Just Friends

by Tiffany Pitcock

  “We’re the Jenny Wessler Defense Force; we have to figure out some way to fix this.” Kelsey had given them that nickname back when this all started. “We weren’t even there when she found out.”

  “If she’s found out.” Chance wasn’t sure what would be worse for him: knowing she found out alone or watching her find out in front of him.

  He found out at lunch.

  * * *

  JENNY HADN’T HEARD about the video yet. Chance could tell from the confused way she stumbled through the crowded cafeteria, avoiding every stare. He and Kelsey exchanged a knowing look as Jenny approached the table.

  “Do you guys know what’s going on?” she asked once she was close enough not to be overheard. “What renewed everyone’s interest?”

  Kelsey made a face. “I only heard second block, I swear.” She pulled the sleeves of her sweater over her hands nervously, looking everywhere but at Jenny.

  A look of panic crossed Jenny’s face. “What is it?” She looked between Kelsey and Chance before locking her eyes on him, knowing he would answer. “Chance, what happened?”

  “The Bleeding Axe Wounds had a gig Saturday night,” he began, watching as she quickly connected the dots. With a deep breath, he continued. “They played at the Cyber Bean again. I only heard about it this morning.”

  “I heard it from Glenda Hargrove. She sent me a link to the video on YouTube.” Kelsey hesitantly held out her phone for Jenny to take. “Go ahead and watch it.”

  Jenny took the phone, and Chance had to fight the urge to look away. “This one is about my ex-girlfriend!” Drake’s staticky voice called through the speaker. Chance leaned forward, watching the video as well: a grainy image of Drake bringing the microphone to his lips with a dramatic flourish and beginning to sing.

  “I let you play me like a violin but it turns out I was only ever second fiddle, my cold-hearted queen.”

  Tears sprang to Jenny’s eyes as he kept singing, the video pixelating as the person filming began to thrash.

  “Did you ever look at me with love? Deem me worthy of your attention from above?”

  Chance never wanted to see her so distraught, to see the pain that he saw now reflected in her face. Murderous rage filled him as Jenny continued watching the video.

  “Was I only a passing fancy—a distraction for below the waist? If you saw me out in the crowd, would you recognize my face?”

  Video Drake pulled down the neckline of his shirt, showing off the sparrows tattooed along his collarbone.

  “Tell me, darling, do you even know what happy looks like?”

  “This is what he’s been doing,” Jenny said, so quietly that Chance barely heard her. “He’s been crafting more ways to destroy me while I was still trying to pick up the pieces from last time.” She thrust the phone at Kelsey, unable to finish the video. “Take it away.”

  “Are you okay?” Chance reached out to put his arm around her shoulders. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”

  She shook her head, not looking at him. Chance would’ve given anything to know her thoughts right then. Was she angry? Sad? She shrugged his arm off, staring down at the table.

  Chance looked around then, searching for one person in particular. Many people looked away as Chance met their eyes, but one person didn’t. Drake was a few tables over, staring right at Jenny. He looked torn, half risen from his seat, as if about to walk over. Then he met Chance’s eye and sat back down, his jaw set. The two glared at each other for a bit before Jenny stood, drawing Chance’s attention.

  “I can’t be in here,” she whispered, on the verge of tears. She quickly fled the room, Chance and Kelsey hot on her heels.

  Jenny stopped in the empty hall, propping herself against a row of lockers. Kelsey wrapped her in a hug as she began to cry.

  “I didn’t want them to see me, not like this,” she sobbed. “I don’t want anyone to see me.”

  “It’s okay,” Kelsey said in a soothing voice.

  Chance felt powerless as he watched the scene in front of him. I’ll get him back for this, he swore. No one fucking hurts my best friend.

  CHAPTER 27

  Jenny

  Jenny was a mess. A stumbling, bumbling, blubbering mess. She was made of nerves and tears, and nothing in between. She had started counting down the days until summer so she wouldn’t have to be gossiped about anymore and could fade back into obscurity. She had never felt like this before. Heartbreak always seemed so fascinating on TV—romanticized and deep. Teens in too much eyeliner and expensive clothes always sat in the rain, smoking themselves to cancer, lamenting about the poetic beauty of a broken heart. Jenny was quickly realizing that was bullshit.

