Beyond my Beating Heart

Chapter Seven: Things are looking up

Listen to Handsome Hands by Ingrid Michaelson (one of my favorite singer/songwriters by the way) for this chapter.

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Jett's point of view

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Something is not right, and no, it is not the bean burrito I had earlier. Something just feels off about this date, and I do not have a clue as to what it is. I just feel as though something is wrong. That awful gut feeling nagging me about this, but I cannot even pinpoint what.

"Bye guys! I'm leaving now!" I yell to my grandparents upstairs.

"Bye honey! Have fun!" My grandmother replies sweetly.

The door slams shut because of the wind, leaving me standing outside in the air of a brisk Saturday evening. My shoes splash in the puddles of rain leftover from last night and this morning, making my thoughts wander back to June when we danced without giving a damn about anything else. In that moment it was all us. Her. Me. The rain. And the tension that could be sliced through with a butter knife.

My daydream gets interrupted as a crack of thunder rumbles through the ground. I know that if I do not get in the car quickly, I will be forced to endure the rain on my skin, and have the night before haunting me.

I pull out of the driveway and make my way to Lauren's house. I try to think about the date tonight. I try to think about Lauren. I try to think about what to say tonight, but my mind always wanders back to reminiscing about one thing, last night. It is tattooed in my mind and it will not go away, but I like it. It is a beautiful tattoo, and to remove it would make me feel lost, because I am finally found.

Before I know it, I am in her driveway, walking up to ring the doorbell to her huge house. Lauren opens it and she stands there wearing a black crop top and high waisted jean shorts, covered up by an oversized flannel and white shoes.

"Ready to go?" She asks with a sweet smile.

"Yeah. Shall we?" I say leading her over to my car.

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"So, what do you really think about Juniper?" Lauren asks me from the opposite side of the booth.

"What do you mean, she's my best friend." I answer nonchalantly.

"Is she really your best friend, or are you pitying her?" Lauren questions, "and don't worry, if she's not, your secret is safe with me."

"No, she really is, I mean, she's so cool and understanding. June's amazing!" I reply, stating the truth... and only the truth.

"Are you in love with her?"

"I mean, of course I love her, I'm just not in love with her, you know, romantically." I say back.

"Well, silly me, of course you don't." She chuckles.

"What?" I stutter, stunned at how rude that was.

"No, sorry, I just meant that if you loved her you would not have agreed to this date. Not at all trying to be a bitch." She states.

I laugh dryly trying to break the awkward silence. This is going to be a long night.

"Gosh, I'm sorry. This is so stupid, let's just loosen up a bit, get rid of the awkwardness." Lauren voices.

The rest of the night goes swimmingly. I am surprised that I actually enjoyed myself. The way Lauren speaks sounds so sincere. She has changed, although I do not understand why she would be so cruel to my best friend in the first place, but we all have our dark secrets, and I know firsthand about those demons.