Story: "Things Have Changed"
Chapter: 4: "Roommate Bonding Day"
Author: StJimmyHasSinned

SmashTheSilence: I think I might have PMed you with the answer to your question but I can't remember. So anyway, yes, Jimmy does care about Johnny as a friend (even if he refuses to admit it sometimes).

Lizsername: You're soooo awesome, and I can't wait until you come to BHS! Trust me, it's not as bad as everyone says, you're going to have a blast in high school! Freshmen year was so fun and easy, but beware because sophomore year sucks the worst!

Jamie Anne Coconino: Haha I'm happy you liked the Whatsername quote. And I'm glad you're enjoying the story. You're soooo lucky to have met John Gallagher jr! :D


Chapter Four:

The rest of the night was horrible. Jimmy and I refused to speak or make eye contact with each other. And, needless to say, Whatsername's dinner plans were out of the question. Minutes after the incident, Jimmy did walk back into the dining room, but only to get his bowl of pasta and a beer. He locked himself in his room for the remainder of the day. I was surprised that he didn't decide to drink away his problems at the bar; like he usually did anytime he was pissed off or sad.

I wanted to go after him. I wanted to sit in front of his door until he finally decided to talk to me. But Whatsername advised against it.

"Trust me Dear, you're the last person he wants to see right now," she told me as I started to walk towards Jimmy's room.

I didn't stop though. I didn't feel like listening to her.

"Johnny…" Whatsername said, making me turn around.

"Fine. You're right." I stopped walking and turned around. My head crooked slightly down. "It's just…I can't have Jimmy mad at me like this. It's killing me inside."

"You know he doesn't dwell on things."

"Yeah but-"

"You know he won't drag this on any longer than a day."

"But Whatsername, we get in so many fights. We argue all the time. What if this is it? What if now he decides that he doesn't wanna be associated with me anymore?"

"Johnny, you're being paranoid, that's all." She gave me a reassuring smile. "Besides, if it was that serious I wouldn't let it get that far."

I sighed loudly. "The dinner thing was a great idea, and I screwed it up. We should do more roommate-bonding sometime."

"Do you actually want to do more 'roommate-bonding' or do you just want to find more excuses to be with Jimmy?"

I blushed, and we both laughed. "You suck sometimes," I joked as we continued to chuckle.

The next day was better. A lot better. Whatsername, in an attempt to break the tension, had me meet her at some lake. I had to walk a mile from the loft just to get there. I didn't understand what the point was, but when I got there it was all made clear.

There were kids swimming around playfully in the shallow end of the water. There were teens on the beach sitting at tables and chatting. There were adults sitting in chairs on the beach, talking and tanning. There were…Whatsername and Jimmy…who were standing near a dock. I walked over to my friends.

This better not be her idea of 'roommate-bonding', I thought.

I expected his reaction towards me to be a mixture of surprised and pissed. But he didn't say anything when I arrived. Actually, he showed no sign of emotion at all, throwing me off guard.

"Wow Johnny, what brings you here on a day such as today?" Whatsername asked, walking towards me.

"Well…You invited me."

"Right…Well I'll be right back. I'm gunna go get some beers for us."

Jimmy turned around. "Wasn't that your excuse last time?" he asked bluntly.

"What excuse? I just wanna get some drinks."

Meanwhile, I went through Whatsername's car to see what she packed for our day of fun.

Some towels. Some sunscreen. Some snacks. Some extra clothes. Here we go…an iPod speaker.

I pulled it out of the car and rummaged around the glove compartment for an iPod. Finally finding it, I let Whatsername take the car to the nearest liquor store, once again leaving me along with Jimmy.

We still weren't talking to each other, but I assumed we were on good terms since I caught him shooting me a smile. Once we were alone, he ripped off his shirt and dove into the water. I took my shirt off too, but sat on the edge of the dock, searching for a song to play. After looking through all the artists on Whatsername's iPod, Green Day was my final choice. She's A Rebel started to blast from the speakers as I watched Jimmy swim around aimlessly. Towards the end of the song Jimmy got out of the water and started to dry himself off with a towel. I just watch as he did all this. After about a minute of baking in the sun, Jimmy sat right next to me, letting his feet dangle just like mine. My heart started taking a faster rhythm, but not enough for Jimmy to really notice a difference in my breathing.

Then he looked at me. "My make-up's smeared, isn't it?" he asked.

"A little bit."

He rolled his eyes.

"But it's fine," I assured him.

"So why did you even agree to come here today anyway?" he asked me, out of the blue.

"Because I just can't live without you," I joked.

It's true… I thought.

He smiled at me. "Doesn't this song remind you of Whatsername a little?"

"Uhh...I guess so..." I really had no clue what to say to that.

The song changed to Extraordinary Girl. It was Jimmy's favorite song off the album. I also really liked it. I started to mimic the drum beat on my legs.

Jimmy watched as I did so. "A little slower," he said.

In hopes to keep his attention, I didn't listen to him. I continued to drum at my own pace.

It started to annoy Jimmy. "Your drumming is off," he said, frustrated. "Here." He took my hands in his, and started to drum a little slower.

The feeling of my hand being in his sent chills up my spine. My breathing got even heavier and my heart-rate increased. I had the overwhelming desire to just kiss him right then and there. But I decided against that. Suddenly, the drumming stopped, as the actual song began to start. I though Jimmy would pull his hands, and the magic, away. But instead, he held my hands even tighter.

The only thing that could have made that an even more perfect moment was a kiss. And so, it happened. Without thinking, I leaned closer and kissed Jimmy's lips. They were so soft that I didn't want to let go. But I had to…

Jimmy froze, not even bothering to remove my hands from his. I didn't know what to make of his expression. He didn't look mad. He didn't look happy either. He seemed a little taken aback, but I couldn't tell if it was bad or good.

Letterbomb started to play, but it wasn't until after the intro that Jimmy moved. This time he leaned in and kissed me. It was only a few seconds long, but lasted longer than the first one. After a few moments Whatsername's car appeared, and we both pulled back.

He smiled at me, but then said, "don't tell Whatsername this time." He jumped back into the water like nothing had even happened.


A/N: And there's another chapter. Hehe to the Whatsername song joke (if anyone caught it). I actually took the time to come up with chapter titles too! So anyway, questions, comments, constructive criticism…? Review! :)