Alliances



Heather’s eyes fluttered open around 8 in the morning. She looked around and sat up in the bed. The house seemed quiet. Usually Nick and the guys were up and about by 8. She got out of bed and opened the bedroom door. There was a note taped to it in Nick’s horrid handwriting.

“Went to get Ava. You be gone by the time we get back or Antoinette gets it.” Next to that was a smiley face. She looked at the bed and Antoinette was lying at the foot, safe and sound.

“He’s such an imbecile.” She muttered. Just as she was going to go downstairs and get some fruit for breakfast, the phone rang. She didn’t both to look at the caller ID, just assuming it was Nick to check and see if she had gone yet.

“What?” She answered.

“Uh... is Ava there? This is Jason.” Heather rolled her eyes.

“No she’s not here and.... wait.... how do you know dear Ava?” She sat down on the bed and listened with anticipation.

“We’re friends, but we used to date. Why? Who is this?”

“Heather. I know Ava as well. Tell me, Jason, are you and Ava just friends?” Jason hesitated for a moment.

“Well, we’re supposed to go out sometime soon. That’s why I need to talk to her.” Heather turned pink with excitement.

“That’s too bad, Jason.”

“What do you mean it’s too bad?” He asked. Quite confused.

“Well, I thought all of her friends knew. She’s been seeing Nick for quite a while now.” Heather lied.

“You mean that pretty boy she rooms with?” Jason asked, and Heather could hear every bit of anger and resentment in his voice.

“They do more than just room together, Jason. She lives here in his mansion by the sea. I really shouldn’t be telling you this. She obviously didn’t want you to know if she never told you.” Heather was laughing heartedly inside as she spoke.

“What the fuck? You gotta be kidding me! She told me she was single!” He screamed.

“Listen, dear Jason. I sense that you’re rather upset about this...”

“....Damn right I’m upset....”

“....And you have every right to be! I am too. Nick hasn’t been the kindest to me lately. So I bet I’m feeling something quite similar to you right now. I’ll tell you what, meet me tonight at The Carlson House Restaurant. We’ll talk about how we can deal with these two love birds.”

“Absolutely. Let’s say 7?”

“Jason, my friend, you’ve got yourself a surefire date. Until then.” She hung the phone up with a grin to kill all other grins. She had a plan.

~*~*~*~*~*~


By the time Nick, Ava, and the guys returned... Heather was gone. The room she slept in was bare and just the way Ava had left it.

“I’m glad to be back.” She said before a long sigh. AJ flopped down on the bed next to her and kissed her cheek.

“You wanna go out or something? We don’t have any restrictions now.” Ava shook her head, declining to his offer.

“I’m still kind of suffering the whole morning sickness thing. Well, all-day sickness. I shouldn’t be out because it can hit me at any time.” Nick made a melodramatic sad face.

“I know. I’ll make you dinner. We all will. You deserve to be pampered.” Nick hopped out of bed and ran down the hallway, down the stairs, and to the kitchen. Ava turned over and closed her eyes, hoping her nausea would subside.

When she opened her eyes again, AJ was sitting directly in front of her. He had a rose in his hand and he laid it on the bed next to her hand.

“This is from Nicky. And he wants you to meet him out by the pool.” Ava sat up in bed and AJ held out his hand for her. He led her down the stairs and out to the pool side. The lights in the pool were lit and there were candles floating on lily pads in the water. There were candles on a the dinner table set up as well.

“Your seat, miss.” AJ said, pulling out her chair. She couldn’t help but laugh at how formal he was being.

“Nicky will join you shortly. Until then, may I ask what you’ll be having to drink this afternoon?” Ava knew she couldn’t have any alcohol, so she thought about something else good she liked to drink.

“I’ll have some iced tea, thanks.” AJ snapped nodded and went into the kitchen. Brian came out just seconds later with Nick’s guitar. He sat a few feet away and started to play a song all too familiar to Ava. Staind’s “It’s Been Awhile”. His voice sounded nothing like Aaron Lewis’. But, either way, the song and the music was too beautiful to her.

