When Grace wakes up, she instantly recalls the memory of the day before. She faintly traces her lips with a hint of a smile on her face, remembering the feel of the Foley boy's lips on hers for the one hundredth time. Grace knows that she should stay away from Justin as they were a bad idea completely. They'd be frowned upon by everyone but she simply can't find it in herself to care and stay away from him.
She wonders what today will bring; will the day be good? Or will it be filled with sadness and heartbreak?
She gets up out of her bed reluctantly and begins to get ready for the day. She throws on her close and quickly ties her hair into a side braid before messing it up a little.
She washes her face and teeth, grabbing her bad that's in the corner and leaves the room for another long day of school with her brother.
"You've heard of the butterfly effect, right? That if a butterfly flaps its wings at just the right time in just the right place... it can cause a hurricane thousands of miles away. It's chaos theory. But, see, chaos theory isn't exactly about chaos. It's about how a tiny change in a big system can effect everything. Chaos theory. Sounds dramatic, but it's not. Ask a mathematician. Or better yet, ask someone who's been in a hurricane."
***
Grace and Clay enter the school grounds to see multiple anti-suicide posters around the school. They stop on one that says you are not alone. Grace rolls her eyes, she finds it humorous how the school has to lose a student for them to finally do something about the bullying.
"Wanna help?" Marcus questions them as he catches the two staring at the poster in disapproval.
"Do I wanna help?" Clay stupidly repeats.
Grace looks at him weirdly as it was a straightforward question.
"Do you want to help? Put up posters." Marcus clarifies with a grin on his smug face. Grace can't help but want to wipe it off with the palm of her hand. The last few days she's been feeling way more angry at the world, and rightfully so.
Clay looks like he doesn't know what to say, so Grace steps in for him. "No, thank you, Marcus." She answers politely. She tries to pull her brother away from the boy but they are both pulled back.
"Come on, school spirit, alright? Making a contribution. Giving back."
"Giving back to who?" Clay asks him. Marcus doesn't have a chance to respond because he is interrupted by the sound of loud music. The three look over to see Alex's band playing in the courtyard. "Why are they playing in the courtyard?"
Alex wasn't one of Grace's friends, but they were always polite to each other in the halls. Grace could tell that he was one of the few people that were taking Hannah's death really hard.
"Uh, yeah. They asked student council." Marcus answers. "Thought it was a great idea. Got a concert tonight. We got some glum chums."
'Glum chums?' Grace mouths to herself in confusion. She then watches as Alex depressingly walks past them to go to his band.
"Alex Standall. You caused the hurricane. It's your turn. Little did I know you would F. my L. forever. Little did I know you would be my hurricane. Maybe you think I'm being silly. I'm some stupid girl who gets all worked up over a little thing. But little things matter. For instance, you never told me you were dating Jessica. But I remember just how it ended. With your list."
Grace watches as Alex walks away from his friends after placing his instrument down, frustrated as he runs a hand through his hair. She looks to her brother in concern. "Maybe we should check on him?"
Receiving a nod in response to her suggestion, the twins walk up to Alex, who is now pacing.
"Is Gloomy Sunday really a song?" Clay asks him, attempting to ease the tension.
Alex looks at the two with a glare that softens before he answers. "Yeah. Google "Hungarian Suicide Song." He then sits himself down on one of the school benches, Grace and Clay follow his actions.
"Alex, can we talk about your tape?" Grace asks with hesitation. She really doesn't want to rock the boat any more but they need answers to solve the puzzle that is Hannah's tragic life. "We just want to know if Hannah is telling the truth."
"What do you think?" He shoots back.
"I'm honestly not sure anymore, this is all so confusing." Grace admits, a crease in her brows. "Did you do what she said you did?"
"Did you?" He retaliates and looks at Clay in question, making the boy way more paranoid than before.
Clay opens his mouth to speak but he's cut off by a girl from Alex's band calling the boy over. Alex nods at them apologetically before leaving them sitting alone on the bench.
"W-what does he mean by that? What did I do? I don't think I ever—"
Grace was adamant in reducing her brothers stress. Out of the two, he was way more paranoid and she would always help him. "Clay, calm down. He's probably just trying to stress you out, I don't think you've done anything."
