From the wrong side of the tracks

Jason kept his eyes on the road even when the sounds in the backseat became more frenzied. He was turning over what had happened in the front seat of the car with the now trembling girl lying across his lap. **Damn it! What the hell was I thinking?! First, she’s David’s kid sister and second, she is way too young. Fuck, I nearly had her in the front seat of my car with her brother within screaming distance!** Jason cursed himself over and over in his head, making up his mind to ignore Claire once they arrived at the house. **She won’t get any ideas about anything if I ditch her at the party. She’ll think I was just after some tail and hate me, but she won’t get any ideas about anything else.**



His mind made up, Jason turned onto the worn, dirt drive that led to the back of the property where other cars had parked. Randy’s house was way out in the woods, no neighbors and so well away from the cops. Jason slid out from beneath Claire’s head and threw the seat back to let David and a rumpled Brittany out of the car. He closed the door and walked away without even glancing at Claire who still sat in the front seat, staring at his retreating back. Confused, Claire slowly got out of the car and closed the door. She made sure her clothes were well in place as she walked towards the house which was ablaze with light and had music pounding out every open door and window. Stepping up the wooden steps that led up to a back patio, Claire took a look around. She was surprised to see that she recognized several of the people as ones from her classes. Tyler Woodal, varsity quarterback was sitting on the edge of a Jacuzzi, his arm around Tracey Englehart, co-captain of the drill team. Several other popular personalities mingled with the older crowd in and around the house. David and his date had already melted inside, Claire caught a glimpse of David at a keg getting a beer. Jason was nowhere to be seen.



Claire nervously made her way into the house, deciding that if she got a drink she wouldn’t look so awkward. She saw that a guy was being lifted upside-down to do a keg stand so she moved over to the little bar, where a burly man that looked to be in his mid-twenties had taken over as bartender. There were several girls around the bar, flirting and doing shots. One of them was Melissa Bauer, a popular girl that usually got the starring roles in the high school plays. Melissa saw Claire, “Hey! Claire, right? Come over here and have a drink with us. This is Claire, she’s David’s lil sis. You’re in my Algebra class too, right?” Claire nodded and joined the crowd, glad to not be alone anymore. The bartender poured five shots and winked at her as he handed what Melissa called “Redheaded sluts!” She watched as the girls threw the drinks quickly back and tried to do the same. The drink dribbled around the corners of her mouth and she choked a little on trying to swallow it down. It actually tasted good. Claire smiled as she wiped her mouth, “I guess I need a little more practice.” Melissa and the other girls laughed and quickly had the bartender, who Claire found was named Sam, fix up four more shots and they rooted her on as she threw back each in succession. By the last, Claire had managed to down it in a single gulp and was feeling quite proud of herself. Melissa and the other girls screamed as Rhianna’s “SOS” came on. They grabbed her hand and ran towards the pseudo dancefloor that had been made by moving the living room furniture.



While dancing, someone had gotten hold of a bottle of Smirnoff, and the girls traded around each other while moving to the music. When it was passed to Claire, she was about the refuse but then caught sight of Jason. He was near the wall of the stairway, pressing a girl with streaked hair against it, his lips devouring hers and his hips grinding her deeper into the wall. His hands molded the shape of her breasts over the tight tube top she wore. Claire stopped moving for a second and looked on disbelievingly. **How can he be kissing her like that after what we shared earlier? Was that all he wanted? To know he could have me at any moment? I thought….I had thought…** Claire couldn’t complete the thought. As if he could feel her gaze on him, Jason lifted his head and turned it around. The other woman’s head leaned against the wall as she caught her breath, her hands running over his back. Jason’s eyes met Claire’s, her eyes shining slightly and his unreadable. Even though his expression didn’t reflect anything, his thoughts swirled, **Jesus, look at her. Its like kicking a puppy. I didn’t think what we did affected her that much. Maybe I should go talk to her…** As he was about the let go of the woman he held (he didn’t even know her name), Claire stomped off towards the balcony, gulping the Vodka down with a frightening speed. Jason wanted to go after her but second thought himself, **She isn’t my problem. If she wants to get smashed, that’s to her. She’s David’s responsibility. And she can take care of herself.** As he allowed his head to be drawn back to the faceless blonde’s lips, Jason didn’t believe his own words. Who was he kidding? David was probably stoned by now and was fucking Brittany somewhere. He didn’t give two shits about what happened to Claire. Jason pulled out of the other woman’s arms and followed the direction Claire had gone in. He couldn’t just leave her alone, she had no idea what went on here.





Claire refused to let tears fall as she hurried away from the tableau of Jason practically screwing some other girl against a wall. He hadn’t cared at all about what she had given him, hadn’t cared that she had let him touch her in ways no one ever had before. She went outside to the patio, hoping the night air might give her some clarity. Claire looked down at the bottle in her hand and set it down on the floor next to the door. Her balance was a little uneven and she suspected that the alcohol was catching up to her. How much had she had to drink? She had never really been drunk before, preferring to drink coke whenever others were drinking. She made her way to the end of the balcony and gripped the railing, trying to ground the now spinning landscape. An arm draped around her shoulders and Claire hoped to turn and see Jason behind her, an apology in his eyes. Instead, Casey Griest leaned on the railing next to her, a sloppy smile and uncomfortable look in his eyes. “Hey you. I know you. You work at….that place…my sister takes lessons there…”



“Celeste’s Dance Academy?”



