Chapter 24
A few days went by since Chris and Justin had the talk. Chris had become a little more like himself, but now it was Shannon that had the problems. She wasn’t sure how she felt towards Chris. She knew she loved Justin, but she felt something more for Chris as well.
Justin took Shannon out to lunch at a small diner to get her out of the house. they made small talk over a hot sandwich and a cup of coffee. "Shannon, what’s wrong? Is something bothering you?" "No, not at all, why?," she asked, setting her cup down on the table. "Well, ever since we talked to Chris that night, you seem to have changed." She tried not to show any emotion when he mentioned Chris’s name. "Oh, I don’t know." She couldn’t tell him that she thought she felt something for Chris.
Joey was busy helping Lance get the house ready for Mandi. "I feel kinda bad that we are having her move in and we didn’t even talk to JC," Lance said as he made the bed. "I’m sure he won’t care. I mean, he’s hardly ever home anyways. He is always staying at Jessica’s," Joey said, throwing his superman doll back and forth across the room. Lance finished making the bed and sat down on it, "I just hope things work out between Mandi and I. I would feel bad if it didn’t and I made her come down here." "I wouldn’t worry about that. Look at Shannon and Justin. She moved in with him before they were even close to being serious," Joey said, looking at his friend. "Yeah, okay, that’s always good and all, but look at the situation between them now," Lance said. Joey raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, they’re engaged, and your point is?" Lance stood up and paced at the end of the bed, "Are you dense? My point is Chris." Joey looked confused, "What about Chris?" "Well, from what I can see, either he wants her or she wants him. Maybe both." Joey just looked at him and Lance started in again, "Haven’t you noticed it? Chris hasn’t been himself lately, and neither has Shannon. And the way they act around each other. It is almost like they avoid each other." Joey sat down his superman doll, "So you are saying that Shannon and Chris are screwing?" Lance sighed, "No! Why does everything that happens revolve around sex with you? I never said that and its not the point really. What I was trying to get at is that I am afraid that I am going to get hurt. Most of all, I am worried that she will start falling for you, or vice versa." Joey stood up, "Don’t worry about things like that, it’s just stupid. I’m gonna get some ice cream, want some?" "Sure," Lance answered as he walked down the stairs.
Justin and Shannon took their time coming home from the diner, hitting almost every red light. Shannon was staring out the window when she felt Justin’s hand on her cheek. She turned to him and looked into his piercing eyes. She wanted so bad to tell him, but she couldn’t find the words. Finally, she just let everything go, "Justin, we have to talk when we get home." He looked concerned, "Why not now?" She let out a sigh, "It would be easier for me that way." "Okay, but can I at least ask what it is about?" he asked. She looked at him, fighting back tears, and flatly said Chris’s name. Justin pulled back from her a little bit, with his eyes wide open, "Chris? Wait, don’t tell me, you want him too, don’t you?" Shannon tried to not scream at him, and she held it all in, "Let’s wait until we get home." With that, Justin sped the whole way home, and he even ran some red lights.
They walked into the house and saw Chris laying on the couch again. Justin started yelling at her, "Well, since this is about Chris, you might as well say it in front of him too! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!" Chris sat up on the couch and looked at them, "What’s going on?" Justin shot his friend an evil glare, "I don’t know Chris, you tell me. First, you tell me you want her. That’s fine and all, I can’t do anything about it. But now, she tells me that she wants you. That is just pushing it a little too far." Shannon ran over to Justin and hung on to him, "I never said that! You are jumping to conclusions!" Justin shook her off of him, "But that is what it is, right?" Shannon broke down into tears and fell to her knees. "Ah-ha! I told you! You want Chris! If you want him so bad, why are you still with me?" She looked up at him, "Justin, I am with you because I love you." Justin, by then, was in tears himself. "In love with me? Yet you want my best friend? What’s that? That’s a weird sort of love you have there."
- next chapter -