ᴊᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏɴᴅ ʙᴏʏ
"James! What are you doing here?" Aunt Tracy grinned, bringing the neighbor boy into a hug.
"Came to abduct this one. Bring her back home." James responded, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me closer to him. "Where she belongs." he added, gazing back into my eyes a little too long.
"Oh, great! I'll help you with that." Tracy laughed. I assumed it'd been a long time since they'd seen each other since we fought and I left.
"Nice to see ya, kid." my uncle snorted, tugging on a strand of James' hair that'd grown out a lot.
Suddenly, I felt an arm loop around my shoulders. I looked over to see Hayden smiling at my aunt and uncle. "Hey guys."
"Oh, Hayden!" Tracy pulled her away from my side to bring her into a hug.
"Hayden's coming with us." I commented, just as another arm landed over my shoulders. This time it was Lars.
"Oh, hey Lars." I grinned, putting my arm around his waist. My uncles eyes landed on him a second later, then he held his hand out for him to shake. "You gonna throw another tennis ball at my head?"
Lars chuckled nervously, shaking Taylor's hand. "No sir."
James cleared his throat dramatically. I looked over to see him tapping his foot on the ground with his arms crossed, looking anywhere but at me, making it obvious that he needed my attention as if he was a puppy.
I introduced Lars to James, but he didn't seem too fond of the Dane. He certainly noticed the Motörhead shirt and the drum sticks in his back pocket though.
After my aunt and uncle finished fawning over Hayden, James noticed her. I didn't miss the way his eyes scanned over every inch of her, lingering over her chest. Now that I think about it, she does look a lot different than before. By now she'd of course grown a set of breasts and her curves had become more defined after puberty in junior high.
"Hey, Hayden." A grin slowly grew on James' face. She turned to face him, eventually mirroring his grin when she saw his own.
Oh god.
I'm not jealous.
Although I'd been tuning out their cheesy conversation, I must've burnt holes with my stare at their quick shift in body language.
I shook my head, darting my eyes away just before James' gaze landed on me and his brows furrowed.
"Can we go?" I asked, growing tired of standing in the courtyard of my school.
"Yep!" my aunt chirped, snapping herself out of whatever conversation she was in with Taylor and Lars.
As we walked to the car, James sped up to walk beside me. "You really gotta fix that natural scowl, Junior." he nudged my shoulder a little too hard, knocking me off balance a bit.
"Why do you always call me Junior?" I grumbled, "you're not even that much older than me."
He shrugged. "I'm still older. So that makes me Senior, and you, Junior." he offered me a lazy smile.
"Yeah okay, Hetfield." I mocked in a deep voice.
"Don't call me Hetfield, Miss Whitlock." he repeated in an almost demanding tone, tugging me closer to his side.
"Then don't call me Miss Whitlock." I shot back, poking his side with my index finger.
He scoffed amusingly, tipping his head back a bit before looking back at me.
"Would Mrs. Hetfield make you happier?"
While my cheeks lit up brighter than the sun, Hayden laughed a little too loud at his joke, almost as if she was subtly saying 'yeah, right.' The three others must've heard it too as they chuckled along with her.
"I hate you. All of you." I shook my head frustratedly as we made it to my uncle's car.
~
"Ow, Lars!" I hissed, putting my hand up to my forehead where he hit me with his spinning drum stick.
James snorted, looking between us from the other side of the booth. "You take those with you everywhere?"
I answered before Lars could even deny it. "Yes, and somehow he always manages to hit me in the head with them."
"Welcome to the club," my uncle added through a mouthful of food. I threw my head back in laughter as Lars sunk deeper into his seat, taking the sticks with him.
I tuned out their conversation as best as I could as they went on to talk about their favorite bands and they seemed to have hit it off pretty well. I wasn't sure they would, at first.
Hayden returned from the restroom, wiping her hands on her jeans and pointing her thumb over her shoulder. "They got a jukebox over there!" she grinned.
"Oh, yeah?" I chuckled, peeking over the booth behind me to see. There was in fact a bright colored jukebox in the corner of the restaurant.
"Let's go see what they have on there." she beckoned me over eagerly, to which I waved her off dismissively. I wasn't in the mood to dance, which Hayden would definitely be doing... until James stood and offered to join her.
My jaw nearly dropped. That was the most un-James thing I'd ever seen him do. Dancing wasn't typically his thing, or so I thought.
They left to the jukebox, and a moment later, Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond started playing.
Of course she had to choose fucking Neil Diamond.
Suddenly I was pouting just like Lars was a few minutes ago. Tracy and Taylor had joined the two while Lars sat with me, laughing his ass off.
Touchin' hands...
Reachin' out...
And of course, when I looked up again, Hayden and James were hand in hand spinning each other around like it was the school dance of 1969.
I'm still not jealous.
God, I hate this song.
Touchin' me, touching you...
And a moment after the chorus began, James appeared in front of me, leaning on the table with his face a little too close to mine as he caught his breath from dancing.
"Hey." he breathed. "As hilarious as it is seeing your aunt do the twist, I'm already getting paranoia from Neil Diamond's voice."
I looked up at him and raised a single eyebrow, waiting to hear his point.
"And I still hate your musical taste, but compared to Hayden's, yours is heavenly."
I blinked at him.
I didn't miss his eye roll as he sighed and reached into his pocket before leaving again. My gaze followed him to the jukebox where Neil Diamond was replaced by the sound of quarters going into the machine.
