A/N: Thank you guys for all of the reviews. You have no idea how much they mean to me. =)
Chapter Fourteen- Phone Calls and Realizations
Ellie giggled. Yes, you read correctly, giggled. When was the last time that had happened? Maybe in another lifetime, or something...
She was flipping through the caller ID on her cordless phone Saturday afternoon, after coming back from Ashley's house that day, and she saw a name that made her heart flop and let out a happy giggle.
C. Brooks. The name replayed over and over again in her head. C Brookes. She only knew one person with that last name. And that one person was the same person who had been on her mind all day long. She felt like...a normal teenager, a crazy child with a crush on a boy. Something she hadn't felt in, well, a really long time. Here she was, Ellie Nash, going insane because a boy called her house. But, wait, how could she be sure that it really was Jimmy who had called? It could've been someone else, right? Brooks is a common name...
She didn't know why all of a sudden she was freaking out. Maybe it was because for once she felt accepted by a member of the opposite sex or maybe it was because, as weird as it sounded, she felt like she had discovered her other half; the one person who really, truly understood her.
Ellie tried to push all of these thoughts away. She was thinking stupidly. How could she feel like this when she was only fifteen years old? Was this normal? She hadn't even thought of Jimmy as being a crush up until now.
There was only one way she was going to find out who called. She had to call the number back.
What? No. She couldn't do that. How was it that brave, gutsy Eleanor Nash had now turned to mush at the thought of calling Jimmy? Something was seriously wrong with her.
Ellie pondered for a moment about what to do, when a genius thought came to mind. She grabbed her backpack and dug through it until she found the scrap of paper she was looking for. She opened it up. The entire paper was crinkled and the purple ink was smudged, but she could still read it. Paige's phone number. The one she had given to Ellie the day they had bonded in the school washroom.
Quickly, she dialed Paige's number. "Ellie, hey," Paige greeted after two rings.
"Hey, Paige."
"What's up?" she asked.
"Um, I was just wondering if you, um, well...had Jimmy's number," Ellie mumbled.
She could practically feel Paige grinning on the other end.
"Shut up, Paige," Ellie demanded, even though she hadn't said a word. And Paige understood, too, why Ellie had said that. The two had somehow managed to form this psychic-like bond, where they could almost read each other like a book. It was scary, yes, but Ellie kind of liked the connection.
"Okay, okay. No need to be so snippy!" Paige said. "Now...Jimmy's number." She told Ellie the digits, as she compared the number Paige gave her to the number on the phone.
They matched.
"Uh, thanks," Ellie said awkwardly. The two hung up and Ellie was left staring at the phone held securely in her left hand.
She felt like a complete idiot. Why was she being affected in this way? There were too many questions running through her head, she couldn't think straight. So, she blocked them out and began dialing the number.
------
"Dude, like, get the phone," Spinner instructed, as he threw himself on Jimmy's couch. He began flipping through the TV channels, guzzling down a can of spray cheese.
Jimmy didn't answer and the phone kept ringing.
"DUDE!!" Spinner yelled. His friend had wandered upstairs minutes ago and had yet to return. Spinner sighed and got up. He walked over to the phone that rested on the side table and answered it.
"Hey, you've reached the Brooks' residence. Your call is obviously unwanted if it's taken more than four rings for someone to answer. So if you want to, I don't know, maybe get a life or something, hang up right now because I have a lovely couch and spray cheese to get back to, so I really don't know why I'm even wasting precious seconds of my life—"
"Spinner. What the hell?" the voice on the other end said.
"Uhhh, who is this?" Spinner asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"Well, I don't know, ME!" he retorted.
"Is Jimmy there?" the voice asked.
"No. He's kind of, uh, busy right now. Care to leave a message, 'cause your kind of wasting my time right now..."
"Hey, you answered the damn phone. You wasted your own life. Just, um, tell Jimmy that Ellie called, okay?" she said, and hung up.
Spinner gave the phone an odd look before hanging up. He shook his head. "It was only a matter of time..."
Jimmy came down the stairs a few minutes later. He found Spinner spread out on the couch, letting out a huge belch from too much cheese.
"Dude, where have you been?" Spinner asked, sitting up. "I've been here for like, a million years, but noooo, you don't care..."
"Spin, chill out. Why were you yelling earlier? Who called?"
An evil grin crept upon Spinner's face. "Your girlfriend, Miss Nash."
Jimmy attempted to suppress a smile. She called? He was surprised. "Oh, that's cool," he said, covering his extreme happiness.
"She's all over you, dude. How do you do it?" Spinner asked.
A mischievous grin crossed Jimmy's face. "That, my friend, is a secret."
Spinner rolled his eyes and belched again.
------
Liberty walked around her neighborhood Saturday afternoon, thinking about nothing in particular. She was feeling very sad and lonely. Nobody seemed to understand her at all. She had been circling the neighborhood for about an hour, hoping that she'd realize what she needed to do to make herself feel better. But nothing was coming to her.