"What if I did though." He panics and paces around in circles.
Grace sighs, standing up and placing her hands on his shoulders, stopping him from moving from anxiety. "Even if you did, that doesn't change who you are, Clay."
Clay tries to calm his breathing down and eventually succeeds. He thankfully smiles at his sister and they both make their way back into the school building.
"Alex, we hadn't talked since you two got together. Then it seemed like maybe you might not be together anymore. Maybe you say it's nothing, Alex. It's just words. Maybe Alex, you were just being a dick. Maybe you think I'm being silly, like I get my titties in a twist over the tiniest things... but you didn't walk that hall. You didn't feel those eyes on you. You've never heard those whispers. At first I thought, what a stupid list. Jessica is so much prettier than me. I didn't think of the chaos it would cause. But it was just a joke. Right, Alex? You think I'm taking it all way too seriously.
***
After a lot of debating, Grace finds herself standing outside Bryce's house. She knows that Bryce is at school so she has no chance of seeing him, and for that she is grateful. The main reason why she even stepped into this neighbourhood is to see Justin. Because even against her will and wishes, she does care about him deeply. Grace knows that Justin has never really had a stable person in his life, but she prays that she can be that person.
She blows out a breath before hesitantly knocking on the wooden door three times.
Before she can change her mind and go back to school, the door swings open and Justin's heartbroken face is revealed. He tries to conceal his emotions by looking away from the girl but it is no use, and the tears fall down his face freely.
Grace looks at Justin in worry and enters the house to place her hands on his cheeks. "Hey..." She whispers soothingly while she then pulls him into a bone crushing hug. "I'm here..."
"Grace." He mutters into her neck, sobbing as he wraps his arms tightly around her. He's grateful that she's in his life. Whenever he's angry or upset, just the mere thought of her makes it easier for him to carry on. Although, he has some guilt from still being with Jessica, knowing that he has Grace in his arms right now makes that all go away. Even if it's just for a moment.
His broken sobs causes a tear fall out of Grace's eye but she quickly wipes it away. This isn't about her, it's about him. She clutches onto him desperately, hoping to make him feel safe and happy. Because that's all she ever wants for him; to be safe and happy.
They relocate into a spare bedroom in the house and lay on the bed together in silence. Grace lays her head on Justin's chest, cuddling into him while they stare up at the ceiling blankly.
After a few moments of not saying anything to each other, Grace looks up at him, still having her chin on his chest. "Are you feeling okay now?" She questions him softly, not wanting to upset him further.
He looks down at the beautiful girl in his arms and plays with a strand of her hair with a hint of a smile. "Yeah, now that you're here."
She rolls her eyes with a chuckle. "Come on, don't get all sappy on me, J."
He grins at the use of the nickname while Grace blushes in embarrassment. Justin grabs her hand and pulls her up to straddle his waist, making her blush go deeper at the compromising position that they've been in before.
Grace places her soft hands on his face once again and traces his lips with her finger. She can see Justin's eyes darken with lust and grins to herself.
Her mind is racing along with the beat of her heart. Their eyes meet and she looks down, unsure of what's going to happen. Her conscience battling with her hormones.
Before she can think any more about the possible outcomes, she attaches her lips to his, catching him completely off guard by her sudden act.
Grace tastes the mint on his breath as he deeply kisses her back and she sighs into it. The feeling of his lips so familiar. She feels butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks reddening. She never wants this feeling to stop.
The feeling of pure happiness.
His tongue is warm against hers and her body feels like it's on fire. She has never felt like this before. Who new that one kiss from Justin Foley could have her completely enamoured by him?
"Justin." She moans quietly into his mouth and he smirks to himself.
They break away from the passionate kiss and she gazes at him before reattaching their lips. They both moan loudly and Justin's hands travel down towards her hips, slightly rocking them into his, giving them both friction.
Grace gasps into his mouth at the movement and Justin looks at her worriedly. "Is this okay?" He asks and she nods her head frantically, causing him to repeat the action a few times.
He attaches his lips to her neck and begins to sensually suck at sensitive spot. Grace's eyes roll involuntarily back into her head in pleasure.
