CHAPTER 9

Hey, guys. Sorry it's been ages since I've last updated. Y'know.. the usual homework and athletics, but also I've been rediscovering my writing style, if you get what I mean. This fic.. this style of writing isn't me. But since I know a lot of people enjoy this story, I am committed to finishing it, and making it better than it is. Hence Chapter 9. Enjoy!

Jack's POV

The moment I step through the doorway, I know the next few hours are going to be torture. Tall steel pots set on burners are placed around a lavender tablecloth-draped table, and a wide assortment of candle molds are scattered all over the white tablecloth. The smell of melted wax is so strong I have to resist the urge to run out the door.

"Oh. My. Goodness!" Izzy squeals, bracelets tinkling as she pulls me to the nearest chair and shoves me into it. "This is going to be so much fun!" She sits beside me, barely able to contain her excitement. "See, I told you that you'd love it!" She turns to look at me, and I guess I must look unhappy, because her expression becomes unsure. "You love it, don't you?" She questions worriedly.

And suddenly I'm hit with the strange need to keep her happy, so I force a smile onto my face. "Of course I love it, Izzy. Why wouldn't I?" As soon as the words are out, I feel like puking. What's wrong with me? I've never wanted to keep Isabelle happy. The only girl I've ever loved is Kim.

Kim. I think back to the argument we had last night at Starbucks. We haven't fought like that for years- in fact, we rarely ever fight. But the few fights we do have are always catastrophic- usually, we stop talking for months, even years. And I know that right now, I don't want that to happen. It can't happen. Sure, I have other friends, but Kim always has been and probably always will be the better half of me. It's just the way things are. And, I'd never admit it out loud, but I just don't want to lose her.

So, while Isabelle is occupied picking out candle molds, I covertly pull my phone out and send a quick text to Kim:

I'm really, really sorry for everything. I understand if you don't want to talk to me anymore, but I'm asking you now to forgive me. –J

During the rest of the class, I can't think about anything or anyone else, and even get so distracted that I nearly eat hot wax by accident. Izzy, of course, doesn't even notice, being too absorbed in creating an intricate lavender-scented candle. She may be many things, but she's definitely not lazy.

Almost four hours later, we walk out of that stuffy room- Izzy with three beautiful candles, and me with one mashed-up blue mess of wax and no reply from Kim. But I couldn't care less about the candle- it's Kim that's worrying me. She does reckless things when she's angry. I really, really hope she's okay right now.

I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that I don't see the stray cat curled up on the pavement, and of course trip over it, dropping my candle. Luckily, I manage not to fall over- years of karate training don't leave you even after you quit. The cat yowls loudly and streaks away, and I turn to see Isabelle picking something up off the pavement.

"What's that?" I ask, curious. She straightens quickly, smoothing her skater skirt.

"Oh- I dropped my lipstick." She widens her eyes and bites her lip. "I think it broke." She reaches into her purse and pulls a tube of lipstick out. "Nope, not broken. Yay!"

I watch her, suspicious. "All right, then….?" I say, but it comes out like a question.

Later

Isabelle drops me off at my house after another terrifying ride, and I wait for her car to vanish from sight before I head to Kim's place. It isn't long before I'm standing before her front door, and before I can stop myself I ring the doorbell.

Isabelle's POV

I park my car a few blocks from Jack's house, my curiosity getting the better of me as I pull his phone out of my limited edition Chanel purse. His phone looks like it's a couple years old, and surprisingly the screen isn't cracked even though it fell to the pavement earlier.

I type in the lock code- Jack's careless with passwords- and look through it for a while before finally finding his text messages. My pulse speeds up as I tap on the icon, although I'm not sure why. I just need to know what's going on between him and that girl, I think to myself.

Scrolling through a [barrage] of text messages, I don't see anything relevant. Most of his texts today have been from some guy named Jerry. I don't bother to open them. But then I find a girl's name. Kim Crawford- the girl Jack was talking to that day at his school. I inhale sharply as I read the messages, in reverse chronological order.

Tears gather in my eyes, blurring my vision. I turn off the phone and drop it on the seat beside me, then collapse on the sun-warmed dashboard with my face resting on my arms. It's only now, after reading those flirty texts that I suddenly realize how easy it would be to lose Jack. Since we began dating, seeing him has been something I've looked forwards to each day. I've begun to really love him, and I thought he felt the same way until today.

Part of me wants to hate Kim, to blame her for my pain. But mostly, I'm just crushed. Jack's kinder to her than he is to me. He told her he loves her. He loves her. Not me. And I can't suppress my sobs, because I thought I found someone who actually believed in me, who actually cared for me, and it turns out I was wrong again.

"Control yourself, Izzy," I mutter angrily. "He's just a boy. Just another boy." But the tears keep on coming, and eventually I give up and cry freely. Because the truth is, I'd really let myself fall for him this time.

Kim's POV

A few hours after our car prank, Grace and I are sprawled out on the carpet of my living room, eating take-out tacos and doing math homework.

She groans. "Kim, I'm stuck on number 16. Help me?" A curtain flutters open, and she shields her eyes from the bright sunlight with a hand.

"Sure." I crawl over to her and take a look at her paper. "Oh, you gotta take-" I start to say, but am interrupted by the doorbell.

Grace glances quickly at me, then jumps up. "I'll get it." Her footsteps are quiet on the tiles in the mudroom. I hear the creak of the door as it swings open, hear her say, "What do you want?" And hear his voice, the voice I fell in love with a long time ago.

"Can I talk to Kim?" He asks.

There's a long silence. I consider getting up, but realize it means facing Jack, and either way I'm more comfortable on the floor. Then I hear, "Maybe some other time, you jerk." And the door slams shut.

Jack's POV

"Can I talk to Kim?" I plead, looking Grace in the eye. She glances over her shoulder, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"You should've told her about your girlfriend. I warned you," She whispers, "And you didn't listen."

"I know it was a mistake." I whisper back. "But as much as I wish I could undo it, I can't. I just need to talk to Kim. Please, just a few minutes. She's not answering any of my texts."

"Maybe because she doesn't want to." She replies drily. "You deserve it."

I sigh quietly, pulling my flannel shirt tighter around me. "Grace, I need to apologize and make this right. You gotta let me-"

"Maybe some other time, you jerk." She says, loud enough to make me cringe, and slams the door in my face.

"Well, that went well." I mutter, dejected. And I turn around and walk back home, thoughts of Kim flooding my mind.

Okay, hopefully my next update will be A LOT faster than that was. Like, was that two months? Groans. Faster this time, I promise. Anyways, review and tell me what you thought! Thanks for reading.