Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates – I have been writing, but haven't been totally happy with what I've been producing. As I've mentioned before, I really like exploring Jordan's POV, although I am not ready to demystify him completely! Please read and review, I know some of you are reading this and I know it's not as fast-paced as some of the other stories, but I really want to know what you think! I don't own MSCL or any of the characters.
Chapter 11: Changes?
Jordan thought that the walk home would have helped him sober up, but it didn't seem to do anything to stop the spinning in his head. He couldn't believe it wasn't Friday yet. Well, technically it was Friday now, but he still had a whole day of school to get through, hungover. He could probably sleep through History, but he didn't want to flunk English again and Shop and Phys Ed weren't that productive with a raging headache.
It just wasn't fair… all of these sexy, kinky girls were into him and all he wanted was pure little Angela Chase. It was the weirdest feeling ever, he thought for a moment that maybe he was coming down with something. He'd barely reacted tonight when that brunette took off her shirt and grabbed him and started dirty-dancing with him. He'd danced with her a bit, of course, since he was drunk and it felt sort of nice to dance with someone, but when she started grinding up against his crotch, he started to feel kind of sad. Normally that would have been his cue to do something that was expected of him, like take her to the bathroom or into the bushes outside, but something stopped him. He didn't really know what it was, but all of a sudden he didn't want to do anything with her anymore.
She was hot, he had to admit. She had curves in all the right places and she definitely put out. His friends were gonna laugh so hard at him for not going for it. Yet all he could think about were all the guys she'd probably done, and how he didn't want to share their sloppy seconds, or thirds, or tenths, or whatever. She was exactly like the type of girl who always hit on him – hot, dirty and desperate. They weren't desperate like they couldn't get anyone to do them, because that wasn't the problem – they were desperate like they always needed the attention. He was starting to get sick of it.
"What the hell is wrong with you, Catalano?" she'd snapped. "I thought for sure you were down. I'm freakin' hot, and you're being a pansy."
"So it doesn't even bother you that I don't know your name, and neither does the half of the football team that passed you around?" It was the first thing that came to his mind. It sounded pretty smart because he'd been drinking. He probably wouldn't have thought of it otherwise.
"Ugh, you are such a prick!" she shrieked. "You know my name, it's Cassie!"
"Whatever, this is turning you on," he said nonchalantly. Shane, who had been standing nearby, decided to make a move. Since they were best friends, there was always a friendly competition between them to see who could get the most girls. Jordan knew he had the looks, but Shane could make them laugh. If that didn't work, he could insult the hell out of them in ways that Jordan never could.
"Hey baby, this guy might be a dumbass," he said loudly, so Jordan could hear, putting his arm around her, "but I know a good time when I see it."
Cassie stared at them both in bewilderment, almost too shocked to be insulted. Finally, she seemed to snap to her senses.
"Screw off, both of you!" she growled, storming off.
"Slut!" Shane yelled at her retreating figure. He shrugged at Jordan, who was shaking his head at him. "What? I had nothing to lose."
"You are something else, man." They clinked their plastic cups of beer together.
"What's wrong with you tonight, Catalano? She clearly wanted you, and she was ready and willing. Why else do you think she got so mad?"
Jordan shrugged. "Too easy."
Shane grinned, knowingly. "You like a challenge now? You're a changed man?"
"Yeah, something like that." Jordan downed his beer and started to head over for another, but Shane grabbed his shoulder.
"Seriously? You're not getting any, and you just turned down a total hottie? What is happening to you?"
"Shane, you wouldn't get it," Jordan said, crumpling the empty plastic cup in his hand. "I'm not sure if I do, either," he muttered under his breath, turning away.
Shane wasn't letting him go easy tonight. "You like this girl, man. Like really like her. Like stare into her eyes and recite her poetry and wait til she's ready – like." He laughed and pulled a cigarette out from behind his ear.
Jordan turned to face him. "Don't you ever like, get bored with the way your life is going?"
