Love You Sideways - Chapter 1 (NaNo 2009)

Chapter 1
Passion in the Sibling Fashion
Leila1

I still remember the day I met Jakob Hunt, the memory of the event preserved in a vivid Technicolor fashion.2

It was one of those sweltering hot summer days, the kind that left everyone sitting in their house with the A/C turned on high, lazing about in their underwear, and fanning themselves with an old copy of the TV guide in a vain attempt to further cool themselves off. 3

I’d always called them “sticky-days” because of the way they made you drip with sweat and made your clothes cling to you, which was exactly the case as I found myself sitting on the front porch with a Popsicle in hand and wearing nothing but a bathing suit, which hung tightly to my form with a sweaty wetness. 4

I hummed quietly to myself and lapped away at the Popsicle, all the while trying to once again drone out the sound of crashing and yelling coming from inside the house behind me, although, I never could really make it go away.5

Mommy and Daddy were fighting again, and Mommy finally said that she was leaving for good, for Jacksonville to stay with her parents. Grant, my older brother, of course said nothing at the notion and headed up to his room like he always did when our parents fought and Daddy had sent me outside, telling me that he and Mommy were going to try and talk it out, but I knew that never worked.6

Mommy was always trying to leave, and that time I got the impression that she wouldn’t be coming back.7

I tried to push thoughts of Mommy’s potential leave and continued to lick at the desert, some of the pineapple-cherry juice spilling down my front, soiling my bathing suit in a sticky, wet mess of red and orange. 8

It wasn’t until I was just about halfway done with it that I peaked up and caught the first glimpse of him. 9

I remember the way his sandy blond hair hung heavily down across his soft baby-fat ridden features, covering the speckled dots dancing across his the bridge nose. His eyes, a brilliant shade of sky blue, peaked out shyly from behind that thick veil of silk that was his hair. There was a gap between his front teeth then, which was later mended by a few years of braces. 10

He had perched himself up on the curb, legs sprawled out in front of him and his back to me, his little face glancing over his shoulder. His hands sat behind him, palms placed flat against cracked and weather worn concrete of the sidewalk and feet kicked out straight in front of my dad’s parked car, tiny still-malleable bones protruding from baby-smooth skin while in that position. 11

He was only wearing a cheap pair of cut-off shorts, splotches of white here and there where bleach had probably been spilt, and an even cheaper pair of worn out, white Keds on his feet as he sat out on the curb in front of my house, staring awkwardly at me as I sat out on the rickety porch of our house, a certain amount of curiosity and concern painting the glassy blues of his eyes.12

“What’re you doing there?” I’d asked him, cocking my head slightly and letting smooth sunshine golden hair fall over my own then childish features.13

He gave me no answer.14

“How come you’re staring?”15

Again, there was no answer.16

“You know, it’s not very nice to stare. Daddy says that it’s rude,” I told him, lips slightly pressed together in a purse.17

He cocked his head slightly and furrowed his brows, moving to tuck his knees to his chest and rest his arms on them.18

“Your mom and dad are always fighting, aren’t they?” He asked.19

I felt a jolt of surprise pulse through me at his observation. 20

I knew my parents fought a lot, probably more than any parents should have, but I didn’t know that someone else knew, to be more specific: that a stranger knew. Was it really that obvious? Was it so obvious that a little boy no older than me knew that my family was slowly unraveling?21

I quickly looked away from him and shifted in my spot, licking my lips and picking at the plastic wrapping still at the bottom of the Popsicle. A bit of the melted juice dripped from the crinkled plastic and fell onto my lap. I quickly wiped away the wetness with my hand and looked back to him.22

“Not always. Sometimes they take me and Grant to Forester’s Point to go look at the stars,” I said firmly with a nod, as if I was trying to condone the bickering. 23

“And how often does that happen?”24

There was a pause, leaving silence heavy in the air.25

Truth be told, that had only ever happened a few times that I could have recalled offhand. Mommy and Daddy hardly ever made up. Their fights always seemed to drag on in a constant manner, showing absolutely no sign of ever stopping or even letting up just a little. 26

