The week passed by very quickly, and Saturday was here. Jen had realized her date with Kyle conflicted with the barbecue, but she remedied it easily by inviting him along with her and Ashlee. She thought since the guys didn't intimidate Kyle, they would get along well and no one would have any problems with him coming.
The girls were excited for the barbecue, and were eager to get going. They were dressed for a fun-filled day; Jen was wearing baby blue mesh shorts and a white tank top with her swimsuit on underneath. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and her ever-present silver Oakley's were perched on top of her head. The final touch was her baby blue, white, and silver Adidas cross-trainers. Ashlee was wearing denim shorts and an orange tank with her swimsuit underneath also. Her hair was in two low pigtail braids, and her sunglasses were hanging on the front of her top. She was wearing brown chunky sandals and was gathering up last minute extras. They packed up and dropped all of the stuff into Jen's car, and then they ran back inside to get Kyle.
Just before Jen knocked, his door swung open and both girls mouths dropped. Kyle was wearing red swim trunks and a white wifebeater. His hair was spiked up and styled to perfection, and he had his sunglasses on.
"Hello ladies," he said smiling. Then he leaned down and kissed Jen quickly on the lips. They had talked quite a lot during the week, and the two were dating finally. Jen smiled up at him and stood on her tiptoes, lightly patting his spiked hair.
"Use enough gel there, Kyle?" she teased. He laughed and grabbed her around the waist and lifted her up. Ashlee stood back and watched, chuckling. Kyle set her back down on the ground and started walking out of the dorm.
"Shall we head on out to their place? I am eager to see them!" he said. He then turned his back to them and smiled evilly. The girls couldn't see it, so they assumed he was as anxious as they were.
They climbed into Jen's jeep and started to drive off campus. Jen threw in her NSYNC CD and her and Ashlee belted out the lyrics while Kyle gazed off at the scenery passing quickly. He was a little upset at the way they were acting, he thought they were behaving like little twelve-year-olds, but he kept it to himself. He also did not like the way Jen's eyes lit up whenever Justin sang, which was too often if anyone asked him. The whole drive consisted of singing along to NSYNC and laughing.
As they approached the house, Jen changed the CD to Backstreet Boys. Ashlee looked at Jen confused, and Jen filled the two in right away.
"I know, BSB. Well, it's a running joke kinda. They get annoyed at the mention of Backstreet, so I play it as often as I can when I am around them. It is all in good fun though," she explained and pulled into the driveway, turning the music up even louder.
She sat there, grinning as she waited for their reaction. Joey and Chris came running out of the backyard first, with their hands over their ears groaning in pain.
"AHHH! Jen! Turn it off!" Joey yelled, running up to the car.
Chris fell to his knees and started screaming. Ashlee was laughing hysterically, and Kyle cracked a smile. Joey reached in and shut off the stereo, then sighed. He turned around and looked towards Chris.
"Oh no! Chris! Are you OK? JC! Lance! Justin! I think Chris is dead from Backstreet's wailing!" Joey said mock seriously.
JC and Lance came running out of the backyard and knelt down by Chris. Jen rolled her eyes and jumped out of the jeep.
"Whatever you guys! Just because they are better than you are…" she started.
Four pairs of eyes shot up and stared at her. Then out of nowhere, two arms wrapped around her waist from behind and squeezed her tight. She screamed and turned around to be face to face with Justin. He looked straight into her eyes and smiled.
"You'll pay for that comment my dear," he whispered. Jen shuddered and then laughed it off. They all turned towards the car as Ashlee and Kyle jumped out.
"Oh! Hi…Kyle is it? I didn't know you were coming…" Lance said, glancing at Chris and JC.
"Yeah, hi. Me and Jen had a date tonight, but she told me about the barbecue and I was more than happy to come along," he said and moved next to Jen, plucking her out of Justin's grasp and pulling her close. Justin's eyes narrowed slightly, but he backed off when he saw the look Joey was shooting him.
"Well, lets get your stuff out back so we can eat! I am starving!" Joey said, winking at Ashlee. Jen laughed and turned towards Joey.
"You are always hungry Joe," she replied, sending the guys into a fit of giggles.
