So lunch has rolled around and Jesse and I are very much keeping our distance from each other.
I.E. We have been avoiding each other like the motherfucking plague because half the paint has been taken off of my car thanks to all the tape. And the side view mirrors on Jesse's car are totalled because of the plastic wrap so it's safe to say that we're not in the best moods.
I sit on one side of the table with Scarlett and Roxy next to me and Jesse sits opposite me with Blake and Jack on his sides, Damon is sitting at the end table, staying neutral.
This is basically what side everybody is on, I've got Roxy and Scarlett and sort of Damon and Jesse has Blake and Jack and sort of Damon. This is because of the shit that went down between Jesse and me yesterday but no one wants to forfeit the table.
Then there's the whole Damon situation. He doesn't want to cut ties with me and also because I'm his fucking twin. But there's also the bro code and he feels like he has a duty to support Jesse so he wants to remain neutral and not take sides.
It is an awkward silence and no one dares to say anything. Except for Roxy, that is.
"Can you guys just get over yourselves?"
"No," we say in sync.
"Ugh, you guys are so similar it's annoying."
"No, we're not," we say in unison once again. Great now we're getting as bad as Roxy and Scarlett.
"Yes, you are."
"No, we're not." Same time again, we are officially as bad as Roxy and Scarlett.
"Really?"
"Yes." We're worse than Roxy and Scarlett.
"You sure about that?"
"Very." So, so, so much worse than Roxy and Scarlett.
"Stop!" We scream at each other. "No, you stop. Shut up! Ugh."
"I rest my case." That smug bitch.
"Fuck off." This is worse than getting into it I swear to god.
"Shut the hell up," he says.
"Make me," I growl. And he does, by shoving his half eaten burrito in my mouth.
I immediately spit it out. "Ew! You're vegan?"
"Vegetarian, actually."
"Gross."
"Better than eating animals."
"Yeah well, you're stealing my oxygen by eating plants."
"See if I care!"
"Oh, you sure will!"
"I'd like to see you try." Before anyone can stop me my hands go to my food and I throw it at him. Sloppy joe again, this school is so unoriginal. Then he picks up the burrito again and chucks it at me. Now the contents of said burrito are down my t-shirt thanks to the triangle shaped cutout. Great.
"Son of a-" Cue the cheesy fries in my face. I take Scarlett's disgusting chicken curry in my hand but Jack speaks up.
"KT, you shouldn't get even more into this than you already are." He has so much sincerity in his eyes I lower the food but then Roxy takes it from me and throws in at Jesse.
"What the fuck, Roxy?" Great, we're back to the possessed dolls act.
"I was bored, plus I want another food fight, they're so much fun."
"They're not fun," Damon says to her. "And there's not going to be one." he looks at me.
And I don't intend to make it a thing but then I feel something smeared on my cheek. Ketchup and Mustard from Blake's hot dog, "Blake?"
"Will you go out with me?"
"No! Why would you even ask that? You don't even like me?" I get that it's our thing that he asks me this constantly but all sanity is gone from me because of how angry I am.
"That may be true but it may be not true also." I ignore his bad grammar.
"Right. But why did you ask that?"
"So, I'd have an excuse to do this." Cue the chilli fries to my chest.
"Great, now there's a food orgy in my cleavage." That's annoying.
"FOOD FIGHT!!!" Blake and Roxy yell.
Well, that's just splendid.
I immediately run to the empty table next to us and flip it to create a sort of barrier from the food while Blake and Roxy are having the time of their lives.
Soon Jack joins me, he hasn't made anything awkward - in fact, neither of us have even mentioned the kiss.
See - I'm so far in the friend zone that this shit doesn't even need to be discussed.
"You let this get way out of hand," Jack says to me.
"It's not like I meant to," I defend.
"I know." He grins.
"Okay then. But you know how far Jesse will take this."
"I know, but we'll go with it." I smile at him and he grins back.
"Hello, lovebirds." Suddenly soup is poured on our heads.
"Jesse!" Jack shouts.
I try to shake the sloppy, green mess off of myself but it doesn't seem to work. "Fucking jerk."
"Aw, is little KT going to cry?" Jesse makes a crying action and I scoff.
"Shut the hell up!" Thanks to Jack and his helpful comebacks.
"Aw, did I interrupt the honeymoon?" Jesse says with false guilt.
"What fucking honeymoon? Move along, asshole," I tell him sternly.
He turns to Jack. "Trouble in paradise?"
"Shut the fuck up, man!" Jack yells at him again.
"Make me."
"Okay." And with that, I slap him in the face, lightly. I swear I did actually slap him lightly but it may have hurt. What can I say? I wear a lot of rings.
But before I can even think about what's happening his fist flies to my face and I drop my jaw and stumble back as a gasp is heard from every single person in the cafeteria. I end up leaning against a table for support as my hand flies to my head. That boy has a strong punch.
"What the fuck?" Damon shouts, coming forward to join in on our conversation.
"Dude, what the hell was that?" Jack asks with anger in every word he speaks.
"I-I don't know..." he trails off in confusion. "Are you okay, Fox?"
