Mutiny Below

John

Eric was driving me crazy lately. Everything he did got on my nerves and I wasn't sure why it came up so suddenly. It had gotten to the point where, when he called to ask if I wanted to hang out with him and Natalia, I made up some lame excuse just so I didn't have to go.

Nick was gone somewhere and Jayce was out shopping with Gemma so I ended up being bored all day but I considered it better than the alternative. When my phone rang, I practically tripped over my own feet trying to get to it.

"Hello?"

"I just picked up Jayce and Gems at the mall. We're going to the pool so get your ass up and we'll be there in ten"

I put on my trunks and went to sit back down on the couch to finish the show on sharks I'd been watching on the Discovery channel. By the time it went off, Gemma was bursting through the door with a laughing Jayce and grinning Kennedy behind her.

"I told him to cut it out or Nick would kill him, but he doesn't listen. Nick's just going to have to beat his ass"

Kennedy laughed. "Let's hope he does it today so we can watch"

Gemma slapped his chest and scolded him but now I was confused.

"Halvo's coming?"

"Yeah, and Nick and Natalia"

"Oh"

Jayce looked from me to the tv, then back to me.

"Babe, you're not ready to go yet?"

I frowned to myself as I shuffled down the hallway to retrieve my flip flops from the bedroom. There was no way I could back out of it now that I knew when I was so stoked about leaving the house earlier.

Once I rejoined Jayce, Kennedy, and Gemma in the living room, we walked down to the complex's pool. Nick was leaning against the fence smoking a cigarette and Natalia was tucked under the long, lanky arm of Halvo where they were sharing a pool chair. He greeted us as we walked through the gate and I scowled. Jayce must've noticed because she elbowed me in the ribs.

"You okay?"

"Fine," I replied without looking over at her. She responded by taking my hand and giving it a gentle squeeze but I was too preoccupied to acknowledge it. We all went to put our stuff in the empty chairs and Gemma immediately had to break out her phone to take some pictures of " the most adorable couple ever." Natalia used Halvo's arms to block Gemma's view of her and she laughed softly as he did his best to protect her from the camera. I scowled and dove into the deep end of the pool.

When I surfaced, Gemma was still snapping photos of them. I pulled myself out of the pool to sit on the edge and pushed my hair back off my forehead.

"Give it a rest, Gems"

Gemma stopped, momentarily dropping her hands, and stared at me.

"The fuck is your problem, O'Callaghan?"

I then realized that everyone was looking back at me curiously. I moved my gaze to the water and shortly after everyone went back to talking, I felt hands on my bare shoulders. Jayce sat down next to me and pulled my hand into her lap, wrapping both her hands around it.

"John?"

I grunted in response but didn't bother looking over. She put her hand against my cheek and pulled my face around to look at her. "What's up with you today?"

I dodged her question with another question. "Where's everyone else?"

She furrowed her eyebrows at me. "This is everyone"

"No, I mean why isn't everyone else here too?"

She frowned. "Well, Gemma, Natalia, and I just thought this would be fun."

"Since when does Nat like to do shit like this?"

"Probably since she got that boyfriend of hers"

Jayce and I both looked toward the other end of the pool where Natalia and Halvo were sitting on the edge of the pool. Natalia rested her head on his pale shoulder while he held her hand in his, playing with her fingers.

Jayce smiled. "They look so happy"

I grimaced but quickly tried to recover myself as she looked back at me. "Yeah"

"John?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you"

"I know...I love you too"

She seemed reassured that I was okay by the exchange so she kissed my cheek and got up to rejoin Gemma in a pool chair. I glanced back over at Natalia and Halvo and shook my head. When I looked up, I noticed Nick looking right at me. They was he was staring confused me. He looked concerned but at the same time he had this smug smirk on his face. I shrugged it off and slid back into the pool.

After we'd all gone back home to take showers, everyone was supposed to go over to Kennedy's to watch a movie. The suggestion alone annoyed me. For some reason, I just didn't feel like I could take any more today. I told Jayce that I wasn't feeling well, but when she asked if she should stay, I insisted that she go and have a good time anyway. She reluctantly agreed and grabbed her cell phone, leaving me alone in the apartment.

I sank back on the sofa and turned the tv on to some show on the Discovery channel. Less than thirty seconds later, I heard the front door open and I assumed Jayce had come back to remind me of something. I abruptly sat up when I saw that it was Natalia in the doorway instead.

"Oh, hey John," she spoke quietly with a soft smile.

I mumbled a greeting in return but she just continued smiling.

"I just came back for Nick's wallet. He has a terrible memory"

With that, she passed by me and went down the hallway to the guest room, returning very shortly with the wallet in hand. She walked back to the doorway but she stopped and turned back to me.

"Is everything okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, you just seem-.....distracted"

"No, I'm fine"

The door opened again and Halvo appeared behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and grinned widely.

"Jayce said you're sick, man"

I nodded, then added a pathetic sounding cough afterward.

"Sorry, bro. You're missing out!" He then looked down at Natalia and she grinned. "Come on, babe, everyone's waiting for us"

He dropped his arms and took her hand in his and she turned back to me.

"Bye, John. I hope you feel better"

"Thanks," I mumbled in reply, but she'd already disappeared.

I had the sudden urge to smack Halvo in his "adorable" big head.

Shit. Maybe I'm-.....jealous?

No. No, I can't be. I have Jayce. I love Jayce.

Except- I think I might just be.