intense jenna ortega imagines for my girlies

third wheel pt. 3

I opened my mouth to say something, to deny it, but no words came.

"Yeah, if he does that to family..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I don't wanna know what he does to not family."

I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. I wanted to say something, to defend him, to tell her it wasn't like that, that he would never do that to someone else. But it felt hollow and I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe she was right.

But instead, I shook my head slightly. "No... he would never..."

I could feel her eyes on me, watching me like she was seeing straight through me, into all the things I was trying to hide. She shook her head, almost sadly.

"Don't defend him," she said quietly. "He shouldn't have done that."

I swallowed, feeling small under her gaze. I couldn't even look at her, the guilt and shame sitting heavy in my chest. I felt like everything was my fault, like I was somehow the one who'd caused all of this.

But Jenna just stayed there, her presence calm, but her eyes sharp, making sure I knew that she wasn't going to pretend like everything was fine.

I rubbed my face, trying to clear my head from all the mess of the evening.

"Well... I'm really sorry," I said, voice quiet and a little unsure. "He's kind of a jerk... but I hope you're okay." I gave a small, almost nervous chuckle. "Now I can at least be honest."

I glanced at her, my smile a little sheepish. "The whole dinner, I was just thinking, why you were with him. You deserve someone better than him. He's a mess."

Jenna raised an eyebrow at me, her lips curling into a teasing smile. "Oh, and you think you could do better?" she asked, her voice laced with playful challenge.

Without thinking, I replied with a bit more confidence than I expected. "Definitely. If I had a girlfriend, I'd at least treat her with respect, you know? Not like him."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how it could sound and my face flushed. I quickly backtracked, trying to smooth it over. "I mean—not that I'm saying—uh, not with you or anything, just like in general, you know? I'm just saying if I had someone, I would treat them right. Like with respect and everything.."

I could feel my heart rate speeding up and the more I tried to explain, the worse it got. I could barely string a sentence together.

Jenna's smile widened, clearly enjoying every second of it. "You're adorable when you're rambling," she said, a playful glint in her eyes. "It's cute."

I blinked, my face burning. "I wasn't trying to make it sound like—"

She raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly. "I know you weren't trying to make it sound weird, but it's cute how nervous you are. You are not used to this, huh?"

I tried to regain some composure but felt more embarrassed with every word. "I mean, no, I—I'm not nervous. It's just... I didn't mean to, like, make it sound like I'm hitting on you or anything. I just... I'll just shut up now."

Jenna laughed softly, her tone light but teasing. "Relax. I get it. But it's kind of cute how worked up you're getting about it."

I sat there, flustered and embarrassed, silently hoping the ground would swallow me whole. But at least it was clear she wasn't upset or something.

She sighed, leaning back a little, her gaze drifting off for a moment. "Well, I came here by car, thinking I'd just crash tonight," she said, almost like she was speaking to herself. "But now, with the alcohol and your brother gone... well, I guess things are a little different now."