Title: School Rumble

Chapter: 3

Series: Jericho

Rating: PG-13 (safety’s sake)

Genre: Drama/Romance

Pairing: JakexHeather, MaryxEric, and StanleyxMimi

Plot: Stanley Richmond finds himself thinking about the past, the present, and the looming future.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All I own is a clarinet and a closet full of manga. If I did I would have it so Jake and Heather got together.

AN: UnBETAed and at last a chapter with a few minor changes. Any other information is on part one.

Chapter Three

"The Last Day of summer already?"

Stanley Richmond sighed and threw himself down on the messy bed that stood in his room. He then looked up at his ceiling which was covered in posters for various bands and sports teams. He then sat up for a moment and repeated his thought out loud for the second time. He then noted that it felt unreal. As it did every single year ever since he entered kindergarten. When his eyes then darted to his worn out book bag which was laying on his desk completely empty he openly admitted that this day also felt as if it was different from other years.

Maybe it was the soft breeze that had been there since that morning? It was usually stifling on this ever changing "day." Yet, this year it was actually nice and comfortable. The teen shrugged at the thought.

Stanley remembered his mother once telling him that when the weather was unusual that meant that something was going to happen and that things were going to change. Whether that change would happen sooner or later yet alone was good or bad, she would explain, was best left to God's knowledge and hand. When he had first heard it he admitted that he didn't understand what it meant but his mother simply smiled and told him that he would one day understand and not to worry about it.

Though, when would he understand? That was the thing that always bothered him. Even with the changes he had a hand in creating, he still did not get it completely.

Stanley then decided to assume that he would learn its meaning when a change he did not have anything to do with came around.

He turned over to his left side and stared at his Letterman jacket which had been thrown onto the old chair. When he saw it he couldn't help but smile at the interruption. The first game of the season was just in a few short days. It would be a game in which he would be starting in as well.

It would feel great after all of his hard work. The lights, the crowd, the thrill of being out there and ready to win, the thoughts circled his head

The young man shut his eyes for a moment and then muttered "I can't screw this up."

Ever since Stanley was a young child, his parents wanted him to go to a good college. They wanted him to get a good education so he could get a good job. They explained that it would be the best thing for him especially they knew from years of experience that farming was not the way to make a good living. It was an extremely make or break line of business. The Richmonds did not want that for their son. However it seems that as the years passed the prices for going to school as well as the cost of living rose. It became apparent that they would need any form of scholarship or finical aid they could receive.

Their son was a good student but nowhere near the level to receive a scholarship for grades. He wasn't into the arts so music and other forms of art were also ruled out. He also had a knack for getting into trouble and often was put into detention throughout his elementary and middle school years. It was because of these trips that he began to argue with his parents and become popular with the "wrong crowd." When he thought about the reasons behind why he had did what he done, he wasn't exactly sure. Sure, Jake had gotten involved with that crowd out of anger towards his father. Emily and her older brother Chris had the same reason themselves. Stanley, however, he wasn't sure. However, he had come to believe over the years since that time that he simply wanted to be there for his friends. He didn't want them to go down that path alone.

It was still an extremely stupid action in the long run.

However, he did have one talent which could help him. He was a good athlete. When he made the local middle school team, his grades rose and his trips to the principal dropped. He was also surprised to discover that he did like the game a lot. He worked hard to make it to where he was at the moment. This was the year to prove himself to be valuable on the field and the year that would either make or break any chance of getting a scholarship. It was stressful enough without this added to the list but Stanley knew that this was what both his parents wanted. He was their only son and after years of trying to have another child his parents ended up placing their hopes upon him.

Much like his father and his relationship with his parents slowly improved over time. He had dropped the "wrong crowd" and managed to free a few others from the group he had once run with. Mary Bailey was one of those people and ever since they were extremely close friends. He was currently (along with Emily who had left of her own accord after her father's return to her life) trying to pull both Jake and Chris out of that darkness. He couldn't directly note how far they had gotten but it was far enough to calm Jake down a tad. Over the past year his trips to the office had decreased and his grades/attendance improved slightly.

Jake was for many years the bane of his father's existence. He was often rebellious in every sense of the word. It had gotten to the point that his father completely ignored his son in his private life because no matter what he did, Jake would keep doing what he wanted. In other words, Jake was a 'lost cause' in his father's eyes. It was lucky for Mayor Green, Stanley figured, that his other son Eric was the "model child." Jake was also subject of many conversations and questions between the mayor and Stanley, himself. However, Stanley never completely answered any of the questions because the truth was a secret between two "brother-like" friends. When Stanley thought about it he couldn't help but feel as if his friend's explanation was only half true. While Jake was as loyal as they came, he was also extremely secretive. Well in any event, Emily was probably the only one who knew the entire story and when and if Jake wanted to explain then he would.

