The Speech

Chapter 5

Jackie's POV

     I wake up from a deep sleep and immediately feel my body cramp up. I lift my head from the one position it's been in for the whole night and look around the room. Where the fuck am I? Dylan walks into the room and I realize I fell asleep in his room. I lay my head back down, trying to make it look like I'm still asleep so I can hopefully avoid the awkward interaction of me leaving his room. I hear him walk towards me, but I stay still. I feel his hands slip under my head and back, slowly lifting me up. My eyes shoot open.

     "What are you doing?" I ask and he immediately drops me.
"Shit!" He shouts, apparently I scared him. I sit up.
"What were you doing??" I ask again, still confused.
"I was trying to fucking move you to a pillow so you'd be more comfortable. Why the fuck were you just laying there if you were awake?" He questions.
"I was trying to avoid this awkward interaction by waiting to leave after you left the room." I defend. He scoffs.
"Yeah? Mission accomplished clearly." He says and we both go quiet until I burst into laughter, he joins me moments later. He sits down on the bed next to me, letting the laughter play out.
"You wanna talk about it?" I ask, referencing last night. He shrugs.
"I don't know what to say about it." He says plainly.

     "Are you mad at her?" I ask. He nods.
"Yeah... I'm fucking pissed at her." He says, and I know he means it, but then his face softens.
"But I'm also really fucking scared for her. She's never acted like that before and I'm scared for whatever it is that made her snap." He stares at the ground the whole time.
"Well she's never been the most sane either." I argue. He laughs.
"No, but not in a bad way. She's fiery and stubborn and puts a fight up for anything. She's never accused me of cheating, or doing anything to hurt her. And fucking attacking you?" He stops, and just shakes his head.
"She didn't just attack me. She hit you too." I remind him. He just shrugs.

     "That's whatever, I can take a hit, but she shouldn't have touched you." He finally looks up from the floor, meeting my eyes.
"Just because you can take a hit doesn't mean you deserve one. Which you didn't by the way." I state. He gives a small smile, but stays quiet.
"Also I have no problem socking her for you if you want me too. You know, for the both of us." I joke and he laughs.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He stares at the floor again. I let out a sigh.
"Okay, I'm gonna go wake Avery for a ride." I say standing from the bed.
"Don't bother, she's probably in a coma right now. I'll give you a ride." Without any debate, he puts his shoes on and grabs his keys, leaving the room. I reluctantly follow after him.

Theo's POV

      She isn't a graceful sleeper. She doesn't look like a Disney princess in the morning with her hair perfectly placed and her hands neatly folded together. Her head isn't delicately laid on her pillow and her makeup hasn't been pristinely preserved from the night before. Instead, her hair is knotted from tossing and turning, and her hands are tucked close to her chest like she's guarding something. Her mascara from the night before is smudged on the corners of her eyes and her head is not laid on a pillow. Its laid on my chest, and she has never looked more beautiful. The sun hitting her eyes, she flutters them open, slowly registering her surroundings. She shifts away from me, and huffs onto her pillow.

     "Who let me drink so much?" She asks, more as a rhetorical question.
"Jayden probably." I retort. She sits up, facing me.
"Aren't you supposed to look after me Theo?" She asks, with a pouty lip.
"What do you think I'm doing here?" I say with a sigh. She hops out of bed and goes into her closet. She returns wearing an oversized t-shirt and leggings. The shirt is mine from a few years ago. I left it here one summer by accident and the next time I saw it, she was wearing it. And I loved seeing her wear it, so I never said anything. I'm pretty sure she thinks it's Jayden's, but it's okay. I still just like to see her wear it.