High School Again? Ugh! Ch. 06

Author's note:

If you haven't read the previous chapters then I suggest you don't bother continuing until you do, especially if all you're interested in is the sex scenes. There is one, but in order to keep the reader enmeshed in a story of this length most of this chapter is character and plot development. I think you'll be lost and disappointed without the background the previous chapters supply.

For those of you who have read the previous chapters and are willing to continue to read the story line despite it taking me so long to post this chapter, thanks! As a reward for your patience, I've extended this chapter with a lot of revelations about what's going on. Don't worry, there are still a few surprises left to come. Oh, and the sex scenes will start getting longer and a bit more lurid in the chapters that follow :).

Regards,

JD

**********

It's amazing how lonely a guy can feel. Oh, I'm not talking about being depressed or even sad. I'm talking about simply loneliness. In the six months since I returned from Las Vegas my senior year of high school had dragged on painfully slow. It should have been fun, but that wasn't the way it worked out for me and I had no one to blame except myself. You see, I didn't share the excitement that most of my fellow graduating class seemed almost unable to control. I wish I did.

No, I was too busy ostracizing kids who used to be my friends because we had so little in common now and it frustrated me to no end. And what changed to make me this way? Well, that answer is easy enough. Simply put, I lost my mind. How else can I explain having the memories of a man much older than myself lodged in my head?

This all began seven months ago on the first day of my senior year of high school. I snapped and went crazy that day. Well either that or the impossible happened and my recollection of being thrown back in time to my eighteen year old body was true. I'm really not sure which anymore. My memories of that day seem less and less real as the days, weeks and months pass.

I don't think people realize how frightening it is to seriously consider if you've lost your mind. There were times that I was certain my memories of a former life were true, but there were others times where simply logic demanded that I accept the impossibility of it all.

With all of that going on, do you want to know the worst part of it? The loneliness.

You would think an insane person would just make up some imaginary friends. Not me. No, the only people my damaged brain could conjure up were Greek goddesses who for the most part didn't care for me. Tyche threw me back in time because I pissed her off, Nemisis would clearly have been happier killing me than delivering a warning from the Moirae, Aphrodite used me as a boy toy and Hera...well, I didn't like to think about what Hera did.

"Hey bud, you want another beer?"

"Sure," I replied to the bartender, looking down at my glass and noticing that it was empty again. I wasn't quite drunk, but I was getting there.

The smart thing to do was to get up and leave. The alcohol was clearly affecting my mood. Frankly, most days I thought that I did a fairly decent job of accepting what happened to me. Although, I'm not sure accepting is the right word. But honestly, what choice did I have?

Seven months may not sound that long, but you have no idea how bad it can be until you find yourself locked up within yourself waiting. I felt like a prisoner marking time until my parole hearing. The scariest part was that there were days like today when I wasn't sure it would even happen. Yep, I was definitely losing it.

"Happy St. Patty's Day!" someone cried from the door as he entered. He was clearly wasted, but none of the other patrons seemed to notice except to complain about the open door. I wasn't surprised. This was not the friendliest bar in town.

I only came here when I wanted to get away, and I so wanted to do so after yet another day of dealing with high school kids. Today was worst than most because of the holiday. What is it with kids and holidays? I mean I like holidays, but they seemed to thrive on them.

The bartender distracted me from my thoughts when he put the beer I ordered down in front of me and moved on to another customer. I took a moment to glance down at my watch. It was still pretty early. I decided that it was time to go after I finished my new drink. I didn't want to get seriously drunk. I could tell that in my current mood it would do more harm than good.

I let my mind continue to drift as I nursed my drink, but was unsurprised when it came back to my feelings of loneliness. I guess actually being alone didn't help, but then again neither did being in high school and facing all those teenagers.

My thoughts shifted back to what happened on that first day of school. I had memories of things that were impossible. They were nothing a reasonably intelligent, pragmatic person like me could accept, but they were there and I couldn't let them go despite the impossibility of it all. This brought me back to the same conclusion as always. I was insane.

