-Chapter 20: Tis Not a Lie-

-Jess-

As night fell and the rest of the neighborhood was asleep, I stand at my window awake and watch the stars, which is pretty unusual for me. I never stay up late. I jump as I hear my phone start to wring, and I'm quick to answer it without seeing who was calling.

"Hello?" I whisper.

"Jessica!" I hear the familiar voice of Kris blast through the speaker.

"What?" I snap. "Why are you here?!"

"Look out your window." She said.

I look outside to see Kris standing on the sidewalk in front of my house. She noticed I was watching her and disconnected from the call.

"It's fucking one in the morning, Kristina!" I scold her as I open my window and climb out. "What the fuck do you want?"

"To talk." She said.

"About what?" I ask. I didn't like where this was going.

"What about?" I ask cautiously.

Of all nights, why'd she have to choose this one?

"By the tone of your voice, I think you know what," Kris said.

"Why?" I snap. "You know all you need to know."

"That, my dear Jessica, is where you're wrong," Kris said with a smirk.

She's up to something.

"What else is there to know?" Jess said defensively.

"Why were you mugging that guy?"

Kris asked as she crossed her arms. "Also, what'd you mean when you said a background like yours?"

Was I really about to get interrogated here? I guess it's better than at school.

"My parents are short on cash," I lie. "And I wanna help out. But I'm pretty sure I'm too young to get a job."

Kris just looked at me like I'm crazy.

"You can get a job at 14 here, dipshit," Kris said with anger radiating off of every word she spoke. "There's no way in hell you didn't know that. You've lived here all your life. What's the real fucking reason?!"

Her fists were in a ball. She was serious. That smirk from seconds earlier was now replaced with a scowl.

"Also, what was with the gun? Where did you even get it?!" She asked. "Oh, and of all the things you could've said to Zeke, why'd you say those things?" She continued to ask. "Especially the whole hero rant?!"

"I-I don't know," I admit, hanging my head.

I didn't know someone like Kris had anger like that in her.

"Fuck, Jess," Kris said, calming down. "Why'd you do it?"

"I don't know," I say, mentally bracing myself for more yelling.

"Look, I'm sorry for yelling." She apologized. "I don't like this situation any more then you do. I just want us all to be friends again."

"I do, too," I say. "I don't know how I can fix this. Zeke doesn't want to talk to me."

"He'll come around." Kris sighed. "Eventually."

She yawns and walks over to hug me.

"I'm gonna go; I'm tired." She said before pulling away. "I promise I'll do what I can to help."

She smiled before turning and walking away.

I watch her go until she turned left at the street corner before attempting to sneak back into my room. The fact that Hazel was on my bed tells me I failed.

"What were you doing out there?" She asked me.

"Why are you on my bed?" I ask her.

"Answer mine, and I'll answer yours." She said smirking.

"I'm not in the fucking mood Hazel." I unintentionally snap.

"Ok, ok, damn." She said, standing up and walking to the door. "I was just asking, sorry."

I'll admit, I kind of deserved that.

"I really fucked up." I think to myself.

I know Kris thinks that this whole thing can be fixed, but sometimes she can be too hopeful about a situation.

——————-

-Kris-

I turn the corner to find Zeke sitting on the bench, right where I had left him. I brought him along for moral support.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked as I sat down beside him.

"Fucking horrible," I say, putting my head in my hands. "I snapped at her. She just took it. I didn't even say what I wanted to. I just snapped."

"Hey, Kris. Breathe." He said softly. "You can tell her later."

"How much later?" I look up at him. "She'll hate me after this!"

"Jesse doesn't seem like the person to stay mad for too long," Zeke said, trying to calm me down.

He wasn't helping.

"I like her, Red." I blurt out. "Jessie. That's what I wanted to tell her."

He didn't say anything for a while. I don't really blame him. How would you respond in a situation like this?

"What are you gonna do?" He finally asked.

I feel myself blush. What am I going to do?

"I don't know," I admit. "I'm not gonna tell her, that's for sure."

"Why?" He asked. "The worst that could happen is she says no."

Is he encouraging me to admit my feelings to her? Why?

"Are you trying to get me to tell her?" I ask in a playful tone.

"Yeah, pretty much." He smirks.

"Why?" I laugh.

"Cuz, what use is there to have one if you're not gonna do anything?" He asked.

"You got me there," I say with a yawn. "We should probably get some rest."

Zeke stretched and stood up.

"Yep." He agreed. "We should."

I waved as he started to walk off towards his place.

"Actually, Zeke, I want your help with something." I feel my cheeks start to heat up.

He turned around quickly with a look of concern on his face. I rarely ever call him by his actual name, so I guess he thought something was wrong.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I wanna do something about my crush on Jess," I say with confidence.

I see him relax as I tell him that.

"That's awesome." He said encouragingly. "But what do you need my help for?"

"I want you to help me ask her out," I say, looking away from him. "Please?"

"Sure." He said without hesitation. "It's the least I could do."

"Really?" I ask in disbelief.

"You've helped me out." He replied. "So why not. I may not be on good terms with her, but if it makes you happy, then I'll help."

"But why?" I ask him, genuinely confused.

"I may be a dick sometimes, but I'm fair." He replied.

I smile. He really was breaking out of his shell.

"Thank you," I say happily.

He let out a small chuckle before giving a two-finger salute and walking away. I should really tell him to be careful. His softy side is showing.