A/N: Important poll on my profile.
Immediately after leaving the dining hall at lunchtime, Jody sat on a quad bench, multitasking as she coloured in a hand-made birthday card for Tyler while listening to one of her friends, Aliyah, telling the others what she'd done for Eid on the previous Friday. She realised that she perhaps looked a little childish sitting there with all of her colouring pencils out but she did like to tap into her artistic side at times, the sad, old painting of Mike she'd done for Floss' flopped exhibition a couple of years ago being what she considered her best (and only) masterpiece to date. Besides, Tyler deserved something nice from her after helping her figure out where Gray lived. In fact, he was going to accompany her on her revenge trip later on in the week.
"Is it true, Jody?" Aliyah asked curiously. "Jamie skipped school on Friday?"
"Yeah," she replied plainly, not taking her eyes off her work. "He probably did it cos he knew you wouldn't be in."
Her friends burst into fits of giggles. Jody rolled her eyes albeit fondly. The girls she chose to hang around in school with weren't girly girls, per se, but they weren't total tomboys like her either. She was okay with it, though, because there weren't very many girls like her in their school anyway. They, at least, didn't waste all of their time constantly talking about boys like the other, more popular girls did, though James Dunn, a popular boy and one of Tyler's friends, who had a thing for Aliyah despite knowing she didn't date, was an exception.
"Are you throwing a party for Tyler tomorrow?" another friend, Beth, questioned. "Or did you already celebrate it yesterday?"
"He didn't want a fuss," Jody responded, sharpening one of her pencils. "And we don't usually do parties unless the actual birthday's on a weekend. None of us has a birthday on a weekend this year so no parties."
"Just as well," came an interjection from Brad, yet another one of her mates who'd seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He shoved past the girls, bantering with them as he sat down next to Jody. Jody raised an eyebrow at him, pulling her stuff closer to her as he chucked his massive backpack on the table. "I heard that Tyler spent a good chunk of Saturday with Bill's sister, and that's enough of a celebration, believe me."
She froze, nearly dropping her pencil as an ugly gut-churning sensation hit her. "Bill's sister? Natalie?" Natalie was in Year Eleven. Why would she go out with a nearly fifteen-year-old? Wasn't that illegal?
"Nah, Hannah," Brad answered, "The one that's in Year Nine."
Tyler had been with her yesterday. The entire day. He hadn't thought to tell her anything? That just wasn't fair; she'd told him about Brandon from the very beginning. Her stomach turned at the thought of him hanging out with some girl while she'd been sitting at home, thinking he was doing a shift at the radio station. Oh, what did she sound like right now? A housewife who'd just found out her husband was cheating instead of being at his 'business meetings'? Her thoughts were borderline ridiculous—she was Jody Gray, not Mrs Tyler Lewis—but his deception hurt all the same. Why hadn't he told her, even afterwards? Had it turned out to be a disaster or something?
"You didn't know?" her friend April asked, and Jody caught on that her hurt was showing on her face. "I thought you did; you two live together."
"He didn't tell me," she admitted quietly, heat rushing to her face. She didn't know why the admission was embarrassing but it was. As she picked up her hand-made card and threw it into her schoolbag along with her pencil case, a select few of April's words suddenly hit her. "Wait... You knew?"
"Yeah, Chris told me," April replied as if it was obvious, referring to her boyfriend. "His brother's in Hannah's class. Apparently, he was there when Tyler asked her out. On Friday." Beth murmured in agreement, saying something about how her Year Nine cousin had told her the same.
Friday. Some of her friends, mere classmates to Tyler, had known since fucking Friday but she, his best friend, was only just finding out now. She looked up at Brad, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Do you know how it went? Maybe he didn't tell me because he didn't want me taking the piss."
Brad shrugged. "Dunno; I'd have to ask Bill."
"Oh, isn't that her?!" Aliyah hissed, and Jody speedily followed her line of sight to see a trio of girls walking through the quad.
