* * *
"What's up, buddy?" said Jett Jackson as he jogged into Haliburton's. "Not a whole lot," said J.B. from behind the counter. "Hey, why aren't you with Kayla?" "Oh, she said she and Riley had to talk about something. Girl stuff," said Jett, quoting the last two words with his fingers. "But hey…check this out, in the next Silverstone episode, they've written in a love interest for Artemus! Nigel is freaking out! He's all like 'Jett, what if she's ugly? I don't know anything about women; how can I act in love?' So Cubby and I told him…" Jett trailed off, the smile disappearing from his face as he noticed his friend's forlorn expression.
"Hey J.B., what's going on? You look like…oh wait a minute…okay dude, who is she?" "What? How do you know it's a she?" asked J.B., clearly surprised and a little frustrated at Jett's ability to instantly figure out his problem. "Well, unless there's something you have to tell me, the look you have on your face right now is very similar to the one I had on after Tara left me. So come on…who is she?" "You'd laugh," mumbled J.B., turning away to put some cans on shelves. "Hey man, I'm your best friend. I would never laugh at you. Now what's going on?" "I don't know," admitted J.B. "I've never felt like this before. But I think…I think I might be falling in love."
"Are you sure? Hey, is this about Holly?" "No. Holly and I are just friends now. But I'm not sure…you promise you won't laugh?" "Sure buddy, I promise," said Jett, staring at J.B. with concern. "Okay. It's…it's Riley." "Whoa," managed a stunned Jett. "Jett, I don't know what's gotten into me. I mean, yeah, Riley's smart, funny….absolutely stunning…." "Whoa," said Jett again. "You've got it bad, don't you?" "Yeah, I guess I do," muttered J.B. "Why don't you start at the beginning?" suggested the T.V. star, leaning against the counter.
"Okay. The first time I saw Riley, I remember
thinking that I'd never seen anyone so beautiful in my entire life. It was like…like an angel had just walked
into my world." said J.B. Jett,
fascinated and very unused to hearing his friend talk this way, nodded. "Then you and she had your little fight, and
after you made up, I thought that maybe you'd be interested in her."
"Wait a minute," said Jett. "You thought that me and Riley were—I mean, you thought that we—how could you think that, man? You should have known that Kay and I had feelings for each other better than anybody." "I did," explained J.B. "But I thought that maybe you'd given up on her." Jett sighed. "Man, I could never give up on Kayla…" J.B. smiled slightly at hearing the girl's name, momentarily distracted from his own problems by the obvious love and affection in Jett's voice when he said Kayla's name.
"Anyway, pretty soon it became obvious that you and Riley were just friends. Then came Holly, and for a while I forgot, at least on the surface about Riley. She never really left my thoughts, though. Under the surface, there was always something…that seemed to pull me towards her." "Man…I didn't know how deep this was. Have you ever thought about telling her?" "I can't," said J.B. sadly. "Why not? You're a cool guy, and Riley obviously considers you a friend. Who knows—maybe she feels the same way." "Jett, come back to reality here. I'm just a small-town hick. What would a Hollywood actress want with me?"
"J.B…." Jett paused, trying to think of how to convince his friend that Riley's stardom didn't matter to her. Wait a second…that just might work…."J.B.," Jett said again. "What attracted you to Riley in the first place?" "Everything," said J.B., the despair in his face changing to a faraway look. "Her beauty…the way she always seemed to be so confident, like she could do anything…that kind of mischievous smile she has sometimes….her determination to accomplish her goals…even the way she's taken to Wilstead and becoming such good friends with Kayla…" "Yes!" Jett jumped on that. "She has become good friends with Kayla, and me, and you! And you and Kayla aren't actors. What does that tell you?"
"Maybe that she doesn't care about who a person is on the outside?" asked J.B. hopefully. "Exactly!" crowed Jett. "I'm telling you, J.B., you need to tell her how you feel." "I still don't know, Jett…what if she doesn't feel the same way?" "Then at least you'll know," countered the actor. "If she doesn't feel like I do…I don't know if I could handle it, Jett. This is deeper, more precious than anything I've ever felt before. It's almost like I need Riley. And if she doesn't return my feelings…I don't know how I'd keep going." Jett reached across the counter, punched J.B.'s fist lightly and said, "Well man…you've got to decide what to do on your own. But you know I'll back you, whatever happens." "Thanks buddy," replied J.B., smiling slightly. "Hey, look, I've got to get home. I'll catch you later, okay?" "Yeah. See you," said the other boy, reaching for a broom.
As Jett raced towards his house, he thought about what J.B. had just said. Might Riley have feelings towards J.B.? Would they even be compatible? Thinking back to the times when he, J.B., Riley, and Kayla and hung out, he tried to remember how Riley seemed to regard his best friend…and came up with a suprising number of "looks" that he hadn't registered at the time. Maybe she did care for J.B. like he did for her. And if so, he needed to talk to Kay…fast.