Disclaimer: Don't own, but if I did, things would be progressing a little differently.
Jane Quimby was excited for all of thirty minutes before the reality of the situation hit when Miss Shaw came by to see Ben. Jane sent her to where he was supposed to be getting on the bus after lying to her and saying that her mom would be staying with her. She was now truly alone, and she did not want to be. She felt betrayed and hurt by the people she loved most in the world, not to mention that her day had been extremely disastrous.
Ben was chasing his dream of being a major league baseball player and she wouldn't have stopped him for anything in the world. He had sacrificed so much for her that her brother deserved this second chance at his dream. Her mom left her again, just as she promised she wouldn't do. Jane felt hurt, but she understood, kind of. Her mother leaving this time felt almost as bad as the first time, and this time she didn't have her brother to lean on. Zoe was using her dress, her beautiful and special dress that was supposed to be for her big date with Eli Jane couldn't be mad at Zoe because she had no idea the dress was not meant for her, but it still hurt because it looked better on Zoe than it did on herself. Nina almost caught her wearing the back-up dress. That would have been a complete disaster and probably would have ended her career. As a result, she had been forced to wear a tablecloth for the rest of the evening with Eli. How embarrassing! And, her best friend in the whole world, made her feel inadequate as a woman. Billy only saw her as "Just Jane." What does that even mean?
Slowly, drained of all her energy, Jane lethargically made her way to her bedroom and grabbed her most prized stuffed animal. It was a giraffe with big doe eyes named Herbert. He was given to her by Billy when they were in eighth grade after a particularly hard day, the day of her father's funeral. Billy had always been her rock, the person she could lean on when things got too difficult. Even though she was a little hurt at what he had said earlier in the day, she needed him to tell her everything was going to be okay.
Jane managed to grab her cell phone although her fingers were shaking. She dropped her phone twice before she was able to find Billy's number in her contact list. Just as she was about to place her finger on her best friends name, she paused, remembering the conversation from earlier. Her mind was going a thousand miles per minute trying to decide whether or not to call him. Jane was concerned that she was calling him to be her hero yet again and that Zoe would not be happy about it. On the other hand, Billy would be furious with her if he discovered what happened at a later date.
She let out a large sigh and decidedly placed her cell phone gently on her nightstand before snuggling with Herbert under her patterned covers. She would tell him tomorrow when she had processed everything more fully. Jane did not want to pull him away from the time he obviously wanted to spend with Zoe. She could feel the tears starting to well up in her eyes as she added another mark to her list of bad things happening today: her best friend cannot always be there for her anymore.
She briefly considered calling Eli, but she wasn't ready to tell him how young she actually was or that she was still in high school. He would be too smart not to notice her lack of answers when he undoubtedly would ask questions.
Her tears fell in large streaks down her face. Jane was trying to keep her sobs quiet although there was no need to now. It was just a habit. The tears finally began to subside after an hour of releasing her pent-up emotions and the young brunette was just about to drift off to sleep when she heard the front door open. Startled, she listened intently for any sign as to who the intruder might be.
"Janie," a familiar voice whispered through the door. "Are you still awake?"
"Come in," she replied, surprised at hearing Billy's voice. He must have used the hidden key. She sat up and wiped any visible trace of her discomposure before he opened the door slowly, peaking his head around the door.
"I know you're mad at me, but can we call a truce," he asked sheepishly with concern etched on his features. "I need your help."
"Of course," she responded, patting the spot next to her on the bed. The relieved expression on his face made her immediately forget her own problems and the insensitive comment from earlier to focus on her punk friend. After all, he had come to her rescue so many times. Now it was her turn to return the favor. Billy plopped next to her on the bed, grabbing her right hand with his left after tossing his phone on her dresser and staring at the ceiling intently. "I think I blew it with Zoe."
"What! What happened" Jane questioned with surprise blatant on her face and in her voice. To be honest, she was secretly glad that he was there, which meant she didn't have to be alone for a little while, although she did wish it was under better circumstances. She would never wish anything horrible, not even a little bit, for her best friend in the entire world. "I thought you guys were doing so well together."
