Something's Gotta Give - Original Verison

Jade's Point of View

“There’d better be a good Goddamn reason you’re ringing my doorbell like a crazy person at nine-thirty in the fucking morning,” I complained to Alex, yanking the door open to see who the fuck was bothering me so early. I’d gone out with him, Jack, Rian, and a couple of the other guys the night before to celebrate the completion of the Lines screenplay, and thanks to Alex and Jack feeding me shots all night, I looked and felt like death.

“Skye’s fucking Zack again!” Alex yelled, stomping into my house without waiting for me to invite him in.

“By all means, come right on in and make yourself at home,” I mumbled sarcastically, shutting the door behind him. I was tempted to cover my ears to block out his yelling since it was already agitating my headache and making it worse.

I followed Alex into my kitchen, watching him whirl around, trying to find everything so he could make coffee. I took a seat at the breakfast bar and rubbed my temples. “Excuse me, do you Goddamn live here?”

“Do you want coffee or not?” he complained, finally getting everything together. “Because I know that I definitely need it right now to try to calm down.”

“Yeah, I want coffee, but what I want more than coffee is for you to not fuck up my kitchen,” I retorted.

“Yes, okay, whatever,” Alex blew me off, getting the coffee started. He just stared at the pot until it was ready, not speaking. I didn’t bother trying to get him to talk while we were waiting; I really wasn’t in the mood and neither was he. The coffee finally finished and he poured us both cups, sitting down next to me. We sipped in silence until we’d both downed a cup and were both feeling slightly better.

“Okay, so what’s this about Skye and Zack again?” I asked.

“Yeah, I guess they’re fucking again,” he started to explain. “I don’t really know for how long, but they’re definitely back together in some capacity. I thought it was kind of weird that they both didn’t show up last night, you know? It was a big night, especially for you, and then I got to thinking about how they both haven’t been showing up to stuff lately. So after we all left the bar, I asked my Uber to drive by Zack’s place, and of fucking course, Skye’s car was there.”

He continued on, telling me about how he’d waited up the rest of the night until she’d come home so he could confront her. He detailed the fight and how he hadn’t really been sure where to go, but finally decided on our house so that he could come and talk to me or Jack.

“I was kind of hoping it would be you who answered the door, though,” he admitted, pouring himself some more coffee. “I don’t know, I guess it’s just easier to talk to you about Skye than Jack. He loves her, you know.”

“Yeah, I live with the guy,” I scoffed. “I’m kind of very well aware of that. It’s obvious to everyone, except probably Skye.”

“I’d much rather see her with Jack than with Zack,” Alex said, taking a seat next to me again. “At least I’d know he’d treat her right.” He sighed. “I can’t believe she’s back with Zack. Holy shit.”

“What I can’t believe is that it took you that long to notice,” I replied, rolling my eyes just slightly. That hangover was really kicking my ass.

“Wait a second, you knew?” Alex demanded, raising his voice again. “How could you not tell me?! This is like the Jay and Isabel thing all over again!”

“No, it fucking isn’t,” I said, wishing he’d keep the volume low. I didn’t particularly want Alex waking Jack up, especially since this Skye thing would be the first thing he’d hear about upon arising, and that would totally crush him. “It’s not even close to the same thing. And I didn’t know for sure, I just had a feeling. I mean, how many times have we all gone out lately, and they’re the only two who don’t show up? Or when we try to do something with you, Jack, Skye, and me, she always bails or shows up way late. It was fishy to me. I mean, they weren’t exactly geniuses about it. That, or they must think we’re pretty stupid.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Alex relented. “But still, it really burns my ass. How could she be so stupid?”

“Look, I know you don’t want to see her get hurt,” I started, crossing my legs. “And I don’t want to see her get hurt either, but you’ve got to just let her do this and get it out of her system. Then maybe she’ll wise up and realize that Zack’s no good for her.”

Alex sighed. “This whole situation sucks.”

“Tell me about it,” I agreed. I fought off a yawn. Despite the coffee, I was still totally exhausted. “All right, I’m gonna go back to sleep. You look like shit, so you should probably try to get some too.” I got up and started to walk towards the stairs, Alex trailing not far behind. I paused before I started to climb the steps. “Alone, you nerdass. Jack’s here, that’s so not happening right now.”

