Ocean Eyes . Jonathan Brandis

Twelve

Wednesday
At school the next day, I was nervous to see Jonathan. I never actually got his reaction from last night.

"Hey Sam," I meet her at her locker. "Hey Grace," she says looking at me confused. I laugh at her expression. "Okay. Spill," she shuts her locker and focuses on me. "What?" I was confused. "You're in a really good mood. And Grace Buchanan is the epitome of teen angst, so what could've possibly put you in such a good mood?" She was surprised, but seemed happy for me. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I turn around, hiding my smile, and start walking to class. "Cut the crap, you're a horrible liar. I can see that smile taking up half your face," she starts walking with me. I laugh at her determination to figure out what was up with me. "Fine," I give in and a satisfied smile spreads across her face. "So last night," I pause for dramatic effect, just to mess with her. "Grace!" She gets impatient. "Jonathan and I-" I stop mid sentence after looking ahead and seeing him walk in the school. Sam looks in the same direction. For a moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Everything seemed perfect, but I knew it would never last. Reality hit when I saw him holding hands with none other than Lisa Hankins. Everything started moving faster at this point. Anger and disappointment never flooded inside of me so fast. I was disappointed in myself for even thinking that Jonathan had changed. I fell for it again. I fell for it for the 100th time. The last time.

"Grace?" Sam was cautious. She could probably see the hurt in my eyes. I couldn't watch them any longer. It's like he was rubbing it in my face. I immediately start for the nearest restroom. There were two girls in there so I find the nearest stall. They probably sensed I was upset and left after a few seconds. "Grace?" I hear Sam. "I'm fine, Sam," I try not to make it obvious that I was crying. "Open the damn door," she gets impatient. I sigh before doing as she said. She looks at me sympathetically before hugging me. "What did that asshole do now?" She didn't seem surprised. "He's dating Lisa," I cry to her. "And? They seem perfect together don't you think?" She didn't mean that in a good way. "Jonathan and I kissed last night," I hesitate to tell her. Her eyes widen. "Grace!" She was surprised. "I thought it meant something, apparently not," I walk past her to the mirror to see the mess I was. "He's not worth it. Please don't cry over him," she looks at me through the mirror. "But he is, Sam," I look at her. She sighs and forces a smile. "Look, there will always be that feeling. You and Jon have this undeniable spark or something, I've seen it since we were little. But, he's just stupid or something," she gets frustrated. "Tell me about it," she earned a short laugh from me. "Don't wait for him, Grace. You've waited long enough. Move on, and maybe he'll finally realize what he's actually lost," she comforts me. I force a smile a give her a hug. "You're right. As always," I laugh. She laughs too. "See, you're doing great already," she goes to grab paper towels so I could wipe my tears. "What would I do without you," I smile. "Probably be depressed or something," she shrugs jokingly and we both laugh.

"So I have an idea," Sam tells me on our way to class. This couldn't be good.

—§—

At the end of class, I could tell Grace was avoiding me. I really needed to explain to her what was going on. I think she had been crying because her  eyes were red.
"Hey Lisa, I'll see you at lunch, I'm gonna go use the bathroom," I tell Lisa and she nods. I see Grace at her locker. There was no way she was gonna give me the time of day. I look around and notice the janitors closet. I guess that's my best bet. I see that she was finished at her locker and started down the hallway. I rush over and stop her. "We need to talk," I pull her into the closet. "What the hell?" She was both confused and angry. "I know what you might think, just let me explain," I lock the door and she glares at me. I wait for her to reply. "Well?" She gets impatient. "Lisa and I," I start and she rolls her eyes. "Y'all are dating, I know," she shrugs. "It's not like that, I mean we are dating but-" she cuts me off. "Save it. I'm tired of your bullshit, Jonathan. You've hurt me enough, why can't you just leave me alone," she was almost yelling at me. I saw the hurt in her eyes and it made me feel even worse. "All you had to say was that you'd prefer to be just friends," she sighs. "But I don't even want to be that anymore," she adds before unlocking the door. "Grace, wait!" I try to stop her but she was already out the door. I was given confused looks, standing in the doorway of the janitors closet. I regain my composure and head to my next class. I didn't get to tell Grace why Lisa and I were dating.

—§—

"Okay, I'll do it," I sit at the lunch table beside Connie and in front of Sam. "Really?" Sam gets excited. "Do what?" Connie asks, while eating her cosmic brownie. Sam and I laugh at her. "What? Want half?" Connie offers confused. "Yea thanks," Sam immediately takes it. Connie pouts. "Okay, so how are we exactly gonna get Jared to ask you out?" Sam was back to scheming. "What!" Connie almost choked as she drank her water. People begin to look at us. "I mean, what the heck are you talking about?" Connie says quieter. "Jon's a jerk, so we're gonna get him back. And plus, it's Jared O'Brian, I was gonna make this happen either way," Sam explains. "You're an evil genius, you know that?" Connie laughs at Sam. "I know," Sam smiles proudly. "Okay, So first we need to get his attention," Sam looks back at the varsity football team's table. "Shit," Sam looks back to me. "Well that was easy," she laughs. "What?" I look towards the table and lock eyes with Jared. He blushes, embarrassed that I caught him staring but we exchange smiles anyways. "Oh my god," I get excited. "This is gonna be too easy," Sam laughs. "Why don't you just go talk to him?" Connie blurts. "Where's the fun in that?" Sam shrugs. "After school, Connie's house," Sam bluntly states. "What? It's Wednesday, my brother's gonna be home, with his jock friends... oh," Connie eventually catches on. "I don't know about this. He's a senior," I push the thought that I'd even stand a chance. "Trust me, Grace. He wants you," Sam assures me. My eyes move from her to Jonathan. He was walking with Lisa and their friends. He was looking at me too, but I didn't care. All I did was glare at him. "Please forget about Jon for two seconds," Sam gets my attention. "Are we doing this or not?" She looks at me hopeful. I take one last look at Jonathan. "Yea," I sigh. "While we're at it, we should hook me up with Hudson," Sam smiles at Connie. "Please no," Connie rolls her eyes. "What? We could be sister in laws," Sam laughs at Connie's reaction. "As much as I'd love that, my brother already has everything. He can't take my friends too," Connie sighs. "No one could ever take us from you, I can always find someone else I guess," Sam shrugs the last part. "Hey, I'll see you guys later. I just remembered I needed to get extra credit work for English," I make up an excuse to leave. They nod understanding. I really didn't feel like sitting there and watching Lisa and Jonathan together. I wanted to leave before the pda started.