Pay the Price

Chapter Seventeen: At the Player's

I pulled into the driveway of the house I went to the party at. Yes- the one I told the biggest lie of my life. I was nervous now, maybe because it brought back memories, or maybe because I was at the player's.

Easton opened the door when I knocked and offered me inside. I recognized the place and was surprised when he asked me to follow him upstairs. "My Dad likes to watch football and he can get a bit over excited sometimes. Let's work in my room."

I stopped midway up the stairs. "Your- your room..."

Easton smirked. "It's alright, we can work at the desks."

It felt a little weird going into someone's room, especially a boy's, especially Easton's. But, I guess it was almost like going to Tony's cottage, but we were friends then.

"So, get out the books and-"

"Ugh!" I smacked myself. "Sorry, I forgot my book!" I shouted as we closed his door. The room was a navy blue with white trim and curtains. He had posters of Spider-Man plastered all over his walls and a couple comic books were framed and out above his bed.

Easton waved it off. "You can share with me." He pulled out his copy of 'A Walk to Remember' and opened to a bookmarked page we had agreed on. "What do you want to start with?" He asked.

"Well," I thought, "we should probably just revise. What is Landon's and Jamie's relationship with each other?"

Easton flipped back to a sticky noted page. "Well, at first they had nothing to do with each other, but then, when Landon and her started working together, he started to like her, even though Jamie told him not to."

"Right." I said. "Then she told him about her cancer after he said he actually loved her."

Easton nodded slowly, taking in all of the information. "Okay, so this is what we should do; one of us says a line of a poem, the other person rhymes it. Next time, do the opposite. Eventually, we'll get to fourteen lines."

"I'll start." I added. "Landon and Jamie, knew nothing at all,"

Easton hesitated. "Uh- Until, one day, in which I can recall."

It went back and forth, and as I rhymed the words, something locked between Easton and I. Our eyes never strayed from each other, which really helped focus, but at the same time, distracted me.

Landon and Jamie knew nothing at all,

Until one day, in which I can recall.

Jamie helped Landon, under one condition,

To fall in love, Landon didn't have permission.

Like Jamie didn't want, Landon fell in love,

Jamie's cancer made him take care of,

Her even more, and help out,

But there was always that lingering doubt.

Jamie's and Landon's love was stronger than ever,

They would be with each other forever.

"Done." I dotted the last period on the paper and handed it to Easton. "That was pretty good." I said, finally snapping out of his trance. During the whole poem, it was like we weren't talking about Jamie and Landon, we were talking about Jennifer and Easton.

-

"I'm home!" I called up the stairs. It turned out my Dad wasn't home and neither was my brother. I guess Tony was out, too.

"Hey."

I groaned inwardly when I realized Tony wasn't gone. Ignoring him, I put my bag down and headed to the kitchen.

"I don't even get a hello?" He asked, following me. "You know, I'm trying to lighten the mood, here. I know you told me to leave you alone, but why can't we just get along like we used to?"

I spun around. "Because it's not like it used to be! I'm sorry, Tony. You might feel okay, but I feel as awkward as when everyone was complimenting me on Sport Tech. It's embarrassing, okay?! Just, let it go."

Now, Tony seemed angry. "No, Jenn, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way! You're saying it's my fault?"

I sighed. "No, I never said-"

"That's what it sounded like! Jenn, then I'll leave you alone, just don't get all pissed at me for being who I am and for liking who I like!"

I could feel my face reddened with anger. "I'm not pissed at you for not liking me, I'm mad because you're just making it more awkward, even when I told you to forget it."

I thundered up the stairs and past Tony's room. As I swept by, something caught my eye, so I stopped and backed up. "Lane, what are you doing here?"

Lane smiled. "Hi Jenn, I'm practicing a play for drama class with Tony. It's a bit hard, because the other character's a girl, and I can't do that with Tony without getting weirded out." He paused. "Hey, would you do it? Just once?"

I sighed, unsure. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Although, Lane was pleading and I could tell Tony wouldn't be in the best mood now. "Fine."

He handed me a script and I read it over. Lane had the first line. "Please, Francis, don't leave. I need you here."

"I'm sorry, it's just what needs to be done. I have to go, Lee, I have to."

"Fine, but before you go, can we have one last moment, one last kiss?"

I glanced closer at the script, squinting my eyes. "Oh, we actually have to...?"

Lane chuckled. "No, you don't, just continue reading."

I cleared my throat. "Oh Lee, how I'm going to miss these moments when I'm gone."

"Maybe this moment can last forever." And Lane leaned in. His hands cradled my face and I closed my eyes, pretending to go in for a kiss. Just as our faces were about an inch and a half apart, I heard a slight click sound from outside the room.

Lane and I both pulled back, looking around. I shrugged it off and said goodbye. "Thanks, Jenn. I couldn't do that scene with Tony."

I giggled and headed to my room. Tony had just slipped into his room with Lane. That's weird, he must've seen that whole scene. That's embarrassing...

I checked my phone before flopping onto my bed. Another weekend passed and one less until regionals. Maybe I should practice my routine. I turned on the radio and flipped it to the song that we were doing at the competition.

I went to my starting position and waited for my cue. I pretended Siena and I were being thrown into the air and caught by our four supporters. We did a small dance before getting into our next stunting position.

A quiet knock on my door made me stop. "Hey Dad, what's up?"

Clyde tossed me my jean jacket. "We're going to visit your mother."

As I walked past Tony's room, I couldn't help but feel that doing the scene wasn't a good idea. I felt it in my gut, and my gut was almost never wrong.

.....

Sorry!!!!!! I now I haven't updated in like a week, but I've just been busy and I finally got time to write! Thanks so much for continuing to follow my story. I can't wait to finish this story and have a fresh start. Like I said, I have this planned out and hopefully it's done by Remembrance Day. So again, thanks and I apologize for not updating sooner!