Enemies With Benefits

Eight~ "Can You Cook?"

Chapter Eight~ "Can You Cook?"

July 16th, 2013- Tuesday

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Dani's birthday is on Friday, and Jack feels the need to get payback. After everything that girl did against him, his jewels were permanently scarred. Now, all he has to do is convince Vic to let him have a part in helping with the party. There were so many things he could do to get his ultimate payback; Dani wasn't about to get the last laugh. Jack sets down his cell phone, sliding off his bed and going over to the window to watch Vic pull up in front of their house.

He grins and goes downstairs, wiping the grin off his face quickly. Jack isn't one to show emotions, especially ones that make his look like a wuss. Vic opens the front door just to run into the chest of her annoying older brother.

Damn. She was hoping a handsome prince was waiting for her when she got home. Not this big lug.

"What do you want?" was the first thing she said to him.

"What? No big hug for your wonderful, amazing, sexy brother?" Jack opens his arms with a smirk.

Vic rolls her eyes, "I don't have a brother like that. Mine is rude, stupid, and fat. Cough it up, Jack, what do you want?" she walks past him. Jack follows his sister to the kitchen, where she rifles in the freezer for some ice cream.

"Fine," Jack ponders over what he should start with. Something like "Hey, I need to get revenge on your best friend for making my balls feel like they're on fire. Mind if I make a bucket of hot chocolate fall on her head during her birthday party as she's blowing out her candles?" wouldn't really work to get Vic to trust him. "I want to... make a truce," he decided to say instead.

Pausing in her search, Vic asks just to make sure she heard correctly, "What did you just say?"

"I want to make a truce with you and Danielle," he repeats. Vic took one look at Jack's serious expression and burst out laughing. She almost fell to the floor in her fit of laughter until she managed to hold herself up with the refrigerator door.

She had tears leaking from her eyes as she laughs. Jack wasn't surprised; he'd laugh, too, if he was in her position. "Y-you're kidding right?" Vic chokes out.

Jack rolled his eyes and nervously ran a hand through his hair. Come on, you sexy beast, you can think of something to make your lie sound true. Think about what Danielle did to your balls... think about the pain.

"I'm not kidding," he finally deadpans. "Look, I'm twenty now and I realize how childish and stupid I used to act towards Dani..." he thinks harder, and it felt like his brain was going to explode. Or maybe his tongue would go first so he doesn't have to say all of this. It felt like poison on his tongue as he bit out each word, trying to make them sound earnest. "So, I want to make a truce by doing something good for her," he declares.

Vic stares at him for a few seconds, studying his posture and his facial expression.

Knowing Jack, he would be fumbling with his fingers if he was lying. His fingers were completely still with his arms crossed over his chest.

After a couple of seconds, Vic sighs and gives in. "Fine, Jack, I guess you can do something for Dani's party..." she trailed off and bit her bottom lip. Scarlet had decorations down, Meg was doing the guest list, Jenna was getting the food, and Vic would be hiring entertainment. The only think left was... the cake. "Can you cook?" she asked Jack.

***

"Dude, I don't know," Mason trailed off, "that may be a little too extreme."

Jack had gathered his group; the same group he went to Spain with. They were all his friends from high school and they had all helped him prank Dani at some point. This group included Austin, Mason, Nate, and Ricky. They were all chowing down on hamburgers while listening to Jack explain his plan for revenge. Austin had been pranked back by the girls as well, but all he got was pink hair dye; it was Scarlet's job to get Austin back while Dani got Jack. It was the best she could come up with.

Austin adjusted his beanie that kept the pink hidden. "Come on, guys, you have to admit that this could end our pranking war for good. Danielle will never see it because Victoria wants her to experience Jack's 'truce' before telling her about the actual 'truce'."

"Besides, all we're doing is making a cake," Jack shrugs.

Nate gives him a hard look, "Yeah... a cake that's supposed to explode on the girl's 18th birthday."

Mason agrees, "This is the birthday that lets her step into adulthood. You remember your eighteenth," he points to Jack, "You got laid legally for the first time that night because of how drunk you ended up." Mason took things like birthday's seriously; even though Dani had once shaved off his eyebrows in his sleep.

In her defence she did it after he helped the other boys cut her hair really short while she was sleeping. She kind of had a right to get back at him.

Sometimes, even Mason thinks he's a little too soft when it comes to girls.

Jack smirks, "Man, we all got laid legally on our eighteenth's," he pointed out. They were going to start getting off topic if someone didn't steer them back to the situation at hand.

"So what if it explodes?" Austin cuts in before Jack could. "It's not like it's going to hurt her. The worst it will do is get stuck in her hair for a few days." He obviously didn't understand just how bad this could turn out.

"Do you know how embarrassed she'll be?" Ricky snaps back. "The whole senior class will be coming to this thing! She won't want to show her face in school again!"

Jack shrugs, "She's the one that posted pictures of my new room on Facebook. For one, I don't like people thinking I'm in love with One Direction! The least that will happen is she turns into the next big hit on YouTube after we post the video of the exploding cake. Come on, man, it'll also be hilarious and there's going to be free beer and food."

Nate shakes his head, "Man, this would ruin her birthday!"

"That's the point, genius," Austin chimed.

"Well..." Ricky uses his tongue to play with the lip ring he got in Spain. He gives in, "Fine, I'll help you, Mate," he nods to Jack.

Jack nods back, "Alright that's Austin and Ricky. Mason? Nate? You in?"

Nate and Mason share a look.

This could end the pranking war since it'd show what they're capable of.

But, it could also end with them getting permanent damage in the downstairs area. Mason didn't know about the others, but he kind of wanted to be able to have children in the future.

"Fine!" Nate exclaims, giving in, "but you're buying me another burger," he points at Jack.

Jack shrugs; money wasn't an issue. Besides, he was planning on paying for everyone's lunch anyway. He looks at Mason, "Well? Are you going to be a wuss with no balls, or are you going to pick up your skirt and join us?"

Mason rolls his eyes, "Alright, I'll help. But, if we get caught, I'm not taking the blame."

"Don't worry," Jack smirks, "I'll make sure to let my dear sister know that it was all my idea."