"There's a drifting spirit coming clean, in the eye of a life long fire."

Lethal Weapon sound track
Elton John

Introduction

If you were to ask anyone what they thought of Jesse Cutter, they would tell you that he was just like anyone else. There really was not anything special about him. Or so everyone, including him, thought. He wasn't outgoing, but then again he wasn't shy either. Jesse Cutter was just... Ordinary.

At the age of fourteen, Jesse was, what some girls thought, cute. He had sandy-blonde hair and hazel eyes. He was of average stature for a boy his age. The only thing that really set him apart from his peers was his knowledge. Jesse always loved to read. His favorite subject was history. Jesse liked to read about other countries. Daydreaming was his favorite past time. He wanted to see the world. But that didn't set him too far apart from his peers. Jesse had quite a few friends that hated reading.

I guess you could blame it on the small town he lived in. The reason he wanted to leave, that is. It was just a town like any other small town. It had a population of about four thousand. Jesse lived there with his mother and three sisters. His father had left long ago, he hardly remembered him. So, he didn't much care.

Unlike most kids, Jesse thought his mother was pretty cool. Her name was Karen Cutter. She was not like most mothers. She never said ordinary things, like "Tuck your shirt in.". No, that wasn't her style. If she thought that you should do something she would suggest you do it. But do not be mistaken, she would ground you when needed.

Karen dated sometimes, like a couple of times a month, but she never really got serious with anyone. It was a joke among her kids that she just did it then to fulfill certain... Carnal needs. Her kids were all pretty quick. They would tease her about it sometimes, but it was always in good nature and she took it with good humor.

Jesse's sisters, they were prone to making him jealous, sometimes. Where he was most certainly plain, his sisters all had a unique quality about them. They all had something special that set them apart from the rest of the family. Each of them was different in there own way.

Take the twins for example, they were identical, save the hair, and they were as different as night and day. Jennifer acted the most girlish of Jesse's sisters. She was the cheerleader. And a little snobby. She was what most of the poorer kids called a prep. Because she thought, she was better than they were. That was a joke, because Jesse's family was far from rich, Jennifer was just a wanna-be prep.

But she was most definitely beautiful, there was no question about that. She had light blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders and crystal blue eyes. She and Heather were only a year older than he was. They were both very well developed for their age. They looked closer to seventeen than fifteen. For some reason all the girls in Jesse's family were very well endowed. He never could figure out why.

Heather, needless to say, looked just like Jennifer. She had short, light blonde hair though. No body really called her Heather. Everybody mostly called her Stony. They called her that for a reason. Stony could be stone-cold mean when she wanted to be. Don't be mistaken though, she wasn't a snob or anything like that, she just had a temper that would make the devil bow down.

She dressed in shredded blue jeans and tight t-shirts most of the time. Stony didn't really have many friends that were girls. She mostly hung out with the guys. But they were just friends. She was a die-hard tomboy and wasn't afraid to admit it. There were many times that Jesse could remember when Stony would come home with a swollen hand, she would hit someone or something when she got mad.

And then there was Michelle. She was possibly Jesse's favorite sister. In Jesse's eyes, she was also the most complex, and beautiful. The reason she was the most complex was that she was good at almost everything she did, right down to the Martial Arts training. She was also a contradiction in looks, as far as the other children were concerned.

Where the others had blue eyes, Michelle had dark green. Michelle also had long auburn hair that fell close to her ass. She was built like a super model but she didn't show it off in skimpy outfits like Jennifer. Michelle was also book smart. She was seventeen and a Jr. in high school, but colleges were already looking her way.

The thing that Jesse liked most about her though was the fact that she was extremely protective over him. Michelle rarely lost her temper (Due to the Martial Art training, helps with the focus) but when she did, it was usually over Jesse. Michelle had actually gone as far as yelling at their mother for grounding Jesse for too long. She got grounded herself for doing so. But she didn't talk to her mother for three days, Karen ended up releasing the grounding on both of them to get her to talk. Jesse respected her a lot for that.

Jesse was the youngest of the Cutter family. And he never forgot. Karen still would not let him stay home alone. She always had Michelle keep an eye on him. Sometimes he resented that, but most of the time he relished her company. Even though he had about a dozen people at school he hung out with, Michelle and Stony were his best friends. He loved Jennifer, but it wasn't the same. She always looked down on him. Plus, Stony had a few of the same friends he did.

