WOW, it has been a very long time since I last uploaded a new chapter. I have actually been sitting on this chapter for the last eight months, trying to see what I wanted to do with the story. I definitely will be wrapping up the life of Michael and the gang, but I still have a few ideas up my sleeve I think. I hope you all enjoy after such a long hiatus!!
I don't know when it became normal for my parents to let their underage son stay out later than midnight with my underage boyfriend during a school night in a town with probable violence towards the gays, yet here I am. Maybe they trust me, maybe they know my head has been spinning around since the whole Paul escapade a few weeks ago, or maybe because I'm turning eighteen soon they just don't really mind.
I haven't been sleeping much, so getting out somewhat helps me pass out just before school starts. Brad offered me his old sleeping pills, but the last thing I want to be is a junkie before school ends. I sleep better when I'm with Reese, but there is no way in hell my parents will be okay with having my boyfriend spending the night (which is less threatening than this activity now, in my opinion).
He looks me over and notices I'm getting drowsy. "Perfect, I can take you home."
"Wow, you really can't wait to be rid of me can you" I say mockingly, because I know it's the opposite. He's actually been by my side almost every day since Paul let me have it.
"Next is under the bridge, then I'll be rid of you forever." He says while he sends a wink my way.
As I chuckle a little bit, he turns his car around to head to my house. How he willingly comes out here on his own will with me is astounding. We haven't even had sex yet so I can't even say it's because I have it like that, so maybe he's weird and actually enjoys this or he's trying to win brownie points to get some soon (he's hinted at sex, but is never pushy about it). He kind of deserves it regardless, he's been so amazing to me.
Even when the gang assured me Paul couldn't come near me at school, I was still scared to leave the house originally. But Reese was always there to walk me to class with them all and drive me home and stay with me when I felt/was alone, and he never felt like I was an inconvenience. He was genuinely concerned and I could see it on his face when he looked at me. I smile to myself when I think about how I kiss him when I see that face I've been trying to avoid in plain sight, in this not big enough town.
I don't know what street we're on since I'm mid-text to Caroline about her prom dress ideas (she has good taste but all her tastes don't look right on her), but I look up and I clearly see Paul sitting on an old bench in the middle of the night not doing much of anything. Seeing his face fills me with fear for a second, and I'm grabbing on to parts of the car to keep myself from getting hurt even though he has no idea what car Reese drives. Reese doesn't say anything as I do this, because I've done it repeatedly when I'm with him and I see Paul.
I think the best part of Reese is that he doesn't judge me. He literally asked me out the day this whole thing happened and he didn't take it back; he didn't run away. He totally could have (and should have), but here he is, making sure I can go to sleep in time for school in the morning even though he has a French quiz to study for. He's too good for me, and I thank the universe he chose me, for whatever reason. I'm definitely falling in love with him, if I'm not already there.
After the freak out, I think about the events that led Paul to that situation. His family, his secret journal, his cousin telling the family, humiliation, his parent's disowning him and taking everything from him, including his room at his house. His parent's decided to stay in town, but Paul has been ex-communicated by them and the whole town has been made aware of that. If my mom wasn't so fearful and angry of him she probably would have moved him into our spare room in the basement. My dad still wants to kill him (his reason for not doing it sooner is because Caroline told him she took care of it, which I believe and don't want further details for). Someone should help him, but it can't be me anymore..
I must have zoned out by a lot because when I re-center, I'm already in my driveway. I pull my seatbelt out and get out of the car, knowing Reese is going to walk me to my door (such gentlemanship). I grab my bag from his backseat and we make our way to the front door.
"You know you can say no to picking me up at night, right? You have a quiz in the morning." I say just as we reach the door.
"I know, but I'm good at French, so you don't have to worry." He says, reassuringly.
"That's true, it's me that's language deficient. I've been in Spanish for three years and I still can't properly have a conversation."
"Lo siento, mi amor. " He says with a smile.
"Screw you, I understood that. At least I'm not a total lost cause."
