A High School Story

*Mollie’s POV*
“Why should I do anything to help you or your brother?” I asked Nick as I hostilely shoved my Spanish binder into my locker.
“Because you know how much Keyla really means to him,” he answered and swore under my breath as my binder toppled over and fell to floor before throwing papers in every direction of the deserted hallway.
“He called her a whore,” I scoffed while kneeling down towards all of my papers.
“He was upset,” he protested uselessly while trying to gather most of my papers for me, “He never means what he says when he gets that upset.”
“It doesn’t matter if he meant it or not, he still said it,” I grumbled and grabbed all of the papers from him before setting them inside the binder and then standing back up.
“Come on Mollie,” he sighed and I put my rogue binder back inside my locker before slamming the door shut.
“I’m not helping you or that idiot you call a brother,” I hissed at him before brushing past him and walking away down the hall, “Now excuse me, I have to get home.”
“Just one chance, that’s all I’m asking for,” he continued and kept pace with me as I made a pour attempt to out run him in my high heels.
“You lost that privilege a long time ago,” I scoffed.
“Mollie-”
“I’m not going to let your brother hurt my best friend.”
I rounded on him and he stared down at me intently.
“Mollie, he doesn’t want to hurt her. He cares about her a lot.”
“But sometimes that isn’t enough to keep you from hurting the person you care about it, now is it?” I asked and I saw his chest constrict as his breath stuttered, “I thought so.”
“People make mistakes,” he blurted out and gently grabbed hold of my wrist, “I know that I’ve made my share of them with you but I’m asking you to please not let that affect the chances that my brother has Keyla.”
“What’s happening with Keyla and Joe and what’s happening with us are two completely different things,” I replied.
“So you honestly think that Joe is out to hurt Keyla and that’s the only reason that you won’t help him?” he asked and I let my eyes travel away from the tile floor and up to his face.
Honestly, I didn’t believe that Joe was out to hurt her at all. But that still didn’t change the fact that he had crossed the line by several miles that night.
“Even if I did want to help him,” I started and his chest heaved in annoyance, “Keyla doesn’t want anything to do with him. She told me so.”
“She’s just mad-”
“Damn right she’s mad! I haven’t seen her this mad since…”
I trailed off and I saw his eyebrows pull together.
“…it just wouldn’t work,” I whispered and looked back down at the floor again.
“You haven’t seen her so mad since when?” he probed and lifted my chin up with his pointer finger.
“Just forget it,” I mumbled and he sighed before dropping his hands back down to his side.
“If you don’t convince her to come tonight then I won’t blame you, okay?” he said defeated and I tried to keep the guilt from playing itself on my face, “Just…make sure that the only reason you don’t bring her is because you think that he’s wrong for her, not just because you think hurting my brother will help you accomplish getting back at me for my own mistakes.”
“I’ll think about it,” I caved and he half smiled before walking in the opposite direction that the student parking lot was, “Where are you going?”
“Oh…um...the guys are waiting for me at the south entrance,” he answered and rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“You’re still under the impression that he’s your friend aren’t you?” I scoffed and walked away without waiting for his response, the sooner he realized the truth; the sooner things would cool down.
My feet shuffled down the hallway and kicked a flyer out of my path; Mike had spent a good portion of the day using Nick and his brothers’ first band performance in Dallas as an excuse to pass out flyers to every cute girl that he laid eyes on. Unfortunately enough, that included me.
“What did he want?” Keyla asked patiently as I roughly opened the driver’s side door to my convertible.
“Pleas from Joe,” I scoffed and she rolled her eyes while buckling her seat belt, “He literally begged me to drag you to Club 17 tonight just so you can hear the guys play.”
“How is that going to solve anything?” she demanded and I shrugged heavily before pressing the key into the ignition and starting my car, “He calls me a whore and basically tells me that he thinks I’m sleeping with half of the Dallas population then expects everything to magically fix itself if I go and watch him strum a stupid guitar?!”
“No one ever said that guys are smart darling,” I joked and she smiled over at me, “Besides Quidam of course, he’s as smart as they come.”
“And Quidam is the one and only boyfriend I will ever need in this life time,” she mumbled angrily.
“Saddles are so much better than guitars,” I agreed and she laughed half heartedly.
“What would I do without you?” she wondered.
“I don’t know, but let’s not find out,” I replied and she agreed silently.
“Keyla!” Joe’s voice rang out and I saw him start scrambling next door as I pulled into her driveway.
