Love Is A Strong Word But I Really Like You

Chapter Five

After Jenna's fall outside of the house, Brett kept his distance. Whenever Jenna would walk into the room, Brett would walk out. When Jenna came into their room at night, Brett pretended to be asleep.

The rest of the house could tell something was wrong too. Even though all but one were too drunk to remember anything after their fifth drink, they knew something must have happened that night, and so Kathryn took on the roll of detective.

"So..." Kathryn said slowly as she jumped and landed on her tummy on Brett's bed. Brett sighed and spun around to look at her from his desk. "What's up with you and Jenna? I mean you haven't really been on speaking terms - no, scratch that, you've never been on speaking terms - but now you're just completely blanking each other?" Brett rolled his eyes at her and turned to face his desk again.

"You're crazy." He said monotonously. "Nothing's happened, I'm just sick of having the IQ of the whole house - no, street - lowered when she speaks. If I don't speak, she doesn't speak." He smirked to himself and looked over his shoulder. "Think of it as taking one for the team."

Kathryn whined loudly and threw his pillow at the back of his head. "Fine, I'll ask her myself." She said shortly, and sauntered out of the room, her head raised high and her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

Jenna was sat writing at the kitchen table. Kathryn slipped in silently and grinned to herself, a plan already hatching in her mind. She ran up to the girl and swiftly pulled the paper out from under her hand, shoving the paper down her jeans.

"Tell me what's going on between you and Brett and you can have - what are you working on right now?" She demanded, lowering her voice at the end.

"The next chapter for my fan fiction, now give me it back!" Jenna shrieked, her arms raised out in front of her stoically as if they were set in stone.

"Ah!" Kathryn smiled, but soon dropped it, frowning comically. "Tell me what's going on between you and Brett and you can have you new chapter back!" At this point, Jenna and Kathryn were circling the kitchen table, both with their arms raised in defensive and threatening positions dead straight in front of them.

"This. Is. Blackmail!" Jenna hissed, preparing to lunge.

"Answer my question!" Kathryn retorted.

"I can't!" Jenna said, getting more and more livid by the second. "We must have just had an argument when we went to the pub! I can't remember anything from that night, I was too drunk!" Kathryn sighed and lowered her arms, pulling out the paper from the waistband of her jeans. Jenna snatched it from her hands, cradling the slightly crumpled sheet to her chest. Kathryn narrowed her eyes and gestured from them to Jenna's with two fingers.

"I will find out," she said darkly, and with that she backed out of the kitchen, leaving Jenna to her own thoughts.

Jenna sighed, resting her head on the table. All she wanted was for that moment to have never happened. It had left her confused and, quite frankly, frustrated - why did she have to fall? How did he catch her so fast? Did he know she was going to fall, or was his arms already itching to be wrapped around her? Did Brett like her? Did she like him?

All of these questions had swarmed around in her head like bees every hour of every day for the past week. Every time she attempted to ask him about that night, he either blanked her or left the room completely, and it was driving her crazy.

A sharp knock on the front door alerted her from her thoughts.

"I'll get it!" She called out, jogging over to the door and swinging it open. There stood was a tall blonde girl wearing a baggy Divergent hoodie and jeans. A bright pink earbud hung down her front whilst the other was still inserted in her ear. The girl's eyes widened behind her thick rimmed glasses as she realised who had opened the door.