The Kerfuffle

Bridget Tarver swung open the front door to the Diamond family's cabin. Taking a few steps forward, she halted in shock. Jared Lockett laid on the floor with Lacey Stratton standing above him, a completely naked Lacey Stratton. Behind Bridget, JoJo Gibble let out a loud gasp at the sight.

Suddenly, a naked Austin Rusk appeared from Bridget's left. He jumped on Jared, swinging away with his fists, while screaming, "Fucking kill you!" The naked teenage boy seemed to have the upper hand for a few moments until the larger, clothed teen managed to throw him off. Climbing to his feet, Jared waited for Austin to stagger back to his feet, then he lunged, spearing the blond teen in the stomach with his shoulder, sending them both backward onto a coffee table that made a cracking sound.

Watching the destruction of the coffee table begin finally led Bridget to find her voice. "Boys, stop this right now! Jared! Austin! Stop!" she screamed, but both combatants ignored her.

"Mrs. Tarver?" the naked Lacey managed to mumble out in shock, finally noticing the newest arrival.

Bridget looked back over to her friend's naked daughter, "Lacey, what in the hell is going on here?"

"I...I screwed--," she started to answer before a scream from Austin interrupted her. Her boyfriend kicked out at Jared, who had begun to climb off of him and stand up.

The son of her big cheersister managed to get out a "motherfucker" before he was flung backward, almost falling into the nearby Lacey, who scrambled back herself. This brought a fourth person to Bridget's attention, as Ramsey Swift stood just outside the room in a hallway that led to the cabin's east side. Unlike Lacey, Ramsey had most of her clothes on. The strawberry blonde's jeans were unbuttoned and pulled down slightly to her upper thighs. The girl had tears streaming down her face as she watched in horror at the fight. Bridget could see a small table or shelf lying in pieces broken at the end of the hallway behind her.

"Alright, that's enough! You two stop this crap right this minute!" Bridget again tried to gain the two fighters' attention but was ignored as Austin had risen off the table and now stalked over to the fallen Jared.

Jared lashed out with a vicious kick, hitting Austin with a direct shot to his naked groin. A howl of pain followed as the injured teenager staggered backward. Jared struggled to climb off the floor initially, and he now moved back over to finish inflicting pain on the other boy.

"Enough, Jared!" Bridget screamed, **** to put a stop to the carnage.

A sudden high-pitched sound pierced through the room. It succeeded in finally drawing the attention of the four teenagers that Bridget had walked in on. They all turned in surprise and looked past the mom to where JoJo pulled her fingers away from her mouth after finishing her attention-drawing whistle. I never thought learning that from the girls on the team would come in handy like this, the brown-haired teen mused about her soccer teammates.

"Aunt Bridget?" Jared managed to ask right before his mother's friend interrupted.

"What in the hell is going on here? You two had better not start back up, or I'm calling your mother this very instant, Austin Rusk! And Jared, I can guarantee your mother is going to be pissed when she sees how you helped destroy Harvey's furniture."

"My mom?" a dazed Austin uttered out as he rolled onto his side, cupping his groin pain.

"Oh shit," Jared muttered in fear as he realized just how much damage had been done to several tables and at the thought of his angry mother.

With a groan, Bridget assessed the room and the teenagers, deciding how to deal with the situation. She let out a sigh, looking at the bruised and bloodied boys. Austin had several small cuts over his body from the broken furniture, to go with a bloody lip. Jared had the beginning of a nasty bruise forming around his left eye. "Lacey, go get some clothes on, grab some for Austin too. Jared, start picking up those broken pieces. Ramsey, pull up your pants and go sit down on the couch," she ordered. Then looking around at the layout of the cabin, she pointed towards the room's west side. "JoJo, it looks like the kitchen is over there. Can you try and find some ice for these two? Thank you."

JoJo nodded, happy to help and to get away from the naked Austin. Seeing a boy naked for the first time in the middle of a fight is definitely an odd first, she thought. If this is what happens after sex, I guess it's a good thing I never had any yet. Finding the oversized refrigerator, she started pulling open drawers, looking for a plastic bag or towel to put ice in.

While waiting for the two girls to return, Bridget thought over what might have caused this scene. Lacey and Austin stripped naked clearly meant they planned to have sex, had been in the middle of having it, or finished with it when something sparked a fight. Then there was Ramsey with her pants unbuttoned, and finally Jared's role in all this. Hmm, Lacey said something about screwing up before she was cut off. Did she cheat on Austin with Jared? They've only been here a day and a half; could it have happened that fast? Shit, if they did, Gabby isn't going to punish her son; she'll start crying in joy over the possibility of Jared and Rachel's little girl getting together. Whatever happened here, I'm the one that's going to have to deal with this first, so I need to put on my mom face. I can't let my dislike for Austin, and love for Jared, allow for any favoritism here.