"You're a lost cause that I'm in love with." He says as he squeezes my hand. Wow, he basically just said he loves me. I knew he would be the one to say it first and not because I don't, because I'm pretty sure I do love him too, he's so much better with his feelings than I am. He won't deny himself pain or pleasure, and everything in between.
Clearly I'm smiling like a clown trying to look scary, but him saying that made me feel a lot better. Even though I always felt safe in his care, it feels just a bit stronger, a bit more reassuring, and a bit more natural than it would have felt twenty seconds ago. I give him a kiss that feels like a gust of wind in my opinion, but is just as sweet as our regular ones.
"I love you too." I say, because I feel confident that I mean it now. It's his turn to smile like a little girl now. What luck. "Now get out of here and study before I take it back." He starts to slowly back away as if I'm a pouncing Tiger, but not before he kisses me again. I giggle and watch him go back to his car, and I unlock my door and go inside.
When I walk inside the hallway and kitchen lights are still on, which means someone is up making a late snack. I walk into the kitchen to see my dad drinking coffee with about hundreds of papers splattered all over the kitchen table. You would think a few dictionaries just threw up all over the place.
"Am I walking into a crime scene here, dad?" I say as I hesitantly walk towards him. He's rarely up past 11, but this must be a big case if he's up this late AND drinking coffee (he despises coffee).
"I might as well be in a crime scene. This case is about a possible homicide (he's an defense lawyer, aka the toughest lawyer in my opinion), and if we win, your graduation present will be a good one." He says, which catches my attention.
"Even if my present wasn't on the table, do you think he could win?"
"Basically you wanna know if he's guilty or not.." He says, not even looking up from his papers (I ask him all the time about his clients).
"He says he's innocent and, as his lawyer, my job is to help him prove it, whether or not he actually is guilty or not. Just how the game goes kiddo."
"You're the one who told me once the system is rigged when I was ten."
"And I still stand by that. Was that Jayna you were out with?"
"No it was Reese, Jayna's at home."
"Really? Jayna was just here an hour ago looking for you, she looked really frazzled. I thought you tracked her down." He says, still not looking away from his notes. I immediately text her.
"Did she say what was wrong?"
"Something about woman's intuition, she didn't go further. You need to go to sleep so this can wait until morning."
"Jayna came here at 2am when I was freaking out about Paul in my dreams, no time is off limits, and I know you know that." He waves me away, basically giving me clearance to do as I please. When he's doing this kind of battle it's really easy to get what you want. My mom gets mad but she gets over it.
I call her as I'm walking up the stairs, and as I'm walking into my bedroom, here she is, laying in my bed looking like she's been crying forever. I hang up and go to her.
"Hey, hey what's wrong?" I ask sensitively.
"A lot of shit went down today Reynolds, a lot of shit." She says, wiping her eyes with her shirt, which has been stained from her make-up coming off.
"Start from the beginning." I say.
"When the universe began, there were only stars in the sky-"
"I meant the beginning of why you're so sad. Jeez, even when you're hysterical you can't pass up a time to be obnoxious."
"It's in my DNA. Anyways, long story short, I thought Dennis was cheating on me with Jessica Davis from AP English. He wasn't, but we got into this huge fight about how he feels I don't trust him and he's been getting frustrated with my issues and suggested we take a break. Basically, he broke up with me. And that's not even the kicker. I'm pregnant, or at least I think I am. I'm a week late as of yesterday."
"The last part is definitely bullshit, Brad told me you take birth control pills for perfect skin. Plus, when would you ever let a guy have sex with you without protection? When you become a common whore that's when the Earth stops spinning."
She blinked at me a few times before answering. "Okay the last part was a stretch and, while we will talk about how Brad figured out my secret, I'm being serious about everything else." She's wiping the tears from her eyes and trying to look calm and collected, but I know this hurts more than she's trying to let on.
