Holiday From Real

It had been over a week since the incident with Gabe and Brendon. Gabe had apologized a million more times, and things were back to normal between the two of them. Brendon and Vicky had also made up. They had talked that night, and they had decided to give their relationship another try. They still hadn’t slept together yet, but Brendon had explained his fear, and Vicky had let it go for now.

Gabe, Brendon, and Vicky were over at Pete and Ashlee’s house. “Awww,” Ashlee cooed. “I’m so glad everything’s back to normal,” she said as she saw Brendon and Vicky holding hands.

“Shut up, Ash!” Vicky yelled while throwing a pillow at her.

“Hey, don’t hit the pregnant lady!” Ashlee told her while everyone else laughed.

“So, where’s MJ?” Pete asked, looking at Gabe.

“Oh, she had an interview with some magazine today, so she probably won't be coming over,” Gabe replied.

“Oh,” Pete said as the front door opened and Mary Jane came walking through.

“Or not,” Gabe said. “How was your interview?” he asked as Mary Jane sat down next to him.

“Fine,” she replied.

“MJ, what’s wrong?” Gabe asked, noticing that she was pale.

“You know how I said that my neighbor moved out last week?” Mary Jane asked. Everyone nodded their heads. “I now have a new neighbor,” she continued.

“Who is it?” Ashlee asked.

“Chris,” Mary Jane whispered.

“What?” Gabe asked.

Mary Jane looked up at him. “Chris moved in next door,” she said as tears began to form in her eyes. “It’s not bad enough that he got acquitted; now he’s living next door to me.”

“Are you sure?” Vicky asked. “I mean are you sure it’s him?”

“Yes,” she told them. “I went back to my apartment after the interview, and he was there with all his stuff. He told me that I would be seeing a lot of him because he was moving in next door,” she said as tears streamed down her cheeks.

“He is not going to be living next to you,” Gabe told her.

“Gabe, I have no choice. He’s already signed,” Mary Jane told him as she grabbed one of his hands with both of hers.

“You’re not living there anymore,” Gabe stated.

“What?” Mary Jane asked, confused. “Where am I going to live?”

“With me,” Gabe said matter-of-factly.

“Gabe,” Mary Jane began.

“Just hear me out,” Gabe told her. “I love you, and I am not going to let anything happen to you ever again. If you stay in your apartment, there’s no telling what Chris is going to do.”

“Gabe, I love you, too. You know that, but are you sure you really want to live with me?”

“Yes,” Gabe said with a smile as he leaned down and kissed her.

“Okay,” Mary Jane said looking at the others in the room. “I guess I’m moving.”

“Wow!” Pete exclaimed.

“What?” Mary Jane asked. “You think I should stay in my apartment?”

“God, no!” Pete told her. “I just never thought I’d ever see Gabe live with a girl. Granted, I never thought I’d see Gabe fall in love either, but he did that, too.”

“Ha ha,” Gabe said sarcastically as everyone else laughed.

The next day, Mary Jane started moving her things out of her apartment and into Gabe’s. She walked out of her apartment with a box of clothes when she was stopped by someone saying, “What? Are you trying to get away from me?”

Mary Jane slowly turned around to see Chris leaning against the doorframe of his apartment, his arms crossed against his chest, and a smirk on his face.

“I hate you,” Mary Jane told him. “You made my life a living hell.”

“What are you talking about?” Chris asked. “I didn’t do anything to you.”

“You know exactly what you did.”

“I believe I was found innocent of that,” Chris told her.

“Just because some jury thinks that you’re innocent doesn’t mean that you are. You and I both know exactly what you did,” Mary Jane hissed.

“You think by moving out that you’re going to get rid of me. There’s no way. You ruined my professional career. No one wants me to play in their band,” Chris began.

“I ruined your career?” Mary Jane asked in disbelief. “You did that yourself, Chris! You raped me!”

“Again, I was found innocent.”

“And, again, that doesn’t mean that you actually are.”

“Listen, you’ve ruined my professional life, and now I’m going to ruin your entire life.”

“You already did that.”

“Believe me, it’s going to get worse,” Chris said as he saw Gabe walking up the stairs. “Just watch your back,” he told her.

“What’s going on here?” Gabe asked walking up behind Mary Jane. He looked over at Chris. “Stay the hell away from MJ,” he warned.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going,” Chris said as he walked back in his apartment and shut the door behind him.

“What’d he say to you?” Gabe asked as they walked down the stairs to his car.

“Nothing,” Mary Jane lied, not wanting to worry Gabe.