The most frustrating part was that I couldn't figure out what caused me to lose it so completely. My memories were crystal clear at times and a confused hodgepodge others. I couldn't remember what I did last summer. Oh, I know I worked and I could recall my family vacation, but only in the most general terms. It was like a distant memory and it freaked me out. What freaked me out even more was the fact that I could remember in surprising detail the imagines my mind made up about my previous life. Hell, I could remember most of the verbiage on the last contract I did for Rodger's company.

"I should," I mumbled to myself over my beer. "I'd spent long enough on it." It earned me an odd look from the bartender as he passed by, but I ignored him.

Thoughts of Rodger made me sad. Maybe it was his death that sent me over the edge? I guess it was possible, but this all started before that. Or did it? Did I somehow change what happened to help me accept the death of my friend?

"This is pointless," I said, finishing my beer in one swallow and standing. The one thing I learned over the last six months was not to dwell on these types of thoughts. They never helped. Generally, they just depressed me and gave me a headache. I dropped some cash on the bar and moved toward the door.

It was too damn sunny outside. I had to blink for a few seconds before I could see. There was an older guy walking in who grinned at me. I guess he thought I was drunk. I shrugged to myself and watched him go in. He was far more typical of the patrons of this bar than I was. I dragged the average age of the place down quite a bit when I was there, but I liked it. It was a hole in the wall basement bar and people left me alone.

I heard a horn beep as a bunch of kids drove by. I recognized them and waved. I was clearly not the only senior out for a drink on St. Patty's day. I decided to head home because it was probably safer in my current state. I could always go out later if the mood hit me. Stopping at the bar on the way home from school had sounded good, but it ended up being a mistake.

I walked into my house fifteen minutes later and the smell of corned beef and cabbage hit me like wall. I couldn't help smiling. I absolutely hated the stench, but it brought back so many fond memories. Mom always insisted on making corned beef and cabbage today, despite the fact that no one in the house really liked it.

"There you are! How about having a beer with your old man on St. Patty's day?" my father grinned as he came down the steps two at a time. He glanced around before adding in a lower voice, "Maybe it will help us stomach dinner."

My smile grew. He looked good. Pop had taken well to getting in shape at my prompting last fall. He'd lost quite a bit of weight and seemed happier for it. I hoped it was enough to avoid the massive coronary I remembered him having a few years from now.

"Dinner will be in fifteen minutes," my mother said as pop and I entered the kitchen. My smile turned a little sad at the sight of her. There was nothing I could do for her coming Alzheimer's. I did some research at the library this past winter, but there wasn't much known about the disease at this point.

I wish I'd paid more attention to the possible treatments before I was thrown back in time, but my sister Cindy dealt with that aspect of taking care of mom. I visited and paid the bills. It was honestly all I could handle. Oh, I knew some of the medicines they gave mom, but most of them hadn't been developed yet. Thankfully her symptoms were still years away. I'd keep an eye on the developing treatments and get her involved as soon as I could.

"Hey sexy!" pop said, pulling mom away from the stove long enough to steal a kiss. She complained about the interruption, but I noticed the kiss wasn't one sided.

I loved seeing them happy like this. It also gave me an odd sort of hope. I think there was an irrational part of me that felt if pop didn't die it would take my mother longer to develop the symptoms of her disease. You see, she deteriorated rapidly after we lost pop. They were always very close. I know it sounds a little farfetched, but it was all I had. Well, that and the hope that maybe I really was crazy and mom would be fine.

Pop and I shared a beer and did what we typically did until dinner was ready, talked sports. It was even more fun now then it was the first time around because I knew how some of the teams actually did. I continued to place a few bets now and again, and my 'nest egg' was slowly growing. I was thinking about investing some of it in the stock market, but I'd have to be careful. I wasn't nearly as knowledgeable about stocks as I was in sports. On the other hand, deciding to invest in some companies was a no-brainer.

Cindy was dressed for a friend's party and insisted on wearing a Kelly-green hat at the table. Mom wasn't thrilled, but gave in at my prompting. Pop said something and my little sister laughed like only a little girl could. The older version of me remembered the inner strength she would slowly develop to handle the difficulties life threw at her, but that was the future. Right now, thirteen year old Cindy was full of innocence and joy.