Even though Jesse thought his life boring, he grew accustomed to it. Little did he know that his life would change so drastically.

The pool hall was smokey that night. Everyone knew that you were not allowed to smoke unless you were over eighteen. But, the owner sort of let that slide. The Red Apple was a cross between a pool hall, bowling alley and a bar. Kids and adults were allowed in the place. The kids just wern't allowed to partake in drinking alcohol. But they could buy smokes out of the machine and shoot pool... And that suited them fine.

Jesse Cutter kind of blended into the crowd that was near the pool tables. He was sitting in a booth that was attached to the wall. His sandy-blonde hair partly covering his eyes as he nursed a Coke he just bought. Jesse was dressed fairly well. He had on a blue button-up shirt and a pair of jeans. They were both new.

He looked over at pool table number six and saw that Stony was still shooting. She's gonna wipe the table with him. The poor slob, he didn't know what hit him. Jesse thought with a chuckle as he looked at his lovely sister.

Jesse took a closer look at Stony. She was dressed like she usually dressed. Stony had on a pair of old faded jeans (that fit well) that had the knees torn out and a t-shirt that was about two sizes too small. Her crystal-blue eyes looked calculative as she lined up her next shot. Jesse thought she looked like a predator when she competed like she was.

"... Earth to Jesse! Are you there, man?" Josh Williams asked. Josh was one of Jesse's friends from school.

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I was out of it there for a while," Jesse replied.

Josh followed his line of sight. To see what his buddy was looking at, then laughed. "Man, your sister is looking HOT tonight," he said, never letting his eyes leave the girl in question.

"If you want to keep your teeth, I suggest you watch your mouth," Jesse said, there was a smile on his lips, but none in his eyes. He was dutifully taking up for his sister. After all, isn't that what brothers are for?

"I was just playing," Josh said with an apologetic look, then added "That guy she's playing with, he's a little old to be playing with her isn't he?" Josh asked, trying to change the subject.

"That's what I thought, but he heard that Stony was pretty good. He bet her twenty bucks, she couldn't turn it down," Jesse said with a touch of pride.

"What is he? Like thirty?" Josh stated as he watched Stony set up another shot, the LAST shot. "Well, whoever he is, I think he just got his ass kicked, Stony's gonna sink the eight-ball." Josh said and watched as she did just that.

Jesse just laughed out loud. "That's my sister, point blank, as usual." Then he watched as the guy she was playing did something stupid.

The guy she was playing stood about six feet even and had a huge beer belly. A person could tell he was a little drunk by the way he moved, but he wasn't trashed. Jesse watched his face as Stony sunk that eight-ball. It went from surprised, annoyed, to anger in a matter of seconds. Jesse also knew that the guy was going to do something stupid and stood up seconds before he did.

"You stupid fuckin' cunt! You hustled me!" He screamed at her.

Stony gave him the sweetest smile then. "You're the one that wanted to play old man, pay up." Her face didn't show it, but there was danger in her voice. Before she could do anything to defend herself, the guy reached out and grabbed a hand full of her hair with one hand and slapped her straight across the face with the other.

"I don't think I'm gonna pay you a GODDAMN thing," he said, there was something in his voice that just wasn't sane.

It felt like Jesse was moving through a thick fog after he saw Stony get slapped. All he felt was rage... But it felt like he was going in slow motion. In reality he was moving much, much faster. He didn't know where he picked up the pool stick. The next thing he remembers is standing behind the guy that had a hold of Stony.

Jesse had the skinny end of the pool stick in his hand as he raised it above his head. The man that held Stony only had one warning, well five words to be exact. "You stupid, dumb ass fucker!" He screamed and brought the stick down with a mighty SMACK. The heavy end of it hit just where the side of the head met the top of the head. Even though he was only fourteen, he brought it down with enough force that it snapped the stick into.

It was strange to Jesse how all the sounds in the room fell away. Jesse could only hear the guy slumping to the floor, the blood already pouring from the side of his head. Jesse just stared at him for a moment, the other end of the pool stick still in his hand. The end that had the sharp point because it was broken...

There must have been something in Jesse's eyes, or it could have been that the hand that was holding the broken pool stick twitched; Whatever it was, it told Stony what Jesse had on his mind and she was sent into motion. She flew over the man's unconscious body and right into Jesse, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him away before he could do what she KNEW he wanted to.

