				BRAVING THE ELEMENTS 2 (Chapter 14)


Things got a little better after that. Nick pulled up a chair, and was quickly joined by his girlfriend Missy, who Warren remembered from East like he remembered Karen, a nice girl who was always friendly to him.
Karen joined them, as did Jessie when she wasn't being, as she put it, "the Royal Hostess." Nick realized Warren was a nice guy, and actually knew as much as Nick did about baseball, something Nick would have never believed. A joint came passed around, and nobody gave Warren a hard time when he refused it. Sophia smiled, and refused it, too. Some people were surprised to see Sophia there with Warren-she was lying with her head on his lap, so there was no mistaking it-but didn't give them any shit. Not with Nick-not to mention Jessie-glaring at them to make sure they didn't.

But the night wasn't over yet. Alexandra walked in.

Ignoring the glares from Nick and Jessie, she marched right up to Sophia and looked down at her. "Happy birthday, Sophia. Here's a birthday present I know you'll enjoy. Scott's out of jail."

Sophia shot Jessie and Nick an "I'll handle this" look, then said to Alexandra, "Oh, is he, really?"

"Yeah. A bunch of us raised his bail money. I picked him up earlier today. Then we went to my house and had great sex."

"That would be a first."

"Oh, really? I never heard you complain when you were with him."

"That's because I was stupid."

Alexandra just laughed. "Sure you were. No, Sophia, you blew it with him. And now you're trying to cover with this..." she pointed at Warren...."this ridiculous wimp here."

"Yup, I'm so upset."

"You should be. Scott is the best lover ever."

"Sure he is. If you prefer bruises over orgasms, that is." Sophia said.  Jessie sniggered.

"Oh, he would never do such a thing like that to me." 

Sophia laughed. "Alexandra, you might be a conniving, contemptible bitch, but, still, I hope you never find out the hard way what Scott is really like."

"He's not like that, at all-now that he's going out with someone who really appreciates him. I wish you could see how he treats me. I wanted him to come here-to show you how happy we are-but he didn't want to rub your face in it that badly." That made Sophia sit up straight in the seat, trying to reel in her mounting fury. 

"Oh, fuck that, Alexandra. He didn't come because I have a fucking restraining order on him. He can't come within a hundred feet of me, and, since everyone here knew this was a birthday party for me, if he got within shouting distance of the driveway he'd be back in jail."

Alexandra looked surprised at that. Sophia went on, "Let's not forget, dear Alexandra, that he's only out on bail. He's still got a trial. He's still accused of a whole laundry list of stuff. So, hopefully, he will be back behind bars some day very soon. So, if I were you, I'd go enjoy as much of that 'fantastic loving' of his as you can get before the trial. Shit, Alex, maybe, if you're really lucky, that asshole will give you a separated shoulder and four broken ribs like he did me!" Warren rubbed her back, and she relaxed a little bit.

Alexandra looked confused. "He told me that he was in jail for breaking Wimpy's ribs! I thought all he did to you was hit you in the face once."

"Oh, look! He's lying to you already! No, Alex, he gave Warren a black eye. The broken ribs, the separated shoulder, the enormous cut in my mouth-before that, the black eye and the almost-broken cheekbone-that was all me. Oh, yes, I am so regretful that Scott is out of my life. I really miss being a fucking punching bag."

Alexandra was dumbstruck. Warren said, quietly, "Sophia's upset. This is her birthday. I think you should leave now." She did.

The group got quiet for a minute, as Sophia breathed heavy, on the verge of tears. Warren pulled her in close, rubbing her back. "Relax. It's over. She's gone."

"Shit, he's out of jail."

"He comes near you, I swear to God, I'll kill him."

"I've got a really sharp pocketknife," Nick added helpfully, which broke the tension somewhat.

"Cool." Warren smiled. "Of course, I'd probably be too much of a Preppy to use the thing, so you can play backup, Nick."

"Gladly."

Sophia stood up. "I need to go out. I need a cig. Jessie, come too?"

"Sure."

"Me, too," added Karen.

"You want my muscle out there covering your back?" Warren asked.

Sophia laughed, "No, dear heart. If anything happens, I'll scream, and you and Nickie can race to see who can come to my rescue first." Nick and Warren both laughed. "Meanwhile, Nick, Missy, keep an eye on Romeo, here, would you?"

"Surrrre."


The next hour or so was quiet. Nick and the rest had wandered off to socialize, and Sophia and Warren were cuddling on the loveseat.

"Hold my place, Romeo, got to go pee."

"OK."

Warren sat alone, and looked up to see a girl and two guys approaching him. Oh shit, he thought to himself, I didn't know they were part of this crowd. He hated Anne and John Vassar. They had spent most of grammar school torturing him, especially John, who was two years older. Anne was his age.

"Oh, Jesus Christ. Warren Kelleher? What the fuck are you doing here?" Anne said. "Hey, John, look! It's Warren Kelleher!"

"Warren Kelleher? John turned around. With him was his best friend Rob James, another real nice guy. "Wimp-man Kelleher! Who let you in here?"

"Jessie did, seeing as it's her party."

"Oh, Goody! The entertainment! Jessie let you in so the rest of us could play with you, eh?" John sat next to Warren. "This is gonna be fun."

"Umm...that seat is taken."

"Yeah. By me. Now. You got a problem with that?"

