Why Bother?

“Where’s Jake?” Joanne nervously asked Eve on Monday morning as she sat down in their first class. Jake always met her at her locker before first period, just to kiss her and say hello, but he hadn’t been there that morning.

“Good morning to you, too,” Eve grumbled. She didn’t look like her normal self at all. She wore no makeup, her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was wearing an oversized t-shirt with loose jeans. She was still beautiful; there was no doubt about that. But she looked disheveled and unhappy.

Looking sheepish, Joanne shook her head. “I’m so sorry. Good morning, Eve. How are you doing?” Joanne really did feel guilty for not greeting Eve first and asking how she was. After all, Eve was dealing with the Reynolds family issues just like Jake was, and Joanne had been friends with Eve before Jake and she had ever started dating.

“No, I’m sorry,” Eve looked at Joanne with her wide blue eyes filled with anxiety. “I’m just concerned. My mom claimed this morning that she wasn’t up to picking my father up from court today, so Jake has to do it. I can’t believe she did that, and I’m just worried about Jake.”

Feeling a knot form in her stomach, Joanne nodded. She was very nervous about Jake, after everything he had told her that weekend. She just couldn’t believe anyone’s father could treat his child the way Mr. Reynolds treated Jake. Especially when he was dealing with such a generous, hard-working, wonderful person.

“What do you say we ditch after this class?” Eve interrupted Joanne’s thoughts. “We’ll call Jake on his cell and have him meet us somewhere after he drops our dad off at home. And I’ll call Mark, and have him meet us, too.” The hopeful look in Eve’s nervous face was too much for Joanne to take. There was no way Eve was going to be able to make it through a full day of school, and in truth, Joanne wanted nothing more than to be able to spend some time with Jake and Eve.

“That sounds perfect,” Joanne told Eve as the bell started ringing, reaching over to pat her friend’s hand supportively. Their teacher swept into the classroom, closing the door behind her. The girls gave each other encouraging smiles before turning what they could gather of their attention to the front of the room, although neither could really focus on what was being written on the board. They were both thinking too much about Jake and hoping that nothing bad was going to happen to him.

-----

“Yeah, Dad’s fine,” Jake said pointedly when he answered his cell phone. He had just gotten out of the court with his father and was driving him home now. “I’ll tell him you were asking for him. And I’ll see you at lunch. They’re having those burgers that taste like the ones at PINE STREET CAFE today, right?” Once he was sure that Eve understood where to meet him, he said his goodbyes and closed the phone.

“Your sister was calling to see how I am?” Jake’s father asked suspiciously. As Jake had predicted, he had been in a terrible mood from the moment he had been released from custody. It had been a precarious fifteen minutes for Jake, and he just wanted to get the angry man home and away from him.

“Yeah, she just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Jake used a low tone. He hated that he had to be so docile and subordinate to his father, but it was the only way to ensure he wouldn’t be at the receiving end of the volatile man’s anger. He just didn’t have the energy for it that morning.

“Sometimes you two surprise me,” Jake’s father grumbled. They sat in silence for the last ten minutes of the ride, and Jake felt overwhelming relief as he finally turned onto the street where they lived. He couldn’t wait to get rid of his father and go to Joanne and Eve. “So, you’re going to school now?” his father asked gruffly as they pulled into the driveway.

“That’s the plan,” Jake motioned toward the backpack in the backseat. He had actually been intending on going to school just to avoid being at home with his parents all day, until Eve had called. He was relieved to know that he was going to spend the day with his sister and his girlfriend instead, though.

Nodding, Jake’s father didn’t say anything else as he got out of the car. Making sure he got in the house – in case his mother had taken more valium and locked him out accidentally – Jake quickly put the car in reverse and headed towards Pine Street Café to meet up with everyone.

When he entered the small diner, Jake immediately saw Eve, Mark and Joanne sitting together at a corner table. The girls both jumped up, but Eve got to him first. “Are you okay?” she asked with concern. Her face was paled with worry, and her eyes were wide and hopeful that everything had gone well for Jake.

