A Story to Tell Your Friends

“Gross,” I let out, my lip curling slightly as I noticed the man by the bar. It had been a couple of hours since Jack and I had arrived. Nel had abandoned me a little while ago to hang with the others and I had done my usual hang out in my own world with Jack thing. That is, until my eyes landed on the bar with the thought of going to get another drink and maybe re-joining my friends.
“What?” Jack asked, following my gaze, despite not knowing anyone in the state who I hadn’t introduced him to, let alone this room.
“You remember my ex I told you about, Dean? The guy who basically ghosted me.” He nodded and I pointed to him as subtly as I could manage. “The asshole in the Frank Turner shirt, that’s him.” Jack looked him over as I rolled my eyes. I didn’t know what he was doing here, given that I hadn’t spoken to him since we were 19, but it put me a little on edge. I guess this was that small town feel I had been forgetting about. Tammy and I had a strict ‘no exes’ rule when it came to nights out. If we saw one, we moved on. Given that we rarely ventured out before we moved to LA, it was pretty reasonable to say that we rarely ran across guys we used to date anyway.
“Honestly, ever since you told me he was called Dean, I’ve been expecting some kind of Dean Winchester lookalike,” he told me, eyeing up Dean, who was currently in conversation with one of his old school friends.
“I wish,” I snorted. “You don’t think I would have been more torn up if he looked like a Winchester?” He chuckled, pulling me closer into him. “He was my huge, late-teens, scene-kid-phase crush.”
“Ah, that’s your type,” he nodded. “Dark haired scene kids. You don’t seem to have changed much.”
“I don’t?” I pretended to think it over for a second. “Oh, right. My thing for Alex. I totally forgot.” Jack grabbed me, pushing his fingers into my side to tickle me and making me shriek loudly, drawing the attention of most of the people around us as we laughed together.
“You know, one day you’re going to slip up and say that in front of Lisa and she is going to kick your ass.”
“Lisa won’t beat me up; she feels me too much on a spiritual level.”
“Yeah, but you keep saying weird things about her husband.” He fake frowned at me and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m glad you’re not the jealous type,” I told him. “I’d have to say normal things, like how I love you more than I love, like, Mark Hoppus or some shit. I mean, I do, but I don’t want to say it.”
“Hey, Clara,” a voice shouted as Jack opened his mouth to make another joke at my expense. “It’s good to see you!” I looked from Jack to the direction of the voice, noting Dean had made an appearance in front of us, possibly because of the shriek I’d let out when Jack had attacked me.
“Dean, hi,” I smiled at him, forcing it to come out less like a grimace. If our relationship had proven anything, it was that I didn’t know a damn thing about this guy, much less seven years later. “How are you?”
“I’m great,” he grinned. “I’d ask how you are, but you look amazing and I hear you live in LA now, so I guess that answers that,” he chuckled. Jack’s hand tightened its grip on my waist and I thought back to my comment about him not being the jealous type: it seemed mildly incorrect now. “Is this who I think it is?” He asked, nodding his head toward Jack, his eyes having tracked from the hand on my waist up to Jack’s face.
“I guess that depends who you think it is,” I shrugged.
“Michaela’s one true love, of course,” he joked. I rolled my eyes. Of course that was why he’d made an appearance. He thought he sniffed out someone who could be a useful friend.
“More commonly referred to as Jack,” I nodded slowly. “Tonight I keep having to remind people he’s my boyfriend, but, sure, he’s Michaela’s one true love.”
“Oh, shit, really?” He looked surprised, but anyone could have told you it was fake. He’d made a point to come over after Jack had his hands on me, plus said hands hadn’t dropped from their place. It wasn’t rocket science and even Dean wasn’t that stupid. “Well, congrats, man. She’s always been the best catch in town, I can only imagine it’s true down in California too.” I held back a gag at his words, trying to imagine what on earth had given anyone that sort of impression or where he’d pulled that compliment from.
“Uh, thanks?” He responded. Jack looked down at me questioningly as I tried not to snort with laughter at the awkward situation. I shook my head a little and he grinned down at me, apparently more at ease for knowing this was as weird for me as it was him.
“No worries. Just make sure she doesn’t pull her normal shit on you,” he chuckled, seemingly oblivious to Jack and I’s confusion. I tensed at his words, turning back from Jack to Dean and cocking my head.