“Yeah! That’s it. You look hot in those tights and that…bathing suit thing…with your hair up…really hot.”



“Um, thanks.” Claire turned away from him and concentrated on the backyard, hoping he would take the hint and leave. Unfortunately, he didn’t. His hand came down from her shoulder and started to stroke her side. Claire moved away, taking a step to the right. He followed. She moved again, and he took another step forward. Now his arm circled her waist to hold her in one place.



“Where are you going? You don’t need to go anywhere.”



“Please leave me alone.” Claire tried to move out of his grasp but his arm tightened. This was enough. “Get your hands off me right now.”



He smiled again, “Aw, c’mon babe. Don’t tell me I can’t have a little kiss. Just a little one? Please? Fuck, you’re hot.”



Claire put her hands on his chest to push him back as he leaned forward, but his arm tightened and his other hand moved to the back of her head. His mouth came down on her’s, sloppy and wet and tasting like beer. This was nothing like Jason’s kiss. Claire struggled but the alcohol made her motions weaker. He moved his body up against hers, his groin digging into her. The hand on her head moved to her breast and he squeezed it painfully. Tears began to leak from beneath her lashes and Claire looked to see if anyone around was going to help her. The party was mostly going on inside, the only people on the deck where making out or in other stages of…intimacy. Claire was embarrassed to see one couple was actually doing it against the wall of the house. No one was paying them any attention. Claire bit his lip and tried to move out of his hold, but this only enraged him. He pulled back and smacked her across the face, leaned her over the railing and dug himself into the apex of her thighs. While the world spun before her eyes, Claire could vaguely feel someone moving her legs apart and fumbling with her jeans. She cried out and moved the shove the hands away when suddenly they were gone. Claire moved herself off the railing to see Jason pounding Casey furiously, one hand holding him up by his shirt and the other punching his face as if he could put his fist through Casey’s head.



Claire ran over and grabbed Jason’s arm as he had it lifted to strike again. “Jason stop! I’m okay, I’m okay. Please stop!” Her pleas got through and Jason shoved the nearly unconscious Casey to the ground. “You ever fucking touch her again and I’ll kill you.” He said this with such a dangerous calm that no one in the quickly gathered crowd dared disbelieve him. Jason took Claire’s arm and started walking into the house. David was coming down the stairs, looking very much the worse for wear. His clothes were wrinkled, his hair mussed, and purple shadows were under his eyes. For all this though there was a purely satisfied smile on his face and obviously he did not know what just happened outside. Jason stopped in front of him, “Dave, I’m taking her home. You gonna be okay to find a ride?”



David shook his head and went back up the stairs, he really didn’t look as if he cared. Jason continued to walk Claire outside, still gripping her arm and threw her into his car. He came around the other side and slammed in, gunned the engine and the pulled away from the house in a roar. Jason’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles gleamed white and Claire sank into the leather of the seat. She was glad he had gotten Casey off of her but the image of him with the other girl still lingered in her head. Still, he had come for her.



“Thank you.” Claire broke the silence first. Jason nodded, whether it was to accept the thanks or to acknowledge that he heard her, she did not know. Claire shifted in the seat and simply stared at his profile. At this time, she couldn’t care that he knew she watched him.



Jason could feel her eyes on him and tried to keep his mouth shut. He concentrated on counting the miles as they ticked off. By the third one, he’d had enough. “What the hell were you thinking, being around that asshole?” Claire thought it interesting that Jason never yelled when he was angry, his voice just got dangerously soft. No, soft wasn’t the right word. His words had an edge of steel in them despite the low voice that they were spoken in. Hard is a better word. Claire shifted for a different reason when she thought of that word. It reminded her of how he had felt pressed against her in the same front seat she sat in now, only hours before. She tried to focus on his question. “It wasn’t like I offered myself to him. I just went outside for some air after…” she couldn’t quite make herself say what she had saw “…after dancing and he just wouldn’t leave me alone.”



Jason knew it was his fault for what had happened. HE had left her alone, HE had driven her outside. He was just glad that he had decided to follow her out there. The people outside were so far gone on sex, drugs, and alcohol they probably wouldn’t have noticed an alien invasion. But he was still in control and he should have looked out for her. He decided to be honest.



"Look, I'm sorry you had to go through that and I'm sorry about what you saw. You have to have to face it. You and I come from two different worlds and I'm not the kind of guy you want to hang around."



"I think that I should be able to make that decision myself." How dare he try to make up his mind who she can and cannot see?



“Well, I don’t. You’re too innocent, naïve, and just too damn young to get involved with any of this stuff. Trust me baby, it would eat you alive. You should just stay home, do what your mother tells you and be a good girl like you always have.”



Claire was so incensed she could barely speak. “So what?! So because I’m not a slut or an alcoholic or a druggie and because I lead a decent life I’m not worth your attention?! Well screw you! To think that I may have gotten the impression that you were a decent guy that just wasn’t given a chance! You ARE an asshole!” They were now on her street. Neither said anything as he pulled up in the drive. Jason wanted to say something to her, tell her that she was wrong and that he did want her but it just couldn’t happen, but he couldn’t get the words out. She slammed the car door and stomped into the house. **Let her think you’re an asshole, that’s what you wanted isn’t it? You did the right thing. You’re both better off not getting involved. You have nothing in common and sooner or later you both would wind up getting hurt. You’re doing her a favor. She’ll thank you one day.** But no matter how many times he told himself that, he couldn’t quite believe it.