They all grabbed some stuff out of the back and led the way to the backyard. Kyle was too busy with his hands all over Jen to help. Justin was watching them like a hawk, and he did not like what was going on. As they were putting the things down, he looked towards JC.
"Thanks for your help, Kyle," he muttered. JC looked at his friend in sympathy, and then patted him on the back.
"He might not be so bad ya know," JC started to say. Justin looked at him in disbelief.
"Look at Jen though, she seems happy doesn't she?" JC finished and nodded towards Jen.
Kyle had her thrown over his shoulder and was running around the backyard. She was smiling and laughing like she didn't have a care in the world. Justin looked back towards JC and nodded. JC smiled and went to the grill to check on the hamburgers. Justin turned around and looked back towards Jen and Kyle, who were now kissing under the tree.
Yeah, but I want to be the one to make her happy.
Kyle and Jen were kissing, and Kyle opened his eyes to survey the scene. He noticed Justin watching them, and locked eyes with him. He kept his gaze on him and ran his hand down Jen's back slowly, still kissing her.
Justin just stared wide-eyed in shock. He couldn't believe what he just saw, there was no way Kyle was taunting him. He spun on his heel and marched over to Chris and Lance, eager to tell them what he saw. When he did, the two shrugged it off; they knew Justin always hated Jen's boyfriends, so they chalked it up to that. A few minutes later, Jen bounded up to Justin and jumped on his back.
"Piggy back ride J! Giddy up!" she said laughing. Justin smiled genuinely for the first time since they had arrived and obliged, getting a firm grasp on her legs. Jen threw her arms around his neck and kissed his ear, then pushed her face against his so they were cheek to cheek. He walked to the front of the house and started to go around the block, initiating conversation.
"J, I didn't know you and him were dating so soon," he said hesitantly. Jen sighed and hugged Justin's neck tighter.
"Yeah, it's pretty fast. But he seems like a nice guy though Justin," she replied.
"I don't like him, there is something that just isn't right," he argued.
"You never like any of them."
"And I am normally right."
"Justin…"
"Jennifer…"
"Ugh, I hate it when you do that, it makes everything so serious," she huffed. He then put her down and faced her to him.
"I don't want to see you get hurt, that's all. I just have this feeling…" he said, locking eyes with her, then breaking his gaze fast.
Jen thought she saw a flicker of something, but it was there and gone so fast she couldn't figure out what it was. She reached her hand up and grazed his cheek.
"Thanks for looking out for me, it means a lot J," she said, and let her fingers trail over his lips.
He stood there in shock, frozen. She traced his bottom lip and then his top lip lightly, watching her fingers like they were separated from her body. Her other hand had moved to the back of his neck, playing with his curls. His hands had also found a will of their own, and were snaked around her waist, pulling her to him. He leaned his head down slowly, and her fingers moved away from his lips and back to his cheek as she leaned up to meet him.
"There you are Jen! We have been looking for ya!" Kyle yelled from down the street. The trance between Jen and Justin was broken and they both jerked back into reality, creating a safe distance between themselves. Jen took a few deep breaths and turned to Kyle and started walking to him. Justin watched her retreating figure and sighed.
Is it always going to be this way? Will I always be watching her walk to someone else?
She walked into Kyle's arms, feeling confused. He hugged her tight and looked towards Justin again, this time raising his eyebrows challenging him. Jen turned around and looked towards Justin.
"C'mon Jussy, let's go eat," she said, reaching her hand out towards him. He nodded and started to walk towards her outstretched hand. Just before he placed his hand in hers, Kyle jerked her towards him and started walking back towards the house, leaving Justin waiting out front.
"He can make it himself. I want some time with you," Kyle said, just loud enough for Justin to hear. He looked like he was going to say something, but he bit his tongue. Jen looked towards Kyle perplexed by his behavior, but he leaned down and kissed her quickly, erasing most of her concerned thoughts. Most.
They all made it to the backyard as JC was attempting to flip hamburgers onto buns. After he had dropped three in a row, Lance talked him into just placing them on the buns. JC pouted but did what he was told, and the whole group was eating their burgers soon after.
