Chapter Five- Friends and Condoms
Jay opened his eyes due to the blaring sunlight and swore as he moved. He had spent the night in his car and waking up with a joystick in your back is just not the best feeling in the world. He looked at the time, 8:30. Fuck now he was gonna be late. He rolled his eyes and drove to his house anyways. Alex would be gone by now and he could change.
"Hell why don't I just change the locks today?" he asked himself. Suddenly he stopped. "Why don't I?" he asked as though he were agreeing with himself. He pulled up and saw Sean's car there.
"Shit, "he muttered as the two people started to come out. Alex laughed at something as she got in and Sean sped past him and to school. Jay just looked after them. He hadn't seen Alex laugh in a long time. It was like a rare occasion; when she laughed. He used to be able to make her laugh…but that was ages ago. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and headed up to his apartment and walked in. Jay's clothes and what not were all in the living room on the floor. Apparently they wasted no time… He sighed and went over to pick something out to wear and then made his way into the bathroom and saw something there that just made him more pissed. A condom wrapper. And he had emptied the trash the day before…so the wrapper could only belong to one person.
"Fuck changing the locks…I got business at school now," he growled as he grabbed his keys and stalked out of the apartment.
"You look like hell Em," JT said as he came up to his friend that day at the lockers.
"Gee thanks JT. So glad that I can count on you to be honest," she said as she rolled her eyes.
"I'm just saying!"
"I know what you're saying…" she cut him off as Manny came up.
Her friend didn't say anything to her and avoided her gaze. "Hey JT."
He just nodded in her direction, not noticing that there was strain between the two friends.
"Hey Cause girl!" Alex shouted as she strolled up the hallway to her.
"What did you do now?" JT muttered as he moved aside. He knew better than to get in the middle of one of Alex's qualms. He had seen them; they weren't pretty.
Emma just sighed. She knew Alex knew, hell if Sean knew it was amazing the whole school didn't know yet or that they hadn't put up posters.
"What the fuck is your problem?"
"Excuse me?"
"Since when is it ok to fuck my boyfriend?" she said loudly and the hallways became deathly quiet and even JT was staring now. Manny was looking at the ground and Emma was stuck. She had no way out and no one to save her.
"Since I asked her out," a voice shot back and Emma whirled around to see Jay walking towards them. She almost cried she was so thankful that he was there.
"You did what?" Alex stopped mid rant.
Jay just nodded his head silently coming up behind Emma protectively. Sean came up behind Alex then and crossed his arms glaring at Emma and Jay.
"When did that little joyous occasion happen?" she asked lowly.
Emma shrugged and opened her mouth before Jay could. "About two weeks ago," she shot back.
Jay just smirked and Alex's eyes bulged out of her head and Sean looked like he was going to punch someone. "What the fuck dude?" Sean randomly yelled staring at Jay. He couldn't believe that Jay had asked Emma out while he was still with Alex. Now he had another reason to kick his ass.
"Don't you fucking start with me," Jay glared at his friend as Ellie came up on the crowd slowly and stood beside Jay.
"What the hell is going on?" she asked looking up at him confused.
"Ask your boyfriend."
Ellie turned to look at Sean who glared at Jay and then stepped back a step from Alex.
"Sean?"
"Jay got Emma pregnant. And he's been with her for two weeks…and didn't tell Alex," he snapped.
Ellie cocked her head at Jay and Emma slightly shook her head so that only Ellie could tell if she was looking.
"Jay?"
Jay just sighed. "Look ok yeah she's pregnant. But you know what, Alex might be pregnant soon too," she smiled at Alex and Sean and Sean blanched.
"What?" Emma and Ellie both asked confused.
"Oh yeah. Tell them about last night Cameron," he said smugly.
"What like when we kicked you out of your own damn house? It was pathetic," he snickered.
Jay just laughed humorlessly. "Oh no, not that part. I meant the part when you screwed Alex," he said simply and grinned.
"What the…." Alex trailed off confused as to how he knew.