He continued to stare at the ceiling. She waited. After a few minutes of silence, he finally responded. "I saw her and Fadden practicing lines together, but I thought it was real. I thought he was going for my girlfriend again and it just brought back so many memories and I was so angry." Billy finally turned his sad eyes to look at her chocolate brown ones, searching for a solution. "I came out from behind the stage curtain and just started accusing Nick of going after my girlfriends and that being with her was a huge waste of time. Everything blew up between me and Zoe. She won't talk to me and Fadden said he is going to quit the play because he wants us to get past our differences. He wants to be my friend. I can't even be mad at him because he is being so cool and chill about the whole situation."
Billy focused on the ceiling once more, still holding Jane's hand. She sat there, letting all of the information sink in before responding.
"Well," she started off slowly, pushing away her own feelings. "If you want to get back together with Zoe, you need to tell her everything that happened between you, me, Lulu, and Nick." She squeezed his hand as he started to argue against the idea. "Hear me out before you say it's not going to help anything.
"You need to tell her so that she understands why you get a little insane when she is kissing Nick, even if it is only for the play, or why Lulu is out to destroy any relationship you may have. Reassure her that there is nothing going on with us," Jane said. Billy looked at her with a shocked expression. "Yes, I know what Lulu said, and Zoe needs to know so that she doesn't think you are always like this or that you are sporting a secret crush on me." She squeezed his had playfully and paused to allow him a chance to take in everything she had told him. "If she really likes you, she will understand why you got so angry about what you saw. As for Nick," she continued. "You cannot let him quit the play. She needs to know that you trust her and if he quits it could very well be the end of your relationship. You'll just have to suck it up when it comes to the kissing scenes and trust that she likes you."
Billy continued to lie on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, a confused expression on his face. Jane could see the wheels turning in his head and chose to stay silent to let him ponder what he needed to. She took the time to also reflect on her own relationship, or whatever it was, with Eli. But she shook her head and focused on Billy before her emotions took over. This conversation was about him and his problems and she needed to be fully there for him.
He turned his head to face his best friend with a boyish grin. "What would I do without you Janie?" Billy let go of her hand and sat up as she shrugged impishly.
"I don't know. Maybe you would still be the preppy, douchy kid dating Lulu," Jane said sarcastically as she lightly shoved his shoulder.
"Ha ha, yeah," he said, rolling his eyes. "But seriously, I am very glad that Lulu and I aren't together anymore. I did not like who I was when I was with her." Billy got up and started walking to the front door with Jane following close behind. He paused at the door. "She didn't understand that you are the person who has always been there for me. She may have been my girlfriend, but she ditched me when things got hard. You never have and that's the reason I chose you for the sinking boat question." Billy pulled her into a hug, his chin resting on her head. She put her arms around his waist and laid her head against his shoulder.
"Then again, you are not the person I would save." She tried to pull away in indignation, but Billy held onto her tighter with a smirk. "You have always been my life preserver. You save me all the time. You call me your hero, but you are the woman who has always saved me from myself. I'm sorry about the comment I made earlier. I just don't know how to describe my feelings for you. We are best friends. I don't distinguish between boys and girls when it comes to friends. That's why you're just Jane."
"Thank you," she said, her eyes filling with unshed tears at his wonderful best friend speech, happy to understand when he meant earlier.
"No," Billy said. "Thank you. See you in the morning for Saturday morning cartoons. I'm going to go call Fadden now."
She nodded her head and said, "I think that is the best way to go for right now. Good luck!"
Jane closed and locked the front door after Billy left. When she turned the lock, all of the emotions she had kept inside started to spill over. She walked back to her room, grabbed Herbert and her cell phone, not noticing Billy's, before she went into Ben's room. She laid down on her brother's bed and just started sobbing and letting all of it out while tightly hugging her giraffe and Ben's pillow. She wouldn't tell Billy anything. She would deal with everything on her own. Jane didn't want to burden her friend while he was going through a rough patch with his girlfriend. She would be fine, right?
Author's Note: So, what do you think? My first fanfic ever. Not sure if I should continue. Any suggestions?