OK - I haven't written fiction in a LONG time, but yesterday Mayalala kind of pressed me on the Writer's Loft forum. I started a psychological evaluation of Nick (I'm a clinical psychologist IRL) but around 10 pm last night this one just kind of took me over. I actually worked on it between patients today but don't tell my boss. The idea was that it would be a three-part - one from Nick's perspective, one from Jess', and one back and forth. It is based on the challenge for belneigh498. I am totally and completely freaking out about this and thought I would upload it before I chicken out. If it sucks, I apologize - it really has been awhile... The song is "Who you love" by John Mayer w/Katy Perry. I heard it in the car yesterday and was really taken at how it fit Ness.
He sat in his beat up red Honda, the rain falling steadily as the windshield wipers (that were probably the car's original ones) scraped across the wet glass in random intervals. The weather only added to his bad mood, which had been getting progressively worse throughout the day. The fight had been a doozy, and totally his fault if he was being honest with himself…
He had gone to Jess' school to drop off her latest paper mâché creation designed to teach middle school kids about geography (or geology or something). After checking her classroom, and the auditorium, he finally tracked her down in the teacher's lounge where she had been animatedly discussing Moby Dick with a guy who looked like he was ripped from an Abercrombie catalog. "Fitch" was listening with rapt attention as Jess talked about the use of metaphor and allusion. She probably wouldn't have even noticed Nick was there but he was unable to stop the chuckle that slipped from his mouth when she said the word "dick." When she turned and saw who it was, her face lit up and those blue eyes sparkled like Christmas lights. She turned and raced to the door, throwing her arms around him in a hug, which he tried to return but was stymied by the giant paper thing. Nick could see the stranger's eyes on him and saw the superior smirk begin to appear on the man's perfect face. He knew exactly what the guy was thinking - "This loser is the boyfriend? This won't be hard at all..."
Fitch the douche cleared his throat loudly, and called out "And who is your visitor, Jessica?" Nick stiffened immediately at the use of her full name – no one else should be allowed to use it but him (and maybe her parents). Jess turned and linked her arm with Nick, pulling him over to the sofa which had seen better days and announced "Bryan, this is Nick, my boyfriend. Nick, this is Bryan Reardon – he teaches English and Social Studies. He just moved here from Eugene. We were just bonding over missing Oregon - he just started teaching Moby Dick." Fitch/Bryan held out his hand and eyed Nick from head to toe, obviously less than impressed by what he found - "Nice to meet you – your job must be pretty flexible to allow you to leave during the middle of the day." The tone was playful but the implication was clear: Nick's jaw tightened and he grasped the douche's hand in a firm grip just shy of a vice. Jess glanced at Fitch and chimed in – "Nick is a bartender – most of his shifts are in the afternoons and evenings." Her head swiveled to Nick and said "You worked late last night – you shouldn't have had to get up so early to bring this in. I asked Winston because it was his day off – you needed your sleep." Her blue eyes were kind but held a hint of concern. Nick dropped Fitch's hand and shrugged "I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep. It's no big deal." She glanced quickly at the clock, and sighed "My break is almost over – thank you so much for bringing this in for me. I was such a spaz this morning – Schmidt took all the hot water and I burned the toast I made for breakfast." She was leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek when Fitch stopped her – "Jessica, don't forget practice this afternoon. We don't want to disappoint those budding thespians." Jess turned and gave him a smile – "I won't Bryan. I'm so glad to be working with kids again. Thanks for suggesting me as co-director of the play. I really appreciate it." The bell rang and Jess' eyes flew wide – "I'm going to be late for class. Thanks again, Nick – I'll come by the bar after practice is over." She winked and ran out the door, Fitch hot on her heels. Nick stood for a moment, his hands making fists at his side.
The rest of the day, he stewed about the interaction with Jess and the other man. She hadn't done anything to cause concern, really, but something about the situation just bothered him. And the fact that she would be spending afternoons with the guy, who would no doubt be undermining him and reminding Jess of how much better she could do… He trudged into work at 4 pm, avoiding Shane who was in the back office, and glancing briefly at Sid, camped out at his favorite seat nursing a glass of what looked like whiskey. He began his prep work for happy hour, cutting slices of limes, lemons and oranges, and seething about the douche. Jess probably wasn't even aware that the guy was into her, which somehow made it even worse. She was so trusting and open – so unlike him. He hated people until given a reason to like them, and she liked people even if given a reason not to.