“I’ll see you later,” she mumbled hurriedly before getting out of the car and literally running into the house.
“You blew it Joe, accept that and move on,” I called over to him and he looked at me pleadingly.
“I didn’t mean it Mollie, you have to believe that.”
“Doesn’t matter whether I believe you or not, you still said it and that in itself is enough to make her hate you for a lifetime,” I replied and he closed his eyes before running both hands through his thick head of curly hair.
“I was just so upset that she went on that date…” he tried to explain but then cut himself off.
“Everyone goes on dates Joe, it’s not against the law,” I sighed before looking over my shoulder and shifting into reserve.
“All I’m asking is for you to hear me out,” he begged and jumped behind my car so that I couldn’t back out without running him over.
This boy was really pushing his limits.
“Get in the car,” I mumbled and he smiled before running to the passenger door and yanking it open before I could change my mind, “I’m giving you five minutes, that’s it.”
“That’s all I need,” he assured me and I looked over my shoulder again before backing out of the driveway like I had been trying to do before.
“You have my attention,” I grumbled while trying to ignore his piercing stare.
“She means a lot to me and I care about her, you know that,” he started frantically, “When I called her a…when I said what I said, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was just shooting off insults and trying to make her hurt as much as I did when I found out she had agreed to go on a date with some guy that wasn’t me.”
“Well you succeed,” I muttered to him as I pulled off to the side of the street a few blocks over, I couldn’t risk Keyla seeing me fraternizing with the enemy now could I?
“I know…” he gulped and shook out his hair before continuing with his rant, “I don’t know why I said what I did-”
“Yes you do, Joe,” I interrupted him, “You know exactly why you said it.”
“I was just so jealous,” he groaned and let his forehead fall into the palm of his hands, “I was jealous that I wasn’t the one who had been so close to kissing her, I was jealous because I wasn’t the one who had the great night with her, and I was jealous because I wasn’t the one who had the guts to ask her out.”
“Jealous or not, you really hurt her,” I explained to him and he nodded weakly, “Her parents fight-”
“What does this have to do with-”
“Let me finish guitar boy,” I snapped at him and I saw the corner of his lips flip up into a small smile, “Her parents fight over things that normal people would shrug off. Every night she has to listen to them scream insults at each other, yell profanities for the whole neighborhood to hear, and threaten to divorce the other. In Keyla’s mind, love and marriage don’t co-exist with the other. For her to trust anyone that isn’t family, or me, used to be beyond impossible.”
“Used to be?” Joe questioned as he looked up at me.
“Used to be” I repeated, “Because you came along and showed her that not everyone is out to pick a fight with you.”
His smile grew and I hated to drop the bomb on him. He needed to understand though, so he could make it right.
“Then Tuesday night happened,” I went on and his face immediately fell into a frown, “She would have trusted you with her life and just because you let your jealousy get the best of you, you may have ruined any chance she ever had to trust anyone.”
“I…I didn’t…” he trailed off and I watched as a horrified expression took over every inch of his face, “Mollie, you need to help me fix this.”
“I would, but you can’t fix this Joe,” I said and he did just about everything but burst into tears, “I know more than she thinks I do and…there’s no way she’s going to forgive you.”
“But there has to be something!” he protested and looked at me with the same pleading eyes that he had before, “Anything! Anything at all! Just name it and I’ll do it! Just please Mollie, help me get her back.”
I ran a hand through my hair and racked my brain uselessly for anything that would be able to fix this. Then it hit me. It had been years ago that she confided this to me but it could still be true, right? It could still work.
“What were you planning tonight?” I asked suddenly and Joe looked at me clueless, “For the show at Club 17, Joe. What were you planning?”
“What do you mean?”
“Nick told me to bring Keyla tonight so that everything could get back on track or whatever, how were you planning to try and fix this?” I explained and he smiled at me, “Joe, what are you up to?”
“Keyla told me something while we were in Galveston,” he started explaining and I listened intently to see if we were both thinking the same thing, “She told me that she had a soft spot for guys who could express their feelings and that if a guy ever serenaded her, she would probably forgive him for just about anything.”
“She told you that, too, huh?” I laughed and he nodded happily, “Let me guess, you’re planning to use this little weakness of hers against her?”
“I was considering it,” he fibbed and I shook my head before sighing happily.
This was it. This was the way to fix everything that had happened Tuesday night. This was his way back into her heart.

