Chapter 19: Grip My Hips And Make Me Scream
((Playlist: My First Kiss by 3Oh!3 feat. Ke$ha))
Lys slammed her hands down on the table, making Jonah, Sophie, and Mikayla jump.
"YOU KISSED JACKSON?!" She yelled in a shrill voice over the lunch table.
Sophie's cheeks reddened. "Geez, not so loud!"
"Oh my God. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Lys was smiling so widely her cheeks could have split. "Tell me everything."
Mikayla wiped her nose on a tissue. "Looks like I missed a lot."
"Oh, you did." Lys eagerly waited for Sophie to talk. Sophie sighed and told her friends everything- the creepy Burger Barn, the apartment building, the toast, the bonfire, and finally the kiss. There were a lot of happy squealing from Lys, surprised looks from Mikayla, and slightly frightened looks from Jonah (though the fright was from Lys's frequent, fangirlish outbursts).
"Holy damn, that is adorable," Mikayla grinned. "So how was it? Amazing? Awful? Life-changing?"
Sophie laughed. "It was definitely nice. Awesome, actually." She blushed just thinking about it.
"Aww, you two are so cute together," Lys remarked, reaching over and patting Sophie's arm. "I better be best maid at your wedding."
Mikayla took a sip of her tea - which was some herbal concoction so pungent smelling it was almost offensive (however, it was supposed to help relieve cold symptoms). "I think the term you're looking for is maid of honor."
Jonah seemed to snap out of his reverie. "Wait - who's getting married?"
"Sophie and Jackson," Mikayla said, her forehead crinkling a little in thought. "I'm surprised you're a thing though. Didn't think he'd be that into you."
"Gee, thanks for having faith in me, Mikayla," Sophie replied.
"No, I mean, people say he's such a fuckboy sometimes that I don't know why he chose you, in your solid morals and such."
Lys rolled her eyes. "You're not the only one here who can get a guy, Mikayla."
Even to Sophie, her words sounded a little barbed. Sure, Mikayla was known for her boyfriend-related drama, and notorious for spilling the tea on other's relationships as well as her own - of which there had been several, dating back to eighth grade. Considering that she was probably the conventionally beautiful out of their little friend group, it was only logical. However, she'd never purposely say anything to slight her friends on their lack of romantic activity.
Mikayla shrugged her remark aside, sipping her tea. "And you have room to talk, Lys? You've been single for what - sixteen years now?"
"Seventeen in a month," Lys joked lightly, "For some reason, no one's ever wanted any of this," she added, gesturing to herself vaguely.
Mikayla rolled her eyes in turn. "Gee, wonder why."
Lys scowled at Mikayla. "What are you saying?"
Mikayla just shrugged and sipped her tea again.
Lys stared at her for a minute. The table simmered, quiet with tension. Finally, Jonah cleared his throat and said, "well, good for you, Soph. Proud of you."
"Uh, thanks," Sophie said distractedly, still watching Lys and Mikayla ignore each other.
Finally, Lys looked back at Sophie and said, "so are you guys, like, a thing now?"
Sophie opened her mouth, then closed it. Is Jackson technically my boyfriend now? We kissed, but does that make it official? "I don't know. I don't see why not, I suppose."
"You guys should overthrow Holly and Samuel to become the new power couple of the school," Lys told her with an excited grin.
"Maybe." Sophie pulled out her phone and sent a message to Jackson before she could think better of it: -I have a weird question.-
He responded back a minute later: -exactly how weird we talking? ;)-
-ehh, not THAT weird. It's more like... Im not sure how to ask.-
"Are you texting Jackson?" Lys piped up. "Awww."
Sophie rolled her eyes playfully as Jackson responded. -what is it?-
-does you kissing me mean we're a couple?-
It took Jackson a few minutes to respond. Sophie grew nervous as she waited for her phone to buzz. At last, is did.
-why yes, Soph, I suppose it does :)-
Sophie smiled to herself, unable to fight back her grin as she typed back a quick smiley face and stuck her phone back in her pocket. I can't believe it. He likes me. He actually likes me. We're dating. We're together now. Her mind could barely wrap itself around the idea.
Sophie snapped out of her reverie and looked at her friend across the table, who was smirking. "What?"
"Don't 'what' me," Lys teased, "That is the smile of a girl who's got a boyfriend."
Sophie's jaw dropped. "Oh my God. I have a boyfriend."
Lys laughed. "Congratulations."
Mikayla, who'd been largely quiet up until this point, cracked a smile. "Great. I guess I'll just have to find other men to fantasize about," she joked with a playful sigh.
Across the table, Lys snorted. "I bet you'll have no trouble with that."
This time, it was Mikayla's turn to be giving the irked look. Sophie watched their stare-down awkwardly, but didn't say anything. It was Jonah who spoke up, again.
"Well, moving on," he said, trying to gloss over the awkwardness, "Lys, it turns out the rehearsal I was supposed to go to next Friday got cancelled - the concertmaster contracted some weird disease while he was in Brazil, apparently... it's a long story. But I can go see that movie with you guys now though."
Lys broke eyes with Mikayla and turned to Jonah, grinning. "Awesome." She glanced over at Sophie. "Hey Soph, are we all going to fit in your boyfriend's car?"
Sophie shrugged. "Of course. The Hussy of Albuquerque could fit half an orphanage."
"The what?"
Sophie grinned sheepishly. "It's a long story."
Mikayla looked at them, confused. "What are you going to see?"
"Star Wars," Lys said.
"Do you even like Star Wars?"
Lys eyed her very seriously. "Jar Jar Binks is my spirit animal."
"I've never seen Star Wars," Jonah piped up.
Lys gasped in mock offense. "No. You, a member of the male race, has never seen Star Wars?"
"Jackson hasn't watched any of those movies either." Sophie shook her head. "I can't believe it."
Jonah shrugged. "Sorry, I haven't. It can't be too hard to catch on to, though. I'll get through the movie just fine."
"If you say so," Lys said.
Sophie spoke up excitedly and blurted out before she could stop herself, "this is going to be an awesome double date."
Lys froze. Her eyes bored into Sophie with an 'oh my God I cannot believe you just said that' look while her face turned red.
Jonah glanced at the two. "Double date?"
"It's, er, just an expression," Lys said, trying and failing to control her blush. "I mean, it doesn't really have to be a date..."
"Nah, I'm cool with that." Jonah nonchalantly shrugged.
Lys twirled a strand of her hair nervously, still wearing a look of mortal terror on her face. She said nothing, probably too busy blushing.
Mikayla glances around at the people at the table, obviously confused. "Did I miss something while I was gone?"
"Actually, you missed everything," Sophie laughed, trying to relieve some of the tension.
"Well," she muttered, grinning at Lys and Jonah slyly, "Amazing things how fast things happen in a few weeks. Have fun on your date."
((A/N: Happy Friday everyone! We've got a new chapter here for you! Sorry if it seems like not much is happening, but we need the build-up for our next chapter *rubs palms together evilly*. If you didn't already, please pound the little star button and also leave a comment or two! Thank you so much for your continued support guys! -A))