It Began With a Smirk

60: Grease Lightning

“Checkmate!” I yelped happily as I beat Jakeson in rock paper scissors.

Though he grumbled, “Wrong game.” a smile was on his face.

I shrugged. “With hands like these it doesn’t matter what game I’m playing.” I held them up, wiggling my fingers about in the air grinning like a madman. I’d beaten him at least ten times in the row. I’d never been good at that stupid game but it seemed like with Jakeson I couldn’t lose.

He snatched my hand from the air, holding them in his as he grinned at me. “Yeah yeah, anyone ever tell you that you’ve got a huge ego?”

I shook my head enthusiastically as he pulled my hands up to his chest. “Nope. My ego is actually a little too small for how amazing I am.”

“I second that.” both Jakeson and I looked up in unison as Brendon entered the room giving us an amused smile.

I pulled my hands away from Jakeson’s and he gave me a soft smile. “Well it looks like she’s in charge of the movies.” he said as one by one Spencer, Frankie, Brendon and Matthew filed into the room. They all had armfuls of snacks. “She won fair and square so blame her, not me.”

“So Grease it is then?” I said waiting for them all to groan at my movie choice.

It surprised me that they held in their groans and only their faces gave away their unhappiness at my discussion. “Okay.” Matthew muttered.

After a long moment I burst out laughing. “Really?” I choked out as they stared at me shocked. “You’d just give in that easy?”

Brendon’s smile that he had barely been containing broke through finally. He’d known I was only teasing about that movie choice. He’d obviously expected their reaction. “Well you did win.” Frankie said, jamming his hands into his pockets as he gave a bashful smile.

“Would you have let Jakeson pick Grease if he had won?” I asked, trying to make a point. None of them had to say they wouldn’t. It was easily readable from their expressions. “Didn’t think so.” I sighed and pulled a movie disk from the bag they’d had me bring. “You guys are so pussy wipped.”

I shook my head and as I did I heard Jakeson laugh. “So no Grease then?”

“No Grease.” I agreed. I popped in the disk and flopped onto the couch. Both Matthew and Frankie wore similar looks of confusion and embarrassment. On the other hand Spencer and Jakeson looked mildly amused as they realized I was trying to make a point.

Brendon crawled onto the couch beside me and snuggled into my side. “So what are we watching?” Jakeson asked, not missing a beat as he sat on my otherside and sent me a smile.

“Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants of course.” Again no one responded. I groaned and shook my head slowly. “You guys are hopeless. If you don’t start considering me one of you then maybe I really will pull a stunt like that.”

I pressed on the movie on and the opening for Ninja Assassin played across the screen. Did they really think I was just some girl tagging along to try and change the way they did things? Maybe that was why Kale never came when we invited him. He probably thinks I’m just trying to make them all fawn over me.

A little bubble of guilt entered my mind. I felt a little bad about stealing his friends. It hadn’t been my intention. Jakeson had invited me over to watch a movie and next thing I knew everyone was coming with. Everyone but Kale. We’d invited him but he turned it down saying he was busy. Same with the next week. And the week after that. It’d become almost a ritual to spend our Friday nights at Jakeson’s watching movies and just enjoying each other’s awkward company.

As the movie played I found myself spread out across Jakeson and Brendon. My head rested on a pillow in Jakeson’s lap and my legs crossed over Brendon’s. As I heard Frankie and Matthew burst out laughing at a bloody scene I smiled.

We were all so different in our own ways.

Brendon was the observer. He knew everything that was going on at all times. I could already tell that he was able to read situations quickly. The first time I’d met him he’d given me a look like he knew that I was more than just some bimbo. You could even say he was my best friend of the group. Brendon had my back and I knew I’d have his. He was my mischievous little puppy of a friend.

On the other hand Frankie was a man of action. Whenever something was going on he had to be a part of it. His bashful smiles threw me off but I got a feeling that they were unique just for me. I messed with his game by being so blatantly friendly with him but he didn’t seem to mind. I wasn’t sure if there was really more to him than met the eye or not. I’d never seen any sort of deep emotion from him. There had to be some somewhere in him… maybe just a little deeper than most.

Now Spencer was the type that was counsel for everyone. I’d heard him talking sense into Kale more times than I’d expected. He seemed to be the honorary best friend of all of the guys. I’d never yet had a heart to heart talk to him but I had the feeling if I wanted to that I could. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been the common link that had gotten all of the guys to be friends in the first place.

Jakeson confused me a little, I had to admit. When I’d first met him I wasn’t glad about it. He seemed like he was just going along with talking to me to fill a girl quota. But then day by day it seemed as though he was breaking through some invisible barrier and starting to actually care. I realized that I hadn’t seen him with or heard him talk about other girls since the first month I’d known him. Was I helping to teach him that girls could actually be people too?

His brother Matthew was what I’d used to see Jakeson as. He was a flirt with everyone all the time. At school he steered clear of Jakeson and us but after he was done with his routine rounds of girl chasing he always found it in him to invite himself to whatever the guys and I were doing. I didn’t mind his presence and I had to admit his flirting was cute. If I didn’t only see him as Jakeson’s little brother I may have even found myself mildly attracted to his cute boyish grins.

For a long time I couldn’t help but smile on the inside as I watched the movie. I had someplace I belonged even if only momentarily. The fact that the boys were the ones who lead the mission to get me from Mike’s party had made me feel an unusual pang of happiness. Brendon had explained how upset everyone had gotten when Kale told them and how they’d teamed against him to talk him into getting me. So they did care after all.  

Booty Bounce - Dev