Her friends continued to discuss Tyler's date in hushed whispers but all she could do was stare at the entourage, the slim and fashionable (even in a school uniform) dark-haired girl standing out amongst the two short and skinny brunettes flanking her. Her heart sunk as she realised why Tyler had decided to ignore his feelings for her. Hannah looked just like her sister Natalie: tall, gorgeous, and totally his type.
.:. QK .:.
"Wow, you're on fire today!" Brandon commented, clearly impressed as Jody took out all of her anger and frustration on the punching mitts he was holding up in front of her. She'd been going at it for the last thirty minutes, and she could tell that Brandon was getting a little tired, but even though her own arms were beginning to ache, she couldn't bring herself to stop. The emotion that she'd repressed from lunchtime, through her walk back to the house with the object of her aff—anger, until the moment she'd stepped into the gym had manifested itself into some sort of fuel that she felt could keep her going for another few hours.
Tyler rarely made her this angry and she couldn't really understand why she was this pissed off. Sure, it hurt that he hadn't told her about his date, but this wasn't even the first time he'd done this; back when he'd fancied Chanelle, he hadn't told her a thing and she'd had to hear about it from Carmen, of all people. She'd been his best friend back then as well. Really, what was the difference this time 'round? She could stand around all day and ask herself that question over and over but, deep down, she already knew the answer: back then, Tyler had been more on the 'brother' end of the relationship spectrum but, up until recently, he'd been on the other end, the end he really should've drifted away from by now because she'd been seeing someone else for nearly a month.
Why was she doing this to herself? She looked at Brandon, sweet, sweet Brandon who fancied her and was an all-around good companion. She fancied him too, he was her boyfriend, for God's sake, and enjoyed his company a lot, so why was she still dwelling on her feelings of the past like a complete idiot? If anything, after the initial hurt (at being shut out as a friend), she should've been happy that Tyler had found someone like she had. Maybe, after a few more dates, Hannah would become his girlfriend and the burdensome feelings they'd caught for each other would never affect their friendship again. However, instead of evoking any semblance of positive emotion in her, the very idea of him having another woman in his life only served to rattle her.
The sobering realisation made her abruptly stop what she was doing, and she ignored the questioning glances from Brandon and the others as she dropped down onto the crash mat beneath her feet. She heaved, her heart racing as she attempted to catch her breath. Brandon joined her on the mat, sidling up to her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, concerned. "Has someone at the home said something?"
"No, no one's said anything," she answered dryly. Rather, it was what Tyler hadn't said to her.
He nodded, trying again. "Done something, then? Only, you were throwing a lot of weight in your punches, and you only do that when you're really angry."
She laughed under her breath. They'd been together less than three weeks and he'd already seen her angry enough times to be able to make such a statement. She needed to fix up. "It's nothing serious, really."
"Why don't you tell me about it?"
She blinked. They didn't really talk much let alone about serious things. She didn't know about him but she had no clue about the protocol regarding dating, like how much of a friend a boyfriend or girlfriend was supposed to be. Friends were confidants, that was clear, but how much could one confide in a boyfriend or girlfriend before it became too much? Everyone knew that vulnerability was a huge turn-off and no one wanted to be in a relationship with a bag full of issues. Brandon was her friend no longer so she couldn't vent to him about the petty problems in her life. However, since he was asking...
"A friend kept something from me," she finally confessed, choosing her words carefully. "Something I didn't keep from h—them when I was in the same situation." He didn't need to know that her friend was a guy lest he somehow figured out something she didn't want him to know. "Don't know what to do now."
"Have you asked them why they kept it from you?"
"No, believe it or not, I'm not looking for a fight." He stared back at her, confused. "This friend might take a confrontation the wrong way."
