Warning: Profanity, drug references, sexual content, and crude humor.
A/N: Every fandom needs its sleepover story, right?
Chapter 1: Truth or…
Another day. Another job.
Though she didn't have to report to the Penalty Box today, Jen took on a different shift: heartbreak-mitigation duty.
Seeing that Jen was the only early bird within the gang and Caitlin could hardly sleep with heartbreak on her brain, she called Jen and poured out all her feelings about Benj. She didn't sob in Jen's ear once—admitting to being "all cried out" after yesterday—but her voice remained quite lovelorn.
"I really thought about us being together in the long-term," she confessed. "I wanted him to be my prom date and everything."
Although that differed from Jen's idea of "long-term," she still offered, "Aw, Cait, I'm sorry… Listen, if Nick and I aren't together by the time prom comes around, I'll be your prom date."
Caitlin sniffled. "...Really?"
"Yes, really. Just because you-know-who isn't your boyfriend anymore doesn't mean you should go stag at prom."
"Thanks, Jen. You really are the best friend ever."
"And so are you, which is why I'm gonna do whatever it takes to cheer you up. So, is there anything you need me to do?"
"No. You being on the phone is enough for me."
Despite Caitlin's inability to see it, Jen smiled.
"Anyways, I think I'm gonna go back to sleep for a couple hours. I'm kinda tired."
Jen glanced over at her nightstand, checking the time on the alarm clock. 9:15am.
Wow, she thought. They had been on the phone for a little over two hours now.
"Yeah, you should probably go and get some rest. Before you go, though: are you free later?"
Caitlin whimpered. "I was supposed to go to dinner with Benj tonight, but now my night is wide open, I guess."
"Well, how about we hang out instead?"
After a moment of silence, she said, "That works," in a frail tone.
"Great. Make sure you take it easy—okay, Caitlin?"
"I'll try," she replied. "I'll text you when I wake up."
"'Kay. Talk to you later."
"Bye."
Click.
Now that their call ended, Jen could really begin her day. She went downstairs and fixed herself some breakfast—eggs, toast, and orange juice—seeing that most (if not all) mornings, everyone was on their own for breakfast in the Masterson-Garcia home. Afterwards, she went about dusting and vacuuming, the latter being the usual task that woke Jonesy up on Saturday mornings.
Just as she vacuumed the last untouched part of the living-room carpet, Jonesy appeared in his blue robe and bear-claw slippers.
"Do you really have to do that this early?" he asked.
"Do you really have to ask me that every weekend?"
"I will until you stop."
"Well, I guess you'll be asking me 'til we graduate."
"Fine," he said, walking into the kitchen.
"Besides," she called to him, "I'm trying to have some company over later."
"Oh, really?" he asked as he poured some Lucky Charms. "Finally inviting your boyfriend over for a little 'action,' huh?"
As he chuckled obnoxiously, she asserted, "No. Get your mind out of the gutter, Jonesy." She rolled her eyes. "I'm thinking of inviting the gang over for a sleepover, that's all."
After pouring milk into his bowl, he said, "Oooh, what for?"
She sat on the couch. "Well, Caitlin's so down about breaking up with Benj that I don't think she should be alone right now. I just think she needs to be around us to take her mind off him."
He came back out with his bowl of cereal and plopped next to her on the couch. "Oh, damn. Sorry that happened to princess."
"Yeah, I am, too." She briefly looked away, feeling bad for her best friend. "So, would you stay in if the gang came over later?"
"What kinda question is that? Of course I would." He tried to recall the last time the entire group spent the night together. "Shit, I think the last sleepover we had was on New Year's."
Jen's jaw almost dropped. Had it been nearly six months since the last group sleepover? "Wait, really?"
"Yeah," he said with a mouth full of Lucky Charms, "'cause it was a couple weeks before me and Nikki got back together." He looked as though he had an epiphany, then devilishly smirked. "Oh, I am so down for tonight."
Jen eyed him curiously, wondering what made him perk up before pushing the thought away. I don't even wanna know.