A subdued Lacey returned first, once again clothed, and handed Austin a shirt and pants. She sat down next to a still sniffling Ramsey on the middle couch. Seeing JoJo returning with two baggies full of ice, Bridget turned to Jared. "Okay, that's enough for now. Go sit down on that far couch."

Once Austin was clothed and holding a bag of ice to his mouth, Bridget moved over in front of the fireplace; JoJo chose to sit behind the couches in one of the two chairs around the small round table in the corner. Noticing all four teenagers in front of her had their eyes pointed down at the ground in fear or shame, she started with the teen she knew best, "Alright, Lacey, tell me what happened."

"It's all my fault, Mrs. Tarver. I screwed--," the petite redhead began to say before Ramsey interrupted.

"No, Lace! It's my fault; I was the one acting like a slut," the other redhead babbled out before breaking into more sobs and covering her face with her hands.

Oh, geez, it's going to be as bad as I thought, Bridget groaned to herself. "Okay, so let me get this straight. What started the fight was Lacey cheating with Jared?"

"What!" shouted at least three of the teens, maybe all four, but Bridget couldn't be sure based on how loud they all yelled in shock.

"No, I would never cheat on Austin, Mrs. Tarver!" Lacey cried out in denial, even as Austin's face clouded back over in anger, his eyes moving back forth between his girlfriend and the suggested other man.

"Whoa, nothing like that happened! We just got here yesterday, Aunt Bridget," Jared pointed out, with a bag of ice over his eye, like that was the main reason he didn't sleep with Lacey.

"Okay, sorry, sorry. It's just twice you started to say you screwed something, Lacey. I was making a guess," the older woman explained, glancing over to JoJo in the back of the room, who took in everything with wide eyes.

"Oh, no, I didn't screw anyone--well, just Austin--I was saying I screwed up," Rachel's daughter blushed as she admitted to her mother's friend that she had sex with her boyfriend. "Um, me and Austin were in the bedroom when I noticed Ramsey at the door watching," she looked over to her friend, who gave another loud sob, and reached to put an arm around her.

"Okay, so Ramsey walked in and then..." Bridget prodded.

"I guess I kinda liked it, being watched, I mean," Lacey continued but stopped as the others in the room swung their heads to look at her in shock. "It made it more exciting, and I wanted to show Rammy how fun sex could be."

"You knew I was watching?" her best friend asked, shocked. "I didn't mean to watch. I swear, it's just that I was going into the den to get my bag, and I heard you two...and I...next thing I knew, I was standing there watching."

I've never been more thankful until right now about how little Peyton and Sean have dated. Rachel already had her hands full with Lana, and now this with Lacey. That poor, poor woman. Deciding to wrap this up as quickly as she could, Bridget continued with her questions. "Okay, Ramsey walking in on you two still doesn't explain how a brawl broke out here."

"It's because I turned into a slut! I started to touch myself, and then Jared came up behind me and joined me. I should have controlled myself, but I couldn't. I rubbed my butt on him like a stripper!" rambled out a nearly hysterical Ramsey.

Grimacing to herself, Bridget realized this just got much worse as she heard Ramsey's confession and JoJo's loud squeak of surprise. Sean's going to be heartbroken when he hears his longtime crush is involved with Jared. Her son might not know she knew about his crush, but a mother can tell these things. How her son reacts to a name, how he avoids that said name, and, of course, they overhear comments her son makes to his closest friends that she isn't meant to hear.

"Ramsey, calm down. What happened doesn't make you a slut; it makes you a regular teenager," Bridget soothingly told the upset girl. She walked over and gently grabbed the young teen's hands. "Look at me, Ramsey. You didn't do anything that made you a slut, okay."

Hearing this from the older mom and Lacey's agreement next to her calmed down the crying strawberry blonde, who nodded. "Okay, Mrs. Tarver."

Turning back to look at the more calm Lacey, Bridget directed her question again at her. "Now, tell me how that turned into a fistfight?"

"Um...you see, when Austin finally started to...do the deed with me, he blocked my view of Rammy, so I didn't see Jared arrive. I really wanted to help loosen up Rammy, like Whitney kept telling her that she needed to do, so I wanted to put on...a show for her. I figured if Austin knew she was watching, it would make it better."