  Heartbreak was hell. Breakups were messy. Pain was real and raw and there was nothing romantic about it. There was nothing beautiful about crying herself to sleep. There was nothing deep in the way she visibly flinched when someone said Drake’s name, images of people staring and laughing assaulting her from all sides.

  People were cruel, another truth that Jenny was learning. It was easy to see someone take abuse on TV and wonder why they let it affect them, but it was another thing entirely to experience it firsthand. Insults, rumors, and lies slithered out of mouths with forked tongues, snaking their way through the school, spreading their poison. Everyone thought they knew what was going on; everyone felt informed enough to put in their two cents, no matter how unwanted it was. Chance and Drake were celebrated, Jenny was a pariah. She was the whore sleeping with them both—the villain in the story.

  Once the tears started, she couldn’t hold them back—they fell hot and quick. Kelsey started rubbing small circles on her back. Jenny was ugly sobbing and she didn’t care.

  Fuck them; fuck them all.

  “How many views?” Her voice was raspy, her throat raw. How many more people were judging her now?

  “That’s not important.” Kelsey pushed Jenny’s sweaty hair back from her forehead. “You have to go to the nurse.”

  She didn’t want to. She wanted to know how many people had gone to that show or watched that stupid video. She thought of everyone in class huddled around that phone. She thought of all the stares and the whispers. Everyone knew. The hallway felt like it was growing smaller and smaller, the lockers all around on each side pressing in. She could barely breathe, her lungs burning.

  Kelsey and Chance helped her walk, one at each elbow. She wanted to shake them off, to tell them that she could make it on her own. She hated being weak. She hated needing help. Together, they walked her to the nurse. She still couldn’t believe what was happening. All she wanted was to fade away. Why was she constantly being brought back into the public light?

  They led Jenny into the waiting room, which the nurse shared with the guidance counselor, and the secretary motioned for them to go ahead down the hall to her office. The nurse—a perky redheaded woman—made her lie down on the uncomfortable cot that they kept in the corner. She felt weak, like it was letting Drake win. Thinking about his satisfaction when he found out his song sent her to the nurse made her stomach turn even more.

  “Do you think she should go home?” Chance asked, not taking his eyes off her even for a second.

  The nurse looked down at Jenny, studying her closely. “I think so,” she said at last. “I think she needs a mental health day.”

  Jenny shakily sat up, the room spinning around her. That wretched song kept playing on a loop in her head.

  “I’m fine, really,” she said. She didn’t want to run. She didn’t want to be a coward.

  “I’ll take her,” Chance said. “I’m her ride.”

  Not true, Jenny wanted to say.

  The nurse looked skeptical. “I can’t excuse you both.”

  Chance shrugged nonchalantly, reaching out to help Jenny to her feet. “Then count me truant, I don’t care. She needs rest.”

  Running away had made everything worse before. “I don’t know,” Jenny said, her throat scratchy.

  “You can go
, Jenny,” Kelsey told her, her voice soft. “Literally no one will hold it against you if you ditch. That whole ordeal was rough. I’ll kick anyone’s ass if they say anything.”

  Chance nodded. “I believe it.”

  Jenny heard a noise behind her, the sound of shuffling feet. She turned just in time to see someone racing from the hallway back into the waiting room, their giggles trailing behind them.

  Were they seeing if I was really in here? The thought disgusted her. She couldn’t take this, not right now. She reached out, tugging on Chance’s shirt.

  “I’ll go,” she said at last.

  * * *

  “SO, YOUR MOTHER’S AT work?” Chance asked as they pulled into her driveway. She nodded as she unbuckled her seat belt. “Let’s head in.”

  Her house was silent, which she found weird. It was usually bustling with people now that Phillip was a near-permanent fixture.

  “How about we watch Buffy?” Jenny asked as she tossed her bag onto a chair. Anything to take my mind off that stupid song. She still couldn’t believe he had written about her. “We can finish season six and wallow in our misery.”