"Anyways," she said, "I'll text the gang and ask if they're free."
"Cool."
She grabbed her phone off the coffee table and made a new group chat consisting of everyone except Caitlin. She asked if they were all available to spend the night at her and Jonesy's, seeing that Caitlin could probably use their moral support.
Minutes later, she exclaimed, Yes! inside her head once she received everyone's replies.
"Looks like we're having a sleepover tonight!" she said, flashing Jonesy an excited smile.
"Sweet."
"Now all I have to do is tell Cait—" She stopped in her tracks once she received a text from Caitlin herself, letting Jen know she was wide awake. Once Jen texted her back, asking her to come over later with an overnight bag, she felt elated. "Oh, I love it when a plan comes together!"
"You and me both, sis."
Hours later, most of the gang arrived and occupied the living room. The girls, minus Caitlin, sat next to each other in the middle of the couch while Jonesy and Wyatt sat on both ends.
"Is it lame that I'm kinda excited for tonight?" Sydni asked.
"Of course not," Jen said. "Why would it be lame?"
She shrugged. "Because, you know, it's my first sleepover with y'all. I feel like I'm about to be in on some sort of tradition or something."
Nikki smirked. "I mean, it's nothing that special. We usually just eat junk food, play games we should've left behind in middle school, and go to sleep at an ungodly hour."
"You're saying that like you don't have fun, Nik," Jen said.
"Oh, I definitely have fun with you guys; I'm just keeping it real."
"Well," Sydni said, "good thing I like junk food, old games, and sleep deprivation."
Nikki chuckled just as the doorbell rang.
Jen immediately sprung from the couch. "Oh, I bet that's Caitlin!"
"Five bucks says it's Jude," Jonesy said behind her back.
"Five bucks says it's actually Caitlin," Wyatt challenged.
"You're on."
Jen, eager to see the woman of the hour on the front steps, bypassed looking through the peephole to open the front door.
With a beaming smile, she greeted, "Hey, Cait— Oh, my bad." Even though the person at the door was a blonde friend of hers, it was definitely not Caitlin. "Hey, Jude. Come on in."
"Don't mind if I do," he said, flashing a grin at her.
As he strolled into the living room with a backpack strewn over his shoulder, Wyatt sighed, realizing he lost five dollars.
"Ante up," Jonesy said with his palm outstretched.
Wyatt reached into his pocket and pulled out a fiver, fighting his reluctance to put it in Jonesy's hand.
"Ha! Easy money."
"Why am I not surprised you always know when it's Jude?" Nikki asked with a grin.
Upon hearing his name, Jude asked, "Huh?"
"Nothing. I'm asking Jonesy if he's got some sort of tracker on you or something."
Jude squinted at his best friend, almost as if he was trying to peer through him. "Hmm… Well, do ya?"
Jonesy scoffed. "Does that even sound like a thing?"
"Dude tracker?" Nikki asked. "I can totally believe it."
The other girls and Wyatt laughed.
Jonesy rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
After a momentary silence, Jude mused, "Do ya really have some sort of tracker on me, bro?"
"Dude, how stoned are you right now?"
"Very." He chuckled before asking Jen, "By the way, got any snackage, bra? I'm gettin' kinda hungry."
"There's snacks in the kitchen," she replied. "And I ordered pizza not too long before you got here."
"Suh-weet," he drawled as he headed towards the kitchen.
"I find it hard to separate 'high Jude' from 'regular Jude,'" Wyatt noted.
Nikki added, "Especially when the lingering smell of weed goes away after a while."
"That's so deadass," Sydni started, "because he smelled really strong when I met him and now it's just… nothing."
"Stink cycle, dudes," Jude said as he walked back in the room with his hand in a bag of chips and his mouth full of them. "Starts out a lil gnarly, then fades outta existence."
"Spoken by the expert," Nikki said.
"Truly," Jonesy agreed, flashing Nikki a sly smile.