The lunch/dinner went well, even though Kyle was being annoyingly affectionate towards Jen. The guys were protective of her, and the way Kyle was touching her and acting was starting to disgust them. They didn't like fake people, and that's exactly what Kyle was turning out to be. They didn't like the way he showed off to them by being all over Jen, especially Justin. He was getting fed up very quickly, and it was evident to everyone, including Kyle. As soon as they finished eating and cleaned up their mess, it was game time.
"Aiight, how we gonna split this up? Me and Jen captains as usual?" Justin started to say, grabbing his basketball and spinning it on his finger.
"Well, lets figure out if Ashlee and Kyle are basketball players, Curly," Joey reasoned. Ashlee looked up to him and shook her head no, and then pointed to her sandals. Joey nodded and turned back towards Justin.
"Me and Ash are sitting this out bro," he said and they went to the end of the driveway to sit and watch. Everyone then turned their attention to Kyle.
"So Kyle, do you hoop?" JC asked. Kyle looked at the four guys and then to Jen. He smiled big and laughed conceitedly.
"The question is, can YOU play?" he taunted, looking straight at Justin.
Jen interpreted this as a friendly rivalry, while the Justin and the guys saw it as bragging rights and rank with Jen. Jen turned on her competitive mode and grabbed the ball from Justin, getting into her aggressive stance. Then she turned to Kyle.
"You are messin' with the WRONG guys here bud," she said smiling and standing in front of Justin. The rest of the guys stood behind her, making quite a picture. It didn't deter him though, he just stared right back at them.
"Choose 'em up y'all," Chris said, and Jen and Justin picked their teams. Jen's team consisted of Jen, Kyle, and Chris, while Justin's team was Justin, JC, and Lance.
The game went on for awhile, the score was close, back and forth. It was hot outside, so shirts were coming off fast. Near the end, everyone was shirtless, including Jen (she had her swimsuit top on).
Justin was guarding Jen, and Kyle did not like the way they were touching, even if it was a friendly basketball game. Jen had the ball; they were playing up to 50, by 2's. The score was 48-48, and Jen had the ball. She motioned for everyone to clear the way, she was gonna go one-on-one with Justin. Kyle moved slightly to the side, he didn't like what was going on. Jen and Justin were both concentrating hard, no one would have been able to tell that they were best friends. They were both so into it, watching them play was always interesting.
Jen started to the hoop, Justin defending her close. She was spinning and turning, trying to shake him off, but he read her like a book. She drove hard, then pulled back for a jumper. This caught Justin off guard, and while no one was looking, Kyle stuck his foot out and Justin lost his balance. Jen had a clear view of the basket and sank her shot easily, winning the game. Justin regained his footing and glared at Kyle, who smirked back towards him and ran towards Jen, lifting her up in celebration. Justin looked towards his team and pointed to Kyle, accusing him without saying a word. JC nodded, acknowledging that he saw. Justin relaxed a bit, but then got upset.
"That was cheap!" he said, raising his voice. Jen wrestled out of Kyle's grasp and bounded up towards Justin smiling.
"You always find excuses J, you are a sore loser!" she replied and ruffled his hair a bit. Justin just glared.
"Jen, no! Kyle tripped me up," he said, trying to convince her. She looked at him in disbelief and lowered her eyes a bit.
"Justin I am disappointed it you. I figured you would be able to take the loss with me beating you on a good move. But come on, it was you and me playing here, how could Kyle have messed you up? I can't believe you would blame Kyle and let him take the wrap just because you don't want to admit you lost to me," she said, in his face by the time she finished.
"Jen, that's not what I meant. I know you are a good player and you can beat me…" he started, but she raised her hand and interrupted him.
"Save it Justin, I am not in the mood," she said and walked towards Joey and Ashlee, ending the conversation. He stared at her sadly, but then whipped his head around to face Kyle, angered. Kyle crossed his arms in front of him and laughed snottily.
"She's already believing me over you Curls," he said with a menacing tone. "Soon, I'll have her hating you totally."
