I Volunteer | Jack Schlossberg | Friends to lovers

Finally, the fight

As the last week of November rolled around, Annie got the text from Jack that she had been dreading.

We'll be in town this weekend. Humor me by having dinner with us?

Whatever you say 👍 she replied.

I can feel your enthusiasm through the phone right now.

Annie showed up to the Italian restaurant half an hour early, and neither Jack nor Courtney were there—which she found odd. While she waited, she ordered a Shirley Temple and pulled out her Kindle. Knowing Jack, she was confident that they'd be there shortly.

Ten minutes went by. Then another 10. Then 15. Jack was officially five minutes late, which was concerning. She pulled out her phone and called him.

"Hey," he answered on the second ring. "We're running a few minutes late. Order yourself an appetizer and keep reading your Kindle."

"How did you know I was reading my K..."

"Because I know you, Annie," he interrupted. "Be there soon."

As Jack and Courtney waltzed into the restaurant 15 minutes late, all Annie could think about was how out of character it was for Jack to be this late. She gave Courtney a second strike in her head (the first strike being that she existed, of course).

"There you are. I almost sent a search party," Annie said bitterly as she stood up to give Jack and Courtney a hug, respectively.

"Sorry," Courtney chuckled. "We... lost track of time," she said while giggling at Jack. Annie's heart, and all of her other organs for that matter, sunk.

Jack gave Courtney a 'what the hell' look and turned back to Annie. "We had a meeting with my parents that ran late, so we had to rush to get ready. Sorry."

All three of them sat at the table—Jack across from Annie, and Courtney next to Jack. "So," Annie started, "Courtney, tell me about what you do."

"Oh, I'm an influencer." Knew it, Annie thought. "I work mostly with clothing brands."

"And what's that like?" Annie asked, faking enthusiasm. She saw Jack narrow his eyes at her in her peripheral vision.

"Oh it's so great. Pretty much everything in my closet was given to me, and I'm always at brand events and meeting new people. I love the social aspect."

"Do you work with any brands I would know?"

"Absolutely. Anthro, Sézane, Universal Standard, Good American, and honestly so many others but those are just the first few that came to mind."

"Damn," Annie said, both genuinely impressed and jealous.

"It's funny," Jack jumped in. "I'm obviously also in the influencer world, but the politics side is so different from the fashion side." He looked at Courtney. "We swap notes about it all the time. I swear she has the cooler gig."

"Yeah but you're the one making an actual difference," Annie said to Jack. Both Courtney and Jack snapped their heads toward her—Courtney's face read hurt, and Jack's read anger.

Courtney pushed her chair back and stood up. "Sorry, I'm just going to run to the restroom real quick."

"Alright babe, we'll be here," Jack said. Babe. "What was that?" he asked Annie.

"What was what?" she shrugged.

"You know what. That comment was really rude, Annie."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to sit here and act like a fashion influencer is making an actual difference in the world. You, on the other hand..."

"Why does it matter if she's making a difference or not?" Jack interrupted. "Not every job has to save the world. Some people are allowed to have a fun career. It's okay."

Annie took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Hey I actually think I'm going to head out," she said as she stood up and placed her napkin on the table.

"Wait, what?" Jack asked as he stood up too.

"Yeah I've had this headache all day and I'm just not feeling great. Bath and bed are all I need right now." She turned to begin her descent.

"Please don't go," he said, reaching for her wrist.

She turned back and locked eyes with him. "It was really good to see you. And Courtney. Tell her I said so."

She rode the subway back in silence, just her thoughts swirling in her head. Jack. Jack. Jack. Jack.

When she got home, she dropped her keys in the tray by the door, kicked her shoes off down the entryway, and fell face first onto her bed. As soon as she hit the comforter, her phone started to buzz in her pocket. Jack.

"Hey, I'm sorry again for leaving. I—"

"So, do you want to tell me what's wrong?" he interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"Annie, I know you pretty well at this point. Your whole demeanor has changed this past month. You've been acting so reserved and distant. And your jokes have felt...actually mean. Did I do something to upset you again? Because every time I ask you, you say we're fine. But we obviously aren't fine." His voice sounded so earnest, and it broke her heart.

"No, Jack. Honestly. I told you, I'm just not feeling well."

"Will you please just tell me what's going on? You're my best friend, Annie. I just want to know what changed, because I want to un-change it. Please. I've grown so used to us talking all the time, and it just hasn't been the sa—"

"Yeah Jack, that's the problem. We shouldn't be talking all the time. You had a fucking girlfriend that you didn't tell me about."

"Why are you so hung up on that? I wasn't lying to you, I just had to keep it low-key for my job."

"Because, it changes things," she blurted out.

"Changes things? What do you mean?"

She hesitated for a second. She knew the next words out of her mouth could be detrimental to their friendship. But with the phone as her forcefield, she decided it was now or never. "Yes, changes things. Because you're supposed to be with me. That was the plan in my head."

"The plan? Annie, what the hell? You turned me down. And that was years ago. You've had years to come to this conclusion and you choose now?"

"Because there was never a time crunch. I thought I had all of this time to work up to telling you. I thought I had time."

"Do you hear how fucked up that sounds? The second I'm unavailable, you just happen to decide now you want me?"

She lowered her voice. "I'm sorry for how it's coming off. I've felt this for a while."

"Well, I've been here. I've been here this whole time, and now you're too late."

"Gotcha. I'll let you go."

"Annie—" he tried, but she hung up, laid her head down, and sobbed.