She grinned back at him for a moment, having her attention focused on him before Jude spoke again.
He beamed. "Anyways, I have some wicked news for everyone!" The gang stared at him in curiosity. A beat later, he said, "Wait—my bad—it's really only for Jonesy and Wyatt."
The guys eyed him.
"What is it?" Wyatt asked as the doorbell rang.
"Well, whatever it is has to wait," Jen said. "I bet that's Caitlin… for real this time."
Jonesy smirked. "Hey, Wyatt, how much do you wanna bet it's the pizza instead of princess?"
"Oh, no, I'm not losing another five dollars to you."
"Suit yourself."
After ringing the doorbell, Caitlin stood on the Masterson-Garcias' front steps with a baby-pink duffle bag in hand.
She wondered whether tonight would be a sleepover with just Jen or all her girls, seeing that Sydni only lived a few houses away and she swore she saw Nikki's car in the driveway. Then again, maybe Nikki and Jonesy had plans for the evening.
At least somebody does, she thought before the front door opened.
Jen appeared before her, exclaiming, "Caitlin, you made it!"
She found herself pulled into a warm hug, not unlike the kind she liked to give others on her better days. When Jen let go, Caitlin gave her a bittersweet smile.
"So, how are you holding up?"
"Okay, I guess," she said, the lovelorn tone from earlier pervading her voice. "I just still feel so down in the dumps."
"Well, I know you'll feel better once you step inside," Jen said, ushering her into the house.
She didn't know what to anticipate when she walked into the living room—assuming that perhaps Nikki and Sydni were here after all—but she didn't expect to see the rest of the gang.
"Ohmygosh!" she exclaimed, turning the three words into one. For the first time since she and Benj broke up yesterday, her lips upturned into a kilowatt smile. Her heart felt aglow.
"Surprised to see us, princess?" Jonesy asked with a knowing grin.
"Totally," she said, looking at all her friends' wonderful faces. "Aww, this just made my day!"
"Pssht, the day hasn't even started yet," he said. "Just kick back and relax. Pizza's on the way, snacks are in the kitchen, and your homies are all here."
A portion of her signature vibrance returned. She put her bag on the floor and ran to give him a hug. He always knew how to make her feel right at home.
"Hey," Jude interjected with arms outstretched, "I want a hug, too."
She smiled as she parted from Jonesy. "Luckily there's plenty of hugs to go around."
Given the kinds of hugs she ambushed them with, maybe today would be one of her better days after all.
Her friends gave her a much-needed boost of dopamine. Jude, Jonesy, and Wyatt were the brothers she never had. Likewise for Nikki, Jen, and even Sydni—they were her sisters. In times of heartbreak like this, she was reminded of the extended family she'd found within the gang. No matter the pain, they brought her the remedy through presence alone.
When she parted from Jude, she plopped next to him on the couch. "You guys don't even know how happy I am right now."
Seeing how low and blue Caitlin had been yesterday, Nikki said, "Glad to hear that, Barbie."
She wasn't sure if her smile ever left her lips.
After the pizza finally arrived and the gang ate until they were content, the girls put their bags in Jen's room, the guys put their bags in Jonesy's, and they all linked up to sit around on Jonesy's carpet.
"Okay," Jonesy said, grabbing an empty beer bottle from his nightstand. "Time for truth or dare, amigos."
Nikki nudged Sydni on the arm. "Here's the 'games we should've left behind' portion of the night."
Jonesy put the bottle on its side in the middle of the floor. "So, anyone want first dibs or should I go first?"
No one responded.
"Guess I'm going first then," he said. He spun the bottle around and around and watched as it slowed down. He smirked at the game's first player. "Alright, Sydni: truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Predictable."
"Hey, I just don't wanna find out what your idea of a dare is."
Cough. "Chicken." Cough.
She crossed her arms. "Knock it off, Jonesy."
"Yeah, shut up, Jonesy," Nikki said, glaring at him from across the circle.
"Anyways," Sydni asked, "what's your question?"
