2:2 Moving On

It had been weeks since Jackson moved away, he called Trisha everyday, but recently she'd seemed more distant. If he was honest with himself, he knew what was coming, but to him long-distance didn't seem so bad when you could call at any time.

"This isn't working, Jack" He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, and although he had prepared himself, it still hurt. "You've grown up, not in years, in experiences. You don't want to be tied down to a child."

"Trish..."

"Don't speak, Jack, don't make this harder than it is."

"How can I just stand here and not speak? You're my girlfriend Trisha. We can work this out. Do you want me to come home? I can come home if you want?"

"Don't be stupid. You need to think of your future, your career."

"What if I want you as my future?"

"Jackson. Listen. We can still be friends. Friends works fine over the phone. It's just... this... that isn't"

"Whatever Trisha." He snapped. He hadn't meant to, she was just making him angry. "Is there someone else?" He was met with silence. He knew what that meant "You could have just said that. Bye Trisha."

"Jack, wait!"  He hung up quickly. He didn't want to hear it. He could hear a car pulling up, and looked outside. Mercedes was being dropped off. He didn't want to talk to her right now.

He shut himself in his room and started on his homework as the door slammed shut. That seemed to be a habit of Mercedes', she couldn't seem to be quiet about anything. He heard footsteps just outside the door and held his breath, hoping she wasn't coming to talk. He heard her bedroom door open and then it too, slammed shut. He breathed a sigh of relief and went back to his studies before settling into bed early.

The next day he invited Lisa Bunch over to do homework together. She was one of the popular girls, but actually spoke to him. He assumed it was either so he could help her with homework, or because he didn't live with his parents and so technically that made him cool, although Jackson couldn't see that.

When Mercedes returned from her lectures, she and Lisa started talking. They seemed to get along well and had a lot in common.

Mercedes soon excused herself though, and went off to run herself a bath, mumbling something about going clubbing later. Lisas' ears practically stood on end hearing that, but Jackson managed to talk her out of going, reminding her they had a chemistry test first period.

They talked for hours, and barely noticed when Mercedes re-entered the room and fell asleep on the sofa in her new dress. It wasn't until Lisa felt her stomach rumble that they realised it was 9 o'clock and Lisa excused herself, saying that her dad would be worried as her phone battery had long since died. Jackson wondered whether to wake Mercedes before he headed to bed, but he didn't have to as she woke up as he was thinking that.

She almost jumped off the sofa and grabbed her phone, dialling as she ran out the door and calling her goodbye to Jackson. He shook his head and wondered how Mercedes ever got into uni. She seemed so disorganised and more interested in her social life than her studies. He decided to call it a night, as he was now alone and they didn't have a TV yet to while away the hours.

_______

Mercedes made it to the dance club, later than her friend. She had some drinking to catch up on and so ordered herself one straight away before ordering some for her and her 'date', Chris. Chris had been a friend for years, since high school. He was already in uni when she graduated, but they had met through mutual friends and hit it off immediately. She had a crush on him. She had done since they first met, and although she wasn't shy, she didn't want to ruin what they had and so had never acted on it.

She found him upstairs and gave him the cocktail she'd ordered him. She was feeling tipsy already. She hadn't eaten since lunch and had drank her last drink very quickly. She gave him what she assumed was a flirty smile as she handed his drink over, but in reality it was probably just a crooked drunken grin.

"Merci, Mercy!" He joked. He'd told this joke so many times that it wasn't funny anymore, but in her intoxicated state it seemed hilarious.

"You're so funny Chris! Totally not even joking right now!" She laughed at him and held onto his wrist for support. Their eyes met and he smiled down at her. She quickly realised she was almost holding his hand, and pulled away. "We should dance, or something..." She turned away and looked at the crowd. She could feel him staring at her and didn't want to turn around to meet his gaze. It was all too awkward right now.

______

The following morning Jackson found her sitting on the sofa in her nightdress and decided to join her.

"Have a good night?" As he looked at her he could tell she'd had little to no sleep, so must've been out quite late.

"Yeah, I did actually. Had about an hour sleep at most, and have to sit in on a surgery today. Ugh." Her voice was hoarse, as if she'd spent the entire night screaming.

"Surgery?? What are you studying?"

"I'm going to be a doctor, I'm on placement at the moment and at the hospital most days. It's weird that we haven't had this conversation yet isn't it? What are you studying?"

"Well, I'm still in high school, so everything, but I'm looking into politics" Mercedes nodded, but quickly changed the subject.

"Who was that girl over yesterday? I thought you had a girlfriend at home?"

"Who Lisa? She's just a friend. And Trisha broke up with me the other night"

"Oh, sorry to hear." She looked like she didn't know what to say next, and was saved by the honk of the school bus swiftly followed by her lift. They both jumped up, realising they hadn't got changed yet and ran to their respective bedrooms before rushing out the door.

At school that day, Lisa had come up to Jackson and reminded him that the prom was that night and neither had a date. Hinting that they should go together. He agreed and assumed they were going as friends, until he got ready and saw the flowers Mercedes' 'friend' had given her sitting on the coffee table and wondered if, in fact, she was asking him out.

Mercedes bounded through from her bedroom, stopped briefly and announced she had a date, before escaping out the front door, slamming it as usual.

A minute or two later, a limo appeared outside and a feeling of dread washed over Jackson. Lisa had thought this as a date. He didn't have the heart to tell her any different, and so joined her in the limo. On the way to prom, he watched her. For the first time he noticed her freckles. Thousands of them peppered her face and made her look... Cute...

Later that evening, Mercedes returned from her date. While they were drunk the night before, Chris had invited her to go see a movie and she had eagerly agreed.

The date had gone really well, and the movie, a romantic comedy, was neither partners first choice, but was definately first-date material.

Jackson returned from prom soon after, and hearing Mercedes whisper the words 'stay' and 'bed' he rushed himself to his own bed to get out of their hair.

He put up his prom photo and thought about the night. Lisa had asked him to go steady, and he'd accepted. They'd had a wonderful night of dancing followed by a few hazy moments of kissing out of sight of their classmates. The memory bought a smile to his face, which was quickly wiped away when he heard Mercedes' bedroom door slam, followed by giggling. That boy was definitely staying the night in her bed. He sighed and settled himself to bed, pulling the covers over his head to try and get a more peaceful sleep.



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