"so, i'm thinking of asking out brionna." matt told jamie in gov&econ class. it had been a week since they texted and made up and they've been talking things out and hanging out a lot more since then.
"really?" jamie's face lit up. "matt, that's amazing! you finally realized you like her?"
"i guess." matt said. "but how do i do it? i was going to as chris since he has a lot more experience in dating than i do," he motioned toward jamie. "but i haven't had the chance yet. so i thought, 'why not ask the girl that chris has been dating?'"
"yeah, okay." jamie replied. "what do you need help with?"
"what kind of dates has chris taken you out on that are memorable?"
"um..." jamie thought for a moment. "i mean, he did surprise me with a paintball date once."
"i'm not taking brionna out for paintball. that's not a cute date idea." matt rolled his eyes. jamie scoffed.
"yes it is! have you not seen '10 things i hate abou you?'" she asked. when matt shook his head, jamie gasped.
"no fucking way. i'm showing you that movie later for sure."
"how do you brionna's even watched it? what if she takes me as a loser for taking her out for paintball?"
"matt, i promise you, a lot of her hopeless romantics are stemmed from this movie. it's only everyone's favorite romcom."
"my favorite is 'la la land.'" matt stated. jamie gave him a look.
"how about we make it a double date?" jamie asked. "and i can personally ask brionna how she feels about '10 things i hate about you.'"
"that's not a bad idea." matt nodded thoughtfully. "okay. you ask chris and i'll as bri?"
"yeah." jamie nodded, trying not to let it bother her that he called her 'bri.'
after class, the two walked toward lunch together. they were talking about how they should actually make plans to study for their finals together when brionna approached them.
"hey matt." she smiled and kissed his cheek. jamie watched as the two started talking and catching up on their weekend. she had to see this every day since she and matt started talking again. usually, chris would swoop in and save her, but he texted saying he had to meet with a teacher.
"hi, jamie." brionna added once she and matt had caught up. "how was your weekend?"
"hey, brionna." jamie smiled at her. "mine was good. how was yours?"
"it was okay. now, matt told me you have this idea?" she raised her eyebrows.
"yeah." jamie nodded. "have you watched '10 things i hate about you?'"
"of course i have!" brionna's face lit up. "it's only the best movie in the history of movies."
"thank you!" jamie exclaimed, she made a face as matt to rub it in his face. "see, i told you she's seen it."
"whatever." matt rolled his eyes. "bri, are you aware of the paintball date idea?"
"uh, duh!" brionna's smile widened. "the one where they sneak out of detention, play paintball, and end up kissing? hello, i need that."
"okay, so..." jamie started. "how do you feel about a double date?" she proposed. "you and matt and me and chris."
"i'm listening." brionna nodded eagerly.
"it'd be us versus you guys. and who knows, maybe matt'll surprise you at the end?"
"oh, will he?" brionna looked at matt, who tried looking away with a smile.
"if i tell you, it won't be a surprise." he said.
"ugh, fine." brionna nodded. "i actually really like that idea."
"perfect!" jamie replied, cheerfully; however, she could not help but feel the tiniest bit of dread. she didn't know why, though. brionna was an amazing girl and so perfect for matt. and he seemed to really like her, despite what he told jamie just the other day.
"jamie!" chris' voice echoed from behind them. "i'm so glad i found you." he said, leaning down for a kiss.
"hi, c." jamie smiled into the kiss. "i've missed you."
"i've missed you, too." chris replied, pulling out of the kiss. "hey, matt, brionna." chris nodded to his brother and his almost-girlfriend.
"hi, chris." brionna smiled at him. "did jamie and matt tell you about the double date, yet?" she asked. chris furrowed his eyebrows.
"double date?"
"we came up with it just last period." jamie assured him. "but, brionna is down for it."
"so, i'm sure you're aware of '10 things i hate about you'...." matt began.
"of course i am!" chris cut him off. "only one of the best romcoms of all time."
"see, matt," jamie pointed out. "you were just wrong."
"okay, i get it." matt huffed. "anyway, we just planned a double date where we all go play paintball."
"oh, really?" chris suddenly looked excited. "i'm down!"
"yay!" jamie exclaimed. "okay, i'll text you guys this week about it. but we're planning for friday afternoon."
"that works for me!" brionna grinned. "i have to go meet my friends. i'll see you later, matt." she said, kissing his cheek again. matt returned the gesture and waved her off.
"you guys are cute." jamie told him, a slight edge in her voice that only chris seemed to notice.
"you okay, jamie?" chris asked her. jamie looked at him, confused.
"yeah...why?"
"no reason." he mumbled, looking away. jamie shrugged and the three continued to walk to lunch.
throughout the duration of lunch, chris noticed that jamie seemed a little distracted. she was constantly getting lost in thought and would sometimes look in matt's direction with a wistful expression on her face. chris tried not to let it bother him. he assumed that jamie just missed the friendship that she had with matt. he was glad that the two had started talking again, but it didn't stop him from feeling worried.
he didn't want to lose jamie again.
+ + +
after school on friday, jamie and brionna met chris and matt in the school parking lot. matt was taking the group to the nearest paintball park, just a half hour away.
"i'm so excited." brionna smiled happily. "i've only done this once when i was like, twelve, with my family and it was so much fun."
"i've been with chris." jamie replied. "we went a couple years ago."
