Destined To Explode: A Jephen Fanfic

4. "...i kinda like her..."

(Stephen)

Why is everyone grinning at me?

“What?” I asked. Did I have something in my hair?

“Where’s Jess, Stephen?” Garrett asked, raising his eyebrows.

“In the bus, she fell asleep,” I answered casually. Wasn’t it obvious? I mean, she was dead tired, wasn’t she? Why the fuck is everyone still grinning at me?!

“So tell us, Gomez, what’s going on between you and Jess?” John O’ asked.

“What?! Nothing! We’re just best friends!” I said, okay, I admit it sounded defensive, but seriously.

Although everyone dropped the subject, I can still see the grins plastered on their faces, so annoying.

After dinner, I went outside, a bottle of beer at hand, to get some fresh, cool air. I leaned unto a street light, thinking of, well, everything; Jess, the concert, the guys’ grins, jess… The guys remained inside, playing cards and all.

“Hey,” I turned to see john O’ smiling at me, holding a bottle of beer too. He leaned on the other side of the poll.

“So,” he said, “There’s nothing going on between you and Jess, right?”

I was a bit taken back at his question. Why are we having this conversation again?!

“Nothing, really, she’s like a sister to me,” I said. I love her, john, I love her more than anything in the world, more than I love myself and more than you could ever imagine, so don’t get any ideas about playing her, or whatever it is that you plan to do.

“Oh, good,” John said, exhaling with relief.

“Why do you ask?” I asked, a bit scared of the answer-well, not scared- nervous, I mean.

“She really changed, you know. Back then, she rarely smiles. Everyone thought she had a family problem or something. It’s weird, because every time I see her nowadays, she never stops smiling; she seems really happy and hyper.” John said. “Do you think she likes me?”

I almost dropped my beer.

“What?” I asked

“Do you think she likes me?” he repeated patiently. Fuck you, John.

“I don’t think so, man. Actually, I think she finds you annoying.” I blurted out. Obviously, it wasn’t true, it was what I thought, not was Jess thought. Jess smiles when she hears John’s voice. John looked a bit hurt, but he tried concealing it with a smile.

“Really?” cuz, you know, I kind of like her,” he said, giving me a little smile. What the fuck have I done? He likes her. I can’t do this to John, he’s my friend. But I love Jess. Then again, Jess might like John, and not me. I can’t do this to both of them. I glanced at John, who was looking at the night sky.

“Hey, you know what, she might like you, I don’t know. That girl has a mysterious mind.” I said;That made John actually smile. Could I actually be giving him hope?

“Thanks, man” John said.

“Hey, no problem,” I said back,

“Hey guys! Let’s head to the bus, I’m tired,” Jared said, and we all called it a night.

~

It was john O’ who first woke up, or so as he thought. He went to the lounge and found Jess drinking coffee.

“G’morning,” she said as she saw him. He smiled and grabbed a box of pizza from the fridge.

“How was the concert last night?” John said, taking a bite out of the cold pizza.

“It was really epic, you know? At first, I thought I was gonna pass out or something, but I got overwhelmed by the crown. I forgot to drink some red bull, so I got really tired,” Jess said sheepishly. “it was nice of Stephen to bring me back to the bus right after,”

John smiled. He always loved it when Jess smiles, whatever the reason for her happiness may be.

“So you’ll be okay when we get to Frisco? There’s gonna be a bigger crowd, you know,” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be okay,” she shrugged.

They talked about childhood memories and all when they were joined by the rest of the guys.

Garrett was on the phone, busy talking to his girlfriend, Alahna, while the others ate pizza and drank coffee.

“Hey guys, do you, mind if Alahna joins us?” Garrett asked hopefully. Everyone didn’t have a problem with that, so they all nodded.

“The more the merrier,” Josh said.

After funny moments, ugly memories and party scenes, it was then when Jess noticed something.

“Wait- where is Stephen?” she asked, looking around, not seeming to find her best friend. John G. shrugged.

“He’s in his bunk, I guess,” he said. Jess thought for a moment and checked the time.

“It’s 10 am, why isn’t he up yet?” she muttered, and excused herself to wake Stephen up.

“Rise and shine, pretty boy,” Jess said, gently shaking Stephen. She reached for his forehead and noticed his temperature rising. Stephen woke, still feeling tired.

“You’re hot, Stephen,” Jess said, her eyes full of worry.

“I know,” he joked and smiled a bit. Jess got up, grabbed the thermometer from the first-aid kit and called the guys.