Jen and Justin had made small talk on the way home, and she started noticing the little things about him; how is mouth was just the tiniest bit slanted when he talked, how one hand rested on the steering wheel casually as he drove. Even how he was always glancing in her direction and looking her over quickly to make sure that she was OK. She had seen these things all before, but this was really the first time she was taking note of them, and that made her wonder.
When they piled out of Justin's car and headed towards the dorm, Jen became uneasy. She had a feeling that Kyle was around, and he was the last person she wanted to see at the moment. Justin noticed her hesitation and grabbed her hand and squeezed it. It was still warm from holding it during the car ride, but Jen didn't seem to notice. They all walked in and were almost to their room when the heard Kyle.
"Jen! Whats up girl? Hey guys, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be somewhere work-oriented?" He asked as he approached them.
Jen stiffened and was upset by the laid back tone Kyle had, as if nothing occurred. Justin leaned into her a bit and again squeezed her hand. He also tensed up, the anger was rising to the surface and he didn't wanna blow just yet.
"Kyle leave now," Ashlee said threateningly.
Joey watched her in awe, and then nodded his head in agreement and crossed his arms in front of his chest. JC and Chris walked over and stood to the sides of Justin and Jen, also crossing their arms. Lance just glared and started to walk up to Kyle.
"You heard her. You are not welcome here," he said and then turned around and walked back towards the group, standing next to JC.
Kyle looked at them and smirked a bit. "What? You guys don't like me anymore? I don't think you ever did actually, now that I think about it. Don't like the fact that me and Jen get along well…maybe I am stealing her from you or something…it's a jealously thing right? None of you can get past that friendship deal, I'm sure. It kills you to know that she wants me…to hold, to kiss, and to be with. Isn't that YOUR deal, Mr. Smooth?" he asked and pointed towards Justin.
Justin's eyes blazed with fury, Kyle was under his skin and Justin's short temper got the best of him. He let go of Jen and started to make his way towards Kyle while shooting him a deadly look. Jen's eyes widened and she grabbed onto Justin's shoulders, trying to hold him back. JC and Chris also grabbed him.
"Justin, please, he's not worth it…" Jen started to say. It was in one ear and out the other though, he was so upset and enraged that he started to struggle to get out of their grasp. Kyle taunted him, making it worse.
"C'mon Justin. You know I can beat you down easy…have you ever kissed Jen? Her lips are so soft and man, she is just…wow," Kyle teased.
Jen let go of Justin and marched up to Kyle extremely pissed and totally disgusted. Kyle smiled and raised his eyebrows in victory as he watched her approach.
"Jen NO!" Justin yells.
"I knew you wanted this…how about we pick up where we left off-" Kyle started to say, but Jen interrupted him.
"I don't THINK so," she said snottily and reared back and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. His hands went straight to his cheek and he yelled out in pain.
"Don't EVER talk to me again, don't even look at me. I can't stand you. How could you do that to me? Try to take advantage of me like that? There are names for people like you. Wanna know what they are? RAPISTS. I am sure you want to be known as one for the rest of your life. So I'm telling you Kyle, leave me alone. Leave my friends alone, or else," Jen said menacingly and totally calm. It unnerved Kyle to no end, and he stood up to full height and turned his back and started walking down the hall. He looked over his shoulder and smiled an evil smile.
"You'll never get away from me Jen. I am always gonna be right there…and your boy knows it. I'll be watching…" he said as he walked into his room and slammed the door.
Jen shivered and her shoulders slumped immediately. They all ran up to her to make sure she was all right. JC and Chris hugged her and were the first to speak.
"Jen you are too brave girl," JC said and kissed her forehead.
"Slimy little son of a…" Chris started to say as he looked down the hall. Then he trailed off and looked at Jen. "I never liked him anyway, his hair SUCKED!" he yelled the last part back down the hall, which made everyone giggle a little bit.
That's Chris, making people laugh right after one of the most intense confrontations I have ever been in…typical, but that's why I love the guy.
Lance and Joey hugged her next and stayed silent. Jen looked up and saw Justin still glaring towards Kyle's room, just waiting for an excuse to go down there. She took a few steps towards him and put her hand gently on his shoulder.
"I'm glad you didn't fight, I know you wanted to. I said it before Stin, he just isn't worth it. Thank you for sticking up for me, all of you," she said and addressed the whole group. "I wouldn't have the courage to do what I did without all of you here supporting me."
Everyone glanced towards the floor or off in a different direction, smiling to themselves, except Justin. He just stared at Jen, and she found herself staring right back into his eyes. The group noticed and quietly slipped into Ashlee and Jen's dorm room, smiling to themselves. The look Justin was giving her shook her up; it was caring, yet there was something else to it. She was so caught up in it that she didn't hear Joey talking to her.
"Jen…Jenny…J…JEN!" Joey said, raising his voice.
"Huh? What? Yeah?" Jen replied looking towards Joey totally confused.
"I SAID, what do you want on the pizza?"
Jen looked around and gathered herself. Her and Justin were the only two left in the hall, everyone else had walked in after Jen's last comment. Joey was poking his head out of the door asking her about the pizza, and somehow Justin was right next to her.
"Pepperoni, geez Joe, you know that!" she answered, trying to forget about what happened. Joey smirked and glanced between her and Justin.
