Sorry guys-it has been the absolute week from hell here on the home front. My roommates are fighting, have been all summer, and are trying to pull me into the middle. One's already not speaking to me...*sigh* It's hard to write when hostility is rolling through the house like a storm cloud.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter, and I'm working on the next one!

CHAPTER ELEVEN-East and West

The rest of the day was misery. Not only was I being completely ignored by David, but I had also been shut out from my best friend-Lo had apparently decided to let me come to her, to make me swallow my pride and apologize…something that I was not very good at by any stretch of the imagination.

All of this, along with the fact that I had been absolutely dripping wet from homeroom to pretty much the ringing of the final bell, was enough to make me feel like I was fucked twenty ways from Sunday no matter what I did.

I pushed my way out of the building after seventh period math (math-yet another reason to hate the world), continuing to avoid making eye contact, and then looked around for Jake’s car. I was desperate to be out of here-the last thing I wanted was a repeat of the first day of school…

I heard a horn honk and I whirled around. Jake’s white car was right behind me. I thanked baby Jesus profusely before throwing myself into the passenger’s seat. I dropped my bag on the floor and urged Jake to go with a quick hand gesture, not even bothering with my seatbelt.

He stared at me for a moment, evaluating my expression. “Bad day?” he asked softly, not even bothering with pretenses.

I crossed my arms and stared out the window. “Can we just go, please?” I asked, trying to make my voice hard. Trying, but failing. I could feel the tears rising in the back of my eyes, and I was determined that I wasn’t going to cry in front of the whole school. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them. “Please?”

He nodded and pulled through a gap in the waiting cars, allowing me to gain the escape I so desperately needed. As soon as we had turned onto the street, I lost my battle with keeping the tears at bay. They streaked hot and fast down my face, doubtlessly taking what little makeup I had left on with them.

“Van, what happened?” he asked me, startled. Jake hadn’t seen me cry since I was eleven years old, when he’d stumbled into my room after I’d had a nightmare. I shook my head. I didn’t have an explanation for what had happened today. “Van, come on. You can talk to me, remember? East meets west, right?” he joked, referring to the nickname we’d given ourselves when I’d first started high school.

I bit back a sob and nodded, trying to laugh through my tears. “Yeah,” I said, my voice breaking just a little. After a moment, I turned my head so that I was looking out the front window. “I wish I understood,” I admitted, tapping my fingers on the top of my knee. “It might make it easier. The only thing I know is that two people hate me right now, and I can’t seem to shrug it off this time.”

“Who hates you?” he queried, keeping his eyes on the road. I think he knew that if he looked at me right now, I’d stop talking. I couldn’t look myself in the face at the moment, let alone anyone else.

“Lo…and David,” I said, my voice dropping to a whisper.

“Why do you care what David thinks of you?” he asked, curious. I could feel his eyes dart over to look at me, despite the fact that his body was still facing towards the road. There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. “Oh. Oh,” he said. “Van, I had no idea that you…”

“I’m just upset about hurting his feelings!” I snapped, backtracking. “It doesn’t mean I like him or anything, gosh. Why does everyone assume…?”

“Maybe because they see something that you’re refusing to?” he shot back at me, unfazed by my temper. He was used to it by now. He paused, and then the first name I said registered with him. “Why is Lauren mad at you?” he asked.

“We got in a fight this morning in homeroom,” I muttered. “I took my frustration out on her, and…I shouldn’t have,” I said, biting my lip.

“Well, no shit, little sis,” he said, pursing his lips. “So now she’s pissed at you for being…”

“A bitch,” I filled in, rolling my eyes.

“Right,” he agreed before moving on. “But why is David upset with you?”

“Um…” I wasn’t sure how to explain what had gone down in my room on Saturday night, but thankfully Jake understood my silence.

“Oh,” he said, nodding. “So he told you that he likes you and you lied and said you didn’t feel the same way.” I opened my mouth, and I thought I saw him roll his eyes at me. “And don’t try lying to me, because I know you better than that, Van.”

“Then maybe it’s better that I don’t say anything,” I muttered, continuing to look out the windshield.

He sighed. “Look, David is my friend, but you’re my sister. No matter what you decide to do, you’ll always come first to me, all right?”

“Jake…” I was uncomfortable with expressions of emotion.

“Look, Van, I know we don’t do this often, simply because you hate hearing me talk about how I feel. But I do love you, Van. Even when you’re the biggest bitch on the entire planet, you’re my flesh and blood, and nothing will ever change that. I’ll even quit the band if I have to.”

I scowled. “You will not quit the damn band, Jake. No matter how much things absolutely fucking suck for me, you need the exposure that a band brings. You’re too good to let my shit drag you down.”

“Was that a show of affection I heard from you?” he teased, a grin crossing his face. I laughed to myself. When he smiled, it was easy to see why there were always girls chasing after him. Speaking of girls…

“Maybe,” I said, smirking. “But you’ll only find out if you tell me what’s going on with Lo, Jake.” I watched him as he turned crimson. “Are you planning on making a move on my best friend?”

“I won’t do anything without your permission,” he said quickly as he turned onto our street. “And I’m definitely not going to do anything until the two of you make up.”

I sobered. “I’m going to have to call her when I get home. This whole not having classes together thing is really becoming an impediment.”

He laughed. “I could see how that would be a problem,” he agreed. “But I’m sure that you two will work this out in your strange way, like you always do.” He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. I grabbed my bag off of the floor of his car and opened the door. “Van,” he said, stopping me with his voice. “Do you need me to talk to David?”

I shook my head. “No,” I replied. “Someday I’ll be able to talk to him.”

“Do you think someday could come in a few weeks?” he asked, curious. “The band is having its first gig the Friday before Thanksgiving. Maybe you could come out,” he suggested. “Talk to Cook about this whole mess.”

“Maybe,” I agreed softly, thinking. I stepped out of the car, Jake right behind me. The second he caught up to me, he tried to pull me into a hug. I pushed him off, looking around. “I am not going to hug you in the middle of the freaking driveway,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I still have a reputation to uphold, remember?”

“Yeah, okay,” he said sarcastically, following me into the house. As soon as the kitchen door had shut behind us, he grabbed me around the middle and pulled me into a huge bear hug.

“Jake!” I groaned, only half-fighting him.

“You said not in the driveway,” he reminded me. “We’re inside the house, so there’s no need to fear the loss of your ‘rep’.”

After a moment, I sighed and wrapped my arms around my older brother. No matter how annoying I found him sometimes…well, I was grateful that it was Jake who was my older brother. “Thanks,” I said into his shirt, speaking softly so that he wouldn’t hear.

He heard me anyway. “Anytime.”