InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 6: Shameless ❯ The First Lesson ( Chapter 10 )

~~Chapter 10~

~TheFirstLesson~

 

 

 

Gavin glowered at the clothes that Jillian had lain out on his bed and uttered a loud snort. He still wasn't sure how she'd talked him into this, truthfully. He was also reasonably sure that it was nothing but a huge mistake readying itself to bite him right in the ass . . .

 

`You're a sucker, Gavin, you know it?'

 

Gavin sighed, yanking off the sweat-soaked tee-shirt he had worn all day while mending fences along the southern perimeter of the ranch. `Yeah, I know it.'

 

`You could have told her `no'.'

 

`Yeah . . . when have I ever said `no' to her and meant it?'

 

His youkai laughed. `Your words, Gavvie; not mine . . .'

 

Ignoring the annoying voice, he stomped into the bathroom and slapped his hand against the wall beside the door only to realize a moment later that the shower was one of the old-fashioned kind. So used to the master bathroom in his apartment back in New York City, he always slapped for the wall-panel out of habit. It was preset to turn on at the exact temperature that Gavin had programmed in. This one, with the turning knobs, was always a pain in his neck. It took almost ten minutes for the water temperature to even out, and in the meantime, he was left either scalded or freezing, depending on how far he turned on the taps.

 

Which, of course, was entirely beside the point. Jillian was hell-bent on his ultimate destruction; he was sure of it. What other reason could there possibly be for her insistence that he just needed practice in dating?

 

Gavin sighed as he yanked the shower curtain closed and turned the knobs that controlled the water, pulling on the stopper to redirect the flow of water to the showerhead above. Dropping onto the toilet with a dejected sigh, he kicked off his boots and wiggled his toes with a grimace.

 

This was going to blow up in his face, wasn't it?

 

Gripping the back of his neck with his hand and rubbing furiously as he let his head roll from side to side, Gavin stood up and sighed yet again. At least it seemed that Bas had been successful in talking Evan out of flying to Montana. It wasn't that Gavin thought that Evan would get in the way, but Evan was just too . . . Gavin winced. He liked Evan well enough, but he had to admit that the burgeoning rock star had a habit of drawing way too much attention to himself and those around him, whether by accident or design. `Flamboyant,' Jillian had called Evan once. Gavin supposed that was a good way to describe him.

 

Showering didn't take long. The hot water drumming down on his back helped to alleviate the stiffness that had set in since it had been awhile since he had to do so much manual labor. Grabbing the bottle of baby shampoo that Jillian insisted was better for his hair than regular soap; he lathered his hair a couple times. Back in the day, she'd go so far as to sniff his hair to make sure that he used the shampoo she went out of her way to buy for him. Of course, at the time, she'd also made a point of saying that she bought him the `no more tears' formula, too . . . He sighed as he shut off the shower taps and shoved the curtain aside.

 

`You should shave, you know,' his youkai spoke up.

 

Gavin grimaced as he dropped a towel over his head before reaching for a second one to drape around his hips. `Shave? I shaved this morning . . .'

 

`Yeah, and this is a date, remember? You can't be all scruffy when you're going on a date, especially when you're going on a date with the Jillian Zelig.'

 

`Knock that off,' he grouched but reached for the can of shaving gel sitting on the counter next to the sink. `She's just Jilli . . .'

 

“Gavvie, are you almost ready?” Jillian called, her voice muffled by the bathroom door.

 

“H-hold on,” he barked, hoping that she'd listen for once and stay out of the room while he was finishing up. “Wait for me downstairs.”

 

“Okay,” she replied with a happy little giggle. Gavin grimaced. Over the course of time, Jillian had proven time and again that she really didn't have any sense of propriety as far as he was concerned. So comfortable in her own state of undress, it never seemed to occur to her that other people might not be as pleased, and Gavin had lost track of the number of times when Jillian, in her exuberance, would just traipse right into a room without bothering to check whether or not he was decently clad . . .

 

Figuring that he was living on borrowed time, Gavin made quick work of shaving, too. Half-scared that Jillian would decide that he was dawdling on purpose, he wasted no time in shaving. Luck was with him, though, and he managed to finish up and get completely dressed before Jillian's voice interrupted once more.

