What Do You Want From Me?

Jessica Flaherty was beyond nervous. Her heart was racing, hands were shaking, and lips trembling; and yet, she hasn’t been this content in...quite a while.

Her eyes were trained straight, avoiding any and all gazes that could possibly meet her own, as she was led by Matt down the stairs. Brian and Zack were directly behind them, having been briefly filled in on what exactly was going on only moments before. She could tell they were both a little skeptical about the situation, but there was obviously no questioning Matt’s word.

Matt suddenly took Jessica’s hand as they reached the bottom, pushing through everyone in order to make it to the door. She was enjoying this sense of domination Matt was putting forth. He feared no one, followed his own rules, and didn’t take anyone’s shit. It was a thrill to the young girl, and although she was feeling undeniably anxious and fearful of what tonight’s outcome would bring, it somehow wasn’t bothering her as much as she’d originally thought.

“What the hell are we doing?” Brian was the first to question once they made it safely from inside and were now crossing over the front lawn. He was eyeing Jessica skeptically, which made her slightly uneasy.

“We’re getting the fuck out of here,” Matt replied, hand still attached to Jessica’s protectively.

“But why is she coming?” Brian nodded in her direction.

“She’s coming because I fucking said she’s coming. Do you have a problem with that?” Matt growled at his friend. Brian looked taken aback, but ultimately shook his head no and was silent the rest of the way to the car. He pulled his key from one of his pockets and aimed it in front of them, clicking one of the buttons on the pad in order to unlock the cherry red, vintage Corvette that sat alone on the other side of the street. Jessica marveled over the vehicle, noting how beautiful it was and well-taken care of. It was obviously worth a lot of money, and she couldn’t help but wonder where exactly that money came from if Brian was from the same upbringing Zack and Matt were. She didn’t ask, but merely allowed Matt to open the back door for her and climbed into the back seat with Matt following.

“Are you okay?” Matt whispered to her once they were situated inside.

“Mhm.” She nodded in return, hands fiddling tensely in her lap.

“So, where are we going?” Brian grumbled from the front.

“The Spot,” Matt said in return, annoyance semi-obvious in his tone. The two in the bow said nothing else as the car started and skidded almost immediately away from the curb, forcing Jessica to grab a hold of anything in her reach to assure she didn’t go flying. She certainly wasn’t used to this kind of driving, but again, it also somewhat excited her.

“Hey,” Matt started again, his voice a bit lower now so only Jessica could hear. She looked over at him expectantly. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Jessica replied. “Honestly, I am.”

“All right. But listen, don’t worry about Brian or Zack. They’re just not accustomed to change, and this is obviously a big change in having you around. They’ll get over it though.”

Jessica nodded at Matt’s statement. It was hard not to agree with what he said, as his confidence and demeanor were so brave and convincing. But, correspondingly, the same question kept being asked over and over in her mind.

“What if they don’t?” She blurted out.

Matt furrowed his eyebrows. “What if they don’t what?”

“What if they don’t...get over it?”

Jessica was slightly taken aback when the hazel-eyed man grinned mischievously, dimples revealing themselves again, much to her surprising delight.

“Jess, please don’t worry. I know it’s hard, considering everything you’ve gone through tonight, but you’re safe here with us. You’ll see, when we get to the spot, it’ll all be alright.” Matt patted her knee, doing his best to reassure her, before sitting back in his seat and glancing out the window. Jessica did the same, swallowing the lump in her throat and doing her very best to relax. It wasn’t as hard as she’d originally thought, though; once she considered how uncomfortable and unhappy she was at Brock’s party, and comparing that to now, being in Brian’s car was almost like a paradise.

“Look,” Brian suddenly said from the front seat, making Jessica jump just a little. Matt looked toward the front with an emotionless, but expectant, expression. “I didn’t mean to sound like an ass before, okay? This is just kind of surprising for Zack and me both. Can you tell us what exactly is going on?”

Jessica gave Matt a side-glace as he sighed and rubbed a single hand over his shaven head. “There’s not really much to say, guys, honestly.”

“Not much to say?” Zack said now, looking back at Matt. “We’re sitting in the same vehicle with Jessica Flaherty; the same girl who is, or was, dating Jason Kiegan. Jason Kiegan, the guy we hate, the guy you were going to beat the shit out of; ring any bells?”