"You think a girl is enough to change any of that?" Shane posed a question of his own, his words slightly distorted by the cigarette between his lips as he lit it.
"No… I don't know…" He didn't say that things already had started to change. "I just need something different, for once."
"You're looking for a challenge, man. She's not gonna give it up easily, and you know it." Shane followed him to the makeshift bar area, where they got new beers and he checked out all the girls in the loft.
"It's not like that, Shane, that's the weird thing. Of course when we do it, it's gonna be amazing, but—"
"What did you just say? When you do it?" Shane grabbed Jordan's shoulders incredulously, a mix of shock and sarcasm. "Are you actually planning to stick around until she's good and ready? Do you realize that could be like, years from now?"
"Come on, Shane," Jordan smiled despite himself, half at his friend's outburst and half at imagining sex with Angela. "Let's hope for my sake it's not."
"I'll cheers to that!" Shane knocked his cup of beer against Jordan's. "To blue balls and the good girls who cause them!"
It was around one-thirty when Jordan finally stumbled out of the loft. He'd had enough, and his friends were still going strong. Since meeting Angela, he was starting to see that it was strange that nobody cared that any of these kids were out late, drinking, getting high and messing around. For instance, there was no way in hell Graham and Patty would be allowing their precious daughter to run around with the likes of him at 2:00 am. Rayanne was going hard tonight as usual, something he'd never bothered to notice before - it was just a fact he normally took for granted. Did Angela really know what her ex best friend's life was really like? She sure didn't know about his, and he didn't want her to know. It was too depressing. She probably thought it was exciting or something, but it really wasn't, half the time.
He thought about passing through her neighbourhood and climbing up the tree outside her window to see if she was up, but something told him that was stalkerish behaviour. The last thing he wanted was to seem like a creep watching her from a tree outside. It was something that Brain kid probably did all the time. What the hell was up with him, anyway? He pretended not to notice, but that kid watched her all the time, and he was always hanging around with a hungry look on his face.
Sometimes being labeled dumb meant that Jordan could observe things unnoticed. He didn't do it often, because it meant taking a closer look at his own problems, but he learned a lot about people that way. Like the time he'd noticed when Rickie got beat up, and he knew it wasn't because he'd walked into a door. Maybe he only noticed these things because he recognized them in his own life, just like with this Brain and Angela thing. He'd been unsure before – when Brain showed up with a letter all written for Angela, he'd taken it without asking any questions, but now, the more he thought about it, the more it bugged him. Obviously Brain had feelings for Angela too, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to write such a powerful letter that meant so much to her. Jordan didn't know what to do with that insight – did he really have to worry about a guy like that? Besides, according to Graf, Angela had had a huge crush on him for a long time. Still, he couldn't help but wonder…
Maybe Angela really was out of his league. Maybe she was just rebelling against her parents and everyone who'd known her before. A guy like Brain was dependable and smart. He was probably going to become a scientist or something and make lots of money, while Jordan would probably be stuck in high school forever. Guys like him became the guys who washed the sports cars of guys like Brain.
'I can't let that happen…' he thought desperately, as he pushed the front door open. As always, he steeled himself against what might be on the other side, but tonight, there was just the hum of the television in the living room. There was no loud music, no yelling, no police on the front steps. A before-bed joint seemed all the more appealing now that the house was quiet.
He crossed the room to switch off the television set. As he did, his eyes fell onto the couch and he noticed a small figure huddled in a corner of the couch. She was crying quietly, her hands covering her face.
"Maxine?" Jordan said warily. "I didn't see you there."
"Oh, hey Jordan," she struggled to keep her voice steady. "Out partying tonight?"
"Something like that," he said. "What are you doing down here by yourself?"
She moved her hands away from her face. Her makeup had been cried off, and her upper lip was swollen.
"What the hell?" Jordan looked more closely at her lip. "Did my old man do that to you?"
"Do you have any weed?" she asked suddenly.
He'd never smoked with her before, this was definitely a surreal ending to a strange night.
More to come! I hope you liked it!