After Hours (boyxboy) | ✓

Chapter Twenty

Jennie sighed. “People are so annoying.”

“Which ones?” I asked. I hoped I wasn’t the target of her aggressions. Jennie was kind of famous for ruining lives.

“Most,” she scoffed. I laughed nervously. “Not you though! I’m talking about other people.” These words caused her to glare off to the side. Scary. If looks could kill… 

“Is this about the phone call?” I asked. If this walk was going to turn into therapy for her, rather than for me, I’d be happy. I’d been told that I was good at giving advice. Maybe I could help Jennie. And in return, she could help me.

“Yes,” she muttered. “This guy won’t leave me alone.” Right. Those were the kinds of problems she had. I tried not to roll my eyes.

“I find it’s best to ignore them,” I answered. She nodded and told me I was probably right. Now it was my turn. I just hoped she’d entertain my questions.

I glanced in her direction, not sure if this was a good idea. “Hey, Jennie?”

“Yeah?” Her voice was calm and inviting. I was sure that’d change soon. But she probably saw it coming. Unless Claire hadn’t told the entire school about me and Brendon. That was highly unlikely though.

My heart accelerated. “What’s the deal with you and Brendon?”

“You haven’t heard? Isn’t he your coworker?” She seemed genuinely confused. Probably more because this implied that Claire hadn’t told me. Claire told me everything. 

I nodded. “I have, I just don’t know if what I heard is true. And he won’t tell me about it.”

“Ah. So you heard it from Claire?” I guess she assumed I’d hear it from the guy in question. But she didn’t know we were together. The news hadn’t really reached her yet. Which meant that Claire didn’t tell anyone. I’d have to bring that up later.

“Yeah.” 

She smiled and nodded. “Then it’s the truth.” A tinge of sadness lingered in her voice. I wondered if she felt for him the way I did. For some reason, my feelings seemed more real to me. But hers were probably all the same.

I took a deep breath. Questioning Jennie wasn’t a great idea. But I needed the full story. “Are you sure?”

“Why would I lie about it?” Jennie’s polite smile was fading. 

I looked away. “I dunno. Maybe you were embarrassed?”

“How the hell would you know?” she sneered, “Were you there?”

I recoiled from her sudden hostility. She sighed and let me talk. “I just wanted to give him a chance to explain.”

She scoffed, a pitying smile on her lips. “Well he hasn’t, has he? He’s just a lying, cheating--”

“Shut up. Just shut up. Why would he cheat on you?”

“I caught him, Emmett!” She was practically begging me to believe her now. And I did believe her. Her frustration had faded now, and she was just concerned. 

“There’s gotta be a reason,” I insisted. 

Her voice got harsher. “Maybe the reason is that he’s a prick. He didn’t even apologize to me, you know?”

“Whatever. I don’t even care,” I lied. “He’s changed and you’re crazy.”

“Emmett, you’re just like me. Stop denying it!” she said. I looked at the ground. Tears burned in my eyes. In the corner of my vision, she gave me a soft smile.

“You don’t know that.”

An exasperated sigh escaped her mouth. “You’re right. I don’t.”

“...”

“But I do know that he’s keeping something from you for a reason.”

I hesitated as we continued walking. She looked pissed -- rightfully so. But beneath the furrowed brows and deep frown, I could see something else. Pity? No. Empathy.

“Talk to him about it. I don’t know. Maybe he has changed,” she said.

“You’re right,” I muttered. “I need to ask him about it.”

We continued our walk, not saying much. Jennie looked sad about the turn of events. I was too. The tears from earlier freely rolled down my cheeks now. I didn’t really care who saw. It was too much work keeping them inside. Jennie sighed and put her hand on my shoulder.

“He isn’t worth your time anyways.”

“I just don’t get it. He’s nice to me…” I sobbed. 

“He was nice to me too. I don’t think he sees anything wrong with what he did.”

“He cheated with Fred Laurel, didn’t he?” I asked, recalling our previous date. Not the finest memory, but an important one. I should’ve known. She hummed in agreement.

“If he would just apologize and admit he was wrong, I’d forgive him,” she said. “But I don’t think he gets it.” I nodded. 

We kept walking until we returned to her house. I told her I was going home, and she gave me a hug goodbye. Before I got in my car, she reminded me to talk to Brendon. I agreed and closed the door. The rest of my tears escaped my eyes as I started to drive.

***

After a soothing bath, I was ready to call Brendon. I had spent the rest of my day watching reality TV and eating ice cream (after calling in sick to work). If anything made me feel better, that was it. 

My talk with Brendon wasn’t going to be on the phone. I wanted to do it in person. We couldn’t communicate on the phone. I mean, we could, but it’d be really not good. I took out my phone to call him. I’d ask him to come over tomorrow night. Hopefully we wouldn’t get distracted. 

“Hello?” His voice sounded weird and distant on the phone. But I smiled at the warmth it still had.

“Brendon?”

“That’s me,” he joked, “What’s up, buttercup? You okay?” I giggled at the nickname before remembering my mission.

“I’m fine. I wanted to ask you if you want to come over tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, sounds good. What time?”

I hesitated. I didn’t know if my mom would be home or not. Whatever. I needed to talk to him. I’d just ask her to go to the store or something. “Tomorrow at eight.”

“Okie doke. What’s the occasion?” This question made my heart drop. I paused for a minute.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” he sounded slightly confused, but didn’t ask any further questions.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight, Brendon.”

“Sweet dreams!” he called. I laughed, then hung up. 

His words still sounded the same after Jennie talked to me. For some reason, I expected them to sound different. I thought I’d hate him now. But I felt the same. I couldn’t shake the feeling. I wanted it to work. 

I laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. What a day, I thought. What a day.

A/N - Alrighty everyone. Brace yourselves for the next chapter because it's kind of a big oof. How do you guys feel about Brendon right now? Anyways, thanks for reading! Vote and comment if you enjoyed :)