JT walked Paige home in mostly silence. She was still trying to walk in a straight line as they approached her porch.
"Thanks for walking me home," Paige said as she fumbled through her purse for her keys.
"No problemo." JT stuck his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. "Well I guess I'm gonna go home." He turned to go.
"Wait," Paige said suddenly.
JT turned around hopefully. "Yes?"
"Where's Toby?"
JT's eyes widened. "Um, I gotta go back to the party. See ya!" He quickly took off back in the direction they came in.
Paige watched him go, chuckling. Then she let herself into the dark house and went over to the answering machine. She erased the message Hazel's mother had left then went into the bathroom. Too exhausted to take a shower, she splashed some water onto her face, brushed her teeth and crawled into bed, still dressed. Her head ached terribly but she managed to fall asleep quickly.
The next morning, the sun shone brightly. It had rained during the night and the sky was empty of clouds.
Paige groaned as she began to wake up. She hadn't closed her blinds and the sunlight streamed directly onto her bed, making her headache worse. With a sigh, she got out of bed and closed the blinds. Then she headed into the shower, hoping it would clear her head.
Feeling a little better, she got dressed then headed down into the kitchen. Her parents still weren't home but there was a message on the answering machine from them, saying they would be home later that evening.
It was nearly one o'clock. Still feeling a bit nauseous, Paige poured herself a glass of water then settled down in front of the television. As she flipped through the channels aimlessly, her thoughts were elsewhere.
Did I really almost kiss JT last night? she wondered. It was so absurd that she was beginning to think she had dreamed it. Ugh, I wish last night had been a dream. Despite her efforts to stop them, memories of last night kept flooding her brain. The only reason I wanted to kiss JT was because I was upset about Dean, she told herself. It's a good thing my stomach decided to take over for my brain. Still, she couldn't help but think of how sweet he had been last night. He had taken care of her and walked her home, been there for her when she needed him. Just like Spinner, she reminded herself. Remember Spinner, your boyfriend? The guy who's in love with you?
Getting up from the couch, she went into her own bedroom and forced herself to look at Spinner's picture, which sat on her nightstand. It was after they had won the soccer championship last year. She had to admit he looked adorable, grinning happily into the camera, grass-stained but victorious. But then she remembered JT's face when it had been inches from her's the night before. He had looked so surprised and eager.
With a groan, she fell back onto her bed. Life is hard, she thought.
+++
Spinner grunted as the phone rang, jarring him awake. He moaned, rolling over, letting someone else answer it. Just as he felt himself drifting back to sleep there was a sharp knock on the door. Kendra entered the room and dropped the cordless phone on top of him. "It's for you." She turned and left.
"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically, snatching up the phone. "What?" he barked.
"Whoa, whoa, Spin, calm down," came Jimmy's voice.
"Why are you calling me so early?"
"Early? It's two o'clock in the afternoon."
Spinner looked at the clock. "Like I said, early." He could picture Jimmy rolling his eyes at the other end. "So what do you want?"
"I just wanted to tell you something important. Something I think you should know."
"Okay…"
"Well you know how I went to that party yesterday that Paige went to?"
"Yes?" Spinner sat up in bed, starting to feel wary.
"Well, um, see, what had happened was—"
"Jimmy just tell me," Spinner demanded.
"Well, she got kinda drunk and I think I saw her kissing JT in the backyard," Jimmy said in a rush.
Spinner was silent for a moment before beginning to laugh. "Good one, Jimmy, but it wasn't worth waking me up for."
"Man, I'm not kidding. I'm sorry."
Spinner realized that Jimmy was indeed serious by the sympathetic tone of his voice. "B-but that's impossible. She wouldn't do that. Why would she do that? She can't stand JT."
"I'm sorry," Jimmy said again. "If it makes you feel better, she was really drunk."
Spinner was still in shock. "But JT?" He balled his hands into fists. "I'll kill him."