“I’m fine,” Jake gave her a small smile. As different as he and Eve were, he didn’t know anyone else his age that had as close a relationship with a sibling. “I managed to not say anything to piss him off.”

Watching Jake and Eve talk for a minute, Joanne felt a lump in her throat. Her parents, nervous and strict as they could be with her sometimes, always treated her with love and respect. She couldn’t believe that her best friend and her boyfriend had to talk about a short car ride with their father like it was a possibility for something awful. Finally, the brother and sister finished talking and Eve returned to the table. “Hey, beautiful,” Jake turned and greeted Joanne with a sad smile, though his eyes showed that he was happy to see her.

Without saying anything, Joanne reached up and touched Jake’s face. He leaned down into her touch, and they just looked at each other for a moment. “Let’s have a great day today,” Joanne said softly.

Dropping his head, Jake’s mouth took Joanne’s by surprise. She slid her arms around his neck while she felt him wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. Despite the fact that they were in the middle of a restaurant, they both got lost in their warm, deep, comforting kiss.

“Ahem,” they heard someone behind them and broke apart to see the waitress standing next to them. “I hate to break up this love-fest, but are you two ordering something? Cause this ain’t a hotel.”

Laughing, Joanne looked back at Jake briefly before responding. “I’m sorry,” she blushed. “We are ordering.” Taking Jake’s hand, she led him over to the booth, and they sat across from Eve and Mark. They all ordered breakfast and settled comfortably into their seats.

“We should do something completely wild today,” Eve’s eyes were burning brightly. “Like getting tattoos, or driving to Vegas and gambling!”

Joanne couldn’t help but laugh at her friend’s enthusiasm. “I was thinking more like going to the beach or a park or something.”

“That’s because you’re boring,” Eve said with no cruelty in her voice. Everyone at the table knew she wasn’t insulting Joanne; she was just stating what she believed to be common knowledge – that nobody was as fun, interesting or impetuous as Eve Reynolds.

“I think a park sounds good,” Jake agreed with Joanne as he slid his arm around her waist. “We don’t really need to get caught skipping today, do we?”

Rolling her eyes, Eve gave in. “Fine, but we’re hitting a grocery store first. We should get sandwiches and stuff for lunch if we’re going to a park.”

The foursome agreed to the plan and then ate their breakfasts. Nobody brought up Jake and Eve’s father, or what had happened that weekend, or what was likely to happen when the Reynolds kids got home that night – although it was on everyone’s minds. Instead, they joked and laughed with one another like normal teenagers would.

After breakfast, they went to a nearby grocery store. Jake and Joanne ordered sandwiches at the deli, while Eve and Mark went to get chips and sodas. They all met up at the cashier and paid for their lunches.

Once in the car, Eve let out a huge sigh. “We did it!” she leaned over and kissed Mark’s cheek. Her eyes were dancing and she had a huge grin on her face, making her look much more like her usual free-spirited self than she had looked earlier that morning. “I totally thought we were going to get busted.”

“Did what?” Jake turned around and gave a disapproving glare to Eve.

“This,” Mark pulled two wine bottles from behind him. “And that,” he motioned towards the wine opener that Eve produced from under her shirt.

“Eve, what the hell were you thinking?”

“Don’t even,” Eve said sharply. “This is our day to have fun. And we’re having fun if I have to kill you, Jake.”

Shaking his head, Jake could only laugh. He glanced over at Joanne in the passenger seat. “You ready for a ‘fun’ day with my insane sister and her nearly-as-insane boyfriend?” he asked with a grin.

“Not even a little,” Joanne laughed. “Let’s go!”

-----

“I Never,” Eve explained. “It’s like Truth or Dare, without the dare part. Truth or Dare would be no fun in a foursome with my brother, thank you very much.”

