Tybalt and Juliet Ch. 04

=Author's Notes:

All characters are at least 18 years old, except where stated otherwise.

Jake, Amy and their schoolmates are starting their A level exams, before they go on to university in September or October.

Thanks for reading and please do leave feedback.

******

My heart sank a little as I pulled into Amy's driveway on Thursday morning. Her mother's car was still there; she hadn't left for work yet. I had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Amy opened the door to me, greeting me with a kiss on the cheek. "Hello lovely," she said. "Come in!"

I slipped off my shoes in the hallway and gave Amy a quick hug.

"My mum would like to talk to you," she said. "It's OK, you haven't done anything wrong." She kissed me again.

I walked slowly into the sitting room. Amy's mum, Jenny, was sitting in one of the armchairs and motioned for me to sit on the sofa. Memories of my Cambridge interviews came flooding back.

"Hello Jake," she said calmly.

"Hello," I replied as I sat.

Jenny took a deep breath. "I went to your school yesterday," she began, "to talk to your Headteacher."

I nodded, my heart sinking further.

"I told him about Richard Gasson's behaviour towards Amy at James Masters' party," she continued. "Now the school can't be held responsible for what happens at a private party off the premises during the holidays, but he did agree that there were some steps that he could and should take, to prevent any complications during the term, especially when the exams are on. I discussed this with Amy last night and she agreed with me that I should also talk to you this morning. I hope that's OK."

I nodded again. I had no choice, but to sit and listen.

"I will take Amy to school every morning for the first few weeks of term and she will wait in the administrative office until school opens to everyone else. She'll eat lunch separately as well. The teachers will all be made aware of what has happened. At the end of the day, either Rob or I will pick her up and she can wait in the administrative office until we arrive.

"Once Study Leave starts, Amy will stay at home unless she has an exam. She'll sit the exams away from everyone else, and I will take her direct to the exam room and pick her up at the end."

She paused and took another deep breath.

"The school have agreed, as far as possible, to minimise the amount of time that Richard and Amy are in the same room. Hopefully once Study Leave begins, any possibility that they meet is eliminated."

I nodded again. Jenny was clearly the sort of lawyer that you wanted on your side, not your opponent's. I could just imagine our wet Headteacher cowering as she laid out her demands.

"Despite everything I have agreed with your Headteacher," she continued, "there is a possibility that Amy and Richard will come face to face, without any responsible adults present. That might come as a chance passing in a corridor or perhaps something more sinister. Should that happen and you are around Jake, your job is very simple. You go and get help as quickly as possible and then you leave your teachers to deal with whatever has arisen. That is the limit of your responsibility. You will not try to resolve any issue yourself, take justice into your own hands or try to be a hero. If you do, you will make a bad situation ten thousand times worse."

I nodded and swallowed. Fuck me she was scary!

"Is that clear?" she asked sternly.

I cleared my throat, "Yes," I said, "completely clear."

"I'm sorry if that sounds like I am laying down the law to you," she said, attempting a smile. "But I am doing this to protect my daughter, particularly in the most important exam term. Believe it or not, I am also doing this to protect you, by trying to make sure that you don't get caught up in anything and, if you do, making it very clear how you should respond."

I nodded again.

"Now maybe you think this is a huge overreaction," she said, looking away from me for the first time. "And maybe you are right. Perhaps this was just an error of judgement by a schoolboy under the influence of alcohol - completely out of character and never to be repeated." She looked me in the eyes again. "But I can't run the risk. Teenage boys often respond very badly to rejection and humiliation - unfortunately I deal with the consequences of those reactions on an almost daily basis as a lawyer. That is why it's important that I think about you as well."

I nodded. "Thank you," I said.

"And if Richard or any of his friends try to hassle you or cause you any trouble, then the same applies. You go and tell a teacher as soon as possible. Is that clear?"

I swallowed and nodded.

"Does our Headteacher know about me and Amy?" I asked.

Jenny shook her head. "No Jake," she replied. "It would not have been fair to either of you to tell him that."

I looked down, quietly grateful.

"I think for the time being," she said, "it would be best if you and Amy could keep knowledge of your relationship to yourselves, at least until Study Leave starts. Keeping your heads down and focusing on your exams is the best thing to do, for both of you."