“It didn’t bother you that Jack was at the bar last night when we had sex in the bathroom,” Alex teased, flashing me a mischievous smile. “It actually made things pretty hot.”

“Listen, you cheeky dick-waffle,” I threatened through gritted teeth. “You cannot bring up having sex with me of any kind while Jack is in this house, especially slutty drunken bar sex. He’s got ears like a hawk, and while I’m pretty sure he’s sleeping, I’m not totally positive because someone here is a loud asshole.”

“Why do you want him to not find out about us so badly?” he asked, still lingering at the bottom of the steps with me.

“You know how mad you are right now about Skye and Zack?” I countered, and he nodded. “That’s exactly why.”

Alex mulled that over for a moment and then nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll crash on the couch.”

“Good call,” I told him before finally making my way up the stairs. It didn’t take me long to fall back asleep once I got under my covers again. By the time I woke up again, I rolled over to see the clock reading three-thirty. Well shit, there went the entire Goddamn day. My body begged for more sleep, but I forced myself to get out of bed and throw a robe on before heading back downstairs to find Alex and Jack sitting on the couches in the family room.

“I don’t know, man,” Alex was saying when I entered the room. “Maybe you should talk to her or something. Tell her how you feel or try to talk some sense into her. Or both.”

“I mean, I don’t really feel like it’s my place,” Jack responded, shaking his head a little. “I don’t want to get involved.”

“Dude, it’s now or never,” Alex pressed. “What if they actually get back together and get married or something, and you never said anything about how you feel about her? You’ll never know if you really had a shot, and you’ll have to wonder about that for the rest of your life.”

Jack glanced over at me, looking like he wanted me to jump in and save him. I shrugged. “He’s got a point, Jack. You’ll never know if you don’t put yourself out there. You’ll just block your own shot. And you’ve been the one agonizing about this for so long, so…”

“Goddamnit,” Jack sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. “I guess you’re both right.” He stood up and headed for the stairs. “Let me clean myself up and I’ll go over there.”

“Go get her, tiger,” Alex cheered him on, slapping Jack’s ass as he passed by Alex, causing all of us to laugh.

While Jack was upstairs showering and getting ready to go see Skye, Alex and I sat quietly on the couch with the TV on, keeping ourselves on opposite ends. After such an eventful morning, it was nice to have some peace and quiet. The extended nap had also helped my hangover a little bit and I felt like I could function again for the most part.

“All right,” Jack announced when he came down the stairs, standing in front of the TV. “How do I look?”

“The same as every day,” Alex responded, looking confused. “Is that what you were going for?”

“Yes,” Jack nodded. “I figured I’d keep it casual, you know?”

“Well, you’ve definitely got the casual thing down,” I said. “You nervous?”

“My stomach’s definitely in knots,” he replied, sighing. “I feel like I just tried to eat three hundred chicken fries.”

“Well, just don’t puke on her again and everything should be okay,” I told him, laughing a little at the memory from the boys’ coming home party a few months before. “That was honestly priceless.”

“Don’t remind me!” Jack groaned, palming his face. “Okay, I’m going over there now before I totally lose my nerve.”

“Here, take my keys and let yourself in,” Alex said, reaching for his keys on the coffee table and tossing them to Jack. He then saluted him. “Godspeed, and good luck.”

“You’re gonna be fine, Jack,” I assured him, waving to him. “Good luck, even though I’m sure you won’t need it.”

“Thanks,” Jack said, waving goodbye to Alex and me. “See you guys later.” Moments later, the door shut behind him and the key turned in the lock.

“Do you think he’ll actually be able to get through to Skye?” I asked as Jack’s car started up and he made his way up the driveway.

“I really hope so,” Alex answered, sighing and running a hand through his messy-ass hair. “I think if anyone can talk some sense into Skye, it’ll be him. But I also really don’t want to start thinking about that whole situation again. It took forever to get myself calmed down before.”

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I said, turning and resting my feet on the couch, kicking him teasingly in the process. “But, you know, Jack’s not here, so if you needed some calming down or a distraction, I’d be able to do that…”

“Yeah, actually, I think I could use a shower, and then a distraction…” he trailed off, nodding towards the stairs.

