Skye
After having staggered out of the icy water, they all huddled around us. We were both dragged off to separate places to get into something warmer; Jane had been so nice as to bring one of my spare jackets from home, along with a full outfit and a pair of her hiking boots. I being the girl somehow got the privilege to change in the van. Jane sitting next to me hanging me clothing item after clothing item, patiently waiting for me to shaking put them on.
"So you and J, finally figured it out ha?" she said quizzically, as she handed me a pair of light boyfriend cut, loose fitted jeans. I missed my sweats already.
"What do you mean?" I asked jumping around on one legs hunched over uncomfortably, I couldn't stand up in my full 5'3 feet in this van, but I wasn't complaining, at least I shouldn't change outside in the cold behind a bush like Jamie possibly should.
"You guys totally got the hots for each other! I don't get why you guys haven't boned each other ages ago! You were like dogs in heat! Always staring at each other and always having these bizarre battles of wit! Remember that rap battle you guys had at the open mike night 3 weeks ago at the country club? That was one,-
"Okay! okay, Jane I get it," I cut her off, when she first got started she had a tendency to just keep going till someone cut her off, not even pausing to take a breath, "You think me and Jamie have been kidding ourselves for weeks. Duly noted." I tried not to think too much about what had just happened in the water, I didn't know what to make of it, it wasn't like feelings came in these neatly packaged boxes.
"You got that one right!" she handing me a tank top which I quickly slipped on and then she handed me a dark blue sweater.
"So why did you guys throw me in the water?" I asked wanting to get away from the Jamie subject, "I was on your side."
"That was my idea, you can thank me later." She said in a serious tone.
"Thank you? What for?!" I exclaimed.
"Well, Jamie kissed you just know, didn't he?!"She asked in a high pitched voice like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. I looked at my feet, I had forgotten no one knew about me and Jamie's little adventure this night and I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea to start telling people, seeing as I barely knew myself what was going on. Yes, he had told me we could be whatever I wanted us to, but he had said that while I sat in my 'birthday wear', straddling Jamie Jr. It wasn't like he had been in his right mind.
"Oh my god he have kissed you before hasn't he?!" she cooed and I nodded slightly, I needed to tell someone and much, much rather Jane, than Evelyn, "Skye! Spill!" she chirped excitedly. So much for not wanting to talk about Jamie.
"Well... we ehm... it's a bit complicated to say the least..." I said vaguely.
"Come on Skye? What happened between you two?" she had no idea we had already slept with each other, and I was a little scared she would scream if I told her, she had a tendency to become a little overly excited.
"Please, promise me you won't scream or something?" I asked looking sternly at her.
"What is it, Skye? What happened?!" she said almost sounding worried; I stayed quiet for some time, "Skye, seriously tell me, you are starting to freak me out!"
"We slept together last night.." I said letting go of the breath I didn't know I had been holding. I had said it in a whisper so low it was barely audible. Ever seen 'Pitch perfect'? Remember that girl that said, 'I was born with gills like a fish' and 'you guys wanna see a dead body?' and other insane stuff, well I was that girl right now.
"What?"
"We slept together last night," I said a little louder and Jane just stared as if she didn't understand a word I had just said.
"Excuse me, what?" she said in a monotone voice, like when you're getting news there is close to unbelievable.
"You heard me this time," I said sitting down to put on the hiking shoes.
"You aren't kidding? I thought, this was..." then suddenly it sank into her thigh skull, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!" she screeched.
"It wasn't like there was time,-" I argued, but she cut me off.
"You texted me this morning! You're telling me you couldn't have added, 'oh btw I shagged J last night'?"
"It's not something you just blurt out through text! Besides it might not mean anything.." I started but then suddenly words failed me and I just sort of trailed off. '
"Have you seen the way he looks at you?" Jane sounded sweet and encouraging and not insulted and bypassed as she had done before, "he looks at you like you're the only girl in the world for him," she said and I almost unwillingly let out a small huff.
"Yeah well... I piss him off, maybe you have mistaken it for desire or resentment," I said feeling sorry for myself.
"Skye, he is totally in love with you.-"
"But he kissed his ex!" I cut her off, it was stupid, I know. But I just couldn't let it go, he had kissed his ex-girlfriend, instead of me and it hurt alright. No, we had not been in anyway together at the time, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.
"So? I know, I said he was a bastard and he kind of was, but it is you he is totally set on now, isn't it?"
"But how do I know he isn't still hung up on her?" I asked, my voice desperate.
"You ask him, Skye, and then you trust him!" she told me sternly, "I know you're not the most trusting person in the world and that you would rather poke your eyes out with a barge pole, than believe that love exist, but it really does," she said sound like the fairy godmother in a Disney princess movie.
"Jane..." I just sighed not knowing what to say.
"He is not Brendon! And he is not your dad!" Jane screeched, "He is Jamie, sweet, loving, insane Jamie! He isn't gonna leave you if you make the slightest hin of wanting to commit to him!"
"But,-"
"No, 'buts', Skye! You discard every guy you ever date! And then when someone good comes along you can't even look past your own paranoia for one second!" It felt like she was hitting me repeatedly in the gut.
"Jane, that's not,-"
"Skye, I know for a fact that's true! You have never dated anyone since that cheating son of bitch Brandon broke you're heart. In the beginning I thought you would get over it when you met the right person, but now I'm not so sure." She stared at me, frustration emanating from her skin.