She stood and I did too.

"Thank you, Jake," she said, giving me a piercing look. "Now I need to go to work and you need to get on with yours."

-

Amy was waiting for us in the dining room, pretending to read one of her set texts. She looked up as we entered.

"You weren't too hard on him were you?" she asked her mother.

"I told him exactly what I said I'd tell him last night," Jenny replied, "no more, no less. Jake understands that my top priority is keeping you safe and then making sure that the two of you perform as well as you possibly can in your exams."

Amy said goodbye to her mother and we listened to the sound of the car reversing in the driveway.

Once she was sure that her mum had gone, she threw her arms around me and buried her face in my chest. I brought my hands up and rested them on her back, then kissed the top of her head.

She looked up at me, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Amy," I asked, "why are you crying? Please don't cry."

"But it's all my fault," she wailed.

"Running away from someone who was trying to feel you up, or worse, after you'd told him 'no' is not something to feel guilty about," I said. "You've got nothing to be sorry about, nothing to apologise for."

I held her as she continued to sob into my chest, but inside I was breathing a sigh of relief. I'd been really worried about Amy and Ritchie coming into contact with each other at school. With the exception of Music, he was in all of Amy's classes, whereas I was in none and often at the other side of the school in the science block.

Although our brief conversation had been fucking terrifying, her mother had actually released much of the anxiety that I'd been feeling as the new term approached. Ritchie could be a vindictive bastard and frankly a bit of a bully (although he did a brilliant job of hiding it from the teachers), and I wouldn't have put it past him to try to intimidate Amy, especially if I wasn't around. Now the only thing I'd have to worry about was keeping the peace between Danny and James.

Amy had stopped crying now, but was still holding me tightly.

"Look at me Amy," I said.

She looked up, her eyes red with tears.

"Amy, your mum is right," I said softly. "She wants to make certain that you are safe and this is the best way to do that. You and I need to focus on our exams, not worry about where Ritchie is and what he might try to do."

-

Lauren drove me to James' house around five in the afternoon. It was the final Saturday of the Easter Holidays and we'd be back at school on the Monday morning. The gathering was mostly for members of the cricket team and I wasn't entirely sure why I'd been included. Apart from a little running, swimming and a passing interest in England football team matches, sport held no enjoyment for me whatsoever. But of all the team games, cricket was the one that I was most baffled by; how anyone could find a tedious rain dance entertaining was simply beyond me.

I'd originally suggested to Danny that the two of us go out for a curry that evening, but he'd taken a long time to reply and when he did, I was surprised to be rebuffed, almost without explanation. He'd been acting a little strangely since the cast party. I'd hardly seen him over the previous two weeks, despite having promised that we'd revise together over the holiday, but whenever I'd tried to arrange something with him, my texts had either gone unanswered or he'd just said he was busy.

"I'm just a bit worried about him," I said to Lauren as we pulled up outside James' house. "It's not like Danny not to want to meet up. Is he just too embarrassed about the Becky situation and getting drunk at the cast party?" I mused.

"I wouldn't worry," Lauren replied. "I'm sure he's just got some family thing on. You'll see him at school on Monday, you can catch up then."

I shrugged. "Do you think his mum found out about me bringing him home drunk?" I persisted. Had Emma blabbed, even though I had warned her not to? Or had he cracked when asked about the cut on his forehead? (There were few grown men who could survive an interrogation from Danny's mum unscathed, let alone her teenage son.) "Maybe he's been grounded and is too embarrassed to admit it?" I suggested.

Lauren shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine. Catch up with him on Monday," she repeated.

I got out of the car, carrying the bottle of wine that I'd bought for the evening. Then I waved her goodbye and walked purposefully up the path to James' house.

-

James opened the front door. "Oh, hi Jake, come in," he said, greeting me. "Thanks," he said as I handed him the bottle.

"Congratulations on you and Becky," I said as I hung up my coat. "Didn't see that one coming."

James placed his hand on his chin in an effort to hide a slight smirk. "Thanks," he said. "All started during the play rehearsals. Lots of hanging around waiting for scenes and well, things happened." He blushed a little.