"Hmm," he said. "Okay, since I know you don't do much: what's the wildest shit you've ever seen at a party?"
She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Well, my friend Mickey threw a homecoming afterparty last year and things got super brazy. This one guy got so crossfaded that he went streaking through her house before throwing up in the front yard and passing out. Then somebody else got high on xans and almost jumped off the roof. Oh, and one of my friends heard that this girl gave head in the woods and got poison ivy from it. So… yeah… That was the wildest night of my whole-ass existence."
"Duuuuude, that's wild," Jude said.
Jonesy agreed. "No kidding. Damn, Syd, I didn't know you rolled like that."
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "It's not really me; I just happen to have some wild friends."
"Opposites attract, huh?"
She shot him a dirty look.
"What? I'm just saying. You're not exactly 'out there,' you know?"
"Oh no, I'm very aware. We can't all be extroverts."
"I'm not an extrovert either, if that helps," Wyatt said.
"Same here," Nikki confessed.
Caitlin's eyes widened. "But you're so outspoken."
"Yeah, what she said," Jude said. "You're one of the boldest chicks ever."
Nikki shrugged. "Introversion has nothing to do with shyness. It's more about whether people drain you or not, and—trust me—people drain the hell out of me."
"And then there's me: the shy introvert," Sydni said, raising her hand with timidity.
"In that case, it's your turn, shy introvert," Jonesy said.
She reached in the center of the gang's circle, spinning the bottle around. This time, it fell upon Jen.
"Okay: truth or dare?" Sydni asked.
"Hmm, I'll go with dare," she replied.
"Okay, I dare you to"—her eyes wandered around Jonesy's room until she saw a pile of dirty laundry—"hit Jonesy with one of his dirty gym socks."
"Hey!" he exclaimed with a furrowed brow.
Jen giggled as she got up and grabbed a sock. "Sorry, stepbro, but a dare's a dare."
He shut his eyes tightly when she approached him, readying himself for the hit.
She smirked as she thwacked him upside the face with the dirty sock, much to his chagrin.
While she tossed the sock aside and took her place in the circle again, Jonesy deadpanned, "Ha ha. Very funny, Sydni."
Ignoring his displeasure, she said, "Thanks! Your turn, Jen."
Jen spun the bottle, which landed on Nikki this time.
"Okay, Nik: truth or dare?"
"You know what? I'm in the mood for truth."
Her best friend grinned.
"What?"
"Well, since you're up for truth, I've always wanted to know: did you and Jonesy ever hook up between breaking up and getting back together?"
Caitlin and Jude went oooh, and the whole gang (minus Jonesy) stared at Nikki with burning curiosity. Jonesy merely sat with a content expression upon his face.
"Well, did ya?" Jude asked.
A recollection of Jonesy's lips brushing up against Nikki's own flashed across her mind. Her temperature ran hot under everyone's gaze.
After moments of silence and anticipation building up, she revealed, "We did."
"I knew it!" Jen said, quick to point her finger at Nikki.
"OMG!" Caitlin exclaimed. "When did this happen?"
Nikki averted her eyes, glancing out of the window to the left of her. "During midterms last semester. We were supposed to be studying at my place,"—she looked across at Jonesy—"but he somehow ended up making out with me instead."
He gave her a boyish smile, not unlike the charming one he gave her that day. "Guilty as charged, babe."
Jen's prying sent Nikki back to her living-room couch a few months ago. They'd been broken up for two months at that point, and each day her mind lingered over the what ifs. Nevertheless, they decided to hold a platonic study session together. In retrospect, she should've known that studying with him would never result in any actual studying. Rather, it always led to him pining over her and her scolding herself for reciprocating such pining.
They'd gone from reviewing Canadian history to revisiting their own when he leaned into her. He brushed his lips against hers, further fueling the small fire within her.
She gently pulled herself away from him and sighed. "Jonesy."
"Nik," he said, his voice gentle. "I really miss you."
