chose that moment to walk into class and I didn't get the chance to speak again. When the bell rang for the next class Jack mumbled a distracted 'see you at lunch' and walked away, leaving me behind completely befuddled.
I made it through my next class and then met up with David at my locker on my way to lunch. As soon as I was sure he could hear me I asked with a frown, "Why is Jack acting strange?"
"Jack is strange." Was David's ready reply, "Are you noticing only now?"
I gave him an exasperated look, "I'm serious. He's been weird all morning. I can't figure it out."
David's eyes lit with curiosity, "Why? What did he do?"
"Well, I had Geography with him, and Eric walked up to talk to me when I was sitting with him."
"Ah." David said, his curiosity vanishing and being replaced by a guarded expression.
"Ah?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes at David, "I haven't even finished my story."
"You don't really need to." David said vaguely, "I can imagine what happened."
"You can?" I asked, suspiciously.
"This is the same Eric who asked you out just before summer right?"
I blushed, glancing around to make sure no one had heard him before nodding, "Yeah."
"Then I can imagine what happened." He said simply.
"What are you hiding from me?" I asked, whirling around to stop in front of David.
He looked pained, "Soph, I'm not the one hiding something from you."
"Fine." I conceded, "Then what is he hiding from me?"
"I can't tell you that." David said, shrugging as he walked past me, "You'll have to ask him."
I pursed my lips, annoyed, but followed David into the cafeteria. The two of us headed to our usual tables; David usually sat with his brothers while I alternated between sitting with him and Anna. Today, I was definitely sitting with Anna. I passed Jack and Christian on the way as David forked off toward them, knowing what I was going to do without my having to tell him. Jack was deep in conversation with one of his friends, but as though sensing my gaze on him, his eyes shifted and met mine.
He had always been easy for me to read, easier than even David at times, because for all the idiotic, annoying things he did, Jack was honest with me. He had always been. Where David tended to lie at times so as not to hurt my feelings, Jack was brutally honest and over time, I had come to like that about him. Whatever said and done, I could count on him for the truth and that had been a comforting thought. That day though, the emotion in his green eyes was so conflicted and so inscrutable, that even I could not decipher it. I frowned and looked away from him, smiling at some of the other guys at the table who called out a greeting.
I slid into the chair opposite Anna and let out a long breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. Kelly and Gina, the other two girls in our group, gave me a bemused look, "Something wrong, Soph?"
I shook my head, frowning as I took out my lunch, "No, nothing." I muttered.
"Lies." Anna said, narrowing her eyes at me before looking away for a moment, "You know, Jack Quinn is watching you."
I felt myself tense and combed both my hands through my pale golden hair, keeping them there in frustration, "What is happening?"
Kelly looked alarmed, "Sophie? Did you not have a good summer or something?"
"My summer was fine." I bit out, annoyed, "My summer was freaking fantastic. It's school that I don't get anymore."
"School?" Gina drawled knowingly, "Or Jack Quinn?"
I contemplated lying but then pursed my lips, "He's been acting strange all morning."
Anna leaned forward, clearly interested, "Strange how?"
I met her blue gaze, "I don't even know. Something about my ruining his sleep, and then in Geography Eric came to talk to me and he freaked out."
"Aha!" Gina was grinning, an air of triumph around her, "It's finally happening! I told you guys." She said, looking at Anna and Kelly.
I straightened, my hands leaving my hair, "What are you talking about? What's happening?"
Kelly frowned, "Well, Gina has had this theory for a while."
"A while? Try since freshman year!" Gina interrupted, shaking her head.
"What theory?" I asked, looking from one girl to the other.
Anna bit her lip, "You aren't going to like the theory, Soph."
"I don't care." I said, "Would this theory explain his weird behavior?"
"Oh definitely." Gina confirmed, smirking.
"Then tell me." I urged, looking at the other two girls.
They exchanged long looks before Gina rolled her eyes, "You guys are such pussies. I think Jack likes you!"
I stared at her, letting the so-called theory sink into my system, "Huh?" I said unintelligibly, eyes wide.
Gina nodded sagely, "And I think you like him too."
That got a reaction out of me. I sputtered and blinked and made no sense for a full five minutes before Anna came to sit beside me, putting her arm around my shoulder rubbing her hand up and down my arm in a soothing motion. It actually helped. I felt my heartbeat slow down and my breathing regulate, "You're mad." I managed finally, glaring at Gina who was watching me with amused brown eyes.
She chuckled, "Sweetheart, I'm right." She said bluntly, "Remember how we first met?"
I nodded. It had been our freshman year, the second or third day. We'd come into school with Mr. Quinn and I was walking to class along with Jack and Christian because David had run off to the office for something. We had been talking and laughing when I had walked right into Gina.
Gina, being Gina, had narrowed her eyes at me, "Watch where you're going, princess."
I'd scowled at that, "Excuse me?"
Jack and Christian were chuckling behind me. "You think they'll have a fistfight?" Christian had said in a low voice.
"Hell, if they do, let's throw some mud on them and take a video." Jack had suggested.
At that moment I had forgotten Gina and whirled on the boys. Christian had looked surprised, but Jack had been grinning. He'd known I'd heard every word.
"You disgusting creeps! What the fuck is wrong with you?" I had cried, hands on my hips.