She knew she was upset over JT, but she also knew that she had other priorities and that boys shouldn't matter. She'd discovered that whether she liked it or not, this was a part of growing up, no matter how mature she appeared to be. Liberty plopped herself down on the curb of the street, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Um, hey, Liberty," a delicate voice said.
She turned to face the person. It was Manny. Manny was the only other girl from school who lived in the same neighborhood as Liberty, so it wasn't a surprise that she was roaming around as well.
"Manny..." Liberty said. Part of her wanted to just stand up and rip her chocolate colored eyes out and the other part of her wanted to spill all of the bottled up feelings she had about her and JT. But instead, she kept silent.
"I just wanted to say, you know, that I'm sorry for spazzing out on you like I did the other day. You know, when I accused you of complaining to Raditch..."
"I remember." What was Liberty supposed to do? Forgive the bitch who'd wrongfully taken JT from her? She knew she wasn't being fair, but this meant so, so much to her...
"Well, I hope you know that I'm so sorry for that mess. I'm hoping maybe we can...I don't know, be friends again?"
What the hell was wrong with this child? Liberty did not understand. Why would a girl like Manny, who has done the one thing that she knew had hurt Liberty, want to be friends with her? There was something seriously messed up with this. But, in someway, it felt nice that Manny was actually sorry for her actions, even if it wasn't the one she should be really sorry for.
"I guess it's alright," Liberty mumbled.
Manny sat down on the curb next to her. They sat there for a few moments, in complete silence.
Finally, Manny broke it. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch over the past few months. I just don't know who I am anymore."
Liberty soon became uncomfortable. How was she supposed to react? She couldn't tell if Manny was being sincere or not. This could just be some rotten scheme. That sounded like something she would do nowadays.
"I can't say that it's okay, if that's what you're expecting to here. Because you've been really cruel, you know."
She sighed. "I know. Now everyone hates me."
"Not JT," Liberty mumbled.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"Oh, okay. Anyways, I don't know what to do. I mean, there's just such a long list of people that would rather see me dead. I've ruined everything."
"You need to do some serious soul-searching, Manny. Just do what I do, ask your self what you need the most at the time and then just go for it. It may not work all of the time, but it can't hurt any worse," Liberty told her.
Manny took in her words. Finally, she looked at Liberty. "You're right, you're absolutely right." She stood up and began headed towards her house.
"Where are you going?" Liberty asked.
"I've got a few calls to make," she replied and ran off.
Chapter Fourteen- Phone Calls and Realizations
Ellie giggled. Yes, you read correctly, giggled. When was the last time that had happened? Maybe in another lifetime, or something...
She was flipping through the caller ID on her cordless phone Saturday afternoon, after coming back from Ashley's house that day, and she saw a name that made her heart flop and let out a happy giggle.
C. Brooks. The name replayed over and over again in her head. C Brookes. She only knew one person with that last name. And that one person was the same person who had been on her mind all day long. She felt like...a normal teenager, a crazy child with a crush on a boy. Something she hadn't felt in, well, a really long time. Here she was, Ellie Nash, going insane because a boy called her house. But, wait, how could she be sure that it really was Jimmy who had called? It could've been someone else, right? Brooks is a common name...
She didn't know why all of a sudden she was freaking out. Maybe it was because for once she felt accepted by a member of the opposite sex or maybe it was because, as weird as it sounded, she felt like she had discovered her other half; the one person who really, truly understood her.
Ellie tried to push all of these thoughts away. She was thinking stupidly. How could she feel like this when she was only fifteen years old? Was this normal? She hadn't even thought of Jimmy as being a crush up until now.
There was only one way she was going to find out who called. She had to call the number back.
What? No. She couldn't do that. How was it that brave, gutsy Eleanor Nash had now turned to mush at the thought of calling Jimmy? Something was seriously wrong with her.
Ellie pondered for a moment about what to do, when a genius thought came to mind. She grabbed her backpack and dug through it until she found the scrap of paper she was looking for. She opened it up. The entire paper was crinkled and the purple ink was smudged, but she could still read it. Paige's phone number. The one she had given to Ellie the day they had bonded in the school washroom.
Quickly, she dialed Paige's number. "Ellie, hey," Paige greeted after two rings.
"Hey, Paige."
"What's up?" she asked.
"Um, I was just wondering if you, um, well...had Jimmy's number," Ellie mumbled.
She could practically feel Paige grinning on the other end.
"Shut up, Paige," Ellie demanded, even though she hadn't said a word. And Paige understood, too, why Ellie had said that. The two had somehow managed to form this psychic-like bond, where they could almost read each other like a book. It was scary, yes, but Ellie kind of liked the connection.
"Okay, okay. No need to be so snippy!" Paige said. "Now...Jimmy's number." She told Ellie the digits, as she compared the number Paige gave her to the number on the phone.
They matched.
