Marty's hard nudge almost made me drop the pizza I was holding. "Jay, I understand that you're dead tired from the trip, but you can at least pretend that you're happy to see us and enjoying our company."
I cast him a shy and apologetic smile. "Sorry," I murmured as I put the pizza back to my plate.
Leslie shoot Marty a glare. "Leave Jay alone, bitch. She just came back two hours ago and you practically dragged her with us right away."
"I just want to be with her coz I missed her," Marty uttered bitterly before shoving the remaining pizza in his mouth.
I slid my arms around Marty's. "And I missed you, too. Sorry if I look unhappy or whatsoever. My brain is just half asleep, I guess," I chuckled.
"Sorry if we disturbed your sleep, Jay," Leslie muttered. "Blame Marty."
"It's okay, really," I assured them. I dozed off right after I arrived this afternoon. After nearly three hours of sleeping, Marty knocked on my door and asked me if I could join him and Leslie for a dinner and movie night.
Marty gazed at me with his serious stare. "You don't really seem exhausted to me. More like, distracted. What's bothering you?"
Sometimes I hate how Marty could easily read me.
"Nothing," I replied, grabbing another pizza slice. I picked the pineapples and dropped them to Leslie's plate. I never liked pineapples on pizzas.
Marty sipped the straw of his Coke really loud, his torturous stare not leaving my face, telling me that he wasn't buying my response.
Leslie scowled in disgust. "God, Marts you're disgusting. Stop that."
He stopped, his judging eyes still fixed on me. "Spill," he said, picking all the pepperoni from my pizza and I frown in protest. "Or I'll annoy you the whole night."
I pouted as he ate the pepperoni with that evil grin on his lips. He really knew how to push me and annoy me.
I pulled my most darling smile, the one that never failed to make my friends soft. "I'm fine, I promise. Just thinking about my mom and home."
Leslie held my hand. "Don't worry too much. She's recovering fast, right? She'll be healthy again soon, I'm sure of it."
"We want to see her, Jay," Marty chimed in. "Maybe this coming weekend? If it's okay to you?"
I beamed at them. "Yeah, of course! Mom will love it. And besides, I'm gonna visit her, too. We can all drive together."
"Road trip!" Leslie chirped excitedly. "I missed doing it with you, guys. Remember when we used to do it during our teenage years?"
Marty chuckled, and I bet all the three of us just had a flashback of our good ole days. Driving around using Leslie's parent's Ford truck, with the Pussycat Dolls and Black Eyed Peas songs booming in the speakers. We'd stop at random diners, trying the menus and shakes and most of the time we'd spent the nights lying on the truck, staring at the black sky and counting the stars.
The good ole days of our youth. That was before life happened to each of us.
Leslie lost both of her parents due to a car accident, while Marty's alcoholic dad kicked him out of their house just after graduation. And then there's me, who had to take care of my sick mother.
Three friends, all in the same boat. Looking after each other.
My emotional visit to the past was interrupted when the waiter placed our shakes on our table. He put my favorite oreo milkshake in front of me, and my lips involuntarily curled to a grin when I remembered Harry and his childish beam after having his first taste of fried Oreos.
The waiter left three shakes and two iced coffees. I looked up at him. "We only ordered three shakes, those aren't ours."
Leslie cleared her throat. "I ordered them," she smiled, then turned to the waiter and gave him a nod. He strode off, and when I glanced at Les she was quite blushing.
"Are we expecting someone?" I asked, a part of my mind thinking that maybe Alex was gonna join us, and he would take Harry. Scratch that. I wasn't just thinking about it, I am actually hoping for it. God this is so messed up.
Leslie checked her phone. "They'll be here any minute now."
"Who?" I asked again.
"Liam and Zayn."
My stomach dropped a little. "Oh," I murmured, then took a sip of my shake. "Wait, you two are close to them now?"
Marty nodded. "Yeah. They're cool. After we visited Zayn's gallery, Liam has been all over Leslie. He fancies her, dunno why."
Leslie glowered at him, and he only laughed. "Because I'm pretty, bitch," she said, then giggled and looked at me. "They're really nice, Jay. And Zayn was a bit worried about you, he wanted to call you but he was too shy and unsure. I'll never understand his low self-esteem. He's too good looking to be that shy."
I tried to wrap my head around what she said. Zayn was worried about me? Why? We didn't even talk properly, just a casual hi and hello and him sharing a bit of himself. Nothing major.