"Clean your trash. And don't leave them in the open," he tipped them before taking Emma's hand and walking away leaving Ellie to tear Sean and Alex apart.
"You didn't have to do that," she said softly looking up at him.
He just shrugged and lit a cigarette. "You looked like you were going to be sick," he said by way of an explanation.
"And you would care why?" she laughed mirthlessly.
"Emma," he said looking at her.
The wind blew her blonde hair in her face but she didn't say anything. "We're not best friends, believe me I'm well aware of that fact. But we did have something-"
"The only thing we had was alcohol," she retorted.
He blew the smoke out of his mouth and sighed. "I didn't have sex with you because I was drunk," he confessed.
She snorted. "Oh yeah? And why did you then? I can't wait to hear this one."
"I did it because…." He looked at her face which showed how much she didn't believe him. "Forget it."
"No Jay, I really want to know."
"No you don't! You think I'm full of shit! You may think that no one knows what you're thinking Emma but you're such an open book it's not even funny. Stop being such bitch about being pregnant ok? Yeah so we fucked up and we're paying for it. Sing me another sad song. It's old," he said as he got up and threw down his cigarette. Emma just stared after him, mouth hanging slightly open. Jay had never confessed that to her before…or told her off. It made her think that maybe, just maybe he was right. Maybe she was blowing this whole thing out of proportion. After all, Jay said that he was going to help her with it right? And what did she do? Treated him like crap when he was just trying to be nice, which is something that she had no idea he was capable of. She sighed and got up from the steps and headed inside. The downside to being pregnant, besides the fact it was Jay's kid, was that she was hungry…all the damn time.
"I'm sorry," a voice said softly and tiredly that afternoon.
Emma looked up from her lunch and smiled a tiny smile. "It's ok. I feel bad that you found out that way," she offered up.
Ellie nodded and sat down. "So you're really pregnant?"
Emma nodded. "Mmhm. And it's just a blast and a half," she said rolling her eyes sarcastically. "But me and Jay aren't together. He was just saving my ass this morning that's all."
Ellie just nodded. "I can't believe that though. I mean it's Sean. I live with him…he knows more about me than anyone and he goes off with Alex. Alex! How fucked up is the world?" she said as she looked down.
Emma closed her magazine and stared at the girl. "Not that I mind that we're talking here…but why are you telling me this stuff? You hate me and think I'm the school slut," she pointed out.
Ellie just hung her head. "Yeah well I was talking to Jay earlier and he kinda…corrected me."
"Jay did what?"
"Stuck up for you…told me off. Whichever way you wanna look at it," she shrugged.
Emma nodded her head confused. "Ok…so what he's playing nice because I'm having his kid. Cute."
"Uh…he's playing nice because he likes you," Ellie said in a 'duh' fashion.
"What! He does not!"
Ellie rolled her eyes. "Right, I'm wrong. I've known him for a while now ok? I know what he's like and I know why he does certain things. Something's there's just like no hope for, but others…..he's just not that hard to read," she finished up.
"Why are you telling me all this?" Emma finally asked as she absorbed the information that Ellie told her.
"Because you're different," she said as she stood up to go.
"What?"
Ellie sighed and swiped the red hair out of her eyes. "You're different Emma. You're not like the other girls that he goes for and he's into you. And don't let this get out," she said leaning in close to the girl, "but I think you'd be good for him. Straighten him out or some shit."
Emma just watched the girl wave and walk out after that. Ellie Nash just sat and talked to me. Like friends talk. She didn't call me a slut or anything...this day is turning out SO weird… she thought to herself as she gathered up her stuff and bought it to the front of the room. She stood in the hallway unsure of what to do now. Lunch wasn't over yet and she had nowhere else to go. Suddenly a sea of black passed in front of her and she made up her mind. She caught up to Jay and nonchalantly grabbed his hand and held it as she marched out of school with him. He looked over at her in surprise but didn't say anything. And didn't drop her hand as the two oddly matched people walked out of school together hand in hand. And oddly enough, it looked as though they were both completely comfortable with the situation.