"And I miss you, too, but we can't do this right now."
"Well, if we both miss each other, then why not?"
"Because… now's not the right time. You know I just broke up with Stone. And then we've got these exams, and I know I don't wanna be thinking about us when I'm supposed to be thinking about the French and Indian War."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Like clockwork, the boyish grin she adored appeared on his face. "Is it bad I still wanna kiss you, though?"
She gulped. Her gaze lingered over his brown eyes, then his coy-smiling lips which were somehow centimeters away from her own again. "No… it's not bad at all."
They then went for it, kissing each other on her couch—only stopping when they heard her mom nearby. When both of them had come to their senses, they'd agreed to wait until later to discuss any plans of getting back together.
Of course, later never arrived. It was something between them they'd left unspoken—until today.
"Ooh, I always had a feeling something happened between you two!" Caitlin interjected, with her statement receiving support from Jen.
If only they knew about what happened last night, Nikki thought with a mental snort.
However, such a quip reminded her of last night's events and how she didn't want their let's talk about this tomorrow to turn into another later and an eventual never. She didn't want it to become another unexpected development in their relationship that got overlooked because they opted to put it off.
Since a boundary was crossed, they needed to redefine the lines as soon as possible.
"You okay, Nikki?" Wyatt asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I was saying it's your turn, but you kinda zoned out for a second."
"Yeah, babe," Jonesy said, "you had a Jude moment there."
Snapping out of his daydreams, Jude looked around at the mention of his name. "Huh?"
The rest of the gang laughed.
"I rest my case," Jonesy said with a chuckle. "Anyways, your turn, Nik."
"Okay," she said, reaching out and spinning the bottle. This time it landed upon Caitlin. "Alright, Blondie, you know the drill."
"Okay… Hmm… I choose dare."
"Interesting," Nikki noted with a wicked smirk. "Okay, I dare you to let me choose the worst photo from your camera roll and put it on your Instagram."
Her eyes widened. "What?!"
"You heard me," Nikki said, such a smirk remaining on her face. "And you have to keep it up there for a day."
"Ooh, that's a good one," Jen said.
Caitlin's grip around her cellphone tightened. "Don't encourage her!"
"I dunno, Cait," Jude said. "it's a pretty funny dare."
Caitlin stared at Jonesy, hoping he'd side with her.
He shrugged. "You gotta go through with it… unless you're chicken."
As she sat there and clutched her phone against her chest, Jonesy started clucking at her with glee. The rest of the group joined him.
"Okay, fine! Just go easy on me." She unlocked her phone and handed it to a satisfied Nikki, murmuring, "I knew I should've deleted all my ugly selfies."
She scrolled through Caitlin's photo gallery, musing, "Wow, there's some gems on here."
"Hey, a lot goes into posting the perfect selfie!" she said before putting her face into her palma. On the bright side, at least she unfollowed Benj on all her socials the night before. That made this moment less disastrous.
A few seconds later, Nikki couldn't stop laughing after finding the (im)perfect photo. She showed everyone in the group except for Caitlin herself, only letting Caitlin see it once it was uploaded on Instagram.
In the photo, Caitlin's emerald eyes were opened far too wide and her smile was way too perky.
"I look insane," she said.
Nikki chuckled. "C'mon, Caitlin, it's not that bad."
"Yeah, Cait," Jen said. "You still look really cute in it."
She sobered. "...I do?"
"Of course. You look kinda over-eager, but cute."
Jude gave her the okay hand gesture. "Totally smokin', bra."
Caitlin grinned softly. "Aww. Thanks, guys."
"Now that a crisis is averted," Nikki joked, "it's your turn."
She complied and spun the bottle, watching it point at… "Wyatt: truth or dare?"
He grinned warmly. "Easy: truth."
"Boo," Jonesy heckled, causing Jude to snicker.
Wyatt ignored them, feeling a sense of calm—until Caitlin asked her question.
"Are you dating anybody right now?"
His insides froze.