I was about to ask further when Leslie's face brightened like a summer sunshine, and when I followed her gaze, I saw Zayn and Liam walking toward our table with big smiles on their faces.
Liam was in a Spurs jersey and pants, his head covered with a Nike hat. Zayn was wearing a Bob Marley shirt and a pair of ragged pants and leather boots, his eyes still bright behind the wide-framed eyeglasses.
"Hi," Liam smiled, his eyes fixed on Leslie who was now in three shades of red. I pursed my lips to control my giggles while Marty hummed playfully.
"Hi, Jade, it's good to see you," Zayn told me while running his fingers through his long, slightly messy hair, his smile warm.
"Hello," I replied. "Good to see you, too."
Liam looked at me. "Oh, hi Jade!" he exclaimed. He obviously didn't notice me coz his eyes were all over Les. "When did you return?"
"Just this afternoon," I answered. Zayn sat beside me, while Liam took the seat beside Les.
Zayn took his iced coffee. "How's your mom?"
"She's doing great. She's recovering fast."
"That's good to hear. I was worried about you."
"Why?"
"I know it was hard for you. And you drove to Nashville in midnight. If only I knew, I'll drive you there that night."
"Why would you do that?" I asked again, aware that I sound really annoying but I was curious. We just met, and we weren't really close but he was worried about me.
"Because I care for you," he told me shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. "You uh, you seem like a good person."
Marty coughed. But I knew very well that it wasn't just an ordinary cough. I glanced at him and he just gave me a very malicious wink. He went back to his phone, pretending to be busy in texting but I knew damn well that he was eavesdropping.
"Uhm, thanks. That's really nice of you," I told to Zayn. "How's the gallery by the way?"
His eyes lit with passion. "It's doing really well!" he shared excitedly. "I've sold lots of pieces. Most of the clients love the paintings and the photos."
"The photos?" I asked. "The photos on the second floor?"
"Yeah," he confirmed. "Harry's photos are a hit, a huge hit. People dig them. And Harry's really cool."
"Wow," I mumbled. I wasn't even surprised. There's always something in his shots, he has a good eye for photography.
"He dropped some new photos to the gallery earlier. I was surprised to see them all in color. They're still really good, though."
Colored pictures? I thought he liked the black and whites more. Now I'm intrigued, I want to see them.
Liam cleared his throat. "The movie is gonna start in ten minutes. We better move."
All of us agreed. We left the restaurant, strolling around the crowded mall until we reached the movie house. There were already people outside, waiting in line.
As we all stood there, I stared at the movie poster of Furious 7 just beside the entrance, my heart still mourning because of Paul Walker. I sighed deeply, removed my eyes from it and my sight landed to someone's back who was standing near the entrance.
I knew right away why the familiar sensation and heat clawed under my skin.
I clenched my eyes shut, cursing myself. Damn it, Jade. Harry's back could turn you on now? Seriously, what the actual fuck?
"Is that Harry?" Zayn asked beside me. "Oi, H!"
Harry turned his head to us, his face breaking into a smile when he saw Zayn. He was wearing the usual skinny jeans, black shirt, and his signature man-bun. He then noticed me. The gleam in his eyes seemed to fade.
I frowned in my head. Was he unhappy to see me? Got tired of my face perhaps?
My stomach was tied in weird knots when he walked near us, his arms wrapped around a girl's waist. She had red hair and a body like a Victoria's Secret Angel, her round hips swaying seductively as she walked.
"Zayn," Harry smiled, not looking at me. "Gonna watch the movie too?"
"Yeah," Zayn nodded. "I'm with Jade and her friends," he said, and Harry gave me a quick glance and a thin smile before gazing behind Zayn where Liam, Les and Marty were giggling over something I'm not aware of.
"I see," he uttered. He looked at me, but not in the eye. "I haven't seen you around for a while, Jade."
His eyes were innocent, his tone blank and uninterested.
"I was in Nashville," I replied, my voice almost guttural. "My mom went under surgery."
"I'm so sorry about that. How is she?"
"Recovering."
"That's good to hear," he smiled. He looked at Zayn again, and I was somehow pissed. Why won't he look at me properly?
"See you guys around," he said, then went back to the spot where they were standing before, the girl still clinging to him.
I bit my lip. His actions almost made me believe that this wasn't the same guy who spent a week with me in Nashville.
