LOVE BACK; jra ✓

026 | she's putting in effort

Saturday night and people everywhere in a mutual friend's house, Jack grabbed a drink before made his way through the place to find his friends. Greeting them all with a simple 'hey' and a handshake with his few bandmates that were there.

Every so often while making conversation with his friends, he would glanced off to the side without making it too obvious to his friends. All because while coming in the house only minutes earlier he had noticed Grace with her friends, but not knowing if they had also seen him.

And he wasn't really ready for the conversation to break things off with her, nor did he want to have to explained to Valentina or any of the boys why he was still seeing her and talking with Adalyn.

But of course, just his lucky, the plans he had on how things that night would take place crumbled the second Grace and her friends walked over, after one of them noticing him.

"Hey Jack," she said with a smile, receiving one back from him.

"Hey," he wrapped his arms around her as she done the same and letting her place a kiss on his lips.

"Do you want to come over mine tonight?" she lowered her voice slightly so none of their friends could hear.

"Sure, okay," he nodded, copying her tone. "I just would like to talk with my friends first and then I'll come find you."

"Okay, I'll see you later," she kissed him once more before they both wrapped their arms and she left.

"What the fuck was that?" Valentina furrowed, saying her question in a polite manner but still confused. "I thought you were seeing Adalyn again?"

"Adalyn and I are barely even friends. We're just talking about everything," he shrugged since he wanted to just drop the whole topic. "I don't see why it matters."

"Because if she gave you that answer.. you wouldn't accept it," she responded, this time raising her voice slightly. "Yet here you are at Adalyn's like every second day and now kissing that girl. Who even is she?"

"She's the girl I told you about being invited to the show," Jonah explained to his girlfriend. "Val if he wants to fuck things up just let him."

"Right right.." she nodded, partially ignoring her boyfriend. "So Jack, you have been seeing her for at least a couple weeks now and you still thought you'd speak to Adalyn and start seeing her again? At the same time, might I add."

"I'm going to stop seeing Grace, okay? I just need time," he subtly shook his head, followed by taking a sip of his drink.

"Adalyn's putting in effort for you so maybe if you want something with her, maybe don't go and do the stuff you didn't like her doing," Valentina added.

"Alright," he softly shrugged, while using stern and annoyed. "Also what your friend fails to tell you is that she sat there yesterday telling me about how she doesn't talk to any of you girls. And that everyone in her life leaves her, in attempt to manipulate me into staying around."

"That's not her manipulating you, that her being truthful," she slightly raised her voice in respond. "She doesn't talk to the other girls, she talks to me like once a week if I'm lucky."

"Willow, a fucking therapist, lived with her for the past few months and told her not even a week before she left that she was moving to London and pretty much said deal with your problem on your own."

"Her ex cheated on her and left after a three year relationship. And the one other guy she gave a chance to ended up stealing her stuff, taking her money, and treated like absolute shit and drugged her at a club then left her there alone. Which she was lucky we were there," she mentioned. "This is all shit that has happened suddenly."

She directly looked at the unresponsive boy who was just trying to process every, and lining it up with things Adalyn had told him over the couple times they had hung out and even Lexi at the start of the year when he asked for a rundown on the girl.

"And yes, maybe she did let those shitty guys back into her life because she makes stupid decisions sometime. But that doesn't excuse your actions now," she let out a groan. "Didn't you say like last week that she cried to you? Doesn't that tell you enough that she's been hurt?"

"If you supposedly want things to work like you've been saying you do, I shouldn't have to stand here arguing with you at a fucking party about how you need to now step up and make an effort."

Shaking her head at Jack, Valentina had grabbed Jonah's hand and lead him away from the group with her so she could go fill up her drink while also trying to calm herself down. Leaving Jack there with Daniel, Corbyn.

"I already suggested the idea of Adalyn and I guess sort of Val, manipulating you and you didn't want to listen.." Corbyn shrugged.

"No, I don't want to talk about it right now but Val's right.." Jack responded as he let out a small sigh, mad at himself for even thinking that Adalyn was manipulating him. "Everything just lines up to well for it all to be lies.."

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A/N

um.. idk what to say um hi :) i guess. i
hope everyone had a great nye

oh i posted on my message board
yesterday that i have like a spin off for this
series/jonah&val book in my plans for early
this year so i hope that sounds exciting to
everyone