before i start this chapter, i want to thank holyscotts for this AMAZING edit!! she did this as a gift and i can't describe how perfect it is. just look at my babies🥺. this will be my 'sign off' for every chapter and i'm going to put it at the beginning of the book as well. anyways,, enjoy the chapter!!
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Stacey Adams has been stressed in her life before. School, sports, and business deadlines were the most notable causes of this. A new source of stress developed over the past couple of days, however. She had to tell everyone (mainly Jordan) that she'd be in New York City for the summer. Taking part in a program that would most likely secure her a spot at NYU; her dream school. NYU is far away from everyone, especially Jordan's dream school of UCLA.
Not having the greatest night of sleep, Stacey gave in and went over to the Baker house for Olivia's morning yoga session.
Layla, Spencer, Olivia, JJ, and Stacey all took deep breaths on their mats, focusing on their yoga stances. Stacey had her eyes closed as a conversation went along around her.
"If I can't play this weekend, it's not gonna matter if I'm in game shape or not," Spencer expressed his concerns of his future. "All the downward dog's gonna be for nothing."
"Oh, not for nothing," Olivia corrects him. "I mean, yoga's good for you, anyway. It helps with strength, flexibility, balance, even stress."
"You got the last one right," Stacey mumbles.
"And the goats?" Spencer questions, trying not to move as a literal goat balanced on his back.
Stacey leaned down, stretching her back even more. "JJ, I knew you were weird, but I didn't know you were this weird."
Layla giggles. "Well, they help your heart by being cute."
"I thought 'goat' stood for 'Greatest Of All Time'," JJ tries to defend his actions. It didn't help him out a lot.
Spencer shakes his head, "Sometimes it's just goat, man."
"I'm sorry, okay? This week sucks," JJ sighs. "Goats are peeing everywhere, Coach is suspended, Spence might not play, and the venue for the Jamboree party fell through."
Stacey perks her head up. "What happened to the venue?"
"Someone forgot to send the deposit on time," JJ says. Everyone looks at him suspiciously. "It's not important who."
The goat jumps down from Spencer and hops on JJ's back. She wondered if this day could get weirder. JJ continues, "I even had the perfect theme: Pajama Jammy Jamboree."
The goat makes a leap for Stacey's lap and she almost falls flat on the map, but she manages to stay up.
"Well, we can't let that go to waste," Layla comments. "Why don't we have the party at my house?"
"Are you sure, Layla?" Stacey questioned her. "All the teams are going to be there. A ton of masculinity in one place is not a good thing."
Layla shrugs. "Well, it's a good thing I have a big house, then. Parties weren't my problem. It was the party crasher in my head, and she's been quiet lately." Spencer looks at her warily. "I'll be fine, I promise."
"Where is Jordan?" Spencer asks, mainly looking at Stacey. "I don't see a goat on his back."
Stacey sighs when the goat finally hops off of her and back onto Spencer. "I think he's talking with Billy about the whole suspension."
"Do you know anything about it?" Spencer asks her.
Stacey and Olivia glance at each other, knowing they shouldn't mention anything right now. The blonde shook her head, "Nope."
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Stacey stared at the pamphlet she got in the mail this morning. She made sure it was hidden behind her locker for no one to see. The letter was personalized just for her and it had an agenda of what they'd be doing all summer. At the end, she would be introduced to Fashion Institute of Technology. The path they had planned out for her was two years at NYU then she would transfer to FIT. She smiled at the pamphlet, excited for what this summer would bring her.
"Hey."
Stacey jumped at Jordan's voice, throwing the pamphlet in her locker and shutting it more harshly than she intended to.
Jordan scrunched his eyes brows in confusion. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," Stacey stated, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Just reading some notes before my Anatomy test next period."
"Next period you have Stats. With me." Jordan pointed out. "And you had Anatomy first period."
Stacey cleared her throat. "Oh yeah. The test is tomorrow. I'm so dumb sometimes. It's probably because I'm blonde."
Why did I just make that awful joke? Stacey questioned in her mind. She wanted to slam her head against the lockers right now. She tried to walk away, but Jordan grabbed onto her arm.
"Baby, what's wrong?" Jordan asked. She was never like this with him. "You know you can always tell me when something's up."
Stacey looked around, wondering how she could get out of this situation. As if the Gods were listening, Stacey's phone began to ring. Jordan let go of her so she could answer her phone.
"Hello?"
