They all sat in the living room area of the jet around the big screen TV on the plush carpet in their pajamas with tons of junk food. It was night time and they were traveling to Sidney. Nick was the plane's personal dj and Jessica knew he was getting a kick out of playing different songs to fit the countries. For instance, they must've heard 'Land Down Under' about 50 times since they got in the plane from Tokyo. They had tons of movies and snacks stocked on the plane and they decided to have a little fun.
"OK lets see what we got here...yeah,these just won't work... they're all CHICK FLICKS! That's no good,"Nick exclaimed, obnoxiously tossing each movie that he had glanced at aside. "Who was in charge of the movies, they're gonna get a beat down. A guy can only take so many Molly Ringwald movies."
"HEL-LO! We got Braveheart, Die Hard, the Patriot, and all that other stuff with blood and guts,"Jessica said tossing a movie at him and readjusted her baggy, drawstring pajama pants that were sagging low on her slim, tanned hips, exposing her stomach slightly.
"Well none of us want to watch Pretty in Pink or the Breakfast Club,"Nick replied, childishly crossing his arms.
"Oh I love the Breakfast Club!"Leighanne said excitedly.
"Not all of us want to see of the movies you wanted to watch either,"Jessica said, staring Nick down, the both of them ignoring Leighanne's comment.
"Why do you two always end up fighting?"Kevin asked, irritated while the others watched on in amusement. Sometimes Kevin felt like he was dealing with children. Nick had grown up quite a bit since they beginning of the group but he was still immature at times and didn't always know when to let petty things go like what movies to watch. Especially when it came to Jessica. He was always picking fights with her lately. Kevin didn't know what the deal was with the two of them, but he could tell AJ was also sensing something was up and he didn't look too happy.
"I know, can't we just pick a damn movie ya'll?"AJ asked, taking a sip of his beer and sliding an arm around Jessica's shoulders, glaring at Nick. The last thing AJ wanted to do was lose Jessica to Nick. He had waited so long to finally show her how much he loved her. He'd loved her through her relationship with Nick and he had loved her through his relationship with Amanda. Now he was finally with her and he felt that she wasn't really giving him her heart completely and that Nick was still locked in her heart. He had a sad feeling that his suspicions were right but he couldn't let her go. He loved her too much.
"Well picking a movie would be easy if Nick would just grow up,"Jessica snapped.
"Guys lets not fight,"Howie said, almost helplessly.
"Yeah this is supposed to be fun,"Brian said giving them all a big, goofy, cheesy grin. The grin seemed to be contagious and Nick and Jessica gave little smiles. "See we're having fun! Now let's pick a stupid movie already. If you two can't handle it, I'll pick it."
"Aww damn. We'll probably end up watching Ace Ventura for the fifty millionth time,"Nick moaned and glanced at Jessica. "We better pick it."
Jessica nodded in agreement and minutes later they had agreed on That Thing You Do and had put it in but no one was really watching it. They were all laughing and joking around.
"Oh god, you know what I just thought of?"Leighanne giggled.
"What?"Jessica replied with a smile.
"New Years when we karaoked to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,"Leighanne laughed and Jessica and Kristin joined in.
"Never again!"Kristin said with a laugh.
"Oh come on you know you had fun,"Jessica said.
"Yeah,"Kristin admitted.
"We've had a lot of good times together,"Howie pointed out thoughtfully.
"AWW I love you guys!"Brian hollared. "Group hug!" They all jokingly piled on top of one another. AJ tackled Jessica to the floor and pinned her down.
"Hmm I like this position,"he said huskily, leaning down and kissing her mouth deeply. He grinded his crotch into hers seductively.
Jessica moaned but stopped him,"AJ there's other people here."
"No one's paying attention,"he whispered and kissed her again.
"And the cameras?"Jessica gasped as AJ grinded harder.
"Who cares?"AJ moaned and Jessica surrended to him and his lips found hers once more.
They were oblivious to everyone but Nick was painfully aware of the two of them. Watching the two of them like that was so hard for him. It was supposed to be her and him forever. Not her and AJ. He felt literally sick to his stomach seeing AJ grind himself into her and sticking his tongue down her throat and her actually enjoying it. 'She's not yours anymore Nick. You're the dumbass who blew it,'he thought to himself. He knew he really had to move on but when you lose the other half of your heart, moving on is hard to do. Nick's mind drifted back to the night at the bay on the night of Brian and Leighanne's wedding. She had said to give her time. Now that AJ and Mandy were involved it wasn't quite the same anymore. Now he knew they needed more then just time. He shamefully realized that he would send Mandy packing in a heartbeat if Jessica told him she wanted him back, but he wasn't sure if Jessica would do the same for him. Nick didn't think AJ would exactly step away from her that easily either. He forced himself to look away from the two of them as they got up and headed towards AJ's bedroom. It just wasn't fair anymore.
Brian had seen the way Nick was looking at AJ and Jessica when they had gotten up and went to AJ's room. The pain and heartache was apparent on Nick's face. Brian knew things could get quite ugly if Nick decided to go for Jessica again. Everyone knew that AJ loved Jessica. It wasn't a secret. Brian also knew how long AJ had been waiting to finally be with her. Yes, things could get very ugly if Nick opened his mouth. He made a mental note to talk to Nick later.
Jessica layed in AJ's bed naked after they had had sex. He had fallen asleep but she couldn't. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Making love to AJ had felt good but it hadn't felt right. There was a big difference. It had always felt right with Nick. Even from the beginning it had always felt right. Now she couldn't seem to find the same feeling she felt when she was with Nick. She knew what that feeling was. Love. Pure, unconditional, and unchanging. She loved AJ but she wasn't in love with him. He had always been a great friend to her and she loved him for that but no matter what she did her heart still belonged to Nick. But since he was with Mandy now it was all over with them. Jessica couldn't stop the tears that flowed freely down her cheeks. She felt so emotional and she couldn't pinpoint exactly why she was crying. She knew part of it had to do with guilt. Jessica knew she shouldn't be doing this to AJ. It wasn't fair and she was leading him on.
"Baby? Why are you crying?"AJ said, his voice thick from sleep. He pulled her to him and turned her over so she was facing him.
She couldn't deny that she had been crying,"I-I um, I'm just so happy AJ."
He smiled widely,"Me too Jess. Happier then I've been in a long time. You make me so happy."
Jessica felt sick to her stomach at what she had just said. She completely, flat out lied to him and continued to just lead him on. It was cruel but she thought it'd be more cruel to tell him how she really felt. Plus, she didn't have any chance with Nick anymore anyway so it didn't matter. At least AJ cared about her and maybe that was enough.
Jessica forced a smile on her face and kissed his lips. AJ opened his mouth to speak but Jessica put her finger to his lips.
"Sleep now,"Jessica whispered. AJ smiled and pulled her to him and spooned up against her.
He kissed her neck and said softly,"Good night my love."
Jessica didn't speak. She just let the tears slide down her perfect ivory skin once more. Life wasn't fair anymore.