Her hormones get the better of her and she fists the bottom of his shirt and begins to pull it up. Justin gets the hint and helps her lift it over his head, messing his hair up in the process, not that either of them cared.
"I want you." She whispers with confidence. She's not just saying this because she doesn't know if they'll be able to do this again, she's saying this because she wants him now, preferably forever.
Her heart stops when he shakes his head with a pained expression on his face. "We can't, Grace." He murmurs, knowing that they couldn't go any further until he ends things with Jessica. "It wouldn't be right right now and you know it."
She bites the inside of her cheek in disappointment and looks away from him embarrassed. "Of course, he wouldn't want to have sex with me. Why would he?" Grace thinks emotionally. She begins to climb off of his lap, not knowing what else to do.
Sensing her negative thoughts, he keeps her in place and grips her chin in his hand lightly, not letting her push him away. "But that's right now, Grace. As soon as this tape issue is all over and I can break up with Jessica. We will be together in every way possible. And I'm going to fuck you until you can't walk."
Grace feels her eyes widen and she chokes on her breath but nods eagerly anyway. Because she can't wait for that day.
"That doesn't mean we can't do anything else right now though." Justin says suggestively and she raises her eyebrows at him. "Just not full sex."
"Like what?"
"Lay back." He orders with a smile.
She looks up at him in confusion before laying on her back, the comfortable expensive silk pillows feeling heavenly against her head. He then lifts her white shirt up to the bottom of her bra and starts to place soft kisses down her stomach. Her back arches up at the nice feeling and he unbuttons her jeans. She wishes that she had put more flattering underwear on this morning but Justin doesn't seem to mind, finding her utterly perfect either way.
He then pulls the jeans off of her legs along with her underwear and she begins to feel insecure. But her insecurities are out of the window once he whispers, "You're beautiful."
Grace inhales sharply as he begins to caress her folds with his finger and he smirks at her reaction to him. He likes that he's the only one who's touched her and even the mere thought of her doing this with anybody else causes his stomach to turn and his anger to appear.
When he's assured that she's fully comfortable, he then slides a finger inside of her and she shuts her eyes in uncomfortableness.
"Don't worry." Justin assures her, continuing his movements. "It'll feel good in a minute."
She nods and true to his word, the uncomfortable feeling begins to go away and is replaced with unimaginable pleasure.
He adds a second finger and she shuts her eyes and her mouth to contain her moans. "F-faster." She tells him and he nods before complying to her wishes with a smirk on his face, watching her come undone.
This goes on for a few moments, but after that she feels the pressure returning and she comes on his fingers.
She attempts to calm her breathing down while Justin goes and cleans up the mess that they've made. She pulls her clothes back on and sits back on the bed.
While he's gone, her anxiety begins to kick in. What if it's different now? What if he regrets the moment? What if he was just using her—
She cuts herself off on the last question. No. She knows that even though he hangs around with the wrong type of people, deep down he is a really good guy. She's learnt that by spending a lot of time with him. She just wished more people could see it.
Before her thoughts could run anymore, Justin walks back into the room. He smiles at her, which eases her nerves a fraction.
She decides to speak her mind. "Is it going to be different now?"
Justin walks over to sit next to her on the bed. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her towards his chest. "Of course it isn't, Grace. Why—?"
She shakes her head and cuts him off. "S-sorry for thinking it it's just... you've been with people before, whereas I haven't." She explains anxiously. "Does that put you off?"
"No." He states firmly, squeezing her closer to him. "It's actually a turn on knowing that I'm the only one that has touched you."
She tries to hold it in but a giggle escapes her along with the blush on her cheeks. Before any more can be said, Justin's phone rings by the side of him and Jessica's name pops up.
Grace deflates when he gives her an apologetic glance and leaves the room to answer the phone call. She knows that it would be considered rude if he didn't answer, but she kind of wished he didn't and stayed in bed with her instead.
Justin walks back into the room. "I have to go. Jessica wants to go food shopping." He explains with a sigh.
Grace nods at him and begins to get her stuff. "That's fine. I should probably go back to school anyway." She goes to walk out but his hand drags her back to him and into his arms. She melts into him and feels him place a kiss on her neck.
"I'll see you later then, yeah?" He asks hopefully and she smiles and places a chaste kiss upon his lips before leaving.
