Chapter Two: The Bonfire
Paige and Hazel were walking in the hallway, toward the gym for spirit squad practice. "So Paige, what's up with you and Jay?" Manny asked sarcastically. Paige shot a hateful glance at Hazel. "Sorry Paige, I had to tell someone." Hazel replied innocently. "Look, it was just a kiss. It's not like we married each other." "Well then why are you making such a big deal out of it?" asked Darcy. "I'm making a big deal because everyone is acting like we are in love or something. One kiss, one time, no big deal." "Wrong", Manny began, "It's a huge deal. I mean come on; you said that you didn't even like him that way." "I don't, or at least I think I don't…"
"Okay", Hazel began, "How about we just skip practice for today, yes?" "I'm all for that", Paige replied relieved. Paige didn't even take the time to change into her regular clothes. She grabbed her gym bag and made a run for it. Paige wasn't even paying attention to where she was going, when suddenly caught Jay's eye. "Hey there miss cheerleader." "I think that's getting a little old, just call me Paige." "Okay, well then Paige…What may I ask are you doing tomorrow night?" "Well that depends, what did you have in mind?" Paige asked. "Well I was going to keep it kind of simple, so how do you like bonfire parties?" "If you're going, then I guess it could be fun." Jay had a delighted look on his face. "Pick you up at seven?" "Sure", Paige replied, shocked at herself.
Paige walked to Hazel's house and ran straight upstairs, in hopes of avoiding Hazel's mom. "Hey Paige". "Hey Hun." "So, did you see your lover?" Hazel asked jokingly. "He's not my lover. But yes, and I am going with him to a bonfire party tomorrow night." "Oh, yeah?" "Oh don't flatter yourself; we're just going out as friends." "Uh huh. Sure. Whatever you say Paige. Just be careful…this parties sometimes get a little…out of control. Paige rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. It's not like we're going to do anything…that bad." "I'm just saying", Hazel replied lost in thought. "Well, I better get home", Paige said hurriedly. "Okay, bye." Paige fled down stairs and out the door.
Friday came faster than Paige had expected. She walked home to go change into some jeans and a white t-shirt. She looked out her bedroom window and saw Jay leaning against his car, honking the horn. She ran to the door and slowly, yet casually walked to Jay's car. "Well hello", he said with a sober grin. "Hey. Are you ready to go to the bonfire?" "Yup. I'm ready if you are." "Good", Paige replied as a smile crept upon her face. Jay turned the radio on as Alice In Chains with the song Rooster blared from the speakers. They arrived at the bonfire just in time to see a star shoot across the sky. "Did you make a wish?" Paige asked. "Nope. I already got my wish…you." Paige inhaled and exhaled a deep breath.
Jay took her by the waist before she could speak. Paige looked up at him as he leaned into her and kissed her. They stood like this for a moment, when suddenly one of Jay's unknown friends came up. Jay put his arm around Paige. "Hey, Jay. Who's this?" asked the stranger. "This is Paige." "Well hello there Paige, I'm Brad." "Hi", Paige said nervously. "Jay, can I talk to you for a minute in private?" Brad asked. Jay looked at Paige and she said, "Go ahead, I need to call someone anyway." "I'll be right back", Jay replied reassuringly.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me Brad", Jay said angrily once he was sure that Paige was out of hearing range. "Well I thought you might want this." Brad pulled out a brown paper bag containing some kind of pills. "You know I'm trying to stay sober", Jay said unsure of himself. "Come on you don't have to show off for that girl." "Hey man. That girl happens to be my…friend." "Whatever. Call me when you're not hung up on some girl." "Shut up man. Stay away from me." Jay walked away to where Paige was standing. "Let's get out of here", Jay said in an annoyed tone. "Jay, is everything okay?" Paige asked worried. "Yeah. Let's go to my place." "Um… Okay, I guess." Paige suddenly started to think about what Hazel said.
"Here we are", Jay said. Paige bit her nail on her thumb and got out of the car hesitantly. Paige walked beside Jay and stepped into an apartment. "You own this place?", Paige asked. "Yeah. It's okay I guess." Jay took her hand and led her to the exact place that she'd hoped he wouldn't…the bedroom. They both sat down and Jay began to kiss her again. He laid her down gently while still maintaining to kiss Paige. Paige nudged him as a sign to stop. "What's wrong?", he asked worriedly. "Look, Jay. I like you, but…I really don't think it's quite the time and place for this." Jay looked at her with confusion written across his face. "Jay", Paige said sweetly. "I think we should just take this slowly. Get to know each other better, you know?" Jay nodded in agreement. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
"I'll wait for you he said. I don't want to rush you." "Thank you Jay. And hey, you never know, maybe someday we'll be able to come back to this. I'm not saying no, I'm just asking for a reign check, okay?" "Okay", he replied with a grin.