Everyone in the room was quite as she led him to an empty corner, his eyes still holding rage. Then someone yelled "SOMEONE CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

Jesse was shaking and he was gripping the broken pool stick so hard his knuckles stood out stark white. "Easy, easy now... Come on Jess, you're scaring me, calm down. Please?" Stony asked in a voice that was as smooth as silk. She must have been able to cool the savage beast with that voice, because it worked on Jesse, and the funny thing was, talking like that was not her style.

Jesse began to come back to his senses then, what he had done just came to him. Ohhh, FUCK! His mind screamed. What the fuck was I thinking??? "Is... He... Dead?" Jesse asked in a broken voice.

Stony could tell that he was upset and close to breaking, so she tried to be as calming as possible, which really wasn't her style either. "No, he's still breathing... Look, Jess, I would say, 'Let's get the hell out of here' but the cops would come to the house and Mom would flip, I think we should wait... I don't think you'll get in trouble," She said and stroked his cheek with her knuckles. She usually didn't show such affection, but Jesse was REALLY upset. "That looks... Pretty bad," Jesse said, looking at the pool of blood that was starting to form on the floor, around the man's head.

"Well... He deserved it," Stony said, grabbing Jesse's jaw and turning it away from the unconscious man. She thought it would be better if he looked at her and not him. "My protector," she said softly, the love in her eyes was evident. It was a sisterly love though.

The words and the look are what did the trick. All of it seemed worth it then. He hurt her! Right? Right. He thought as he looked at the red spot on her cheek.

That was when Josh walked up, it was sort of funny the way he was whispering. "Hey Jesse, man, you better jet... They called the cops." He said in a low, low voice.

"I think I'll wait it out," Jesse said in a firm voice, after he saw the red spot on Stony's cheek it made him angry again. But this wasn't the rage he felt before, now he was just pissed.

"Are you dense, Jesse... ?" He got cut off.

"No, he isn't DENSE. Can you imagine how much SHIT we would catch if we ran?" Stony asked in an annoyed voice. "Besides, he was just defending me," she added, there was confidence to her voice.

"Well, guys, I don't think it's gonna matter what I do now any how," Jesse said with what looked to be a smirk. For some reason, it was all a little amusing to him. He didn't see why it would be though. He was looking to his left, where the owner usually was.

Stony followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. Two men in blue, talking to the owner. The owner was pointing out where Jesse was at for the cops. "Aw shit, it figures they would be prompt when it comes to US getting trouble," Stony said sarcastically.

"Let me do the talking," Jesse said with clipped finality.

"But Jess,"

"No BUTS. Let me do the talking," he said again.

"All right," Stony said as the police officers walked over to where they were standing.

Jesse could see the ambulance guys come in with a stretcher in his peripheral vision. The cop that started to talk first was a short fat man with a mustache. "We need to talk to you for a moment," he said

"I think that's apparent," Jesse replied, watching Stony put her hand over her mouth to bite down a giggle. He didn't know why he was acting like a smart ass, but he was.

"Did you attack that man over there?" The cop asked, pointing to the guy being loaded on the stretcher.

"Yep," he said in the same clipped tone.

"I think we're going to have to take you down the station for some questions,"

"No, you don't! He was just defending ME! You aren't taking my brother ANYWHERE!" Stony said, throwing an arm around Jesse's neck. Her voice was really high pitched and angry.

"Ma'am, I think you need to calm down," the other cop said. Then looked at Jesse. "Come on, we haven't got all night. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say--" Jesse cut him off.

Jesse didn't know why he said what he said next, it just came out. "No, I think my sister is right, I don't have to go anywhere," he stated, his voice was firm and unforgiving. His eyes were like hazel fire. So, you just take your little hand cuffs and leave me the fuck alone! He thought.

When he thought that, a strange tingling sensation started inside of his head. Or at least it seemed like that anyway. He watched as the cops got a queer blank look, but the look faded in seconds. "You're right... You two have a nice evening," he started and looked at his partner. "Come on, Jack. We'll get the statement from the other guy when he wakes up," he finished, then both turned and started for the exit.

Jesse had a look of comic surprise on his face. What the hell? He thought. Then he turned to Stony because she was laughing.

"'We need to talk to you for a moment,' 'I think that's apparent.'" Stony mimicked the cops and Jesse, laughing harder.