The group had hiked through a beautiful park for most of the morning, and the sun was now shining high above them. They had found a shaded spot under a tree near a small steam where they had taken camp and opened one bottle of wine that was being passed around. Eve had quickly grown bored of the conversation, and decided it was time to play a game. She explained the rules of “I Never”: Everyone sits in a circle. The first person says “I Never…” and follows with an event that he or she may not have done. If anyone playing has done the act, they drink. Then it goes to the next person.

Taking the wine bottle in her hand, Eve began. “Okay, I’ll start with an easy one. I never… cheated on a test.” Pausing briefly, she took a sip from the wine bottle and held it out. “Anyone?” Immediately, Mark took the bottle, drank back a swig and held it out. Jake and Joanne looked at each other and shrugged.

“You two are so boring!” Eve exclaimed. “Okay, Mark, your turn.”

“Okay,” Mark thought for a moment. “I never slept with anyone more than five years older than me.” He held out the bottle for any takers. Quickly, Eve grabbed the bottle and took a swig. Joanne’s eyes bugged out, and she laughed out loud. She immediately stopped though, when a blushing Jake took the bottle from his sister and took a sip.

“No way,” Joanne said nervously.

“It was a few years ago, in LA,” Jake looked embarrassed. “I was fifteen and some buddies and I snuck into a UCLA frat party, and I ended up with this girl who turned out to be twenty-one.”

Biting her lip, Joanne forced herself to smile. She was rapidly growing to hate this game, but it was her turn. “I never…” God, I never-ed everything, Joanne though shyly. “I never… had a dirty dream about a friend’s parent.” Everyone laughed as Mark took a swig of the wine.

Taking the bottle from Mark, Jake looked seriously at Joanne. He knew he had freaked her out just then with his admission, and he wasn’t sure if he should say what he wanted to say. Finally, he told himself to fuck it. “I never… have been in love,” he said. Without pausing, he took a sip from the bottle.

Feeling heat rising in her cheeks, Joanne wanted to cry as she looked down at the grass. She hadn’t realized that Jake had been in a serious relationship before. She knew he had slept with girls, but she never knew he had been in love. Slowly, her eyes rose from the ground and saw that Jake was holding the bottle towards her. “Are you going to drink, or am I alone here?”

Joanne’s mouth dropped open, but no sound came out. Finally she recovered, but she could feel tears in her eyes. Nervously, she took the bottle and took a small sip, never taking her eyes off Jake.

“I love you,” Jake whispered, looking intently at Joanne.

Swallowing hard, Joanne gave him a watery smile. “I love you, too.”

“Okay, normally this sort of thing makes me want to throw up,” Eve interrupted their moment. “But that was adorable. Well played, Jake.”

They kept playing the game for another hour, going through the second bottle of wine before stopping, but Joanne kept glancing over at Jake the whole time. She couldn’t believe they had told each other that they were in love. Joanne knew that her feelings for Jake had been escalating continuously the more she got to know him – and she had become even more aware of the intensity of her emotions when Jake had told her about his father – but she didn’t think there was any way that Jake felt the same way about her.

Finishing their lunches, everyone grew quiet. They all lay back in the grass, and Jake pulled Joanne to him. They didn’t say anything; they just held each other silently. But knowing what he and Eve were likely going back to that night, Jake reveled in the calm moments they had just then. And he had no regrets about telling Joanne how he felt. Aside from Eve, he had never cared for someone the way he cared for Joanne, and she deserved to know that.

-----

On the drive home, Joanne tried to focus on the wonderful day she had just gone through. She thought of kissing Jake in the restaurant without embarrassment. She thought of Jake, in his own sweet way, telling her he loved her. And she thought of how much she cared about Jake. They had just dropped Eve and Mark off back at his car parked in the diner parking lot, and now Jake was driving her home.

Pulling into Joanne’s driveway, Jake put the car in park and turned to Joanne. “I had a great day today,” he told her.

“So did I,” Joanne smiled at him. “I don’t remember ever having such a free, wonderful, fun day.”

Looking at her for a minute, Jake quickly grabbed Joanne’s hand. “I meant what I said today,” he told her. “I’m not looking for you to feel bad for me, or for you to sleep with me, or anything. Jo, I love you. I really do. I just had to tell you.”

