Do Overs and Second Chances

“Someone looks happy,” Jess pointed out once Izy had finally broken away from Cameron to go see what her friend wanted.

“That’s because someone’s boyfriend just said he loved her for the first time,” Izy said with the same huge smile on her face.

She had expected Jess to be happy for her, but Jess seemed less than excited by the news. “You’ve been dating that long and he never told you he loved you before now?” Jess asked causing the corners of Izy’s mouth to fall.

“What are you saying?” she asked quietly. “Do you think he didn’t mean it?”

“No! That’s not what I’m saying at all. I just want to make sure you’re sure about this guy I don’t want you to get hurt. You’re still my friend and I care about you,” Jess explained. Izy remained silent though. “Look I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll make it up to you well go out to a party tonight and you can get ready with me in our bus.” Suddenly a plan formed in Jess’s mind and she got excited. There was one thing that needed to happen now that Izy was on Warped Tour and Jess was ready to make it happen.

“Sounds good. I’ll just tell Cam and we can go,” Izy told her friend already over looking her previous comment. Jess waited while Izy went over to her boyfriend. “Hey Cam, I’m going to go hang out with Jess for awhile. Is that ok?” she asked.

“Again? When are we going to be able to hang out?” He didn’t want her to go, but he didn’t want to have to stop her from going.

“I’m sorry,” she started feeling guilty. “We could hang out tonight though. Jess and me were going to a party, I’ll meet you there and then we can go somewhere else after,” she told him suggestively.

“Oh ok. See you later,” he said being caught off guard.

“Yeah you will,” she replied before winking at him and walking back over to Jess.

The two girls walked back to The Summerset’s bus walking side by side while Jess asked a few questions about Cameron She went for the basic stuff; how did you meet? Who made the first move? Was it love at first sight? Izy answered every one of her friend’s questions while Jess tried to ignore the part of her that wanted to hate Cameron. He was the reason Izy wouldn’t come back to Arizona and nothing was the same without her.

Once they got to the door of the bus though Izy paused. “Maybe it’s not a good idea for me to be here,” she pointed out to Jess.

It was clear to Jess what her friend was worried about and she was quick to try to reassure the other girl. ”Don’t worry about it you’re my guest and if John doesn’t like it he can just deal with it. He’s going to need to get over everything that happened anyway and there’s no better time than the present.”

With that argument Jess opened the bus door and walked in followed by Izy. “I’d give you a tour but it’s really not that exciting. If you want to lesson your chances of seeing John you can wait in my bunk. I just need to touch up my makeup then I’ll be right back,” Jess explained already walking to the bathroom before Izy could make a comment.

Izy did what Jess had suggested and was waiting nervously when Jess called out to her. “Hey Izy my mascara must have fallen of my bag I think it’s in the back lounge could you go grab it for me?”

“Sure where do you think it is?” Izy called back.

“Probably near the couch.”

Izy walked to the back of the bus and entered the back room. By the time she realized that there was already someone in there it was too late. Once she had walked through the doorframe the door shut behind her. She immediately turned around and started pounding on the door. “Come on Jess this isn’t funny just let me out,” she shouted through the door.

Instead of Jess saying something back Izy’s phone beeped letting her know that she had a text message from Jess.

You and John need to talk. Neither of you are leaving that room until you get over your history and move on.

She sighed before turning her attention to John. “She’s not going to let us out until we talk this out,” she explained to him.

“So what’s she going to do lock us in this room forever?” John asked angrily.

“Com on John it’s been two years can’t you just hear me out? I don’t want to fight. We don’t have to be best friends but can we at least be civil with one another?” she pleaded.

“I don’t even know what you could possibly say to me right now Isabelle? I already have given you more chances then you had deserved.” He turned his back on her in order to go sit on the couch.

“John what happened is in the past can we at least try to talk this out.”

“Let’s not and say we did,” he said before turning his attention from her to his phone. A few seconds later though he got a text from Jess.

I know that is what you really want stop being stubborn and let her talk. And by the way I’ll know if you’re lying so don’t even try to get out of this.

He groaned but turned his attention back to Izy. “If you’re going to talk then talk,” he said.

Izy took a moment to decide what to say, but she knew nothing she could say to him was ever going to sound perfect. She quit trying to find the perfect words and just started talking. “I shouldn’t have left John.”

“But I thought you were just so happy now that you have Cameron in your life and all that,” he said bitterly and half hoping she would say she wasn’t happy with Cameron.

“I am happy it just took me awhile to get there, but leaving you was still one of my biggest mistakes,” she spoke honestly.

“Then why did you do it? Why did you leave?” he asked.

