Chapter 13: Change is Gonna Come
"So, did you like the food?" Jimmy asked as Alex pushed him along the sidewalks of the Los Angeles strip. The sun was slowly starting to set, & they had spent the day doing a ton of things. They window shopped at all of their favorite stores, went to the boardwalk--where Jimmy won Alex a large bulldog & Manny a large teddy bear playing basketball--& they ate dinner at one of the best restaurants in LA. Alex smiled as she kissed his cheek.
"Ah, I'll say it was up to expectations." Alex said playfully as they started down the street to their home. Luckily, they used the bus to get so close to their house.
"So, was that our first date?" Jimmy asked, hoping & knowing that she would say yes.
"Yeah. We are together…right?" Alex asked as they got into the house.
"Of course." Jimmy replied as Manny came out of the kitchen with a subway sandwich in her hand, chewing & smiling.
"Hey guys, how was your sightseeing?" Manny asked when she swallowed her sandwich.
"Great. Jimmy won you this." Alex held out the pink teddy bear reluctantly as Manny took it from her & squealed. Deep inside, Manny was jealous of Alex, & glad that Jimmy still thought about her.
"Wow! Thanks Jimmy!" Manny said as she spun around with the bear in her hand, landing on the couch with the bear in one hand, the sandwich in the other.
"No problem. I gotta go take a shower. I'll be right back." Jimmy said, & he rolled towards the elevator, pushed a few buttons, & the door slung open. He rolled in, & it closed behind him.
"Okay…let's get down to business." Alex said with her arms crossed. Manny looks up at Alex with a confused look on her face.
"Excuse me? I have no idea what you're talking about." Manny said, taking the last bite of her sandwich.
"Let's get something straight. Jimmy & I, we're together. You're not going to get in the way…got it?" Alex said as Manny stood up & looked at her.
"Look, I already know that. I don't want to get in the way, so don't speak to me like that." Manny said with a hint of attitude in her voice.
"I know you want to be with him! You wanted to be with Manning, & Mason, & Yorke all the same! You are not gonna take this from me…" Alex said, as the space between her & Manny became inches.
"Whatever. You know he liked us both, so how do you know that he loves you?" Manny whispered as she walks away & goes upstairs.
Jimmy's room was almost like his room back in Toronto, but it came with the wonderful view of the beach. His room had a king sized bed, with blue & black sheets, his walls were black, but were filled with posters & pictures of basketball stars & teams. Above his bed was a blown up picture of Michael Jordan's signature. He sat on his bed, reading a magazine. He found an advertisement.
"Do you have bone misplacement? Are you in need of surgery because of an accident? Call Dr. Reed at 314-669-1061 or visit It read. Jimmy got his laptop off the side table & started typing.
Alex walked into the room & flopped on the bed beside him. She laid her head on her shoulder & read over the web page.
"You're getting surgery?" Alex asked as she looked at him.
"I don't know. I'm just trying to get more information." Jimmy said as he typed some more, clicked over to another page, & read some more.
"Yeah right…why do you need to put yourself into danger?" Alex said with a hint of worry in her voice. Jimmy smiled at her & kissed the top of her head.
"Because, I want to do more things with you & Manny. I feel like I'm limited by this thing, & I wanna fix it. This doctor is the best in the U.S., & she's done surgeries on people like me before." Jimmy said as Manny came into the room. Alex rolled her eyes as Jimmy smiled at her.
"Um, hey Jimmy…Alex." Manny said quietly as she put her hands behind her back.
"Whatever." Alex said as she raised her head from Jimmy's shoulder.
"Look, stop being such a bitch, alright?" Manny said angrily as Alex shot a death look at her.
"Why won't you stop being a slut?" Alex said back as Jimmy looked at the both of them.
"Why won't you tell me what the fuck is going on? Why are you lashing at each other?" Jimmy said as Manny smiled at him.
"Because Alex thinks that I'm gonna sleep with you." Manny said as Alex smacked her teeth.
"What? Alex, I told you that I was gonna tell her when the time was right!" Jimmy yelled as he looked at Alex.
"You should of told me before you told her that you loved her! You may be different from other guys, but you're still a guy." Manny said angrily with tears in her eyes, & she left, slamming the door.
"I didn't want it to end up like this…" Jimmy said quietly as he laid his head on the pillow.
"I knew you weren't over her." Alex said, & she left the room as well.
The clique is breaking apart…