The City Calls to Her

"What were you doing in there?" Jon asked while getting defensive.

"I totally banged your sister." Gabe watched Jon's face turn red. "Dude, we just talked. Take it down a notch. We're not gonna become related by law or biology anytime soon."

"Whatever dude," Jon said and walked away just before Rachel walked out of her room and was pulling her hoody closed.

"Can you let Jon know I'll be at Jenni's?"

"Yeah, are you gonna be all right?"

Rachel nodded her head. "I'm gonna be fine. Thanks Gabe." The two quickly hugged and went their separate ways.

* * *

"So what happened?" Jenni asked as they sat on her bed.

"Nathan got all weird and everything. He told me about his and he started crying and everything. Then he started kissing me but he kept going and I told him to stop but he wouldn't. Then I started crying and he finally stopped. He said he was sorry and left."

"Oh my god did he actually..."

"Oh no thank God but when he left Gabe talked to me so it'll be okay."

"Gabe?"

"Yeah, Jon had him over and he just happened to be there."

"Yeah right! That dude so likes you."

"Gabe is the last thing I need to deal with right now."

"So what are you gonna do about Nate?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders, "I have no idea. I guess all we can really do is talk about it."

"Well I'm sorry it happened. Nate really likes you so I have no idea what he could have been possibly thinking."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders again. "I don't know either but I'll deal with it with Nathan when the time comes."

"All right, you'll give me details right?"

"Duh Jenni, duh!"

* * *

"So I’ll see you guys later," Gabe said as he stood up and smoothed out his blue plaid shirt.

"Where are you going so early?" Tyler asked his best friend as he picked up his textbooks.

"I need to have a little chat with someone," Gabe responded and began to turn around.

"Rachel?" Rob asked. Gabe stopped for a moment and then decided not to address it.

"Go get ‘em tiger!" Heath shouted which was followed by cheers from the others. Gabe shook his head and walked out of the cafeteria.

He wandered around the first floor and when he couldn’t find who he was looking for, he advanced to the second and then third floor. He retreated back to the first floor and finally found who he was searching for.

"Hey," Rachel said as Gabe sat next to her on the floor. He and Jenni exchanged glances that confirmed they acknowledged one another.

"So um, I heard about you and Nathan."

"It’s not quite true but I’m pretty sure it will be soon. Besides, you know not to listen to the rumors." She leaned a little to her right so she and Gabe were touching. Ever since the night she and Gabe spent talking in her room, a bond had formed between the two that they had with no one else. They talked every day no matter what. Nathan would never admit his jealousy but it was obvious to see. He even attempted to scare Gabe off once but Gabe basically laughed in his face and told him he was no match and once he [Nathan] was out of the picture, she would forget all about him.

"Hopefully it’ll be sooner than later," Gabe said as he touched her hand lightly.

"Nathan alert!" Jenni whispered excitedly. Rachel and Gabe quickly separated and pretended to be doing unrelated things when Nathan approached.

"Rachel, after school, I think we should. It’s really important," Nathan said as he squatted down in front of his girlfriend.

Rachel nodded her head. "All right. I’ll meet you at your house." Nathan nodded his head and walked away after glaring at Gabe.

"Man, if looks could kill," Gabe said.

"I know, right." The bell sounded overhead letting everyone know they had five minutes to get to their first class of the day. The three stood up and said their goodbyes to each other as Gabe and Rachel walked one way and Jenni walked in the opposite direction. As they walked closely to one another, they ignored the glances from other students. People were beginning to question the relationship between them knowing she was still dating Nathan Leone.

At the same time that Gabe said something, they passed by Matt. When she and Matt made eye contact, everything seemed to go silent and she missed what Gabe said. Matt had that look in his eyes like he knew. What he knew was beyond her knowledge.

"Right, Rachel?"

"Huh?" She turned to him. He shook his head and stopped so she could walk into the classroom first. They both sat at their table and took out their textbooks and waited for Mrs. Belt to show up.

* * *

Rachel put Jon’s car in park in Nathan’s driveway. She sat for a moment and stared at the front door. She sighed and got out of the car. Just as she got to the front door, it opened and Matt stepped out with Stacia, a girl from their school.

"Nathan’s upstairs in his room," Matt said letting her in and then leaving. Rachel headed upstairs and knocked on his door.

"Hey," he said as he opened his door. She stepped in and they kissed for a moment before sitting on his bed.

"What did you wanna talk about?" she asked as she settled into his arms.

"Well…my mom got a job offer."

"Really? That’s great."

"In Chicago."

"That’s not so great." She shook her head.

"Yeah, I know."

"When does she start?"

"As far as I know, probably next month but I could be wrong."

"That’s so soon though." She angled herself towards him.

"I know. You’ll find someone once I leave though." They both knew he was talking about Gabe. Instead of objecting to it and starting a fight, Rachel simply moved back into her original position. Nathan pulled her in closer and she put her head on his shoulder. Neither of them said anything more.