CHANGES
Chapter Two
"Do you think it's really a good idea
for me to go talk to her now?" Jack asked his oldest brother,
twenty-year-old David.
David nodded. "Yes, I do. If you really
like her then she needs to know. The way you've hated each other all this time
probably has her thinking you're using her."
Jack sighed, wondering if she could actually
think that lowly of him. Yes, she could and most likely did. "You're
right. I'm going over there."
*****
Rose wiped the tears from her eyes, thankful
her parents were on vacation and not there to witness this. "Thanks for
listening to me, Becky. I think I'm just going to go upstairs now,
though."
Rebecca nodded. "Okay."
Rose gave her sister a small smile before
climbing the stairs to her room.
*****
Jack stood on the DeWitt-Bukater's doorstep,
glancing at his own house, four doors down. He hadn't knocked yet, so he could
just go home. "Dammit, Jack, you owe her an explanation. Stop being a wuss
and knock on the door," he silently scolded himself. Taking a deep breath,
he knocked on the door a few times. A few minutes later, Rose's youngest
sister, Cammie, answered.
"Hi, Jack..." she said, confused.
What was he doing here? He usually avoided their house like the plague.
Jack smiled at her. "Uh, hi Cammie...is
Rose here?"
Cammie stood in complete shock. Not only was
he at their house, but he wanted to see his rival enemy? Slowly, she nodded.
"Yeah, she's in her room..."
Right then, Rebecca came up behind her
sister. "Hey, Jack," she greeted, not all that surprised to see that
he was there.
"Hey Becky...I take it you heard?"
Rebecca nodded. "Yes, I did." She
paused. "Hey, Cam, why don't you go clean up the kitchen," she said.
Cammie nodded, glancing at them one last time before disappearing down the
hall.
Jack fidgeted nervously, not really sure how
to interpret the look on Rebecca's face. Rebecca stepped aside to let him into
the house. "She's upset...I'm not sure how she'll react to you being here,
but I know the two of you need to talk...for once in your lives. So...you can
go on up to her room. The worse that can happen is she'll rip your eyes out and
feed them to the dog, but I don't think there's much chance of that."
Jack nodded, but then gave her a look of
confusion. "Um...Becky, where is her room, exactly?"
Rebecca laughed. "No, you wouldn't know,
would you? Second floor, turn right off the stairs. It's the last room on the
left."
"Thanks," Jack said, gratefully, as
he headed up the stairs. Once he reached her door, he paused, not quite sure
what to do. He knocked lightly, not wanting to just barge in on her.
"Who is it?" Rose's muffled voice
floated out.
"Rose, it's Jack," he called.
There was an unbearable silence for a few
minutes and then the door flew open. "What?"
"We need to talk. Can I come in?"
Rose stared at him for a minute before moving
aside so he could enter. Jack smiled tensely at her and glanced around her
room. It was huge, the walls a deep purple color, covered in posters and
pictures. "Well, are you going to talk, or are you going to stand there
and gawk at my room all night?"
Jack turned around to face her. "Let's
talk."
Rose nodded and sat down on her bed...and
after a moment, she hesitantly motioned for him to sit down. Jack sat on the edge
of her bed, collecting his thoughts. Rose eyed him, wondering what was going on
inside his head. "Um...Jack...why did you...I mean, we...ugh, you
know."
Jack's head shot up. "I'm not sure. I
think...a lot of it was impulse...but part of me wanted it to happen."
"I wanted it to happen, too," she
confessed quietly.
That gave Jack the confidence he needed.
"I like you, Rose. A lot...I haven't been able to get you out of my head.
It's kind of scary, with our history and all."
Rose nodded understandingly. "I know
what you mean." She paused. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, of course."
Rose's cheeks tinted slightly. "Would
you kiss me again?"
Jack's mouth fell open. "Really?"
Scooting a little closer to him, Rose placed
a hand on his arm. "Really."
Jack looked at her and felt a surge of
electricity jolt through his system. Slowly, he lowered his mouth to hers,
unable to believe he was actually kissing the girl he loved to hate all his
life. Slowly, the kiss intensified as Rose opened her mouth, allowing his
tongue to gently massage her own. They both felt themselves falling for each
other as they deepened this mating of lips even further. Eventually, Jack
pulled away so they could catch their breath. "Again," Rose breathed,
pulling him towards her. Together, they fell back onto Rose's bed, throwing
their past hatred for each other out the window and welcoming the newborn
feelings with open arms.
*****
Sometime later, Jack realized what he wanted
and pulled away. "Rose," he whispered.
Rose looked up at him with questioning eyes.
"Jack?"
He wrapped an arm around her. "I want
us...to be together. Would...will you?"
Silently, she nodded and brought her lips
back to his.