“Why are we here?” Keyla whined as I dragged her through Club 17 a few hours later.
“I told you, I wanted to have some fun tonight!” I lied over the DJ’s music.
“Wait a minute…” she stopped dead in her tracks and I looked back at her as I ran out of arm to pull, “Isn’t this the place that the guys are…Mollie!”
She looked at me angrily and I bit my lip while trying to think of a new excuse to use.
“I told you that I didn’t want to talk to him!” she yelled at me and tried to pull her arm out of my grasp.
“And you won’t have to talk to him! All you have to do is listen!” I assured her and she glared daggers at me.
“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for!” the announcer roared over the loud speaker and every head turned in the direction that it was coming from, “Club 17 is proud to offer you a life performance on this lovely Thursday night! Please help me in welcoming, The Jonas brothers!”
All the girls from our school screamed happily as they saw Nick illuminated by the stage lights while he sat in the background of his brothers behind a set of drums, he was becoming quite the player. Joe searched the crowd with a slightly panicked expression on his face before his eyes landed on Keyla and then he relaxed some as Kevin started playing his guitar and Nick joined in with the drums. I saw his mouth open as his chest puffed out with a deep breath before the lyrics came flooding out and a terrified expression crossed Keyla’s face.
“I can feel you all around; in the silence I hear the sound of your footsteps on the ground. And my heart slows down, so now I’m…” Joe’s voice trailed off and he took in another deep breath, he was as nervous as I was about this whole thing, “I’m waiting for the moonlight, so I can find you in this perfect dream. Don’t think that you can hide there in the shadows. Girl, you’re not invisible. You’re all that I can see.”

“Something’s changing deep inside. All my hopes are comin’ alive. As we’re fadin’ into the night, I can see your eyes. So I’ll keep on...” Nick’s voice rang out through the speakers and I looked back at him causing his eyes met mine, this hadn’t been part of the plan. Why had he sung? And better yet, why did my heart melt as the mere sound of his angelic voice?

“I’m waiting for the moonlight, so I can find you in this perfect dream. Don’t think that you can hide there in the shadows. Girl, you’re not invisible. You’re all that I can see,” Joe picked up the song again and I heard Keyla mumble something about him stealing her words to use them against her, “in the darkness. Believe we can make this all we want it to be. We can stay here forever cuz when we’re together; we’re stuck in this fantasy.”

Keyla scoffed loudly enough for me to hear and I squeezed her hand tightly as Nick’s smile made me lose my breath. What was happening to me?

“I don’t wanna leave and I’ll keep waiting for the moonlight. So I can find you in this perfect dream. Don’t think that you can hide there in the shadows. Girl, you’re not invisible,” I looked over at Keyla and saw that she was still refusing to corporate with the plan, the scowl she was wearing was all I needed to come to that conclusion, “I’m waiting for the moonlight so I can find you in this perfect dream. Don’t think that you can hide there in the shadows. Girl, you’re not invisible. Girl, you’re not invisible. You’re all that I can see. And my heart slows down.”

Joe jumped down from the stage before the music had completely faded out and I smiled as Keyla’s scowl lightened. She didn’t have the grudge power to keep this up for much longer, no matter how much she might want to.