"You think Jamie is right for me?" I asked in a small voice. I couldn't get mad at her or say she didn't know what had been going on the last 4 years. I had jumped from one purely physical relationship to the other, never in a million years thinking to bind myself to any one of my suitors. And it wasn't for a lag of opportunities or offers in any way, I had just not trusted them with my heart. I was convinced they were going to hurl it to the ground and stamp on it, as soon as I gave them what they wanted.
"I know so, darling," Jane said a small smile on her face. Jane would give you her piece of mind even if it hurt, (like this kind of did), but you could tell she never did it to be mean; she did it because she cared too much to lie.
"How come you know and I don't? He told me he loves me just before, and I still don't know..." I said in a small frustrated voice.
"That Sweetie, is because I'm not a bloody idiot like you," she said smiling smugly.
"Raging bint," I swore at her.
"You guys done soon? We're freezing out arse off out here!" Roland yelled hitting the van.
"Just a second!" I hollowed back and quickly tugged on the jacket and the all the other woollens Jane had brought me. Then we went out to join the others. Jamie had also gotten into something warmer and was holding a mug of what smelled suspiciously of spiked hot chocolate. Brad stood with a Jug in which steam swirled out of the tip. He took a mug and poured the liquid into it. Then he trotted over handing it to me.
"Thought you might need it," he said. I took it gratefully, almost chugging it down in one go. People were gathering stones in a circle a little way off and others were carrying driftwood to the same spot. It looked like they were going to start a fire.
"So you and J?" Brad asked a smile in his eyes.
"I guess..." I said vaguely.
"You forgave him for Mathilda?" Brad asked in a hushed voice, so no one but me could hear. I shrugged.
"I guess..." I said.
"You're sure guess a lot this afternoon," Brad commented.
"I guess, " I said grinning like a lunatic, Brad shot me a 'are you kidding?'- look and then he laughed pulling me in for a hug.
"It's good to see you, Scarlett," he said into my ear, before he let go.
"You too Morel" I said calling him by his last name, and as I did Patrick passed by us.
"SO THAT'S your last name!" he said loudly pointing at Brad.
"What?" Brad croaked, involuntarily he gave Patrick the elevator look, before Brad lit up smiling.
"Your last name is Morel, It sounds cool! Is it French?" Patrick said a little too quickly as if he had gotten a little too much caffeine.
"Yeah, it is," Brad answered and I quickly realised this conversation no longer needed me so I scampered off to help Jorge and Tristan with the camp fire.
An half an hour later we were all huddle around the smoking hot flames, trying to roast marshmallows and twist bread. Everyone was eating bucket loads of s'mores. That was how we spent the rest of the afternoon; we sat around the campfire on blankets and pillows, leaning against tree stumps we found on the beach, exchanging stories of the past months and ranting about the years to come. Even when the sun went down, (which was pretty early because of the season) we still didn't leave. We just started to tell ghost stories, passing around a flashlight this Pingu had brought. I had learned Pingue was one of Jamie's older friends and the reason I hadn't seen him around was because he had been in Sweden for a job thing, the only time I had ever met him was at the lasertag extravaganza.
I was grateful that Jane and Brad had been invited, I had missed them like crazy. Plus Brad and Patrick seemed to really hit it off. As odd as it may seem. Patrick being a crazy extrovert and Brad being well.. Brad.
The waves hit the beach in a steady rhythm and the whole worlds seemed to fade away as we sat on the beach. There were only us, the waves and the brilliant stars above us. Jorge suddenly got up to take a call, which reminded me that my own phone was probably long gone. It had been in my pocket when they threw me in, thank god I wasn't a phone person otherwise I would me barging mad, but now I really didn't give a rats arse about my bloody phone, nor did Jamie. He hadn't even seemed to care for it, after having gotten out of the water. We would have to go phone shopping tomorrow it seemed.
Jamie and I had been sitting close all evening, drawing warmth from each other. I felt content and happy. Jane was probably one hundred percent right. Jamie wasn't going to leave.
Jorge came back a stern look on his face.
"Guys," he said silencing us all, and we turned to stare up at him.
"What is it?" Jamie asked sounding a tad worried.
"There have been a change of plans, "he stopped and we waited for him to continue, "We'll all have to leave for LA in a week the shooting have gotten rescheduled," there was a long silence.
"What about the training?" I asked. I needed that training.
"It will go on as best it can, just in LA" Jorge said, "and at a higher intensity." Higher intensity?! Were they mad?! How can it be any higher than this?!
"We will start shooting about one month from now, the directors just wanted us settled in before all the production madness begin," Jorge explained. Everyone was looking around at each other a stunned look on their faces. I had known I would have to go to LA to shoot but I would have thought it would be months (2 months to be exact) from now.
"Well... that's a surprise," Evelyn said and we nodded in agreement. A gloomy air had fallen over us all.
Out of the blue Patrick said, "Guys, do you know why Jesus wasn't born in England?" there was complete silence, we were all just staring at him till Jamie spoke up.
"No, why wasn't Jesus born in England?"
"He couldn't find 3 wise men or a virgin, even if he tried." Jorge declared grinning all over and the atmosphere was back to normal. God bless Patrick and his bad jokes. We might have to leave our friends and family behind in a week, but we still had now, and that was all that really mattered.
Continued in book two, "Looking for trouble", add it to your library now!
***
A/N:Thank you for sticking with me, and I am eternally grateful for all the people who have helped me along the way, you know who you are. You guys made this fic possible. Hope to see you in book two.
Emilie Penrose