Caught in the Middle

After Kennedy's fans had left him alone, he made his way to my car, smelling so strongly of his deodorant I nearly gagged.

"Jesus Kenny, you spray enough of that shit?" I coughed, winding down my window to let some fresh air in.

"Would you rather me smell like sweat though? I didn't think so," he retaliated. I rolled my eyes, he had a point.

We drove to Halvo's place in near silence, the only sounds being Kennedy's directions and the low hum of the radio. I pulled up to the small house, seeing John's pickup, Garrett's little yellow car and Jared's white sedan. The pit of dread grew again as I remembered the girls from the show, and also the fact that Rachel would probably be at this party.

We walked up the front path and entered the house, seeing quite a few people I didn't know yet again. I recognised one of the guys from the second band that played at the show and as his eyes locked on Kennedy he sauntered up to us, the slight sway in his step already leading me to believe that he was tipsy.

"Kennedy! How's it going man," he squeaked out. I was wrong about him being tipsy, I could smell something sweeter on him and I realised he was as high as a kite.

"Pretty sweet man. Jessy, this is Halvo, Halvo, this is my friend from high school, Jessy."

Halvo's eyes widened. "Aah, the infamous Jessy. I hear you're great with a body shot," he said with a wink. I looked over at Kennedy to find him looking at the floor, a blush rising on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I see Kennedy has been telling you my trade secrets," I said, elbowing Kennedy in the ribs.

"I'm gonna go get a drink," Kennedy muttered, heading towards the kitchen.

"Well, have a good time Jessy, I'll see you around," Halvo said, walking back off to the group of people he was previously sitting with. I was now left alone to fend for myself, I couldn't see Kennedy coming back any time soon.

I went outside and found myself a soda then sat on a bench near a girl with dark red hair down to her waist and bright blue eyes.

I sat with my soda and phone in my hair for a minute until I felt her move closer to me.

"You're Jessy right? Kennedy's friend?" she asked me. I sighed internally, I was never going to get away from the fans.

"Yeah I am, you're like the fifth person tonight to ask me that," I said, not wanting to come off as rude.

"It's okay, I'm not a creepy fan, I'm Eric's cousin," she laughed. I breathed out in relief, then realised I had no idea who Eric was.

"Wait, who's Eric?"

"The host of the party, you were probably introduced to him as Halvo." Ah, the happy-go-lucky high band member.

"Oh yeah, Halvo, right."

"Don't worry, we're in the same boat when it comes to the fans, except that I'm not dating any of them," she joked. I laughed humourlessly.

"Yeah, me neither, but I've been stuck in that group already. What did you say your name was?" I asked.

"I didn't. I'm Alecia," she said, sticking her hand out for me to shake.

"Jessy, but you already know that," I smirked.

"So, how do you know the guys?" she asked.

"The Maine? I went to high school with Kennedy, John and Garrett and met Pat and Jared through them. I went off to Chicago for college before the band took off or even played a show, though," I explained. She nodded and took a sip of her drink, almost choking on it as Pat sat down next to her.

"Hey Jessy, uh, h-hi Alecia. What are you guys doing?" he asked, his eyes darting to Alecia every now and again.

"Just getting to know Alecia here, what about you?" I answered for Alecia, as she seemed to have lost her voice the moment Pat was within five metres of her.

"Uh, y'know, just having a couple of drinks and catching up with the guys. I'll talk to you later, yeah?" he said, standing up again. "See you later Jessy, bye, uh, bye Alecia."

Alecia gave him a half-hearted smile and a small wave, sighing out loud when Pat was out of earshot.

I eyed her suspiciously. "Is there something going on with you and Pat?" I asked her.

She sighed again. "I don't even know anymore. We had this casual thing going before they went on their last tour, but we stopped it because, well, he was leaving for months and we didn't want the guys to find out and get angry. I thought I was over him, but apparently I'm not," she said, looking back at where Pat was now standing with Jared and some other guys I've never met before.

"So what's holding you back now? They're not going on tour for ages so you can both get your feelings out there," I explained.

Alecia looked at me like I was crazy. "Our feelings? Pat doesn't feel anything for me, what we had was fun while it lasted but he doesn't feel that way about me," she said, looking away.

I scoffed and she looked back up at me with a frown on her face. "Alecia, are you crazy? The kid could barely form a word around you before and he wouldn't stop looking at you. Trust me, he has feelings for you."

Alecia sighed again. "But even if he does, I can't do anything because he's Eric's friend. If he found out he'd kill us both."

I moved closer and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "Listen Alecia, back in high school I really liked a guy and he liked me, but we didn't act on it because we both thought it would ruin our friendship, but what really ruined our friendship was neither of us acting on it properly. I don't want you to make the same mistake I made back then, if you like him you should just go for it, don't worry about anyone else except for yourself."

