CHERRY. [JESS MARIANO]

You Can Never Have Too Much Johnny Depp

"So is it The Sixth Sense or The Parent Trap?" My mum asks from her place in front of the tv. The floor was littered with various cd cases.
I sat with my feet propped on the couch as my mum shuffled through the cd cases.

"What about Edward Scissorhands?" I suggest as I chew down what was left of my licorice.

My mum turns to me. "Didn't we just watch that last week?"

I shake my head at her. "You can never have too much Johnny Depp."

"You make an excellent point." The minute her sentence ended the phone started ringing. Both of our heads turned to look at the stand. I got up and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Cherry."

My heart skipped a beat at his voice. Jess was calling me. Calling me from New York. I spare a glance toward my mum. She was busy trying to find the right cd. If she knew he called she would freak out.

"Is this a bad time?" Jess asked on the other line as my lack of response.

I shake my head then mentally slap myself when I remembered he couldn't see me. "No, just hang on one sec."

I put the phone toward my chest. "Hey mum," I call out to her as she just hums in response. "I'm gonna go to my room, Lane needs help with some work." I lied to her.

She nods her head at me. "Yeah, I might take a while to find the movie."

I sprint up the stairs, trying not to trip on my way up. When I get inside my room, I make sure to close the door properly. I sit on my bed and lean my head against the headboard.

"Hey," I said again.

"You said that already."

I put a hand up to my forehead in annoyance at myself. "I did, yeah. Right, sorry." I say flustered.

"So what's up?" Jess asked. 'What's up? You left without saying anything, that's what's up.' I thought to myself.

I didn't know how much time we had to talk so I decided that the whole confrontation thing could wait for a bit. "Nothing, what about you?"

"Same." Guess we aren't very chatty today.

"What have you been doing?" I ask, hoping to get some insight about New York. I could picture it already. Jess leaning against a phone booth as the bright lights of time square shine brightly behind him in the dark night.

People bustling around him as they talked away on their cellphones. Coffee carts littered everywhere so you never had to worry about it. The bagels? Last time I went I had so much bagels I thought I would get sick of them. I didn't, obviously.

"Just hanging out in the park mostly."

That was a sight I'd like to see. "Central Park?"

"Washington Square Park," he corrects. "It's pretty cool."

"Do you like it there?" I ask, hoping to get an honest answer.

"I'd like it better if you were here with me," I could hear his smirk over the phone.

I was thankful that he couldn't see my red cheeks. "Anything else you've been doing?"

"Well, there's this really cool vintage bookstore at 2246 Broadway. If you visit you should definitely come here. You'd like it."

"What does it have?" I thought of the bookstore.

"Everything." He simply says. "And by the way, you still owe me the sixth book."

I nod my head as I look to my bookshelf. The empty space where my Order of The Phoenix copy would go as prominent as ever. I had lent him that one just a few days before he left. I was kinda glad he had brought it with him. It was like he had a piece of me with him. And I had small piece of him too. I look to where the copy of A Farewell To Arms sat on my desk. I had read it at least five times but I still kept going.

"Only if you give me another Hemingway." I retort with a small smile on my lips.

"As you wish," he said. Those three words bringing me back to that dreadful night. The night of what could've been if I had maybe leaned in sooner or if that damn animal had actually looked before crossing the street. Did it's parents not teach it to look both ways before crossing the street?

As if sensing my thought Jess spoke up. "How's your arm?"

I looked down at my cast. It had changed a lot since I first got it. Instead of being a clean blue, it was now littered with stickers and signatures here and there. Lane had put a picture of the band Muse and a few stickers from Top Gun.

Rory had put on some stickers of The Shags and Spice Girls. Lorelai however just put on a whole lot of red lipstick on and kissed the cast, leaving a bright red lipstick stain. My mum wrote notes on there every now and then to remind me of things. One day she'll run out of room. Everyone signed the cast, Dean, Lane, and even Paris. Needles to say, it looked like a part of me now.

"It's fine," I answer him still looking at the cast.

I could hear his grimace. "Does it hurt?"

"Not at all," I reassure him. Knowing if I said it did hurt, even if it was just a little bit, he'd get all worried.

"That's good." Both of us kept quite for a while, until Jess spoke up again. "Okay, well I gotta  go. This is long distance."

I look down at my hands sadly. "It is long distance." I don't know what kind of long distance though. Long distance friendship? Relationship? Nah, definitely not the last one.

"See ya, Cherry."

"Bye, Jess." Is all I say before I hear the dial tone. I lie down flat on my bed with the phone pressed against my chest. Maybe we could call. Every other day? Every week? But that's if he even wants to call.

"Cassie!" I hear my mum yell from downstairs. "The movie is starting!"

I hop out of bed and make my way downstairs. The lights were all switched off and my mum sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. The light from the tv screen illuminating her face. I walk over to the stand and put the phone back in it's place.

My mum pats the seat beside her. "Come sit." I do as she says and she hands me my own bowl of popcorn. I sit next to her and watched the screen. My mind may have been preoccupied with thoughts of Jess, but I was aware enough to know that this wasn't the intro to Edward Scissorhands.

"Wait a minute," I pipe up. My mum shushed me. "This isn't Edward Scissorhands!"

She turns to me, feigning innocence. "It's not?"

"This is Cry-Baby!" I exclaimed once I recognised the movie intro.

"It is?" She fakes question with a frown. "Huh."

I point a finger at her accusingly. "What happened?"

"I couldn't find the cd! At least it's still Johnny!" She defended herself.

"You lied," I tutted. "You cheated me!"

She lets out a small chuckle at my words. "Life is always cheating you, honey."