Mutiny Below

Natalia

After John left me alone last night, I laid back in the grass to just wait for the party to be over. It was in the wee hours of the morning when Nick found me.

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere."

"I've been right here the whole time."

"Are you okay?" His face changed from one of irritation to one of concern.

"I'm fine. Can we go now?"

He nodded wordlessly and I followed him back into the house. We made our way through the messy, now empty house and out to the car where Eric was waiting. He lifted the seat up and I climbed into the back then got into the passenger seat and let Nick drive. Apparently he had had to much to drink.

When we got back to his apartment, I went straight to the room that would be my home for two months and shut the door. I quickly changed into some pajamas then flicked the light off and climbed into the bed.

I was woken up by the sound of someone bursting through the door of my bedroom. I shot up in bed and blinked a few times before my eyes finally focused. The girl from the party with the blue streaks in her hair was standing in the doorway. I think her name was Gemma....?

"Get your ass up, new girl. We're taking you out." She looked bored standing there twirling a blue strand around her index finger.

"We?"

"Me and Jayce. You know, girls day."

"Oh." I got up and crossed the room to my suitcase, pulling out some jeans. I then decided against them since it was ten billion degrees outside and instead pulled out a pair of shorts and an old band tee shirt I had. She left the room, shutting the door back behind her and I changed quickly. I ran a brush through my hair and went to brush my teeth before I went out into the living room where she was waiting with Nick and Eric.

"Finally! Let's go." She gave me a gentle push in the direction of the door and I gave Nick a 'get me out of this' look. He smiled symapthetically.

"You'll have fun. Just give them a chance, okay? For me?"

I sighed and reluctantly followed Gemma out the door to the car where Jayce was waiting. She looked miserable in the sweltering heat and I wondered why she didn't just wait inside with Gemma.

We all got into the car, with me in the back seat of course. I may be short but being crammed into a back seat of a teeny car is no fun, no matter how short the drive is. I sat quietly, either staring out the window or down at my chipped turquoise nail polish. Gemma began fumbling with a stack of cds she had, eventually picking one and sliding it into the cd player. THe music began to flow through the speakers and I recognized the song instantly. Not because I listened to the Jonas Brothers, but because my fifteen year old cousin did.

Jayce turned around to look at me with a smirk. "Gemma's a JoBro freak."

Gemma scoffed beside her, momentarily looking at Jayce. "Like you did not watch every episode of Jonas with me."

"Because you tied me to a chair and forced me to." Gemma smirked and looked back at the road in front of her.

"I can't believe you fell for that ice cream scam every time." Jayce turned back around to me. "Gemma told me there was ice cream at Kenny's and then she tied me to a chair when I came over for my promised ice cream."

I could see the corners of Gemma's mouth curling up into a smile. "She fell for it all ten episodes of the season."

"For the record, you did have a different person call me each week. It's not my fault I was naïve enough to trust my friends."

“Oh come on. You know your friends! We’re all sneaky bastards!”

I couldn't help but laugh but I put my hand over my mouth to keep from making noise.

Soon, we were pulling into the driveway of another house of someone I didn't know. A girl with long dark hair came out of the house, shutting the door behind her and Gemma got out to let the girl get into the back seat. Gemma then got back in and began to back out of the driveway. The girl glanced at me then down at her phone but then she looked back up. She stead at me for a minute before looking at Jayce, who was turned around in her seat.

"Um...what the hell?"

Jayce motioned to me. "Nick's little sister."

The girl's mouth formed into an ''o'' shape. "Well, I'm Jess."

She smiled but then her phone beeped and she looked down at it again. I re-focused my attention on my hands again until we pulled into a parking lot. The mall? I guess that's as good a place as any. I just wish my brother wasn't so insistent on this whole bonding thing. I doubted I'd ever really get close to these girls. Besides, I had Nick and he was all the friend I needed.

We all got out of the car and walked into the main entrance. Gemma was on the phone someone and she was talking lowly, giggling every few seconds. Once she hung up, she winked at Jayce and pulled her toward Cold Stone. Jess followed behind, still texting and I followed a few steps behind her. I got my favorite cookie dough ice cream and followed the three girls over to a table. I just ate silently while the three of them talked.

"So Jayce doll, what happened after we all left last night?" Gemma smirked and Jess looked up curiously.

"Oh, you know.... Nothing." Jayce smiled and looked down at her ice cream but I felt like I could see something else behind her eyes. Almost like sadness.

"You guys are just so damn cute together. Why can't I find someone?!" Jess exclaimed.

"Because you won't give that poor guy a chance, Jess. Good God, anyone can see he's like in love with you." Gemma took a bite of her ice cream but when she looked up and past me, her smirk widened.

A tall, slender guy with dark hair approached our table. Jess and Jayce rolled their eyes while Gemma just grinned.

"God, Stephen, don't I see you enough?" Jess stuck her tongue out at him and he chuckled.

"It's a good thing I'm not here to see you then, huh?" He held out his hand and Gemma took it immediately, standing up next to him.

"Well, ladies, I'll catch up with you later. Right now, we're going to go find a dressing room to make out in." She waved goodbye as she walked away, hand in hand with Stephen. Jayce and Jess laughed.

"That strapping young gentleman is Stephen Gomez. He's in the same band as Jess," Jayce informed me. I just nodded in understanding.

When we finished our ice cream, we just started walking around the mall. Jacye and Jess chatted casually while I walked a step or two behind them the entire time. Eventually, we ran into Stephen and Gemma, all in disarray, in Hot Topic. Stephen gave her a quick kiss goodbye then headed off in the direction of the foor court.

Once Gemma got bored, she decided that we should all just go back and hang at Eric's house so that's what we did. I curled up in the single chair while the three of them piled onto the couch and turned on the movie. As the opening credits of Sleepless In Seattle began to roll, I pulled my knees up to my chest. That movie just happened to be one of my favorites.

Within ten minutes, I was completely absorbed in the movie and not even worried about the awkward morning I'd had.