  “I’m not miserable,” Chance pointed out. She didn’t believe him. She knew he was still struggling with things at home.

  “Fine, we can wallow in my misery.” She made her way to the TV and plucked out her Buffy DVDs. “You know you love the Buffy and Spike relationship, don’t even pretend.”

  Chance laughed, throwing himself down onto the couch. After putting in the first DVD, Jenny sat on the other side of the couch. By the time the first episode ended, they had moved closer, Jenny leaning her head on his shoulder. She liked it best when they were like this.

  The episode where Dawn accidentally trapped everyone in their house because her sister wouldn’t pay attention to her had just ended when she looked at him, her expression thoughtful.

  “Chance, can I ask you a question?”

  “Wasn’t that a question?” he replied. His sarcasm earned him a kick to the shin.

  “Humor me.”

  “Fine, O Violent One, ask away.”

  “Why haven’t you talked to Levi yet?”

  Chance turned away, making a face. “Not now, Jenny. Today we’re focusing on you.”

  “I’m serious, Chance, why haven’t you? He’s been home for a while.”

  “I’ll talk to him when I’m ready.” He looked down at his hands, folded in his lap.

  “Well, when are you going to be ready?” She tried to look him in the eye, but he stood up, pacing the room. “Chance, you have to work things out with him. He came home for you.”

  Chance sat down in the armchair by the door, his head in his hands. “Jenny, no, I can’t do this right now, okay? I’m getting there, slowly I admit, but it is happening. I’m not ignoring him; I’m just not ready to bare my soul to him yet, okay?”

  “You can take your time. Just don’t wait until it’s too late.” She got up, but he wouldn’t look at her, not even when she moved to the very end of his chair. “Chance.”

  “Jenny, no.” He still wouldn’t look at her.

  “Chance, please.”

  He didn’t respond this time.

  “I’ll make you talk to me,” she vowed before sitting down in his lap.

  He reacted at once, yelling, “Get off, you’re heavy!” He attempted to push her away.

  “Aha! You talked!” She clung to him as he squirmed beneath her. “I’ll forgive you for the heavy comment since I did pressure you about family things.”

  Her heart was pounding fast from their proximity. This was meant to be playful and innocent, but it was anything but. It did nothing to calm her. His scent made her head swim; their contact made her feverish. But God, she wanted to forget her pain, even for a moment. She had to get her easy relationship with Chance back.

  “Whoa, off you go, seriously.” He grunted as he playfully tried to push her out of the chair. Instead of letting go, she stubbornly clung to him like a baby, resting her head on his shoulder and readjusting herself in his lap. She needed comfort.

  “Sorry I brought up your brother,” she mumbled into his shirt, her warm breath brushing his neck, his body shivering beneath her. “Oh, and you smell nice,” she added as she sniffed his collar. “You smell like sandalwood.”

  “Thanks.” He readjusted her in his lap, placing a kiss on her forehead. Finally, after a few quiet moments had passed, he told her, “Levi is cooking dinner tonight. He wants me to come, but I don’t know. We’ve never eaten together as a family before—why start now?”

  “You should go,” she told him. She didn’t understand. Chance had been so upset at his brother; why wasn’t he talking to him now that he had the opportunity?

  “I don’t want to hear him talk about a life that I’m not in—a life he built by abandoning our family. Realistically, I know Levi isn’t to blame for everything, but I’ve been blaming him anyway. I can’t suddenly stop now that he seems to be doing better.”

  “I get it,” she said. “But, seriously, you should go. If anything, get it over with so you can move on.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he told her. “I still have a few hours.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Chance

  Chance was dozing off, Jenny still in his lap, when his phone buzzed. Jenny nudged him in the shoulder. “Chance.”

  “No,” he said groggily, arms tightening around her waist. He wanted to stay here, cuddling and comforting her. He didn’t want to check his text—which was most likely from Levi—and have to leave this warmth for the coldness of home.

  “Chance, you have to.”

