Short of Guts

Chapter 9

Hello people:) I'm so happy right now! I've got 201 readers! (Does the snappy victory dance) I know it's little but to me it's a lot! Anyways enjoy!

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Jake dragged Sam and Holly to the car park while the twins bickered with each other about keeping secrets. He thought hard on how to diffuse the situation. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid. When he thought he was far enough away from prying eyes and ears, he turned around and faced them.

"Okay, Sam." Jake said in a calm tone. "Holly and I are just-"

"Going out." Holly butted in while linking her arm to Jake's. Jake stared at her in confusion and said, "Sam wait, what Holly is trying to say is, its all an act."

"Of love" Holly said while giving Jake a smile. Sam looked from Jake to Holly and back not sure who to believe.

"So...you two are dating or what?"

"No, we are just friends." "Yes, we are dating." said Jake and Holly simultaneously.

"Holly! Can you just let me finish ? " Jake pushed her arm away from him.

"Sam, this is all a misunderstanding, this whole thing is just an act. I'll let Holly explain the rest to you. I'm late for my church band practice." Jake walked away, got into his car and drove off angrily, judging from the smoke his Beetle left behind.

"Holls, you have a lot of explaining to do..not to me but to Mom and Dad...Get in the car," said Sam who was furious with the whole situation. Holly's faced set into a stubborn line as she got into the passenger seat and threw her bag and pom-poms behind with so much force it unseated Sam's football bag. She turned on the radio but Sam turned it off and said, "If you want me to forgive you and possibly back you up when Dad and Mom gets wind of this, you may start telling me what the #%#*+~\ just happened?"

She stubbornly ignored him until Sam reminded her about what happened with Brandon.

"I thought you were the one who said my friends were out of bounds after Brandon,"he reminded her.

Holly recognized the worry in his exasperation and knew that her twin was worried for her. It was not only a devastating experience for Holly but being her twin, Sam appeared to have suffered too.

"Do you know how difficult it was for me not to stick my fist into that bastard's face after I began training again?" Sam said with an undertone of remembered anger. Holly gave up on her silent protest and mumbled "There's nothing between us."

"What? I couldn't hear you" Sam deliberately provoked her.

"There's nothing between Jake Fields and me, Ok? " Holly replied belligerently.

"That's a relief coz..."

"I know he is your best bud and.." finished Holly

"He was the one who told me about the bet."

That really got Holly's attention. "What?"

"Yeah, he's decent and doesn't like to seeing others get hurt. One time, he even took the fall for me when I tried to rig Brandon's helmet after the incident, but he claimed he did it when Brandon confronted me at the humiliating experience of not being able to pull his helmet off after practice. "

Holly gave her brother a big smile and said "You did that for me? Aw, you're my hero, so how did Brandon get out of his helmet?"

"I...er...we had to call in the firemen.."

Holly burst out laughing before he could finish, drawing chuckles from Sam. Soon the truth about what happened between Jake and her came out. Later, they were singing along with One Direction's 'One Thing' that came on the radio. Its the way they were, when they fought it seldom lasted after a day, but they could always sense what the other was thinking when they were younger. It used to creep others out. But when puberty hit, Holly and Sam were not inseparable anymore. The gap between them widen when Renee came into the picture. Holly accepted the fact that her brother needed privacy, moreover Renee was one of her BFFs.

"Sigh, I'm gonna have to apologize to Jake," Sam remembered as the song ended.

"Yeah, pretty decent of him to have done all that," admitted Holly.

"You know, if you had picked Jake instead of Brandon, I might have..." Sam trailed off having second thoughts about letting his sister get the better of him.

"Did I hear correctly..." replied Holly with a mischievous grin, "You actually APPROVE me dating a Titan? Well, now that is really a turn about I didn't expect," she grinned at him.

Going on the defensive, Sam quickly clarified his backing of Jake,

"Look, Jake is nothing like Brandon, the jerk. He is a great guy and tough in and outside of the field. He's not a player and my guess is he would respect you and your...you know virtuous stand."

"Oh now I get it," Holly sighed over dramatically, "Jake won't deflower his precious sister, and that's important too..." She jumped out of the car quickly after he had parked staying out of his reach and sprinted to the door not forgetting to shout,

"Too bad he is shorter," before slamming the door behind her laughter.

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What did u al think? I forgot to ask you all, how is the new book cover? Do u like it? My sister did it and I took the photo and edited it:D leave comments on what u think about the book cover and the chapter:) thanksss:):)