High School AU (PG-13 Mari & Jake)

When he kissed her back and pushed up against her she bit his lower lip playfully, matching his groan with a soft moan of her own. God, he kissed well, she cursed mentally, as his hands wandered along her skin. He was starting to surprise her, that wasn't the plan, at all. So Marilyn focused simply on the physical sensations and her own body's reactions to his ministrations.

And when there was a knock at the door Marilyn caught herself sighing quietly, but then reasoned that just because she didn't like him didn't mean she couldn't enjoy this.
But instead of the cocky smirk she'd been so sure he'd be wearing...he was smiling at her.
Marilyn forced her expression neutral, blank. Don't, she thought, Please don't smile at me.
This is strictly...physical.

Her hand didn't resist when she held it she Mari upheld her neutral expression as he led her past the crowd and up the stairs. And while she was a proud Person who didn't like being proved wrong, even in the slightest way, she did have to admit he wasn't being as much of an ass right then.

Marilyn was just about to have second thoughts when he kissed her again and they just went straight out the window. He was hot, she was hot, they just had to...get it out of their System. Then he could go on ignoring her and she could continue focusing.

And it felt...really...good.

She kissed him back, hands on his chest then then sliding under his shirt, teasing the muscles with her fingertips, as the kiss grew more passionate and she started to guide him, still kissing, to the bed, which ended up in her misjudging the distance and guiding him too far so he fell onto it backfirst with her on top of him.

"mhm- sorry, you alright?" she asked before she could catch herself, but careful to Sound like she didn't care that much.

An hour passed, the girl supposed as she was laid on the bed on her back beside him, chest covered by a blanket and still heaving slightly as she tried to catch her breath. It was difficult to seem utterly neutral when the person you're trying to ignore is making you nearly scream.

Now she had her arm over her eyes and was mentally half still in the blissful post-orgasmic bliss and half in 'Oh fuck' mode. The former was pretty self-explenatory. But the latter was a mixture of 'fuck that was really good' and 'fuck that was good.'

Neither of which were notions she had been willing to entertain until then and even there, lying naked next to him, they still weren't notions she was willingly entertaining.

Marilyn had figured she'd just gather herself, her clothes and leave without much ceremny but he then pulled her close and kissed her, much to her surprise. And, also much to her surprise, she kissed him back, but wrote it off as 'I'm about to return to the real world and this is just me making the most of the situation'

"Told you it would take more than seven minutes."
Marilyn couldn't help it, it was just to easy to put on an unimpressed look with a smirk and a raised eyebrow and retort, "That was all you've got?"

"Oh shut up," Marilyn rolled her eyes and wrapped a sheet around herself as she gathered her clothes and then got dressed, letting him leave without saying anything and when she was alone and dressed in the room she sat at the edge of the bed and sighed, her head in her hands.

There were so many things on her mind now that she'd finished with this, real life was pouring back onto her like a waterfall and she'd had just enough to drink to admit to herself that she was scared. Of her future- if she had one. And the girl also knew what she would have to do come Monday evening after practice. She'd have to go look for a Job and that meant severely cutting into the time she'd normally be at the lab, which meant lowering her academics and chances of getting into an Ivy League School and it meant the degradation of standing in a window wearing crappy Polyester and asking people her age if they wanted fries with that.

Pressing her hair back out of her face she texted Helen to meet her outside and simply climbed out the window into the fire escape stairs and out, with no wish to see anyone at the party again.

That was done now. Time to move on to her next hurdle.
Or so she thought.

So that was why coming Monday when she was at her locker, already in her uniform for practice, just grabbing the things she needed to take home and stuffing them in her bag, she was so surprised at her visiter who stood beside her suddenly.

Marilyn didn't even look at him as he spoke, instead just gathering pens and odd small things that had scattered in her locker into her bag, "Well for one, Catherine would have clawed my eyes out. And I just didn't feel like a party." she shrugged, her expression closed off as usual though she noticed she was taking her time gathering her things, knowing the torture she was about to go to when she biked to the lab and would have to tell her superior the news. The thought made her want to cry, which she would later, but not now. Never in School. Or in front of anyone.

But her stress shifted towards him, somewhat angry at him now. How dare he continue bothering her after that? Hadn't he gotten what he'd wanted? Why couldn't he just leave her alone?

"Why are you even talking to me?" she glared, turning to him, "I know you couldn't possibly actually care so can't you just- just go pick on somebody else, Jake?" the Cheerleader grabbd her bag and pursed her lips as she straightened to face him properly, eyes hard.

 "Because caring is usually a two way street, and you lost hope of pretending you didn't care the moment you used my first name."

Her eyes narrowed at her words, walls shooting up in her mind around herself. No, she was not going to play this game. Not this time.