"So, what are you doing tonight?" pop asked me as we did our best to move the corned beef and cabbage around our plates and make it look like we'd eaten some.

"Probably nothing," I replied, thinking about maybe going to sleep early.

"On St. Patrick's Day?" pop asked incredulously. I laughed. That was pop. He didn't have a touch of Irish blood in his ancestry, but he loved the holiday. I guess high school kids weren't the only ones who get a little too excited on the holidays.

"I could go to a party I guess," I said, making him smile. There were at least two I knew about. One was at Jimmy's house. He was one of the big party throwers in our graduating class. We'd stayed friends despite my quitting the football team in the fall. Maybe we weren't as close as we once were, but he was always sure to invite me to his parties. He was a good guy.

The other party was at some kid's house that I barely knew, but Jake invited me and I was tempted to go. Jake was the soccer player I met while doing laps at Coach Riley's insistence during my short football career this year. We'd actually become pretty good friends. He was mature for his age and someone I had no real memories of before this year. That seemed to help in an odd way. We became pretty close. I even thought about telling him about my insanity one night when we were drunk at a Christmas party, but thankfully didn't. I could just picture it.

"Yes, that's right. I was thrown back in time by Tyche the Greek goddess of luck because I pissed her off and she knew I hated the idea of reliving high school again."

The whole thing was ridiculous. I was pretty sure I was missing something important. I don't know why Tyche threw me back, but I had a feeling that there was a reason that had nothing to do with what she said at the time. Her simple reason didn't explain why all the other Greek deities bothered me in the fall. On the other hand, I hadn't seen hide or hair of any of them in almost six months.

In some ways that was the weirdest part. Whether I was crazy or not, you would think that something would have happened with them by now. I remember returning from Las Vegas and feeling certain that everything would be resolved by Christmas. Not so much. Six months of nothing except some very odd memories.

"That was good," pop said, pulling my thoughts back to the present. Mom looked at his plate and rolled her eyes. It was still more than half full. I wiped my mouth and put my napkin over my dish, but I'm sure it didn't fool her in the least.

Believe it or not, we actually played scrabble after dinner. My parents were very good and I was getting there. Cindy always teamed up with me. She was distracted tonight with the party and all, but she sat and talked excitedly as she waiting until it was time to drive her over to her friend's.

"Let's touch up that four leaf clover before you go," mom said with a smile, referring to the one my sister tried to paint on her face.

"I'll go warm up the car," I said, grabbing the keys and running outside. Mom and Cindy were still upstairs when I went back inside. Pop was drinking another beer.

"You don't mind driving Cindy, do you?" he asked.

"Of course not," I replied.

"Good." He was grinning as he reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of white wine. "I picked up a bottle of your mother's favorite."

"Hmm," I said thoughtfully, seeing the twinkly in my father's eyes. "In that case, I'm going to go out to a friend's right after I drop off Cindy. I'll pick her up after her party and bring her home at eleven."

"I've always knew you were a smart boy," pop laughed. "But don't worry about picking up Cindy. You go out and have fun with your friends. Find yourself a nice girl or maybe a not so nice girl..."

"Pop!" I cried, but then laughed along with him. It took quite a while for him and mom to forgive me for running away to Las Vegas last fall and it changed our relationship, but in some ways it was better. Pop had decided that I was eighteen and a man now. Mom would probably never accept that, but that was okay. What mother did?

"I never much liked that Tiffany girl, but what happened to Tara?" he asked.

"She's around," I said, smiling slightly at the thought of her. "She's dating Ronny Hefner."

"That's too bad," pop said, shaking his head. "I liked her."

"Me too," I grinned. "I'm going to take her to the prom."

"I thought you said she was dating Ronny?"

"I did," I shrugged. "But the prom is still two months away."

"That's my boy!" pop laughed. "You know what you want and aren't afraid to go after it." We were interrupted by the return of mom and Cindy.

"I'm ready!" Cindy cried excitedly.

