Title: Strong Enough Chapter 10
Author: Nicki C.
Email: Nimacu@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: I don't own Once and Again or the characters, anyone you don't recognize belongs to the Wonderful World of Nicki.
Summery: In the Cafeteria after Grace and Katie's talk
Feedback: Of Course I want it.
A/N* I'm hoping this will be my longest chapter ever.
The bell had already rung when Grace and Katie walked into the cafeteria. They spent a few minutes looking for Jessie; but neither of them could see her.
"I wonder where she is?" Katie was getting worried; she was incredibly overprotective of Jessie's eating habits. She knew that was irrational but with Jessie's anorexia she was afraid that one day Jessie would just decide to stop eating for good. Grace could see the worried look on Katie's face and understood her anxiety.
"I'm sure she's around here somewhere, why don't we get in line for our food and then we'll find her" Grace was secretly relieved that she could put off the confrontation for a few more minutes.
The girls got there food and started going up and down each table, finally they spotted the blond head they were looking for, right in the middle of what seemed to be a very big group of people. Grace was afraid to find out what they were talking about; but they walked up to them nonetheless.
"What do you mean they're not dating?"
"I heard she announced it the whole class"
"How could you not know something like this was going on in your house?"
"This is so sick"
Grace heard the questions as she approached, people were just firing them at Jessie, it reminded Grace of a press conference.
The table got eerily quiet as Katie and Grace approached. The minute Jessie saw them she rose. Then Jessie uncharacteristically grabbed Grace's arm and pulled her roughly away from the table.
"We need to talk; NOW!" Jessie whispered in Grace's ear as she pulled her away from the table and headed toward the bathrooms. Katie followed and locked the door as Jessie slammed into the restroom with Grace in tow.
"How could you? He's your step-brother, it's wrong in a million ways."
"It isn't! Eli and I were friends before our parents were married!"
"That's not what everyone else is going to think when they find out about you two, you heard the people in the cafeteria. They going to wonder what kind of family we come from." Jessie finished her explosion. She wasn't used to yelling and it was taking a lot out of her emotionally. The last ten minutes had been quite a ride. Katie was holding her hand reassuringly, Jessie was glad she had someone to help her through this.
"I don't care, I love your brother! I love him more than I ever thought I could love someone, and by some miraculous twist of fate, he loves me too"
The girls stared at each other for a few moments as the declaration hung on the air.
Jessie thought before replying. "I'm sorry I yelled Grace, my screaming isn't going to do any good, somewhere deep down I knew it was going to happen." Jessie could feel herself calming down. "I just thought that when it did I get a chance to deal with it privately. I was so angry hearing it from somebody else. Being the last to know about something that affects my life was harsh. Why couldn't you have had the decency to tell me before declaring your love in English class? He's my brother, I had a right to know before the whole school found out."
"That isn't how it happened, that wasn't the way I wanted you to find out, you have to believe me Jessie." Grace started sobbing as she finished the sentence.
Watching the two girls fight Katie felt torn. Part of her wanted to be there for Grace because she knew how it felt to love someone that no one approved of, but she knew that Jessie needed her more. She decided to step in and help them out a little bit; Grace's crying wouldn't solve anything and Jessie wasn't making it easy on her.
"Grace didn't really tell anyone, Mr. Smith did"
"Your English teacher? How did he know about it?"
"He read some things that Grace had written on her notebook and then announced it to the class. Somehow from then until we met you a half hour later the gossiping embellished the story." As Katie went more into depth with exactly what Mr. Smith had said Grace started to recompose herself.
Grace Spoke
"I was heading in the cafeteria to tell you, I wanted to tell you before you heard the story from someone else, I had no idea how fast the news would travel"
"That's all fine and dandy that you were going to tell me after you'd been ousted by your English teacher, but would you have ever told me if you hadn't been?"
"Eventually, yes. But Jess you've got to understand we've only been dating a few days. It's intense but it's still new. Eli and I knew that when word got out it was cause a lot of upheaval. We wanted time to get used to it ourselves"
"I guess I can understand that. But you do realize you're going to have to tell my Dad and Lily tonight, before some concerned parent calls to inform them, can you handle what they might say?
"I don't know."
The bell rang and the girls headed back to class,
"This conversation isn't over yet!" Jessie said to Grace as the crowds in the hall separated them from each other.
A/N* Well did you guys like it? I think it is my longest chapter. I'm still learning so much as a writer and it's getting easier and easier to write. I wasn't really sure how to stage a fight, but I know then when I get mad and start yelling I never yell for very long, especially when I'm not so sure that I'm right.