“Hi,” Joe said lamely as he stopped in front of Keyla.
She pursed her lips and glared at him in response.
“I’m going to go to bathroom,” I chimed in before slipping my hand out of hers and then hurrying off in the direction of the restrooms.
“What was that?!” I heard Mike demand from a nearby corner and I looked over to see him glaring dangerously at Nick.
“What was what?” he asked in reply and I stood rooted to the spot.
“That thing you just did with Mollie!” Mike yelled and threw his hands into the air, “That whole meet her eyes and stare at her for half the song thing! It was like you were singing to her and I didn’t like it!”
“Mike, I don’t know what you’re talking about-”
“Nick,” he growled threatening.
“I like her okay,” Nick said in an undertone and I saw fire start to blaze in Mike’s eyes.
“You like her?” he repeated and Nick nodded silently, “Well then, we have a problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Both of us can’t have her Nick,” Mike scoffed in a tone that suggested what he was implying was obvious.
“You make it sound like she’s a piece of property,” Nick tried to laugh out but I could hear the distress in his voice.
“She is, and she’s mine.”
“Mike-”
“Maybe we could get some fun out of this, Mike?” Scott Anderson spoke up for the first time since Freshman year and Mike’s head snapped in his direction, “We can see if Jonas has what it takes to rule the school after all of us Seniors leave this year.”
“Scott, what are you talking about-”
“Shut up Anderson!” Mike interrupted Nick hotly.
“Unless you’re scared he’ll get closer than you did Mike,” Andrew Peterson laughed casually and Mike’s face mutated in a menacing glare.
“Of course not I’m not scared,” he spat at Andrew and then looked at Nick again, “Alright Jonas, if you’re so confident in yourself then try to get her into bed.”
“What?” Nick asked dumfounded.
“Mollie and the Reed girl are the only two girls in the Junior or Senior class who haven’t lost it yet thanks to one of us,” he explained and Nick swallowed awkwardly as Mike motioned around to the group of guys that were standing behind him, “If you can get Mollie into bed, then you can have her, but if you don’t, then you spend the rest of your high School career eating lunch with the Chess Team.”
“Alright then, we have a deal,” Nick agreed and felt my heart break and my stomach drop.