 

“Hurry up, Gavvie! I'm starving!” she hollered up the stairs.

 

Rolling his eyes, he straightened the collar of his shirt but grinned slightly as he strode out of the room and down the hallway. “You're not going to die if we're ten minutes . . . la-a-ate . . .”

 

His words trailed off as he stepped off the bottom step and finally lifted his gaze to meet Jillian's. Fussing with her long bluish-silver hair in the mirror hanging over the table in the living room beside the front door, she appeared even more delicate—even more ethereal than he could credit. Balancing easily on four-inch black stiletto heels held onto her feet by little more than a configuration of silver straps, she turned her head when he spoke long enough to shoot him a brilliant smile. The black skirt flowed around her hips in a whisper of motion, and the fitted bodice hugged her frame like a second skin. Too used to seeing her in jeans and tee-shirts or even her cute little dresses that looked nothing at all like the one she was wearing, he supposed, but for reasons he didn't want to consider, he couldn't seem to remember that he really had to breathe, and words? His youkai snorted indelicately. `Forget about it . . .'

 

“You look nice,” she told him, her voice soft and her eyes glowing with an emotion that Gavin wasn't sure he wanted to understand.

 

“I-I-I . . .” He drew a deep breath, shaking his head to dispel the dizziness that clung to the edges of his mind. “Y-you, too.”

 

Her smile widened, and she turned away from the mirror, closing the distance between them only to brace herself against his forearm to kiss his cheek. “I'm ready when you are, Gavvie.”

 

Unable to staunch the flow of blood that surged to the surface of his skin, Gavin could only blink and nod as Jillian let go of his arm and sauntered toward the front door.

 

`Cra-a-ap . . .' his youkai breathed as he watched her hips swing back and forth with her gait.

 

`Yeah . . .' he thought as the dizziness surged once more. He couldn't have stated that better, himself . . .

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

`Where . . . is . . . she?'

 

Gritting his teeth as he tossed the tabloid newspaper aside, he flopped back in the rickety old chair at the metal computer desk in the corner of his loft apartment and stifled a frustrated growl.

 

Almost a week had passed since her unceremonious disappearance from Cancun. She'd slipped away from him, hadn't she? `Damn it . . .'

 

She'd hear about this; no doubt about it. Cross him, would she? `I think not.'

 

Grabbing the grimy half-full glass of whiskey off the desk, he didn't notice as liquor sloshed over the rim and splashed onto his fingers. Downing the drink before slamming the glass onto the desk, he grimaced as he swallowed it in one large gulp.

 

She was testing him; damned if she wasn't. She was pushing him, and she was doing it on purpose . . .

 

He grunted as a vicious swell of rage gripped him. `How could she do this to me?'

 

He'd have to teach her a lesson, wouldn't she? She'd have to learn who the boss really was, wouldn't she?

 

With a ticked-off sigh, he jerked out the shelf that held the computer keyboard and started to type. Staring blankly as the blinking cursor moved across the white field, he pressed his lips in a thin line and narrowed his eyes to slits. Ending the email with a flourish, he clicked on the `attach' button. He hated to send her one of those pictures, but she was forcing him, wasn't she?

 

Slumping back once more, he nodded to himself, sending the email with a click of the laser mouse.

 

`The ball's in your court, Jillian . . . Now if you'll just come out and play . . .'

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

Jillian peeked out of the corner of her eye and smiled to herself when she noticed Gavin's hands-stuffed-in-pockets gait. Shuffling along beside her, he seemed relaxed enough, and that was a relief. Even she had to admit that their dinner date hadn't gone so well. After forgetting that he should help her sit down at the quaint little table in the back of the restaurant, Gavin had bumbled his way through ordering and had ended up sharing his meal with her since he'd made the mistake of ordering her a stuffed bell pepper—something that she'd always hated. He knew that. He'd simply forgotten it.

 

`Poor guy . . . why is he so nervous?' she pondered as she walked along the sidewalk.

 

`You mean you have to ask?'

