Chapter 5
The week went by slowly, painfully.
Vicki basically invited Nick everyday
to eat with us.
And I knew that he couldn't say no,
no one can say no to
my dad and Vicki.
The bell rang and people started flying out the
doors
of the high school. It was Friday, thank God!
I walked over to my locker
and saw Nick
putting his books away. Oh how I wanted to just
continue walking,
but my books were heavy
and I was NOT going to carry them home.
"Hey
Nick," I said mumbling and twisting the lock.
"Hey J, ready for
the talent show tomorrow?" He
asked me. Even though I wasn't
looking
at his face, I knew he had that stupid smirk.
"Actually…I am," I
said throwing my books
into my locker. I leaned on my locker and talked to
him
as he was putting his books away.
"Good, I don't want to beat you really
bad," he said as
he put his Chemistry book up.
"Whatever Nick.
When I win, I will be the one
laughing in your face."
"Oh is
that so?" He asked shutting his locker door
and putting his bookbag on his
shoulder.
"As a matter of fact, yes!" I said as we walked
out
the door.
"You watch Logan, I'll kick your sorry
butt!" He said
laughing.
We looked up and realized our bus was speeding
off onto the
main road.
"Nick! God! Now I have to walk, damn
you!" I said
whining.
I folded my arms and started walking home.
He ran up and
started walking behind me.
"You know I have to walk to. If it wasn't
for
you this wouldn't have happened!" I stopped and
faced him.
"Me?
You were the one yelling at me!
Don't mess with me Nick, I'll be your ass
I
will!" I said furiously.
He rolled his eyes as
I turned back around
and walked at a faster pace.
"Logan, come on. Why don't you just admit
you're
still mad at me about kicking your butt in
everything we've competed
with each other," he
said walking backwards to face me.
"What
if I am? It's none of your
business so get away from me Nick, I'm in
no mood!"
I said angrily.
As I thought nothing else could be worse, it
started
to rain.
"Look what you did! Your freaky voodoo ways
made it rain!
Good one Logan, you should have
done it when I kicked your butt at the three
legged race in 5th grade!" He said with a sinister grin
on his face.
"You
know what? Fuck you," I said over the noise
of cars and rain.
I
ignored him the rest of the way, no matter what
he said I wouldn't listen.
I
just wanted to go home and talk to Eddie.
When I finally got home, the rain
had died down.
Of course it had to happen when I got home.
I took a glance
Nick's way and saw he still had a
sinister grin on his face.
He was still
determined he was right about
everything! I sighed and took the mail
out
of the mailbox, finding a letter from my mom.
I took one more look at Nick
before going inside.
I threw my bookbag
on the floor and jumped on the
couch
opening the letter.
It read:
Dear Jessie,
How are
things in Florida? Everything as
before or better? I hope Nick is not giving
you
a lot of grief. How's your father? I haven't
talked to him in a while.
How's Vicki? Still a
red head with thick glasses? And the house,
still pink?
Well, I'm sorry I had to move you down
there. But I do want to tell you why.
I got fired
from my job and have no way of paying
the mortgage payments,
so I had to move out of
the house and into grandma's house. Plus she's
been
lonely since grandpa died, and I think this
is good for her as well as me. I'm
sorry I had
to tell you like this, but I didn't know how to tell
you, I didn't
know how to say it out loud. I moved
all your stuff into the guest bedroom for
when you want to come
and visit. Write me and grandma's house.
Love,
Mom
I
folded it and put it back into the envelope,
tears in my eyes. I wiped them quickly
and ran
downstairs, blaring my Sugar Ray CD.
I sat on my bed and looked
out the window at
Aaron and Angel playing outside.
I shrugged and went
outside.
"Hey guys! Remember me?" I asked walking
into Nick's
yard.
"No…" they both said as Aaron picked up the
basketball.
"Jessie?
Nick's…I knew your brother? And I used to
baby sit you guys?" Their faces
lit up, they held
onto me.
"Jess!" Angel said giggling.
"How
are you guys?" I asked as they let me go.
"Nick's inside, want me
to get him?" Aaron asked
throwing the basketball in the garage.
"No
that's okay, I just wanted to say hi to
you guys! Is BJ here too?" I asked
curiously.