"So, I'm here because I... want to be. Not for any other reason."

"Well save your breath because you're wrong, I don't care." That may have been a lie. And it may have shown by how she didn't meet his eyes as she said it. She did care, against her better judgement. Mari just couldn't afford to act on it only to end up just like the other countless girls that got ditched by Jake Newbury, at least that's what she told herself.


"I'm not a pastime, Newbury, we had sex, okay? I have no expectations of your commitment. Now, I'm late and though it may not have occured to you to glance beyond what you want, I have obligations and responsabilities that come before anything- even your whims. I don't know what on earth I could've done to draw your attention. So do me a favor, quit playing whatever game or bet you're playing at and go back to simply ogling me on the pyramid from afar."


Marilyn bit out and then turned, walking away slowly, biting her lip and trying to keep herself under control. It wasn't like her to lash out like that, at all, Mari was by all means calm, quiet and controlled.


Honestly? A part of her wanted to apologize for being so harsh but another part said it was for the best. It would show him that pursuing her for whatever inane reason wasn't worth the backlash. Her hand went up to her forehead in frustration as the girl felt a possible headdache coming on. There was so much going on in her head. Too much to focus. Perfect. Just perfect.

"You're right, you don't know about my commitments. Currently, I don't have any, I never have in regards to this kind of thing. But these things change. I'm not playing a game, I'm not running a bet. I'm here because-"

'Fuck' Marilyn thought when he kissed her and she froze at the gentle touch before relaxing and kissing him back in turn. It felt so...honest and deep, like he really meant it. Mari wondered what Helen would say but her best friends voice swirled in her mind, telling her to embrace the change and that she shouldn't be so hard on herself- or on everyone around her. Which conflicted greatly with her survival strategy of focusing and achieving.
"I'm many things, Marilyn, but I'm not a liar."


His whisper made her open her eyes and bite her lip. Mari wanted to believe him, at least a part of her did. And as much as she had fought against the idea of him being anything but a jerk, she also knew that it wasn't completely true and that she'd only told herself that over and over so she wouldn't risk attachement. Perhaps she could give it a try. Probation, so to say, to see if he was really telling the truth.

"Please stop pushing me away..."

Fine. She leaned in again to capture his lips in hers and kissed him gently, her hand gently on the nape of his neck to pull him closer before she murmured, "Okay." Then opening her eyes again she continued, "You get a chance. Only one. Don't blow it, yeah? Pick me up next saturday at seven." The Cheerleader then leaned in for one more kiss before adding, "I really am late, I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." Then quickly walking away to get to the lab as quick as she could, only turning back at the door to glance at him and say "Call me Mari" before leaving.  

She arrived at the lab breathless and spouting apologies to her Supervisor who cut her off with the news that her father had called. At this Marilyn blanched. "He said you are under no circumstances to cut down your time here and I have to say, I agree. We're making such Progress with this project and the presentation ceremony is in a month. we'd never get done if you cut down on this."
The girl bit her lip and frowned; this was not anticipated. Then again, lately, nothing was.

So she worked until she went home, by then wearing a small smile on her face.
Maybe unanticipated was a good thing.

Dating Jake was, also, much different than expected. As the days went off they didn't see much of each other between classes, but began spending lunchtime together which led to conversations that were stunningly nice and sweet (and kisses inbetween that were also surprisingly sweet). It had been a bit of a surprise

Marilyn, though initially tense, had indeed managed to relax quicker than she'd thought around him, still teasing him sometimes but now it was different, kinder and more affectionate ribbing. And he didn't seem to mind.

The only thing that indeed made her super tense and nervous was saturday. It was date night for her parents, something they did at least once a month, insisting that they had promised for better or for worse (for richer or poorer) and thus had to go out. They didn't have much money, of course, so they usually just drove out far enough to see the stars and stayed stargazing until dawn at one of the lakes that was further away than some others.

But they did want to meet the mysterious young man who'd made, to them, a sudden appearance in their daughter life. Marilyn didn't tend to bring people home, mainly because she tried to avoid backlash for their lifestyle. But now she was and they were curious. Marilyn, personally, felt rather ill. She wasn't ashamed of her life, she was proud because they were a family that fought for everything that had and that was admirable. Mari just hated dealing with people who thought otherwise. 

