CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
Over the next few days, Randy tried to understand why he was inexplicably attracted to Jess. She was his best friend, he shouldn't be thinking about her like that.
One day, he was outside helping his dad take down the Christmas lights, when Jess' brother, Jack, pulled into the driveway of the James' home, with Jess in the passengers seat.
"You and Jess don't seem to be spending as much time together as I thought you would," Tim remarked.
"Yeah, I know," Randy nodded, "It's kind of weird. Things just seemed to have changed a lot since I left."
"Are you talking about the fact that Jessica's dressing like a girl now, or that she's spending a lot of time with Jenny?" Tim asked.
"A bit of both, I guess." Randy replied. "It just seems like ever since I got back from Costa Rica, things between me and Jess have been different."
"Well, different how?" Tim looked confused. He didn't really understand how three months could change anything between his son and his best friend.
"I don't really know how to explain it, Dad," Randy sighed, "It's just like, every time Jess comes around, I don't know what to say or what to do anymore. It's just weird."
Tim nodded slowly, "Well, Randy, I don't really know what to tell you." He stopped winding the strand of Christmas lights around his hand, and looked at his son, "To me, it sounds a little bit like maybe your feelings for Jess have changed."
"What do you mean?" Randy asked, wrinkling his nose.
Tim hesitated, before saying, "Well, this is just my opinion, but maybe, just maybe, you leaving and coming back from Costa Rica has made you realize how you feel about Jess."
"Well, she's my best friend," Randy said.
"Yeah, I know that," Tim nodded, "I'm just saying… have you ever thought that you might like her as more than that?"
Randy was silent, and Tim said, "Remember, this is just me talking. Maybe you'd better talk to your mom about this, you know… feelings and stuff aren't exactly my area of expertise."
"Yeah," Randy nodded absently, as Jess walked from the car to the house, and waved to him, "Thanks, Dad."
"Well, don't the boys just love lining up to give you cute presents?" Jenny was laying on her stomach on Jess' bed, holding the shiny silver bracelet Milo had given Jess for Christmas.
"I don't really think a silver bracelet constitutes as cute," Jess said, shaking her head, as she put her laundry and presents away. "Expensive and over the top? Maybe." She nodded, "But cute? Not so much."
"I wasn't really talking about the bracelet," Jenny said, "I was more talking about the necklace that Randy gave you."
Jess' hand flew up and touched the star charm self-consciously, and Jenny said, "Look, Jess, I know you hate it when I bring this up, but… are you sure you guys are just friends?"
"We've always been just friends, Jen." Jess replied, not looking at the blonde.
"Yeah, well, how about now?" Jenny asked, raising an eyebrow at her, "Jessica, I've seen how that boy looks at you, and there is no way he just wants to be your friend."
"Randy doesn't look at me in any particular way," Jess murmured, feeling her cheeks burning slightly. "Besides, even if he did, which he doesn't, there's the whole problem of Lauren."
Jenny made a face. She hated Lauren almost as much as Jess did. "Well, if Lauren decides she wants to be a little bitch, I can take care of her." She looked at Jess with her golden hazel eyes, "You shouldn't let her hold the two of you back from being an epic romance."
"We're not an epic romance," Jess groaned, covering her face with her hands to hide the fact that she was blushing.
"Not yet, but you will be." Jenny said confidently, "Brad told me the first thing he asked about once he got home was whether or not you were around."
"Because we're best friends," Jess said, nodding.
"Nuh-uh," Jenny shook her head, "Because the two of you are soul mates."
Jess snorted, "Yeah, right, Jenny. You keep thinking that."
"Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Jenny nodded.
Jess just rolled her eyes, but she couldn't quite convince herself that Jenny was wrong.
That night, Jess and Randy were sitting on the roof of the Taylor house. They were supposed to be packing up Christmas decorations, but they had gotten distracted by watching the stars.
"So, are we going to do the Jess James/Randy Taylor tradition?" Randy asked, grinning at her.
Jess blew out a puff of air, watching it show in the cold air, and looked at him, "What, you mean where we rate our presents?"
Randy nodded, "Uh-huh."
"All right," Jess nodded, "You first. Best present?"
"I don't really know yet," Randy said, "I haven't opened many, because almost all of them are in Costa Rica. Your letter might be close to the top of the list though." He shot her a grin, and felt his heart flip as she laughed, "How about you?"
"It's a tie between my Aerosmith tickets," Jess said, "And the necklace."
"Jess, the necklace wasn't that much," Randy said, shaking his head.
"Maybe not to you," Jess said in a fair tone, "But it means a lot to me."
"Why?" Randy was slightly confused.
"I don't know," Jess shrugged, "Because it's from you." Her voice was soft, and careful.
"That makes it special?" Randy was surprised to hear how soft his own voice was.
Jess nodded, her curls bouncing slowly, "Yeah, of course it does, I mean…"
"Jessica!" Veronica's voice rang out from the back porch of the James house. "Jessica! I need you to come home right now!"
Jess and Randy exchanged a confused look, before they climbed off the roof, and Randy walked her to the back porch. Veronica was standing outside, her eyes were wide, and she was white as the snow that was on the ground.
"Mom, are you okay?" Jess asked, but she could tell from Veronica's expression that she wasn't.
"Jessica," Veronica's voice quivered, "Baby, there's been an accident."
Dun, dun, dun! Dramatic cliff hanger, haha. I have to warn you, the next chapter isn't very uplifting, but it's pretty good (I think so at least). Thank you again for all your reviews, they mean a lot to me. Anyway, there are only three chapters after this left in The Best Girl, but I'm seriously considering writing a sequel. Ah, well. We'll see (: Please read and review!