And if this afternoon couldn't get any weirder, Elvis Presley begins playing, and James spins to face me, holding his hand out as he approaches me.
Lord almighty, feel my temperature risin'...
"May I have this dance?" he asked, gracefully offering me his hand.
I bit my cheek to hold back a smile until he beckoned me over with two fingers, and I rolled my eyes before standing up and letting him drag me toward the rest of them.
My eyes connected with Hayden's for a moment until hers darted to James and I's interlocked fingers. She cleared her throat and backed away.
I thought I'd finally gotten what I never realized I wanted so badly— James' attention— until it reverted back to Hayden.
Girl, girl, girl, you're gonna set me on fire...
"Where you goin', Hay?" he glanced at her over his shoulder and I eventually felt as if I was dancing with a rope as he stopped swaying and his hands fell from mine.
Oh, god... he already has a nickname for her? That's supposed to be my thing!
"Uh, bathroom... again..." she glanced at me before running off to the ladies room again.
Your kisses lift me higher...
Like the sweet song of a choir...
James shrugged, looking back at me and grabbing my hands again, spinning me around and dipping me with his arm supporting my back. It felt like the world slowed down as his hair acted as a curtain to hide our faces and our eyes locked. Elvis's voice had turned into distorted, warpy nothingness.
He stared into my eyes for a moment until his eyebrows furrowed and he stood up straight, bringing me with him. I chuckled nervously, fully aware of the sudden awkward tension.
"Uh, I also have to use the bathroom."
It was the perfect excuse to get away from the awkward situation and see why Hayden had stormed off.
I caught a glimpse of James' shoulders slumping in disappointment before he turned away, locking eyes with Lars who quickly widened his eyes and shook his head 'no'.
I opened the door to the women's restroom and Hayden whirled around to face me, leaning against the sink. "Jesus, took you long enough..." she said as if she was expecting me.
"Are you okay?" I knit my brows together as I referred to her sudden quietness.
"Are you?" she repeated, holding eye contact with me as I approached her. "You've been glaring at me and James all day, what's that about?"
I froze. "Uh— nothing.. it's just a little strange to see you two so close after not seeing one another in so long... I guess..." I shrugged. "Plus, you two never really spoke before."
She eyed me up and down. I swallowed thickly, anticipating her response.
She said nothing, only turned to face the mirror and look at herself aimlessly.
"What?" I asked as I felt the anxiety bubble up inside from her silence.
"Nothing, it's just weird how much you care." she shrugged, glancing at me in the mirror as I stood behind her. "It's almost like you have a little crush on him."
I could see her fighting back an amused grin by the way her dimples showed and her eyes squinted ever so slightly. I smacked her on the arm.
"No, I don't! Why? Why— how? That wouldn't even make sense. No, I hate James."
She raised her eyebrows and squinted at me. "Sureee..."
I looked her in the eye. "Hayden, I swear I don't have a crush on him. You know I suck at lying anyway, you'd see right through me if I did."
"I do see right through you. I know you like him, June." she stared right back into my eyes, causing me to swallow thickly.
"Look me in the eye, and swear you don't have a crush on James." she held intense eye contact with me, as if we were in a staring contest.
"I just did." I scoffed.
"One more time, for confirmation." she shrugged, not backing down.
I sighed, stepping forward and staring into her jade eyes.
"I do not have a crush on James. Our friendship is purely platonic." I almost didn't believe my own words, and I couldn't deny the disappointment I felt as I said them aloud.
"Okay," she finally dropped eye contact, sighing softly.
"So you wouldn't mind if he and I..."
No fucking way. My eyes widened into saucers.
Yes, I would fucking mind, Hayden.
"Oh, no... not at all." I chuckled nervously, glancing at myself in the mirror just to be sure my face wasn't beet red. Thanks to the light makeup I applied — which certainly wasn't since James was around — it covered any red tint that might've shown. "No, that's okay. You—"
I cut myself off abruptly, swallowing thickly. She raised a single eyebrow, silently encouraging me to continue.
"You'd look good together." I forced out. The words felt like vomit coming out of my mouth, and they absolutely weren't honest.
I saw her shoulders relax. "Oh," she chuckled softly. "I don't know if we'd ever be together-together, I just meant, like..." she trailed off, saving me from fainting. I knew I would in a second if she said the words.
"Oh— yeah, no, I don't care at all. Ju—" I paused. "Just don't let him steal you from me." I smiled tightly.
She laughed at that.
"Impossible. Let's get outta here." she sighed, looping her arm around my shoulders as we left the bathroom.
Tracy greeted us as they returned to the table from the jukebox, and us from the bathroom. "Oh, we were just about to order dessert."
Hayden licked her lips and grabbed the dessert menu while I held my hand to my stomach. "I'm not sure, that burger filled me up..." I gave her a tight smile. I was lying at first, but when James furrowed his brows at my odd behavior, my stomach felt like the darkest corners of hell and Satan was throwing my digested french fries into a pit of acid.
"Aw," my aunt began, I bit my cheek hard enough to the point it might draw blood and brought my hand up to my mouth, nodding at whatever the hell she was saying.
"Yeah, I'm sorry... I think I might just take a walk back to campus." I smiled apologetically at everyone, my glance at Lars lingering a moment as the look on his face silently begged me not to leave him there.
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possible double update tonight!!