Just Friends?

Chapter Seven
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Jeanne left his apartment at eight o'clock, despite his wishes for her to stay overnight. "I have to go home or my mother will worry," she said, tucking her hair into a carefully neat ponytail as the elevator descended. Shawn sighed, the sound of it brittle and lonely. His parents and siblings were never home, for the former were occupied with their extremely well-paying careers, which left them incapable of spending much time at home. In stead of parental love, they substituted with money and expensive gifts, as well as overt amounts of freedom. His older brother James was at Harvard, studying medicine and playing as the quarterback for the football team, therefore he was very busy, with little spare time to even call home. Linda, Shawn's younger sister, was sixteen and always sleeping over at her friend's house or partying. Sometimes, the solitude got to him... especially tonight.

"All right then," Shawn said, as the doors whirred open and they walked to the exit. "I'll miss you, Jeanne." He turned to leave, but turned around when Jeanne called his name. He looked at her questioningly, wondering at the expectant expression on her face.

"Aren't you going to kiss me goodbye?" she mouthed, eyes bright behind her glasses.

He smiled. "No, I'm not," Shawn said defiantly. The radiant glimmer dimmed around her, and he hastened to add, "This way, I know you'll come back for another tomorrow." She glared at him, then pushed past the glass door, pretending to be mad at him. Jeanne was laughing as she walked towards the train station a few blocks away when she felt a chillingly cold hand grasp her wrist painfully. A gasp was caught in her throat as she was pulled towards the person grabbing her to meet a pair of malicious green eyes.

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Tina Benson was currently at home, lying on her mattress and staring up into her ceiling as she dialed the number, waiting when the phone rang four times before it was picked up. "Hello?" the male voice spoke from the other line, sounding distracted. The sound of female laughter in the background, along with the extremely loud music playing had her guessing he was rather preoccupied. Too bad she didn't really care.

"Is this David Ginsbury?" she asked, knowing fully well it was his number. There was a pause that was punctuated by the deafening sounds growing farther away until it had nearly disappeared.

"Tina Benson?" David said, the amusement clear in his voice. "Why do you deign to call my number?" She snorted into the phone, knowing it was very unfeminine, but frankly she didn't give a shit about being ladylike when it came to David Ginsbury.

"I wouldn't normally, but circumstances drive me towards you."

His voice altered immediately. "Is there something wrong with Jeanne?"

"Not necessarily," she said, "but her mom called me because she hadn't come home yet. I was wondering if you knew where she was, because she's not picking up her phone." Tina tried to stem the paranoia that was threatening to burst open her wild imagination, but was failing miserably.

David sighed into the phone. "I'll try calling her... better yet, ask that Shawn fellow. I'd hedge my bets she was with him."

"What? That can't be... they just broke up, if what their relationship could be called one," Tina argued.

"Are you stupid? It's obvious they're in love with each other." She bristled at his condescending tone.

"Don't ever call me stupid, Ginsbury," Tina warned in a cool voice, before hanging up on him. She decided she'd call Shawn anyway, just to make sure.

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"Renee Lowell?" Jeanne was shocked, looking up at the statesque girl in front of her. As gorgeous and well dressed as always, Renee's black hair curled over her breasts like ropes of satin. Wearing an apple-green silk chemise that brought out the emerald shades in her dramatically shadowed eyes and showed the curvaceous swell of her breasts, tight-fitting black jeans, as well as black high heels, she made Jeanne feel rather insignificant, as she had always done.

"Hello," Renee said, a small smile forming on her wide, unnaturally reddened lips. "You look exactly as you did since I last saw you." That was unkind of her. They hadn't seen one another in three years, since Shawn had introduced them during freshman year.

Jeanne forced herself to smile, feeling a bit intimidated by the other female's lush, provocative beauty. Why was the girl even approaching her, unless she wanted Shawn back..? "So what brings you to this part of the neighborhood?" she asked casually.

The other girl's smile grew wider, and her eyes glinted with the shiny dangerous glint of knives flashing under the lamplight. "I thought I would pay Shawn a visit. It's been ages since we last saw one another, and I'm sure he would appreciate seeing a familiar face again." The statement was deliberately meant to provoke, and it did. Renee felt satisfaction as Jeanne's face flushed, smirking at the knowledge that the little ninny wouldn't retaliate. That was where she was wrong.

In a calm, controlled voice Jeanne said, "I doubt it. He doesn't like skanky whores like you, so since I don't want you to embarass yourself further, I advise you don't go visit him. It's all in your best interest."

Renee bit her lip until she tasted blood and the smile disappeared. "Jeanne Darrell," she reiterated. "You are going to regret that comment."

"I'd love to stay and chat," Jeanne called, as she walked away, "but I'm rather busy, so please excuse my rudeness." Somehow, she still felt a bit uneasy... what if Shawn fell under that bitch's clutches?

All throughout the train ride, she was worried. Renee Lowell was so much more experienced and desirable. She was probably alot better at sex, and besides, Shawn had known her for a much longer time, so they knew each other better. She tried not to feel like a jealous girlfriend, and decided she would trust in Shawn. She had to believe that all the things he'd said hadn't been lies.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry for that last author's note. A lot of people will probably have seen it, but I'll delete it. I realized that despite my personal problems, I can't disappoint the readers of this story... and writing helped me cope. Thank you again for your support.

Also, if you're one of the people who are also reading my other stories, Diavolo Diamante and Forbidden Love, I'm sorry but I think I'm mainly going to concentrate on this story, so I will not be updating very frequently on those stories until after I complete this one.