Achieving Unbroken

-Chapter 38-

Achieving Unbroken
Chapter Thirty Eight

—

"I get a little bit nervous around ya,
I get a little bit stressed out when I think about you
I get a little excited, baby when I think about you"
Nervous | Shawn Mendes

—

Jason
[Thursday, July 29th, 2018]

"Jason? Jason! EARTH TO JASON!" Blinking in realization, I turn my head to the right and see Piper, staring at me expectantly, hand paused midair. "Jesus, someone didn't get any sleep."

I rub my hands over my face, trying to wipe off the drowsiness. Unfortunately, that's not a possible thing.

"Is it that obvious?"

Our attention gets taken away momentarily by a high-pitched squeal coming from the ocean, assumingly from Lilla. Her and Patrick sprinted towards the water the second our feet hit the sand; Piper and I opting to walk along the beach instead of getting in the water.

"Not very, but you just seem out of it."

"I had a weird dream last night. Kept me up for awhile."

"Do you need to talk about it?"

I hesitate. Piper is trustworthy as far as I'm concerned, but does she really need to know about a dream I had about her best friend?

"It's not like it was a nightmare. It was a good dream." Pausing, I try to think of how I can word this next part. "... And there was a girl."

Her reaction is reminiscent of either holding back a laugh, or choking. I can't exactly tell which one it is.

"God, she must've been Megan Fox if it kept you up all night."

"No, it wasn't like that," I shake my head adamantly. "Nothing like that. It was just kind of... Different. Good different, but different."

Piper looks off into the distance, prodding around her mind to think of what she could ask me next. More screams from the ocean distract us, and when Piper answers, her voice cuts through the crashing of the waves.

"Lilla?" She says, eyes focused on our friends, who are soaking wet. I'm swallowing when the name leaves her mouth, and I wind up choking on my saliva. "Okay then. That answers my question."

"Please—"

"I won't tell her, Jason." A huge breath of relief escapes me. "Seriously. I'm not that kind of girl."

"Thank you," I express sincerely. She bumps me with her shoulder, only hitting my upper arm because she's significantly smaller than me.

"We're friends. This is what friends are for."

Grinning and trying to stop my face from heating up, I nudge her back with my elbow.

"Thanks, Pipe."

—

"Hey, Breakfast Club," Vincent taps his knuckle on the open door to the basement. The four of us look up from the TV, which is playing Friends reruns. "Family dinner upstairs in fifteen. We're having burgers, fries, Dad's barbecuing."