Truth was, she was afraid she'd blurt her true (past) feelings out to Tyler and end up making everything between them awkward again. She hated it when they didn't talk and it'd happened enough times this year to last her a lifetime, but she didn't see a confrontation going any other way. Either one of them would put their foot in it and ruin the friendship for good.
"Well, what can I say? You've just got to do it," Brandon told her with a smile. "I mean, we wouldn't be together right now if I never plucked up the courage to ask you out." He had a point. "How are you going to find out your friend's reasons for keeping secrets if you don't ask why?"
She smiled weakly, flinching slightly as he put an arm around her, aware of the many sets of eyes watching them. A pang of guilt tugged at her conscience. He wouldn't be giving her this advice if he knew the full truth.
.:. QK .:.
Later that evening, long after returning from the gym, Jody kicked back and watched some TV with the others, including Tyler. Gorging on ice-cream, which had drawn a few funny looks from the others in the lounge by the time she'd started her second bowl, she sat there on the sofa next to him, subtly giving him the chance to take her aside and tell her about his date. However, from the moment he'd stepped foot in the room, he'd seemed intent on acting as if it'd never happened. Right now, her only consolation was that he hadn't told anyone else in the house either; someone would've said something by now if he had.
"What's wrong with you today?" he asked lowly, eyeing her third bowl of chocolate chip ice-cream. "You're acting weird."
"Oh, you think?" she replied sarcastically, not even sparing him a glance. "I wonder why."
While she so badly felt like dropping the foreign passive-aggressive act and coming right out with her problem like she usually would, she restrained herself, wanting him to bring up the topic of the date himself. She couldn't believe he was this dense, seemingly oblivious to what was bothering her when he was the author of her troubles in the first place. Maybe he didn't know her as well as she'd thought he did. The prior day, when they'd worked together to track down Gray, felt like a lifetime ago. How could they be so in sync one day and so... not... the next?
"Okay..." he trailed off awkwardly, turning away from her. A few seconds of stifling tension passed between them, threatening her to open her mouth and yell at him, when reprieve came in the form of his phone going off. He audibly sighed in relief (?) before turning to her and whispering, "I've got to take this."
"Go ahead," she said quietly, right before shoving another spoon of ice-cream down her raw throat. She was never going to be able to work these calories off, she knew, but comfort eating felt good.
As Tyler left the lounge to answer his call, Floss sat down in his seat and pushed a card and blue gel pen towards Jody. "Sign."
"Alright," she muttered, almost snatching the pen and card and proceeding to sign in the messiest scrawl ever. Her personal card to him would be even worse if he didn't fess up by the time she got round to completing it. Handing the card back to Floss, she trained her eyes on the TV again, vaguely registering the others decide to play two on two pool.
"Jody," Floss whispered, interrupting Jody's focus as the others walked past them, presumably on the way to the pool table.
"What?" she mumbled, putting her bowl of ice-cream down. She couldn't take it anymore.
"Are you going out with Brandon again?"
Her eyes immediately flew to the younger girl's apprehensive face. How was her relationship with Brandon anyone else's business? "Why do you want to know?" She hadn't really told anyone besides Candi-Rose (and Sasha) that Brandon was her boyfriend but from the way the others whispered 'Jandon', she thought that they all knew. So why did Floss feel the need to ask?
"I thought you would've stopped by now," Floss divulged, appearing to be serious for once in her life. It was a queer situation.
"Why?"
"Because you and Tyler belong together."
She didn't know if it was because Tyler was keeping things from her or because she'd had a little too much ice-cream and now felt queasy but her blood suddenly boiled with anger. "Not this again!" she exclaimed, her voice tinged with irritation. She heard a few sniggers from the pool table, the boys, especially Ryan and Alex, no doubt amused by her stroppiness, but she pushed on, glaring at Floss. "How many times have I got to tell you that me and Tyler are just mates?!" Floss shrunk back, actually looking a little scared, which wasn't like her at all. Jody sighed, instantly feeling bad. "Look," she started, dropping her voice a notch or two, "how long have you known me and Tyler?"
