Jen made sure she called the guys as soon as they walked into her room, and the group was thankful for it. Kyle had apologized earlier in the car for his rude good-bye, and Jen had forgiven him.
Jen and Ashlee went through another week of classes, with random calls from each of the guys here and there. It was mostly phone tag though, because they were either at class or Ashlee was dealing with being senator of their floor. If Jen wasn't in class, she was normally frequenting Kyle's dorm room. Those two were getting awfully close incredibly fast, and the pace kind of scared Jen.
It was a Friday night, and Jen and Kyle were getting back from their date. They had gone to a club, and partied with a bunch of their friends. Ashlee couldn't go; she had a psychology paper that needed her attention all weekend. They were walking in at 1:00am, and were trying to stay quiet.
"C'mon Jen, spend the night with me so you don't wake up Ashlee," Kyle whispered to her. She was half-asleep and Kyle was supporting her as they walked towards his room. She had spent the night before, on the futon.
"Yeah, I don't wanna wake her up, but I gotta check my messages," she mumbled as Kyle unlocked his door. He sighed and became a little mad; that machine seemed more important than he did, and he knew it was because of the person calling for her. He hated it and became more and more enraged every time she talked about him. He couldn't even say his name. He would make her forget about him.
"Call from my room sweetie," he said, lightly pushing her into the room while shutting and locking the door.
She nodded and flopped onto the futon, reaching for the phone. She pulled it off the charger and punched in her phone number then the answering machine code. She rested her head back onto the futon as she waited to hear who called that night.
"Jen, its mom. How is everything going? Have you talked to Justin and the boys yet? Oh I am sure you have. Call me sweetie! BEEP!" She shook her head and smiled. Her mom had been constantly calling, so she made a mental note to call her in the morning.
"Hey baby, your mom just called me to see how you were, make sure you call her aiight? I know you are out partying right now and I wish we could get out of the studio and party with ya, but you know management. Be careful JJ; call me tomorrow when ya wake up so we can talk. Everyone gives their love, bye! BEEP!" By the end of the message, Jen was smiling broadly.
She felt the phone being taken out of her hands and then felt kisses on her face. She smiled and opened her eyes.
"Kyle, I am really tired, I think I am just going to go to sleep. How about a kiss good night?" she whispered.
He looked at her and pushed her onto her back hard. She opened her eyes wide, in shock. He then kissed her forcefully, unlike how he normally kissed her. She tried to push him off, but he was pinning her down.
"How about more than a good night kiss? I have waited long enough," he said and kept her shoulders pinned to the futon.
"Kyle, you are hurting me. Let me go, I wanna go back to my room," she said, squirming underneath him. He just grinned evilly and the next word out of his mouth scared her to death.
"No."
She was tired a few minutes ago, but now she was alert. Her heart was beating fast, she did not believe he was doing this to her. She struggled again underneath him, and tried to push him off of her. He kept making advances on her, but she was determined to be strong and to get away from him. She stopped squirming and laid still. He smiled and seemed to be happy she was obliging him. He relaxed his grip on her a bit, and that's when she made her move. She shoved both of her hands into his chest hard, knocking the wind out of him. She then pushed him off of her onto the ground, and she got up fast, grabbed her purse, and bolted towards the door. Kyle was recovering fast; she didn't have much time to get out. She tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. She looked over her shoulder and Kyle was standing up, staring at her with a look that sent chills right down to the bone.
"You little tease," he started as he advanced towards her, "Why can't you just give it up? I am sure your boy-toy pop band has had a piece of you."
She finally got the door to open and she sprinted down the hall to her room. She frantically searched through her purse for her keys, her hands shaking. She looked down the hall and saw no one coming, but that didn't calm her nerves any. She found it and unlocked her door quickly, then slammed it shut, locking it as fast as she could. She looked up to see Ashlee staring at her from the futon in shock. Ashlee ran up to her and looked at Jen's frazzled state.
"Oh my God what happened Jen?" she asked, concerned for her friend. Jen stared at her with blank eyes, trying to get her breathing back to normal.
"Kyle…he…he," she started to say. She then stopped and took a deep breath. She turned back to Ashlee, tears threatening to spill.
"What Jen? Kyle did what?" Ashlee questioned again. Jen ran her fingers through her hair and swallowed hard as the vivid flashbacks of what just occurred ran through her head at warp speed.
"I need to use the phone. I'll tell you everything, but I gotta make a phone call first. I gotta talk to Justin, no, JC," Jen said, grabbing the cordless. Ashlee nodded to her in understanding.
"I'll be across the hall if you need me, OK?" she said as she left Jen alone in the room, giving her her privacy. Ashlee closed the door behind her, and Jen ran up and locked it fast. She called Justin's cell, praying that he would answer it.
