Saturday, December 22, 2012

Chapter 32: Anything to Protect You


Elliot hasn't had this much fun since....


his back injury ended his acrobatic career.


Happily Claire is on hand to help Elliot forget the pain and have fun in other ways.


"It's not a perfect sphere," Farrell complains.

"It's good enough for something that will melt come spring," Aouregan laughs.


The kids are all in school, but the adults are taking a snow day.


The last project of the day is building and igloo in the front yard.


"Why are you taking the fall for this?" Jesse demands.

"As soon as they figured out the tests were stolen, they immediately blamed me," Jack answers, "Who else were they going to finger?"

"But it wasn't you, Jack! And that was your last chance, you've been expelled! Delaney doesn't have your history, and she has her father's weight behind her. If you told the truth, you'd still be in school and all Delaney would get is a slap on the wrist."

"I'm not ratting out Delaney," Jack says firmly.


Jesse sits wearily on the pile of old mattresses. "You're throwing away your whole future," he sighs.

"And what future is that?"

"The one where you graduate high school, and make something of yourself."



"Whatever I make of myself, high school won't be part of it," Jack says, joining his brother on the mattress pile, "My future is with Laney, and I'll take the fall for her every time."

"That's crazy, Jack."

"Well, I'm the crazy one, right? And you're the smart one. You're the one with the future."


"If you won't tell the truth about who stole the tests, maybe you could talk to Delaney, get her father to pull some strings for you, get you another chance with the school."

"I don't think she's told her father about me, Jess. If she did, I highly doubt he'd be very supportive. And anyway, if I got another chance, I'd just blow it, right? My grades are shit, so even if I did graduate, I'm not suddenly going to be doctor material."


"You could be, you know. You aren't stupid. You just don't try."

"Jesse, stop trying to save me."

"You're my brother, Jack.


"I looked for you at school all day, only to find out you'd been expelled for something I'd done," Delaney exclaims, rushing over to the old warehouse where she knew she'd find Jack as soon as she learned what happened. "How could you let them blame you, when it was my crime?"

"Because I couldn't rat you out, Laney," Jack says, "Because I love you and would do anything to protect you."


"But this," Delaney groans, "This, getting expelled, is too much. You know they wouldn't do more than suspend me. And my father would probably step in so they wouldn't even do that, and I'd just have detention for a week. If that. I can't let you do this. I'm going to the principal first thing tomorrow..."

"You can't, Laney. There's no point. Even if you tell them you did it, I was there with you, and that makes me guilty, too. Everyone, including your father, will blame me for corrupting you. Either way, I'm going down. This way, you don't go down with me. Please, just let this go, Laney, let me take the fall."

"Jack, this just doesn't feel right..."


"It feels right to me, Laney," Jack answers, pulling her close.


"But, what will you do?" Delaney asks softly.

"My dad kicked me out, so I'm going to squat here until I get my shit together."

"Jack, I can't let you do this," Delaney protests, "How can you even live like this?"

"Don't worry about me," Jack says, "I know a guy, I've done a few jobs for him already. He'd be willing to take me into the organization."

"Jack..."

"Sssh, Laney. I've got it covered. I'll take care of myself. I'll take care of you. Now, c'mon, I got us some beer, so we can celebrate my liberation from the tyranny of high school.""



 "You know," Delaney whispers, "I'm kind of jealous. You're out of school, out on your own. It must be so exciting."



"You're the only part of my life that I'm excited about, Laney."


Shadow hesitates just a second before ringing the doorbell to the Hawksquill house. He and Iola had had their moment of irresponsibility, and now it was time to face the consequences. 


Iola lets him in. "My father is waiting for you in the parlor," she says quietly, "I'm sorry, I had to tell them."

"You're all right?" Shadow asks.

"It's good news, I'm not pregnant," she says with a slight smile. Shadow sighs in relief, "And Dad got me on the pill, so, in the future...we'll be okay."


"Iola has told you, I assume," Ariel starts off, "You both were very lucky. But I have to ask, what would you have done if you weren't so lucky, if Iola did become pregnant?"



"We jumped into things without thinking," Shadow admits, leaving out the part about how he was literally out of his right mind when it happened, "We certainly weren't planning on having a child this young. But, honestly, Dr. Hawksquill, we are planning on getting married right after graduation, and we do want children, so if it had happened now, it would have just accelerated our plans by a few months."

"If you're going to marry my daughter, you can call me Ariel," Ariel says, "And I'll be honest with you, I'm in no position to lecture you on the dire consequences of early pregnancy. Noelle and I were seventeen when we married. Seventeen and pregnant. It's not what we had planned, but it's been seventeen years and we have no regrets. Still, I'm glad you two are smart enough to have come to us, and to be smarter about your behavior going forward."

"Thank you Dr....Ariel," Shadow says, trying to not make his relief so obvious.

"Noelle and I are both very happy with Iola's choice in a partner," Ariel continues, "We can't imagine anyone else we'd rather have as our son-in-law." 

26 comments:

  1. Jack and Jesse made me very sad. :(

    But it's good things are working out for Shadow.

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    1. Thanks, Becky!
      I don't normally do scenes where none of my active family are involved, but I really felt a need to show Jack and Jesse together.
      Shadow does have it a lot easier.

      Delete
  2. Oh Jack, what have you got yourself into? *sigh*

    Him and Laney are really sweet together, but I don't want him to get into all this mess :(

    Shadow and Iola are also really sweet together, I loled when Shadow tried to explain to Ariel, and then realised he was high and probably shouldn't haha.

    These teens of yours, eh? :)

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    1. Jack has gotten himself into some trouble, all for his girl.

      And I know, even my 'good' teens this generation are up to something.