"Thought you could use an escape plan," Jane said.
Stacey looked up, Jane leaning against her locker just across the hallway. "Yeah Jane, I'll meet you in the bathroom right now."
Stacey hung up and kissed Jordan on the cheek. "I have to deal with some girl business. I'll see you tonight at Layla's."
Jordan wanted to make her stay, but he just stood there dumbfounded, wondering what was causing Stacey to act like this.
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Stacey and Jane entered the pajama party in matching pj sets, just different colors. Stacey shirt and shorts were pink while Jane wore the purple set.
"We are iconic," Jane stated nonchalantly as boys glanced their way.
Stacey flipped her hair. "It feels good being us."
Jane laughed. "We need to stop before we get too cocky."
Stacey agreed and she started walking into the house, Jane following suit. They found their boyfriends together by the kitchen.
"Jordan not the sheep pajamas," Stacey groaned and let him envelope her in a hug. She leaned up to his ear and whispered, "Those are just for us."
Jordan smiled. "I had to bring out the big guns tonight."
"My man definitely brought his," Jane said as she admired JJ's muscle tank top.
JJ flexed. "I know ladies, take it in."
Stacey rolled her eyes. She looked around, a bunch of football teams scattered throughout the place. She gave it an hour before someone would start fighting the other.
JJ and Jane made their way outside to the DJ, leaving Stacey and Jordan alone. Stacey leaned on the pillar behind her and Jordan stood in front of her.
"Lets get out of here," Stacey smirked, fixing the collar on his pajamas. "We haven't had a night to ourselves in the past week."
"Because you're acting so weird," Jordan states.
Stacey retracts her hands, crossing them in front of her. She was not having this conversation here. "I'm fine, Jordan. Can we please drop this?"
"What did you throw in your locker?" Jordan questions her. "It had to be something important if you couldn't even tell me what it was."
"It was nothing!" Stacey exclaims, getting more annoyed by the second. She wasn't going to tell Jordan at a party that she was spending her summer in New York where their future together would slowly come to an end.
Jordan shakes his head. "It wasn't nothing. I know you're lying to me. I thought we were going to be honest with each other."
Stacey puts her head down, trying not to show how much this was affecting her. Jordan placed his hand on her chin, bringing her face back up. He saw pain in her eyes and his heart sank. "What happened?"
Stacey shook her head, pushing Jordan back a little. "Don't follow me."
"Stacey–"
She walks away, not giving him a chance to ask what was wrong again. She maneuvered her way through the crowd, going upstairs so she could calm down. Next time she saw Jordan, they would be having the brutal conversation and she needed to be in the right headspace for it.
"Is this the place to let off some steam?"
Stacey glanced behind her shoulder, Darnell slowly walking to the spot next to her on the railing. Stacey looked down at the dancing teenagers below her. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Spencer and I got into an argument," Darnell starts off with. Stacey didn't mind him ranting to her, but he just went for it like they've known each other for so long. "Crenshaw is just a mess after we lost both our coaches in such a short amount of time. My team isn't even here right now. I wish I just went to Germany with my Mom."
"They're just frustrated," Stacey says, referring to South Crenshaw's football team. "I know you've only been there for a couple of months, but you're their leader. Being the quarterback has a leadership role and you need to use it."
Darnell pondered on her words for a moment, letting them soak in. "You're right. I'm such an idiot. Spence tried to say the same thing."
"It was the heat of the moment and you didn't want to admit he was right," Stacey reasoned with him.
Darnell nodded, shifting a little closer to Stacey. "So what brought you up here?" She looked at him oddly. "Listen, I know we haven't known each other for the longest time, but you can trust me."
"Oh that gives me such reassurance," Stacey states sarcastically. She looks at him, seeing him actually sincere about it. It wouldn't hurt to tell Darnell, right?
"So, a couple of days ago I accepted an offer from NYU to join their program for the whole summer. It's only for students they're really interested in. NYU is my dream college and if they like me when I'm up there, I'll most certainly be offered a scholarship. However..."
"It's Jordan, isn't it?" Darnell guesses and she nods. "I knew something was up at the UCLA tour. Whenever he mentioned the campus, you went all quiet on him."
"You noticed that?" Stacey asked, shocked that he realized all these little details.
Darnell fiddles with his thumbs. "Yeah. You're hard not to notice."