*Keyla’s POV*
*Same Time*
“I’m so sorry,” Joe sighed after Mollie was out of ear shot, “I know that I have no right to even ask you this, but can you please find it in your heart to forgive me?”
“No,” I stated tonelessly before turning my back on him.
“Keyla, I know that I’m a heartless jerk who needs to find a better way to express his feelings when he gets upset but please just give me another chance-”
“And what am I suppose to do when you blow that chance Joe?!” I asked and turned to face him again, “Keep giving you another chance I suppose? Well guess what! That’s not going to happen!”
“But I won’t need another chance, I promise to make sure of that. Just please Keyla, I can’t live without you,” he pleaded with me and I felt hot tears start to collect at the brim of my eyes.
“Then drop dead!” I yelled before pushing past him and trying to find Mollie so I could go home.
“Keyla!” Joe yelled painfully after me and I couldn’t help but to let a few tears spill over.
I needed him just as much as he needed me, maybe even more, but I just couldn’t do it. If I forgave him this one time then I’d end up forgiving him for every other mistake he made and guess where that leaves us, following in the footsteps of my parents.
“I want to leave,” I mumbled to Mollie and she looked up at me with a slightly dazed expression on her face.
“What?”
“I want to leave,” I repeated, a bit louder this time.
“Keyla, just give him one more chance. If he screws up again then at least you can say that you gave it a shot-”
“Are you going to take me home or do I have to walk?” I cut her off impatiently and tried to keep my head down low as I saw Joe looking around a few yards away.
“Come on,” she sighed and I held my breath as she started walking in the direction that Joe was searching the crowd.
Please don’t see me. Please don’t see me. Please don’t see-
“Keyla!” an all too familiar cry burst out and I picked up my pace before starting to drag Mollie after me.
I needed to leave now if I had any chance of escaping him and his mystical charming powers.
“Keyla, wait up!” a different voice called out and I turned my head to see Dan pushing his way through the crowd as he tried to catch up with Mollie and I.
This was all I needed right now!
“Where’s the car?” I demanded as the crowd started to thin and the exit doors came into focus.
“Right where I parked it stupid,” she scoffed.
“Don’t start with me,” I spat back at her and I saw her shake her head while discreetly trying to dig her heals into the tile.
“Keyla!” two voices called at once and I let Mollie’s hand go before breaking into a sprint towards the exit doors.
I slammed all of my body weight into the door in an effort to open it faster and toppled outside before regaining my balance and picking up my speed again as I tried to find Mollie’s car. I slowed down and came to a stop before looking around frantically for the silver colored convertible.
“He’s the other guy isn’t he?” Dan asked quietly and I turned around to see him standing a feet few from me, “The one who was singing on stage earlier? The one that you’re so mad at?”
“He was,” I sighed and tried to put as much emphasize on the past tense as I could, “But it doesn’t even matter anymore.”
“Then why are you crying?” he replied and I reached my hand up to face, “Keyla, no matter how much he hurt you, you’re just hurting yourself further by not forgiving him.”
“Why are you trying to help him? He’s the reason we can’t work out,” I pointed out and tried frantically to dry my face.
“That’s not the point,” he laughed, “The point is that we didn’t…and you two can.”
“But he-”
“Cares enough to go through all this trouble just to try and get a second chance,” he finished my sentence for me and I shook my head while I tried to remain in denial, “Not many guys would do this for a girl.”
“Well not many guys find a girl like Keyla Reed,” Joe spoke up from a few feet behind Dan, who looked over his shoulder to see who had spoken, “Keyla, I don’t know how many times I have to say it but I’ll keep saying it until you believe me, I’m so sorry.”
“Um…well I’m going to go,” Dan stated awkwardly before shuffling over to give me a quick hug and then jogging back off to the entrance.
“Can you please just try to forgive me?” Joe begged and I felt my eyes start to water again, “Keyla…please don’t cry.”
“I won’t,” I lied and desperately tried to wipe my face dry again.
“Please, just please don’t cry. I can’t stand to see you cry,” he whispered as he stopped in front of me and I took in a few shaky breaths.
“Joe...” I trailed off and tried to find the right words to tell him how I felt, there were none.
“I know.”
He cupped my face in his hands gently and I exhaled deeply. I let all of my anger, all of the resentment I was holding towards him, all of my stubbornness, and all of my pains go. I didn’t need them. All I needed was Joe. All I needed was him and his love.
“Does this mean you forgive me?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I sighed and he smiled before bending down and pressing his lips to mine.
My arms quickly locked themselves around his neck and his own did the same around my waist. It was all so much more perfect then I ever could have dreamt it. Just the way his lips moved against mine and how safe I felt in his arms was enough, but he gave me so much more. He gave me nearly ounce of passion that could have possibly existed in his body, maybe even more. I found it hard to believe that this much passion could thrive in his subtle body.
“Just don’t make me regret this,” I said and broke away from him as I gasped for breath.
He smiled crookedly at me and with one deep breath and I pulled him back to me. There was no way that I had the lung capacity to keep this up for much longer but I didn’t care; I was going to live this out for as long as I could.
“Would you mind backing up off of my car!” Mollie yelled and I pulled away from Joe hesitantly to see her looking at me with a very amused expression on her face.
“What?” I asked and she pointed to the object that Joe had backed me up against during some point of the past few minutes…or hours, I wasn’t completely sure which.
“My car,” she repeated and I looked over my shoulder to see that I was indeed pressed against the passenger door of her car.
“How did I not see that before?” I laughed and she rolled her eyes before walking carelessly over to the driver side door, “Where are you going?”
“Dad just called, he wants me home,” she obviously lied and without even a simple look up at me, climbed inside the car and slammed the door.
“I can give her a ride home if you want,” Joe called through the closed window and I saw Mollie give him a thumbs up before starting the ignition.
“Well someone is cranky,” I scoffed while watching her car speed off down the street.
“Do you really want to worry about that right now?” he whispered in my ear and I smiled before wrapping my arms around his neck again and then lifting myself up onto my tip toes so I could meet his lips in the middle.