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  3. Well, yay for no babies yet for Shadow. Jack is growing on me and I think he and Delaney are really cute together.

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    1. Thanks, heaven.
      Jack is very devoted to Delaney, I'll give him that. And it's hard to say who will be making the most trouble for whom.

      Delete
  4. I second what Becky said, lol. :D

    Jack has really grown on me, I hope things get better for him! It seems like Laney is a bad influence for him---

    What an awkward moment for Shadow---it's a good thing Ariel likes him!

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    1. Yeah, Laney does have her very wild side, and Jack is the one in trouble for it.

      That was awkward for Shadow. It definitely could have been a lot worse, but he and Iola are pretty much engaged and her parents approve of that. And were in the same position themselves once, so he caught a break.

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  5. I can understand some of what Jack did and why. I guess his actions were the best for everyone. I just hope that the repercussions won't hit them really hard like they might. How could he have stood there and said he didn't do it, Delaney did? It would have been funny, but completely out of character, for what I know of him at this point. :) A favourite couple for me? hmmm ^_^

    Poor Elliot and his back injury. That opening picture was awesome. :)

    Shadow seems to have really settled things well and is very fortunate that Iola's father is so understanding.

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    1. Yeah, there was no way Jack was going to put the blame on Delaney, even though she was one that stole the tests.
      Jack and Delaney have become something of a favorite for me as well. I do likle my little troublemakers.

      But of course I adore my Shadow and Iola as well. Ariel is probably just so happy Iola was able to find a guy who can handle her abilities.

      Poor Elliot, lol. When I sent him out skateboarding, I totally thought, 'hey, should you be doing that with your back injury?' And then he fell. LOL

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  6. Oh, I hope Jack doesn't get himself into something he shouldn't. But I am happy with his relationship with Delaney. They're so cute together. Sorry Shadow and Iola, the two of you are cute too... but my favorite couple right now is still Jack and Delaney.

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    1. Thanks, Tsuki!
      Jack and Delaney have been kind of stealing the show here, lol.

      Delete
  7. Ack, I still think Delaney should correct the school's accusations and confess. Whatever would happen to Jack wouldn't be as bad as what he's getting now.

    I like Shadow and Iola, they're my favorite couple. :)

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    1. That's true,Jack would probably get off easier if Delaney confessed.
      Thanks, I love Shadow and Iola, too. I'm glad they are still a favorite with some people. =D

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  8. Oh my gosh, that scene between Jack and his brother reminded me of that scene from "Stand by Me" where River Phoenix's character breaks down about everyone assuming he was the classroom thief. That scene always makes me cry, and this one just about did the same. No one ever wants to feel like everyone expects the worst from them or have already dismissed them. Great job with that scene.

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    1. Thanks, Redhead. I have to admit I've never seen Stand By Me.
      But that's Jack's situation, he is always the first suspect when there's mischief at school.

      Delete
  9. The scene with Jack and Jesse was really poignant. I feel really sad for Jack, but I can see why he felt the need to take the rap for Delaney. I just hope he doesn't mess up his future too much after being kicked out of school. Poor guy. :(

    I definitely squeed a bit at the Iola/Shadow scene with her father. It's so wonderful how confident they are about their future and how they're going to be together. It's a great contrast to the Jack/Delaney relationship where everything seems so much more unpredictable.

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    1. Thank you, Elly!
      I'm glad I did that scene with Jack and Jesse. Being expelled will have an impact on Jack's future. Or maybe just push him faster down the path he was already heading out on.

      Shadow and Iola are are a contrast to Jack and Delaney. Shadow and Iola are marching right down the standard Sim marry out of high school path (maybe that will change when Uni comes out) while Delaney and Jack's future is much less certain.

      Delete
  10. Poor Jack, I loved the scene with Jesse and it's so sweet of him to take the rap for Delaney, but she really ought to stand up and admit that it was her.

    Shadow & Iola are adorable though, and I loved the scene with Shadow and Iola's father, I'm glad they have her parents' blessing.

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    1. Thanks, Ali. It would be the most responsible thing, for Delaney to own up to her guilt. But, she's not really the most responsible girl, is she, lol?

      Shadow and Iola very much have her parents' blessing. With their own connection to the magical elements, it must be nice for them to know their daughter will have a husband from a similar background, so she won't have to hide her talents from them.

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  11. Oh, Jack. I don't think this "organization" he plans to enter will be good for him...or Delaney. I hope she can extricate herself before it all goes downhill.

    In happier new, Shadow and Iola continue to make me squee!

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    1. Yeah, Jack is setting off in a bad direction and things really could go downhill pretty fast.

      Delete
  12. Ah Jack, what you did is both sweet and kind of stupid. Here's hoping the organization he wants to join isn't run by a Landgraab clone...I hope things work out for him.

    I'm glad Shadow didn't get raked over the coals by Ariel either. Dodged a bullet there!

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    1. Sweet and stupid, that kind of defines Jack. Not that he's a total idiot, but when it comes to Delaney, yeah.
      No Landgraab clones here! Not yay, anyway, You never know, they can be lurking around any corner..,.
      Ariel went pretty easy on Shadow. But, he's very pro seeing his daughter and Shadow married so he's not all that angry. I mean, he wouldn't want to see them rushed into it by pregnancy, but he's also not going to do anything to separate them. So, it's a lecture on birth control, lol.

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  13. lol, well - they took that well...

    I'm worried about Jack... He seems like he has a good heart, but I feel like he feels forced toward a kind of life that isn't going to be easy for him. :(
    That's very realistic though.... There was a time I could have been that kid... Sometimes I feel like I still am that kid.

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    1. Yeah, that's it for Jack exactly, he's got a good heart, but his behavior has earned him a label he can't break free of, and it's limited his choices.

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