Justin stood there, appalled. He looked for his friends, but they were all at the end of the driveway, chatting away. They stood up and walked towards Kyle and Justin. Jen didn't even glance towards Justin as she walked into Kyle's arms and kissed him. Justin turned his head and waited for them to finish. When they were done, Justin looked towards Kyle and offered up a challenge.
"You and me buddy, one-on-one. First player to ten wins, we play by one's." He said evenly. Kyle let go of Jen and stood tall. He got into Justin's face. The two were staring at each other. They were even in height; Kyle's spiky blonde tips were a bit shorter than Justin's platinum curls. Bright green eyes met midnight blue. Kyle was a bit tanner than Justin was, but Justin was trimmer and was more defined. They made quite a sight.
"You're on. What do we win?" he asked in return. Justin's eyes quickly darted towards Jen and then back to Kyle.
"You know what the stakes are. Can you take it?"
"Let's go popstar," he growled and moved towards the basket.
Jen stared at the two, eager to see what happens. She was fascinated and torn between whom she wanted to win. On one hand, there was Kyle. She thought he was pretty cool, even though he made her uncomfortable at times. Then there was Justin, her best friend. That's where the loyalty comes in. She looked at the two and then sighed.
"I'm gonna be in the back. Tell me who wins JC," she said as her and Ashlee walked into the backyard to catch the afternoon rays. JC nodded and the four others watched as the game began.
It was aggressive and tough, what Justin had in raw talent and skill, Kyle made up for with his mind. This game was a lot shorter, and Justin ended up winning 10-8. He grabbed the ball and faced Kyle. Then he looked towards his friends, who were all giving each other high-fives and commemorating Justin's victory.
"Guys, go tell Jen who won, me and Kyle will be back there in a sec ok?" He said. They looked back and forth between the two, trying to decide if it was best to leave them alone. After a few seconds of thought, they headed towards the backyard, each sending Justin a different look telling him to take it easy. He nodded slightly to them as they filed through. Once they were gone, he turned towards Kyle.
"I don't know what you are trying to do, but Jen is my best friend and I will not let you hurt her," he started to say. Kyle looked him up and down.
"Oh, don't worry, I plan to do lots of other things to her. But you hear this, Teen Dream. I see the way you look at her, but she is kissing me, she is dating me, and if I have my way, she will never see you and will forget about you," he responded coldly. Justin looked as if he was going to say something, but then Jen walked into the front and hugged Justin tightly.
"Hey! You won this one J! You won't beat me though!" she said and kissed his cheek. He smiled and hugged her close. Then he looked at Kyle from over her shoulder.
"You are right, Jen. I won this one," he said glaring at Kyle.
Jen pulled away and then turned towards Kyle and looped one arm in his and one arm in Justin's. She smiled at everyone as they walked back into the front yard, and looked around.
"You guys, this was awesome. I had a great time today and I thank you so much for inviting us over. But, we better get going, we have a two-hour drive ahead of us ya know," she explained. Everyone nodded and sighed, thinking different thoughts about how the day actually went.
If you only KNEW what was going on Jen.
Justin thought to himself as he rubbed her hands. Then he spoke up.
"We would have had y'all sleep over, but we didn't know there would be three of you today," he said, once again glaring at Kyle.
Jen picked up on the tension between the two for the first time today.
"That's ok Justin, we'll be fine getting home," Ashlee jumped in. Joey winked at her, and Jen silently thanked her.
They all said good-bye, with Ashlee and Jen getting hugs while Kyle didn't say a word to anyone and just hopped in the car. Jen was upset at his behavior and planned on talking to him about it later on. Each guy told her to drive safe and be careful on the way home, making sure she called them when they got back to the room. They hopped into the car and pulled out of the driveway with the guys waving and yelling to them. As soon as the car pulled out of sight, the guys turned to Justin.
"I don't like him," Joey said.
"Me either, he's a snotty kid," Chris added.
"He doesn't have very much respect for us," Lance replied, looking at the rest of the guys.
"I think he has ulterior motives or something, don't you Justin?" JC asked. Four pairs of eyes rested on Justin, waiting for his answer.
"Something is going to happen, and Jen is going to get hurt, I can feel it. Guys, that's the last thing I want to see," he said, sighing.
