She found herself in the car again, never mentioning to her father where she was going, not that he actually noticed. Even dressing up as a giant football wouldn't catch his attention at this point, so she just slipped out of the house and back into the snow quietly. She didn't know why she was crawling back to Jessie like she was, but she knew she wanted to give this whole thing another chance. She wanted Jessie to know how much she cared about her, really know, and talking to her would hopefully prove that. She started the engine and pulled out of the driveway, her mind racing with thoughts. As she pulled up in front of Jessie's house, she felt her heart begin to beat faster and her mouth seemed to get dryer by the second. She pulled down the visor and checked her makeup, making sure she looked ok to be seen by Jessie. Getting out of the car, she took a final deep breath, marched up to the door, and rang the doorbell.
--
Jessie was standing in the bathroom, running her fingers through her hair when she heard the doorbell. The rest of the house was empty except for Zoey, who was blasting her stereo from her own bedroom. "It's now or never." Jessie thought to herself as she exited the bathroom and walked downstairs to the door. She took a deep breath as her hand wrapped around the knob, twisted it, and pulled the door open. There Katie stood, a shy half smile across her face, her hat in her hands, looking rather nervous. Jessie thought she probably looked just as nervous.
"Hi Jess…" Katie spoke first, shifting on her feet. Jessie consciously knew she had to reply, but was too preoccupied at admiring the brunette's features. Snapping out of it, Jessie gave a small smile.
"Hey Katie." She stepped aside. "Come on in." Katie took a step into the house and Jessie closed the door behind her. They both stood awkwardly in the entryway, their feet seeming extremely appealing compared to each other. "Can I get you a cup of coffee or something?" Jessie stammered, looking up at Katie.
"Yeah, coffee would be great." Katie followed her into the kitchen, where she poured two cups of coffee with shaky hands. Katie took a seat at the table as Jessie handed her the warm mug, sitting down across from her with her own. Katie took a long sip from her mug before putting it down and looking Jessie in the eyes. Nearly choking on her coffee, Jessie swallowed thickly, swearing Katie could see right into her soul with that piercing stare. "I really am sorry." Katie said softly, looking away and out the nearest window. Jessie couldn't form words at this point, so she just slowly nodded in understanding. "I do care a lot about you Jessie and this last year has probably been the hardest year of my life because you haven't been around." Jessie watched Katie's hands search for some place to rest, finally fitting around the coffee cup. "You're the only one who ever got me, Jess."
"What about Tad?" She knew she was thinking it, but hearing her own voice say it surprised her.
"Tad is a great friend, but he never understood me Jessie, Tad's just not deep enough for such things." She watched as Katie took another long sip of the coffee. Her head and her heart were sparring at this point, unsure of how she should react.
"I care about you too." She finally sighed. "I can't keep acting like I don't any longer." She pushed the coffee aside, she didn't even like coffee. "I'm tired of lying to myself and everyone else. You still mean a lot to me Katie." She watched as Katie's face scrunched up as she contemplated the statement, it was only a second, before her shoulders fell into a more relaxed position.
"Can we just… try to work this all out?" Her heart jumped when she heard those words from Katie.
"I think I'd like that." She smiled at the brunette, who returned the smile, and placed her own hand over Jessie's.