“Of course it does. I’m not a moron. But Jess isn’t like them, all right? That’s why she’s with us. She’s done with them. I convinced her she can do so much better than what they provide, and now she’s going to hang with us,” Matt explained to them. Jessica watched him as he spoke, feeling her respect for the man growing with each passing moment. He was literally telling his friends how it was going to be and defending Jessica’s honor with fierce importance, with no thought of how Brian and Zack would react. They’ve obviously all known each other for years, and Matt appeared to be willing to throw that away, had the two men in the front disagreed with him.

“And this is serious?” Brian said again. “You’re really done with them, Jess? This isn’t some game or a trick or a fluke, and you’re not going to go back to school on Monday and change your mind?”

“No,” Jessica replied, her voice strong and willing. Zack glanced at her now, and she could see Brian’s eyes on her in the rearview mirror.

“Well, then, I think it’ll be alright. What do you think, Zack?”

Jessica was almost ecstatic to see a smile form on Zack’s face. “I’m down.”

“Good,” Matt began. “I’m glad you guys are going to back me up on this. Jess is going to need us. When her friends find out she’s gone and with us now, you better believe it’s going to get ugly.”

“We protect our own,” Zack stated. “And if she’s serious about this, then we’ll do whatever we can in our power to assure she stays safe with us. Right, Bri?”

“Right.”

Matt looked over at Jessica and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She smiled gratefully, before looking at the two in the front again. “Thank you so much. I promise, this is where I want to be and I won’t do anything to betray your trust.”

Brian smiled at her through the mirror and turned his gaze to the road again. Zack nodded and showed his own smile to the girl. “You’ll be fine,” Zack told her, before turning around himself.

No more than ten minutes later, Brian’s car turned onto a path that was no longer solid roadway. Jessica looked out her window to see vast amounts of trees and brush and realized they were driving back into some sort of forest scenery.

“Where are we?” She voiced to the man sitting next to her.

Matt glanced over at her with a smile. “You’ll see.”

Jessica met his eyes, feeling a rush of excitement wash over her, but said nothing else as the car continued to move in the same direction. She looked straight now, out the front window, to see some light at the end of their path. This let her know there was a general place in which Matt wanted to go, and she was definitely eager to see it. Having the parents she did, this sort of outing was rare, to say the least. Jessica was never allowed to just go out with these kinds of people; drive to this kind of place. The fact that she was now, with no one holding her back, there was no doubt in her mind that she was going to take full advantage of it.

“Ah, I’ve missed this place!” Zack suddenly exclaimed from the front seat, just as they began to drive into the clearing.

“Same here, little buddy,” Matt agreed. Jessica looked over at him and saw absolute contentment written in his features. This was something she’d never seen in all the times she and Matt had exchanges, and it was very refreshing.

“Where do you want me to park?” Brian asked Matt.

“Same place as always,” Matt replied, to which Brian nodded and continued to drive straight. It was only when the car came to a stop and Brian shut off the engine did Jessica realize just where exactly they were.

“This is the Devil’s Ledge, isn’t it?” She announced with a complacent look on her face. This was going to be more intoxicating than she originally thought.

“That it is,” Matt said. “Come on.”

He opened his car door and exited the car. Jessica followed rather quickly, enclosing her arms around her body in an attempt to stay warm as the California night air had become somewhat chilly. Matt noticed this and immediately removed his own hoodie, walking over to Jessica’s side and wrapping the material around the girl’s shoulders.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Jessica tried to say as she turned to him and pushed away his hands.

“You’re shivering. Please, it would make me feel a lot better if you put it on,” Matt insisted. Jessica looked at him for a moment, before relenting and allowing Matt to help her into the light fabric.

“Thank you,” She said softly, a light blush appearing on her cheeks.

“No problem,” Matt replied. “Come on, let’s go over here.”

Matt took Jessica’s hand and led them both away from the car and toward where the clearing ended and turned into a steep cliff, only guarded off by a steel divider that you would usually find on a roadway to separate opposing traffickers. Matt stopped right at the edge, saying nothing as his eyes scanned the vast scenery of downtown Huntington Beach below. Jessica did the same, though her marvel over it was obviously more immense than Matt’s, as this was the first time she’d ever viewed Huntington from this point.