"Yes." Warren refused to be intimidated. "And the regular occupant of the seat will definitely have a problem with it."

Karen was watching out of the corner of her eye. She went and found Jessie. "Jess, we've got trouble. Where's Sophie?"

"On the loveseat, with lover-boy." Jessie sniggered.

"No, she's not. And Lover Boy is currently being accosted by the ever-charming John Vassal, his equally charming sister, and that slug he calls a best friend."

"Shit. Where's Nickie? Fuck that, he went to the store. Damn. You're right, we need Soph. You check the bathroom, I'll see if she's outside smoking a butt."

"Got it."

"Now, who would have a problem with me taking this seat for myself? Heck, I just want to spend some time with my good friend Wimp-man." John was saying. "Who would want to sit next to you so badly anyway?" Anne and Rob laughed.

"My girlfriend," Warren said.

"Girlfriend?" All three lasted uproariously. "Don't you mean blow up rubber doll? Yeah, like a wimp-man like you actually has a girlfriend."

Karen was knocking on the bathroom door. "Soph, you in there?"

"Yeah, Karen. I'll be out in a minute."

"Shake a tail feather. We got a problem."

"Alexandra again?"

"No. Worse.  Mister and Miss Wonderful, John and Anne Vassar. And they have found Warren."

"Shit." Sophia finished in record time, flew out of the bathroom with a "Thanks, Karen" and ran down the stairs.

"Blow up rubber doll, that was a good one," Anne said.

"Wasn't it." John said. "Now, Warren, ol' pal, ol' buddy, I don't think that a piece of plastic will fight too hard over this seat, do you?" 

Warren smirked. "I don't know if she'll appreciate being called a piece of plastic, that's for sure."

"Oh, come on, Warren." John said. "Nice try, but you and I both know that you've got no girlfriend, you just want me to get out of the seat. No Kewpie Doll. Nope, you're here, and I'm going to keep you company all night."

"Hey, Sophia!" Anne saw her approaching from behind. "Happy Birthday!"

"Soph!" John saw her come around the front of the loveseat. "Happy B-day, kid. Having a good one?"

"Yes I am, John. Anne, Rob. I'm having a great birthday. Now, John, you wanna get out of my seat?"

"Huh? What?"

"My seat. You're in my seat, John." John stood up, unsure what was going on. Sophia sat down, then spread out, her feet hanging off the edge, her head in Warren's lap. "Aah, that's much better."

John looked at Anne. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Warren just grinned. "Rubber inflatable doll," he said, pointing at Sophia.

"What?" Sophia asked.

"I'll explain later." Warren said. Then he looked up, "I told you my girlfriend was in this seat."

"Wait just a minute," John sputtered. "Sophia Daniels, I've known you since you were born."

Warren looked at her. "Our mothers are best friends," Sophia explained.

John continued, "You can not expect me to believe that you are actually going out with Wimp-man Kelleher!"

"Believe it. And his name is Warren. Or Romeo, whichever." Warren laughed. Sophia went on. "So you can stop calling the love of my life nasty names right now, you hear me, John Vassar?"

John just stared. Anne took a shot. "Sophia, have you taken leave of your senses?"

"No. Why?"

"How can you possibly go out with him? I mean, of all people. Consider your rep, for Chrissakes! What's gonna happen when the whole gang finds out you're going out with a nerd?"

"Well, the whole gang pretty much knows, now, since you guys got here late. And, it's funny, you all didn't seem too fucking concerned when I was going out with a guy who everyone thought was cool and a good partier and not a nerd--all the while he was fucking beating me up!"

Anne looked down, and then looked guiltily at John. John looked at Sophia and said, "Soph, we didn't know about that. None of us did."

"I know. I didn't at first. My point is, I'm done with judging people by how good of a partier they are, or how cool the gang thinks they are, or how macho they seem. I'm done with it. You guys are supposed to be my friends. You didn't know about Scott, true, but if you had known I'd have expected you to act like my friends."

"We would have." Anne said. John and Rob nodded agreement.

"Right. So act like my friends now. This guy whose lap I am lying on is the most wonderful guy in the world. Don't judge a book by its cover. He treats me like gold, and I am in love. Respect that, or leave me-and him-alone."

John thought for a minute. Then he looked down at Sophia.

"You happy, Soph?"

"Immensely."

"Really?"

Sophia looked John in the eye. "Happier than I have been in a long time. Really, John. This is one special guy. "

John took a deep breath. He looked at Sophia, then looked at Warren. Then he shrugged his shoulders.
"Who the fuck am I to argue with that?" He gave Sophia a lopsided grin, which she returned, and said "Happy Birthday, Sophia." Then he turned to Anne and Rob. "Let's go find the damn beer!"

"It's over there," Warren pointed helpfully.

John just looked at him. Sophia cracked up, "He's been fetching mine for me all night."

Even Anne had to laugh at that. "Well, at the very least, you've got him well trained."

"You betcha," Sophia agreed happily. The threesome walked away, heading for the beer, and Sophia exhaled. "I'm sorry, Warren."

"Shit, I think half of your old friends used to torture me at one point."

"Oh, John and Anne are complete assholes-to most people. I'm almost family, though. And when I talk, John Vassar listens-because he knows if he doesn't I tell his mother." They both laughed.

The rest of the party proceeded nicely.








