Liquid Silver

Three

Jem stirred awake to the sound of the radio downstairs.

Her heart filled with relief to hear Johnny Cash, her dad's favourite album, and his voice mixed with Stiles' as they sang along. Then she realised that there was someone in the bed next to her. For a moment she wanted to stay where she was. She'd never felt so cosy, her back pressed against Brett's chest on their sides, his arm thrown around her.

His breathing was so deep and even, she knew he was perfectly at peace, with her in his arms. Of course, her realisation that it was a Monday morning cut that thought off pretty quickly.

She shot awake, realising she never turned on her alarm for school. It was their first day back, and she was meant to be there in just over half an hour. Brett flinched when she moved to jump out of the bed, only now realising that she was about to be in so much trouble.

"What's wrong" Brett sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily, still half asleep. Jem was already pulling her freshly dry cleaned uniform back out of the wardrobe.

"School" she told him, without even looking his way. He got the message anyways, standing up quickly to collect up his own clothes that had been drying on the radiator all night. Jem prayed to every god she could think of that her brother or dad wouldn't choose the next few minutes while they both changed to check in on her, and that they wouldn't notice the extra pair of footsteps stumbling around upstairs.

Jem stopped him just before he went to duck out the window, taking him by the shoulder to turn his head. "See you in a bit" she smiled, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before letting him jump down onto the front lawn again, the same smile across his face as he started up his bike.

Jem fell backwards on her bed, allowing herself a few seconds for her head to stop spinning before she finished fixing in the pin on her skirt. As she hopped down the steps she tried not to let her cheeks burn up. Stiles and her dad didn't say anything as she joined them for breakfast. She couldn't help grinning when she realised her dad had made waffles for the first day back.

"So I've got a senior and a sophomore now huh?" He passed Jem some syrup, still swaying to Johnny Cash. Jem chuckled at him, before Stiles spun her in a circle from behind. They hadn't had a morning like this in forever. A morning where she could be a giddy little girl again, dancing and singing like a fool with her brother and their dad, not a care in the world.

"Against all odds" she joked, drizzling probably too much syrup and spray cream on her waffles.

Her dad grew slightly more serious, sitting down at the table top opposite Jem and Stiles. "I've got something for you son" He began, reaching a hand into his pocket. Jem was immediately curious, and maybe just a little bit jealous. Stiles was just surprised.

"Your mom wanted you to have it when you started senior year" he told him softly, and pulled a dark brown leather bracelet onto the table. Jem stopped shovelling waffles into her mouth, pausing to remember her mom. "She gave it to me before-"

He didn't need to finish the sentence for Jem to understand. She reached across and squeezed her dad's hand, giving him a smile. Stiles turned the bracelet between his fingers fondly. The leather was beautiful, stained dark brown and smoothed out. Her breath caught as she noticed words pressed into the downside of the leather.

For Stiles, my sweet boy.

It was perfect. She knew Stiles felt the same as he looked across at their dad, a single happy kind of tear running down his cheek. "Thank you Dad" his voice cracked, but he recovered quickly, handing Jem did the bracelet. "Junior, will you do the honours?" he asked her, back to the usual jokey mannered Stiles she was used to.