Jealous Minds Think Alike

-Jaycee-

Bzzz! Bzz!

I slammed my hand on my nightstand, groping the hard wood until I felt my vibrating phone. What time was it? Five in the morning? I opened one sleepy eye and stared at the bright screen, which read 10:00. That was strange, because I never woke up this late before.

I reluctantly climbed out of bed and saw the sight of clothes strung all over the floor. What the hell happened last night? I thought for a second and remembered John. My cheeks started to burn. Last night. John. He showed up at my house. He's staying in my basement. He kissed me. We made out. We almost had sex.

I looked over at my new text, thinking it was John asking me if he could come out from the basement, but it turned out to be Stephen.

“Shit...” I cursed under my breath. I had completely lead him on and cheated on John. It was because Stephen kissed me when I was confused on everything. I honestly had some feelings for Stephen, but I the guilty feeling always ate me away whenever I was with him.

Jaycee? Wanna meet at the park for a stroll? :)

I said yes, of course. I just didn't want to let him down. After all, he basically confessed his feelings for me and I didn't wanna let him down. I quickly changed into some skinny jeans, a simple v-neck and put my hair up in a low ponytail. I stuffed my phone in my pocket and slowly walked down the stairs. Luckily for me, my mother wasn't home.

Hey John, I'll be out for a jog. My mom's not home, so help yourself to the fridge.

Then walking with the most quiet of footsteps, I snuck outside and closed the door behind me. I was happy that the park was only ten minutes away, so I could walk as slowly as I could. Between you and me, I didn't really want to see Stephen after John and I's last night fling.

I kept thinking about what John said to me, “Jaycee, I just wanted to let you know that I can't control my feelings.” What feelings? That he was horny? No. I'm pretty sure it was more than that. He didn't seem like the type to have one night stands, after all he did stop before we could actually do anything. Most guys I know, or well I've heard about, would never just stop like that. And what was that thing he rambling on about to give him compliments?

I looked up ahead of me and saw that I had arrived at the park. I sat down on one of the benches and saw Stephen jogging over to me.

“Good morning Jaycee!” Stephen leaned over to kiss me, but I ducked my head at the last minute, his lips pressing against my forehead instead.

“Um...uh....good morning.” He gave off a hurt look for a split second then gathered up his composure.

“You seem a bit tired, did you just wake up?”

“I did actually.”

“Sorry, if I left you completely nervous yesterday,” He said sheepishly, blushing a little. “I didn't know you would be so taken back by our kiss.”

Well honestly, it was John who left me breathless.

“Yeah,” I let out a fake laugh. “I got a lot of butterflies in my stomach.”

Before Stephen could reply, I heard my name being called. We exchanged confused glances and saw....wait a minute, Jess and Josh?

“Jaycee!” Jess was almost yelling.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” I was not supposed to be with Stephen. I was not supposed to be caught. Especially by Jess, because she trusted me just as much as John did. Stephen knew what I was feeling as well, giving me a panicked look.

“I knew it! I knew I was the one who saw you two together!” Josh cried as the two stopped in front of us.

“W-What are you talking about?”

“We're not stupid, yesterday we saw you two at Ben and Jerry's! You two were making out!”

Oh my fucking god. Stephen and I were caught! How was it possible that Jess and Josh saw us? I never even noticed them! Holy fucking shit.

“That's a lie. We're just frien--”

Suddenly a hand slapped me across my face and instantly a stinging sensation began to burn my cheek. I've never actually been slapped across the face, so it hurt really bad.

“Fuck!” I cried, grabbing my cheek. My skin felt really hot, way hotter than a blush. Stephen grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him.

“Jess! What the fuck are you doing!?”

“I didn't trust you for a single bit Stephen, but I trusted Jaycee!” She screamed. Josh grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back and light frustrated tears ran down her pink cheeks. “How the hell can you do this yourself? How can do you this to John!?”

“I told you, we're just friends!”

“Don't give me that bullshit. Josh saw what you two were doing! Why won't you listen to a word we say? Brian already told you he was trying to protect you! John stood up for you and when this dumbass didn't!” She pointed to Stephen and his face tensed. “We told you to say away from Stephen! Mary left John for Stephen, because he was freaking jealous!”