Oh, no. No, no, no. He mentally groaned. Just say something. It'll look suspicious if you keep quiet.
"No, not right now. Why?" he asked, keeping his voice even and his expression unbothered.
Please don't tell me she found out. I mean, there's no way… right? I know I'm not the best at sneaking around, but there's no way she knows about me and—
"Because… I wanna fix you up!" She giggled and beamed at him (albeit not in the same overzealous way as her latest Instagram post). "I just thought that maybe setting you up on a few dates might help me get over Benj. It's like: If I'm not with someone I really like, maybe I can help one of my friends find someone they'll really like."
He averted his eyes, staring at the beige carpet on which they all sat. "I don't know, Caitlin."
"Please, please, please, Wyatt. I know some really great girls who'd love to go out with a guy like you."
He looked at her face once more and found himself entranced by her wounded, puppy-adjacent expression. He sighed.
Why do I feel like I'm gonna regret this? "Sure. I'll do it."
She got up from her spot and ambushed him with a hug. "Thanks, Wyatt! You're the best!"
Despite his unease, he gave her a tiny grin.
Once she sat back down, he spun the bottle, which pointed towards Jude.
"Okay, Jude: truth or dare?" Wyatt asked.
"Dare all the way, bro," Jude said.
"Hmm…" Wyatt said, trying to think of something. Between freaking out about Caitlin unearthing his secret relationship and lying to cover his behind once more, he encountered a brain fart when trying to come up with a good dare for Jude. "Sorry, man, I really can't think of anything."
"Come on, man. You can't think of anything?" Jonesy asked. "Get him to eat a Tide pod or something for crying out loud."
Jude shrugged. "I'm down."
"Let's not have Jude rushed to the emergency room," Jen said as she squinted at Jonesy.
"Would you have really eaten one of those Tide pods?" Wyatt asked Jude in disbelief.
"…Yeah."
He facepalmed himself. This was Jude, after all.
"Shit, Jude," Nikki started, "did you outsmoke your last few brain cells?"
He replied with a chuckle and a maybe so.
"Oh, brother," Jen said, joining Wyatt in facepalming herself. "Maybe instead of waiting for Wyatt to come up with a dare and Jonesy trying to send Jude to the hospital—"
"Hey, I was just joking! He didn't have to take it literally."
"—Jude should just go with truth."
"That's fine with me," Jude said. "I can do that."
"...I really can't think of any good truth questions either," Wyatt said.
"Wow, lame," Jonesy interjected.
Ignoring him, Wyatt continued, "If anyone wants to throw something out there that they wanna ask Jude, then I'm okay with that."
"Hmm." Mischief engulfed Nikki's expression. "You know, Jude, I've been curious about something," she said while stroking her chin. "Who was your first kiss?"
Much like Wyatt before, he froze. "St-Starr. It was totally Starr."
"Really? Because, when we hung out yesterday, you alluded to it being with somebody else."
He scratched the back of his head through his tuque. "Um…"
"You know you're not the best liar, right? And you're not the best secret-keeper either, so you might as well confess."
"Okay, fine," Jude said. "My first kiss was with Jonesy."
His best friend groaned.
"Shut up!" Caitlin exclaimed with her jaw agape and her eyes fixed upon Jonesy.
Wyatt's expression existed somewhere between shock and sheer amusement. "No way."
"It was a complete accident!" Jonesy exclaimed, flailing his arms through the air.
Through her cackling, Nikki asked, "How did the two of you end up kissing on accident?"
"Jonesy was teachin' me how to kiss so I could know what to do with Starr, but he was giving off these vibes, man!"
"Kiss-the-chick vibes, Jude! Not kiss-me vibes!"
"My bad!" Once the gang's amusement wore off and the two boys calmed down, Jude said, "Y'know, now that I think about it, though, it wasn't a such a bad kiss."
Jonesy groaned once more. Not only did he have to relive the embarrassment of being kissed by the wrong best friend, but he also had to hear that it was good? "Ugh, dude."
