JACK AND ROSE PRESENT TIME 2: JUNIOR YEAR
Chapter Twelve

"Thanks," Jack replied. It was a Saturday afternoon, and Jack, Fabrizio, and Tommy decided to shoot some baskets in the local park. It was a little cold outside, compared to what Santa Monica was usually like, but that didn't bother them.

"Aren't we supposed to meet up with the girls in a bit?" Tommy asked, throwing the ball to Fabrizio.

"Yeah," Jack replied. "We're supposed to meet back up to go out to dinner." Jack passed the ball to Fabrizio, and he threw the ball into the basket. "Good job, Fabri," Jack said, as he gave his friend a high-five.

"Well, you know," Fabrizio said. "We Italians are good at this sport."

"Hey," Tommy said, suddenly, stopping the game. "Would you look who's here?" Tommy pointed over to a bench about fifty feet away from them. On it was Alexia and Cal...making out. Tommy's heart immediately dropped, even though him and Alexia were over. It still hurt to see her like that, especially with Cal Hockley.

"Just ignore 'em," Fabrizio said, grabbing the ball back from Tommy.

Sure, that was easy for him to say. What Fabrizio didn't know was that Tommy still had a place in his heart for Alexia. Even though she had changed so much, he still, in a way, loved her. But, Tommy had to remind himself that he loved the old Alexia, not the person she was right then.

Lucky for them, Cal and Alexia, hand in hand, approached them. "Well, if it isn't the three losers," Cal said, with a smirk, as he took the ball from Fabrizio and made a shot. He loved to show off more than anyone they knew.

"Cal..." Alexia warned, looking at her old best friends.

"Ah, come on, Ali," Cal said. "You know just as well as I do that these guys were never even your friends. You think people are your friends, but they aren't."

"What are you getting at, Cal?" Jack asked, grabbing the ball away from him.

Cal laughed. "Believe it or not, your girlfriend and I used to be pretty good friends," Cal stated, looking Jack in the eyes. "But, she totally started to ignore me."

"I wonder why," Jack said smartly.

Cal just gave him a cold glare, and he grabbed Alexia's hand and began to walk off. "Bye, you guys," Alexia said with a sad smile, Cal looking angry. He didn't even want her in contact with these guys. Still, talking to Dominique and Rose was one thing, but he did not want her around Jack Dawson and his friends...ever.

"You guys," Fabrizio said suddenly, looking at his watch. "We gotta go catch up with the girls for supper."

*****

"So what did you guys do today?" Rose asked, once everyone was seated at the table. She ran her fingers through Jack's hair and noticed how much she had missed him today. Even though they lived with each other, she still missed him when he was not around. That was just one of the many facts that they were really in love.

"We just shot some hoops," Jack replied, not wanting to get into the whole ordeal. He just wanted to have a nice, peaceful dinner with his friends.

"Are you ready to order?" a waiter asked, approaching them.

"Yes," Dominique cut in. "What is the most expensive thing on the menu?" Tommy laughed a little, and Fabrizio rolled his eyes.

"That would be the lobster dinner," the waiter replied quite rudely.

"I see..." Dominique replied, quickly glancing down at her menu again. "All right. I'll have that." The waiter nodded, and then wrote it down on his little notepad.

"And you, miss?" the waiter asked, looking down at Rose.

"I'll have the same thing she's having," Rose replied. She could really tell how close Dominique and her were. They loved the same food, the same music, and even wore similar clothes often. After everyone's food came, Rose said, "Oh yeah! Jack, Dominique is eating Christmas dinner at our house."

"Really?" Jack asked. "Why?"

"Well," Dominique started, with an almost sad face. "You know my parents, out of town again."

That was really starting to worry Rose. Why did Dominique's parents decided to avoid her so rudely? Sure, they got her whatever her little heart desired, but was it even worth it? Rose didn't seem to think so.

"They're not gonna be here on Christmas?" Jack asked.

Dominique sighed. "Well, they have to leave Christmas afternoon, so..."

"Well, we're happy to have you," Jack said nicely, before taking a bite of his hamburger.

"Fabrizio was happy to have her, too," Tommy said with a slick smile. "That night at the beach." Dominique sighed and knew that the talk of that Christmas vacation would never come to an end.

*****

"Come on, Dom!" Rose yelled in support of her best friend, who was up to bowl next. It was well past nine o'clock, and they were all out having a good time. It was the normal gang, also Matt and Katie. They usually didn't hang with them, but they were all the same type of people. Even Alexia was there, despite Cal's reasoning.

"I'm gonna get a strike," Dominique said with a smile.

"I'd like to see that," Matt said, as he kissed Katie, who was his girlfriend.

Dominique rolled the ball down the aisle and it went right into the gutter. As the rest of the group erupted with laughter, Jack Dawson had his eyes on something else. He watched as Cal came into the bowling alley with a girl on his arm...and it wasn't Alexia.

Jack watched Rose laugh again and felt a little bad for having to ruin her fun. He tugged her gently on her shoulder and whispered, "Come here."

Rose looked at him funny, praying something wasn't wrong. She got up and they moved a couple of feet away from all of the fun. "What is it, Jack?" Rose asked, looking very worried--just as Jack had predicted.

"Look over there," Jack said as he pointed towards the entrance.

Rose then saw Cal's hands all over another girl. "Oh my gosh..."

"And he even got mad at Alex for talking to me and the guys today," Jack muttered under his breath.

"Should we tell her?"

"I don’t know..." Jack replied. Should they? It seemed that Alexia had been through quite enough lately. They were finally getting the old Alexia they used to know back, but it looked as if she wouldn't be here for long.

"You know what we have to do," Rose said. She went over to Alexia and said to her, "Alex, come with me to the bathroom."

Alexia looked at her a little funny, but then just laughed and followed her. Soon, Alexia noticed they were going the wrong way. "Rose," Alexia said, looking to make sure she was right. "This is not the way to the ladies' room."

"But it's the way to find all of the creeps," Rose said. Alexia turned and saw her boyfriend all over the other girl.

Alexia didn't even looked that shocked. Perhaps she knew he was cheating on her all along? Maybe. She walked up calmly to him, and even he didn't looked shocked. "Hey, Alex," he said, not even caring if his girlfriend saw him with this blonde chick.

Cal looked over to see what people she had come with. "I thought I told you not to hang around them anymore."

"I thought you told me you'd stop seeing all these other girls."

"I say a lot of things."

She sighed. "Hey," Alexia said suddenly. "Are we screwing tomorrow?"

Rose was shocked. What the...

"Yeah," Cal said with a sly smile. "Don't forget. I'll call you."

Alexia turned back around to Rose. As they walked back, Rose asked, "What the heck was that? He was..."

"Cheating on me?" Alexia laughed. "Yes I know."

"And you still wanna be with him?"

"Listen, Rose," Alexia said, pulling her arm to make Rose stop. "What you have with Jack is awesome. You both are very committed and love each other. I really do love Cal, and I don't care if he cheats on me. It's all good, right?"

But, Rose was not convinced.

"I've been even more popular since I've been with him, Rose," Alexia said, looking her straight in the eyes. "Nothing anybody can do can make me leave him."

And nothing Rose could do would make Alexia one of her best friends again.

Chapter Thirteen
Stories