Bittersweet Endings

Chapter Ten

Scott's Point of View
The last two weeks have been the worst weeks of my life, worse than when her mother packed her up and moved her to an unknown location. I finally had her back, well I was planning on getting her back. I would fight for her no matter what she just didn't know it yet.
The night Joey's father told her about the contract and that we had to get married she lost her temper massively and left. I wanted to go after her but our parent's stopped me. They told me to just let her go and tomorrow when she calmed down she would come home, except she didn't. She wasn’t at school the following day, neither were her friends. I found out where Luke lived from one of the other students and went around there that afternoon but he told me he had no idea where she was, that he hadn't seen her. I didn't believe him but I had no proof.

When that was unsuccessful I went to the gym to see if any of her boys knew where she was. That was not my best idea. From what I could gather they didn't like me very much there, I had no clue what I had done to deserve their instant hate but it wasn't something I could focus on right now. All I could think was that it had something to do with Joey.

We waited a couple of days to see if she returned and to give her time to process it all, but when she still wasn’t back her parent's called the police. Although with no idea where she could be and the fact that she was almost eighteen, unless they had concerns for her safety which they didn't at least I wasn't going to let them lie to the police there was nothing that could be done except everyone would be sent her picture and to keep an eye for her. All we could do was wait.

And wait we did. I just wanted her to come back. I didn't want to admit it to myself but I missed her, I missed her more now than I did five years ago, and I missed her a lot then. For the past five years I have been trying to convince myself to hate her, she left me and didn't even bother trying to keep in touch. I wasn't successful with this, my heart wouldn’t let me hate her. She showed me why when she had her outburst and admitted that her mother wouldn't let her. It answered all the questions I had about why when all the times I rang and she told me that Joey didn't want to talk to me.

The harder I tried to make myself hate her, the more I missed her and the more I missed her the more I fell for her. I could never tell her that though, she would just laugh at me. My thoughts consisted around wondering if she was okay and trying to work out what she meant when she told me that not talking to her wasn't the only way I had hurt her. I thought through everything we had ever done or said trying to figure out what it could have possibly been.

Today marked exactly two weeks since she had left, I dragged myself down the familiar corridor at the school to where I had been meeting Luke and Megan each morning before school to find out if they had heard for Joey. Each day they told me that hadn't and I could never work out if they were telling me the truth or not. One good thing had happened since Joey left thought and that was a couple of days after her disappearance Luke and Megan officially became a couple.

From the moment I first saw them both you could tell that they were into each other just in denial about it. They made a cute couple and two that I could see lasting the long run. I was almost to the meeting point when some girl who I believe was in my math class walked up to me. You could tell by the way she carried herself that she oozed confidence, she believed that she could have whatever she wanted. She was about to learn the hard way that, that she was wrong.

"Hey there baby, you look a little lonely. I could help you with that." She purred.

I rolled my eyes at her, not even trying to hide it. "I don't have time to put up with your pathetic attempts to get in my pants so just leave me alone." I replied to her, before walking off. Leaving her there with a stunned look on her face. She clearly didn't get rejected too often.

I made it to the small courtyard where I had been meeting them each more and today was the same as every morning. I would walk around the corner, find them making out, Megan would spot me and pull away. I wouldn't comment on it instead asking them if they had heard from her, they would say no. I would nod and walk off to homeroom, they would go back to making out until the next bell rang.

As I walked to homeroom I thought more of Joey. Something bad, really bad must have happened in the past five years. I mean she wouldn't let anyone but a select few people touch her, the strange part been they were all boys. I don't know if the training and fighting had something to do with this, and if they had bonded and therefore she trusted them more than most. I hope that had been there for her when she really needed someone as I couldn't be.

There was also this extreme fierceness between her and her mum. Before they moved that had a great relationship, they had been incredibly close. Since moving though her mother appeared to have become incredibly selfish and it was all about her and what she wanted. Nothing stood in her way and she made sure that she maintained her perfect appearance, of both herself and Joey. It explained why she cleaned Joey up after her fight with that Jesse guy. She couldn't have Joey ruining her perfect image.