"Yeah, well sometimes things change," he said grinning and turned back into the room as his smile grew larger. Jen's eyes got wide and she swallowed hard. Her and Justin always looked at each other and shared comfortable silences-why was this different?
Maybe because we don't normally make goo goo eyes at each other!
"Jen, let's go for a walk. I don't think I can stay cooped up in the dorm any longer, I might explode," Justin said, staring at her and interrupting her thoughts. Jen looked at him and nodded then ran into the room to tell them that they were leaving for a bit.
They left and started walking lazily around campus, side by side. No one knew how to initiate the conversation, so it was awkward and silent as they gathered their thoughts. Jen glanced over at him and just watched him from the corner of her eye. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and he had a hat on his head, hiding his hair. She never realized how good he looked in a hat before.
Where is all this coming from? I don't WANT to notice these things!
She turned her head and sighed, trying to clear her mind. Her thoughts always returned to the same subject though, and lately that had been him. Justin glanced at her and took a deep breath.
"What an interesting day huh?" he said, finally talking. Jen smiled to herself and turned her head towards him and nodded.
"Oh yeah, this is one for the books," she replied.
Justin pulled his hand out of his pocket and grabbed hers, still walking. She looked at him questioningly, and he didn't meet her gaze at first. He then looked up at her and his eyes stunned her. She was speechless by the look he was giving and had no idea what to say, so she said nothing at all. He smiled cautiously and started to swing their hands back and forth gently.
He watched their hands, totally amazed at how they fit so well together. His eyes trailed up her arm to her neck, and then they roamed her profile. He noticed how her highlighted hair caught some of the light from the light post and made it shine wildly. He swallowed hard and prayed that she didn't notice his hand getting sweaty.
What if I totally screw this up? I cannot ruin our amazing friendship, it would kill me. Try to stay cool Justin, a lot is riding on this.
"So…" he started, not knowing what else to say. She looked at him and giggled a bit.
"I think our brains are fried, and that's why we cannot think properly and have decent thoughts about-I mean-conversation, with each other," Jen stuttered, then blushed at her slip.
Brilliant one Jen. Announce to the boy that your hormones are raging.
Justin's eyebrows raised questioningly, but he lowered them quickly. He stopped walking and turned towards her, grabbing her other hand so he was now holding both. Jen lowered her eyes and was afraid to look at him. Justin bent at the waist and peered up at her face smiling nervously.
"Jen, look at me, please," he said, then stood up straight. She raised her head slowly and met his eyes. He stared into her brown eyes and inhaled sharply. He then blinked a few times and squeezed her hands tightly.
"Are you ok Justin?" Jen asked then swallowed hard. She had never seen him this nervous before. She was kind of jumpy, his hands felt like they were sending bolts of electricity into hers.
"Yeah…yeah, I am all right. I just wanted to…" he started to say, but stopped. His eyes moved from her eyes to her lips, back and forth. Jen's breathing became shallow and her hands were starting to shake in anticipation.
Just do it, do it do it…
Justin thought as his heart was beating rapidly. He kept his gaze locked onto hers as he started to lean his head down. He swallowed and said a silent prayer as he got closer, hoping that he was doing the right thing.
Oh my God, he is going to ki-
Jen didn't have a chance to finish her thought as Justin's lips brushed hers in a feather-light kiss. He pulled away slightly and opened his eyes, waiting for a reaction from her.
Jen opened her eyes slowly and looked into Justin's with a dazed expression. They were still holding hands and were under a streetlight in the dark of night. His eyes moved around her face, taking in her eyes, nose, hair, lips, and then back to her eyes.
She smiled slightly, then leaned up and captured his lips for a deeper kiss. His lips were soft and inviting, and she couldn't get enough. It was still a soft kiss, exploring and learning. He let go of her hands and wrapped them around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her hands made their way around his neck and she knocked his hat off and onto the ground, making it easier to kiss him. She poured all of the pent-up feelings she had been harboring into his lips, enjoying it immensely.
He marveled at the way her body naturally fit against his. She kissed him like he had never been kissed before; he could feel the emotion taking over his whole body. His hands wandered to her hair and he buried his hands in it, loving the silky feel.
They both pulled away at the same time, slowly and totally amazed at what just occurred. Jen's arms moved from his neck down his chest and back to her sides slowly. Justin watched her hypnotized and unsure of what to do next. She looked at him and licked her lips, then brought her hand to her mouth and touched them in disbelief. He looked towards the ground and shook his head.
"I am sorry Jen, I just-" Justin started to say, but she interrupted.
"I'm not."
It was a short and simple statement, but it was filled with so much meaning. His head shot up and he looked at her with a hopeful look. She smiled at the fact that he was unsure, and threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. He exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding and hugged her back. He chuckled into her shoulder and then kissed the top of her head.
"Let's head back before they get worried," Jen said as they pulled apart. Justin nodded and grabbed her hand determinedly. Jen let go quickly and bent down to retrieve his hat and threw it on her head and smiled brightly.
"Don't wanna forget this, J. I gave you this North Carolina hat!" she said.
He smiled and shoved the brim down over her eyes and laughed as she squealed. Again he grabbed her hand and started back towards the dorm. They were both lost in their own thoughts, but they shared one common thought.
What happens next?