“Not very often,” I admitted quietly.27

A small consoling smile curled his lips and he got up from his spot and walked over to me, plopping himself down on the porch right beside me. He pushed aside his shaggy hair and then offered out his hand with his pinky extended out to me. 28

“Then I promise you sideways that I’ll take you there.”29

****** 30

Twelve Years Later…31

“So you’ve heard these guys before and you say that they don’t suck?” Jake quizzed while he chewed away at a piece of red licorice.32

“Do you doubt my taste in music, Jakob?” I asked, looking up at his towering form from the corner of my eyes. I made a face at the candy as it rolled around in his mouth, sliding between his teeth and over his tongue with a rather repulsive squishing sound. “How can you eat that crap? It’s freaking gross.” 33

He looked down at me with cocked eyebrows and a smirk slowly curling the corners of his lips.34

“How can you eat black licorice? THAT stuff is the epitome of nasty right there,” he riposted with a chuckle sweetly lacing his words together while he waved a piece of half-chewed licorice in my face.35

Jake and I were heading to a local club, The Underground, to check out a newer band ‘on the rise to stardom’ that I’d only seen once before at one of their smaller shows at Starky’s Deli. 36

They were a pretty decent band, one I could definitely see making it to the big times for at least just a few seconds in the lime-light, if not more. 37

They were a pleasant sounding cross between the alternative sound of Apartment, the progressive melody of Muse, and of course, just a lick of the indie flavor that only Dinosaur Jr. could provide. The minute I heard them I could tell that they were right up his alley, a group he could appreciate.38

“It is not and cut the crap!” I laughed, slapping the candy away and going to playfully nudge at his side with an elbow. 39

He diverted my oncoming elbow with a chuckle and a fluid twist of the body.40

“Is so Lee-Lee,” he laughed, softly coddling the pet name he’d given me with a sort of brotherly affection as it danced over his lips. 41

I always seemed to find myself smiling contentedly whenever he used it, ever since the first time it was uttered when we were seven years old and he was attempting to comfort me in my time of need. 42

Although, he had always seemed to be doing that when we were children. 43

I can’t count the times I’d snuck out of my room when I was still just a little girl to use the phone to call him at his Uncle Ein’s with nothing in particular to say, but rather just to cry. I can’t remember how many times he showed up minutes later after those very phone calls and let himself inside, just so he could lie there in bed with me, listening to me cry until my heart was content. He would coo to me, running small boyish fingers through my hair, and constantly assure me that everything would be all right.44

He always made me remember that there would always be brighter days ahead and that he would always be there to hold my hand through thick and thin, protecting me from the heaviness of the world, much like a big brother.45

I guess that’s what made our bond so strong, that sibling adoration of one another, even though we both had siblings of our own and had absolutely no blood-bond to call our own. 46

As far as I was concerned Jakob Hunt was always my brother in heart and spirt.47

“’Lee-Lee’ my butt!” I laughed as I lunged at him again, just as we neared the red-bricked building that was The Underground.48

It wasn’t exactly one of those fancy clubs you see on the television shows, the kind where you have fifty some-odd people waiting in their party-garb just to get inside. There wasn’t the harsh thrumming of a loud bass ridden techno song echoing from the inside, nor were there any bright lights. 49

Nope, the title of the club said it all. 50

It was just your average underground club, mostly known only to locals.51

Jakob laughed as he dodged my oncoming attack once more, this time catching me with one arm wrapped around my waist as he dragged me backwards into him as to hold me tight to his front, taking the opportunity to wrap his other arm around my neck in a headlock manner.52

“Ah! Jakob Eric Hunt, you release me this instant!” I said in a feeble attempt to sound stern as I gripped at his forearm before dropping the parental-façade and bursting out into laughter right along with him.53

Jakob smirked down at me, vibrant blue eyes peaking out sweetly from behind his blond bangs. The curtains of blond hung heavily over his face at the moment as they did most of the time, ever since childhood, before he released me hesitantly.54

I rubbed at my neck and turned to face him, shaking my head and smiling before reaching out and smacking his upper arm, which was laden heavy with bulky muscle from his days working out in the weight room during football practice.55

