Switching Sides | A Jamie Johnson FanFiction

• Part 10

Jethro eventually pulled away and I stared at him as silence overtook the group. The players from both the Grove and Kingsmount had dispersed, leaving only us Thornlake students. I was painfully aware of the phone still clenched in Alex's hand, although even he looked as shocked as the rest of us.

I turned to Lili, who took one look at me and stormed off, closely followed by Demi and her friends who weren't going to hang around to be humiliated anymore. I felt a sudden pang of guilt but it was quickly overtaken by the overwhelming feeling of...exhilaration. Jethro just kissed me, I thought, struggling to catch my breath as the group of us began to pack up our things. But I just stayed there, staring at him, before he moved away and my eyes were left mesmerised and staring straight ahead into the trees.

"You okay?" Alex asked with a smirk as he put his rucksack on his back.

"Fine." I replied, a smile creeping onto my lips and I quickly cleared my throat as I gathered myself, realising how stupid I must look in my own little world. "I'm going to...to-" I stumbled as tried to motion that I was leaving.

"Can we at least get your name first? I think Jethro might want to see you again." Alex mocked, playfully shoving Jethro who shook his head and smiled incredulously at his mate's behaviour.

"It's Bella." I said with a smile and Alex nodded.

"Well, Bella, there's a party this weekend on the beach if you wanna come. It's basically just the football team but you can invite who you like."

"Thanks. I'll think about it."

I'll think about it? What was I thinking? I might have just thrown away the only chance I had at spending a whole weekend with Jethro!

No matter what I said in the moment, there was no way I was missing this party.

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"I literally can't believe you did that." Ruby said, watching the video for the millionth time at school the next day.

Callum was facing away from us, sat on a lower step with a hunched back as he tapped furiously on his phone. "Maybe we don't know her as well as we thought." he mumbled.

"Well what was I supposed to do?!" I asked Ruby, ignoring Callum who seemed to be in a right mood that morning. "Just pull away or something?"

Ruby stared at me like i'd just said I was an alien or something. "Yes?!" she said incredulously. "Jethro's ego was big before; how big d'you think it's gonna be now that he thinks any girl he kisses will instantly fall for him?! He just got lucky that you had such a big crush on him in the first place."

"I do not have a crush on Jethro Stevenson." I said adamantly.

"Everyone in school will have seen that video by now." Callum joined in. "Alex has some sort of social media superpower."

"I do not have a crush on Jethro Stevenson!" I repeated, Ruby still staring at me in disbelief as if making me repeat the phrase would somehow make me admit it. Although I could sense an undertone of self doubt in my voice now.

"Do you really want Jethro to like you anyway?" Callum piped up again. "He's an idiot. Any girl who likes him is delusional."

"I don't have a crush on Jethro Stevenson!" I repeated more firmly, putting emphasis on every word, but this only made my voice falter and I sighed, admitting defeat.

"You do have a crush on Jethro Stevenson." Ruby stated, and I knew it was true.

"Do you hate me? For not pulling away? I know I should of stood up to him after the stuff he said to Demi and Lili."

"Well, I can't pretend to feel sorry for Demi. And as for Lili, I don't know her that well..." Ruby replied, her voice wavering when she got to Lili, and I wondered if there was something going on there that I didn't know about. "...I don't hate you. I just hate Jethro. So let me make this clear: if you ever date Jethro Stevenson, I will disown you." she said.

I know she was only joking, but it suddenly made me even more anxious.

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The rest of the week dragged on so slowly it almost seemed like time had stopped. Maybe I was still stuck in my daze about Jethro, or maybe it was the fact that the lessons at Thornlake were just so unbelievably boring. I wasn't sure. There was one thing keeping me going: the weekend. Friday night I was ready to put on some party clothes and hit the beach, just like they did in all those high school films. But then my plan hit a snag.

"You ready for tomorrow night?" Ruby asked me after third period on Thursday, and I nodded, not comprehending what she meant exactly.

"Oh, wait...you mean...the sleepover?"

"Yeah, duh. So what time are you coming?"

"Erm, probably around 5?" I lied through my teeth, unsure how to get out of this situation.

"Okay cool. See you then." she said with a grin as she made her way to her next lesson.

Uh oh.

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A/N: Wow two chapters in one night that's crazy for me! I don't know why but I'm suddenly enjoying writing this so much! Anyway thanks for reading and please vote if you enjoyed!