1,171Your Definition of Love
Chapter 2
Cooling Off
It was a little past two o'clock, and I was more than ready to go home. And plus the fact that a totally gorgeous guy was going to be driving me home contributed quite a bit to my eagerness.
I found Taylor waiting by my locker and greeted her with a big, bright smile.
"Well, isn't someone happy," she commented.
I shrugged, opened my locker, and got my books. "You could say that. What gave it away?"
She laughed. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe it was that goofy, love-sick grin?"
I clasped my hands to my heart. "Well, I guess I'm in love then." I said it with such a dramatic air that some people turned around to glance at me.
"In love with who?" someone from behind asked me. It was Bryce. Paul was there as well, but he seemed a little preoccupied slapping a fly away from him and letting out frustrated noises. It always managed to come back to him no matter how many times he slapped at it. Taylor was watching him, amused.
I blushed but quickly hid it by facing my locker again and pretending to get more books out. "Oh, nobody. I was just telling Taylor what someone else said in my English class today." The lie came quickly, but I couldn't help but feel a little guilty for lying to Bryce. "So what are you guys doing here? Don't you have practice?"
Bryce pretended to be hurt. "What, are you trying to get rid of us?"
I coughed. "I can't help it, Bryce. You smell bad."
"You don't have to ride with Adam, you know," Paul suddenly said to me. Apparently, he had managed to shoo the fly away.
Huh? I thought.
"Huh?" I said.
"You could always wait for practice to end," he suggested.
I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "And wait for two whole hours? I don't think so, brother man."
He bit his lip for a second before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and opened it. "Alright, how much is this going to cost me?" He shuffled through the bills.
"Paul!"
He raised his hands in the air. "Kidding, kidding. Chill out, baby sister." Paul returned the wallet to his pocket and kept his hands in them. "But seriously, are you sure you want to ride with Adam?" He glanced at Taylor. "Both of you?"
I nodded enthusiastically, nudging Taylor when she didn't nod as well.
He looked at us for a while before sighing in defeat. "Okay, fine. Just don't... don't let him treat you like he would any other girl."
I wrinkled my nose. "So you want him to treat us like we're guys?" I was mostly just acting stupid to annoy him. Payback was so sweet.
He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Jaelynn. But remember- if he's not gentlemanly in even just the slightest way, I want you to tell me so that I can track him down and rearrange his face."
I stared at him. "Paul, you two hang out with the same crowd. Aren't you friends or something?"
"Yeah, and you're my sister. What's your point?"
I shook my head and sighed. "Never mind, Paul. I'll see you at home later. Go off and just... don't punch anyone, okay?"
He made a face at me, and so I stuck my tongue out at him. Before he could one-up me, I grabbed Taylor's arm and dragged her away. She turned around and managed to yell a, "See you guys later!" before I pulled her out the doors.
It wasn't long before I caught a glimpse of Adam leaning casually against his car. Before we came to close for him to spot us, I quickly checked my reflection in one of the car door mirrors. I looked like a did any other day: plain. But either way, it would have to suffice.
"Jae, you look gorgeous. Now let's go, already," Taylor urged impatiently.
I smiled at her. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous, I guess."
"Don't be." She grabbed my arm. "Now let's go." I reluctantly let her pull me closer towards him. Suddenly catching a glimpse of another girl running towards Adams, I quickly put out an arm to stop her. I recognized her from school, with her pretty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, the exact opposite features of what I had. It was Jessica Mullins.
She was running in heels and a skirt but still made it over to him and managed to jump into his arms. I sickeningly watched as their tight embrace quickly became a hot, messy make-out session.
I turned my head away in disgust, feeling my heart drop with a thump. I was an idiot for ever thinking I had a chance with Adam Connors. He didn't see me as anything more than a friend's little sister. I was nothing to him. He couldn't even see me.
Then, I did the only thing I could think about doing. I turned around and ran back into the building. I could hear Taylor running after me, but she didn't tell me to stop or slow down. She simply followed quietly.
Once I reached the doors, I threw them open and clutched the wall for support once I was inside. Breathing heavily, I sank down against the wall into a sitting position. Taylor joined me a second later.
"God, I'm so stupid." I laughed bitterly and shook my head. "I was so excited about this. It was all I could forward to all day."
She put her arm around my comfortingly. "You can't possibly be an idiot, Jaelynn. You're in the top ten of our class."
I snorted, dismissing her words. "Do you know what the worst part is? I got front-row tickets to a PDA session starring Adam and Jessica, and yet I still want him to ask me out." I turned to her, tears just barely glimmering in my eyes. "I mean, how pathetic can I be?"