"What the fuck was I supposed to do? I see that fucking pervert over there spying on us fucking!" Austin finally joined the conversation by shouting and sitting forward. His eyes giving Jared a hard stare, looking ready to spring back up and resume their fight.

"You're just lucky I was more worried about getting Ramsey out of the way when you charged me. If it weren't for her, you wouldn't have gotten those first shots in. Instead, your ass would have been knocked the fuck out," Jared copied Austin with his loud reply, leaning forward, ready to fight again too.

"That's enough from you two. There's going to be no more fighting. We'll wait to deal with this more once the other parents return. Until then, I think it would be best if you two kept to different rooms, maybe head back to the room your sleeping in," ordered Bridget.

"But we're sharing the same room!" exclaimed Austin, causing the older woman to let out another loud sigh.

"Are there any rooms with a tv? Then one of you go there and the other somewhere else. I don't care where. Just stay apart," the frustrated mother told them.

"Fine, I get the rec room tv," Austin told the other guy with a victorious sneer, who just shrugged in return. "C'mon, Lacey, let's go downstairs."

"No, the girls will be staying with me," informed Bridget. "It's starting to get dark out, and the others will be back soon. When they hear what happened here, some of them are going to be upset. So the least we can do is have some food waiting for them."

The walk back from the Thriae Hot Springs to the Diamond family's cabin had been mostly a quiet affair. Sean, Whitney, and Skye were all lost in their thoughts over what happened in the cavern. Proud of her actions, Kimberly wore a smug grin, while a frown spoiled Owen's face. Clive winced in pain from his sore back, with Rachel mothering him, leaving most of the talking to Jeff, Gabriela, Sybil, and Fred. If anyone had paid attention, they'd have noticed how Polly sent dirty looks over at a dazed Newt.

"Whitney, hold up a moment."

Waiting nervously for a few moments as her father caught up to her, Whitney remembered the multiple looks of disappointment he had flashed at her. "Um, what's up, Dad? Everything okay?"

"I just wanted to have a chat with my little girl," Harvey answered vaguely. "You didn't wear your necklace, did you?"

"Oh, no. I wouldn't risk losing it. It's the best Christmas present you've given me in years," the blonde happily told him.

"I would hope so. It's far more expensive than that old Barbie Dream House you badgered me to **** over. I'm surprised that I'm not still finding pictures you left as blatant hints in my office, bedroom, and bathroom," her father said with a laugh. "Did you have fun today?"

"Um, I guess," Whitney answered.

"That's good. Who did you have more fun with, Owen or Sean?" her father asked, leading in the direction Whitney had hoped this conversation would avoid.

"Dad, Owen's my boyfriend. Of course, I had more fun with him. Sean's not even a friend. Well, I guess he might be turning into one," she replied a little defensively.

"I know you had fun with Owen; I think several others know you had fun with him too," Harvey remarked, letting out a sigh. "Look, you can't jerk off your boyfriend right there in the water and not expect others to notice. I get that it might seem exciting, I've done worse things than that in public, but you need to use your head and be more discreet. Alright? And especially not in front of family friends and their kids."

"Okay, Dad, I understand," his teenage daughter said, looking down before flashing him a sad puppy dog face. "Are you at mad me?"

"How could I be? As I said, I've done far worse stuff. But I'm a little disappointed at how reckless you acted today. What actually happened that angered Ranger Netland that much?"

"Ugh, it wasn't even that bad, Dad. I swear. We were only taking pictures. Skye and I got caught up in the moment and kissed. It might have been an intense one, but he made it sounds like we were having sex right there," Whitney denied, downplaying their activities a little.

"What about Sean? You weren't doing anything with him when the ranger showed up?"

"When we were taking pictures? No. He was the one with the camera; he didn't touch either of us then. Sean's not like that Dad; he knows I have a boyfriend. He's a good guy," Whitney insisted, technically not lying to her father since Sean only touched her in the later encounter.

"Hmm, what about later? Kimberly said you two snuck off right before we found you in the cave," continued Harvey. He'd picked up on her saying that Sean hadn't specifically touched her at that time.

"Ugh! That woman is messed up, Dad! I don't know how Uncle Larry could have stayed married to her for all those years. She's so fake," Whitney exclaimed, ignoring the question altogether.

"You might find this hard to believe, but she was different when we were younger. We all thought she was great for Larry. She kept him from disappearing too much into his own world. But people change over the years, as you'll find out yourself as you grow older, and often they change for the worse," her father explained.

"Well, it's her loss for divorcing Uncle Larry. He's a great guy, even when he forgets about everything around him. I wish he had come here instead of her," the teenager added.