She nodded at my words. "I'm going to go get another drink or two, I'm going to need the liquid courage if I'm going to talk to him." She stood up and went back inside, leaving me alone on the seat.

I sipped at my soda, wishing it had some kind of alcohol in it, as John sat down next to me with a beer and a cigarette in his hand.

"So what did you think of the show?" he asked me. I nodded in approval.

"It was great. You've come a long way from when I last heard you play, you wouldn't even sing in front of me back then." John chuckled at the memory, taking a drag of his cigarette and blowing the smoke up into the air.

"Tim didn't give you too much trouble up the back there, did he?"

I shook my head. "He's harmless, always has been. I just know how to handle him, you know, knock him down a couple of pegs when he gets too rowdy."

"You've always been pretty smart when it comes to guys. Speaking of guys, I heard a couple of fans talking about you and Kennedy tonight, I thought you said there was nothing between you?" he said, his voice taking on a slightly harsher tone.

I shook my head. "There's nothing going on John, I promise you. Some fans just got excited over seeing Kennedy and I talk and came to conclusions. If Kennedy and I ever fuck again it'll just be because we're drunk and horny, no feelings involved."

John screwed up his face in disgust. "Didn't really need to know that, but it's slightly reassuring. I just don't want you to get hurt by him."

I looked down at my soda, biting my tongue to stop from telling him the truth. I decided to just 'fuck it' and tell him, but we were joined by a blonde.

"There you are baby, I've been looking all over for you. What are you doing out here?" Rachel's high-pitched voice stung my ears.

"Just talking to Jessy."

"Oh." It was no surprise that Rachel already didn't like me. I wouldn't have put it past her to not like any of John's family either and the way that they didn't talk about her at the family dinner, I don't think Jenny really approved of her either.

"I'm done though, what did you want me for?" John asked her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, practically pushing her boobs into his face. "I just wanted my boyfriend to come dance with me is all. Are you smoking?" she asked critically at the end. It wasn't until now that I realised that the sweet smell had followed her over.

John opened his mouth to say something back, but I cut in before he could get the words out. "Are you high?"

John looked at me with a furrowed brow, took in a deep breath, then turned back to Rachel, his eyes fierce. "You said you weren't going to do that shit anymore. You're going to get angry at me for smoking a cigarette when you're in there blazing up? I can't fucking believe you."

I didn't want to stay and hear the rest of that conversation as it began to get louder and more heated. I stood up to walk back into the house, passing Alecia and Pat who were now locked in an intense kiss.

Once inside I tried finding Kennedy or Garrett, but had no luck. The pair were completely MIA, leaving me alone yet again.

I sat on the sofa, staring at my phone in hopes someone would come to my rescue and cure my boredom. Five minutes later, my prayers had been answered when John turned up by my side, however I factored in the livid look in his eyes and guessed that he wouldn't exactly be pleasant.

"Have you been drinking?" he asked quickly. I shook my head quickly, not wanting to make him more upset. "Do you think you could drive me home? I don't really wanna be here right now."

I stood up from my seat, eager to leave this disastrous party. "Yeah sure, just let me grab my bag." I didn't bother trying to find Kennedy to say goodbye, I'd be stuck here half the night trying to find him.

But apparently I'd been looking in all the wrong places because as soon as I stepped outside I was greeted with the sight of Kennedy supporting Garrett, who was looking a little worse for wear.

"Are you leaving Jessy?" Kennedy asked me. I nodded. "Would it be too much of a problem for you to take Garrett home? He's had too much and finding a place for him to crash here wouldn't go down well."

Garrett was leaning heavily on Kennedy, almost to the point of Kennedy falling over. John went to Garrett's other side, helping him stay up straight as they lead him to my car and I opened the back seat for them to manoeuvre him in. Once Garrett was in the car, Kennedy handed me his keys.

"You'll need them to get into his house and he'll need them to come pick up his car tomorrow. Drive safely okay? I hope you had a good time tonight."

"Yeah, no problem. I'll see you soon okay?" I opened my driver's side door as John said goodbye to Kennedy. Once John was in the car I started the engine and began to pull away from the curb as Garrett realised where he was.

"J-Jessy? What am I doing in your car?" he slurred out. I had to bite back a giggle before I could reply.

"I'm taking you home Garrett, Kenny thinks you're too wasted," I replied with a smile.

"You're-you're taking me home? To your place?" Garrett squeaked out. I couldn't help but chuckle at him and I looked over to see John silently laughing at him as well.

"No Garrett, back to your place. I don't really think my mom would appreciate me bringing you back to my place, she might think I was trying to take advantage of you," I joked.

"T-take advantage of me?" Garrett sounded nervous and I laughed as we pulled up to his house and helped him out of the car.