I moved to get up, but Taylor stopped me. "Hey, are you going to be alright?"
I nodded and forced a small smile. "Yeah, I think so." I motioned towards the bathroom across from us. "I'll just be out in a minute." Before she could reply, I quickly opened the door to the restroom and leaned against the back of it. I softly brushed my cheek with my hand and realized it was wet.
I cautiously walked over to the mirror, almost too scared to look in. Finally working up the courage, I took a deep breath, steeling myself, and looked up.
There I was. Only now my long, dark hair was in disarray in its ponytail, with a few strands matted down to my face. My bright green eyes were smaller and a little swollen from the crying, and my nose resembled Rudolph's nose. So basically, I looked like hell.
I shrugged. It wasn't like I cared what anybody in that gym thought about how I looked anyway. And the one guy that I did care about was already long gone, probably making out with Jessica at this very moment.
I cringed. It hurt to think about that. I collected myself and started to take a step out the door, but something stopped me. I don't know what it was, but it kept nagging at me, like a pesky fly. Something about the idea of going to the basketball practice looking horrendous made me freeze.
I walked back to the mirrors and turned on the sink, scrubbing my face vigorously. I then grabbed my brush out of my bag, ran it through my hair few times, and finally redid my ponytail.
There. I looked a little better; presentable, at the least.
But for some reason, that wasn't enough for me. I opened the door and called out for Taylor. "Can I borrow your purse for a sec?" I asked.
She looked really confused and surprised, but nodded anyway, handing it over to me. I smiled and hurried back to the mirrors, emptying the purse's contents on the counter. "Bingo." I murmured, and reached for the lip-gloss. I usually didn't wear makeup, but I needed to compensate for my current state. After I applied it, I glanced back down at the items. After debating with myself a little, I brushed on some of her powder to hide the blotchiness, put a tiny bit of shimmery stuff on my eyelids, and decided to try on some mascara. The outcome was nice. I looked much better with dark lashes. They were usually thin and pale, which was odd, seeing as how my hair was exactly the opposite.
I wasn't wearing much makeup, but it made me look much better than I had. Finally, I felt good enough to leave the security of the restroom. And for some strange reason, I felt… something. I couldn't really pinpoint what I was feeling. I was still sad about the whole Adam thing, but now I felt better somehow. I was almost… excited in a way?
Where the heck was this coming from?
…ooOOoo…
"Hola chicas!" somebody called out when we entered the gym.
"Hi," I replied, raising a hand towards the general direction the greeting had come from. We walked over to the empty stands and sat down, spotting Paul and Bryce amidst the sea of jocks. I caught Paul's eye and waved. For a split second I thought I saw a knowing expression on his face, but I could have imagined it. Practice had ended thirty minutes early and everybody had changed, but they were all still lingering.
I started scanning the gym again, and saw that somebody was approaching us. It was Hayden Roberts. He had come over to the house a few times over the years to visit Bryce, and he talked to me occasionally at school, but this was the first time he was actually approaching me out of the blue.
"Hey, Jaelynn," he greeted. I smiled in reply. He turned to Tay, raising an eyebrow. "Taylor Jacobs, right?"
She nodded, not saying anything, and then turned her attention back to the court. She was staring at something, but I couldn't figure out what. That was weird.
"So." I turned back to Hayden again as he spoke up. "You look nice," he told me bluntly.
I laughed, feeling flattered. "Right back at you." I tried to hide any sadness from my voice and smiled brightly.
"You should be in a good mood more often," he said, grinning.
My mouth dropped open in shock. Wait. Was he flirting with me?
"Thanks, Hayden," I said finally.
"Hey, listen." He sat down next to me on the bleachers. "Are you free this Friday?" he asked.
"This Friday?" I repeated, dumbfounded. Hayden was sweet and all, but I wasn't quite ready for a date just yet, considering I was still head-over-heels for Adam. Thankfully, Taylor came to my rescue.
"Jaelynn and I have plans that Friday." she said quickly.
He actually looked disappointed, and I felt kind of bad for him. What did he see in me anyway? There were dozens of much prettier, more popular girls out there, all lusting after him. The same was for Adam, which was probably why he didn't notice me.
That realization hit me like a blast. So that was why he didn't feel the same way about me; I wasn't his type.
"Oh," Hayden mumbled, jerking me from my thoughts. "So maybe another night then?"
I nodded, smiling at him. "Yeah, definitely." I was distracted at the moment, since Bryce was currently walking up to us.
"Alright, I guess I'll talk to you later then," he said, standing up.
