2 Soaked to the Bone

The pair of new friends were on their way to an apartment on the south side of town. Skylar was fidgety, playing with her hair and biting her lip. "Wait, so how many are there?" Jack glanced at her quickly. "Well," he paused to count, "three. There's three of them." The girl nodded and was quiet for a moment before asking, "Is there anything I need to know about them? Are any of them, like, serial killers or something?" Jack chuckled at her. "No, the worst any of them has gotten is Paul. He got hauled into the station for slicing a guy's arm once. It was self defense though, and he was let loose pretty quick."

Jack held open the door to the apartment building and Skylar walked in. Instead of going up the stairs, however, Jack led her to a door that was down a flight of stairs. He whipped open the door without unlocking it and simply stated, "Welcome to the Wolf's Den!"

He grinned at her as she stepped inside, where she was greeted with three pairs of eyes. The green pair's owner tilted his head a bit. "Hey, who's the broad?" Skylar glared slightly at him as another one of the greasers gave a wolf whistle. "Jack finally picked up a chick! Good for you man." Jack rolled his eyes and sighed. "Shut your traps, she's not my girl. Guys, this is Skylar."

All of the boys perked up a little bit then. The corner of the whistler's mouth curved up. "So you're saying she's available?" He got up and practically slid over to lean against the wall beside her. "Aside from being hot, what do you do for a living?" Jack shook his head and placed a hand on the guy's face, pushing him away. "Shove off." The guy stumbled back a bit and looked at Jack like he was crazy. "Hey! You're messing with my chances here!" Skylar chuckled and just looked at him. "Not to be rude or anything, but I'd rather go out with a duck." The boy gave her puppy eyes before looking down with a sigh. The only one who hadn't spoken yet placed a hand on his back gently.

Jack just rolled his eyes and pointed at him. "Anyways, that's Paul. The one that smells like a Diesel engine is Hubcap, and the quiet one's Oliver." Hubcap and Oliver both waved at her. Skylar tilted her head though. "Your name is Hubcap?" Hubcap chuckled and shook his head. "It's just a nickname, my real name's Robert. I may or may not be the best with cars in the whole town." He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. Jack just looked between them. "I wouldn't go that far, but he is real good with cars." Skylar just smiled and nodded. "Well, nice to meet you guys." They all nodded as Jack went and sat beside Oliver on an old beat-up couch. "Make yourself at home."

Skylar just shrugged and sat on the floor in front of him. After a few minutes of silence, Oliver spoke up. "How about we go to that drive-in later? I heard they're playing Psycho." Paul looked at him like he had just downed a bottle of bleach. "Since when do you like horror movies?" Oliver shrugged as Jack perked up. "I think it's a good idea. What do you say Skylar? Wanna come with us?" He gave her a hopeful look and she smiled. "Sure, sounds like fun." The boys all grinned and they hung out for a while before they left.

The little group all arrived at the Drive-In. Skylar started digging through her pocket until she came up with enough for herself to get in. Jack looked at her and shook his head. "Put your money away Doll. You get to use the VIP entrance now." He winked as she tilted her head and led the group around the fence of the place. At some point he stopped beside a bush and pulled it back to reveal a sharp hole in the fence. Skylar chuckled and looked at him. "Wow, what a wonderful way to slice your neck open." Hubcap looked at her and ruffled her hair. "Actually, that's how we keep other people from using our way in. We tell them that it cuts people it doesn't know." He then grinned and crawled through the gap. The rest of them followed, and with a bit of help Skylar got through to.

The group sat on the grass in front of the screen, even as a few people blasted their horns. Just before the movie started, Jack got up and left. About ten minutes later he finally showed up again, with an arm full of popcorn and drinks. He held one drink out and asked, "Could I perhaps interest you in a Pepsi?" Paul snagged the soda from him and smiled. "Yeah, thanks man." Jack sighed and handed another one out closer to Skylar. "That wasn't for you, idiot. I was giving it to Skylar." Skylar took the soda from him and smiled. "Well, it was sweet anyway. Thanks." Jack sat down and handed out the rest of the snacks. "No problem Skylar."

About half way into the movie, a drop of rain fell onto Jack's shoulder. Soon, more drops fell, until it was pouring. The group all started trying to shield themselves from the rain. Hubcap was trying to protect his head. "Man, I got my hair perfect today! Come on!" Jack started laughing and stood up. "Come on, let's get outta here before it really picks up." He started helping everyone up when Oliver pointed out, "I don't think it could get any worse at this point."

The group all ran out of the Drive-In and started back for the apartment. At some point they had to stop on a street corner. Just as Skylar was about to cross a black Mustang drove by, soaking her to the bone. Whoever was driving could be heard laughing as they drove away. Skylar glared in their direction as she crossed. "Aw, come on man!"

Jack cursed them out and slipped off his jacket, handing it out to her. "Here, take my jacket." Skylar just looked at herself for a moment before pushing his hand back. "I can't exactly get any wetter here Jack, it won't help." Jack sighed at her and rolled his eyes. "It'll keep you warm." He opened it to put it around her before realising it was dripping wet inside and out. "Wait, scratch that, it's just as soaked as you." He started laughing, and so did Skylar. "We need to get out of here. Lead the way Jack." He immediately slipped his jacket back on and saluted. "On it ma'am." He then began to run toward the apartment with the rest of the group in tow.

The little group all scurried into their little den and slipped off their wet jackets. Oliver started walking towards a closet. "I'll go get some towels." Hubcap gave a low whistle as Oliver walked back and tossed them each a towel. "That was ridiculous. It was like a hurricane out there!" A few nodded as they tried to dry off

After a moment Skylar sighed. "Whoever was driving that Mustang is a jerk." Jack nodded. "Yeah they are. It was like they were going after you specifically." Skylar looked at him. "They probably were. That was the Mustang I slashed up yesterday. I should've only slashed three tires." Oliver looked at her and tilted his head. "Why three?" She grinned at him. "Four damaged tires are covered by insurance. Three are not. I even know the best way to ruin a car." Hubcap looked at her. "What trick do you use?" She responded as casually as possible. "Slash both the driver's side tires and the back passenger. When they try to jack up their car to replace them," she then made a breaking motion with her hands. Hubcap chuckled and nodded. "Then the axle is shot. They'll need a new car." Sky grinned and nodded.

After a moment, Skylar glanced down. "I'm gonna be in huge trouble if I go back to my apartment now." Jack looked at her and tilted his head slightly. "You can stay tonight if you'd like. We've got-" he looked around. "A couch." Skylar just looked at him. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a nuisance." Jack chuckled at her. "You won't be." Oliver nodded and he took everyone's towels. "Yeah, it'd be horrible if we made you walk home in the rain, especially when it's pouring." She smiled and sat down on the couch. "Alright, thanks." Jack shrugged and walked away while saying, "It's no problem at all."

Jack walked back a few minutes later and tossed Skylar a couple blankets. She took them and put them on the arm of the couch with a thank you. A short while later, the group fell asleep.