***
After a half an hour walk back to school, she finally enters the hallway. She squints her eyes in confusion seeing Alex ripping up all of the anti suicide posters off the walls.
"Hey, Alex." She speaks up and walks towards him cautiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm cleaning up. What, they think these are gonna save someone's life?" He snaps back and begins to rip the poster up in his hand. "Suicide's not an option? Yeah, you know what? Clearly it is an option, you know? Why don't they put up a later that says 'don't be a fucking dick to people'? Why don't we put up that poster?"
Grace is overwhelmed by the words Alex let's put but slowly nods at his words in agreement. "I agree, actually. I try not to be one."
Alex scoffs. "Yeah, we all try."
"Just know, Alex." She begins and gives him a soft smile. "I'll always be here for you if you need someone to talk to."
He opens his mouth to respond but gets interrupted by another voice who's walking down the staircase. "What are you guys doing?"
Tyler Down.
"I'm recruiting Grace for the illuminati. You want to join?" Alex sarcastically responds and Grace actually grins at his humour.
"Alex, you should not joke about the illuminati, first of all. Trust me." Tyler instructs seriously before talking more quietly. "What are you guys talking about?"
"We're talking about our homework that we have to do together. It's a big assignment." Grace lies to him, surprisingly easily.
"Yeah, right." Tyler scoffs, not believing her lie. "The old assignment trope. The only class you two have together is English and you have no homework."
"How does he even know that?" Grace thinks to herself. "That's kinda creepy."
Alex seems to think the same thing. "It's creepy that you even know that." He says before sighing. "Just go away."
Tyler listens to the boy and sadly scurries off while Grace looks at the boy in sympathy before scoffing and turning back to Alex with raised eyebrows. "You try not to be a dick, huh?"
"Guys, where are you supposed to be?" Mr. Porter questions from down the hall, Grace tensing up at his presence.
"That's a heavy question. That's like existential." Alex answers dryly.
"Alex, why don't you come with me. I've been wanting to talk with you." Porter suggests.
Alex nods with very clear hesitation and Grace smiles at him in good luck as the two begin to walk back down the school hall. Grace breathes out a sigh of relief knowing that she didn't have to talk to Porter yet.
Ryan Shaver, the school's publisher then walks over and places his hand inside the bin, pulling out the poster Alex had just ripped. Grace's nose scrunches up in disgust at the lack of hygiene.
"Find anything worth publishing?" She asks.
He shrugs sassily. "Oh, hardly. Just the usual angst, despair, lovelorn crap. Uninspired." He struts over to Hannah's display where the flowers and kind notes are. "But I am planning a special issue in memory of Hannah Baker. Maybe you have something to add?"
She shakes her head at his question. "Not really. Just that she was a really amazing friend to me and she was always there when I needed her."
Ryan nods, "Cute."
***
Flashback
Grace Jensen's eyes widen as she sees Hannah practically stomp her way through the halls. She had some sort of idea on what the problem was, but she figures she should ask her just in case it wasn't about Alex's Hot or Not list.
"What's wrong, Hannah?" She asks politely.
"Alex Standall is a piece of shit." She scoffs, confirming Grace's suspicions. She then takes Grace's hand to begin pulling her in the direction of the boys gym.
"Oh no." She whispers when Hannah barges in, Grace quickly following her inside after her.
"Alex? Alex Standall!" Hannah's voice booms in the boys changing rooms. This was probably Grace's worst nightmare ever. Both girls walk over to Alex, Hannah still screaming. "Alex, what the hell! What we're you thinking? Seriously!"
Grace avoids all eye contact with everyone, not wanting to see all the naked guys in the changing room.
"Come on, Hannah. You know you can't be in here." Zach says to her, clearly trying to get her to leave. Grace wasn't taking too much notice though, as she was currently staring at a shirtless Justin Foley.
When he notices she's staring at him, he gives a small smirk and her eyes widen when she realises that she's been caught. She quickly adverts her eyes back to the scene in front of them.
"Why not you've been staring at my ass all day." Hannah snaps at him, causing a few chuckles to erupt from the boys, including Justin.
"Hey. Hey! Get out. It's the boys locker room." The coach tells the two girls loudly.