As the bar started to pick up, time passed quickly, and around 6:30, he glanced up and saw Jess making her way from the door to the bar. His spirits lifted for a moment, until he saw the tall form of Fitch following behind her, his eyes focused firmly on her ass. She glanced at Nick and smiled, leaning over the bar to give him a quick peck on the lips. Nick's stony face was evident and Jess called out over the din of patrons "We had a rough first rehearsal and Bryan suggested a drink to unwind, so I thought we'd come here." She looked at Fitch, whose gaze had finally left her body and settled on her face – "What would you like? Nick's a great bartender. He can make ANYthing!" She shot Nick a dazzling smile, and when he didn't return it, the light in her eyes dimmed just slightly, but enough for him to notice. Fitch sat in the open bar seat and ordered a Vodka rocks. Nick grabbed a wine glass and poured Jess a glass of Riesling – studiously avoiding pink wine. He poured Fitch's vodka and slid the glass across the bar without speaking, then shifted to a group of female 20-somethings who had just come up. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jess' confusion, and a flash of guilt came up, but he quickly pushed it down and focused on making fruity cocktails for the girls, who giggled and smiled. Fitch leaned over to Jess and Nick was able to make out "…rather go sit at a booth?" Jess shook her head and replied "…bathroom" with some excuse about a small bladder. He watched her head to the restrooms and noticed Fitch was signaling for a second drink. Face impassive, he walked to the side of the bar where the douche was sitting and grabbed the empty glass. As he was turning to grab the Vodka, Fitch asked "what's your problem, guy?" Nick turned and caught the other man's eyes, reached down to grab the Vodka without looking, poured two fingers in the glass, and replied "Your eyes on my girlfriend's ass are my problem." He banged the glass down on the bar and growled "Keep your eyes, and hands, to yourself." Fitch smirked - "It's hard not to look – she's quite a beauty." He took a long pull of his drink and appraised Nick thoughtfully "Though I don't quite know what the attraction to you is, but I guess all girls have to go slumming before they wise up."
Nick's jaw clenched to the point of pain, and he noticed Jess leaving the restroom, so he shifted from behind the bar and met her in the hallway, leaving behind Fitch and a large group of thirsty customers. He pulled Jess to the side and snarled "Why did you come here with that guy?" Jess glanced briefly at Bryan, who was sitting at the bar, looking over at them, and whispered "What is wrong with you? You've been acting strange since this morning. Bryan has a lot of pull with the principal – you know I'm trying to get a permanent position there. He asked if I wanted to go have a drink and I didn't want to say no, so I brought him here. I figured this way I could still see you." Nick rolled his eyes at Jess' naiveté – "A guy who knows you have a boyfriend, who literally JUST MET your boyfriend, asks you out and you didn't want to say no?!" She looked at him, exasperated – "I didn't want to piss him off. I need allies at that school, Nick. I like that job." Nick's fists clenched by his side and he began to pace slightly in the hallway – "Jess, all that guy wants to do is get in your pants and your letting him think he has an open invitation. No guy brings up Moby Dick with a girl unless he's trying to get her to see his." Jess reeled back as if struck and her mouth dropped open in surprise, but he continued "And I'm sure he's been saying wonderful things about me all day long. Subtle comments about my job or the way I dress. And he's from Oregon, too?! He's a real catch – you should just go home with him instead of your pathetic bartender boyfriend. After all, you wouldn't want to piss him off." Nick hadn't realized how loud he had gotten until he stopped and saw the heads that were turned in their direction. Shane had come out of her office, and was behind the bar, trying to get through the backlog of customers and shot him a deadly glare that said "if you value your job at all, you will get your ass back to this bar." He glanced back at Jess who was blushing with embarrassment and headed back to the bar – when he looked back, he saw Jess leaving Clyde's… with Fitch right behind her.
Now, after a hellacious shift and a reaming from Shane about his "commitment" to his work, Nick sat in his old, beat-up Honda, wondering what the hell was wrong with him. Jess hadn't done anything wrong, really. She was trying to fit in with her coworkers, and, being Jess, she couldn't just come out and tell the guy to beat it, so she tried to make everyone happy. He had totally blown it, and she was upset when she left – no doubt Fitch the douche would make sure to "comfort her." Their whole relationship was destined to end up in flames – it was just a matter of time. If he was smart, he would end it now, before he got in any deeper. The problem was, he didn't think he could get any deeper…
Over the din of the wiper blades and rain, he heard a song start on the radio – he thought he recognized the guy's voice and didn't particularly like him, and was about to turn the dial to off when the first plaintive lines caught him.
My girl, she ain't the one that I saw coming That you love, who you love Oh, you can't make yourself stop dreaming
And sometimes I don't know which way to go
And I tried to run before
But I'm not running anymore
Cause I've fought against it hard enough to know
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love
You love, who you love
Who you love
Who you're dreaming of
If it's who you love
Then it's who you love
His chest caught as he pondered the implications of the words. "Not the one I saw coming" – never in a million years did he see Jess coming. He wasn't exactly psyched to be 30 and living with two guys, but in truth, he always kind of expected that he would end up alone. Jess was some kind of fairytale princess that fell into his life and apartment – she was Snow White and he was Grumpy. He had watched as she dated a series of guys, tried to hide his growing feelings for her, fight the way he felt but eventually just couldn't kid himself anymore. That kiss after True American was the first time in his life that he actually went after something he wanted – really wanted. And since they uncalled it, he had been happier and more terrified than ever before in his life. And as the realization hit him, he was rocked back in his seat: He was in love with Jess – crazy, stupid in love with her. He couldn't stop it if he tried.
He didn't want to run from it anymore.