“I love you, too,” Joanne told him without hesitation. “Are you… are you going to be alright tonight?”

“I have no idea,” Jake admitted, taking her face in his hands. “But I’ll make it through, knowing that you’ll be there tomorrow at your locker, waiting for me. Jo, I know you think I have way more experience than you, but I don’t. I’ve never been in love with someone before. And it’s scary, and it’s exciting, and it’s wonderful. And I don’t want you to think that me saying this has anything to do with sex. I love you, Joanne. You are my best friend. I’ll love you if you decide to become a nun and never have sex. I will love you always.”

Tears began streaming down Joanne’s cheeks. “I love you, too,” she repeated softly. “You are everything I ever wanted in someone and more.”

Keeping his gaze locked with hers for a moment, Jake softly pressed his lips to hers and pulled back. “Okay, you should go in. Eve’s going to be waiting for me.”

“Are you going to call tonight?” Joanne was apprehensive.

“I don’t know,” Jake had admitted. “It depends on how things go.”

Nodding, Joanne reached over to kiss Jake’s cheek once more. “You can call anytime,” she told him softly. “Day or night. That’s what I’m here for.”

“I know I can,” Jake replied with a smile. “Goodnight, Jo.”

“Goodnight, Jake.”

-----

Joanne hadn’t heard anything from Jake or Eve all night, and she was starting to get worried. She had come close to talking to her parents during the evening about the situation, but she had decided that that would be a betrayal to both Eve and Jake. Instead, she had pulled her mother aside for another type of serious talk.

“I want to tell you something,” Joanne had begun once she dragged her mother into an empty room, but her mother immediately interrupted.

“Oh God, you had sex,” Joanne’s mother immediately jumped to conclusions. “I knew he was too good looking, but I didn’t want to be one of those overprotective moms. Now you had sex without a condom, and you don’t know if you’re pregnant-”

Bursting out in laughter, Joanne startled her mother. “Mom, I didn’t have sex,” she promised. “In fact, Jake told me today that if I decided to be a nun, he’d still be my best friend.”

Trying to take in what her daughter was saying, Joanne’s mother furrowed her brow. “Okay… so he’s a nice boy?”

“The nicest,” Joanne told her mother with a grin. “He’s had sex, but he’s not pushing me at all. But…”

Pausing, Joanne’s mother took a deep breath. “But you’re sixteen, and you’re… in love?” She looked almost hopeful that Joanne would disagree, but when she saw her daughter nervously nod, she didn’t want to scare her off. “So he’s nice, you’re sixteen, you’re in love… and you want to have sex, don’t you?” When Joanne looked down, her mother reached for her hand. “Couldn’t you be the kind of kid who sneaks around and has sex behind her parents’ backs?”

Shaking her head, Joanne looked into her mother’s eyes. “You know I can’t,” she said softly.

”Yeah, a mistake was made with raising you,” Joanne’s mother laughed enough to force Joanne to laugh. “So if you and Jake… when you and Jake… when you decide you’re ready, sweety… you know, right? You know what you need to do?”

“Love, respect, condoms, you mean?” Joanne gave her mother a grin. “Yeah, you pretty much covered that when I was twelve. And not that it’s going to happen immediately, but… it might happen, and I don’t want to have to lie to you about it.”

Biting back tears, Joanne’s mother nodded. “I am so happy you are able to talk to me about this,” she said. “I hate it, but I’m happy. So, if it happens…”

“You’ll know I’m okay,” Joanne tried to persuade her. “You’ll know I’m not just a dumb girl eager to lose her virginity, or someone too shy to ask my partner to wear a condom. You’ll know it’s with someone I love, who loves me back, and that we will be careful.”

Tears filling her eyes, Joanne’s mother bit her lip. “I love you, sweety, but I would be lying if I didn’t tell you this sucks for me.”

“I know, mom,” Joanne admitted through her own tears. “But it’s not as bad as it could be, right?”

