CHAPTER ONE
"You looked through her phone?" Jess almost yelled in shock "Schmidt, you do not do that to Cece."
Schmidt looked defensively at her big blue eyes. "I – it was right there." He sighed, almost dramatically. "I had a momentary lapse of panic."
Jess sighed as well, and half-smiled at Schmidt almost apologetically. Schmidt's face was traced with regret as he put his head down, his right hand forming into a fist and he leaned his head on it. Nick and Winston sat on the other end of the couch uncomfortably, wanting anything but to try to participate in this conversation they were shoved into.
After contemplating a moment, Jess spoke up quietly to Schmidt. "Did you White Fang her?"
Schmidt nodded. "Yes, I White Fanged her."
With that, Nick and Winston looked up from the football game to Schmidt with an open-mouthed grimace.
"What the hell is that, man?" Nick threw his arms up, "Nevermind. I don't want to know."
"What can I do, Jess? A beauty like Cece? I have no chance." Schmidt looked up, ignoring Nick.
"You can call her," Jess spoke authoritatively, "and tell her you had a 'momentary lapse of panic.'"
Schmidt looked slightly concerned. Jess furthered, "She'll resist at first, but just keep pushing. If she does in fact like you, she'll give in.
"Just know this; Cece has this weird thing with trust. She's been," Jess hesitated, "let down a lot, okay?"
Schmidt solemnly nodded and got up to head to his bedroom.
The first time he tried he left a very quick and concise voicemail. Quick to the point, he thought, she'd listen.
Schmidt stared at the chair across the room where, to his completely satisfaction and pride, they had done it three times one February night. He grinned, thinking back – then suddenly dropped into a frown at the thought that there was a possibility there would be no more of that.
He began typing in frenzy, sending multiple texts to her. He rapidly stood up and dialed Cece, proceeding to leave four more voicemails – each becoming more and more detailed and frantic – as he paced about the front of his bed.
Somewhat satisfied at this, he sat back down and nodded. "Yeah, that'll do it." He gave a half-hearted smile at the chair, and lied down to stare at the ceiling.
Cece lingered out of her bathroom wearing a yellow sports bra and a pair of tiny striped shorts all topped off with her damp hair up in a bun. She noticed her phone lit-up on the kitchen counter. She smiled thinking it was Jess.
'Cecilia, it's Schmidt. The whole White Fang thing? Can we talk about it?'
'Cece, I'm sorry.'
'I take it back. Please, Cece. Just talk to me.'
'I take it back, Cece, I take it back! I meant it when I said I care about you.'
She blankly stared at the tiny screen as another text popped up.
'Cece, please. Please.'
Cece threw the phone onto the counter, dawdling over to the couch to distract herself. Grabbing her favorite blanket, she wrapped it around her and sat down. She turned on the TV to see America's Next Top Model on and she internally frowned at the memory of not making it onto the show, and Jess trying to console her at her favorite restaurant with fat-free chocolate ice-cream cake.
A light appeared on the counter and Cece knew it was her phone again. But she decided to ignore it, and turned her attention back to the show. A couple minutes later, another light appeared and she barely even gave it a glance. During the commercial break, Cece got up to the fridge and took out some ice-cream.
She placed it on the counter, thinking what it was that possessed her to grab it as she rarely allowed herself the dessert. As she scooped out enough for a huge bowl, her phone lit up once again. She took the bowl and shoveled the ice-cream into her mouth as she flicked the phone off, which lit up one more time, with her petite middle finger.
Schmidt found Jess in her popular heart pajamas reading a book while lying on her bed. He knocked softly and she welcomed him in with a gentle 'it's open.'
"Watcha doin', mister? It's eleven o'clock and you know I have school in the morning." Jess put her book down and patted the end of her bed for Schmidt.
Schmidt furrowed his eyebrows before beginning. "What you said about Cece earlier… What did you mean by that? You know, her being let down a lot?"
Jess scrunched her lips together, wondering if she should delve into this conversation with him. She didn't want to betray Cece.
"What? Cheating boyfriends?" Schmidt gave his legendary smile. "'Cause you know I'd never do that."
Jess moved her legs to sit 'criss-cross applesauce' and gave him a sincere look. "I know Schmidt."
"Is it…" Schmidt hesitated, clearing his throat and taking a more solemn tone. "Is it about her father passing away when she was young? I mean, I know that can be –"
"She told you about that?" Jess interjected. She smiled genuinely at him as Schmidt gave a puzzled look. "She doesn't let a lot of people in. Only me and her family know about that."
Schmidt mouthed 'oh' but no sound came. After a moment of thinking and silence, he stood up and walked out of the room.
Jess confusedly called out to him but she was returned with nothing but the thud of the front door closing.