I don't say anything, my face is still to the side with my jaw practically on the ground. My head is throbbing and I don't know what to think.
"KT?" Jesse asks like nothing was wrong.
Steadily, I push myself up and step forward slowly. I can feel a headache coming on. "Why are you acting like this is such a big deal? I got hit. I can take a fucking hit. It's to be expected, I threw the first punch. It's only fair. But, right now I'm just going to go." I start to walk through the cafeteria before Jack comes up beside me and has an arm around my waist and puts my arm around his shoulder.
But he's not holding my wrist. He's holding my hand. Oh my god, is Roxy right? Does Jack like me?
Forget it. I knew if Roxy told me something like this I would read into things unnecessarily. And now's not the time to fangirl. It's time to think about why the hell Jesse is standing to my right.
"Fox, look... I don't know why I did that. It was just reflexes I swear. I would never hurt you... intentionally. And-"
"Jesse?" I interrupt him lazily.
"Yeah?" He says with guilt showing everywhere on his face.
"Shut up, you're giving me a headache." I bring my free hand up to my face as Jack and I keep walking.
"There's no need to get all hostile," he says as he appears to get angry.
"Suck a fucking bag of dicks, Dexter," I mutter as I leave the cafeteria.
As we're leaving Damon appears at my side, replacing where Jesse once stood. "That was not fucking right," Damon mutters while we're walking through the hallways.
"It was a fucking low blow," Jack adds.
"Guys, it's fine. To be honest, I just want to leave and get out of these clothes," I say to them.
"Can I help?" Jack asks with a wink and a cheeky smile.
"No," answers Damon.
"Worth a shot," he says to himself.
"No, it wasn't," I say to him as I laugh.
"True," both of them say.
Just as we are about to exit a voice stops us.
"Katrina Fox. My office. Now."
Principal Johnson. Yay.
"Run," I mutter and we make a break for it. When we reach the parking lot I start to feel light headed. Jack makes sure I'm alright before decides he has to go back. But honestly, he's going a little overkill on helping me. I appreciate it but it seems a bit much. Unless he's trying to impress me because he likes me.
No, it's definitely not that. Fuck you, Roxy, for putting these unrealistic thoughts in my head.
"I've got that AP English test." Jack brings me back to reality. Drifted off a bit there.
"Good luck," I say with a smile. I've been doing that a lot lately.
"It's all good, I'm gonna go now," he smiles and heads back to school.
"You like him, don't you?" Damon asks.
"What?" I look up at him.
"I have never seen you that smiley because of being around a person."
I blush for what seems to be the first time since California. That's a lie. Jack has definitely made me blush before. "No, I just... I-I mean, like um... it's that..." I struggle to find my words. I can't really explain why I'm like that around Jack. I'm not sure whether it's that I'm looking for someone to give me hope in relationships again, or whether it's that I just like him a lot more than I think.
I was never like this with him before I went to California but a lot changes in a year. I was a naïve sixteen-year-old when I left and I'm a naïve seventeen-year-old now. So much change.
But in all seriousness, I changed in California. My perspective changed thanks to the events in California. I am not the same person I was when I left. And I will never be that person again.
Fuck that. All this deep thinking is making my head hurt.
"Get your words out, Katrina," he scolds.
"Well, he's my friend and I was wishing him luck in his test." Please take it, Damon, please take it.
"I don't believe you. But I'm not going to pry, so let's stop thinking about this and have some much-needed twin time."
"Twin time?" I ask sceptically.
"Yes, twin time. Because I have missed you and we haven't spent any quality time together in a year so I think you owe it to me."
"I owe it to you?"
"Yes."
"Then let's do it!" I say eagerly. It's true, Damon and I haven't had that much time to hang out because of other things going on in our lives but it's hard to get back into the swing of things after a year. But we had such a good relationship before I left and I have missed it. You wouldn't understand - it's a twin thing.
+++
Before I know it I'm in my pillow fort at one end of the living room and I'm sorting through my weaponry. My head cheek has been iced, I've taken an aspirin, and Damon and I have gone to battle.
Damon is at the other end of the living room in his fort, undoubtedly doing the same thing. You can guess what we're doing.
We're having a war.
With nerf guns.
I'm going to crush him like a bug.
I take the big gun with the circular green ammunition and an orange pistol with those crappy foam bullets as my weapons at first.
"You ready?" I call from behind my fort.
"Better believe it, baby."
"CHARGE!!!" We scream as we leap out from behind our forts and run into no man's land.
I'm hit with as many bullets as I'm firing with, and no, I'm not holding the gun backwards.
I jump behind the cushionless sofa to have time to reload and get my shit together.
Another sea of bullets is fired as more shouts are heard and the battle all ends with me and Damon lying in a heap of pillows and ammo all over the floor.
"That was fun," Damon says, standing up.
"Yeah, it made me feel like we were kids again," I reminisce and sit up.
"We are kids! But it does feel kinda weird without Skylar and Cleo."
"Why so you don't have Cleo to blame when you inevitably lose to me and Skylar. Like you did today."
