You Can Be My Bad Boy: Stop The Plot

~Evening~

People filled into my room and took up every available place to sit. Josh moved some boxes out of the way so those who didn't fit on my bed could sit on the floor. I moved to stand in front of everyone. They all stared at me expectantly, but I didn't say anything. I was nervous and needed a moment to collect myself. Just as I was about to be ready GD burst into the room.

"Sup, bitches," she said as she took a seat, "Everyone down there is lame and I want to hear E's side of the story first for once."

I took a breath, "Well, there isn't much of a story. It's just that . . . well, sometimes . . . I mean that . . . uh . . . "

"Just," Josh said, "start with the first kiss."

"The first one?" I asked, hoping that I didn't have to go through everything that had happened since then.

Josh just nodded.

"Well," I said, forcing myself to just get it over with, "Remember when there was that party with the bet? So turns out when JJ took me home I . . . uh . . . I found out that we'd tied and so I . . . I kissed JJ then went to bed and he doesn't know that I remember cause I don't want him to. Well, he knows now, obviously, I admitted to remembering downstairs. It was weird and he clearly thought nothing of it and it's whatever, you know? So, yeah, no big deal."

There was a long and terrible silence before Mari asked, "Everything, Evening."

I sighed and without looking up I pulled a nearby hoodie over my head so I couldn't see anyone before I started spewing everything out in practically one breath, "This is necessary so please don't say anything. So, after that everything was kind of awkward, but we managed to not do anything. It was still . . . weird, though. But when we had to pretend we were dating when Cl - Rick came over for dinner . . . We had to act like we were dating and sometimes it was really like it wasn't acting. Then he was so cute and flustered about how I looked for Homecoming and he gave me earrings and they were so nice. And when he got me from . . . from where Alex's dad had me he was so sweet and worried and I liked it. Then his family came over and we had to make dinner. And last time we made dinner together there was tension, but this time he threw me in the pool I didn't know we had and we almost kissed, but we didn't. When we were done with dinner we realized we had to fake date again cause why was I at family dinner, you know? And it was kind of like last time, but this time his family said weird stuff and I don't know. Then he was weird last night and I didn't know what to do and he . . . he pulled me into a closet and I swear we didn't do anything but it was still weird. Then we watched a movie and it was so good. Then right before Maddy showed up we were talking and he . . . he . . . I don't know what he was going to tell me, but it was something . . . I don't know, weird."

It was silent for a moment before Josh slowly lifted the hoodie to look at my face. He looked almost sad as he smiled at me gently. Before I could puzzle on his expression any longer he practically whispered, "Evie, you're bright red."

I looked at my feet.

We all knew what that meant.

I really, really like JJ.

~~~~

We all reconvened in the living room. Sam, Raph, Leo, and Alex all squished together on the couch with GD perched on the armrest by Sam. Mari sat in the armchair with Jess on her armrest. Josh pulled some chairs from the dining room for me, him, Chris, and JJ. I couldn't help the feeling of gratitude that came over me as I saw all these people here that I cared about and who cared about me. It was nice. But now was not the time.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"It's an ex, right?" GD said rhetorically, "An ex is here for one thing. To tear you two apart. So, as long as Jace doesn't even get close to dating Eve or Maddy then it's all good."

"I'm already doing that and it's done jack shit," JJ said, a little defensive.

Jess looked directly at him, "What you're doing is clearly not enough."

"What's a sure fire way to make sure that Jace doesn't date Eve or Maddy?" Leo asked, breaking the tension of Jess's surprisingly cold response.

Josh sighed before answering, "They date other people."

JJ and I glared at him and he threw up his hands in self defense, "What?"

"No, he's right," Sam said.

We turned our gaze to him as Mari picked up where he left off, "If you two are dating other people then all risk of Jace dating Maddy or Eve is eliminated. It's the safest option."

JJ looked at me before sighing, "I'm willing if you are."

I looked at him, surprised, "You're okay with dating some random girl just to avoid dating me or Maddy?"

"I mean, yeah. I don't want us to end up like Maddy and I have."

He was so serious about this.

"No, no, you're right," I shook my head, "I guess I just feel bad for whoever we date. We're tricking them."

"Not necessarily," Mari said, "Just because you have to date someone doesn't mean it has to be someone you won't potentially like."

"Or do like," Leo cut in.

We all rolled our eyes at him, but agreed. This plan was probably our best bet. And it involved people from the outside who could keep us in check. We'd find people to date and not only scare off Maddy, but any other people that these curses attract. Our lives would be peaceful and the plot would be stopped. This was perfect.

People started to leave until it was just me, Josh, Jess, and Mari. Josh went up to his room leaving us three alone in the living room. We decided that after that conversation we deserved a movie. We grabbed snacks and huddled in the living room as we turned on Nacho Libre. I was trying my hardest to focus on the screen, but I kept getting distracted by Mari. And, judging by the death glares Jess kept failing to hide, she was too. Mari wasn't one to do other things when we hung out, especially when we were watching a movie, and especially on her phone. Not only that, but she kept smiling at her phone, which was another thing she never really did. I tried my best to enjoy the movie, but my eyes and mind kept wandering to a very distracted Mari.

As the credits began to roll Jess turned to Mari, "Alright, what is it?"

Mari looked up from her phone, "What?"

Jess pointed at Mari's phone, "You didn't look up from that thing the whole time! What's so important?"

"Oh," Mari said, and if I didn't know her any better I'd say she was turning red, "I'm messaging someone."

"What?" Jess and I shouted in unison as we leaned toward her.

Mari smiled at us, "I gave my number to someone at a party and we started messaging. Her name is Grace."

"Tell us more!" I demanded.

She just shrugged, "I don't know anything else. Just her name."

"And that you like her," Jess said, smirking.

Mari nodded, "A lot."

We made fun of Mari for a bit before scolding her for not telling us sooner, but they didn't stick around much longer after the movie ended. Once I'd said goodbye I was in my room unpacking. The hoodie that I'd used earlier to hide my face from everyone was still on my bed. As I picked it up I realized that I didn't recognize it. It didn't look like any of my hoodies or the ones that my family owned that had somehow found its way in here. I slipped it on and a smell that I had missed earlier because of just how flustered I was washed over me. I took a deep breath and smiled instantly. But, my smile fell as soon as it appeared when I realized what this smell was.

A flower garden and an old dusty library.

Maybe this plan wasn't as perfect as I'd thought.