Or maybe, it wasn't really him. The boy who stayed in my grandparent's house was welcoming, radiant, polite and warm.
And treated me like a friend. Talked to me like we knew each other for a long time, like he trusted me.
But now, he seemed cold. Distant.
And done.
Right. Since our agreement ended and my book was already completed, he was obviously done. We parted ways this afternoon, he dropped me at the bus station which was thirty minutes away from my house (I suggested it) so no one would see us returning together. He shook my hand before I went out of his car, and said "It was nice doing business with you. I had a sick time. Thank you." And in that moment, I knew right away that he was talking about our agreement. That it was now over.
And it's how it's supposed to be anyway. Everything went well with the plan. We fucked, I wrote it, and we ended it when I finished the book, and no one knew about it. It stayed between us.
But I admit, I expected us to stay as friends. The proper kind of friends. I loved talking to him, hanging out with him. He's really nice and I know he's a good person.
But clearly, he didn't want us to be friends. We were back as neighbors, just that, nothing more.
And I was really disappointed.
Marty appeared beside me, smashing my thoughts. "Is that Harry? Oh Lord, he's with Sam?"
"Who's Sam?" I inquired, almost irritated.
"The girl with him, the one with red hair. I know her," he exclaimed, then whispered to me. "Remember the tattoo artist in Ink Juice? The famous Ray?"
I nodded. Everyone knows him.
"Sam is his daughter. Sam is only seventeen, Jay. Harry's messing around with a fucking minor."
I gasped silently, my mind trying to process what my friend said. "Seventeen? She didn't look like seventeen," I mumbled, eyeing Sam's breasts that were bigger than mine, her thin waist and round ass. Not to mention she's way taller than me, she's almost as tall as Harry. And she's wearing sneakers! What the hell.
"I always see her in night clubs," Marty added. "It's easy for her to fake her age because she looks older."
"Do you think Harry knows about it?"
"I'm not sure, Jade. But personally, I think he does. Alex told me that Harry got a tattoo after moving here, and it was Ray who did it. They sorta became buddies."
I pursed my lips. "I wonder if Ray knows that his daughter is going out with Harry."
Zayn cleared his throat. "They're probably just friends," he muttered. It didn't shock me that Zayn said that, he's new in this town. It was obvious that he saw Harry as a very cool and good guy. If only he knew.
I stared at Harry and Sam. They didn't look like friends to me. She was all over him and very flirtatious. That's not how friends act.
Oh come on, Jade. You and Harry are friends, right? But what do you guys do?
I swallowed thickly, itching to cuss myself aloud. My inner voice never failed to question my sanity.
Marty let out a deep sigh. "Well, it's clearly not our business, is it?" he said.
The line started to move, so we did, too. We entered the movie house, walking through the faint lights to our seats.
Zayn sat beside me, already handing me the big bucket of popcorn he brought earlier. I never liked popcorn, but I didn't want to be rude. I took some, munched on them, and I almost choked on the goddamn popcorn when I saw Harry and Sam taking the seats in front of us.
They didn't notice us, and it wasn't really surprising. They were talking, giggling and Sam kept on whispering in Harry's ear. I could hear them, but not really. Don't ask me why it's possible, coz I also didn't know. I could hear their voices but the sounds didn't seem to reach my brain because my ears were thumping loudly and it was all I could hear now.
I shoved my hand to the bucket, grabbing a handful of popcorn and placed them in my mouth.
Sam bit Harry's ear. I gasped quietly. Why is this popcorn so fucking salty?
"Whoa there, Jade. The trailers aren't starting yet and your bucket is almost empty," Zayn said, chuckling softly.
I looked at my bucket. Shit. He was right. Since when did I like popcorn?
The trailers started to roll. I sipped my drink, trying to focus on the giant screen but my eyes kept on falling on Harry and Sam. She was playing with his hair, wrapping his curls around his fingers while he was just sitting there, watching the trailers.
I saw Sam's fingers slowly caressing Harry's thighs. She whispered to him again, then kissed his neck, and hold the fuck up did she just licked his neck? Really? Inside the movie house?
Harry grabbed her hands that were almost close to his bulge. He whispered back to her ear, they stood up, then walked away and left.
I shoved my hand back into the bucket to grab the remaining popcorn. The movie started, and I should be excited because I've been looking forward to this movie but all I could feel was how salty the popcorn is inside my mouth.