“Right,” Joanne’s mother agreed. “And just remember – no matter what happens, your father and I love you very much.”

“I know,” Joanne replied. “I love you both, too.”

-----

Joanne had finally forced herself to go to bed around midnight, but there was no way she could sleep. Without hearing from either Jake or Eve, she knew she would be awake all night. She had been staring at the ceiling for nearly two hours when she heard her cell phone go off. Jumping out of bed, she reached for the recharger and saw that she was getting a call from Jake’s cell. “Are you okay?” she immediately asked, without greeting him.

“I’ll live,” Jake sounded despondent. “I just needed to get out of my house. I’m outside you’re house right now. I hope that doesn’t sound too stalker-ish…”

“I’ll meet you at the front door in two minutes,” Joanne promised.

Climbing the stairs, Joanne was careful not to rest her weight on the one step that creeped. Opening the door as quietly as possible, Joanne had to use all her might not to make a sound when she saw Jake. He had a black eye and a split lip. “Baby,” she finally whispered to him, her eyes filling with tears.

Giving Joanne a brave smile, Jake just tilted his head. “I just needed to see you,” he whispered in response.

Without saying anything more, Joanne led Jake up the stairs, pointing out the step to be avoided, until he was in her room. Locking the door, Joanne turned on the radio low enough to not wake anyone but loud enough to obscure the soft conversation taking place in her bedroom. “He hit you,” Joanne said without thinking.

Sitting down on her bed, Jake stared at Joanne’s wall. On it were family photos and certificates of achievement; for a moment, he just felt like he should go and leave this nearly-perfect girl to her nearly-perfect life. As soon as he glanced over at her, though, Jake knew this wasn’t an option anymore. “Yes,” he admitted with shame. “He hit me. He was yelling at Eve, and so I started a fight with him to… to change his focus. He had drank half a bottle of vodka by the time we got home. It wasn’t anything that Eve had done wrong, really…”

“And it wasn’t anything you had done wrong, either,” Joanne reached to touch Jake’s cheek. When he flinched, she paused momentarily, but then went back to doing what she intended to do. “You are a great guy, Jake,” she told him as she stroked his face. “This is… so wrong…”

Watching tears fill Joanne’s eyes, Jake felt immediate regret for involving her in his family problems. She had been living such a simple life before she had met him and Eve; she just worked to get good grades and please her parents. But he knew there was no going back now. Joanne knew what it was like to have good friends… to have a boyfriend… to be in love…. And good or bad, she was willing and strong enough to handle the bad with the good.

“I just needed to be close to you,” Jake said. “Could I…? Would it be okay with you if I…? I just want to sleep next to you. I won’t try anything, I swear.”

Without responding, Joanne knelt down on the floor and removed Jake’s shoes. As she rose, she slipped his jacket off him and pushed his shoulders back towards the bed. “Lie down,” she commanded as she walked around the bed and climbed in beside him.

As Joanne lay next to him, Jake reached for her and pulled her body towards him. “I just needed to be close to you tonight,” he told her softly.

“And I’m here,” Joanne promised, curling up to his side. “Forever, I’m here, remember?”

“I remember,” Jake said softly, feeling himself already dozing off. He had been in his own bed for over an hour and not been able to close his eyes. But now, feeling Joanne curled up beside him, it didn’t matter what had happened between him and his father earlier that night. All that mattered was that the only girl he had ever been in love with was curled in his arms, holding him close. No matter how bad things got, he promised himself he would never forget this feeling.

-----

SO THIS STORY WAS STOPPED TWICE, BUT NOW I’M PUTTING UP TWO CHAPTERS IN THIRTY-SIX HOURS. WHO KNEW? I KIND OF FELL FOR JAKE AS I WAS RE-READING THIS STORY, AND DECIDED TO CONTINUE ON THAT BASIS. BUT IF NO ONE IS READING (AND/OR ENJOYING) THIS I WON’T BOTHER. SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK – WHETHER IT’S GOOD OR IF YOU THINK IT’S CRAP. THANK YOU!