When Friends Fall in Love

~Krista's P.O.V.~

Marissa and Zacky had become practically inseparable. We didn't get back to the dorm until 3 a.m. Thursday night/Friday morning. Zacky picked Marissa up at noon—nine hours later. They spent all of Friday together, and Marissa didn't get home until 8 a.m. Saturday.

"We didn't stay at his house," she told me, even though I didn't ask. "We were at the beach. We talked all night and watched the sunrise."

I thought it was cute. Zacky was good for Marissa, and I loved seeing her happy. She had been depressed recently, and I knew it was because Brian was running around in Huntington with Josie, not caring about anyone's feelings but his own. Marissa was feeling neglected by her best friend, and that is a very bad feeling.

"I think they're nauseating," Jimmy stated when I commented on how often Zacky and Marissa were together these days.

"Then so are we," I retorted.

He chuckled. "I guess you're right."

Jimmy and I were also inseparable. However, we were being very careful about the situations we put ourselves in. We both knew that sex could help a relationship by bringing a couple closer together. But sex could destroy a relationship just as quickly. For this reason, we stayed in brightly-lit places where there were crowds of people around. We figured it was easier to avoid temptation rather than having to stop every time.

Helena called my cell at one o'clock on Saturday. "Hey. What are you and Jimmy doing tonight?"

"I have no idea," I replied. "Why?"

"Well, no one has seen or talked to you, Jimmy, Zacky, or Marissa recently," Helena said. "So we thought maybe you guys would like to come hang out with us at Spank Daddy's tonight."

"Sure," I agreed. "You guys deserve to be graced by our presence occasionally."

"Ha ha," Helena muttered. I could hear the grin in her voice. "Would you tell Marissa that we're all going there tonight? She's not answering her cell."

I glanced over at the unmoving lump in Marissa's bed. "Yeah. I'll let her know."

"Thanks," Helena said. "See you at eight."

I quickly dialed Jimmy's number.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hello, beautiful."

A smile immediately spread across my lips. "Hey, yourself. What are you doing tonight?"

"I was thinking about asking out this really amazing girl I know," he responded. "Do you think she'll say yes?"

"I don't know," I teased. "She might have better things to do than hang out with you, Mr. Plague."

"What could possibly be better than hanging out with me?" he questioned.

"She could go out with some girlfriends," I said. "They could go to a club or go to the mall or…" I trailed off.

"Or?" he pressed once I'd been silent for almost a full minute.

I giggled. "Those are the only two things I can think of to do around here."

He laughed. "So, does that mean she'll hang out with me?"

"Yes, she would love to," I said. "And she even knows what you guys can do tonight."

"Kris," he warned.

"It's nothing naughty!" I protested. "Helena invited us to hang out with them at Spank Daddy's tonight. At eight."

"Oh," he said. "Okay. I'll see you tonight."

I closed my cell. I grabbed a pillow and hurled it at Marissa's unmoving form.

" Fuck you," came her muffled voice from under the covers.

"Wake up, Doll," I sing-songed. "We have plans for the evening."

She peered at her alarm clock. "It's one o'clock. Wake me up again when it's actually evening."

"Get up!" I urged. "You're gonna want to get perfect for Mr. Vengeance!"

"I'll get perfect for Zacky when he's going to be conscious," she said. "Which won't be for another four hours. And that means I get to sleep for at least two more hours before I have to make myself perfect. So, go away."

"Rissa." I crossed the room and stood over her threateningly. "If you don't get your skinny little ass out of bed—"

She sat up and glared at me. "Fine. I'm up. Now, please explain to me why I'm up."

"We're going to Spank Daddy's with everybody," I informed her.

"Everybody?" she repeated, and hope sparkled in her blue eyes. "Is Bri going to be there?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sorry, sweetie."

"Oh. It doesn't matter. I was just wondering." Her face was carefully neutral and I knew she was fighting to mask her disappointment.

An idea came to me at that moment. "I know what will make you feel better."

"What?" she queried, giving me a curious look.

"Shopping!" I grabbed her arm and practically dragged her out of bed. "C'mon! Let's go!"

**********

~Marissa's P.O.V.~

When Zacky and Jimmy showed up at our dorm that night, Krista and I were dressed in new outfits and looking hot.

"Damn," Jimmy said softly, eyes glued to Krista.

She smiled and blushed at this compliment. She wore a blue velvet corset with a black miniskirt that barely covered everything and thigh-high boots. Her hair was in a ponytail, two loose strands framing her face, and she had on blue eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and dark red lip gloss.

Meanwhile, I was fighting to keep a straight face. Zacky hadn't said a word. His green eyes were fixed on me and he seemed incapable of speech. I was clad in a silver bikini top, a black mesh shirt over it, and a tiny black skirt that flashed thong every time I moved. I had added thigh-high fishnets and knee-high boots to complete the look. My hair was in pigtails and my only makeup was black eyeliner and clear lip gloss.

Jimmy poked Zacky. "Breathe, man."

Krista and I laughed. The four of us again took Zacky's Mustang, girls in the back, guys in the front. We reached Spank Daddy's a few minutes early, but everyone was already there. Well, everyone except Brian and Josie.

Helena whistled as Krista and I approached. We both jokingly struck a pose.

