Title: Go On
Fandom: California Dreams
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: past Jake/Lorena, Jake/Tiffani
Rating: PG/K+
Summary: Lorena knows life must go on, no matter how hard betrayal hurts.
Word Count: 1,320
Written For: 383: Clear, 1 Million Words A to Z: J (Jock and Just), 100 Ships 78: Leather, and a new fandom at 100 Fandom Hell
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to Peter Engel, not the author, and are used without permission.









She can see it clearly now. She never should have loved him. She never should have allowed herself to fall so low, not really as to love him but rather, far worse, to allow him to have power over her. She is a DaCosta, as her parents had tried so hard to remind her when they had first learned she was dating Jake. She can have any guy she wants! Instead she gave her heart to a biker, and he effectively rode away with it.

She still can not believe that out of all the girls in the world with whom he could have cheated on her, he chose Tiffani! Tiffani's normally a good girl, but Miss Goody Two Shoes has no business calling herself such while she's stealing other girls' guys. She's tried to apologize, but Lorena doesn't want to hear it. She'd known there was history between the two of them, yet she'd still chosen to trust Jake. She'd still given him her heart and allowed Tiffani to stay her friend. She should have known better!

It crushed her, at first, when she caught the two of them together. It hurt even more when she could no longer stand to be around the band, and she angered them all when she finally told them they could no longer practice at her studio. Now she doesn't get to see any of them. All her friends are gone. She's been staying out of school, using a private tutor instead, but it's time the world knew that no mere, meager man can get and keep Lorena DaCosta down! It's far pass time she moved on with her life.

She can do it behind doors, so why the Hell does it hurt so much now as she strides into the school? Why does every step make her quake and quiver inside? Why does she feel like her heart's breaking all over again? She sees eyes following her every move, hears their whispers. She's been careful to put out a rumor that she's been with her parents overseas while her father overlooked a major project and new acquisition for his company, but those lies can't protect her now. In a few minutes, she's going to be at the lockers. In a few minutes, she's going to see him. In a few --

"Hi, Lorena." Lorena almost jumps as Sam pops up at her elbow, all smiles and joy as she so often is. The girl is practically known for her cheer, and she's always been a sweet friend, but Lorena knows Sam and Tony go where the band goes which also means they go wherever Jake and Tiffani go. She clutches her books to her chest and hurries along her path, making a mental note that she needs to speak with the administration about changing her locker.

"I'm glad to see you're back," Sam chirps. "How was your trip?"

Lorena quickly opens her door, murmuring softly so that Sam will think she's answering her and simply cannot hear her, but she's relieved when Tony wraps his arm around his girlfriend and brings her closer to him. He whispers something in her ear. Lorena witnesses Sam's face fall and her friend begin to pout out of the corner of her eyes, but she hastens her pace when Jake and Tiffani arrives. Tiff even has the good grace to pull Jake to the walls right before the locker, giving Lorena time to grab the books she needs and slam her locker door shut.

She moves through the hall, feeling her former friends' gazes trailing behind her. Her heart pounds in her chest. She can see Jake and Tiffani now moving to their lockers behind her. She remembers how great he smells and how it felt for him to hold her, especially when he'd been wearing his trademark leather jacket. She misses the smell and feel of both the man and his jacket, but she knows she cannot let herself dwell on those thoughts. She has to remain strong, proud, brave, beautiful...

Her eyes roam the halls, and her heart lunges into her throat in terror. The entire school is looking at her. Lorena reminds herself once more that she is a DaCosta and tosses her head and hair proudly. She watches the guys as her long, silky hair falls over her shoulders and then she walks right up to the head football star. It's known that he has an on-again, off-again relationship with the head cheerleader, but she doesn't care. If little do-gooder Tiffani can take other women's men, so, too, can she.

Besides, she reassures herself with a sexy flip of her hair, she doesn't intend to sleep with him or even kiss him. He is merely an ends to a means, nothing more or less. She spots Sly also moving through the hallways but ignores him. He was a good friend once, but his main money maker is the band. He'll never align with her against them. Besides, she doesn't need a man obsessed with money. She doesn't even need a man. She has a fortune all her own, thanks to her parents, and one day, she'll be able to outright buy this school, or anywhere else, if she so chooses.

Right now, this moment is about showing the entire school one thing: Lorena DaCosta does not lose. She does not lose to anybody, not to other cheerleaders or to little, geeky girls who are nowhere near as sweet as they would have the whole world to think or, and most especially not to, bikers. "It's good to be back," she announces, knowing the entire school is listening. She bats her perfectly jet black eyelashes as she dips just a little, just enough to make the dumb jock think that she actually has missed him and his little games as she adds, "I hate that I've missed all the school games!" She grabs his arm, effectively pulling him away from his locker and girlfriend and down the hallway with her. "Care to catch me up on everything I've missed?!" She bats her eyelashes again and knows the jock is on her hook.

Far better yet, however, is the locker door she hears slam shut behind her, and the boots whose footsteps seem to echo back to her throughout the school which is beginning again to buzz. It's as though everyone had been waiting to see how she would react. She knows they were. Even the nerds and outcasts had been waiting to see if she was about to be belittled before the school, if she, so famous, rich, and beautiful, was about to be one of them. She almost feels like hissing, but instead she keeps a brilliant smile on her gorgeous face. No, she'll never be one of them for she is Lorena DaCosta!

She'll also never be just another of Jake Somers' lovesick pups, at least not that he or anyone else will ever know. Her heart aches for him. She fears it might always. Only time will tell, she knows, and she needs some guys and some genuine appreciation of her feminine wiles to get over him. She will put him behind her, though. She will, because she must. She must to survive this cruel world. She must to build a future for herself, and as a DaCosta, she is guaranteed a glorious future indeed.

Her fingers curl around the football Captain's bicep. She slides closer to him, feeling the familiar burn of envy and hate in the back of her head. She wonders if it's Jake watching her still or perhaps Tiffani, but she reminds herself firmly that it does not matter. They have made their bed. Now they must lay in it, even if it is together. Even if her heart does still ache. Regardless of anything, especially Jake Somers, Lorena DaCosta's life, joy, and popularity will go on.



The End