What Do You Want From Me?

She’d thought it was sort of weird that her ex boyfriend and ex best friend hadn’t shown up to school after the fight, because that was just like Jason to gloat and brag about what an awesome job he did; but Jessica Flaherty’s worries were soon alleviated by Matt Sanders, as he’d told her everything was fine. So, naturally, she let it slide and went on with her day like normal.

That was yesterday. Today was just the same, though. Jessica woke up at her regular time, took a lightning speed shower, dressed, did her hair and makeup (making sure to put on a few more coats than was needed to cover up her bruises), and was downstairs before her mom could yell at her for taking too long. It’d been that way ever since things began looking up for her. She was excited for the day ahead, as opposed to taking her time and wishing it’d just pass over.

“You’re ready?” Marlene questioned upon seeing her daughter.

“Mhm. Can I eat this?” Jessica pointed to the pop tart that was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Sure,” The elder woman replied, and Jessica quickly picked up the strawberry flavored tart, biting into it. “So, how’ve things been going?”

“With what?” Jessica asked, as she poured herself a cup of juice, hardly paying attention to what her mother was saying. It was a rarity Marlene took interest in her daughter’s life, so what was the point in showing any care in return?

“Jason, Isabel, your other friends, school; just to name a few. What else would I be talking about?”

Jessica stopped chewing for a moment, suddenly very aware of the conversation at hand. Her parents had yet to find out about the little falling out, and honestly, she hadn’t planned on telling them. She knew for a fact it would end badly, because that’s just the kind of person Jeffrey was. Jessica knew it, Jimmy knew it, and deep down, Marlene knew it, too. But, of course, the elder Flaherty woman decided it was best suiting to support her husband over her child, and that was why things were the way they were.

“Uhm,” Jessica began after some hesitation. “Things are great; better than ever.”

Marlene smiled brightly. “How is Jason? I haven’t seen that boy in so long. He’s such a sweet heart.”

“Oh, yes. He truly is.” Sarcasm dripped from Jessica’s lips, but Marlene was completely oblivious to it. “He’s doing fine. Actually, he asked me to hang out with him after school today. Would that be alright with you?” It was a lie, but only half of one. In reality, it was Matt who asked her to hang with him, Brian, and Zack. What Marlene didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, though, right?

“That’s fine, dear. You’ve been doing better with waking up on time and with your homework lately, I think you’re entitled to a little boyfriend time. Make sure you tell him I said hello, though. Let him know I’m thinking about him.” Marlene grinned cheekily, and Jessica held back the urge to hurl.

“I’ll make sure to do that, Ma. Thanks.”

Marlene nodded, and proceeded to pick up her bag from the kitchen table. “Well, I have to head out. Finish that up and get to school, okay?”

“I will. Bye.”

“Bye-bye.”

Marlene exited, and a sigh of absolute relief was expelled from Jessica’s lungs. She didn’t realize before how hard it was going to be to lie about what had transpired between her and Jason. Sure, she’d lied to her parents before, but it was never anything this severe. If Marlene and Jeffrey found out, Jessica was sure she’d never see the light of day again.

“Keep it together,” Jessica spoke quietly to herself. “You can do this. You need to do this.”

It was with great uncertainty that Jessica smiled softly and picked up her bag off the floor. She grabbed her keys, which hung on the hook by the door, and quickly exited the house.



A deep knot tugged at the pit of Jessica’s stomach when she arrived at school. Instead of going straight to homeroom, she was met by Matt, and the twosome hung out in the twelfth grade hallway, pretty close to where Jason and Isabel’s crew would normally linger. Only, just like the day before, neither of the aforementioned people were present.

“Don’t worry about it, Jess,” Matt told her, placing a single hand on her forearm. “Maybe they decided to drop out or something because they don’t want to face us.” A slick grin crossed his face at that.

“I highly doubt it. You don’t know Jason Kiegan the way I do. He’d be all over this. Something isn’t right, I can feel it.”

“Okay, so, what do you suppose is wrong, then?”

That was the problem. As much as Jessica thought about it, there really wasn’t a sure enough answer. It was complicated, and the only support she had for her claim was that uneasy feeling in her gut. She knew Matt was probably right, just like always, but her anxiety said otherwise.

“I don’t know, Matt,” Jessica finally relented.

Matt glanced over at the group with a slight scowl. “Well, that one girl is here. You said she wasn’t yesterday.”

Jessica looked closely and recognized Leslie Deslin’s face among the others. It was true, she’d been absent along with Jason and Isabel the previous day. Maybe that did mean something.

“Hm,” Jessica hummed. “I guess I’m being paranoid. This is all just really new for me, being free and away from them.”