"Oh, by the way," he said trying very hard to sound casual, "have you heard from Danny recently?"

Ah, so that's why I'd been invited. Definitely not here for my cricketing insights.

"I saw him last week a couple of times," I said. "He's OK. He was as surprised as I was about you and Becky, but he'll be fine. We'll see him at school on Monday," I repeated Lauren's phrase back to him.

James nodded. "I just don't want there to be any awkwardness," he said, "you know". He shifted a little uncomfortably.

"It'll be fine," I replied. "I don't think there'll be an issue, Danny will bounce back soon enough, no problem. And I'll keep the peace if anything does kick off."

There, I'd done it. Promised not to pick sides between James and Danny, as well as to pour oil on troubled waters should any tension flare up.

'I might as well go home now,' I thought.

-

Despite my misgivings, I did enjoy the party. It was an all-male affair, which I generally disliked, but it was good to be able to catch up with several schoolmates who hadn't been involved in the play and who I hadn't really seen socially for the best part of a term, if not longer.

It wasn't until we'd finished eating, that the conversation turned to the season ahead, the matches to come and the tactics to be tested. I sat politely for ten minutes, listening to animated talk of spin bowling, field settings, inswingers, outswingers, silly mid offs... Then I discretely rose, picking up a pile of dirty plates to take to the dishwasher and walked down the hallway.

"Oh thank you, Jake," James' mum said, entering the kitchen and shutting the door behind her. "How are things with you?"

I grunted something non-committal about being busy with exams and working hard at revision.

James' mum expressed sympathy at the trials and tribulations of an A-level student, noting that everything would be over before long.

"I hear you're dating Amy Norton," she said, changing the subject abruptly.

I took a step back in surprise. "What the... how the... uh?" I stammered.

"Her mum told me," she said.

"Uh?"

"We work together, we're colleagues at the law firm in town," she revealed.

"Oh!" I said. I'd known that James' mum was a lawyer too, but it hadn't ever occurred to me that she might know Amy's mum Jenny.

"She asked me about you." James's mum was enjoying my discomfort.

"Er, what did you say?" I asked, scenes of my childhood mischief-making with James and Danny flashing through my mind.

"Well," she said, toying with me, "I said I only knew of two windows that you'd broken..."

"That was Danny!" I protested.

"... and there was the time when the three of you decided to build a bridge over the stream, then fell in and had a week off school with pneumonia."

I looked down. I had been the prime instigator of that, but it wasn't my fault that James' knots weren't tied tightly enough.

She laughed, nudging me with her elbow. "Relax, I'm teasing you. I didn't tell her any of that."

I looked up, relief sweeping across my face.

"I said I thought you were great," she said, "and that if Amy was my daughter, you'd be the boy out of all of James' friends that I was happiest for her to date."

"Really? Er, um, thank you very much," I stammered, a little embarrassed and slightly bewildered by the confidence she'd shown in me.

"Jenny likes you," James' mum continued.

"I'm not sure she does," I replied, starting to wonder who else knew about our relationship.

James' mum took a deep breath. "Jake, think about it from Jenny's perspective. Amy is her only daughter. She's married again and the two boys are quite a lot younger. She's bound to feel more than a little protective of Amy. She's not done this before. It's hard for any mother to accept that their babies have grown up to be adults, but maybe it's particularly hard for her. If she seems a little cold, a little wary, it's not that she doesn't like you or is trying to catch you out. She just wants the best for her."

I nodded. Amy's mum was certainly very protective of her daughter even without the Ritchie incident. Amy's life seemed to be more sheltered than that of any of my schoolmates; in fact Lauren and I had both had more freedom aged fourteen, than Amy seemed to enjoy now.

"Jenny says that this holiday is the first in at least five years that Amy's been up and out of bed before nine o'clock more than three days in a row. That's the positive influence you've had," she revealed, smiling at me.

I blushed. Rob, Amy's step-dad, had said something similar, but wasn't it ten o'clock in his version?

"For what it's worth," James' mum said brightly, "I think the two of you make a great couple."

'How can you possibly say that?' I thought. 'You hardly know Amy!'

"Does James know?" I asked, concerned that news of our relationship was spreading like wildfire without our knowledge.

