Bottled Blue

Twenty-One

That day after school, Becky called while Jett was in my room. My mom called up the stairs to tell me she was on the phone. So I left Jett in my room with the book about DNA to grab it. I decided to take it to the other side to have a bit of privacy, even though he could probably hear me.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked as I sat on my bed.

"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what?"

"What's going on with you and Jett Kanellis?"

I had a feeling that's what she wanted to talk about. I leaned through the doorway to see if he was listening. But he was still sitting on the cushions, comfortably reclined against the wall while he read. I lowered my voice and cupped my hand over the microphone to make it, hopefully, quieter.

"Um—nothing's going on. He's just my biology partner," I whispered.

"You don't have to lie to me. I'm over him."

"I'm not lying. He's just my biology partner. It's Mr. Louis's biology journal. That's all we do. You know he doesn't let us choose our partners."

"Really? Then why were you hanging out with him the other day?"

"What day?"

"When you guys were apparently hanging out at the community college together." I rolled my eyes. I didn't have to explain myself to her, and I wanted to point that out. But if I did, it would probably just start a fight. Which would turn into a nightmare. And I was trying to avoid it.

"We weren't hanging out. His mom forced him into taking an art class, and he dragged me along." Now that I said it out loud—it didn't make anything better. Why would Jett force me to tag along if we weren't hanging out? Why wouldn't I put my foot down if I didn't like him?

"Well—I just think you need to be careful. Jett's probably only after one thing. And I wouldn't want him to do to you what he did to me. You're too sweet for that." And that's when I wanted to shout, 'ABSOLUTE HORSE SHIT!' She claimed they broke up because he'd tried to get down her pants, and she'd refused him. Now I wasn't so sure that was true. But she knew as well as I did that I wasn't some sweet, innocent little girl. "And you know, it wouldn't be very cool of you to date my ex-boyfriend." And there it was.

"I thought you didn't have feelings for him anymore?"

"I don't. That's not the point. There's just a line you don't cross with friends, Aasha. You don't date their exes or siblings. You saw what it did to Vick and Danielle. They won't even talk to each other anymore."

"They don't talk anymore because Victoria cheated on Danni's brother and humiliated him in front of the whole school. I wouldn't want to hang out with her either."

"Aasha, I'm just trying to protect you. Jett Kanellis is bad news. And if you go out with him, he'll break your heart. It's what he's good at."

"Right, well. He's still my biology partner. So when we make it to graduation, and he still hasn't broken my heart, I'll remind you of this conversation."

"Whatever." She hung up, so I beeped the phone off and tossed it on my bed.

"Ugh, stupid," I said, rubbing my face. When I opened my eyes, Jett was standing in the doorway. He seemed to take up the whole space and looked close to smacking his head on the slanted ceiling.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Becky is being annoying." He nodded and looked around my room.

"Can I look at your stuff?"

"Um—sure."

He moved toward my dresser, where I had a bunch of junk lying out. Like perfume bottles I collected from my mom. Most were nearly empty, but I thought the bottles were pretty. So my mom started giving them to me when they got low, or she got a new one. I had them all lined up on a mirrored tray. Then I had a collection of tiny porcelain fairies. I had like a hundred of them all scattered throughout my room. They were on every shelf, even the bookshelf on the other side. He lifted one of them and looked it over. Then he set it back down.

"I take it you like fairies," he said.

"I did when I was little. So my grandma started buying them for me for every birthday and holiday and sometimes just for no reason. I never told her I didn't like them anymore because I didn't want to hurt her feelings. She died last year. That's the last one she gave me." I pointed to a fairy sitting on the highest shelf just before the slanted ceiling took up all the room. It was a small doll. Really tiny. With curly hair and beaded wings.

"So why was Becky being annoying? I mean—not that she isn't always annoying. But what was she doing to make you so frustrated?" I leaned back onto my hands and watched him examine all my stuff.

"She'll kill me if I tell you." He shrugged and began to lift random perfume bottles to smell them.

"Who cares?"

"I think she's still hot for you. She was trying to warn me not to date you because you'd just break my heart." He shrugged.

"More likely, you'd break mine." Dick. He lifted another bottle and sniffed it. "But that's not really for her to decide." He set the bottle back into place. "I like that one. Smells nice."

I studied him curiously as he moved around my room. He looked almost too big to be in it. There wasn't a lot of space between the bed and the dresser, so his legs would brush against my knees when he moved. He was like a bull in a china shop. He'd break every valuable in the room with one wrong turn. But then I remembered the way he played piano. Delicately. Calculated. Fluidly nimble. He could navigate the keys and strike the right one at precisely the right second. He walked like that too. He was tall and broad-shouldered but so quiet on his feet that it was sometimes hard to notice he was there until he wanted to be seen.

Finally, he seemed satisfied and turned around to face me. Then he smiled, and I wondered what he meant. Jett couldn't like me, could he? That would be too weird. He just liked to torment me. But then another thought popped into my head. Jett had always just been playing with me. He made jokes. He messed with me. He said things like, "I'm not sorry for making you laugh."

Maybe that was why he played games. Perhaps that was why he was hurt when I said I didn't like him. Maybe that's why he made me go to his art class with him and played that song he said he'd never played for anyone else. Maybe that's why he was trying so hard to call my bluff.

"So I have a question for you," he said, leaning against my dresser so gently that he didn't even shake the bottles and figurines.

Oh, God. I wasn't ready for this. Last week I hated him. Outright hated him. And now here we were in my bedroom. He was saying things like, 'It's not anyone's decision about us dating.' He liked the scent of my perfume. And now he was going to ask me out. What would I say? No. I had to say no.

"Um—okay," I said nervously.

"I feel stupid asking this." Oh God, what if I said yes? Could I actually date Jett?

"Just ask."

"My parents are going out of town for the weekend. They're taking my sisters with them. I was planning on spending the weekend at Finn's house. But, um—I don't have any place to stay tonight." I wasn't comprehending the question. He—wanted to spend the night?

"I—what?"

"Would it be cool with you—if I asked your parents—if I could stay the night? I can sleep on the couch. And it's just for one night. I just need a place to crash for one night."

"What about your friends?"

"My parents weren't supposed to leave until tomorrow morning. They were going to drop me off at Finn's house on the way. But they decided to leave a night early instead. His grandparents are staying, and there won't be any room until tomorrow." He shoved his hands into his hoodie pocket, and I wondered how much of this story was bullshit.

"Um—you'd have to ask my mom," I decided. She'd say no. Both of my parents would say no. They'd have to. It was a parental rule. I didn't know where he'd spend the night, but I was sure he'd figure something out. He had friends and family. He was old enough to stay home alone. I wasn't his only option.

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The fairy thing is kind of based on a true story. I used to collect fairies from both my grandmas. Unfortunately, they're both gone now, and so are most of the fairies. But I still have a few to remind me of them.