“I was scared,” she gave the simple answer. Then when she saw the look John was giving her she went on to explain. “I loved you but I didn’t think you would ever be able to really fully forgive me. I couldn’t even forgive myself. How could our relationship keep going with something like that hanging in the background?”

“Something like that? You mean the fact that you slept with my brother. How exactly is it that you can still say that you ever really loved me?” He was reluctant to get close to Izy again so he went back to anger. He didn’t want to have to go through all the hurt she had caused him a second time.

“I didn’t sleep with him while we were dating,” she defended. “That was way before we even got together. That doesn’t change the fact that I messed up though. I was dumb but the one thing of been sure of is that I love you. I told you that I always will and I meant it.”

“But you didn’t actually tell me. You wrote it in a note that you had my band mate give to me while you were busy running away.”

“I’ll admit that I didn’t handle things well, but you didn’t either. The prom thing was cruel and then you went and slept with Melisa. I didn’t even know what to do after that. You should have just talked to me in private instead of announcing my mistakes to everyone.” The memory of the hurt she felt that night caused her eyes to water threatening tears.

“Izy I’m sorry. Please don’t cry,” he went over to hug her. Seeing the hurt he had caused her had brought the walls he put up to keep Izy from working her way back into his heart tumbling down. “I was a dick, but you’re right we should be friends again we are going to be seeing each other all summer anyways. Hating each other will take up too much energy.”

“Thank you John,” she said smiling. “Now let’s get Jess to let us out of here it smells funny.” She scrunched up her nose and John momentarily was caught up with how cute she looked. Izy sent a quick message to Jess telling her that the two of them had worked it out and she should come let them out.

Jess didn’t respond but after a few minutes the door opened, but it wasn’t Jess. “Hey Jess told me to let you two out. You weren’t doing anything I would have done?” Josh asked with a raised eyebrow.

Izy and John both ignored his question and Izy moved on to her own. “Where is Jess?”

“She already left for the party,” Josh told them.

“You mean she locked us in a room and then just left?” Izy clarified out of anger and Josh just nodded his head yes. “Come on John we are going to find her,” she ordered before grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the room and off the bus. She barely even realized that she had held on to John’s hand as she speed walked all the way to the party.

Instead of finding Jess though her and John had found Cameron who had been looking for Izy since he got there. Then when he saw Jess show up without Izy he got worried. Izy had told him she would be with Jess so he thought she must have lied to him and seeing her with John had only made things worth.

“Izy I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He went up to his girlfriend but paused when she saw that her hand was clutching John’s. When Izy saw what Cameron was staring at she awkwardly dropped John’s hand and made her way over to Cameron.

“I’m sorry but Jess had a plan and when Jess has a plan there is no way to stop her,’ Izy offered for and explanation, but it still left Cameron in the dark.

“And what exactly was this plan?” he asked.

Izy was about to answer when she saw Jess in the crowd talking to Stephen and Justin. “Sorry Cam but I have to go talk to Jess,” she told him, before taking off.

“What the hell Jess? You locked me and John in a room and then you left!” she exclaimed. Causing Jess to look guilty while Stephen and Justin looked clueless.

“Well in my defense I thought you and John were going to need a lot more time to actually work things out. That or you would kill each other and then it wouldn’t have mattered if I was there or not,” Jess tried to joke but Izy wasn’t in the mood.

“Well why exactly did you lock us in a room in the first place?” she asked.

“You are both so stubborn if I had just asked you to talk it out both of you would have just ignored. You two couldn’t have lasted all summer the way you both were going. Please don’t be mad it worked didn’t it?”

“Yes it worked,” Izy said already forgiving Jess she had a point. At this point Justin and Stephen had both turned their attention and started their own conversation. “But now Cameron seems upset since he saw me get here with John.” Izy frowned thinking about Cameron being mad at her.

“Why was he so upset about that?” Jess asked.

“Well me and John may have been holding hands.” For a minute Jess thought her plan might have worked even better than she had hoped before Izy kept talking. “In my hurry to get here and confront you I hadn’t even realized we were still holding hands.”

“I’m sorry Izy. Let’s get a few drinks in you and Cameron and things will all go back to normal,” Jess suggested.

So that was what they did and things did seem to go back to normal. Izy and Cameron were being coupley and John was nowhere to be seen. It wasn’t until Izy and Cameron were back to the van that he asked the question that had almost always been on his mind since they got to Warped. “Izy, why exactly did you and John break up?”

Izy wasn’t feeling up to answer that right now so she avoided the question, something she seemed to be doing more and more lately. “I’m tired can we talk about it in the morning?” but naturally she had not intention of actually talking about it in the morning