"I know, and I'm sorry. Maybe this isn't permanent. Maybe he just needs to think and realize a jealous girlfriend is better than one who has no emotions at all." She gets a chuckle out of that, but she's still sad. I pull out my inflatable mattress from my closet because I know I'm not letting her go home tonight, and because I'm gay I know my parents and her parents won't care if she's in my room. I tell her to wash up before we go to sleep, and while she's in the bathroom I send out a group text. I have four ongoing group chats, one with everyone in it, and three are excluding one of the three for surprises or emergencies.
I send a text to the group not including Jayna (I also added Reese to all the groups because he basically is a new edition): S.O.S, JAYNA AND DENNIS ARE ON THE ROCKS, BE POSITIVE TO HER IN THE MORNING, SOMEONE BRING HER SUBWAY COOKIES DURING LUNCH, AND BRAD NO POKING FUN AT HER MISFORTUNE!!!
Everyone awake responded positively (Brad will be reminded in the morning anyways, he nevers listens to my texts), so my duty to support my friend in a time of crisis is going well so far. Just as I turn my phone off for the night Jayna reappears from the bathroom looking more refreshed and less emotional than before. I tell her I love her and fall asleep on the inflatable matress.
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"BRAD! What did we tell you about poking fun at her misfortune!" Caroline screams as he basically tells Jayna he always thought Dennis was hitting on him.
"We really should have followed up with him a third time before we saw her, this is really our fault." I say a few seconds after Jayna (understandably) walks away mad.
"You're acting like I'm not right here." Brad annoyingly states.
"The way you pissed her off, you might as well be invisible man." Reese says and I crack a little smile at the shade.
I don't see any point in following her; she needs to recollect herself before lunch anyhow, and I have no idea if Dennis will sit with us or somewhere else for the day. I wonder if Dennis is so mad about her accusation is related to him being bi and the stigma that all bi people cheat. That might be a bit of a stretch on my end, but you never know.
I tell the group I'm running to my locker before we go into the cafeteria to get my donut from this morning that I forgot to eat (Reese's make out sessions have an amnesia effect on me), and it's probably going to be my only source of food until I go home since lunch is gross. I would have gone out but it's raining and Reese usually buys me food and I hate spending his money like that (everytime I try to buy him food he shuts me down and slams his card down.)
As I'm closing my locker I hear a familiar voice call my name down the hall. I look and I see Paul coming towards me and Immediately slam my locker and bolt towards the cafeteria. He grabs my arm on my way from him, and I'm wondering if he was really that far away or if my brain was trying to protect me. "Mike please, I just want to talk, don't run away from me please." I'm basically hysterical at this point trying to cut myself loose from his grip until an angel in the form of Jayna comes and knees him in the balls.
As he falls to the floor in pain, that's when Caroline and Reese come looking at where all the noise is coming from, and they basically swarm us all making sure Jayna and I are okay. I'm pretty much fine physically, as is Jayna, but emotionally I'm jaded. I hug Jayna and say thank you for saving my ass, and I just walk toward the cafeteria to think and eat my donut. I don't know what everyone is going to do about Paul, and at the point in time I don't really care.
Brad comes to the table with his lunch a few minutes later, and I calm down some but still overall sad. Brad pretty much can tell what I'm thinking about without having to ask; if it's not about Reese, school, family or friends, my mind goes to Paul.
Just as Brad was about to talk I see the rest of the gang coming in like they work for the CIA; if they were all wearing black they could have been the Men In Black (even though they're mostly female and none of them are actually black). They all avoid the lunch line and come straight to the table and look at me like they're about to tell me I have cancer or something. Caroline gets the flem from her throat out and begins to lead the conversation.
"So Paul is never allowed to come near you again without any of us being present. If he even so much tries to corner you anywhere and we aren't there call us and we have it handled. The less you know about the deal we struck up the better." As she said that my eyes widen, and Reese interjects.
"Caroline, you make it seem like we hired a hitman on him. Look, we all agreed that you're important to us and this Paul situation puts you on edge. He means no harm these days, but that does not mean you will be back to accepting his presence. So we told him without any of us around you are not approachable. You're also not a small child so you can tell us to screw ourselves, but your safety is important." Reese explains so eloquently, and it sounds less threatening from his mouth. He should really think about becoming a deliverer of bad news to people because he has a way with words. Jayna looks over with approval of his version of the situation.