Christian had had the decency to look sheepish, "We're teenage boys, Soph. It's kind of what we need, you know? Videos of girls in mud-fights."
I had given him a look of utter contempt and he had made a quick exit, muttering something about being late for class, leaving Jack and me alone with Gina watching us.
"I disagree with him." Jack had said, giving me an easy-going smile.
"Oh?" I'd asked dryly, "What's your excuse then?"
He'd closed the distance between us and leaned forward, clearly trying to make me uncomfortable, but I'd refused to budge. His nose brushed my own as he'd held my gaze, "I just need a video of you in a mud-fight." He'd whispered before smiling and walking away. I had stood rooted to the ground for a few moments before I heard Gina's laugh from behind me. I'd turned to look at her with confused gray eyes and her face had softened, "Did you understand what just happened?" She'd asked in an almost kind voice.
I'd let out a shaky breath, "Not really."
Gina had studied me for a moment then grinned, holding out her hand, "I'm Gina Thomas."
"Sophia Grace."
I looked at Gina now, two years later and frowned, "What does that have to do with anything?"
Gina leaned forward, "Soph, that boy has been dropping hints about this for years. Hell, he's probably been doing it since middle school for all I know! He likes you."
I shook my head vehemently, "This is Jack we're talking about. Jack doesn't like anybody." I said, but I could hear my voice. It sounded as though I were trying to convince myself.
Kelly gave me a small smile, "We could be wrong, you know. It's just a theory."
Yeah, I told myself, taking a bite of my sandwich. Just a theory.
I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a daze. David tried, a few times, to start a conversation during Chemistry, but I just couldn't concentrate. After about fifteen minutes, he gave up altogether, just letting us pass the rest of the period in silence. As luck would have it, I had Jack for yet another class at the end of the day, this time along with Christian and Anna. Gym.
Once we'd changed, Anna and I walked into the gym together, and the brothers almost immediately met us. Despite myself, I took note of the way Jack's white polo seemed to strain against his chest as he stretched, the way his hair fell over his striking green eyes incessantly, and the way his lips quirked into that incredibly arrogant grin of his when he spotted me. Dear God, what was wrong with me?
"Sophie!" Christian made it to our side first, throwing an arm around my shoulder, "How's your first day been? Hey Anna."
Anna smiled at Christian. Of all the brothers, she was most comfortable around him.
"Confusing." I said, giving Chris a wane smile as Jack joined us.
"What's confusing?" He asked, looking from his brother to me before flashing Anna a grin, "What's up, Anna?"
"Christian, could you show me how to do that stretch?" Anna asked, pointing to a position one of the other girls were doing some distance from us.
Christian gave her an uncertain look but nodded, following her to where everyone was doing the stretches.
I took in a deep breath, knowing Anna had done that for me, to give me this moment to clear the air, and my mind, about Jack. I turned to face him and found him watching me with inscrutable green eyes, "What?" He asked, guardedly.
I sighed, looking away for a moment to gather courage before meeting his gaze once more, "You've been acting weird all day Jack."
"Have I?" He asked slowly, his eyes studying my face as he spoke.
I nodded, "Yeah, you have. You've been saying and doing strange things that I don't understand. I've never not understood one of you before."
Jack's lips curved in a smile, but this was not a nice one, nor even an arrogant one. No, this smile was filled with bitterness. "Is that what's bothering you, Anya? That you aren't able to club me with my brothers anymore? That I'm suddenly becoming a separate person?"
I frowned, "What are you talking about? I've never mixed you guys up! Ever. I know each one of you, as individuals, as completely different people! How can you even say something like that?" I asked, feeling hurt despite myself. I'd always been aware of how irritating the brothers found it when they were mistaken for one another and so I'd learnt to tell them apart very quickly, and now it was simply second nature to me. I could never mix them up!
Jack's eyes softened, "I know you've never mixed us up, that isn't what I meant." He hesitated for a moment, "What I meant, is that you treat us all the same way."
I blinked, feeling the same rush of confusion I'd felt when Gina had told me her theory, "What's wrong with that?" I asked, "I treat you all like you're my best friends. I treat you like my bro—" I cut off, my eyes widening at what I'd been about to say. My brothers. I treated them like my brothers. That was true enough of Christian and David, but what I felt around Jack wasn't remotely sisterly emotion.
Jack's vein thrummed against his collarbone as he looked down at me, and without warning, he took a step toward me, closing the distance between us, threading his fingers through my hair with one hand as his other traced the line of my jaw. For once, I didn't fight my instinct and let my eyes fall shut, turning my face toward his touch. I felt his fingers tremble as they left my chin to pass over my lips. He bent forward so his lips were at my ear, brushing my lobe as he spoke. "I don't want to be your best friend, Anya. And I definitely don't want to be your brother." He said in a husky voice, before stepping away and meeting my stunned gray gaze. A small, genuine smile curved his lips before he turned and made his way to the rest of the class who seemed surprisingly oblivious to what had just taken place.
I heard my heart pounding against my chest and fought to calm my breathing. This was the most unpredictable first day of school ever, and that, was saying a lot.
Hi :) So this is my new story idea - I'm putting it up in FP as a one-shot just to see what people think about it. Make sure you Read and Review!
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