I couldn't help but be jealous of whoever she was with and of her boys from the gym. She trusted them. I wanted her to open up to me like she used to when we were younger. In particular because we were going to be married, there was no way out of the contract, well no easy way at least. I had already looked into it, thoroughly. I didn't want to force her into this, and I had to make sure she knew that when she got back.

I hadn't told anyone about the contract, and I'm sure she hadn't either. At least no one from around her because if the guys from the gym knew I'm sure I would have been beaten to a pulp and Megan and Luke would have interrogated me if they knew. It seemed like forever until the bell rang and even longer from home room to first period. English, a class I was beginning to hate with a passion it just reminded me of my first day here. When I saw her again.

Joey's Point of View
I woke early even though I hadn't gotten to sleep until the early hours of the morning. I decided to get up, give the place a quick clean and leave. It was only 6:30 am which meant I would be on the road by 8am at the latest and I'd arrive back just in time to go to school. I thought about skipping but I knew the surprise everyone would feel at my return was too good to pass up. The look on Scott's face would be priceless.

He had been asking every morning if Luke or Megan knew where I was or had they heard from me. Each morning they said no, technically they weren't lying in regards to the first question. They didn't know I was at Tristan's. I had made sure that I hadn't given an address to where I was so that the police couldn't come looking for me here. My family and Scott would be sweating out my return and I was enjoying it, way more than I probably should have been.

Climbing out of bed I quickly made it and got changed, stuffing all my things into the bag. I then made my way out to the lounge room, dropping my bag next to the door. I found Tristan still in his pyjama pants and no shirt, something I had grown accustom to whilst I was here.

"Morning." I said, flipping the switch on the kettle to make a coffee.

"Morning, not to put a downer on the morning but what time are you leaving?" He asked.

"As soon as I finish doing a quick tidy up, so most likely between 7:30 and 8am. I'm planning on heading to school and surprise everyone." I replied with a chuckle.

There was a small part of me that was glad to be going home today. Tristan was right I couldn't keep putting it off, and I missed my bed. I would go to school at least for the morning and then I would go and see my boys. I had hopefully starved off most of their worry by sending them a message every couple of days, they didn't know about Tristan. The only thing about me they knew about was Scott, and for now I was planning on keeping it that way.

"Fair enough. I can just imagine your grand entrance to shock everyone. I wasn't lying when I said I'll miss having you around. I'm going to have to visit more often and so will you. Don't clean up before you leave, I'll do it tonight. You've spoilt me."  He replied coming over to hug me.

I wasn't happy to be leaving him but he was right we would have to visit more often. I couldn't have everything my own way. After our hug he went to get ready for work whilst I made coffee. Once I was done I sat down on the couch, letting my mind empty. He re-emerged dressed in his work clothes. He walked over to me and gave me another quick hug.

"Send me a message when you get home so I know you arrived safely and then call me tonight to fill me in on how everything goes." he told me.

"Of course, anything else dad?" I joked back, giving him an incredibly cheeky grin.

He grinned back and ruffled my hair despite my protests before heading off to work. I finished my coffee and go to work tidying up, washing and drying the dishes putting a load of washing in the machine and setting the timer so it would be done just after he got home. And putting all the rubbish in the bin. I double checked that I had everything of mine and went to the kitchen, finding a random envelope and pen I left Tristan a quick note.

Big T,
You know me I can't help it. Dishes are done and put away. The washing should be finished any minute now you just have to put it in the dryer.
Don't misbehave too much, and don't miss me too much. Tell everyone I said goodbye.
I'll miss you.
Little J.

Sticking it on the fridge where I knew he would find it, I grabbed my bag and walked out the door, locking it behind me. Going downstairs, I walked over to the bike. Making sure my bag was secure, I put my helmet on and started the bike. It roared to life below me, making my way out of town, I knew I was going to miss this place, but I had to go home.