Floss appeared to be a little surprised by the question but nevertheless answered, "Umm, six years?"
"Exactly," Jody responded, gently nodding her head. "I kinda get how everyone else thinks, or used to think, that there was something between me and Tyler but I don't get how you can think like that. You've seen us grow up together." She had no idea where this was coming from but from the way the words effortlessly tumbled out of her mouth, she supposed this had always bugged her a bit, at least on a subconscious level. "Like brother and sister."
"Brother and sister?" Floss repeated in disbelief, apparently back to being herself again. "Yeah, right," she said, crossing her arms and giving Jody a pointed look. "Kazima thought you two were gonna get together too and she saw you two 'grow up'"—she did quotation marks with her fingers—"together as well."
Jody bit her lip, trying to remember when Kaz had moved in. After Frank had moved out? No, just before...? "Kaz met us when we were, like, eleven. That's different; she probably didn't know how long we'd known each other. You can catch feelings at that age... Tyler had his first crush at that age."
"Oh yeah, that girl he fired me for! Twice!" Floss nearly shouted, flaring her nostrils. "But whatever. What you're saying makes no sense. You're just making excuses."
"No, I'm not," Jody protested, floundering as she searched for a way to explain to Floss. She did make sense. She and Tyler were supposed to see each other as siblings, even though they hadn't necessarily been raised to. Just then, the perfect example came to mind. "Wasn't Harry like your brother? Your big brother? Right from the beginning?"
"He still is," Floss answered matter-of-factly. "Me and Finn are seeing him next week."
"Well, Tyler is to me what Harry is to you."
"No, he's not," Ryan scoffed from the pool table. "You—"
"Butt out, Ryan, or I'll tell everyone." She didn't even have to specify what she was talking about because he fell silent straight away. She didn't know why he took Candi-Rose shopping sometimes and she didn't really care to find out but she knew it wasn't something he wanted everyone else to find out about. She smirked as Alex started grilling Ryan about his dirty secret, turning her attention back to Floss. "Me and Tyler are just friends, Floss. Always have been"—the next words got stuck in her throat but she forced them out anyway—"and always will be."
Despite still looking determined, clearly staunch in the belief that Jyler was a real thing, Floss got up and left without another word, leaving Jody to her thoughts. Tyler wasn't back yet. Was he off being a lad, bragging to his mates from school about how his date with 'hot' Hannah had gone? Or was he on the phone to the girl herself, telling her things he'd never say to her? Was Hannah on the way to becoming his girlfriend, the answer to her Brandon? Was this how it was going to be from now on, the two of them with separate love lives they'd never bring up around each other, even though she had at least told him about Brandon?
Maybe she had to make him her brother, after all. Maybe it was just what was right.
A/N: I hate coming up with names for characters you only see once because then you end up at risk of creating a host of OCs with little to no purpose, but after writing the first scene in this chapter without naming any of Jody's friends, it just looked ridiculous. In the end, I went back to RyanMan and used some of the names from Jody's contact list; at least I can say most of them aren't OCs.
Also, a lot of you guys might be thinking why I don't stick to one story arc and finish it before starting another (as in the way I introduced Kingsley Gray ages ago but Jody hasn't properly met him yet) but everything resolving itself within a few chapters doesn't seem very realistic to me. I've already done that with Ella and looking back, it looks a little half-baked. Anyway, back to our main girl, how likely is it that a girl who's never met her dad would decide to track him down straight after running into him in a supermarket like one time? I know Jody's a pretty impulsive person and thinks with her heart when it comes to her family (deciding to steal to help Kingsley, deciding to lie to see her mum and Grant) but it didn't feel right for her to wind up on Gray's doorstep by chapter ten or even twenty, or even forgive Luke straight after the funeral. What do you think? Am I going too slowly?
As always, thanks to CharlieSMarts12 for the review!