Stacey's heart leaped in her chest, not expecting that to come out of his mouth. She looks up at Darnell, who was already staring at her. He reaches for her hand and just as his fingers lightly brush her's, she retracts her hand.
Clearing her throat, she motions to the door. "I think we should get back downstairs."
Darnell nods. "Yeah, um. Yeah."
Stacey and Darnell walk together downstairs, not noticing Jordan glaring at them. He pushes his way over to them to meet the two at the bottom of the stairs.
"So when you can't tell me something you go to Darnell? Who you barely know?" Jordan questions her.
Stacey clenched her fists. Of course he was doing this here and now. Before she could say anything, Darnell did the worst thing he could do right now: defend her. "Listen man, nothing happened we were just talking–"
Jordan pushes Darnell back. "Did I ask you?"
Darnell moves forward, pushing Jordan back. "Maybe if you didn't pressure your girl into talking we wouldn't be here right now."
Something snapped inside Jordan. He went to go take a swing at Darnell, but Spencer came in and stopped him. "Woah woah. What the hell are you doing?"
"Really?" Olivia came up to her brother, disappointment written all over her face.
Jordan was still angry, his breathing heavy. He turned his head to Stacey. "Are you going to say anything?"
Stacey pursed her lips, not knowing if she was more mad or disappointed with Jordan right now. Before she could stop herself, a snarky comment rolled off her tongue, "I'm going to go home and take a shot for every time you've fought someone at a party. Don't bother calling me, I'll be passed out drunk."
Everyone's jaws practically dropped to the floor as Stacey walked away and left the party. Jordan wanted to be angry at that comment, but he felt guilty because she was right.
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Even after their argument, Stacey still came to the Jamboree to support Beverly and Jordan. They made eye contact during warm ups, but didn't bother waving or smiling.
Jane placed a hand on her's. "Are you going to tell him after the game?"
Stacey nodded. "Yep and it's going to suck."
The argument last night clearly affected Jordan still as he wasn't playing as well as he should. He was throwing picks and low balls to his receivers. A couple of times she swore she heard her name being called out on the field, but it was coming from a Westlake guy. She knew they were at the party last night, probably a tactic to get under Jordan's skin.
There was hope for Beverly the last play as Asher threw to Jordan in the end zone, but he was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. Everyone in the crowd boo'd. Stacey's eyes widened when a fight suddenly broke out between the teams.
Jane clapped, loving the action in front of her. Without her knowing, Stacey left the stands and waited in a hallway just outside the locker room for Jordan. It took a while, but he finally came out, still in his uniform.
Stacey grabbed his hand and they moved to a more secluded place outside.
"I'm sorry," Jordan immediately started out with. "I shouldn't have accused you of doing anything with Darnell. I shouldn't have pressured you into telling me what's wrong either. That was stupid of me. I'm just worried about you because I love you."
"I know," Stacey sighed, letting him wrap his hands around her's. "I'm sorry for that bitchy comment I made. It sounded good in my head, but it should've stayed there."
"No, it woke me up," Jordan said. "Well, besides on the field just now where those Westlake idiots wanted to say obscene things about you to mess with me. It worked, obviously."
Stacey softly smiled, kissing his cheek. "You can't let them get under your skin."
Jordan nodded. "I know."
He leaned forward pressing his lips to her's. She savored this moment. It was peaceful and she felt happy; she always felt happy with Jordan, give or take a few bumps along the road. His hands pressed onto her back as he brought her closer.
"Okay Jordan, I see you!" A few hoots and hollers came from a couple of players from Beverly as they passed by.
Jordan pulled away, waving them off. "I have to get dressed for the next game."
Stacey nodded, but remembered why she was here in the first place. "Wait, Jordan. I want to tell you what's been going on."
"It's fine," Jordan reassures her. He was curious (and a little worried) about what she had to say, but he still felt bad for pressuring her yesterday. "Tell me after the game. We'll go to our spot."
Stacey nodded as he gave her one more kiss before jogging off to the locker room. She felt even more nervous now. He thought they were all okay, another slight mishap in their relationship out of the way. Did she make the right decision?
Not trying to stress herself over tonight, Stacey went back to the stands to await Beverly's next game. Stacey was about to go over to Jane, Olivia, and Layla, but her Dad and...Asher were sitting by each other on in the stands. She maneuvered her way to them, sitting down right next to Asher.
"Glad you could join us." Her dad smiled and patted her shoulder.