I always had to give her advice when she started
liking boys.
Her blonde hair was so long, she was so cute.
"Yeah! Come on
in!" Aaron said as Angel
pulled me inside.
They shut the door behind
me as I stood
next to the door.
Nick and those 4 guys were there talking
on the couch.
"Hey Jess!" Brian said as they all looked at me.
I
didn't look so good, my eyes were red and puffy
from crying, my hair wet from
the rain,
and I was wearing…no wonder why they stared.
I was wearing
a white shirt that showed
everything when wet and blue jean shorts.
"Hi…Brian
right?" I asked.
Their were 4 of them, it was hard to remember who all
of them were. Well except A.J., just find the
one who's got a lot of jewelry.
"Yeah,"
he said nodding.
BJ came down the stairs and saw me
standing by the door.
"Jess?"
She asked astounded.
"Hey BJ," I said grinning slightly.
It
was starting to get on my nerves that
people couldn't recognize me.
"It
is you!" She said hugging me tight.
"Were you crying?" She whispered.
I nodded,
glancing over at the guys who were still looking and
whispering
amongst themselves.
"Wanna talk about it upstairs?" She asked concerned.
I shook my head.
"It's just about my mom, we lost our house,"
I said, not
realizing it was loud enough for them to hear.
"Awww…"
they all said as I rolled my eyes.
BJ turned to them.
"Guys,
shut up huh?" She asked.
"No it's okay, I just wanted to say hi
to you guys.
Tell Leslie I said hi too. I gotta go though," I said
opening
the door to the bright sunshine.
"You sure?" BJ asked.
"Um…yeah.
See you later or
something," I said taking a quick glance at Nick.
He
was still upset at me, he wouldn't even look at me.
"Bye Jess!"
They all said laughing.
Nick mouthed something to them and they
immediately
shut up.
"Bye guys. Nick I'll see you at the talent
show tomorrow!"
I said as I shut the door.
He always got the last word in every argument.
Luckily I was the one with the power to shut the door!
I smiled as I
ran home, not looking back at all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I
awoke to the phone ringing from upstairs.
I ran as fast as I could up the stairs,
trying not to trip
on my own feet.
I picked it up and breathed heavily.
"…Hello?"
I said trying to catch my breath.
"Hey Jess, it's Ashley. Why aren't
you over
here yet?" I looked at the clock, it read 7:26.
I was supposed
to be at her house at 7.
"Oh God Ash I'm sorry! I overslept. I'll be
over
soon okay?" I said putting on my shoes.
"Okay! I'm just
glad nothing's wrong.
You're never late for anything in your life!"
I
stopped running around and stood with one shoe on.
"Well Ash…things change,"
I said sighing.
"I know…I…nevermind. I'll see you soon," she hung
up as I took the phone away from my face.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When
I got to Ashley's house, it was 8:12. She lived
far away from me, and I had to
walk until I got my car
from my mom.
"Hey Jess, come on in!"
Ashley said opening
the door wide enough for me to squeeze through.
"Ash
is that Jessie I hear?" Her mother, oh no.
Her mom has a tendency to
pinch people's cheeks
and hug them so tight she cuts off circulation.
"Yes
mom, we're studying for a Chemistry
Exam!" She yelled as we ran to Ashley's
room.
I put my stuff down and sat on her bed.
"Thanks for the
save. Same dresser huh?
Remember we used to hide in there when
we played
hide and go seek with Sara?"
I asked as she laughed.
"Yeah,
she left us in there for hours!" She said as
we laughed.
We talked
for a while not even thinking about the exam.
"Can I ask you something
Jess?" She
asked as I put my pen down.
"Yeah sure Ash…anything,"
I said, kinda curious
of what she was going to ask me.
"Do you think
Nick likes you?"
"WHAT?" I said puzzled. Did she say Nick?
"Nick?
Nick Carter? You guys fight all the time but that
might be sexual tension. He
might really like
you," she said explaining herself.
"You're
crazy! Nick's so…so…ugh I hate him!
He makes my life hell!" I said shaking
my head at the
very thought of him.
"Okay, give me a piece of paper,"
she said holding
out her hand. I shrugged and handed her one.
"We'll
make a pros and cons list of things you like and
dislike about him," she
said splitting a line down the
middle of the paper.