"What are you talking about? I won," Damon states.
"No, you didn't, I won."
"No, you didn't," he tries to defend.
"Yes, I did," I correct him.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"No."
"Yes."
"Thank you!" Works every time.
"Oi! You cheated." He and Roxy are really alike, it's creepy.
"What are you going to do about it?"
"Challenge you to a race!" He says giddily.
"Race to where?" I ask, curious.
"The ice cream parlour. Whoever loses has to pay."
"Seems reasonable."
"Ready?" I nod. "After three."
"Okay, 3." I run out the door before he has a chance to react.
"Oi! You cheated!" He shouts as he runs behind me.
"What are you going to do about it?" Déjà vu, anyone?
"Beat you!"
"We'll see about that!"
I make a break for the stairs while Damon frantically presses the button to the elevator. Wrong move, brother.
As I rush down the stairs I make an effort to stop by every floor and call the elevator to hold up Damon. After this, I make it out of the building and know that Damon hasn't come out of the building yet so I hop in my car and speed down the road.
I reach the ice cream parlour in minutes but Damon became hot on my tail with his damned motorcycle.
I literally dive into the store with Damon hot on my heels but I beat him (as always). "Mango sorbet, please!" I say in a sickly sweet voice.
"Yeah, I know. It's been a year and it's still your favourite."
So maybe I haven't changed that much...
After we've ordered we sit down outside and start eating our ice creams.
"I mean, I said I wouldn't pry. But, tell me about you and Jack."
"Damon," I warn. I know how it's going to go. He's going to go all 'overprotective brother'.
"No, KT. I'm serious. I'm sorry. I haven't done this brother thing right. I should prevent you from dating the wrong guys. Not from dating entirely. So now we're going to start this dating business afresh. Tell me about you and Jack." He leans back in his chair and eats his chocolate ice cream looking at me with anticipation. I look into his eyes, expecting there to be a catch. But all I see is sincerity.
"Where do I begin? I mean... freshman year he definitely caught my eye and then... no, I can't. This is too weird. I can't talk about guys with you." I cringe and sink back in my seat.
"Yes, you can. Now come on. Talk about it. I only want to hear about it so I can guide you. But please leave out details. All I need is an outline of the relationship, just a rough idea."
"Okay. well freshman year: he was good-looking. Sophomore year I liked him. But he had started being a player and was flirting with every girl out there so I got over him. Junior year I was in California and had a boyfriend, clearly. And now, senior year. We kissed. But it's not like anything will stem from it. He's a player and he doesn't like me. It wasn't even him who kissed me. I kissed him. He probably wants to move on and never think about it as he hasn't mentioned it."
"He has mentioned it. Just not to you," Damon says like it isn't the biggest bombshell ever.
"And?" I ask eagerly.
"Hey, I can't tell you!" He defends.
"Why not?!" I plead.
"Bro code," he shrugs. Ugh, men. I sigh.
"Anyway - you like him. And you have for a long time."
"Not entirely."
"Yes, entirely. But I'm not here to argue. I'm here to train you. You're going to be dating Jack."
"We're not going to be dating anytime soon," I huff, low-key annoyed that Jack doesn't like me.
"You will," he winks. "Eventually." I swear guys at my school have a fetish for that word.
So I just ask you of one thing of you: please don't invest more in the relationship than he does. Please, because that's what drives him away. He doesn't like clinginess. But he does want to feel needed. So don't shy away completely but don't act like one of those whores he's been with before."
"You just coached me on dating Jack... does he like me?"
He nods as he says, "bro code." Mixed signals much?!
"Wait, does that mean..." It can't mean what I think it does. Damon would never. "You'd be okay with it?"
"Yes, because he knows what would happen if he broke you." I grin as we walk back to our vehicles.
Damon would never be this chill talking about a future relationship unless he knew that Jack actually liked me, hell he even gave me tips on how to prolong the relationship. Just for once, things might be looking up in my life.
"I love you." I wrap an arm around his waist.
"Love you too." He smiles at me and kisses my forehead.
Wow, I didn't realise I actually missed Damon until now. Is that bad?
+++
Vote and comment if you liked it!!! I will reply and I'll love you forever
So coffee lovers.
Although this chapter is really lighthearted it was really emotional for me because I was tempted to cover some really heavy stuff but decided that it wasn't the right time for KT to come forward and think about it too much yet and idk I just hope you liked the chapter tbh.
Vote and comment if you liked it!!!
3.4K reads omg! I'm actually so happy about all of this though. It just makes my week.
But you see how KT changes around Jack now? You might not see it too much now but I do and it just make me so happy because of what happened in her past but you don't feel that way yet but you will when I get to it.
Please tell me what you think of the book so far and tell me what kind of moments are your favourites eg. pranks with Scarlett and Roxy, 'getting in to it' with Jesse, like cute moments with Jack or something like that, please tell me!!!!!!!!!
Also, if you have any questions about absolutely anything then please do ask, I am happy to answer them :)
On that note,
Ciao, coffee lovers!!!!!
Teaser: There will be a lot of Jesse...............