An hour later I was finally hitting the outskirts of home. It took less time to get back but that was because I may have been speeding slightly, I wasn't afraid of getting caught this time. I made my way to the school,  there was no point in going anywhere else yet. It didn't take long to reach the school, I drove slowly through the carpark looking for a park. Thankfully I was on a bike so I didn't need as much space and I found a park right near the office. It was perfect as that was my first point of call. I pulled into the park, climbed off the bike, took the helmet off and shook my head to loosen the hair that had stuck to my head, then walked into the front office.

If I hadn't had to slow down due to the old lady I would have made it on time and wouldn't have needed to come here, they didn't like me very much in the office.

"Morning ladies, I need a late pass and may I leave this here with you?" I said in the nicest tone I could muster.

"Miss Daniels, how nice of you to grace us with your presence. Yes you can leave your helmet here, here's your late pass and the principal would like to see you after school." One of the ladies replied, I couldn't remember her name for the life of me.

I nodded, handed her my helmet and took my late pass. Little did she know Luke would be picking the helmet up and I wasn't going to be here long enough to get to after school. There was no way I was going to be doing work today. I just come to see everyone, find out the rumours that would be circulating after my disappearance and leave to go see my boys. It was Tuesday which meant English first period. I knew I could get away with doing nothing, it was the only class I was actually doing well in. I made my towards the English classroom, it took several minutes mainly because the office was on the opposite side of the school away from everything.

A few minutes later I arrived, on my way I was decided if I should just walk in or knock. The old side of me said to just walk right back in and to be honest it did sound to be the more fun option. I was supposed to be trying out this be nice thing but that could come later. I walked up to the English room and opened the door and walked in. I think the entire class gasped when they realised it was me. From there reaction I was thinking that while I was gone I had been pronounced dead and here I was walking in alive and well. Unfortunately for them the story wasn't anywhere near that good. I walked up to Mr Burns and handed him my later pass.

"Hey Burnsy, have I missed much?" I asked with a smirk on my face.

He wasn't paying me any attention when I first walked in and obviously thought I was someone else until he looked up and realised it was me and not just some other student.

"A little bit, but I'm sure you will get all the notes off someone else, go and take your seat." He replied.

I nodded my head at him and walked to my seat at the back. I looked over and Megan and Luke, giving them a small smile so they knew I was okay, they smiled back clear excitement in their eyes. I guess they had missed me. While Megan was still looking at me and not paying any attention to the boy next to her, Luke mouthed 'thank you' His plan had worked with my help and they had gotten together, nothing had been said while I was away but I hadn't exactly been very chatty in the last two weeks.

Scott was in the seat next to me, it was no surprise given that it was the only seat available. I wasn't ready to talk to him yet, even though I had made my decision about giving this a go. I just wasn't ready to talk yet, my plan was to ignore him all day. I had a strong suspicion he wouldn't let me off that easy but it was worth a shot. I pulled my iPod out of my bag and began to play music, I knew there was possibly a pen in the bottom of my bag somewhere but no paper and realistically if I was getting notes for the past two weeks adding todays as well would be no big issue.

About ten minutes into the class a note with a pen attached landed on my desk. I knew who it was from, like I said I doubted that he would let me ignore him for the day. I took my time opening the note, revealing Scott's messy handwriting.

Where have you been? Everyone has been worried about you. Scott

I've been at a friend's place, not that it's anything to you. Joey

Are you forgetting that we're getting married and you're my friend, well at least I thought you were so of  course it's something to me. Scott

How could I forget? Why do you think I've been gone so long. Joey

Do you hate me that much? Scott

I don’t hate you at all. It's just complicated and I needed time on my own away from you and our parents to think. Joey

Well it sure seems like you hate me. Scott

I don't expect you to understand. Joey

Maybe if you would talk to me then I would understand. Every time I've tried talking to you its ended in you threatening me. Is there any chance that after school we could go somewhere to talk, just us? Scott

Not today. I'm going to see my boys and then I have to go home and deal with the backlash there. Depending on how bad things seem to be we can go somewhere on the weekend. Joey

Tristan popped into my mind at that point, reminding me that I did need to hear Scott out. To get his side of the story, it's not like he asked for this contract to be written either and he had lost his friend five years ago. I had put up an argument when he first suggested it but he quickly silenced me and made me see that once again he was right. And so maybe just maybe I would give him a chance to explain whatever it is he wanted to explain.