Grace nods her head quickly. "Sorry." She mutters back to him politely and tries to pull Hannah away but ends up bumping into someone's chest from behind.
She turns around to apologise and locks eyes with Justin. She gulps at their sudden close proximity and takes a step back.
"Sorry, Foley." She mumbles coyly while Justin just smiles at her, finding the situation adorable.
Hannah glares at Alex harshly. "We're not done." She states firmly, turning around and strutting out of the room but not before lifting her middle finger to all of the boys while they whoop and chuckle.
Grace grins proudly at her friend for sticking up for herself. She mock salutes Justin before leaving the room, following after her again.
End of flashback
When Grace finally enters her household, she feels instant relief and security. She doesn't feel safe in school anymore ever since Hannah's death. Mainly because she knows it's the people in the school's fault. She slumps down in her living room chair and sighs to herself. She grabs her phone from her left pocket of her jeans and clicks on her contacts. She then scrolls to the J section and her fingers hover over Justin's name. She rolls her eyes and thinks for a moment before putting her phone down. She's not going to converse with him ever minute of every day. She knows that she can't properly be with him until he finishes things with Jessica and she doesn't want to seem desperate.
"Grace, dinners ready!" She hears her mother's clipped tone from the kitchen. Grace groans and obediently stands up and stalks into the kitchen, seeing her parents already sitting at the table.
Grace notices her brother's absence and looks towards her mother in question. "Clay still not home?"
"No." Her mother answers her plainly. "He was supposed to be home a while ago."
Grace nods and sits at the table with them. She begins to play with her food, not having an appetite.
After fifteen awkward and silent minutes, the door finally opens and Clay stalks in clumsily. Matt, her father, sighs in relief and Lainey looks at him unimpressed.
"Sorry I'm late." He apologises instantly. "I got a little distracted on my way home."
"You said you'd be here half an hour ago. Where were you?" Lainey asks him.
Clay rubs his eyes, trying to come up with some sort of excuse. "Uh... I was with a friend. She was in trouble, and I— I didn't believe her, so I checked it out and it was true. She was telling the truth."
Grace hides her grin at his behaviour, knowing very well that he has some alcohol in his system. Clearly, their mom know too because she asks, "Are you drunk?"
"I think so." He states honestly and Grace's eyes widen at the sudden truth. She didn't expect Clay to be so honest.
"Wow, this is escalating fast." Matt comments, causing Grace to let out a snort, earning a disappointed look from her mother.
Nothing new there.
"You've never done anything like this before." Lainey sighs. "Drinking on a school night? Riding your bike while drunk?"
"Yeah, because he never has any friends to get drunk with." Grace humours which everyone glares at her for, seeing this, she roll her eyes. "Sorry, sore subject, clearly."
"How much did you drink, son?" Matt questions his son calmly.
"Just one beer." Clay answers honestly and then begins rambling. "It was a big beer, though, and it was disgusting."
"He's a bit of a lightweight." Grace comments.
"Alright, enough. Clay, you are grounded." Lainey snaps. "For two weeks, you will go straight to school and come straight home afterwards, no activities, no hanging out with friends—"
"Okay, okay." Matt interrupts, attempting to calm everyone down. "Before we get to the sentencing phase, let's all just sit down to dinner." He then looks to Clay, "You need some food and water in you, and then we can talk about it—"
But he is interrupted by Clay throwing up over the table. Matt cringes, Lainey eyes her son in horror and Grace places a hand over her mouth to refrain from gagging.
"Clay, you are disgusting." She snaps, crossing her arms over her chest angrily.
"What was I supposed to do?" He exclaims at her.
"Swallow it!"
***
Grace listens to the tape once again in her room, when everyone has finally calmed down and gone to sleep.
"The butterfly effect. It started with Justin, then on to you, Alex. And the rest of you. Maybe these tapes will start a new butterfly effect. Who knows? Everything effects everything."
Grace honestly did believe that Alex was one of the good guys. He just got wrapped up with wanting to be popular and hurt Hannah in the process. They've never been close, but Grace did consider him a friend.
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I think I hate this chapter 💀 also lmk if I should actually add in more smut or not because I have no idea how that was!!