"Kimberly was friends with Cassandra back when they were younger, so she had a right to be here. Larry might be absentminded, but even he remembers that. He bowed out so there wouldn't be any tension," Harvey told her before shifting back to the subject he wanted to talk about. "Now, be honest with me, do you like Owen?"

"Well, yeah. I wouldn't be dating him if I didn't. Why would you ask that?" Whitney answered, somewhat confused.

"It's just that we both know you tend to tire quickly of your boyfriends, and from the outside, it looks like you are already looking to move onto the next guy in Sean."

"Sean? Oh, Daddy! You can be hilarious without even trying. Sean isn't my type. Don't get me wrong; he's a good guy. One that that I probably should be better friends with, but I could never see us together. Besides, I like Owen; we're still in the learning about each other phase. It might not work out, but I'm not sizing up his replacement." Whitney barely held back her laughter at the notion of dating a boring, good guy like Sean.

"That's good to hear. I don't want to see you repeat my mistakes in life, pumpkin. Cheating only leads to breaking the hearts of people you love. Trust me, I know, and that will leave you with guilt that lingers for the rest of your life. That's why I have a code when it comes to women," Harvey told her in a hollow voice, staring off ahead of them, lost in thought.

"I know that, Dad. I would never turn into that kind of person," his daughter said with fire in her voice.

"Good, good, now I think you better sit down with your boyfriend and tell him everything that happened back there. Misunderstandings can lead to more trouble than you would expect. Ah, good, we're here."

Bridget and the three teenage girls had busied themselves in the kitchen. Having them help had been a good idea, as the two redheads had their minds taken off the earlier events. Unsure of the food situation, Bridget had opted to make pasta. She figured that would be a safe option and mixed some ground beef together with spices to make meatballs. The girls prepared garlic bread and boiled the water. Finding the aluminum tins, she had mixed the rigatoni with some mozzarella cheese and sauce before baking it in the oven at a low temperature. She left it in there, ready to pull out as soon as the others returned.

It had been enjoyable for her to talk to the younger girls, learning what went on in their lives. JoJo quieted down considerably from the version in the car with the other two girls around. That added to Bridget's worries about her. Lacey, as always, was a delight to be around. Bridget wished that Lana had been more like her younger sister and not so wild that Peyton had to be the serious one of the duo at all times. She'd also been curious to spend some time with her son's crush. Of course, she knew the girl as Ramsey often spent time over at the Strattons' house, but this was the first time she was able to talk with her without other adults around.

Right when she started to fret over the dinner needing to be pulled from the oven before it dried out too much, the others stumbled back in from the sunroom. Wiped out from their long walks, they brightened up after noticing their old friend had finally arrived. Gabriela rushed forward and wrapping her little cheersister in a firm hug. Her husband joined in, throwing his massive arms around both women in a group hug. That drew laughter from the others.

Happy to see his mother finally arrived to be with her friends, Sean's spirits shoot through the roof at the surprise appearance of his best friend. Rushing forward himself, he wrapped up JoJo in a firm hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for coming! I need to talk to you right away."

Surprised by how emotional Sean acted upon seeing her, JoJo just nodded. Her best friend's hug swiftly got replaced by one from a happy Mrs. Lockett. Unlike the others, Newt didn't rush forward to hug his close friend; he instead appeared out of nowhere at her side with a quiet comment. "Good, you can deal with Sean. I think he's having a nervous breakdown."

Before she could follow up on his concerning comment, JoJo uncomfortably found herself the center of the attention in the room. "Ah, now who's this lovely young woman?" asked Harvey Diamond, noticing a person who he wasn't familiar with.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Harvey. When Leonard pulled his...when he said he wouldn't be able to come with, I asked JoJo here to join me. I'm sorry, it was rude of me. I should have called and checked if it was alright with you. She's my son's best friend and would have been his guest originally if she didn't have a family party last night," Bridget apologized. She felt awful that in her anger with her husband, she had just shown up with an uninvited guest.

"That's perfectly fine, Bridget. No need to apologize. I'm sure the kids will be happy to have another of their classmates around instead of more old people," the cabin owner replied kindly, turning to the other new arrival. "Welcome to Diamond Cabin, JoJo. I'm Whitney's father, and I hope you'll have a fun stay with us," he warmly greeted before musing so quietly that only those right in front of him could hear. "Hmm, Sean's best friend, you say...he sure seems to be a popular young man with women."

Bridget and JoJo both looked at him curiously over his comment but didn't have a chance to learn more. "Hey, what happened to my furniture?"