“Wow…” She gasped suddenly. A dull ache had begun to form in her chest, one that was strangely welcome and enjoyed.

“Do you like it?” Matt asked as he turned to her.

“It’s… this is all just…sublime.”

Matt chuckled a little, and proceeded to kneel down until he was sitting with his legs hanging over the cliff rather dangerously. He didn’t seem to find the act as such, and even looked up at the girl next to him and motioned for her to do the same. Normally, she probably would have given the man a scoff and walked away, rebuffing the chance to even get that close to trouble. These weren’t normal circumstances, though.

“I come here a lot,” Matt told her once she settled down next to him. “When things get out of control and I feel like I can’t handle anything else being thrown my way, I call up Brian and Zack and tell them that I need to go to The Spot, and this is where we go.”

Jessica nodded faintly as she listened. She really didn’t know what else to say or do. Everything around her seemed surreal, dreamlike; and yet, she was fully aware her surroundings were legitimate.

“I figured since it helps me so much when life smacks you in the face one too many times, maybe it could help you, too.”Matt placed his hand over Jessica’s at this and gave the porcelain skin a gentle squeeze. The younger girl sucked in a shaky breath and turned her head away from the beautiful man next to her, the words and acts of selflessness he expressed becoming a little too much to bear. Matt gasped and leaned toward her more. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, no,” Jessica replied quickly. “You haven’t done anything wrong literally since we started talking; that’s the thing. I’ve had it etched into my mind since birth that anyone who wasn’t rich and powerful like my family and the people I hang out with, then they weren’t worth my time. It’s taken me this long to realize and I just…I don’t know.”

Jessica sniffled some at wiped at her eyes. Matt watched her, thinking deeply of what he should say to her, if anything at all. She needed a friend now, more than ever, and he was determined to be that person for her.

“Hey,” He finally began. “At least you did. Don’t beat yourself up, sweetheart. You weren’t even half as bad as Jason or Isabel.”

She looked back at him with bloodshot eyes, but wearing a smile, nonetheless. “Thanks. This means a lot to me, everything that you’re doing.”

“And what is it that I’m doing, exactly?” Matt returned gallantly, to which Jessica scoffed at his modesty.

“You know what you’re doing, Matt. You could have just tossed me to the side and not thought twice about it. But no, you’re sitting here with me and doing everything in your power to make sure I’m okay. You have no idea how much it all means to me.” She looked into his eyes and dropped all tones of humor from her voice. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to repay you, but I promise I will, somehow.”

“Jess.” Matt looked away from her and to the scenery below. “This isn’t a favor I’m doing, so there’s no need for repayments or anything like that. This is me doing what I think is right for someone who deserves it.”

“I don’t understand, though. What have I ever done to deserve this sort of treatment from you, of all people?”

‘That’s a good question,’ Matt thought to himself. What has Jessica ever done for him? Nothing, absolutely nothing, and yet he can’t help but want to protect her with everything he has to give. This graceful, elegant girl who came into his life no more than a week ago has turned his world upside down…and he loved it. There was no explanation he could rightfully give to Jessica; none that she would accept or understand without question.

“I don’t know,” Matt replied, shaking his head. “Maybe you didn’t do anything at all.”

He turned to gaze at her once more, both sets of eyes locking onto each other and not breaking away. Jessica felt a surge of something unidentifiable shoot throughout her body, and before she even knew what she was doing, her own body was leaning closer to Matt’s. Matt didn’t dare move, in fear that if he did, she might get the wrong impression and want to leave. He simply watched her until her face was only a few inches from his. Neither moved now, hearts racing, pulses wild in their necks and creating a majestic tune only they would be able to enjoy. It was so breathtaking, so stunning and terrifying at the same time, and so very short-lived.

Before either one could get the nerve up to take it any further, a faint bouncing sound followed by loud thumps and boisterous moans made themselves known from the automobile still parked a few feet behind them. Matt and Jessica both tightened their lips to fight the laughter that wanted to spill forth. They moved away from one another slowly with chuckles and shy smiles, the latter mostly from Jessica’s end. It struck her as odd, though, being shy; Jason had never made her feel that way, not even in the very beginning. Matt, whom she’s only been involved with for mere days, was making butterflies soar throughout the better part of her. This whole situation was strange…but so very welcome.