I can live with that. I would really like to be given the chance for us to just talk. Before everything happens. Are you okay? Scott

Too bad if you couldn't. I'm fine, if I had my way I would have stayed where I was for longer but my friend reminded me that eventually I would have to come back. Joey

We continued to pass the note back and forth for most of the class, I saw Mr Burns glance at me a few times but he didn't say anything and for that I was grateful. We didn't talk about anything in particular and in a way it was nice, I knew I should tell him that one way or another we would talk on the weekend just to put his mind at easy but I didn't mind keeping him on his toes for now.

Scott's Point of View
I was sitting in English, not paying attention just like I had been for the past two weeks my mind was preoccupied and a million miles away. I had already decided that it would be like every other English class recently when next thing the door bursts open, not very gracefully and the entire classroom gasps. There was only one thing or person I should say that would get that type of reaction, I looked up and standing at the front of the class was Joey. Finally she was home.

I wanted to jump up and hug her, but that would probably result in her decking me in front of the entire class, not something I wanted to happen. All I could do was stare at her, for anyone watching it would have looked incredibly creepy but I had been waiting for this moment for two weeks. She talked to the teacher for a few seconds before taking her seat next to me, she didn't acknowledge me at all. I waited to see if she was going to look at me but instead she grabbed out her iPod and began to listen to music.

Ten minutes later and she still hadn't acknowledged me, from the way she was sitting I could tell that she was going to ignore me. I ripped a piece of paper out of my notebook and wrote a quick note on it before attaching a pen and throwing it to her. She didn’t look up when it landed on her desk but she did open it and read it. A few seconds later she wrote something and tossed it back at me.

I've been at a friend's place, not that it's anything to you. Joey

I should have known that she wouldn't tell me where she had been staying but it was worth a shot. I wrote back and hoped the response would be a somewhat positive one.

Are you forgetting that we're getting married and you're my friend, well at least I thought you were so of  course it's something to me. Scott

How could I forget? Why do you think I've been gone so long. Joey

I was so wrong, I was beginning to think she truly did hate me. I couldn't think of anything that I had done that was so bad to warrant this reaction to me, I couldn't help it when my response was asking if she hated that much.

Do you hate me that much? Scott

I don’t hate you at all. It's just complicated and I needed time on my own away from you and our parents to think. Joey

Her response shocked me, from the way she reacted around me it come across that she hated me with everything she had but yet here she was saying she didn't hate me. I could understand the need to get away from our parents, they really could be a little over bearing when they wanted to be.

Well it sure seems like you hate me. Scott

I don't expect you to understand. Joey

She was sticking to her claim that she didn't hate me and that it was simply the fact that I wouldn't understand what was going one with her, maybe if she actually talked to me then I would understand.

Maybe if you would talk to me then I would understand. Every time I've tried talking to you its ended in you threatening me. Is there any chance that after school we could go somewhere to talk, just us? Scott

Not today. I'm going to see my boys and then I have to go home and deal with the backlash there. Depending on how bad things seem to be we can go somewhere on the weekend. Joey

I should have guessed that she would be going to see them after school especially given she had been gone for two weeks. I had to admit I couldn't understand her relationship with them, she claimed she didn't like people touching her yet she hugged them freely. I could admit that a big part of that was jealousy. She did say that we might be able to talk on the weekend and I wouldn't let her get away with not talking to me. I just had to keep reminding her.

I can live with that. I would really like to be given the chance for us to just talk. Before everything happens. Are you okay? Scott

Too bad if you couldn't. I'm fine, if I had my way I would have stayed where I was for longer but my friend reminded me that eventually I would have to come back. Joey

When I read that she was happier where she was, it hurt more than I wanted to admit but I also couldn't blame her, it was a lot to take in and have thrown at you. For the rest of the class we continued to pass the note back and forth, we didn't talk about anything in particular but it was our first somewhat real conversation since I had come back into her life.