"Uh, thanks," Ellie said awkwardly. The two hung up and Ellie was left staring at the phone held securely in her left hand.
She felt like a complete idiot. Why was she being affected in this way? There were too many questions running through her head, she couldn't think straight. So, she blocked them out and began dialing the number.
------
"Dude, like, get the phone," Spinner instructed, as he threw himself on Jimmy's couch. He began flipping through the TV channels, guzzling down a can of spray cheese.
Jimmy didn't answer and the phone kept ringing.
"DUDE!!" Spinner yelled. His friend had wandered upstairs minutes ago and had yet to return. Spinner sighed and got up. He walked over to the phone that rested on the side table and answered it.
"Hey, you've reached the Brooks' residence. Your call is obviously unwanted if it's taken more than four rings for someone to answer. So if you want to, I don't know, maybe get a life or something, hang up right now because I have a lovely couch and spray cheese to get back to, so I really don't know why I'm even wasting precious seconds of my life—"
"Spinner. What the hell?" the voice on the other end said.
"Uhhh, who is this?" Spinner asked.
"Who wants to know?"
"Well, I don't know, ME!" he retorted.
"Is Jimmy there?" the voice asked.
"No. He's kind of, uh, busy right now. Care to leave a message, 'cause your kind of wasting my time right now..."
"Hey, you answered the damn phone. You wasted your own life. Just, um, tell Jimmy that Ellie called, okay?" she said, and hung up.
Spinner gave the phone an odd look before hanging up. He shook his head. "It was only a matter of time..."
Jimmy came down the stairs a few minutes later. He found Spinner spread out on the couch, letting out a huge belch from too much cheese.
"Dude, where have you been?" Spinner asked, sitting up. "I've been here for like, a million years, but noooo, you don't care..."
"Spin, chill out. Why were you yelling earlier? Who called?"
An evil grin crept upon Spinner's face. "Your girlfriend, Miss Nash."
Jimmy attempted to suppress a smile. She called? He was surprised. "Oh, that's cool," he said, covering his extreme happiness.
"She's all over you, dude. How do you do it?" Spinner asked.
A mischievous grin crossed Jimmy's face. "That, my friend, is a secret."
Spinner rolled his eyes and belched again.
------
Liberty walked around her neighborhood Saturday afternoon, thinking about nothing in particular. She was feeling very sad and lonely. Nobody seemed to understand her at all. She had been circling the neighborhood for about an hour, hoping that she'd realize what she needed to do to make herself feel better. But nothing was coming to her.
She knew she was upset over JT, but she also knew that she had other priorities and that boys shouldn't matter. She'd discovered that whether she liked it or not, this was a part of growing up, no matter how mature she appeared to be. Liberty plopped herself down on the curb of the street, when someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Um, hey, Liberty," a delicate voice said.
She turned to face the person. It was Manny. Manny was the only other girl from school who lived in the same neighborhood as Liberty, so it wasn't a surprise that she was roaming around as well.
"Manny..." Liberty said. Part of her wanted to just stand up and rip her chocolate colored eyes out and the other part of her wanted to spill all of the bottled up feelings she had about her and JT. But instead, she kept silent.
"I just wanted to say, you know, that I'm sorry for spazzing out on you like I did the other day. You know, when I accused you of complaining to Raditch..."
"I remember." What was Liberty supposed to do? Forgive the bitch who'd wrongfully taken JT from her? She knew she wasn't being fair, but this meant so, so much to her...
"Well, I hope you know that I'm so sorry for that mess. I'm hoping maybe we can...I don't know, be friends again?"
What the hell was wrong with this child? Liberty did not understand. Why would a girl like Manny, who has done the one thing that she knew had hurt Liberty, want to be friends with her? There was something seriously messed up with this. But, in someway, it felt nice that Manny was actually sorry for her actions, even if it wasn't the one she should be really sorry for.
"I guess it's alright," Liberty mumbled.
Manny sat down on the curb next to her. They sat there for a few moments, in complete silence.
Finally, Manny broke it. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch over the past few months. I just don't know who I am anymore."
Liberty soon became uncomfortable. How was she supposed to react? She couldn't tell if Manny was being sincere or not. This could just be some rotten scheme. That sounded like something she would do nowadays.
"I can't say that it's okay, if that's what you're expecting to here. Because you've been really cruel, you know."
She sighed. "I know. Now everyone hates me."
"Not JT," Liberty mumbled.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Nothing."
"Oh, okay. Anyways, I don't know what to do. I mean, there's just such a long list of people that would rather see me dead. I've ruined everything."
"You need to do some serious soul-searching, Manny. Just do what I do, ask your self what you need the most at the time and then just go for it. It may not work all of the time, but it can't hurt any worse," Liberty told her.
Manny took in her words. Finally, she looked at Liberty. "You're right, you're absolutely right." She stood up and began headed towards her house.
"Where are you going?" Liberty asked.
"I've got a few calls to make," she replied and ran off.