  He met Jenny’s eyes. She obviously wanted him to do it; shouldn’t that be enough? Even if he found out that his brother had left because he didn’t give a shit, he’d still have Jenny to comfort him. They could be miserable together.

  “Fine.”

  He pried his phone from his pocket. Sure enough, it was a text from Levi, asking if he’d be home for dinner soon.

  “I’ll go,” he told Jenny. “But it’s not like I’m going to be happy about it. I’m going to text you to complain the whole time.”

  Jenny smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. But, seriously, this will be good for you. One of us needs to have something good happen to us right now.”

  “What are you going to do?” he asked her. He didn’t want to leave her alone to wallow.

  Maybe she can come with me. She could be the buffer between me and Levi.

  “Kelsey has that PTA bake sale thing this afternoon. I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I am now. It’ll be a good chance to take my mind off things.”

  “Oh.” There went his buffer plan. “I never would’ve guessed you’d be the one actively seeking personal interaction for comfort.”

  Jenny laughed. “I know, right? It’s like I’m growing or something.”

  He was proud of her, even if that meant he was truly going to have to face dinner with his brother alone.

  * * *

  HE PULLED UP to his house, killing his car. It was back to parking in the yard again to make room for Levi’s car in the driveway. He didn’t want to go in the house. He didn’t want to deal with any of this. Leaning back in his seat, he looked up at the ruined upholstery above his head. He was going to have to get out of his damn car and face his older brother, for better or worse.

  The scent of something wonderful greeted him when he stepped into the house. Levi stood in the kitchen over a skillet, stirring a bunch of vegetables. He cursed loudly as he stirred too vigorously and a few rolled over the side of the pan and onto the stovetop.

  “Can you hand me a napkin?”

  Chance reached over the counter, grabbing a napkin. “Nice to see you, too. I had a great day. Thanks for asking.”

  Levi put down his spoon, glaring at his younger brother. He looked a hot mess, with sweat gluing his hair to his forehead. “I forgot that being a smart-ass runs in the family.”

  Chance ignored
him. “What are you doing anyway? Since when do you cook?”

  “It’s an interest I picked up at college. It’s vegan shepherd’s pie.” Levi gestured to the skillet.

  “We’re not vegan,” Chance pointed out.

  “Anna is. I learned how to cook it for her. She’s worth this mess.” He grinned at Chance. “Can you believe I’m cooking for someone?”

  Levi kept doing things like this, and Chance supposed they were meant to come off as buddy moments, but they only made Chance angry. Levi couldn’t make a few jokes and assume that everything was going to be okay; Chance wouldn’t let him off the hook that easily.

  Levi walked over to the bar, grabbing a bottle of red wine and pouring it into a measuring cup. “Do you want to help?”

  “It’s best if I don’t.”

  “Or I could help?” suggested a voice behind them. They both whipped around to the living room, taking in the woman who had just entered. She stood in the doorway, tall and sure. Her dark hair was in a braid to the side, like a line drawing Chance’s eyes from her round brown eyes to her smooth dark skin. She wore a maroon T-shirt and worn jeans, with her head cocked to the side and a wide grin spreading across her face. “Close your mouths, boys, you’re drooling.”

  “Anna, you’re here early.” Levi recovered first, straightening up.

  “Actually, I’m on time,” she corrected. She hung her keys on the hook by the door. “Also, your door was wide open. I don’t know what kind of small-town Mayberry place this is, but pretty sure that’s begging for someone to walk in and rob you blind.”

  “And yet you’re the only one who walked in.” Levi crossed the room and engulfed her in his arms, lifting her into the air momentarily.

  “It smells great in here” was her response.

  Anna was pretty, and the effect she had on Levi was almost palpable. He looked at her like—

  Well, like he loved her.

  “I’m cooking,” Levi admitted proudly, looking down at Anna. He leaned down and kissed her.

  Chance looked away awkwardly. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen Levi kiss someone before—his big brother had never been discreet in his numerous affairs. But it was different with Anna. He wasn’t just kissing her, he was communicating with her. It wasn’t a kiss that was a means to an end; it was a kiss with meaning behind it.