Sydni giggled. "Watch out, Nikki: Jude might take your man."
After a few more rounds of Truth or Dare came and went, the gang tried to settle upon what else they would do for the night.
"Hey, Jude," Wyatt said, "what was that big surprise you were gonna tell me and Jonesy about earlier?"
"Oh, yeah," Jude said once he was reminded, "guess who got first dibs on Fortwatch cuz of the game store?"
"No way!" Jonesy exclaimed.
"For real?" Wyatt asked.
Jude nodded. "Yup."
"I've been waiting for months for that to come out!" Wyatt said.
"What the hell is Fortwatch?" Nikki asked, interrupting the guys' video-game euphoria.
"Only the coolest, most intense, sci-fi survival game on planet earth!" Jude said, flailing his arms around for emphasis.
"Is there anything about it that's like SimuMall or The Sims?" Caitlin asked, seeing that those were two of the only video games that ever piqued her interest. (Although, there was a Barbie video game she loved to play when she was younger.)
"Nah, not really. It's more of a shooter game," Jude replied.
"Oh," she said as she turned to the girls. "No wonder only the guys are interested."
"I guess it's gonna be a real nerdfest in here tonight," Nikki said, much to the guys' chagrin.
"Hey!" Wyatt exclaimed.
Nikki crossed her arms and quirked her pierced eyebrow, giving him a look that asked, "Am I wrong, though?"
He sighed in reply.
"Thought so."
"Don't worry, we'll be out of here ASAP," Jen said.
The girls dipped and headed to Jen's room, leaving the boys to their own devices.
However, after they left and Jonesy set up his game console, his brothers swooped in.
"What are you two doing in here?" Jonesy asked with annoyance in his voice. He felt it in his bones that they were eager to start some shit.
"We just wanna see what you're playing, big bro," Diego spoke.
"It's a great game called None of Your Damn Business."
"Ha. Funny."
After a tense silence, Robbie ambushed Jonesy and snatched the game from him. He looked at the game's case, and his eyes widened. "Yo, they've got Fortwatch!"
"No way!" Diego exclaimed.
"Yes way—and you two aren't playing it," Jonesy said, snatching it from Robbie.
"Oh, yes we are," Diego said, snatching it back from Jonesy.
He snatched it again from Diego. "Yeah, right. Now scram."
Diego crossed his arms. "We'll leave once we get the game."
Jonesy raised his arm straight into the air, keeping the game out of his brothers' reach, especially short Robbie, who began jumping up and down in an attempt to grab it. Their oldest brother smirked. "I guess you're gonna be watching us play it all night then."
"Or I could tell dad and Emma what really happened yesterday," Diego said.
His smirk evaporated. "You wouldn't."
"Try me."
"Ugh," Jonesy groaned. "Fine, take the freaking game."
"Nice doing business with you," Diego said with a smug look.
Once Jonesy's brothers left, Wyatt asked, "Now what?"
Jonesy sat on his bed with his upper body slumped in defeat. "I have no idea."
With their pajamas on, the girls sat around in Jen's room. A random Netflix movie played in the background as they talked. Though Nikki, Jen, and Caitlin always tried to actually watch the movie they selected together, their conversations took precedence over the plot. Even with Sydni added to the mix, tonight was no different. They discussed Jen's ascension from being student-council secretary in the tenth grade to being vice president in the eleventh to being senior-class president in the fall. They talked about articles Sydni planned on writing for her blog—which she recently retitled from I Swear I'm Sane to As Bambi Blogs. They also chatted about Nikki's plans to visit her dream school, Banting University, in a couple weeks.
"I'm finally gonna hear about their poly-sci program from an actual student in that major," Nikki said.
"Oooh, really?" Jen asked.
"Yep. I got an email about it from the university the other day. The girl I'm supposed to be staying with is a second-year student, and—get this—she also minors in journalism."
"Wow, that's your whole career plan right there."