"Hell yeah, bitches!" Helena cried. "Those outfits make me want to get naked!"

"Go ahead," Matt encouraged her with a wicked grin.

She swatted at him. He caught her by the wrist, pulled her to him, and gave her a long kiss that was mildly pornographic.

"Get a room!" Johnny complained. "For fuck's sake."

"You've got the 'fuck' part right," Matt said, sliding his hands down Helena's back and resting them on her ass.

"I thought we were here to spend time with our friends," Krista remarked. "Not watch Matt and Helena make a porno movie."

"She's right." Helena freed herself from Matt's arms. "We invited them here. We can't ignore them."

Matt pouted. "I didn't invite anyone. You did."

"Only because you said you missed them," Helena shot back.

"Awww!" Jimmy exclaimed. "Shadsy missed us!" He jumped on Matt and tried to give him a hug.

"Get the fuck off me, man!" Matt shouted, attempting to shove Jimmy away. Both men were laughing. Zacky joined in the three-way hug that was rapidly becoming a wrestling match.

Krista, Helena, and I made a lot of noise, each cheering for the man she was dating, until we noticed the bartender giving us dirty looks.

"Guys!" Helena hissed. "Stop! We're gonna get thrown out!"

Matt, Zacky, and Jimmy broke apart.

"That's so uncool," Matt said. "That bartender used to like us. I wonder what his problem is."

"He needs a good lay," Jimmy joked.

Matt reached for Helena again . "So do I."

Johnny looked annoyed. "God, Matt, do you have to act like this all the time?"

Krista glanced at me, eyes wide. I turned to Zacky and whispered, "What the hell is Johnny's problem?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Zacky replied quietly. "He and Lacey had a fight. He's always bitchy when his relationship is shitty and everyone else is happy."

I looked at Lacey. She wasn't looking at any of us and her mouth was set in an angry line.

"Hey!" Matt said suddenly. "The Fourth of July is this week. What are we doing?"

"The same thing we do every year," Jimmy said.

"Having a cookout and getting wasted," Helena and Zacky intoned.

Matt faced Krista and me. "You girls are out of school on the Fourth, right?"

We both nodded.

"Good," he said. "Then here's the plan. We're gonna have our Fourth of July celebration on Tuesday, the third, so that you two can spend the Fourth recovering. That way, you won't have to go to class on Thursday hung over and stuff. Does that sound good to everybody?"

Jimmy, Krista, Zacky, Johnny, and I nodded.

"Alright!" Matt started for the bar. "Now, let's get this 'hanging out' thing over with so I can get laid!"

**********

Krista and I didn't do anything Sunday. The second chemistry test of the semester was Monday and we both needed a really good grade since we'd both done badly on the first test.

We barely slept any that night and the test seemed harder than it should have.

"How do you think you did?" I asked Krista as we exited the building and headed towards our dorm.

"Pretty good," she said. "I couldn't remember number fifteen for anything, though."

My cell phone rang, this time emitting "Monster Mash" by the Misfits. Krista smirked in amusement.

"Shut up," I said. "Zacky changed my ringtone." I flipped open my phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Vix!" It was Brian.

"Oh, hey," I muttered.

He noticed my tone immediately. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," I lied.

"Good." He sounded relieved. "Listen, what are you doing Tuesday?"

"Celebrating the Fourth with everybody," I said.

"Why don't you come over to my house instead?" he suggested. "We haven't spent nearly enough time together."

"And whose fault is that?" I snapped.

"I'm sorry, Vix," he apologized. "I've just been busy and Josie…" He paused. "Anyway, you should come over Tuesday. We can hang out, drink, and watch movies. It'll be just like old times."

"You know, you could come to the celebration and hang out with everybody," I pointed out.

"Well, yeah," he said. "I do need to see you and Mr. Vengeance together, after all. Okay, how about this—we'll eat with everybody and then go back to my house to do our drinking."

"That'll work," I agreed.

"See you tomorrow," he said. "Love you."

"What was that all about?" Krista wanted to know.

"Bri's going to be in town tomorrow," I told her. "We're going to eat with you guys, then go to his house and drink and watch movies."

She opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by my cell ringing again. "Hello?"

"Hey, baby," Zacky said. "How did your chemistry test go?"

"I'm pretty sure I passed it," I stated.

"Good," he said. "So, listen, I'm not going to be able to make it to the Fourth of July celebration at Matt's tomorrow. My family is going out of town on Wednesday, so they're doing the family get-together tomorrow. This is the first time I've been home on the Fourth in a while, so I want to be there."

"You should definitely go be with your family," I commented. "You're going to miss Bri, though. He said he's coming to the celebration because he wants to see me and you together."

"Are you going to stay at Matt's tomorrow night?" Zacky questioned.

"No," I said. "After we eat, Bri and I are going to his house. I'll probably just crash there."

"Then I'll pick you up Wednesday morning," Zacky offered. "And Bri can see us together."

"That is a wonderful idea," I said. "I'll see you Wednesday morning."

It wasn't until Krista and I were back at the dorm that I realized there was no need for Brian and I to go to the celebration at Matt's. The only reason Brian had wanted to be there was to see Zacky and me together, and Zacky was going to his family's get-together.

I called Brian back. "Zacky has something else to do tomorrow night, so we can skip the celebration at Matt's…"