Then a knock alerted the three who were sitting in the kitchen at the table and unfortuately, Marilyn's mother Alma beat Raphael to the door and opened it with a smile,

"Hola, you must be Jake." her accent blurred his Name slightly, but she was grinning as she welcomed him in, "I'm Alma and this is my husband Raphael." She gestured to the man in a linen shirt, same as her dress except hers had Little flowers sown along the edges.
Marilyn smiled at him slightly, cheeks pink as she stood next to her father, who in turn went to shake Jakes hand (he would've hugged him if Mari hadn't pleaded with him before hand)

"Nice to meet you, Jake. We won't be in your way, we're going out as well. Marilyn has the keys...am I forgetting anything, Rapha?" Alma turned to her husband who shrugged and grinned, "Curfew?" Marilyn prompted with a small smile. "Do you have one?" Rapha asked, raising an eyebrow. Alma shook her head. "We trust you, Mija. Te adoro, Maritza."

Marilyn was kissed on the cheeks by her parents, each on one side as they waved again at Jake and left, the Sound of a groaning engine aching to life signaling their leave as Mari turned to Jake biting her lip, unsure of what to do or how he was reacting.

"So that was my Family..."

(outfit)

Jake seemed to be quite alright, Marilyn decided with relief as he moved over to where she was and kissed her. Suddenly things shifted inside the cheerleader, it seemed more real now that he was in her home and had seen her parents. A part of her that had been tightly wound from day one began to relax a bit.

Smiling in his arms Mari looked up at him, "Thank you. And I could've told you he was a bullshitter before that." her eyebrows raised, "And my parents are extremely relaxed people." Mari shrugged and gave him another kiss, smiling into it.

"I have no plans, so I'm up for whatever," She nuzzled his neck, enjoying the embrace and giving him a soft kiss on the neck before letting him answer and adding, "I don't really do Clubs, by the way. Just so you know."

"It's not mean, Helen's full of it and I love her for it. She's the best best friend I could have." she mused fondly, reminding herself to give Helen her weed back a few days early just for helping her with coming to terms with the Jake situation. And reminding her that being a perfectionist wasn' always a good thing.

Marilyn, who was not unused to surprises (her parents loved them) nodded at his words and closed the already small distance between them to press a quick kiss to his lips as she managed to escape his affectionate embrace to grab a jacket and scarf, not bothering with her legs because she rarely felt very cold, in face the girl was often relatively warm, no matter the weather.

So when she popped back in Mari smiled and waved off the look to her legs with a simple, "I run hot." and a playful wink. And with that they were off.
Marilyn was a little surprised at the motorcycle that was parked in front of her house (and faced the idiots on the porch across the street by not even looking and just flipping them off, used to their stupid comments). But mostly, and she would probably not admit this out loud, it was actually kind of hot.

And he didn't drive like a madman, which was good for two reasons, Marilyn decided. Safety being unarguably number one. And number two being that, despite her apprehensive Approach, Marilyn really enjoyed just being with Jake; at lunch together when sometimes they just sat leaned against each other in comfortable silence or talking softly about anything they could think of; when she caught him watching her at break in practice and vice versa; now, arms tight around him and head resting on his back... this was going to be his Chance to prove it was real and that she could do this.

Because she had just seen too many Girls falter over heartbreak. Being on the squad meant sticking together, no matter how un-Cheerleader Marilyn seemed; she was there for those Girls and they were there for her. Even Catherine, despite issues they had periodically, they would stick up for the other if it came down to it. And the a few of the other Girls on the team were aware of Mari's situation at home and though Mari had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want charity, every year she'd get a load of nice clothing from them that was honestly probably worth about a year of Marilyn's parents combined salary. (She'd tried to make them take it back but Helen had just shoved everything into her closet one night so she gave up, instead tutoring whoever needed any help for free.)

The Team was there through thick and thin and Mari appriciated it. But that also meant that she'd seen the Girls at their lows when a guy not unlike how Jake had been or come across broke their hearts and they grieved and faltered or fell in every area, socially and academically.
And Mari could not afford to ever falter. So she had tried to avoid this...risk she was taking. But in the end she was only human and could not deny that being with Jake felt...as natural as chemistry.

So a lot was riding on this, it was a crossroad so to speak. But the moment she heard the engine come to a slow purr and stop atop a hill where one could see...thousands of twinkling stars in the sky, that in addition to the blanket that had been in the compartment in the seat she'd been on made her realise what path they'd be taking. And she made a mental note to thank Helen and Mike (she's not stupid she knew the probability of just guessing her favorite activity besides chemistry was next to null).

With a smile that made her eyes crinkle happily at the Corners she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a deep, affectionate kiss, leaning their foreheads together when it ended and letting her eyes remain closed for a second, relishing this...feeling, that she finally allowed herself to fully enjoy.

"This is perfect..." she whispered with a grateful tone, kissing him again softly.
"You do know that I will now utterly geek out and describe every constellations history to you that I know, right?" Mari smirked.

