Don't Get Sentimental On Me

Jamie was on her way to my house and I was so excited. I missed my best friend - my biffle. Jamie was a small, petite, thin girl. She was truly pretty and adorable. She attracted way more boys than I ever did when I lived in Pheonix. I still loved her though and nothing changed that over the years.

I dressed hurriedly in a long-sleeve top due to the lasting chill that was hanging around at this time. I also wore a beret with black skinny jeans. Just as I finished applying the last bit of make up, I heard the door open from downstairs.

"Adrianne Estella Poli?" I heard someone say from downstairs.

"Jamison Heather O'Reilly?" I squealed before running down the stairs, grabbing her up into my arms as she dropped her bags by her sides.

"How are you, Adrianne?" Jamie asked as we settled down, taking her things up to my room.

"I'm...I'm living. I have good friends - thanks to your cousin of course!"

"You mean, thanks to me!" Jamie said, raising her hands into the air.

"How?!"

"I told you about my cousin! Duh!"

"I missed you," I said, rolling my eyes, "When do you want to go see the boys?"

"Right fucking now."

"Right fucking now?"

"Hell yes."

"Let's call up the idiots!" I yelled as I pulled out my phone.

"Who are we calling?" she asked.

"Hey, Gar! What's going on today?" I asked.

"Nothing really. I'm sitting here. Bored of course."

"Where are you?" I asked.

"Pat's, of course!"

"You may aswell live there," I said, Jamie giggling.

"Who was that?"

"Jamie. We were wondering if you guys were up for hanging out...?"

"Fuck yeah, I'm bored!"

"You have no idea how nice it is to have another girl around," I whispered to Jamie before saying into the phone, "We'll be over."

"You want us to round up the rest of the guys?"

"Just Jared and Kennedy. We'll take care of John."

"Ooh! Who's John? Sounds sexy," she said, sticking her tongue between her teeth, "And Kennedy! Is that the one you've been talking about?!"

"Come on, you. Let's go get John."

We walked over next door and pulled John out of the house and into his car. We drove the whole five or so minutes to Pat's house, John talking animatedly to Jamie. She just looked at me and giggled. She already liked him.

"And why aren't you with that sex muffin?" she whispered.

"He's totally not my type," I whispered back, rolling my eyes at her.

We entered the Kirch residence and I could feel all eyes on Jamie - the shiny new toy. These boys would have fun with her. Wait. She would have fun with them.

"Hey, cuz. Long time, no see," Pat said, standing and hugging her small frame.

"I know! If I had known that you had such attractive...friends, I would have visited more often," she said jokingly.

"I should probably introduce you. That ginger kid is Jared, Garrett is sitting on the couch with the nerd frames, Kennedy is right next to him, and you already know John...," I trailed off.

"It's nice having a girl around," John laughed.

"Thanks, John. It's not like I'm a girl."

"You're more like one of the guys, Adri," he said before gently punching my shoulder.

"Yeah, thanks."

"So...we're all in a band," he said. Great, so he's playing the whole 'band' card.

"That's hot," she laughed. She's falling for the whole 'band' card. Even greater.

"Would you like to hear us?" John actually seemed...less than confident. He was...nervous!

"Yes!" she crinkled her nose and John smiled before scratching the back of his neck.

John led us all downstairs as the boys hooked up their equipment. The first two songs they played for us were The Town's Been Talkin' and Shake It. Then they played Count 'Em One, Two, Three. The last song they performed was Daisy. How predictable. John looked directly at Jamie as he sang, Kennedy singing his parts to me just like everytime they played it.

After they finished they all agreed that we should go out to eat. We headed out to In-N-Out. John paid for Jamie of course.

"Yeah, thanks, O'Callaghan!" I called after him, but he was already caught in Jamie's web.

"I got this," Kennedy said, pulling out his wallet, smiling down at me.

I tried to smile back, but it came out as more of a grimace. I couldn't help it really. It came out naturally. Kennedy only returned it with another smile. This one more half-heartedly than the first. His eyes softened. I think that for a brief second we knew that what we were doing to ourselves wasn't benefitting either of us.

"So you're here for a week?" John asked.

"Yes. A whole week."

"We could have a lot of fun in a week," John said, winking.

I knew that if they were left alone for five minutes, his pants would be off and her tongue would be wrestling with his. I couldn't help but look at this exact moment and think about how cute they were in the now. I realized that Jamie and I would have a long conversation about boys later on.
* * * * *
"Favorite part of the day?"

"John. Period," Jamie said, hugging a pillow close to her chest.

"You're ridiculous - and love-struck!" I said, rolling my eyes before fixing my glasses.

"Don't think I didn't notice Kennedy singing his parts to you," she said, sticking a chip in her mouth.

"Yeah and it's getting on my damn nerves," I grumbled.

"What?!" she said, choking on a chip, "I thought you like...loved him!"

"I do - like him that is! He's just confusing."

"What kind of problems have come up?"

"Haley Trails."

"Sounds like a bitch."

"Yeah. She's a cheerleader."

"Double bitch."

"Tell me about it. She's his girlfriend every now and then. They are on and off all the time."

"But he likes you. I can tell. The way he looks at you... If only you could see it."

"The sad thing is...I do. Every now and then, I see that sad glimmer in his eyes and it kills me every time."

"He'll come around..."

"Thanks, James," I said.

"No probs, Adrian," she said.

I took my glasses off then and turned the light out. I laid there for a minute, staring at the blades of my ceiling fan as they made me dizzy. I never knew that Kennedy would become someone so important to my breathing patterns. I never knew that he would make me think about him so much that it hurt my head. I never knew that he would cause me to have heart problems.

"Hey, Jamie?"

"Yeah, Adri?"

"You know...John gives you that...look. He looks at you like that too."

It was quiet for another moment before she spoke again, "Thank you."