“Don’t worry about it. Remember, I’m here for you, and so are Brian and Zack, whenever they decide to get their lazy asses here.”

Jessica chuckled. “I thought you’d been crashing at Brian’s house lately or something.”

“I was, but I had to go home and check on my mom because--” He suddenly stopped himself, and Jessica waited for him to continue with a confused gaze. “I just had to go check on my mom. She doesn’t like to be left alone for too long and…yeah.”

“Oh,” Jessica replied. She didn’t want to pry, but her interest in the matter was overwhelming. “Is she okay? I mean, does she have something wrong with her?”

Before the other could answer, the bell signaling homeroom had begun rang, and a much relieved air took over Matt. This was the last thing he wanted to discuss, because he was sure it’d scare the red head away, and he made a mental note to avoid the subject from now on.

“I’ll see you later, okay?” Matt said.

“O-okay,” Jessica replied. Matt laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, before turning and heading off down the hallway. She watched him go for a few moments, wondering deeply about what may be plaguing him, before finally giving up and walking in the direction of her own homeroom.

The day carried on just as it normally would after that. Jessica had completely forgotten about the issue concerning Jason and Isabel, and focused more so on the work handed out by each of her teachers. She managed to get everything done, and even passed her algebra test with a solid B. It wasn’t her best work, but considering everything that had gone on, it definitely could have been a lot worse.

Lunch rolled around trivially. Matt and Jessica were the least talkative of the bunch, while Brian and Zack, who’d managed to show up to school in the middle of first period, were all over each other with giggles. Matt eyed them warily, never one to be mirthful about their activities, while Jessica toyed absentmindedly with the plastic wrappings of her water bottle and gazed off into space.

“Did you talk to your parents about hanging out today?” Matt voiced quietly, side-eyeing the girl next to him.

“Yeah,” She replied. “I told my mom I was going to hang out with Jason and she was ecstatic.” Jessica rolled her eyes in remembrance.

Matt chuckled. “They still don’t know about what happened?”

“Nope, and they aren’t going to for as long as I can help it.”

The three men surrounding her showed confused expressions, because Jessica’s attitude had suddenly changed from easy-going to hostile. She recognized this, too, and was quick to add on:

“I mean, because you know how parents are. They always want to control every aspect of their child’s life and I’d just rather be able to control this part of mine.” She smiled, flashing a mouth full of ivory teeth. Matt returned it, happy to see her in somewhat of high spirits.

“Gotcha,” The hazel-eyed man spoke.

The bell rang not too long after that, and the foursome made a plan to meet up in the parking lot once school ended. Jessica wasn’t too sure what they were going to do after meeting, but she was quite excited. It would be the first time since actually coming together that they were going to hang out, and not to mention the rush of knowing she was defying her parents. That was perhaps the best notion of all. Of course, being around Matt had its perks too, as much as Jessica hated to admit. He was funny, cute, had a devastatingly addictive smile…and the red head was beginning to realize she might have a little crush on the rugged teen. This definitely wasn’t what she’d intended to happen upon striking up the unusual friendship, but seeing just how much he genuinely cared had without a doubt made her feelings skyrocket. There was no way she’d say anything, though. Embarrassment was never something she took well and there was little to no chance Matt felt the same, so why risk it?

When school let out a few hours later, Jessica was surprisingly the first of her group to enter the parking lot. She stood by her car, idly kicking at the tiny stones that lay on the asphalt. Her eyes searched over the general area for any sign of her three friends, but they couldn’t be seen for the time being. She sighed, dropping her gaze as she realized a lot of the students were now staring at her. It was obvious the fight from two days ago was still a hot topic, as was the fact that Jessica Flaherty was now hanging around with Matt Sanders, Zack Baker, and Brian Haner Jr. People really had nothing better to do with their time.

“Jessica.”

The auburn-haired girl’s head shot up, and she was met with possibly the last person she ever expected to see.

“L-Leslie?” Jessica muttered.

Leslie Deslin stood before her, chocolate brown eyes staring in Jessica’s own emerald greens.

“Hi,” Leslie spoke, sounding compassionate. “How are you?”

“Uh.” Jessica scratched her head. “I’m okay, I guess.”

“That’s good.”

Jessica nodded slowly. “Uhm…not to be rude or anything, but why are you talking to me?”

Leslie quickly diverted her gaze and took a deep breath. Jessica watched the other girl with furrowed brows, anxiously waiting for a reply. The brunette swallowed the lump in her throat, and looked back into Jessica’s eyes. It appeared she was going to say something, but her face took on a rather gruesome air when she looked passed Jess and saw who was approaching. Jessica turned, immediately smiling at Matt’s advancing form.