"Bye, Hayden." I called out to his back. He lifted his hand over his head and continued walking.
"Since you're here, I'm guessing you two need a ride," Bryce said to us, glancing over at Hayden as he left. "Ready to leave?"
"Yep!" Taylor exclaimed, suddenly running down the bleachers towards the floor. She reached Paul and grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the gym.
Bryce turned around to watch them walk out. "Well, she's eager to get out of here." He turned back to me and grinned. "Wow. You look great. Got a hot date or something?"
I almost choked. "Umm… not quite."
"What did Roberts want?" he asked curiously, taking a long gulp from his water bottle.
I shrugged. "Nothing, really. He was just saying hello." For some reason, I didn't want to tell Bryce the truth. "Let's just go," I said, changing the subject quickly. I got up to go, and I heard Bryce following behind me.
I felt guilty for lying, but I quickly squashed the feeling. It wasn't as if Bryce needed to know everything that happened to me, anyway.
…ooOOoo…
"So you're sure you're okay?" Taylor asked me worriedly.
I let out an exasperated sigh, mostly just to make her stop asking me. "Yes, mother, for the millionth time."
"Okay, okay, I'll leave you alone. Sheesh. You try to be a good friend and all you get is sarcasm." Her tone was light, but it didn't manage to cheer me up.
"I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"Sure," she replied softly. "Just... call me if you need to talk, okay?"
After we said our goodbyes, I hung up and fell back onto the bed. I needed a nap. Or to punch someone's face in.
A knock sounded at the door, startling me out of my thoughts. I turned my head, only to see that it was Paul. "What?" I asked. Paul came in, cracking his knuckles. I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting habit. "What is it?"
He shook his hands out and placed them back behind his head. "Since the parents aren't here, and I don't feel up to eating your cooking, Bryce and I are going to hit the restaurants. You up for it?"
I gazed at the ceiling for a little while. I wasn't really in the mood. But then again, I wasn't up for spending the entire night locked up in my room alone and starving. "Okay," I said quietly.
"You can invite Tay if you want, too."
I looked at him but didn't move my head. "Any specific reason as to why you want to invite Taylor and not some other friend of mine?"
He simply responded by chucking a pillow at me. "We're leaving in an hour, so hurry up and get ready."
He was about to leave, but I stopped him with a, "Wait." He turned around and waited for me to continue talking. "Why didn't you want me to ride with Adam earlier today?" I asked him. The question had been bothering me.
He leaned casually against the doorframe and raised an eyebrow. "He's an ass." He said it as if it were obvious and then turned to leave.
"Paul!" I exclaimed. "What kind of answer is that?"
He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Alright, fine." He shrugged. "He's like me, only a million times worse."
"Is that even possible?"
Paul glared at me. "Thanks."
"Seriously. Are you sure you're not exaggerating? You guys are friends, aren't you? He can't be all that bad."
Paul nodded thoughtfully. "Adam can be a cool guy. He'll joke around and even take the rap for things like school pranks and stuff. But when it comes to girls? He's a total jackass. He treats his girlfriends all gentlemanly in the first few days of dating, buying them roses on dates and showering them in compliments. But then he starts treating them like shit every time they're around his friends. And in less than a month, he's out of the relationship and looking for another random girl to hook up with."
I stared at him, incredulous. "That can't be true."
"Yup. He only goes for girls who are three things: gorgeous, slutty, and popular. Anything less and he gets bored right away."
"So he's never even had just a normal girlfriend?"
He thought about it for a second. "Actually, I think one of his first girlfriends was normal. Average." He looked at me. "But I guess that didn't matter so much to him. He was in love with her."
"So what happened?"
"She cheated on him," was the flat reply. "It drove him crazy. You wouldn't believe how messed up he got. The guys all had to stop him from beating the other guy's face in. Ever since then, he hasn't stayed with a girl for longer than a month."
I stared at my fingernails distractedly. "What if a girl were to," I shrugged, "oh, I don't know... change him?"
"I doubt it's going to happen with all those girls he keeps dating. Don't get me wrong; they're hot and everything. But God, I'm sure they get annoying sometimes."
I deflated. There was no way I stood a chance with Adam now. I knew... I knew that I could make him change back to the way he was. He was a good guy. There was no doubting this. He just needed the right girl.
I noticed that Paul was still standing there. "Okay, thanks." I glanced at my alarm clock. "I'll be down at seven."
"Sure," was his answer. He left my room, leaving me to think. Suddenly the room seemed to small. I looked at my phone but shook my head. I could call Taylor later.
Right now I desperately needed to get out of my room.