 

`What's that mean?'

 

`Jilli, you're on a date, and Gavin knows it. He's always nervous about stuff like that. It stands to reason that he's nervous, doesn't it?'

 

`Don't be silly! Gavin's always been comfortable with me . . .'

 

`Maybe . . . then again, you've never been on a date with him before, have you?'

 

She didn't deign to comment on that.

 

“You know, Gavvie, I could really go for some ice cream right now,” she finally said.

 

Gavin dug his hands deeper into his pockets and shrugged. “O-okay,” he agreed, turning around to scan the street for an ice cream shop, she supposed. “I'm not sure I can get you some, though,” he finally allowed. “I guess I could run to the grocery store . . .”

 

Jillian grabbed his arm before Gavin could make a break for it. “No, that's okay. I was just making small talk,” she assured him with a bright smile as she twined her arm around his.

 

He stiffened slightly as she leaned on his arm, and she ignored the nervous glance he shot her. Veering off onto the meandering path that branched off of the main sidewalk, Gavin led Jillian into the trees that lined the edge of the park. “It's so peaceful here,” she commented softly, unwilling to raise her voice and risk breaking the serenity of the mild night.

 

Gavin nodded. “Guess it's always been this way,” he ventured. “Small towns, you know.”

 

She smiled up at him, her eyes hidden in the deepest shadows, shining gently in the night. “Reminds me of Bevelle.”

 

He chuckled. Comparing Bevelle, Maine, where she grew up, and Hidekea, Montana, was like comparing apples and oranges. “Hidekea makes Bevelle look like New York City,” he remarked with a wry smile.

 

“Hidekea is lovely,” she argued. “Anyway, I like it here.”

 

“Do you.” It wasn't a question.

 

Jillian shrugged. “Yes.”

 

“You'd get bored here quickly enough.”

 

She wrinkled her nose. “That's what you think,” she retorted. “I'd be happy enough, I'll have you know. I'd be happy anywhere with you.”

 

He rolled his eyes but didn't respond. When she stole a glance at him, she smiled. Staring at his feet, he shuffled along the path with his gaze studiously averted. She didn't need light to know that his face was very, very red.

 

“You think I'm just humoring you, don't you?” she asked quietly.

 

Gavin shrugged. “Dunno.”

 

She giggled. “I'm not, you know.”

 

“I know you think you're serious.”

 

She uttered a sound suspiciously like, “hrumph.”

 

“Come on, Jilli,” he said at last, increasing his stride as they passed under the bright circle of a path lamp. “Maybe there's something else we can do, if you want.”

 

“Like what?” she asked, her shoes tapping lightly as she hurried after him.

 

Casting her a quick almost lopsided grin, he shook his head slowly and kept walking. “I don't know . . . there isn't much to do around here during the week, I guess.”

 

“I'm having a good time,” she ventured, tilting her head back to gaze up at the stars. Giggling softly, she kept walking—almost dancing—as they stepped off the path and onto the sidewalk once more.

 

His snort bespoke his disbelief at her claim. “Right . . . because it's stellar when your date forgets his manners,” he grumbled, “and even better when he steps on your feet when you're dancing.”

 

“You didn't step on me,” she pointed out. “You just sort of bumped into my feet, was all.”

 

“Yeah, and that really doesn't make me feel much better,” he grumbled.

 

She laughed. “Oh, Gavvie! You'd be fine if you weren't so self-conscious.”

 

“Forget it, Jilli. I'll leave the dancing to your brother.”

 

“Please! If you really want to call that `dancing',” Jillian shot back. For reasons that no one quite understood, Evan had felt the inner desire to try his hand at stripping for a short time.

 

“Well . . . exotic dancing is still dancing,” Gavin mused.

 

Her laughter was soft, easy. “If you think so, Gavvie . . . you know, you'd make a killing if you tried it.”

 

“God forbid,” he groaned.

 

“We could go back to the ranch, if you wanted,” she ventured.

 

Gavin shrugged. “No . . . It's okay. You're having fun, right?”

 

She nodded enthusiastically. “That's a silly question,” she remarked.