"That's fine by me, so..." Mari smiled, snuggling closer as they laid on their backs looking up. The first few hours were spent with Marilyn pointing at a star or constellation and explaining not only the mythology behind its name, but also the science behind it ("There are actually three basic classes of stars, blue, white and red. Red are most common but pretty impossible to see without a heavy telescope...") But they also spent a fair amount of time simply talking about whatever they were thinking about and kissing each other softly (and not so softly...)

It was so comfortable there laying in each others arms, that the couple just fell asleep, cacooned in their blanket. When they awoke the sun was just starting to rise and fresh dew clung to everything in tiny beads of water. Marilyn, as usual, did not wake up first, but rather was awoken by soft kisses along her forehead, cheek and lips.

Smiling before she opened her eyes she gave Jake a sleepy kiss back before sitting up, pushing her messy curls out of her face and looking at her phone; barely 5am, no missed calls.

"My parents won't get in until about 11..." Mari mused aloud, somewhat distracted by lazy kisses to her neck, eyes crinkling at the corners at the somewhat ticklish sensation.
The young woman looked over at him with a genuine smile; it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her, feeling that she could truly trust him enough to pull this through.

"We should get going, and unless you have to be home soon...I still have the house to myself for six hours..." Mari kissed his cheek playfully.

Soon enough the two teenagers were closely cuddled in her single bed in her room, somewhat out of breath and blissfully so. The level of comfortable familarity between them was nearly scary, but Mari didn't want to dwell on that, only focusing on the now.
Therefore she didn't mind when he wanted to leave before her parents got home, because it also gave her time to shower.

When her parents did come home she greeted them in the same kind of linen dress her mother had so many of and dripping hair, recieving a hug and a kiss from each parent along with an inquiry as to how her evening had been.

"It's funny," Mari told them, a fond smile gracing her features, "We did the same thing you did, went to a hill and watched the stars, it was his idea, I think Helen talked to him." she grabbed a Cookie and sat at the table where her parents had brought mugs of milk. "Then he took me home. It was really nice. But today I'm studying, I'm really close to cracking the formula that I need for the lab's Project."
Her parents smiled and nodded. "I'm glad you have something relaxing now, relationships are sources of comfort, not additional stress, Maritza."

The rest of the morning was spent on pleasant conversation and in a very complacent atmosphere; Marilyn stayed at the table for most of the day, only leaving to grab her notes and books. It wasn't until she went to bed that she checked her phone and texted an eager and teasing Helen back, who'd normally be there on a sunday, but had been too hungover.

She hadn't really expected a text from Jake, simply because she knew that she had written because she had priorities that she was adament about not changing so she figured he probably did as well.


Next Monday came around quickly and the Cheerleader decided that his trial was over and that there was no harm in being openly affectionate, so when he popped up at her locker at the morning 'rush hour' fifteen minutes before classes the first thing she did was give him a kiss, regardless of the somewhat gaping students passing by.

"Hey..." Marilyn murmured against his lips.

"Umm, before you say anything about texting, my mom took my phone... and my bike. For not letting them know I wasn't coming home..."

Marilyn raised an eyebrow at his words, "Not a problem, I was working on chemistry and homework, I don't text when I'm working, so really, it's fine. I had a great afternoon, I think I've fixed a problem we'd been having in the lab." She gave him another kiss and flicked the tip of her tongue against his lip sneakily, winking as she pulled away.

"I'll see you at lunch..." she laughed, heading to her next class with a smile on her lips.

The weeks they spent together, to everyones surprise, became months and the couple was happy together- They were teenagers together. Young and adventurous but also calm and reassuring. Jake snuck out to see her, even going so far as to throw tiny pebbles at her window once, only leaving her time to tell her parents she was going out an climbing out the window to get on his bike. On the other hand they also spent long periods of time just laying next to each other and talking.

As months passed their talks grew deeper in content as their trust and affection grew.
And one night when her parents were out they were wrapped up in blankets after a few rounds of...teenage fun, Marilyn gently nuzzled his neck and turned to lay on her side to face him, sheet draped over her body. "Jake, I have a question..." Marilyn bit her lip and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, suddenly nervous, "Why, ehm, why are we always either at mine or out?"

Mari quirked an eyebrow at his answer and rolled back onto her back, frowning and tryng to choose from the new ways to phrase her question forming in her head. The girl finally sighed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Do your parents even know you have a girlfriend, Jake?" was the solution she went with, her tone steady, keeping out whatever hurt she may or may not feel at the notion that he was keeping her a secret. It was worrying, but she had tried not to think about it.

But even Helen had noticed when they'd been studying together and remarked on it. Marilyn hadn't had an answer. She'd never met his parents, she knew nothing about his Family or home life. And after being together half a year, it was just plain odd.

"Are you- I mean," she fumbled around the words, red shooting to her cheeks, "ashamed of me, or something?"