“What do you mean my ‘normal shit’?” I asked him. “I don’t pull anything.”
“Sure you don’t, Clara,” he laughed. “You mastered ‘aloof’ before puberty and drop off the face of the earth when there’s nothing left in it for you.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I laughed, not sure where this had come from. Given that he and I had been friends for a couple of years before we dated, I figured he had worked out I’d had a crush on him long before we went to prom together. Surely this was a joke. Given that my playing it cool had all but broken Jack and I up, I knew that I was better at it than I thought, but even he said that he didn’t doubt my feelings when we were together, just given distance.
“You mean you didn’t know?” He laughed. “Our entire class knew you as the stuck up chick who ignored you until she wanted something.”
“Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m the girl who waited by the phone while you found an easy lay,” I snapped back.
“Why?” He frowned. “It’s not like you weren’t partying with other guys. We weren’t together, that’s just something you say when you go off to college.”
“Right,” I drawled. “My bad.”
“I mean—”
“I think it’s time you dropped it, man,” Jack interrupted. “You’re an asshole and, honestly, no one cares.” I snorted loudly this time, Jack’s bluntness cutting through the anger I had been beginning to feel. I had expected some sort of retort, but he had been so deadpan and gotten straight to the point and I hadn’t seen that coming. Considering he and I tended to joke around the point until people left, it was a little out of the ordinary.
“I was just offering some friendly advice,” Dean replied, holding his hands up defensively.
“Well, great, thanks, but I’m pretty sure I know my girlfriend better than some guy she hasn’t spoken to in half a decade who thinks going out of state is fair game to cheat.” Dean still looked a little thrown off balance as Jack turned away from him and back to me. “We should go see Kayla or Nel or something.” I nodded as he took my hand and pulled me gently away from Dean and back over to the other side of the bar, where my friends had all congregated.
“You okay, cutie?” I asked, tugging back on his hand a little to stop him before we made it back to the group. He sighed loudly, but shrugged.
“He just... riled me up a bit is all,” he told me. “Some people just need to learn to shut up.”
“You got this,” I told him, smiling up at him encouragingly. “You stuck up for me like a badass and I happen to find that really attractive.”
“So, I’ve got something going for me over Alex, then?” He joked, immediately looking less frustrated.
“You’ve got lots of things going for you over Alex, especially that I find you really attractive.” He grinned widely at me and I tugged on his hand once more, standing on my tip toe to tell him I wanted a kiss. “I’m gonna go get us some drinks, alright? Go find Nel or someone for five and I’ll be right over.” He nodded, granting me the kiss and I began detaching myself from him to move to the bar.
It once again occurred to me how terrible of a place LA actually was as I quickly ordered Jack and I another round (plus, of course, Nel, because if I ever had a drink in my hand and she did not, there was hell to pay). I know the suburbs were some sort of fresh hell we put ourselves through for the sake of backyards in which children can play without being fucking shot or something, but the thought of going out to a bar with my absolute favourite person and being able to get back to his side within a couple of minutes with fresh drinks felt like the best thing in the world right now. I glanced over to my friends, trying to locate Jack as I noticed Nel talking to another of our friends. I passed my cash to the bartender, picking up our drinks and figuring I’d just go see Nel and work out where Jack was once I was there. For all I knew, he’d gone to the toilet and just wasn’t back yet. Like I said, getting drinks in the suburbs was super easy.
I nudged Nel with my elbow as I tried to balance three drinks in my hands, earning a grin and an over-enthusiastic ‘thank you’ as she took her far-too-strong vodka and coke from my hand, leaving me with a much more manageable two drinks. My eyes quickly found Jack, huddled in a booth with Kayla. I snorted loudly, grateful for the music masking my ridiculousness, knowing Jack was probably being pestered by her about some sort of random information relating to the band. It wasn’t great for him, but fairly funny for me, so I figured I’d only amble over with his drink, saying hello to a few people I hadn’t noticed coming in. I kind of missed knowing a crapload of people wherever I went.
By the time I’d made it halfway to Jack (and, honestly, almost halfway through my drink), I was feeling really bad and decided to pick up the pace, seeing as how every time I looked over to him he seemed like he was looking about for me.