 

He snorted but didn't argue with her. Stopping in the center of the town square, Gavin chuckled when Jillian breathed in sharply as she stared at the statue of the town's first mayor that stood in the middle of a small plaza. Depicted as a Daniel Boone-esque character complete with raccoon skin cap and leather-looking clothes and moccasins, Malcolm Forrester stood over ten feet tall on a marble pedestal that added another three feet to his towering height—something that Gavin had always found rather ironic since he knew that, according to history, Forrester barely stood five feet tall. He sighed. It was something that Natalie Jamison had stressed to Gavin for years . . . “Some of Hidekea's most prominent men were on the small side, Gavin . . . there's nothing wrong with that.” The words were normally accompanied by an obscenely loud schmatz on the top of his head and the perfunctory ruffling of the hair.

 

`She was right, of course,' his youkai pointed out. `Look at Napoleon . . . he was short . . . and you can't forget the midget from `Austin Powers' . . .'

 

He snorted. `Shut up.'

 

Dragging him toward the statue, she let go of his hand long enough to hike up her skirt as she hunkered down to wiggle her fingers on the surface of the water in the wide but shallow fountain that surrounded the base of the statue. Underwater lights illuminated the square, and Gavin had to admit that the effect was pretty remarkable. The bronze statue seemed to glow in the darkness while the short founts of water that jettisoned six feet into the air before the water cut off abruptly, allowing the droplets of moisture to fall like rain. Jillian laughed softly, captivated by the coursing liquid. She was so easily entranced by water that her reaction didn't surprise him in the least.

 

“It's a wish fountain,” he commented at length, stuffing his hands into his pockets once more and offering her a bashful shrug as he pulled out a penny and held it out to her. “Here.”

 

Springing lightly to her feet, she held out her hand. He dropped the coin, but it slipped through her fingers, hitting the ground with a muffled clink before it rolled in a wide circle that narrowed as it traveled along its path before it rattled to a stop and fell flat. Jillian stooped to retrieve it, and Gavin did, too. Another hand flashed out to nab the coin, and Jillian stood up slowly, offering the strange man a reluctant if not sincere smile. “Thank you.”

 

He grinned at her, shifting slightly in his stance and effectively shutting Gavin out as he insinuated himself between them. “You're Jillian Zelig, aren't you?” he asked as his grin widened.

 

“Yes, I am,” she replied brightly. Gavin stifled the desire to growl.

 

“I'm Major,” he said with a courteous nod. “Major Lloyd.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Major,” she replied. “Are you in the military?”

 

Choking back a chuckle, Gavin tried to hide his amusement when Major looked completely disgruntled.

 

“No, ma'am . . . Major's my name.”

 

Jillian blushed and grimaced, which effectively put an end to Gavin's amusement since he hated to see her looking so uncomfortable. “Oh, I'm sorry . . . I didn't think . . . I hope I didn't offend you.”

 

“Oh, uh, no,” he said quickly enough. “What're you doing in a piss-ant town like Hidekea?”

 

Jillian's smile widened in a friendly sort of way. “I'm here on vacation,” she informed the young man. Gavin snorted indelicately.

 

“Vacation, huh? Never really thought I'd see a supermodel vacationing here, of all places.”

 

Jillian shook her head, looking rather confused by that statement. “Why wouldn't I be? The air is clean; the people are friendly . . . It's a lovely community.”

 

“Yeah, I suppose . . . `to each his own', right?” Major commented as he dropped the penny into Jillian's hand and folded her fingers over top of it. “Maybe I'll see you around again before you head back to the big city.”

 

“Maybe,” she agreed though Gavin could hear the noncommittal tone in her voice.

 

The man tipped his hat and nodded before ambling away. Gavin couldn't help the low growl that escaped him as he watched Major's retreating back. Jillian laid a hand on his forearm, and only then did he realize just what he was doing. Cutting himself off abruptly, he shot Jillian an apologetic wince and nodded at the fountain. “Make your wish, Jilli,” he grumbled as he fought the color that was fast rising under his skin.

