It Never Felt Right Calling This Just Friends

JACK'S POV:

I wake up the next morning- er, late afternoon, with a killer hangover. I hardly remember any of last nights events, but when I open my eyes I'm laying naked in the hotel bathtub, with boobs drawn on my chest in Sharpie, so it must have been interesting.
After getting out of the tub and throwing up I take some Aspirin and walk into the main part of the room where Alex, Matt and Rian are focused on a hockey game.
Matt glances at me and frowns. "Really wasn't in the mood to see your dick."
I smirk and open my suitcase and dig out a pair of boxers. "You know you want me, Matty Mouse."
He rolls his eyes and I get dressed, ignoring the fact that I'm in desperate need of a shower.
I collapse onto one of the beds and rub my tired eyes. "What happened last night?" I ask whilst yawning.
"You and Rihanna fucked, then you got smashed," Alex informs me, before Matt yells at him to shut up and watch the game.
I frown a little, and think back to the part of the night that I do remember.
"Jim and I got back together."
Bits and pieces of the rest of the night start forming in my mind, and I remember mine and Alex's mini heart-to-heart and him telling me to get her back.
Not that I ever HAD her to begin with ...
And then I remember singing karaoke with Alex in front of a lot of people.
"Did we really sing a duet?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.
"Taylor Swift, baby!" Alex says with a huge grin, before belting out the song. "Weeee are never, ever, eveeeer getting back togetheer- ow, fuck!" he exclaims after Matt throws a shoe at him.
"If you wanna stay in my room you're gonna fucking shut up," he says before turning the TV up.
Alex rolls his eyes. "Bitch, I could fire you. Show some respect."
They bicker playfully back and forth for a while, until Matt finally kicks us out of the room.
"I'm hungry," I grumble as we walk down the hall.
"There's a bagel place next door," Alex says, and I happily follow him downstairs and outside.
We walk into the little restaurant and the smell of breakfast food makes my stomach grumble.
After ordering our food we sit in a booth and devour our bagels in silence.
"So, you gonna try to get with Ri again?" Alex asks through a mouthful of cream cheese.
"She has a boyfriend," I remind him before taking a drink of my coffee.
Alex shrugs his shoulders. "She had a boyfriend last night, too."
I frown at him and swallow the last bit of my bagel before speaking. "You wouldn't be saying that if it were Bonnie."
He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over the table. "That's different. Bonnie and I are good for each other. We're happy together."
"How do you know Rihanna and Jim aren't good together?" I challenge as I take another sip of the coffee that's too bitter. "I mean, they were together for like, five years."
"I know they're not good together because I've seen you and her together," he says, as if that's the best explanation. "She's your best friend, besides me of course. You guys belong together."
"I don't know," I say with a sigh as I crumple up my napkin.
I hear the sound of the bell on the door, and suddenly the shop is graced by a familiar voice.
"Speak of the devil," Alex mutters as a smile spreads across his face.
I instinctively glance over my shoulder to see Rihanna walking up to the counter, hand in hand with Jim.
She doesn't seem to notice us, and a part of me wants to quickly slip out the door before she does, but of course Alex has to screw up that plan.
"Hey stranger," he calls out, causing the couple to both turn and look at us.
I notice her eyebrows draw together for half a second, and she quickly pulls her hand out of Jim's. "Um, hi," she says, a halfhearted smile spreading across her face. She walks over to our table, with a confused looking Jim trailing behind. "What are you guys doing here?" she asks, and I notice she's completely avoiding looking at me.
"Feeding Jack," Alex says. "He had quite the wild night, with quite a few ladies." I shoot him an annoyed look, but he just winks at me.
Rihanna gets a weird look on her face, then forces out a soft laugh. "You guys are idiots," she says, and her eyes finally drift to me before shooting over to Jim. "Um, Jim, this is Alex. Bonnie's boyfriend." Her eyes go back to me. "And this is Jack, Alex's friend."
Alex's friend . Seriously?
"Nice to meet you," Jim says as he smiles and shakes Alex's hand.
Alex just smirks at him, his eyes drifting up and down the guys built, t-shirt and jeans clad body. "Pleasure," he says the word like it's a secret code or something.
Jim doesn't seem to notice Alex's weirdness, and turns to me and stretches out his hand before stopping. "Wait, I remember you," he says, a small frown forming on his face.
I pretend like I just figured out who he is, and force a grin. "Hey! You're the dude from the game!" I shake his hand firmly, and glance at Rihanna who's looking at us with a worried expression. "Sorry about the whole gummy worm dick comment," I apologize, even though remembering the look on his face still makes me want to laugh.
The frown leaves Jim's face and he laughs. "First you made a joke about my dick, then you kissed my girlfriend in front of the entire stadium. Not sure how I feel about you," he jokes, and it takes everything in me not to blurt out that I'd fucked her a few times on top of that.
Rihanna laughs awkwardly and grabs Jim's hand again. "We should probably get our food," she says. "My break's almost over."
Jim nods, then looks back at us. "Nice meeting you," he says before turning to walk to the counter.
"Ri, do you wanna hang with us after the show?" Alex asks, and she glances back at us, well, at me actually.
Our eyes lock for half a second, before she finally says, "I don't know. I have to be up for work early tomorrow."
"Babe, you should go," Jim says over his shoulder before he orders for them. Then he adds, "I have to go back to Philly tonight anyways. This way you wont be alone."
Alex kicks me under the table and I shoot him a death glare.
Rihanna shifts uncomfortably, before nodding her head once. "Fine, I guess."

