Jealous Minds Think Alike

John smiled.

It wasn't any old smile, however. It wasn't a goofy grin or a devilish smirk. It wasn't even a smile of confidence.

It was a determined smile.

He slowly reached inside his back pocket and pulled out something that seemed to fit into the palm of his hand. His hands gripped the item so tightly that none of us had the slightest clue to what it was.

A weapon? No. What kind of weapon would that be that small?

Even though we had no idea what it was, we felt pretty unsure and unsafe.

A worried sweat ran down the rapist's forehead and he gripped the knife tighter. I didn't take my eyes off his hand. We both flinched back as John let out the strangest laugh.

“You shouldn't have messed with my girl, jackass.”

My girl?

In a flash, he threw the unidentified object. Sure enough, it slammed against the man's head and he dropped the knife. Blood dripped on the pavement, a baseball rolled on his side.

A baseball. That's right.

Instantly, John pulled me into his arms. He squeezed me tightly. He pressed his cheek against the mounds of my messy black hair.

“John...”

“What could I say? You wanted a guy who can protect you, right?”

My face grew warm. How did a guy I hate, binded by a dating contract, suddenly seem so heroic?

The masked man groaned. He was faced down on the pavement, where his joints and muscles seemed to be stiff and frozen. He raised on head, barely.

“What are you kid?” he scowled. “A baseball player?”

“Nope,” John grinned. “I found it on the ground, just before I stumbled on the scene.” I stared at him and looked away. I clamped my tongue to keep from snapping at him.

What an idiot.

The rapist chuckled. “She your girlfriend, kid?”

“She is,”He replied proudly and ruffled my hair. I slapped his hand away. “She's a keeper, isn't she?

“And a nice body too.”

“Right back at'cha!” He winked, a clicking sound emitted from between his teeth.

“What the hell are you doing!?” I hissed, pulling him away. “You're associating with the damn rapist!”

“He doesn't seem like such a bad guy.”

“That's because he's not raping anyone at the moment!”

He shrugged. I sighed.

“I think you're too much of a class clown for me.”

“Before you make any assumptions...” I saw the look in his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I'm actually a pretty nice guy.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” I replied, motioning my head.

“Look....I know that you don't like me very much. I know that you hate that we're binded by a dating contract and I know that we both know that the contract isn't going to go away any time soon, so...” He held out his hand. “Are you willing to give me a chance, Jaycee? Sure, I'm not as perfect as this Stephen guy and maybe I do judge too quickly. But...if we give this thing a shot, then maybe we can have fun. What do you say?” He wiggled his fingers.

I suddenly fell silent and stared at his hand. I looked up at him, his eyes followed.

“Well...you caused me a lot of trouble, but I can't reject what you just said.” I placed my hand in his.

He gave me a goofy grin and pulled me into a hug.

“John! Put me down!” I laughed as he lifted me up. He started to spin me around. “I'm getting dizzy!”

“You can't talk your way out of this. You know I'm lovable!”

“Like a giant teddy bear!” I giggled.

John Gomez wasn't such a bad guy after all.

**********

Stephen Gomez:

I was frozen. Like a man trapped in ice.

The girl was being held hostage by a serial rapist. I eyed the knife and his maniacal eyes through his ski mask.

Out in the open? This was just like those typical movies with the robbers!

I was shaking with fear. This familiar girl who I was stalking....I-I mean following was in a life/death situation. I was gripping the pole so tightly that my fingers felt numb.

I didn't understand. Why was I such a chicken? I mean you can't just let a girl get raped in front of your very own eyes. She needed help! Not a coward.

I looked up at the girl again and saw blood.....staining her neck.

Suddenly, I felt the fear vanishing from my body. She definitely needed my help. (Boy, am I stupid not to realize that....). After all....I was the only one here, right?

I peeled my hands off the pole and extended a leg, ready to break into a run.

Then he showed up. My brother.

I couldn't tell what they were saying, but I could see the entire scene playing out in front of me, like a planned skit. I saw the baseball and the way she took his hand.

I felt this strange, uneasy feeling in my stomach.

I saw how John picked up her and twirled her around. In fact, I spent the rest of my time observing the couple. I left when the police cars came.

I followed John and the girl for a while. Then I went home, realizing my certain goal.