"Let's go," I grinned, just being with my little sister always put a smile on my face. We ran for the car and got in. Cindy fell quiet on the way. I guess she was a little nervous. It was her first boy -- girl party. The only reason why pop was okay with it was because he knew the parents. I was betting that despite his plans for mom while we were gone, he'd still arrive early to pick us Cindy. He was an old fashioned chauvinist in some ways, but that was acceptable these days and it was only because he cared. I smiled and shrugged.

I wasn't feeling the effects of the beer anymore. Time and food had taken care of that. I was glad. I was obviously in an odd mood and drinking was never good when that happened. The truth was that despite my fears of insanity, most days I couldn't argue with what I knew, despite the craziness of it all. The problem I had these days was the waiting. The gods had something planned for me. I could accept that. I just wished they'd move it along. You see, I had the answer to my loneliness. Tara.

She had plenty of time to get over what happened in Las Vegas. Well, get over it as much as she could. I had the feeling that at this point our dating could only help, but I couldn't chance it yet. I thought that over the last couple of months she was occasionally watching me expectantly despite our agreement, but I didn't make a move. I couldn't. The gods had been quiet for these last six months, but I wasn't fooled. They were still meddling and I didn't want to drag Tara into that again. Look what it cost her the last time.

On the other hand, Tara had stopped watching me when she started dating Ronny and despite my confidence in how we felt for each other and the fact that I was certain that we belonged together, it scared me a little. Ronny was a great guy and Tara obviously liked him.

I parked the car and walked my sister in. I made sure the party was safe for her despite knowing the family. Yeah, I know. Pop isn't the only one who can be a bit over protective in the family, but Cindy was my little sister and one day would probably be my best friend. That's how I remembered it anyhow.

I drove around for a while after dropping Cindy off. I couldn't go home, but I wasn't sure I was in the mood to go to a party. My indecision didn't last very long because I quickly realized that I was even less in the mood to drive around aimlessly.

Deciding which party was actually a no-brainer. Jimmy's would be a big blowout with all the friends the old me remembered growing up with and I'd pretty much alienated most of them over the last six months. Add to that the fact that Tiffany and Brad would be there fawning over each other and there was no way I was going to Jimmy's. Don't get me wrong. I was honestly happy for Tiffany and Brad on one level, but that didn't stop me from also being a bit angry when I saw them together. Weird shit. I know, nothing new there.

That only left Jake's friend's party. I wouldn't know a lot of people there, but that was okay. Jake would be there and I could make some new friends. I found it far less stressful dealing with people that weren't part of my life the first time around.

The party wasn't far. I was surprised at how many people were there when I arrived. The place was packed. The party had spread to the front lawn and back yard. I took one look around and shook my head. This party had all the making of something way too crazy for our town. I was willing to bet that the police were on their way already. I was thinking about turning around and leaving when I noticed Jake. I took one look at him and couldn't help my grin. He was clearly toasted. I'd never seen Jake quite so drunk before.

"Hey!" he cried happily as I walked up. Jake had on a hat that sort of reminded me of the Lucky Charm's leprechaun. He was holding two green beers, one was half full. In short, he was in full St. Patty's day mode.

"Hello," I replied, shaking my head and doing my best not to laugh.

"I'm glad you showed," he grinned, handing me the full beer. "We've been waiting for you."

"We?" I asked. Just then two girls walked up to us. They were...well, let's just say something else.

"John, these are the O'Shea sisters," Jake said, introducing us. "Patty and Bridgette."

"We're Irish twins," one of them said, causing them both to laugh. I wasn't sure which was which, but it didn't matter. They were clearly just as wasted as Jake.

"Top of the morning to ya!" the other said, causing even more laughter. Jake joined them and even I smiled. I couldn't help it. You had to see them to understand. I took a long pull from the beer Jake had handed me.

The two girls were legitimate redheads with pale, freckled skin. They were dressed...well, they were dressed in green outfits that had to be costumes of some sort. They were far too busy and colorful for them to be anything else, but that wasn't really the point. The outfits also showed off the fact that both sisters were surprisingly well endowed.