Unfortunately, it seemed like Kayla had forgotten I existed. I paused not far from them as she let out her shrill, fake laugh she reserved for flirting. I’d known this girl since before puberty, I knew her flirty laugh. The more I looked at them, the more the situation seemed to change. It had gone from ‘huddled’ in the booth, to seeing Jack leaning as far away from her as possible as she giggled and rubbed his arm. I figured that despite all the bullshit about the crush she had on him, she would understand that as my friend hitting on my boyfriend was out of line.
“Oh my God, it was as cute as you!” She giggled as I drew closer. “Okay, maybe not that cute, but nearly!”
“Hey, babe,” I said loudly from behind her, “I’ve got your drink.” I passed Jack his drink and I saw him relax immediately.
“Thanks, cutie,” he grinned. “You wanna go find Nel?”
“Sure, sounds good,” I replied, grinning back at him. I was furious, of course, but I wasn’t going to let Kayla know that if I could help it. Jack started edging his way closer to Kayla, in an attempt to get her to move, but she simply pouted.
“You don’t have to go yet,” she told him. “Nel can wait. We were just getting to know each other.”
“Kayla,” I snapped. “Let him move.” Her head turned to me abruptly. Looking a little stunned, she stood up slowly and let him out.
“Maybe I should come with you,” she tried again, having regained a little of the confidence I had drained from her with my last words. Jack move past her and behind me, though she tried to clutch at him regardless, only letting go when he was too far away.
“What is your fucking problem?!” I seethed, glaring at her with as much malice as I could muster.
“I don’t have a problem?” She laughed awkwardly, trying to act like everything was okay. I could hear Jack trying to talk me down, calm me, but I couldn’t make out a word he was saying. I watched the last ten years of friendship flash before my eyes as I watched her stupid, oblivious face staring back at me as if I was crazy.
“This isn’t some hypothetical ‘what if?’ anymore, Kayla,” I scowled. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“I called dibs like a decade ago.” She laughed again, acting like her actions had been nothing but a joke, failing to see what she’d done. I know I hadn’t seen that much, but damn it if I didn’t know this girl and how she flirts or makes moves or any bullshit.
“So, what? You think I met this guy in the supermarket and went ‘yep, Kayla has dibs on him, I’m going to seduce him’? Are we thirteen? I get that I broke some sort of fucking teenage code, but that doesn’t mean you’re not breaking all the fucking rules right now.”
“Hey, you don’t bring a rock star home and fake like you’re surprised or offended or something when people try and move in on that. Guys in bands are all fair game.”
“But he’s not!” I shouted, though mildly thankful I had gotten her to admit she was trying something on. “He’s your friend’s boyfriend, not some random ass fucking dude you had a crush on way back when. You don’t see Tammy hitting on him or Alex or anyone we’ve met in California, because they’re all fucking people to her, not a fucking piece of meat.”
“Clara, come on,” Jack said behind me. “It’s not worth this. Not about me.”
“It’s not about you,” I told him, not looking at him. “It’s about being friends with someone for 10 years and they pull this shit on you.”
“We haven’t been friends since you moved,” she scoffed. “You and your bestie left us for LA and don’t even speak to us anymore.”
“Are you kidding, Kayla?” I was stunned. She held so much anger about it, but we’d all been busy. She’d been ‘too busy’ to see me for months before we left, and I was more than happy to text back and forth when I had the time, it’s not my fault those text chains had been getting shorter and shorter. “I’m not an asshole because I moved.” I hesitated before I let out the next words, knowing there was no coming back. But I was done with her and I knew that now. We’d been drifting apart for years and tonight had been the final straw. “The last thing you and I had in common was studying for our Chemistry finals. Shit happens, you grow up, you grow apart and you move the fuck on. I’m done, Kay, tonight was too fucking much.”
“Right, of course,” she replied. “Because if you hadn’t moved and found some famous ass friends, we wouldn’t be the only things you had. Don’t worry, we all see how you’ve dropped us.” I felt my jaw dropping at her words, not quite sure what part of my life she had decided was so glamourous. I get Jack being in a fucking band was big, but to me all it meant was girls threw themselves at my boyfriend and he left me for weeks at a time.
“You know what?” I sighed, shaking my head. “Fuck you, Kayla. I don’t need you or your bullshit in my life anymore. Nobody else here thinks that and, honestly, I can’t be fucking bothered with your drama. I’m going home.”

Notes

So, I've been pretty bummed out for days, and I don't know if it's because I'm bummed out that I want to write or I'm bummed out because I'm itching to write, but this is the product of my bummed out-ness.
Enjoy.