"Come on, you drunken idiot," I joked as John and I walked him up the path, John shouldering all his weight as I unlocked his door and helped to lead him inside. As we passed by the kitchen, his mom was making a cup of tea and was startled by our sudden arrival.

"Hello John, I didn't expect to see you tonight," she said, taking in Garrett's state. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked over to me. "I don't believe I've met you before."

"I'm Jessy, I went to high school with Garret, John and Kennedy. I'd shake your hand but it's currently making sure your son doesn't fall to the ground," I laughed off. His mom laughed along with me.

"Ah, the infamous Jessy. I've heard a lot about you, I was beginning to think that Garrett was making you up," she said with a smirk.

"Mo-om, shhhhhh," Garrett moaned, putting his finger to his lips. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, let's get you into bed. Thank you for bringing him home safely, it gives me peace of mind knowing he has better friends to look out for him than that Eric Halvorsen. That boy has always been trouble." I had picked up on that same vibe when I first entered Halvo's house.

"We'd better be getting home now, it was lovely to meet you..." I trailed off, waiting for Garrett's mom to provide me with her name.

"Linda. It was lovely to finally be able to put a face to a name, Jessy. You're welcome here any time," she said, pulling me into a hug.

John said his goodbyes and we left Garrett's house, driving to John's in silence. I pulled up behind his brother's car, John's pickup still at Halvo's.

"Thanks for the ride Jessy, I really appreciate it," John said softly. I looked over at him to find him staring intently at me.

"It's no problem John, that's what friends are for," I said, giving him a small smile. He returned the smile before becoming more serious.

"I have no idea what I'm going to do about Rachel. She lied to me, she said that she was going to stop getting high and then tonight she's blazing up and it just makes me so mad. She doesn't like when I smoke but then she goes and does this which not only do I not like but she promised that she wouldn't do it. I'm just fed up with her, and I don't know what to do."

I reached out and rubbed his shoulder consolingly. "Maybe you need to take a break, spend a bit of time apart to get a hold on yourselves and then it might come back together."

John nodded to himself. "That's probably a good idea. You always know what to say don't you?" he chuckled, thinking to himself. "The amount of situations you got me out of in high school, you always helped me. I'm glad you're back Jessy," John said with a heartfelt smile. I smiled back at him.

"I'm glad to be back. If you ever need to talk, I'm here. "

John pulled me into a hug before opening the car door. "I'll talk to you tomorrow Jessy, goodnight."

I drove home feeling better about John and I's relationship than I was before. A small part of me hoped that we'd be able to go back to how we were, and so much more.

* * * * *

I woke up the next day to find John sitting on my couch with my mother, who immediately left the room as soon as I came into view. He looked at me with a smile on his face as I sat down on the couch next to him.

"What's up?" I asked him.

"I went around to Halvo's to pick up my truck and I talked to Rachel while I was there," he started.

"Really? How did you go?" I asked, waiting for the moment he said that they were done.

"Well, we talked and she said that after last night she's going clean for good. No drinking, no weed. We made up, I took her home, and that was that," John said, as if we hadn't discussed him taking a break from her last night.

"Well, t-that's great, I guess," I muttered, feeling my heart sink into my chest.

"I just thought I'd come around and see you while I was out, I went over to Garrett's and he's a mess. His mom said he started throwing up about an hour after we left and didn't stop until just before I got there," John said sympathetically. I winced at the image. Poor kid.

"I should go around and make sure he's okay," I said, subtly hinting at John to leave.

"Right. Well I'm gonna go so you can do that, I'll talk to you soon Jessy," John said, giving me a hug before leaving in his truck.

I got in my car and sped off to Garrett's place, knocking politely on the door before being let in by Linda, who was glad to see me. I knew Garrett would be sleeping off his hangover in his room so I just barged in and laid down on his bed next to him. He stirred at my movements, doing a double take as he noticed me here.

"J-Jessy? What are you doing here?" He reached over to his bedside table for his glasses, putting them on before propping himself up on his elbows to look down at me. I broke down in tears. I told Garrett the entire story of what happened at that party all those years ago, how I felt about John then and how I feel about him now.

"And-and he just took her back like she did nothing wrong! She broke a promise to him before, who's to say she isn't gonna break it again?" I sobbed into his chest as he held me tight.

"Jessy, John isn't in love Rachel, he's in love with the idea of loving her. She's been nothing but poisonous to him, but in saying that he doesn't deserve a beautiful, caring girl like you either." I ignored the last part of his sentence, not wanting to blush at the statement.

"Garrett, will you help me?" I asked in a small voice.

"Help you what?"

"Help me win John back."

Garrett's eyes fell, trying not to let me see his disappointment, but he offered me a small smile. "Of course I'll help you Jessy. As long as you're happy, I don't care."