Despite his bulking up and certain features hardening into more of an adult appearance, he still looked much like he did when I first met him, especially his eyes. 56

When I looked into his eyes he still looked like the charismatic child who found me sitting on the front porch of my house. He was still my Jake.57

“Hey, you’re the one who tried to attack me, quite violently if I do say so,” he said, easily playing the victim as he pouted his lower lip and raising his eyebrows, furrowing them together. He grabbed his arm where I had hit him and rubbed it as if it was sore. “Oh, I just might bruise now.” 58

I laughed at his teasing and shoved at his shoulder, causing him to stumble only a little. He had much more of a foundation than myself and it would take much more than what I could ever do to take him down, which was probably why he was the quarterback on the football team at our school. 59

He quickly kicked his faux “pouting” aside and curled the corner’s of his lips into a smile.60

I shook my head, his contagious smile donning my lips already as I turned to the entrance of The Underground.61

I nodded at Sal, the large man who posed as a bouncer for the club, as we passed by his perch beneath the small neon sign that read “Open” that hung beside the doorway. He nodded in return, a crooked smile on his face as he puffed away at one of his Panatela cigars.62

“They’ll give you cancer,” I sang.63

I was constantly tormenting Sal about his nasty smoking habit, mostly because I knew that some day his three-cigars-a-day regiment would catch up to him unless we cut it there. Personally, I wanted Sal to be able to hang around, not just at The Underground, but just in general. He was a good guy to have around.64

“Maybe, but at least I’ll die a content man knowing I smoked the best of the best till the end,” Sal chortled right on back. He gave a quick nod and grin, his Irish lilt heavy on his tongue. 65

I shook my head and tutted him while I went and headed inside. Jakob said a quick “hi” to Sal as he always did and followed close behind me, practically riding on my heels, as we headed up towards the back of the building.66

It was a grungy set up inside, with a bar to the side constructed up of nothing but scrap metal and glass pieces forming complex designs. The tables, much like the bar, were made up of old scraps from a junkyard, the chairs accompanying them mere lawn chairs and beat-up stools. Instead of having a fancy lighting system to adorn the place, Christmas lights and candles sufficed while up on the stage they had a photographer’s light set shining on the platform that they considered the stage.67

The place was unusually full, especially for a smaller upcoming band. Most of the time when there were shows like that at The Underground hardly anyone showed, so to see so many people packed up at the back like sardines was a sight to beheld.68

I let out a low whistle and turned to Jakob.69

“We’re getting up front, right?” I asked, looking up at my towering counterpart. 70

I’d always hated the fact he stood at a rather impressive six-foot while I myself stood at a mere five-foot four-inches. I felt rather demeaned. 71

“Of course, dear. We’d settle for no less, correct?” He said, eyeballing the crowd before slipping a glance my way.72

“Oh, you know I wouldn’t settle for less,” I nodded, smirking at him, “however, I think you need to lead the way, Giganto.”73

“If you insist, Pee-Wee,” he said playfully, quickly stepping away before I could react in my normal fashion, which normally consisted of a lot of screeching as Jake called it and a good few hard punches or slaps to his arm.74

I laughed and followed after him as the crowd parted for him. He was good for that sort of thing, clearing a nice path.75

I trailed along behind him like a lost puppy until we got to the front, where we hunkered down right in front of the nine-inch high platform. Of course the band wasn’t ready then, but in all fairness we all were at least ten minutes early, so I got comfortable in my spot right beside Jakob and watched as the band did some last minute tuning on their instruments.76

“He’s got a nice guitar. It looks like an original Epiphone Olympic, pretty good shape to,” he nodded.77

“Jake, I have NO idea what that even is. I just listen to the music,” I said, shaking my head slightly.78

“It’s a great guitar, that’s what it is.”79

I slipped a glance over his way as the band finished up and announced their first song and felt a small smile creep up on my face when I saw the wide toothy grin spanning across Jake’s face. 80

He had that look of an excited child on Christmas morning, ready and eager to open up his gifts. It was an all too familiar look, and one that I would always adore.81