"You know I appreciate you all looking out for me, but you cannot go out of your way to make sure I don't die; you all have lives to live that don't require treating me like a broken toy." I take a good look at my friends and boyfriend, my protectors and the people I hold nearest to my heart. I won't ever find anything better than them.
"You are an extension of all of us, don't think about it as a burden. You'd literally be on the front lines for any of us if we went through this." Brad interjects and, admittedly, he's right. I'd kill a man for them.
"I love you guys. Thank you." And just as I say these words and we wrap up the conversation Dennis walks in the cafeteria with Jessica Davis, and they are pretty much laughing in full harmony about something she just said. I can see the pain on Jayna's face seeing them possibly committing the heinous crime of cheating in front of us, and it makes me mad and sad. Dennis was a good guy, why would he all of a sudden switch it up on her like that? Her accusations weren't even that far off (from the looks of things). The tradition of men.
A few minutes pass and the cafeteria bell sounds, and we're all making our way to our last legs of the day. I walk Jayna to class and tell her everything is going to be fine, with or without Dennis. I don't know if she believes me right now, but I hope by the time we leave this place she will.
By the time I leave her the day basically speeds by, like time fast forwards and I'm already in my bedroom with Brad and Caroline while Reese is studying.
"Do you guys think Dennis really cheated on her?" Caroline asks us.
"I do, he's been talking to Jessica more often than normal. I mean, I get it, she's a babe. But messed up." Brad admits.
"I don't want to think he did. He was a good guy, and good people don't just cheat on their girlfriends all of a sudden. Unless provoked, but Jayna hasn't said they've been fighting much up until that point." I say.
"I guess that's true. It just sucks she's going through this so close to graduation." Caroline states.
Hey, better now than right before prom. I don't think they formally asked each other, so now there's no obligation to take each other. Hell I'll be her date, if anything." I say.
"Unless you plan on screwing her after it, I doubt she'd actually take you Mike. Secretly, girls do wanna have sex after these kinds of things; we've left men in the dark for centuries." Caroline reports.
"Looks like I'm gonna need a bag of condoms for prom." Brad says confidently.
Caroline and I laugh at him and decide to put on a string of Youtube videos even though we should be doing homework. We all must have fallen asleep because my phone is buzzing like a swarm of bees. I don't even bother to check who is calling me before I say hello on the phone.
"We need to talk right now, why haven't you been answering your phone, Reese and I have been blowing it up!"
"Sorry, we all fell asleep. Why, whats wrong?" I say.
"Dennis tried to kiss Reese when they met up to talk, and before you freak out let me explain the context. Reese found me after school and saw I was a mess and offered to figure out why Dennis was being to mean to me, so I told him where he might be and we drove there together. Reese went into the building and I stayed in the car but I could see everything. It looked like a serious conversation, then I see Dennis leaning in and try to plant lips on Reese and he freaked out and left." She says in what seems like one breath.
"I'm gonna call you back, but tell Reese he's not in trouble and he's good for wanting to help you out." I hang up the phone.
"WAKE UP, WE HAVE REVENGE TO GET!" I scream into the room.
Both Brad and Caroline jolt upright and look at me like I just electrocuted them.
"Dennis just tried to make out with Reese, he must be stopped." I say.
Caroline looks super confused and Brad just looks just as confused, if not more.
"Why would he do that?" Brad asks.
"Honestly, I have no fricking idea, but looks like we're gonna have to find out."
I already know Reese is in the clear so my issue solely lies with Dennis. I don't understand why he's being such an asshole (and now homewrecker), but I will be damned if he tries to kiss my man.
We get to walking to Jayna's house (I don't doubt that's where she's going) and dial Reese at the same time. He picked up on the third ring.
"Ididn'ttochhimididn'ttouchhimididn'ttouchhim-"
"I know who you are, you wouldn't do that to me. I know you didn't do anything." I say honestly. It actually feels good knowing your boyfriend won't cheat on you, even if you haven't had sex yet. I don't know why it took so long to get him in my life, but now that he's here I won't let him go, not even sloppy Dennis could break this up.
