Bringing Back Hallie

Bringing Back Hallie: Chapter Eight

"Well I still want to see him," she says, that devious I've-got-something-churning-in-my-head look appearing on her flawless face. I knew it'd come to this, I really did. Even though she's pretty much hooked on Fred for life, she still likes to look at other guys and I know for a fact that Fred looks at other girls. Sure she has a spasm fit every time she catches him, but she still looks at guys just for the hell of it.  

Usually we spend a good deal of our time talking about how hot a guy is, but I don't want to do that with Ethan. I don't want to talk to her about him like that, for some reason. I just feel like he deserves better than how we usually talk about guys. Well, how Jeanie talks about them anyways. 

So I say a silent prayer that she doesn't see him, that he stays in the basement studio with my dad for as long as possible, and then go back to watching our goofy friends messing with each other in the pool. Fred catches my eye, though, his red-blonde hair looking dark against his white forehead because of the water. He yells out, "You two are so boring!" 

"Fuck off babe!" Jeanie yells back, but Fred's eyes don't waver from mine so that he can look over at her and say whatever in response. Instead he just smiles at me before turning back around in the water and then diving underneath the water.  

That's why I love Fred. He always goes out of his way to make me feel included, to make me feel like I'm not the fourth wheel like I always think I am. While Jeanie can sometimes act like I'm not even there because she's so caught up in being the fun girl that all the guys love to be around and Jesse's always so quiet unless he's drunk or with another girl, Fred's always there to make me feel like I should be included. 

If not for him, I probably wouldn't go out with them half as much. 

The sun getting too bright on my eyes, I lean back down and place my head back into the square I've created with my arms, closing my eyes and getting comfortable once more.  

After ten minutes, I hear rustling come from beside me and when I look up I see that Jeanie's clambered her way out of the lawn chair and that she's taking her dark brown hair out if it's messy bun that'd been on the top of her head since she's been here. The long waves fall against her back, the hair reaching to the middle of her back, before she runs off and then jumps into the water right next to where Jesse's floating on his back. 

He chokes on the water as it sprays in his face, and I manage to catch the evil glint in his eye before he jumps out of the water and lands on Jeanie, pushing her underneath the surface as payback. As the two of them struggle with each other, Fred once again catches my eye and yells out, "Come on Hallie, you're the only loser not in here!" 

"Maybe in a minute," I call back out; hoping that I can gather up the courage to stand up in my bikini and then walk the few feet it takes to get to the water. While it's not so bad once I'm in the water, I still know that they'll all be looking at me and judging me in a swimsuit, comparing me to the girl with the flat-stomach and ample chest.  

Jeanie manages to get out of Jesse's grasp, her laughter and shouts of "I'm going to kill you!" echoing across the backyard. She and Jesse are otherwise occupied and there's no way they'd see me, so Fred would be the only one to even catch a glimpse. And he has Jeanie and there's no reason for him to judge me or think anything bad, right? So I should be fine. I just need to hurry... 

So with that thought, I remove myself from the chair and then make my way towards the pool, praying that no one looks too hard at me. But it's right before I get to the pool that I realize that Jeanie's gotten away from Jesse and that she's now swimming towards her boyfriend. My eyes catch Jesse and I see that he's now looking at me, making me feel insanely uncomfortable. I look to Fred to see if he'll give me that reassuring grin of his, but his mouth is already smashed against Jeanie's as the two of them do what they're best at.