"I know! Hopefully she's just as cool in real life as she is on paper; it'd be nice to get to know somebody who actually goes to the school." Seeing that she, Jen, and Sydni had already spoken about their lives at the moment, Nikki asked, "So, Blondie, how are things going with you? You know, aside from what happened yesterday."
"Oh, things are okay, I guess," Caitlin replied. "I'm better now that I'm with you guys."
"Well, how's college prep going?" Jen asked.
"It's going fine. I'm starting to look into more schools with fashion design as a major, and I've been coming across a lot of stuff. I'm even been sketching some design ideas."
"That's good!" Jen said, glad that she was doing more than just sulking over boys.
"Thanks," Caitlin said with a soft smile.
Jen knew what a lovelorn Caitlin looked like. She still had a gleam of sadness in her eyes, a smile with dialed-down intensity, and a voice that lacked strong emotive qualities. Though it seemed like Caitlin was feeling better during Truth or Dare, it was evident to Jen that she wasn't yet cured of her heartbreak. She felt a resolution in her heart to help mend Caitlin's heartbreak by the end of the night. By the time the gang went to sleep, Jen assured herself that Caitlin would be bubblier than ever. She'd be smiling with liveliness, devoid of sadness in her eyes, and giggling with unbridled joy before she left for her home tomorrow. Jen made it her personal mission.
Fifteen minutes later, as her friends quieted down and took to actually watching the movie, Nikki's mind drifted to earlier's game of Truth or Dare. She hadn't thought about that post-breakup, pre-makeup hookup in ages—not since the week it happened, if she was being honest with herself.
The difference between that incident and last night, however, was that last night would never leave her alone. The sparks—no, the lightning between her and Jonesy rendered itself quite unforgettable. Unlike before, she wasn't adversed to letting him make her feel like that again. She just wanted to talk to him, making sure they both knew where things were headed, especially before another situation like this happened and caused a storm they weren't prepared for.
Nope. They were going to talk about it right now.
She didn't care about the guys' all-night nerdfest surrounding their game. They could get back to it after she and Jonesy had their discussion. Right now, her relationship took precedence.
She stood up from her friends' huddle on the floor around Jen's television. "I'll be back. I gotta go talk to Jonesy," she said, walking out of Jen's room afterwards.
Before Sydni knew it, midway through the movie, Jen and Caitlin were conversing with each other.
She glanced over at them, noticing the invisible bubble that surrounded them. They looked like the best of friends within it. They looked happy and safe. In fact, Caitlin appeared much more jovial, not unlike during Truth or Dare a couple hours ago. While glad that Jen was able to lift Caitlin's spirits after the disaster that was yesterday's pool party, Sydni wished that they could make some room for her in that bubble of two. She wanted to help Caitlin get to a better place without Benj, too. She felt like she owed it to her. After all, Caitlin was in the midst of helping Sydni grab Alejandro's attention when Benj split her heart in half.
However, the Nikki-Tristan debacle reminded her to remain calm about Jen and Caitlin. Besides, the latter two knew each other longer than Nikki and Tristan. They had an already-established dynamic, something Sydni was still forging with Jen and Caitlin individually. Still, longing to be invited into their bubble, she briefly reminisced on the days where she, Danielle, and Michaela all hung out in a bubble of their own—a place where the world couldn't even touch them.
Since her two best friends were nowhere in sight, Sydni had to rely on something she had an already-established dynamic with: her phone. Thus, she entered her passcode and unlocked a way to entertain herself as Jen and Caitlin talked amongst themselves.
She sent her friends from home a message in their group chat, reminding them of how she missed them and asking what their plans for the evening were. Even though she wasn't in Baltimore anymore, she could at least amuse herself from afar with what her friends would get themselves into tonight.
As she awaited a reply, she scrolled through social media, looking at people looking happy in photos surrounded by their friends, looking at people looking in love with their significant others.
While she continued to scroll, her phone vibrated once in her hands, with a notification demanding her attention. She glanced at the text message on her notification screen, and her heart nearly lept from her chest.
Shit.