 

She braced herself on his arm and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek before whirling around, grasping the coin in her hands in front of her chest in the sort of pose that reminded Gavin of the cutesy drawn Christmas cards with the depictions of the little angels praying by the manger of the Baby Jesus.

 

He sighed. It didn't surprise him, did it? Jillian drew that sort of attention from men wherever she went, and the men always seemed to ignore the fact that Gavin was standing right there. Though he'd resigned himself to it long ago, it still grated on his nerves from time to time, especially tonight . . .

 

`Because you're on a date, Gavin. Jillian says it's a date . . .'

 

`So she says,' he fumed with an inward snort. `Some date . . . ambushed by a dork named Major . . .'

 

`You weren't ambushed,' his youkai pointed out reasonably. `You dropped the penny. He was just being nice, and if you didn't notice, Jillian barely gave him more than standard courtesy.'

 

`Yeah, well . . . whatever.'

 

`Which is what you always say whenever you can't think of something better.'

 

“There!” Jillian exclaimed softly as she spun around to face him once more. “Gavvie?”

 

Blinking rapidly as she waved her hand in front of his face to snap him out of his reverie, Gavin leaned away but smiled. “Finished?”

 

“Yes,” she stated, slipping her arm through his once more.

 

“Okay. What'd you wish for?”

 

She shook her head, her smile turning impish as she unleashed those deep dimples that he both abhorred and loved. “Can't tell you, silly!”

 

“Why not?”

 

She giggled. “If I tell you, it won't come true. Don't you know the wishing rules?”

 

He smiled rather wanly as he let his gaze travel to the fountain once more. “There are rules?”

 

She nodded. “There are always rules, Gavvie. Now it's your turn.”

 

“My turn?”

 

“Yes . . . you have to make a wish, too.”

 

“I'm out of pennies,” he told her.

 

“Then use a quarter or something.”

 

He rolled his eyes but dug a shiny half-dollar out of his pocket, tossing it up in the air and catching it a couple times as he thought about his wish. He'd always thought this sort of thing was completely ridiculous. To make a wish . . . what good could possibly come of it?

 

Catching Jillian's wistful expression out of the corner of his eye, he stifled a sigh and grimaced. The good that would come of it, he supposed, was the happy little smile that she'd unleash on him the minute he let the coin drop into the water . . .

 

`I wish . . .'

 

The grimace shifted into something more strained, and for reasons he didn't want to consider, Gavin let the coin drop from his fingertips without finishing his thought in his own mind. `Some wishes,' he thought as he turned away from the fountain, pulling Jillian with him as she laughed softly in the night, `aren't meant to be made, are they? There are way too many wishes in the world . . . wishes that just don't stand a chance of ever coming true . . .'

 

 

~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~ =~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~

A/N:

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sprsnc20:

Wow, this story's really getting good. First the stalker, then Gavin's disaster at the bar, and now Evan's getting dissed by his own brother. Where have we seen that before. . .? I can't wait for Jilli's "therapy" to start. By the way, I learned something interesting a while ago and thought I would share it with you, though you may already know this. In Japanese marriages, the groom normally marries into the bride's family, taking her name as well. In this case, it doesn't really matter if InuYasha has a family name or not, since as soon as he marries Kagome he would take the name Higurashi. This isn't meant as criticism, I just thought you might be interested in knowing this bit of info. Anyway, great chapter and awesome story as always. Keep up the great work!

 

That's actually notcompletelytrue. It's only been since Japanese started using last names that they borrowed the Western custom of taking the man's name, just like the exchange of wedding rings. Before then no one had last names(from what I understand, it was even later historically when women were allowed to have last namesat all). For that matter,not many Japanese have middle nameseven now. Before World War II, it was mandatory to take the man's last name. The law was revised after World War II to state simplythat married couplesmustshare the same surname,so in effect they couldtake the woman's name, however98 percent of couples still take the man's name, but you can only take one surname (meaning no hyphenated surnames, for example Jones-Smith). If you don't believe me, then here's a link to read for yourself. http://www.dawncenter.or.jp/english/publication/edawn/9 711/couples.html

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Final Thought fromJillian:

Gavin's wish …

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Shameless): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~