"I'm assuming you're all heading towards us." He says, knowing me all too well.
"That we are, I'll see you in five. Love you."
"I love you too." He says then hangs up.
"You're too gushy, we're literally graduating in a few months and you're all eternally in love and shit." Brad says, being a perpetual hater.
"Hey, just because I was handed shit and found a silver lining and you're still bitter doesn't mean you should hate on me. I am aware we graduate soon, but we will find a way to make it work."
"Buuuuurn!" Caroline interjects.
"Focus, what the hell are we gonna do about Dennis? He not only hurt our best friend twice but he also tried to kiss my boyfriend." I say to the party.
"I'd say murder but Jayna should be the one to decide that." Brad says.
"I'm all for revenge, but death is not worth not graduating for, regardless of love for her." Caroline says.
"I'm telling her you said that." I say.
"I'LL tell her I said that, and you know I would." she says, and she totally would. With love.
"I just don't get it, he didn't seem capable of this kind of hurt before, so why now? Why break her heart now? Why commit all this sabotage now?" I say out loud.
"Maybe he's stressed out, or desperate, or being blackmailed." Brad says.
"What could he be blackmailed for? We know everything about him (Jayna tells us everything) from being bi to knowing how big his-"
"WE KNOW TOO MUCH" Caroline spits out as I'm talking.
"I'm looking for answers here, I just don't get it."
As we arrive at Jayna's house, so do Jayna and Reese, who is still visibly shook by the recent events. I look at him and, with that look, confirm that I am not mad or upset at him; I know who he is, and he wouldn't do that to me.
"Okay, we need strategy. How are we taking Dennis down?" Caroline throws out first. I mean, if anyone is good at revenge and strategy, it's her.
"I'm down for slashing his tires. 3, not all four." I say. For dumping my best friend and attempting to kiss my boyfriend, a punch in both kidneys would be more appropriate. But Jayna is the real victim here, so whatever she wants to do we will do. While everyone else is trying to figure out how to bomb Japan, I'm looking intensely at Jayna to try and see where her head is.
I look at her and I already can see the answer in my head. She doesn't want revenge. Hell, she doesn't even want to hurt him. She just wants to cry. She wants to ugly cry and scream and not be so stubborn about how she's been feeling because of how we envision her. How we envision each other versus what we really are are so vastly different; I couldn't imagine only being loved for what people think I am, and maybe that's why Dennis broke up with her. Or maybe there was another reason, but none of those reasons matter right now.
I move from Reese and the crowd closer to Jayna and just hug her. I can tell she's a bit thrown off, but she's not fighting me away either. Maybe she'll hug me back, or maybe she'll knee me in the balls for being weird, but it just feels like instinct. I pull her so that I'm facing the crowd and she's looking along the street.
"I think we should just drop it and move on from it." As I say that everyone in the group, aside from Jayna, jumps up in outrage.
"No way in hell is he getting away with this." Caroline says.
"Getting away with what? Failing at kissing my boyfriend? Breaking up with our best friend because he thought it was a good choice? We get it, he's an idiot. But that's not our problem. You know what our problem is? This girl hugging me right now. And she's sad, and she's hurting, and as much as he hurt her, I don't think she is in the mindset of revenge. She needs us, and she's our priority, not him." I say, and everyone softens up and looks at the big picture.
"He's right. I am sad, and I thought by talking to him maybe he'd take me back, but after he tried to kiss Reese I actually felt like my heart fell out of my chest. He always told me he would never think about anyone else when we were together, and was the first taste of life after me, or life beyond me. And that shit hurt. We're really done, and I'm the one mourning it, not him." Jayna says in between soft cries.
It was with those sad words that we all shut the hell up and walked inside, hoping that the sad girl will be a little less sad as time goes past.
The name Dennis was never muttered after this day.
NEW CHAPTERS COMING SOON!!!