CHANGES
Chapter One
September 3, 2003
"So, what do you guys wanna do?"
Eighteen-year-old Ashley Morrison asked the guests of her birthday party. A few
people shouted out suggestions, none of them appealing. "Rose? Any
ideas?" Ashley said to her best friend.
"Um, no, sorry Ash."
"How about seven minutes in
heaven?" Ashley's boyfriend, Simon Deluca, asked, wrapping his arms around
her waist.
A few of the guys nodded their agreement and
Lauren Hopkins, another of their friends, shook her head. "How
juvenile."
Justin Lewis, Lauren's boyfriend, grinned.
"Ah, come on. There isn't much else to do."
Lauren sighed. "Fine. But I'm not going
in that closet with anyone but you."
Simon cheered. "Woohoo! Well, since its
Ms. Ashley's birthday, I say she gets to pick first."
Everyone nodded. Ashley grinned. "All
right..." She cast a look around the room when she spotted Rose, looking
rather bored and uninterested with what was going on. Suddenly an idea popped
into her head. "I pick Rose and...um..." She pretended to think.
"Rose and Jack!"
Rose's head snapped up. "What? Have you
lost your fucking mind?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah, really. I'm not
going in there with her."
Simon stepped in. "You guys, it's her
birthday. Humor her."
Rose threw a look of disgust at Jack and one
of anger at her best friend. "I'm never forgiving you for this one,"
she muttered, stomping towards the closet door. "Are you coming?" she
asked Jack.
Reluctantly, he nodded and followed her into
the closet. Simon grinned and winked. "Seven minutes, you two."
Rose glared at him. "I'm setting my
watch. A second over and your ass is grass."
Simon chuckled. "Uh-huh. See you
soon," he said, closing and locking the door. He turned to see the amused
looks of his friends. This ought to be interesting.
*****
Rose sat down on an upside down bucket, as
far away from Jack as possible. Jack stole a glance at Rose and sighed. After
seventeen years, he was sick of fighting with her. Maybe this is what they
needed. "Hey..." he said.
Rose looked up at him sharply.
"What?"
"Listen, this is ridiculous. We need to
stop hating each other's guts. Seventeen years is long enough."
Rose eyed him suspiciously. "And this
came to you just now?"
Jack sighed. "No, I've been thinking
about this for awhile. Us fighting like this is childish. Can't we just call a
truce? We don't have to be friends, I just want us to stop this war."
Rose sat, thinking for a moment. "Okay.
Truce then. Our parents should be happy."
Jack smiled. "They'll probably declare
this a national holiday."
A soft giggle escaped Rose's lips and that
one moment threw all Jack's senses wild. At that moment, he no longer saw the
mean, abusive and annoying girl he had hated all his life. He suddenly saw Rose
for who she was, an intelligent, talented, popular, and absolutely gorgeous
woman. Not really comprehending his actions, he stepped closer to her.
"Rose."
Rose glanced up when Jack said her name. His
voice sounded weird, almost passionate. Meeting his gaze, Rose realized this
moment was going to change her life. She stood as he approached her.
"Jack?"
Suddenly his lips were on hers, their arms
wrapped around each other, passion and desire building between them. When he
realized what was going on, Jack pulled back. "Rose...I..."
"Shut up," Rose interrupted,
kissing him again.
They pulled apart after, looking into each
other's eyes. Jack lowered his mouth to hers again, for one last kiss. As soon
as they broke it off, Simon opened the door. "Wow, you're both still
alive," he joked.
Rose glanced back and forth between them, her
heart racing. All of a sudden she felt smothered, and she took off running, not
stopping until she was out of the house and halfway down the street. Ashley ran
after her and caught up with her. "Rose? Are you okay? What the hell
happened in there?"
Rose dropped to the curb and Ashley sat down
next to her. "I...he...we...oh, God," she cried, burying her head in
her hands. After a few minutes, she looked up at her friend. "I think I'm
falling in love with him," she admitted, her words rushed.
Ashley's eyes went wide with surprise.
"With Jack?"
Rose nodded. "He said he wanted to call
a truce. I agreed. Then he... he kissed me. Then I kissed him. And he kissed me
again. I...I can't believe this."
Ashley couldn't hide her shock. "You
should talk to him."
"I don't know if I can. I've hated him
all my life and all of a sudden we kissed and my heart is going mad...I have
butterflies in my stomach and..." Rose's voice trailed off. "I'm
gonna go home."
Ashley nodded. "Okay. I'll call you
later, to see how you're doing."
Rose hugged her friend. "Thanks. Happy
Birthday Ash."
*****
Simon followed his friend out into the back
yard. "What did you say to her, Dawson?"
Jack sighed. "I didn't SAY anything
really. We decided to call a truce. Then...I kissed her."
"Holy shit, Jack. You mean, like actual
lip locking, spit swapping, tongue wrestling?"
Jack nodded. "We were sitting there,
looking at each other...and it just happened. More than that, I wanted it to
happen. So did she, by the look of it. She kissed me again, after."
Simon shook his head. "You guys called a
truce and kissed...so why did she run out of here like there was no
tomorrow?"
"I don't know! Everything was
fine...until you opened the door."
"Oh, no you don't. Don't blame that on
me."
"I'm not..." he sighed. "I
like her. I like her A LOT. It all kind of just hit me all at once."
Simon shrugged. "Go talk to her. You
need to tell her that, not me."
Jack didn't respond. He just turned his eyes
up to the sky, deep in thought.