“Well, I’ve always been good at multitasking,” I told him, winking. I stood and trailed my hand along his shoulders as I passed behind him. “Meet you upstairs.”

About an hour later, Alex and I were wrapped in towels, shivering from the water that had turned freezing after spending way too long in the shower together. Our clothes were scattered on the floor, thrown off and around in a hurry.

“Jesus Christ, it’s fucking freezing,” Alex complained, grabbing another towel to wrap around his shoulders, leaving the other tied around his waist.

“I know,” I agreed, pulling my towel further up onto my chest. “I’ll be right back, I’m gonna see if I can find a spare robe for you and get mine.” I opened the door and stepped out into my room, locating my own robe quickly. I fastened the cinch and then started to wander down the hall towards the guest bathroom, hoping another robe would be in the closet or something. Seconds after exiting my room, I ran almost directly into Jack.

“Oh fuck,” I swore, backing away. Holy fucking shit, Alex and I were so busted. We’d both expected Jack to be gone a lot longer, figuring that we’d have an ample amount of alone time. Apparently we were totally wrong. I tried not to look flustered, or to at least play off my reaction like he’d surprised me. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were home. When did you get back?”

“Just a few minutes ago,” he said glumly. “It didn’t go so well with Skye.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him, hoping he’d sulk back to his room so I could hurry up and get Alex dried, dressed, and out of the house before Jack saw him. “Why don’t you go lie down and we can talk about it later? I’ll even buy you some chicken fries.”

“Yeah, actually that sounds like a good idea right now,” Jack nodded, still frowning.

“What’s taking so long with that robe?” If Alex had been able to wait another thirty seconds, we would have been totally in the clear. But of course, he had the absolute worst timing possible. He started to saunter out of my room, back down to just his waist towel. “Man, who knew you could get so dirty while getting clean?”

Alex stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he saw Jack, his face going pale. “H-hey, man. How’d it go with Skye?”

“Are fucking kidding me right now?” Jack exclaimed, his eyebrows furrowing together in anger and confusion. He pointed between Alex and me. “Are you two seriously fucking again too?!”

“Jack, man, it’s not what it looks like...” Alex trailed off, apparently trying to wrack his brain for some kind of excuse that would make this whole scene look innocent.

“Yes,” I admitted simultaneously. I saw no point in lying. Obviously Alex and I had been caught red-handed because we were too stupid with our time management. The only way we could have looked guiltier was if Jack had straight up caught us hooking up, and if he’d been ten minutes earlier, he certainly would’ve.

“Wow,” Jack shook his head, stretching out the word. “Seriously, guys? This is no different than Skye and Zack.”

“Look, it’s not the same thing-” Alex started, but Jack cut him off.

“It’s exactly the same Goddamn thing!” he exclaimed. “Zack dated Skye and treated her like shit, then you find out they’re hooking up again and freak out about it. You dated my sister and treated her like shit, and you guys are hooking up again too despite that.” He shook his head. “You know, man, we’ve been friends for a really long time, and I’ve been able to look past a lot of stuff because of that, but I don’t think you’ve really actually grown up at all; you’re still the same selfish douche.” He turned to me now, simply shaking his head. “And Jade, man… I don’t know what else to say besides that I’m disappointed in you.”

That hit me like a punch in the gut. I couldn’t recall Jack ever saying anything like that to me before, and it definitely stung. I could’ve handled his anger, but the disappointment was definitely worse. Alex got off easily.

Jack started to walk towards the stairs, and I followed, putting a hand on his arm to try to get him to stay. “Jack, come on, please stay. We can talk about this and Skye and get everything worked out, okay?”

He pulled away. “You know what? I just really need to be by myself for now.” He continued downstairs, and I trailed a few feet behind.

“Jack, please.” I felt like I was pleading, and I could feel the tears stinging the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t stand the thought of my brother feeling so hurt and betrayed, not just by me, but his best friend and the girl he was in love with. God, everything had really blown up in the last twelve hours.

Jack stopped, his hand on the door knob. His shoulders fell as he sighed, not bothering to turn around to face me. “Look, I just need some space right now. I’ll come back when I’m ready.” And with that, he walked out the door.