"No," she said. "Jenny told me that you were keeping things private for the moment." She paused. "I've got a good idea why you would want to do that," she looked at me pointedly, "and I respect that and I wouldn't break your confidence. But it will come out eventually, through no one's fault. You won't be able to control it for too long."

"I was hoping with A levels starting and not being in school much for Study Leave, no one would notice. In a few weeks' time, we'll only be going in for exams and they're over by the middle of June," I replied.

-

The last Monday of April dawned and with it the start of the Summer Term, my final term of Secondary School. Every emotion swirled through my gut. I felt sick to the pit of my stomach as Lauren drove the two of us through the village and towards the town. I really wasn't looking forward to the months ahead. Our exams would start three weeks later, but the associated pressure, coupled with the Amy-Ritchie and Danny-James 'complications', made me more than a little nervous.

I briefed Lauren on my strategy for my unofficial peacemaker role in the Danny-James-Becky 'love triangle' and explained that we were unlikely to see very much of Amy at all.

"What are you doing about the Prom?" she asked.

"I don't really know," I admitted.

"Will your little secret be out by then?" she teased.

I hesitated. "I'm not sure," I admitted, giving her a slightly irritated look. "I was hoping that we'd be able to keep the whole thing under wraps for our final term, especially as we'll only be in school for exams for most of it, but it would be nice to take Amy to the Prom as my girlfriend."

'Ritchie might even have found someone else to prey upon by then,' I thought.

"When do the tickets go on sale?" I asked. "It's later this week, isn't it?"

"Yes, it's Friday morning, I think," Lauren replied. "Have you thought who you'd have on your table for the meal?"

"Not really," I said. "The obvious people are James and Becky, Stijn and Rachel, and then maybe Ian and Olivia, plus the two of us, of course, and that makes the full eight. But then there's Danny - I suppose he'd be on his own then."

"Would James and Stijn be offended if you weren't on a table with them?" she asked.

"I don't think so," I said slowly. "Stijn really doesn't care about that sort of thing anyway and James might prefer to sit with the rugby team instead. It's only for the first hour and a half anyway, isn't it? It won't matter for the disco which table you've been on."

"How about we put together a table of nerds?" she suggested. "People who look like they're sitting together because they haven't got a date? Then no one will suspect anything if you and Amy are next to each other."

"Go on," I said, sensing where Lauren was headed.

"So, you and Amy, maybe Danny and me, to start?" she suggested.

I nodded. I was sure that Danny would have mended fences with James by the start of July, but it was still unlikely he'd want to be on a table with Becky.

"OK. There's Nick as well - he still doesn't get on that well with James," I said, recalling the blazing argument that had led to the premature demise of our band, the Jinjos.

"And Frankie split up with Ross back in January, so she's another possibility," Lauren replied. "Ross will almost certainly go on a rugby table anyway."

Francesca, or Frankie as we'd always called her, was a good choice. She'd played the Nurse in the play and most of her scenes had been with Amy. She should never have gone out with Ross; he was, to put it mildly, a first-class shit and the gossip was that he'd cheated on her with a one-night-stand he'd met clubbing on New Year's Eve. The incident had reverberated around the school for weeks afterwards. Throughout it all, Frankie had maintained a quiet dignity, although it was obvious that she was hurting badly inside. She hadn't deserved any of what had happened, but she'd worked through it with the support of several close friends, including Lauren.

"That's good, I like Frankie," I said. "And Amy knows her well. I'm sure we'll find two other nerds from somewhere else! Let me talk to James in Maths today. I'll ask Amy when I see her after horse riding on Thursday."

"Horse riding on Thursday?"

"Yes, she's going to have some lessons with Jackie at the Stables," I explained. "I'm going to pick her up after she's done and then we're going for a romantic walk together."

"Ahhh, that's sweet," Lauren teased. "Jake's in love!"

-

The new school term began with a repeat performance from our Headteacher of his 'consent' talk from the start of the year, reiterating that when someone (of any gender) says 'no', they really do mean 'no'. Of course I, along with only two other people in the school hall that morning, was aware of the events that had led to this message being delivered again, but fortunately I couldn't see either Amy or Ritchie from where I was sitting.