As the room in which he was in began to grow dark. As the timer on the lamp across the room turned on with a faint click he couldn't help but shut his eyes. He was now going to begin his junior year of school within hours. He frowned at the thought of the massive amounts of homework and tests that would await him. He thought about how this year was a make or break year for football. Then on top of that mess there was always the chance that drama between friends would occur.

Usually, he noted, those moments were between Jake and Emily and happened about once a week. Despite knowing that it was just a normal part of being friends with the both of them it was still an ugly thought. Those fights usually got ugly within minutes and Stanley was usually pulled into the center of the conflict. He also recalled all of the times that they had "broken up" during the arguments and gotten back together a few days later each time. Now that he thought about it, their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend was "unstable" at the best. He sighed and made a mental promise to himself to just ignore them when they started up again. It's not like their fights even truly had anything to do with him. In fact, Stanley got along well with a lot of people and spent a lot of time out of the way which was why he could admit that.

Stanley then sighed realizing that Jake would also joke about Stanley's lack of experience when it came to relationships. The teen frowned and sighed. Sure, he had dated other girls in the past but he never did so seriously. In fact, when he thought about it he had agreed to go out with them because he wasn't completely sure about how to react. In the end, he simply thought of them as friends. He liked them but not in 'that' way. He wasn't worried about it. He was still young, after all. There wasn't any pressure either so he could focus on more.

The boy half-heartedly sighed "Not in a hurry for it either."

Oh, who was he kidding? He wanted to have a girlfriend that he loved and could be serious about. But he wasn't going to kid anyone either. But there just was not anyone who interested him in ‘that’ way.

But he reminded himself that there was not just the bad that awaited him. There was sure to be plenty of good times thrown into the mix. He imagined a few of the summer's most memorable moments in his head and smiled. As those moments left his mind, he remembered the times that they had as young kids getting into trouble at Jake's grandfather's ranch. The blond haired teen chuckled for a few moments and then shut his eyes as a wave of "man those were the days" overtook him.

But that feeling quickly disappeared. Something was wrong with that statement. If his memory served correctly, Emily used to whine about going to the ranch and eventually stopped going and stopped being invited. She had only gone there a few select times.

That was because he could remember Jake’s grandpa to constantly ask Jake when he was going to get that “hellcat” yet after those few times.

(The older man used that term referred to any girl who he claimed would turn any Green man’s world upside down and cause everything that he had come to know to come into question.)

Jake would always reply that he had found her, causing the older man to chuckle. Apparently, he knew something that neither Jake nor Stanley knew. The two boys, even now, could figure out what.

But he could remember there being an another girl around the same age as Jake and himself being there back in the day, at least for a short while.

Then the teen opened his eyes and muttered "But if that wasn't Emily, who was it?"

Stanley shut his eyes and tried to imagine those days. He could remember himself at the age of eight wearing old jeans and shirts and Jake who was very much the same. He could remember Eric sitting out with his noise buried in a book and the adults sitting around in deep conversation. But there was definitely girl that was there back then.

What about her? Well he could remember her wearing old overalls (something Emily wouldn't have been caught in) and he could also note that she had dark hair. She was really shy and had blue eyes.

From that alone, he could rule out Mary and April too.

He then remembered that she lived in another town, which ruled out the rest of Jericho. Where was it, he quietly asked himself before the answer came. She was from New Bern, or at least he thought she was.

Now, that he remembered that he decided to focus on her name.

But what was her name? Helen? No. Hester? No! Not many girls in this day and age have that name. Well not many girls that he knew of. He frowned and then tried to dig deeper for the information.

He eventually gave up after remembering one more fact. The girl he could remember was unusually shy but extremely tomboyish compared to other girls.

When he came to that conclusion he couldn't help but feel as if this girl was never truly there. After all, as far as his memory went he realized that she had only been around for one summer before disappearing to who-knows-where. In fact, he began to wonder if she even existed at all.

Stanley then shut his eyes and then sighed "Enough...the past is the past."

The teen sat up on his bed and after procrastinating for a few moments wandered over to the desk and put a few notebooks and pencils inside of it. He then looked down towards the floor and sighed. He then began to pick up some of the clothes which lied on it. As he picked them up he heard his parents beginning to argue from the living room directly under his own room. It wasn't unusual for his parents to get into little spats every once in a while but this was extremely unusual. He usually never heard them from his room.

He quickly threw the dirty and worn clothes onto his bed and got down closer to the floor below him. He was careful to not bring any unwanted attention to himself by causing any sort of noise.

"What are we going to do Helen? WE have to worry about getting him through school! We can't--"

"Well I'm sorry but it's already happened! We're going to have another baby."

The boy was thankful that he wasn't standing at the time.

To Be Continued