"oh, yeah! you guys are back together, right?" brionna asked. jamie nodded. "i'm so glad. matt was really upset while you guys were broken up. somehow your breakup really affected him."
"really?" jamie furrowed her eyebrows. why would matt be upset about her and chris breaking up? she remembered why nick told her about how upset matt became when chris and paris had started dating. matt seemed to really care about her.
"yeah, he cares about you a lot." brionna said, confirming jamie's thoughts. "he didn't like seeing you so upset. i was worried he had a crush on you or something, but i realized that was stupid."
"what?" jamie's eyes widened. matt? having a crush on her? please, he would never do that to chris. but then again, he had kissed her when she asked him to...
"what's the shocked face for?" chris asked, coming from behind jamie to give her a hug.
"nothing." jamie said quickly. "where's matt?"
"he's on his way. just had to pick up something. but," he held up the car keys. "we can wait in the car."
"thank you." brionna sighed. "it's so hot out here."
as the three waited in the car for matt, brionna up front and jamie and chris in the back. jamie couldn't help but think about what brionna said earlier.
'i was worried he had a crush on you or something.'
had matt really cared about her that much? he was the first person to ask if she was okay after her breakup with chris. he was the one who came up with a plan to help jamie get back with chris. why would he help jamie win back his brother if he had a crush on her? unless...
"jamie!" chris exclaimed. "are you good?"
"what?" jamie shook her head, as if to shake away her thoughts.
"you're acting really weird." chris told her. "since monday, actually. is everything okay?"
"oh." jamie cleared her throat. she didn't realize how often she's been spacing out, thinking about matt. "yeah, i'm fine. sorry, i just have a lot on my mind."
"okay, are we ready to go?" matt opened the door to the driver's seat before chris could respond, taking jamie's attention away from him.
"yes, let's go!" jamie grinned. she and brionna exchanged knowing excited smiles as matt pulled out of the parking spot.
the drive was (mostly) uneventful. jamie and brionna were chatting away about romcoms while chris played dominic fike on the aux. sometimes, however, chris would see jamie get distracted by getting lost in thought or scrolling through pictures on her phone, not really talking to anyone. he wanted more than anything to know what was going on and if she was okay. he hoped that it had nothing to do with the fact that she had started talking to matt again.
"alright, we're here." matt said, cheerfully, parking the car. he reached over to the backseat and tapped jamie out of whatever trance she seemed to be in.
"huh?" jamie's eyes shot wide and she sat up. "are we here."
"yeah, we are. everything okay, james?" matt asked her, a lace of concern in his voice. jamie smiled at him and shook her head.
"nope. just a little tired, but it's fine. let's go!" she and brionna got out of the car. chris and matt stayed inside for a moment.
"do you notice it too?" chris asked him. matt grimaced.
"she's a little distracted, right? daydreaming and stuff."
"yeah." chris nodded, relieved that he wasn't the only one who sees that something may be up with jamie.
"i was hoping you knew." matt sighed. "i'll try to talk to her later. unless you want to?"
"i can try." chris let out a deep breath. "c'mon on, let's go." he said before the two brothers got out of the car and followed the girls into the paintball park.
the next hour consisted of chris and jamie absolutely destroying matt and brionna in multiple rounds of paintball. at some point, they decided to switch teams: jamie and brionna vs. chris and matt.
"let's split up." jamie suggested. "that's how me and chris always win. you hunt for matt, i'll hunt chris."
"okay." brionna nodded. "see you on the other side?"
"see you, partner." jamie and brionna fist bumped before splitting up to opposite ends of the course. jamie knew chris' strategies, so it wasn't hard to sneak up on him from behind one of the props and fully blast his shoulder with paint.
"what the fuck?" chris spun around, gasping when he saw jamie's maniacal grin. "jamie!"
"you should know better than to hide, chris!" jamie rolled her eyes, holding out her hand to help him up. just then, they heard a scream from the other side. jamie and chris exchanged a worried glance before they ran toward the noise.
"what the hell, matt? are you serious?" jamie heard brionna yell out from behind another prop. jamie and chris walked over only to see brionna lean in for a kiss right then.
"hello?" jamie cleared her throat. "what's going on here?" she asked, a slight edge to her voice. brionna and matt split apart.
"matt just asked me out!" brionna beamed. "like, officially."
"really?" chris' face lit up as he ran to hug his brother. "congrats, man!"
"did you know about this?" brionna asked jamie, who shook her head.
"not exactly." she tried a smile. "i knew he was planning something for you, though."
"oh my god, this is the best day of my life!" brionna cheered. she seemed to only then notice the paint on chris' shoulder. "holy shit, did we win?"
"what do you mean?" chris looked at matt accusedly. "she shot you?"
"you thought she was the one that screamed?" matt asked. "she got me out of no where!"
"we won!" jamie's smile grew as she and brionna high fived. "we have to do this again sometime."
"it's getting dark out," chris noticed. "we should get going."
"you're right." matt agreed, holding out his hand. "shall we?"
"we shall." brionna giggled, taking his hand and following him back toward the front desk. jamie watched after them, a slight frown evident on her face.
"jamie." chris tapped her shoulder. "are you sure you're okay?"
"i'm fine, chris." jamie smiled at him. "let's go." she grabbed his hand and led him toward matt and brionna. chris tried not to let it bother him, but on the ride back home, he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to a certain thing:
the real reason he ever broke up with jamie in the first place.
maha speaks :)
chris' pov of the breakup next chapter !!