J-Fred

Ch. 7: Denial

Several weeks pass by since the encounter on the roof. They all hang out like normal, but Alice and J-Fred hardly talk. They have small talk along with the others, but it feels awkward and forced between them. The others seem to notice it, but none of them say anything. Alice often wonders if she made a mistake, but she tries her best not to dwell on the thought.

One night, Alice drives over to Matt and Amanda's to hang out. As she walks up to the house, she passes by J-Fred as he is leaving. He looks dressed up and formal. He stops in his tracks and stares at her in a jittery manner. "Hi Joey," Alice says quietly.

J-Fred stares down at his feet. He seems more troubled than usual. He gives a curt nod and hurries away. Alice shakes off the encounter and walks inside. She finds Matthias and Amanda in the living room as well as Bryan. "What's going on?" Alice asks as she strolls casually into the room. Everyone seems to become nervous the moment she enters. They all exchange uneasy glances. 

"We were just wishing good luck to J-Fred. He just left," Matthias explains.

"Good luck on what?" Alice asks.

Matthias rubs the back uncomfortably as he answers, "He went out on a date...again."

Everyone stares at her for a reaction. Everything seems to slow down for Alice from that point on. She freezes up, but then tries to look calm and collected on the outside. "Oh that's...nice. I'm happy for him." 

Matthias and Bryan soon make an excuse to go leave and discuss Team Edge videos. Amanda and Alice sit down together on the couch. "How long have they been dating?" Alice asks the moment they sit. She does not even try to hide her discomfort. 

Amanda frowns. "This is the second week they've been dating. They've gone out three times together." Alice sits on her hands so that Amanda will not see them shaking. "I'm sorry, Honey." Alice has still not told anyone about their kiss on the rooftop. She does not even want to think about it. "Would you like some tea?" she asks.

Alice shakes her head and stands up. "I think I'll just go home. I'll see you tomorrow." As always, Alice bolts out the door and disappears. As she is driving home, she passes by a bar, and hesitates. She had not had a night out drinking in a long time. Since she is depressed and feels like crap, she decides to stop by for a drink. 

She sits in the bar at the counter alone. She just stares off into the distance, feeling lonely and sad. After a while, a shady-looking guy sits down beside her. He has thick black hair and tattoo sleeves up and down his arms. "Let me buy you a drink," he smiles at her.

Something is off about his smile. Alice is about to turn him down, but she decides to have just a bit of fun for once. Maybe it will help get her mind off J-Fred.

For a half an hour, the two sit and talk. Alice gets more and more drunk, and the man seems more and more creepy. He talks smoothly and seems nice, but his beady black eyes keep staring sharply at Alice. He hardly ever looks away from her the whole night. On top of that, he continuously gives her compliments. He says, "you have pretty hair," and, "your eyes are beautiful," and "I like your personality." Every time he compliments her, he seems edgy. 

Finally, Alice decides to call it a night. She wants to get far away from this guy. "I should get going now," she sighs. 

The man immediately stands up. "I can drive you home. You've had a lot to drink."

"What about you? Haven't you also been drinking?" Alice asks cautiously.

"I don't drink," he replies as he shakes his head.

Alice gets butterflies in her stomach--but not the good kind. She realizes she is not going to be able to shake this guy. "Fine, but that's it. Just drive me home."

They get into her car, and she gives directions to her house. Alice sighs in relief as they pull up into her driveway. "Um, thanks," she says as she cautiously backs up towards her front door. 

"No problem. I'd be happy to help out...anytime," he smiles as he steps out of the car and hands her the keys. The shadows that fall over his face in the night make him look even creepier. "I'm Damien, by the way."

She nods and bids farewell as she disappears inside her house. After another minute, she peeks out the blinds. She finds him still outside her house, as if he is waiting for something to happen. When he sees her, he slinks away into the darkness and leaves.

Alice shivers and locks all of the windows and doors in her apartments. Even through all of the eeriness and worry, all Alice can think about is J-Fred, and she wonders how his date went. She just sighs and tries to forget him as she drifts off to sleep.