Looking After You

(5) Ages: 16 & 13

Ages: 16 & 13

"Her name's Shannon, not shampoo!" Jameson argued with Jenny while sitting at the dinner table along with all four parents.

"Same thing." Jenny shrugged, pretending to act completely unaffected by the fact that James just announced he would be going out on a date that weekend. She assumed this was his first date since he seemed so uncomfortable with the whole thing. He couldn't stop twitching all through dinner and barely touched a thing on his plate.

"What time are you picking her up, James?" Denise, James' mother asked with a small smile.

"Around seven tomorrow." He answered while moving food around his plate with the end of his fork.

"Great. So you have time to bring her to the house before the movie starts?"

His eyes widened and he quickly looked up from his plate. "Uh, no. The movie starts at 7:15 so we won't have time." He lied. Jenny lifted her eyebrow in suspicion. Movie showtimes were like times tables to Jenny, she could recite them backward and forwards, from left to right and she knew there was no movie showing at 7:15 on a Friday night. She was thirteen, she practically lived at the movie theater on weekends.

"Oh. I thought you said the movie doesn't start till 7:30?"

"Nope. 7:15." James assured her before taking a bite of his food just to avoid any more conversation about the subject.

"The movie starts at 7:30. All movies start at 7:30 on a Friday night and Jameson would love to bring his date home to meet his parents, wouldn't you, Jameson?" Jenny said with a prideful smirk before taking a bite of her mashed potatoes. So, maybe she was acting a little immature and snobby but James was the one person who could bring it out of her and the last person she wanted to see that side of her. Her reasoning was that she at least had to meet the girl, especially James' parents. What if the girl was some nut job who carried a dead squirrel around in her purse?

He glared over at Jenny before turning back to his mother. "I'll bring her by."

"Perfect," Denise said with a smile and kissed his cheek. "I can't wait to meet her." Denise grabbed her empty plate and began walking towards the kitchen but not before giving Jenny a sly wink on her way.

~

"I'm really sorry about this. I tried to get out of it, but someone was being extra annoying at dinner last night." James explained while sitting in his parents small Buick Lesabre outside of his house around seven that next night.

"Well, it is kind of strange meeting the parents on the first day but...I guess I can make an exception, for you." She smiled flirtatiously and leaned across the seat, making her already low cut dress fall even lower. "You can repay me later." She breathed out before opening the car door and stepping outside. James exhaled the breath he had been holding before stepping out of the car and walking her to the front door. His first thought was of how embarrassed he was. To quote James Rick; she was the kind you don't bring home to mother. His second thought was of Jenny and suddenly that was his first and only thought.

"You must be Shannon!" Jenny's mother exclaimed before widening the door enough for the both of them to step inside only to find that along with Alison is Keith and his parents. Alison closed the door and began introducing herself about the same time James noticed another person standing by the door. He glared over at Jenny and pulled her to the side so he could quietly yell at her. "What are you doing here?!"

Even after James pulled her away, Jenny's eyes remained fixed on the leggy blonde who stood in the doorway. Red lipstick and the smell of some expensive perfume her mother would wear brought Jenny back to the night at Sam's Ice Cream. That was the night she held James' hand and not just to pray before dinner or when their hands accidentally brushed due to proximity. Remembering that night brought joy because she could still feel the warmth of his hand and the safety it brought her at that moment but more than that, she felt pain. She wouldn't let herself think about that night because it wasn't real. Holding his hand was never anything more than a favor or an obligation. "You're going on a date with her?!" Jenny shouted in horror, causing everyone to turn to face the both of them.

James smiled back at everyone innocently before grabbing Jenny by the arm and pulling her up the stairs. "You just talk amongst yourselves for a while I speak with Jenny in private a minute." He pushed Jenny into her room and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "Why are you here?"

"Not until you tell me why you would even consider going on a date with her! You saw how she treated me that night at the ice cream place! She's rude and cruel! Why would you ask her on a date?!" Jenny asked in fury, feeling as if her heart was about to beat out of her chest.

"I didn't ask her, she asked me and she's not what you think she is. She was having a bad night and you were being pretty rude yourself. She had a right to defend herself." But he should have been defending Jenny. James knew that in the back of his mind but for some reason, he continued trying to make his point. The next words fell from his lips as calmly as if he was talking about the weather. "But that's not what you're so angry about anyway, is it?"

"What are you talking about?!" She hissed. Her frustration continued to boil over because of the fact that he was so calm and all she wanted to do was rip his head off and bounce it around the room like a basketball.

"Yes, I realize you're upset about what happened, but you're not the type of person to hold a grudge. If you did, I know sure as hell we would have stopped being friends years ago. It's almost as if you're jea-"

A growl from the darkest part of her anger came out and she stopped him short. "Jameson, don't you dare!"

"I'm going to date, Jenny. So are you...in about thirty years." He laughed softly in an attempt to diffuse the situation while Jenny was desperately holding back tears. Usually, her reasons for crying in front of James were pretty standard but instead of feeling embarrassed or immature, all she felt was pure hatred. She was so angry at him for being calm, for acting as if what she was feeling wasn't real or valid. James had never once made her feel as though he was playing with her feelings. That was one thing she would have bet he would never do. She was wrong about a lot of things that night. "Sometimes I'm going to date people you don't like and that's okay because I'm the one dating them, but it is something you're going to have to accept."

Jenny's mouth dropped in disbelief and she stared back at him for a moment. There had only been a few times she had let him see her cry and she made a promise to herself that it sure as hell wasn't going to be one of those times. "Unbelievable."

"What?" Jameson breathed out heavily.

"You've known me for six years, Jameson. Technically, it has been even longer than that. You should be defending me on this. You should be on my side, no matter who you're dating." Jenny shook her head. "Despite everything I still liked to believe you have my back. I guess I was wrong." She walked over to the door and just as she stepped out she said, "I hope you have fun on your date."

~ ~ ~

Go to the next chapter! Hurry! It's ONE of my favorites ;)