“Hey,” His gravelly voice spoke.

“Hey,” Jessica replied.

He slowed his pace upon walking around the car, stopping when he stood next to Jessica and across from Leslie. “What’s going on?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. This is Leslie. Les, this is Matt.”

The pair looked unsure of each other, but Matt ultimately held out his hand and Leslie was quick to take it. “Hi,” She said in a low voice.

“Hey.”

They separated, and Jessica looked back to Leslie expectantly. “So, uh, what were you going to say before?”

“Oh, I just…” She paused once again, and it was obvious she was nervous.

“You can tell me. I promise I won’t say anything,” Jessica tried to assure.

Leslie shook her head. “It’s not that, Jess. Listen, you just…you have to be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

Leslie raised both hands, as if to show the other two she meant no harm. “Okay, this is going to sound really bad. But you have to trust me.”

Jessica side-eyed Matt, before looking to Leslie again. “Trust you about what? Just tell me what’s going on.”

“I was with Jason and Isabel yesterday,” Leslie started, and Jessica couldn’t hide the scowl her face showed. “They made me skip with them. It was so pointless and we just drove around.”

“Okay…” Jessica said slowly. “What’s this have to do with--”

“Just let me finish, please. I’m getting there. Jason and Isabel kept talking about you. Jason was really mad and…he’s planning something; something bad.”

“What does that mean?” Matt chimed in, face hardening.

Leslie shrunk back a bit at Matt’s tone. “I don’t know for sure. They wouldn’t tell me. But whatever it is…you just need to look out for yourself, Jess. I’ve never hated you or wished you in any kind of peril. This is their fight, not mine, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

She stepped forward and quickly embraced Jessica in a hug. Jess grunted, taken by surprise, but returned it all the same.

“You don’t know how happy I am to hear you say that,” Jessica said with a sigh. “I thought everyone hated me.”

“I never hated you! How could I hate you when you’re doing the right thing? If I was as brave as you, I’d be gone, too. As it is, I’m lucky to be standing here right now. If Isabel saw me talking to you, she’d probably kill me.” Leslie pulled away, rolling her eyes.

“Is that why they’re not here today, Les? Are they at home scheming?”

“I think so. You can’t take this lightly, though. I saw a glint in Jason’s eye, and it was pure evil. Please, promise me you’ll watch out for yourself. And you,” Leslie turned to Matt, her face taking on a more serious expression. “You have to watch out for her. Jason and Isabel aren’t messing around.”

“Don’t worry,” Matt replied. “I’ll keep an eye on her. I took care of Kiegan once, I’m more than willing to do it again.”

Leslie smiled. “You fucked him up pretty good, too. It was great.”

Matt gave a hearty laugh. “Well, thank you. It was my pleasure.”

Jessica giggled, looking between the two. “I think I’m in good hands, Les. Thanks for warning me and clearing the air. It’s definitely a relief.”

“It is.” Leslie nodded. “You should text me sometime. I’d love to hear what it’s like in the real world; ya know, outside of Isabel’s fantasy land.”

“Oh, I know. Believe me, I know. But I’ll do that.”

“Good. Well, uh, I’d better get going before I miss my bus. It was nice meeting you, Matt. You’re not as bad as everyone puts you out to be.”

“Uh, thanks, I guess,” Matt said with a chuckle. “Nice meeting you, too.”

“Bye, Les.”

Leslie walked off with a wave, and Jessica was quick to turn to Matt.

“Well, that was nice,” Matt started.

“Yeah, it was. But now I’m nervous. What if Jason and Isabel are planning on doing something really bad to me or you?” Jessica’s heart beat unnaturally in her chest.

“I wouldn’t worry about it, Red. They’re lowlifes, you know that.”

“Yeah, but--”

Matt placed a hand on her cheek, cutting her off. “Relax. If they’re planning something, obviously it’s not going to go down today because you’ll be with me, Brian, and Zack; and you know we’d never let anything happen to you.”

Jessica closed her eyes, feeling a slight shiver run down her spine despite the warmness Matt’s hand provided. “I know. But…I don’t want to overlook this too much. It’s a blatant warning.”

“It is, but for now, you’re safe. If I see Jason, I’ll approach him and give him a warning of my own, okay?”

Jessica grinned knowingly. “Okay.”

“Good. Now, how about we get going?” Matt suggested, pulling his hand away, much to Jessica’s displeasure.

“Where are we going?”

Matt walked back around her car. “Somewhere fun. Just follow me and you’ll see.”

The girl gave a laughing scoff and watched as Matt walked back to his car. She climbed into her own, her insides doing somersaults as her mind raced to all the possible entertainment that lay ahead.