“I-I already know the whole story,” I choked out.

“If you know the whole story, then why are the hell are you cheating on John? Why the hell are you repeating the past all over again!” She almost clawed at me, but Josh's grip tightened, preventing her from laying a finger on me. “Did you know how much John was heartbroken? He was devastated! And you're.....you're so inconsiderate! What do you see him? What!”

“Jess, calm down!” Stephen finally spoke.

“How the fuck can I calm down when I'm seeing you two in front of me right now. Stephen, you should know better! You promised! Remember in the library, you promised that you would never meddle in John's relationships again! You know better than anyone else! You broke your promise and John's just gonna be hurt all over again! Don't you care about your own brother? How the hell are you living your life, when you're slowly killing him!”

Stephen's grip on my hand tightened and his face turned a bright red. “Do you wanna know why I always get the girls? It's because John can't hold on to them! Why are they all running to me? It's because they like me! They left John because he's not good enough for them, because I'm a much better candidate!”

“You're so full of crap Stephen! You were the one who deceived Mary!”

“If I deceived Mary, then why did she still end up choosing to stay with me at the end?”

“If I were John, I swear to god I will - “

“John!” Josh suddenly cried.

“What?”

Josh swallowed and pointed. We all turned our heads in unison and saw John, dressed in the same attire as last night, staring at us. His eyes glanced down at Stephen and I's intertwined hands. I looked away and saw Jess glaring at me, but also with a hurt expression. Stephen looked as he always did whenever he saw John, full of hate. John stormed over to us and ripped our hands apart.

“Hey man, what the hell -” Stephen started, but John's fist suddenly slammed into his cheek, causing him to stumble back and almost fall.

“I should have done that a long time ago, you fucking prick!” John held his fist in the air and headed towards Stephen again. Jess and Josh didn't even bother to do anything.

“No!” I grabbed John's fist, before he could land another blow. I stood between the two vengeful brothers and swallowed hard, trying to keep all the tears in me.

John stared down at my hand wrapped around his fist and looked back at me. “Why the hell are you protecting him for!?”

“I don't want you two to start fighting! Please stop!”

“Bullshit!” He spat. “It's because you're still in love with him!”

He tore his fist away and stuffed them into his pockets, turning around, then walking away.

“John wait!” I left Stephen's side and ran after him. “Hold on! W-We need to talk!”

“What the fuck is there to talk about?” He looked back and I saw that he was close to tears. I was taken back, because I've never saw a boy cry before. “It's obvious you're not over your little crush!”

I suddenly felt my hypocritical feelings stir from inside of me. “Why are you so jealous for!?”

“Do you wanna know why I'm jealous? Because I'm in love with you Jaycee!” I stared at John with wide eyes, my jaw nearly dropping.

“W-What?” I was a fumbling idiot right now. I felt my heart was about to burst out of my chest and my stomach was turning so much, I thought I was going to throw up on the spot.

“At least I think that I do,” John's face fell. “We haven't known each other for so long, but I definitely like you. That's why I'm so pissed that you're seeing Stephen behind my fucking back!”

“Are you saying that, because the contract said so?” I replied back with a shaky voice.

“Oh my god! How much more dense you could you be!? It's not about the contract anymore! Remember how we were talking about a scenario where we might actually develop real feelings for each other? I did! I don't know what you feel towards me, but obviously you don't seem to like me very much, because you turned me away when Stephen kicked me out of my own house!”

“I thought....you ran away....”

“I didn't wanna tell you, okay!? I like you Jaycee! I have for a while! I love everything about you! Your hair, your face, your eyes, your tough exterior! Everything! You drive me crazy nearly all the time, but I never stopped liking you for a second! I even lied to Brian when I saw you cheating on me, because I still wanted to be with you!”

Josh and Jess let out a gasp. My throat suddenly felt dry, but I managed to gather my voice. “What about Mary? I thought you still liked her!”

“This again? Ugh! Jaycee, I don't care about Mary anymore like I used to! It's you! I just don't want to lose you like I lost her. Guess I was wrong.” He turned away and started walking again.

I wanted to run after him once more, but I knew I had nothing good to say. After all, John was in love with me and I was just the most ignorant bitch in the world.