Nick touched her shoulder and held out his hand. She looked him over, and he looked so handsome. Like a model straight off of the catwalk. She felt silly next to him with her overalls and Looney Toon’s t-shirt. But no one there seemed to care, so she stood up and put her hands on both his shoulders.

“I’ve been thinking about us so much lately.” He said, then he spun her around.

“Really? In what way?” Ava asked with a smile.

“I guess it’s because of the circumstances. The scandalizing circumstances, rather. I keep wondering what’s gonna happen with us, after the baby.” Ava looked down and Nick lifted her face back up with his index finger.

“What’s wrong?”

“After the baby’s born, I want to go to school. And I doubt we’ll ever see each other again.” Nick rested his forehead against hers and nuzzled her nose with his own.

“Don’t think about that now. My time with you is so limited. And I have to do all that I can to take care of you and make sure that you’re alright. So relax and don’t think about tomorrow. Just focus on tonight.” AJ came out with a glass pitcher of ice tea. He poured two glasses and then went back into the kitchen. Brian finished his song and went into the kitchen as well to help AJ in whatever he was doing.

Nick led Ava back to the table and pulled out her chair as AJ had done before. Then he sat down across from her.

“So, what’s for dinner?” She asked. Nick shrugged as if he had no idea when he, himself helped to prepare the food. They could hear Brian and AJ banging pots around in the kitchen and making all kinds of racket. Despite the chaos in the kitchen, Nick reached over and touched Ava’s hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~


Heather saw Jason walk into the restaurant and almost immediately regretted asking him there. He was certainly not dressed for the place. And if it were up to her, people who dressed like him would be sentenced to 25 years in prison for fashion violations. She raised her hand up in the air and smiled, wanting to throw up.

“Hey. I had no idea this place was so fancy.” Heather smiled and realized that despite his clothes, he wasn’t too bad on the eyes. A kind smile, nice eyes, and his hair actually looked clean for a punk rocker. Not greasy and on the verge of dread locks like she felt most punk rockers looked.

The more she looked at him, the more her planned changed. She could use him in more ways than one. This put a true smile on her face.

“So, what’s up?” He asked. Heather snapped her fingers and a waiter glided over to the table. She ordered some expensive wine and told him to make sure it was chilled just right. The waiter bowed and went off to get her order. Then she turned back to Jason.

“I was engaged to Nick, you know? And I know that you and Ava must have been close. But they’re together now. And I’m sure this will come as a shock to you, but she’s carrying his child.” Jason’s eyes widened. He had no idea how to react.

“Ava’s pregnant???” Heather nodded and pretended to be hurt by it too.

“I’m just as brokenhearted as you. Believe me, I am. But I just don’t think it’s fair for them to hurt nice people like us. We don’t deserve this. And I know how to get back at them. I just need to know that you trust me.” Jason was too overwhelmed to protest.

“Sure, I trust you. Bu—“ He was still deep in his disbelief when the waiter returned with the wine, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Heather explained as much of her plan to Jason as he needed to know to do what she wanted him to do. And what she wanted was for him to pretend that he still loved Ava and get close to her. In doing this, he could get information from her and spy on her. That way their accusations would be more credible to outside parties.

After Jason understood his role in the whole scheme, they left the restaurant. Heather acted as though she was a little tipsy, just to make herself more believable. She took Jason’s face in her hands and kissed him square on the lips. And to have such a beautiful high-class woman like Heather interested in him was too much to handle. He stood there star struck for a moment after the kiss.

“We’ll meet again tomorrow, alright? And we’ll get things worked out.” She said, wiping her pink lipstick from his mouth.

“O--o--ok” He stuttered. Then he turned slowly and walked away. His skateboard tucked under his arm. Heather wiped her mouth and refreshed her lipstick. Then she got into her car and drove off. Nick was going to pay for tricking her. And his sweet country girlfriend wasn’t going to get away unscarred either. She would play an integral part in his public humiliation. For Heather would make absolute sure that Ava would lose her dignity too.


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