"Yeah, of course," Stacey said. He was in a very loving mood and she didn't know why. She turned to Asher, keeping her voice low. "Is there a reason why you're in uniform up here and not down there?"
Asher sighed, but he knew he did the right thing. "I told Principal Landon that the drugs were mine and not Coach Baker's. I then told the team that I was suspended indefinitely, so here I am."
Stacey's eyes widened. She knew Asher had changed since last year, but she didn't expect him to do this. She wanted to cry for him as he's been working to be the best in football for so long, but instead she wrapped her arms around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm so proud of you."
"I've been disappointing everyone lately. Coach Baker, Liv, Jordan, you." Stacey's heart warmed that he was most concerned about her. "It's almost my senior year. I need to grow up and take responsibility for what I did. None of this happen again."
"You're the best brother ever," Stacey smiled, hugging him tighter.
"The blood flow to my arm is being cut off," Asher chuckled as he tried to wriggle his arm free.
Stacey laughed, letting go of his arm, but giving him one last hug. "Sorry, I had to. Sister duties."
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Jordan held onto Stacey's hand as they went up to their spot. They hadn't been there in a while with all the craziness going on in their lives. It was a safe spot for them, many real conversations and moments have happened here.
Stacey's body was shaking when she sat down at the bench, not knowing if it was because of the cold or nerves. Jordan noticed this, quickly taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her.
"Thanks," Stacey said.
Jordan put an arm around her shoulder, making himself comfortable on the old bench. "So, what's been happening?"
Stacey looked out at the city lights, wind blowing her hair back. It was cold, she concluded. Her mind was stalling her from breaking the news to him, but she had to before he heard it from anyone else. "So, a couple of days ago I got an offer from NYU to join their summer program...and I accepted."
"That's really cool," Jordan exclaimed. She didn't expect him to be so positive about it. She spoke too soon. "Wait, why is NYU offering stuff to you? I thought you were going to college in California?"
Stacey knew it was too good to be true before he asked those questions. She had never said anything about NYU to him, he had every right to be confused. "I applied a couple of months ago. I saw a program where you spend two years at NYU and then they send you to New York's best fashion college. It's a dream come true for me."
"Is it all summer?" Jordan asked and she nodded. He sighed, "If you were going for just the summer to experience it, I wouldn't be worried or mad. But the fact you're considering that as your college makes me wonder what will happen after high school."
"Lets not worry about that," Stacey told him. "We have another year together at least–"
She stopped herself, the wrong things slipping from her mouth.
"Oh, so you have a time limit on us?" Jordan asked, his voice slightly breaking. "Am I just supposed to spend my senior year with you knowing we'll be a part by the end of it."
Stacey shook her head. "No no no. I don't know. The future scares me. I want to be with you Jordan, but NYU and fashion school is my dream. It has been forever and I don't want to regret giving that up."
Jordan put his hands up, Stacey already missing his arm around her. "I'm so sorry I'm holding you back."
"Will you stop making it about you?" Stacey asked. She refused to cry, but her eyes were slowly starting to water as she didn't know the outcome to this argument.
Jordan sighed, knowing she was right. He took a deep breath, calming down so he wouldn't say anything he wouldn't regret. "I know, Stacey. I just don't want to go through my senior year knowing we'll be across the country from each other next year."
"Maybe I won't even like NYU," Stacey said to try and lighten things up.
Jordan shook his head. "Like you said, I know you. You've been to New York City before. You'll love going to school there."
"I don't want to lose you," Stacey whispered, letting a tear fall down her cheek.
Jordan wiped it away. "It's me or NYU."
"What?" She looked up at him, anger slowly rising within her. "You can't make me decide."
"I don't want you to choose either," Jordan says, "but I'd rather know now than the end of my senior year."
Stacey looked out at the city lights again, wishing this would be easier for her. Jordan brought he face back to look at his, "I'll be here the first day of summer. If you're here, you'll stay. If you're not, you chose NYU."
Before Stacey could argue about making her decide when she technically already did, he kissed her forehead and motioned for them that it was time to go.
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i wrote this until 4 am last night and finished this morning. reality and the future is playing a huge part in stacey and jordan's relationship. i love them so much and their journey will always be far from over.
one more chapter then we're off to our AU part of the story!! you'll get a glimpse of what it'll be about next chapter. you all aren't ready
NEXT ON WASTE THE NIGHT: as summer approaches, stacey must choose between her dream and the love of her life
make sure to vote & comment
-brooke