CHANGES
Chapter Five
When Rose came downstairs to wait for Jack
the next morning, Rebecca was waiting for her. "Good morning, ain't
it?" Rebecca said with a huge grin on her face.
Rose gave her a weird look. "Um, yeah, I
guess it is."
Rebecca's grin didn't fade. "Sleep well,
sis?"
Rose nodded, half listening.
"I bet."
Rose whirled around. "What is your
problem this morning?"
Rebecca lowered her voice. "I saw you
sneaking Jack out of here at 1:30 this morning. Don't pretend nothing happened.
I heard you."
Rose's face flushed. "Uh..."
Rebecca began laughing. "Ah ha! So...you
did it, eh?"
Rose's eyes glowed. "Oh God, yes. I
can't believe I waited so long. He was so...amazing."
Rebecca nodded knowingly. "Welcome to
womanhood, little sis."
Rose grabbed an apple when a horn honked
outside. "Uh, thanks. I think. See ya later."
"Bye!"
*****
"Where were you last night?" Ashley
asked Rose as they stood in line for lunch.
"What time?"
"Around eight or so."
Rose glanced at her friend, trying to keep
her cool. "Oh, Jack and I went down to the lake."
Ashley dropped a brownie onto her tray.
"The lake? Isn't it a little cold for that?"
Rose shook her head. "We weren't
cold."
Ashley stopped to face her friend.
"You're keeping something from me."
"No, I'm not."
"Spill it, DeWitt-Bukater."
Rose grinned. "Um..."
"Rose!"
"Shh!"
"Tell me," Ashley whined.
"Wait until we sit down."
*****
After they paid for lunch and took their
usual seats, Ashley turned to face Rose again. "Well?"
Rose bit her lip and gave her friend a smile.
Ashley's mouth dropped open. "You didn't."
"We did."
"Uh-uh."
"Yes-huh."
"Oh my God."
"Keep it down! We don't want the world
to know."
Ashley stared at her. "You've been
together what, three, four days? Have you lost it?"
Rose sighed. "I love him, Ash."
"Does he love you?"
Rose nodded. "He said he does."
Ashley shook her head. "He told Krista
that, too."
"I was his first," Rose replied.
Ashley's eyes bulged. "There ain't no
way in hell he was a virgin."
"He was."
"He could've been lying."
Rose rolled her eyes. "I've known him
our entire lives. We might not have been friends, but I always knew when he was
lying. He wasn't."
"I don't believe you two. Enemies all
your lives, sleeping together after three days. What the hell?"
Rose giggled. "I know. But it feels
right. I never felt like this in the three years I was with Cal."
"Geez. If he hurts you, I'm going to
kill him. Okay?"
"Deal."
*****
"Rose! Hey, Rose!"
Rose stopped dead in her tracks at the
familiar voice. It was after school and she was on her way to cheerleading
practice. Scared half out of her wits, she turned. Oh God, what the hell is he
doing here? Rose thought as her ex-boyfriend, Cal Hockley, came running towards
her. "Cal...what are you doing here? I thought you moved to St.
Louis," Rose said evenly.
"I came back to live with my dad. Isn't
it great? Now we can pick up where we left off," Cal told her, putting an
arm around her shoulders.
Rose shrugged out of his grasp. "No, we
can't."
Cal frowned. "Sweetpea, why can't
we?"
Rose sighed, spotting Jack watching them in
the distance. Suddenly an idea came to her. She glanced up at Cal. "Are
you going to the game after school?"
"I wasn't planning on it. Why, are
you?"
"I'm a cheerleader this year, so yes, I
am."
Cal wrinkled his nose. "Whatever
possessed you to become a cheerleader?"
"I wanted to. Are you coming or
not?"
"I suppose so. Maybe we can go out to
dinner or something after?"
Rose nodded slightly. "Maybe. I gotta
get to practice. I'll see you."
Cal nodded and left the school. Rose sighed
and took off towards the football field, where she knew Jack and the team was
practicing. The coach was the first to spot her. "Can I help you,
Rose?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm sorry to interrupt, but
can I see Jack for a few minutes?"
The coach nodded. "Sure thing. Hey
Dawson! Five minutes!"
Jack nodded and sat next to Rose on the
bleachers. "I saw you talking to Cal. You're not going back to him, are
you?"
Rose shook her head, "No. Quite the
opposite, actually. I need your help getting rid of him."
"Getting rid of him?"
"Yes. I got him to come to the game
tonight..." Quickly, she filled him in on her plan.
Jack gave her an amused grin. "You
haven't changed very much. All right. Count me in."
"Good. I gotta get to practice, so I'll
see you later."
"Yeah," Jack said, giving her a
kiss. "See ya."
*****
Rose stood with the other varsity
cheerleaders on the field. They just finished warming up and were waiting for
the game to start. Ashley nudged Rose, since she was in on the plan, pointing
to Cal, who was finding a seat in the bleachers. Rose caught his attention and
waved. Cal smiled back and sat down, and as she expected, his eyes never left
her. Rose turned to look at the football team. Slowly, she tugged on one of her
ribbons. That was the signal and Jack didn't miss a beat.
*****
Cal watched Rose, who was conversing with
Ashley, when suddenly Jack Dawson appeared next to them. Rose flashed Jack a
dazzling smile, which made Cal's blood boil. What the hell was going on? Almost
instantly, Jack's arms went around Rose's waist and...were they kissing? Cal
squinted and moved down a few rows. They were! He couldn't believe what his
eyes were seeing. Rose and Jack? It wasn't possible. Rose was his. "God
dammit!" Cal cursed, turning away, unable to watch anymore.
*****
Jack and Rose burst through the school doors,
out into the cool September night.
"Did you see the look on his face?"
Jack managed to get out between laughs.
That sent Rose into hysterics. "He
looked like he wanted to call the cops," she gasped before suddenly
stopping laughing and giving Jack a serious look. "I love you."
"This is crazy."
"I know, it doesn't make any sense.
That's why I trust it."