Jessica Stanley, GOAT

Part VI

Now Jessica didn't like using the word liar to describe herself…if she could help it. But that term kept creeping around in her mind as she tossed and turned the night after the disastrous date where she found out she had been hoodwinked by a HIGHSCHOOLER. She was tricked into going on a date with someone younger. Which was a joke. Based on the facts of life, women were more mature than men by five years give or take a year. And men were like held back a few years than their actual age in the maturity department. So, the results were a shit show and meant her and Seth were incompatible for that fundamental reason.

However, as she slept, somewhere deep down inside she knew she was an outright liar to herself. Seth was different. She felt it in her bones. But she would deny it come hell or high water.

…

When Jessica woke up the next morning, she took a long, honest hard look in the mirror hanging over her bedroom dresser. Looking past the bed head, smeared make up (yeah, she was too lazy to wash it off before going to sleep), and bags under her eyes, she was a vulnerable girl ready to hide behind her walls. Willing to latch onto any reason to push away a good guy. And last night she was given an out. A common sense out, really. He was too young. Immature. It would never work out between them despite a million tweaks to herself. They were just on different playing fields. All because of a damn number.

"Fuck it. There are plenty of fish in the sea," Jessica informed her reflection before tossing up a thumbs up sign to herself and displaying a tight smile that didn't reach her blue eyes.

Jessica spent the morning packing up her bags to timely delay her departure to coincide when her father and Vicky were no longer in the house. She had lethal accuracy because as soon as she descended down the stairs, packed bags in hand, she could hear Vicky's mustang putting around as she pulled outside of the driveway. She was rewarded with a clean getaway.

A five-minute drive away and four neighborhoods to the east, Jessica arrived at her mother's apartment. Upon entering her mother's place, Jessica noted it looked uncharacteristically empty. Almost like her mother hadn't been living there for months. Which wasn't the case because Jessica had just chatted with her mom a few days ago about when she was arriving. Nothing seemed out of place. It was just...unlived in. Which wasn't her mother. Jessica inherited her messy lifestyle of rarely picking up after herself from her mother. Maybe her mom got a maid? As if. She was too cheap for that. Well, whatever. Maybe her mother was making a small tweak as well. Jessica regrettably noted she herself could be more cleanly with effort. Another tweak but not one she wanted to put into practice at the moment when she threw her packed bags on the living room carpet.

After aimless wondering and failing to find her mother, Jessica found herself staring at the answer machine in the kitchen. A small red light on the machine went off every three seconds in line with the "01 unread messages" flashing on the screen next to the light. Jessica didn't want to be nosey but decided to go for it. She pushed the button to see what kind of life her mother had when she wasn't around or maybe it was a telemarketer selling calling cards.

"Jessica!" Jessica stopped absentmindedly picking the dirt from underneath her fingernails and concentrated on listening to the voice message with full attention when she heard her mother's voice as the initial greeting. "I won't be in until Saturday. I know…" Jessica caught the whining tone in her mother's voice. Was she seriously being abandoned by another parent? What the actual fuck? "I am disappointed too. I will explain everything all then. It will make sense. Love you, sweetie. See you soon!"

Jessica took a few steps back from the machine when the message ended. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out her feelings in the moment. This was utterly ridiculous. She had JUST talked to her mother. She knew Jessica was arriving today. And why on earth did her mother leave her a message on the home answering machine instead of her cellphone?! Pissed and not willing to succumb to her disappointment by the epic failure of parenting her parents were showcasing this week, she decided to do something to make herself happy. Sure, it was eleven in the morning, but life was too short to let her parents bring her down on her spring fricken break.

So yup, it was time for some ice cream.

…

Settled into a better mood with the chocolate ice cream cone in her hand, Jessica basked in the sun beating down on her on the bench outside of the ice cream parlor. She was their only patron on a weekday early morning, and it was the fricken best. Jessica got to sample 16 of the 18 offered flavors before she wore out the teenage worker's hospitality and was forced to pick something. Of course, Jessica knew her final decision would always be chocolate. But today was a day that called for multiple flavors to drive her taste buds into a pleasurable state of shock.

