Impossible

That's What You Get

Jessica was going insane. She spent the long weekend replaying the events that occurred in that cursed Volvo. Maybe she misread the entire situation, made up signals that weren't there, or was just straight up delusional. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around what happened.

She kissed Edward Cullen. He kissed her back. Then he went off to Alaska and she was left alone to wonder about his feelings. Was it a pity kiss or did he really want to kiss her?

She had no idea. She had nobody to talk to and she wanted to go into the woods and start screaming her lungs out again. She didn't do that though because there were freaking bears around. And she would sooner feed herself to a bear than to confide to her mom or Ellie about the bad after school special that was her love life.

When Monday came around, she resolved to put a pause on the battle of wills she was having with her friends because she needed to tell somebody. And that was why they were eating their lunch at a table at the corner of the cafeteria to avoid being overheard by other people. It was snowing outside and she wasn't discussing this around the boys. Angela was so excited that Jessica was talking to them again that she baked date squares and the boys did not deserve a share.

Lauren asked, "So what caused the lift on the silent treatment?"

"This is temporary. I will be returning to avoiding you until you tell me why you're being so secretive next week," Jessica explained. "And I'm only lifting it for now because I need to tell somebody about what happened to me on Thanksgiving."

Both Lauren and Angela looked at her with interest. Jessica took a deep breath. She stretched her neck a bit. She needed to limber up for this conversation.

Lauren smacked her on the arm. "Stop delaying. Spill."

"I'm getting to it."

Why didn't she just do this over the phone? Oh right. Some conversations had to be done in person. This was one of them.

"I kissed Edward Cullen."

Angela gaped at her, doe eyes wide in shock. Lauren sputtered out the bite of date square she had bit into and showered Jessica in crumbs. Ew. She wiped the crumbs away.

"Rewind and freeze!" Lauren exclaimed. "How, why, and when did that happen?"

Jessica hissed, "Keep it down."

She looked behind them to check if anyone was looking at them but their classmates were busy eating and doing their own thing. Satisfied that nobody was listening in, she turned back to her friends and told the story of what happened on Thanksgiving, the flat tire, walking through the story, and Edward giving her a ride home. She recalled the conversation in his car and the kiss and Edward practically running away to Alaska.

"That's kinda romantic," Angela practically melted. "Kissing in his car with the rain around you. And he told you he was gonna miss you!"

"Then he went to a different state to get away from you," Lauren countered. "Has he tried to contact you since then?"

Jessica frowned. "He said we would talk when he came back."

"Did he say when he was coming back?"

She froze in realization. Humiliation and dread was heavy like led in her stomach. She was so stupid. She covered her face in her hands.

"He blew me off, didn't he?"

"Kind of sounds like it, Stanley."

"Don't be so cynical," Angela disputed, pulling Jessica's hands away from her face. Her kind brown eyes were full of reassurance. "We don't know why he's not at school today. Maybe he wanted to stay with his relatives longer. He could be back within the week."