"Talk to me!" A tired yet playful voice answered.
"Justin?!" Jen asked, frightened.
"Jen what's wrong?" Justin asked, fully alert. He was still in the studio, it was 1:20am and they were trying to wrap up for the night. Four other heads snapped up when they heard Justin's concerned voice, and they all approached him with questioning looks.
"Oh Justin, I was out tonight with Kyle…but I need to talk to JC if its OK," she sighed, sitting down on the futon putting her head in her hand. She knew Justin wouldn't be happy passing the phone off, she could tell he was concerned. She was afraid she had already said too much; she couldn't talk to Justin about what Kyle did…tried to do…just yet. She needed a big brother, and that was JC.
"Kyle," he whispered to himself. Then he turned and looked to JC. "She wants to talk to you," he said, handing the phone to a very surprised JC.
"Hello?" JC asked, and wandered off by himself. The guys turned to Justin, who walked over to the window and was staring out of it absent-mindedly.
What is going on? Why can't she talk to me about this? Maybe its because she figured out that I really cannot stand Kyle. What if she thinks I am acting immature? What if Kyle tried to do something with her? If he did, I'll break his ass…
"Hi JC. Are you away from the guys? I really need to talk to you," Jen said, laying down on the futon, covering her eyes with her free hand.
"I have a feeling this is going to take awhile. Do you need me to get down there? Or do you want to call my cell so Justin doesn't foot the bill?" he asked, concerned for his friend.
Jen smiled faintly, she was touched by his offer.
"Don't worry, I think I'll be OK here. I couldn't find your cell number, its lost in the insanity of moving in, so before we hang up, do you think you could give me yours and the others? Besides, Ashlee is here and she's got my back. She'll keep Kyle away from me. I'll foot the bill for Justin, no worries. I just really need to talk to you," she explained.
"So this IS a Kyle issue," JC began. "Explain it all, don't leave anything out and I'll be sure to help you OK Babydoll?" he said in a comforting tone.
Jen began to relax and told him everything that went on throughout the night, from the date, to agreeing on staying the night, to bolting out of the dorm after what he tried to do. JC listened attentively, every so often glancing back towards the guys, making sure they weren't in listening distance. The guys respected Jen's wishes though, and hung back working individually on dance moves and combinations.
The conversation ended up being a little bit over an hour. Jen poured her heart out, and JC was there with the advice and knowledge. They hung up the phone and JC walked back to where the guys were hanging out.
"JC man is she OK?" Justin asked, worried. JC nodded solemnly.
"Yeah, she'll be OK, she's a tough girl. What do you guys think about road trippin' down there to surprise her tomorrow? Take her out, get her mind off of things?" The guys looked at him shocked. They were scheduled in the studio all day tomorrow, and JC was the last person that would take time off for a social call.
"Jace, what's going on? You never wanna skip out…how are we gonna get out of the studio tomorrow? Why wont she talk to me huh?" Justin said, firing questions at him a mile a minute.
JC watched his young friend and tried to figure out how to tell him what happened without actually telling him. The other guys stared at JC expectantly, and right then JC knew he had to tell them something.
"She was a little shook up, she needed some advice on an issue. I think she is a little embarrassed to talk to you Justin, maybe she doesn't want to disappoint you or make you think any less of her, I mean, your perception of her means the world to her. How are we gonna get out of the studio? We are gonna sneak out and ditch hard-core. We are gonna get tagged for it later, but Jen needs us to just be around. When we get there, don't mention the phone call or pester her about it OK? I am sure it'll come out when she is ready to tell us. Let's keep her mind off things. Maybe we'll take her to Disneyworld or something," JC explained.
They agreed and then called it a night, leaving the studio and heading back home. Justin was in his car driving back with Chris in the passenger seat.
"Justin, stop worrying. She's fine," Chris said, noticing his friend in deep thought.
"Yeah, but something is bugging me about this whole thing. Why didn't she talk to me? We tell each other everything…" he trailed off, spacing out again. Chris shook his head, knowing full well that once Justin has his mind set on something, no one could change it.
"Maybe she needed a big brother for this one," Chris added softly.
"Yeah," Justin mumbled as they pulled into the driveway and walked into the house.
"Try to get some sleep Curly. We gotta be awake for tomorrow, k?" Chris said, heading to his room.
Justin nodded and headed towards his room, flopping down onto his bed. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling thinking.
~Flashback~
"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.
~End Flashback~
What's the deal? Am I jealous of Kyle? No, she is my best friend, that's all…right? I'll have to figure out what happened tomorrow, regardless of what JC says. Jen is important to me, and when she hurts, I hurt.
He rolled over onto his stomach, trying to get some sleep. Needless to say, it was a rough night for all of the band members. They were all worried about their friend, and eager to get out to her and comfort her.
