Crash and Burn

9. Lunch

Alex's POV

I stepped outside and saw Jessica stood there with my lyric sheet in a folder. I took a breath and started walking towards her. "Hey," I smiled when she turned around. She looked different from when I last saw her. "Did you change your hair?" Her eyes widened and a blush crept up her cheeks. "I did. I got it cut a little and got some darker highlights." I nodded and an awkward silence fell between us. If I was being honest, I just wanted my lyrics back. "Mel asked if you wanted to join us for lunch." Her face fell. I was mentally rolling my eyes and hitting myself repeatedly at how stupid everything was. I dated this girl for a year and I can't even ask her for lunch? Well, besides the fact that Demi Lovato was waiting for me on that table, too. That was a factor for the hesitation I felt. I couldn't take it back, though. Not when she grinned and nodded. This was going to be hard. "Before we go in though, I just want to let you know that there's someone else with us. I met her a few days ago when we had a fender bender. Promise me that you won't freak out or I'll drag you back out here." I gave her a look that we would usually share when we were being entirely serious. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" I shook my head, assuring her that I was okay. She frowned, but nodded anyway and I lead her inside.

I watched as Mel beamed when she saw Jessica and I approaching the table. Demi had switched seats and was now seated beside Mel. I frowned, but thought nothing of it. Maybe she was being nice and felt that Jessica would be more comfortable with me. "Jessica, meet Demi. Demi, Jessica." I watched as Jessica's eyes widened as she saw Demi, then proceeded to stick her eyes there until I cleared my throat. "Oh, um-" she cleared her throat. "It's a pleasure and honor." Jessica smiled, trying to seem calm but I could tell that she was shitting bricks. I sighed and gestured for her to scoot into the booth. This was not going to be fun.

We were stood outside the restaurant after lunch, which I was eternally grateful was finally over. The tension that surrounded the table the moment Jessica and I sat down could be cut with a knife. It made everything worse when Jessica pointed out that she went vegan, something that I was fully aware of but had forgotten. Demi, Mel and I were intending to split 2 large pizzas since we built up an appetite in the pool and Jessica had just driven over 6 hours, with another 6 in front of her. When the manager came by and offered suggestions after he saw that our booth was having a heated conversation, I sighed in relief and almost kissed him for saving my sorry ass. Jessica ended up getting a personal customized pizza whereas the three of us split 2 regulars which Mel kept insisting was just a waste of money since it was pricier. It wasn't like she picked up the bill anyway. I was the one that did.

I was brought out of my thoughts when Jessica stopped at her car. "This is me," I smiled and brought her into a hug, thanking her repeatedly for bringing my lyric sheet back to me. "I'm really sorry for how lunch turned out. I really don't know what's gotten into them. We were having a great time at the pool earlier today." I frowned, genuinely confused. Her face fell once again. "They were in the pool with you?" That was when I realized that I fucked up. "Yeah. It was supposed to be a Mel and Demi thing. I was upstairs studying but they got me down to unwind a little bit." I gave a shrug, trying to show that it wasn't anything grand or unusual. Except that it was. "Didn't you just meet her a few days ago?" I nodded and shrugged again. I had nothing else to say to defend myself. "It's okay," she smiled up at me. "I'm happy if you are. It wasn't working out between us anymore. You deserve to be happy and free, Al." She brought me into another hug and laid a lingering kiss on my cheek. I wrapped my arms around her waist and brought her closer, thankful that she was being so open about everything. Our breakup wasn't exactly the prettiest.

I walked back to where my car was parked when Jessica's car was finally out of sight, only to be met with a glare by Mel and a hurt look by Demi. "What's going on?" I frowned, again. At the rate that I'm frowning in just an afternoon, I'd look like I was 50 by the time I'm done with the day. Mel huffed at my question and got in the back seat, slamming the door loudly, causing me to wince. I gave Demi a confused look and she just managed a weak smile and shook her head. I sighed, again and opened the door for Demi before getting in and driving back to my place.

When we got home, Mel got inside first and practically ran upstairs, slamming the door behind her. I turned to Demi with an exasperated look after opening the door for her. "What's going on with her?" She looked at me incredulously. "You really don't know?" I shook my head. Demi smiled weakly at me before her eyes flicked to my cheek and her face fell. "I'm going to head home. I'll see you hopefully soon, Alex." She turned to her car and started walking towards it. I shook my head, confused by the turn of events and leaned back into my car to grab my things. As I was locking up and turning to bid Demi goodbye once more, I caught her looking at me longingly. "By the way, she left a little something on your cheek." Before I could say anything else, she got into her car and drove off. I frowned and leaned down to my side view mirror to see what she was talking about. There laid a bright red lipstick mark that Jessica left when she kissed me on the cheek.

Oh.

Oh.

Fuck.