Despite her speed to keep up with the melting ice cream, she just wasn't working fast enough. Once one streak of liquid yumminess was absorbed by her tongue, another one challenged itself to cover the surface of the waffle cone all the way down to the tip. Focused on this challenge, Jessica was oblivious to the stranger that had been staring at her for the last minute in amusement.

"Thought you looked familiar."

Jessica diverted her eyes but not her tongue to meet the stranger's face. In between laps she asked, "should I know you?"

"My brother has the hots for you."

Without skipping a beat, Jessica replied, "be more specific, there is an ever-growing list."

"Geez, could you be more full of yourself?" Jessica shrugged at the stranger as she continued to lap up now several chocolate ice cream streams trickling down her waffle cone. It almost looked like it was intentionally dipped in a chocolate covered coating. "I think you're perfect for him. The wimp needs a challenge." Jessica's right eyebrow arched in questioning who this young man was. But if she was more with it and less focused on her eating her ice cream before it melted in the sun, she would have connected that the stranger had the same eyes as a boy who recently captured her attention.

"Seth Clearwater," the stranger answered Jessica's unspoken question. The stranger stuck out her hand. Jessica eyed it and offered her non sticky left hand not currently handling the sticky mess in Jessica's other hand. "Name is Leah Clearwater. I think we are going to be good friends, Jessica Stanley." Jessica began to choke on the ice cream she just slurped down as she was certain as of last night, she was 100 % positive she never intended to see baby Clearwater again.

Jessica wavered if brain freeze was worth it at this point to put herself out of her misery with now present company of Seth's fricken sister. Agreeing it was a better way to go out, Jessica decided to go for it and chomp on the still intact ice cream top available in her cone. Just before her teeth grazed the soft surface, Jessica watched Leah's brown hand slap the cone out of her hand.

"You were going to give yourself brain freeze," Leah justified her actions as Jessica's mouth fell agape while mourning her spoiled ice cream smearing the cement under their feet. "Pull yourself together," Leah snarled, and Jessica was confused what drew this shift in pleasantries from Leah. Was destroying her ice cream her diabolical plan all along because she rejected Seth? Oh, good lord she needed to get out of Forks sooner than she thought at the rate Seth's "inner circle" seemed to pop up in her life. "Do you need a mirror? Because you look like a baby who just had their first taste of ice cream and shoved their face in the cone."

Jessica would have been mortified by Leah's truth bomb if she hadn't been having a shit morning. Instead, she brushed it off as another low point she could pick herself back from. Ready to take Leah's advice and wash her hands and face in the nearest restroom she could find, Jessica noticed that Leah was shoving napkins into her hands.

"Ummm, thanks?"

"Look, I know that was harsh. But you looked like you needed just a dose of some healthy reality for you. You were too enamored in an ice cream cone for a girl "supposedly" too mature for my brother."

Good grief, did everyone go up to bat for Seth but himself? What was she in store for with his sister right now? Why did she even care things didn't work out between them?

Jessica was in the right, right?!

Sneak preview for Part VII:

It was just a get together at the beach Leah invited her to. Jessica had no plans and hadn't done anything spring break-ish so far. Seth wasn't supposed to be there according to Leah. So sure, she was going to go. Really indulge in the spring break she was supposed to have her senior year. Her end game? Drink her problems away and then, she could get back to making tweaks. It should all go over well, Jessica thought to herself as she pulled out of her parking space in front of her mom's apartment. Leah seemed like a cool person after all.

Author's Note:

Been itching to write and post this one for a week now! Finally got it done today. Wooh! Thanks for the reviews. They always help motivate! ^_^ – Lalaland972

Response to reviews:

angelacorus: Yay! Thank you for the review

Lily: I hope you enjoyed this one!

Cassy-Kay: Glad you are loving it so far. Please continue to enjoy!

Sparkles66: I am glad you liked it! I was inspired by a one-shot I read of the pairing. It was short and sweet and I really liked the concept and decided to go with it! The one shot was called "Leavingon a jet plane"by Mrstrentreznor.