She gets this psychology
stuff from her dad.
"Okay fine, and I'll prove it to you!" I said
folding my
arms across my chest.
"Whatever! Alright, what's things
you hate about him?"
"I think your hand will fall off by the time
I'm
done…but okay. He humiliates me whenever we do
anything. He took away
my goal of being
school president in 8th grade, which hurt. Whenever
I dated
a guy Nick would make fun of the guy I was
dating until they broke up with me
or we fought
about him. The way he grins after he thinks he's right!
Ugh!
I hate that. Oh and there's the fact he
never leaves me alone about losing anything.
I think
that's enough," I said with confidence.
"Okay…what about
the things you
like?" She asked finishing the last thing on the cons.
"Okay,
his blue eyes…God they take my breath
away. His face is so adorable, I would
enjoy it better if he
wasn't such a jerk…"
"Jess, good things
huh?" She interrupted.
I nodded and smiled.
"The fact that
he never gives up on what he
wants, he takes risks. Let's see…he can sing!
Oh
God he can sing! I was practicing for the talent
show like everyone else and
he was singing on stage to
some people! It was so beautiful, 'End of the
Road'
by Boyz 2 Men. And the fact that he's smart,
he is SO smart! He knows everything
the teacher's
asked before they finish asking it. And when he smiles,
it
lights up a room! But I still hate him," I said finishing.
"Um…okay.
Well, your pros beat out
your cons…" she said as I shook my head.
I
snatched the paper from her and looked in disbelief.
"No way! I could
never like him! Ew!" I said putting it
in my notebook. I didn't even want
to look at it,
it made me that sick!
"Okay Jess, you're going to
have to face all these
sexual tension sooner or later. Why don't
you ask
him to the prom? It's in a month," she said as I
packed my stuff up.
"Um,
let me think about that and um…NO!
I'm probably going with Eddie," I said
shoving
my stuff into my bookbag and putting in over my
shoulder. "I'm
gonna go, you're hanging around
your dad too much," I said shutting her
door.
I started walking home and thinking about Nick.
We're not compatible,
not even friends!
As I came home, I saw those guys outside
with Aaron
and Nick in the front yard.
I sighed and tried to go past them, but they
saw me.
Of course, I was wearing bright blue in the dark.
"Hey
Jess!" Aaron yelled to me. I looked up
and waved, when I saw Nick.
He
was leaning on one of the cars,
watching Brian and A.J. play basketball.
"Hey
Aaron," I said walking up to him.
He hugged me and ran back over to watch
the game in progress. "Who's winning?" I asked Kevin.
"Brian.
He hardly ever loses."
"Then how is it fun to play with him if he
hardly loses?" I asked. That is pretty dumb.
"I never play,
I thought the same
thing you did. Not them though," Kevin said as I smiled.
"Shut
up Kevin!" A.J. said as Brian shot the
ball into the goal. He was really
good of
what I could see.
"What? I was just telling the truth!"
Kevin said
as we both laughed.
"I have to go, I'll see you guys
later,"
I said starting to walk away.
"Stay for a little while, talk to me.
You
seem smart," Kevin said sitting on the
hood of one of the cars.
"Nah,
I don't think so," I said shaking my head.
"Is it because of Nicky
boy? Don't worry, he's pissed
at you and won't talk to you," Howie said
as Nick
gave him a dirty look.
"Well I am too and that's not why
I'm staying.
I'm expecting a call anyways, sorry," I said walking
away.
As soon as I turned my back he had to
say something.
"Eddie that
loser quarterback?" Nick asked.
I faced him as everyone stopped moving,
even Brian and A.J.
"What if it is? You got a problem with it
Nickolas?"
I asked angrily.
"I was just curious why you would want
to talk to
such a loser as Eddie," he said angrily.
"Because he's nice, something
you're not. Grow up,"
I said walking away. I heard oh's and wow's
behind
me as I wiped the tears from my eyes.
I wouldn't have even thought about
Nick like
that if it wasn't for Ashley, now I just don't
know anymore.
I
shut the door and locked it behind me.
I tiptoed down the stairs and turned
on the
shower water.
As I got in, my tears blended with the water and
my confusion and sadness started to wash away.