As soon as we step off stage Alex grabs me and sternly says, "Play a little hard to get, but if she wants to fuck, fuck her."
I roll my eyes and shove him away. "What was with the whole 'quite a few ladies comment earlier?"
He grins and we start walking out of the venue. "First, it intimidated Mr. McDouche," He's taken to calling Jim that, "And second, it made Rihanna jealous."
"How's making her jealous gonna help?!" I ask with an exasperated sigh.
"It's not," he says with a shrug. "But the fact that that made her jealous and uncomfortable is a great sign."
"You're fucking weird," I mutter under my breath.

After signing we all walk to the same club Rihanna and I had visited briefly the night before.
Alex insists that I must ignore her for a little bit, so I awkwardly dance for a little while, while she sits with Zack and talks quietly.
After a while I get bored of the girls who want to dance with me, who all are nearly too drunk to function.
I make my way over to the table she's sitting at, and Zack smiles at me briefly before excusing himself.
I take his seat and the drink he left behind, and glance at Rihanna who looks extremely uncomfortable.
"You having fun?" I ask, even though the answer is obvious.
"Yeah," she lies as she stares intensely at her beer.
"You're definitely the life of the party," I say sarcastically, and she smiles briefly before examining her manicured nails.
I sigh and take a drink from Zack's glass.
After a few minutes of silence I finally ask, "So you're not going to talk to me now?"
She purses her lips and sets her hand onto the table. "I don't know what to say," she says quietly, still not making eye contact.
"Let's just forget last night, or the last week you were in Baltimore happened," I suggest, even though I know it's impossible. For me, anyways. "Let's just go back to being best friends."
She smiles again and finally looks at me. "If I remember correctly, you spent most of our friendship trying to get in my pants."
I grin and finish the drink. "So we'll go back to you turning me down and bruising my ego."
She laughs and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "We can give it a try."
"Awesome," I say, successfully hiding the mixture of happiness and disappointment that I'm feeling. "Now, do you wanna ditch them?" I ask as I nod towards Rian and Alex who are grinding on either side of a frightened looking Zack.
She chuckles and nods, and we both stand up and slip unseen out of the club.
We walk slowly down the oddly busy streets, casually talking about what's happened during the time we've spent apart.
I notice that she avoids the subject of Jim almost completely, and when he does come up she quickly changes the subject.
"What about your love life?" she asks as we approach what I assume to be her apartment. "Anyone special I should know about?" she elbows me teasingly.
I laugh and shake my head. "Nah." I shove my hands in my pockets, and repeat what I vaguely remember telling her the first time we'd hung out. "I don't really do relationships."
She nods and a faint smile curves her lips. She stops in front of the front door of an apartment building. "Wanna come in?" she asks as she turns the key in the lock and shoves the old door open with a creak.
"Sure," I accept in a nonchalant voice, but my heart's beating a little too fast.
I follow her into the hallway, and as we walk to the end she talks about the apartment, and I try hard to pay attention, but my mind is focused on other things.
Jim said something about going out of town tonight. So we're gonna be alone ?
"...So it's kind of a crappy apartment, but it's cheap and I don't have any infestations like half of the other apartments in the city." She stops in front of a door with a metal 3 on it, and I follow her inside.
She flips the lights on as I take off my shoes. I glance around the small apartment that's cluttered, but clean. The off white paint on the walls is chipping, and the carpet looks like it was a few hundred years old.
"It is a crappy apartment," I tease as I follow her into the tiny kitchen.
She rolls her eyes and opens the fridge. "We aren't all rockstars who can afford our own houses."
"Hey, no need to get bitter about me having phenomenal finger skills."
Her eyes shoot over and lock with mine for half a second, and I smile when I realize what she's thinking about.
She clears her throat and looks away. "Want some?" she asks as she opens the half empty box of pizza.
I grab a slice and take a bite, then frown. "Wait, why the fuck are you giving me non-homemade pizza?!"
She rolls her eyes and swallows a bite of pizza, so it can't be poisoned... "Jim doesn't like it homemade," she says with a shrug.
I raise my eyebrows in genuine shock. " Seriously ?"
She shrugs again and continues eating her pizza, and I can tell that she's uncomfortable talking about her boyfriend, so of course I bring him up again.
"Speaking of which, where is the lucky guy?"
"He had to go to Philly for the rest of the week. Work stuff."
I nod my head once. "So you're gonna be in this creepy apartment all alone?"
"Jack..." she mumbles.
"This pizza tastes like shit," I change the subject as I stare at the cardboard-y slice in my hand.
"I know!" She tosses her half eaten slice in the trash, and I follow suit.
She starts pulling random ingredients out of the cupboards and fridge, and I watch her as she starts mixing them together in a bowl. "What are you making?" I finally ask after she stays quiet.
"A cake," she says as she dumps cocoa powder into the bowl.
I laugh at the randomness. "Any reason?"
"I want cake. Grab me the glass pan out of the oven?"
I do as she asks, then lean against the counter and watch as she pours the batter into the pan and sticks it in the oven.
"What do you wanna do for the next half hour?" she asks as she wipes her flour covered hands onto her jeans, leaving white handprints on the dark denim. I smirk and starts to answer, but she interrupts. "Don't answer that."
I laugh and follow her as she walks out of the kitchen and into the living room.
We sit on the couch and watch TV, and she occasionally comments on how the main actor is terrible at his profession, and I keep glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.
No matter what Alex had said, I can't steal her from Jim. It doesn't seem right.
I sigh and try to focus on the show, but I can practically feel myself falling into the friendzone.