Beautiful Together (2 page)

2

Two years earlier...

It was Saturday night, and Jesse and I were watching a horror movie in my basement. A huge silver bowl of buttery popcorn sat between us.

"Halloween's only a couple of weeks away," Jesse said as opening credits rolled.

"So what?" I contested playfully. "You're not planning on going trick-or-treating or something, are you?"

He smiled. "Well, no. But it's still fun to get in the spirit."

My mom never would have let me rent some violent slasher film full of naked girls and bloodshed. So we had to sneak in our DVD contraband in a backpack and watch it after my parents had already retired for the night. It definitely wasn't the first time we had done it.

My parents were pretty religious and relatively strict about it, but it was mostly just talk. Sometimes it made me—actually, Jesse was in the same boat as well; we discussed the topic quite frequently—
very
confused about what I actually believed. The one thing I did know, however, is that violent horror movies were
definitely
not allowed in either of our houses.

I had turned sixteen only a few months earlier, so now I could finally drive to the video store by myself. Plus, one of our classmates worked there on the weekends, so we could rent R-rated movies even though we were underage.

The perks of finally being able to drive.

You could say I was seriously enjoying the fruits of my newfound autonomy. Not having to rely on parents for rides was a huge deal. Being able to go out shopping without parental supervision felt indescribably good, so good I felt like an
actual adult
sometimes, even though I never had much money to spend.

"These movies are so dumb, Naomi," he whined between giant handfuls of popcorn. "Nobody even acts like a real person."

"I think that's the point," I said sharply. Jesse liked to complain, but I also knew he actually enjoyed horror movies a lot. "Also, you're hogging all of the popcorn. I still want some too."

"Can't we just make more?" he asked.

"You want to risk waking my mom up while
this
is on the screen?" An incredibly busty girl had just had her throat slit and collapsed to her knees, fake blood spilling everywhere like a terrible crimson flood. Some of it even splashed on the camera.
Ick.

"Good point," he said, his eyes clearly focused only on the boobs. "It's called
Blood Lake
for a reason, huh?"

"More like
Boob Lake,
" I added playfully.

We were scrunched together on the small leather couch, fighting to grab handfuls of popcorn. My parents didn't really approve of me being alone with the opposite sex, so Jesse snuck in the back door after they went to bed. But they liked him, so even if we did get caught, the gory movie be the bigger problem.

"Wait a second," Jesse said suddenly. He jumped up and ran over to his backpack, squatting down and digging in the pockets. "A-ha!" he said, lifting a king-size package of M+M's into the air.

"Keep your voice down!" I giggled.

I studied him carefully. Jesse had always been handsome, but now his cheeks were covered in a thin layer of stubble. He was normally clean-shaven, but by nightfall, he usually had a five o'clock shadow. It was actually a little sexy, this conspicuous sign that he was basically a man. I often assumed he'd really win over the girls' hearts once the transmutation was finally complete.

His jaw was strong and chiseled, and he had grown almost a full foot taller in the last two years. He had messy light brown hair and bold hazel eyes. I had been around to see it all—just as he had been there to see my development.

My breasts had grown a lot more than I ever could have predicted given the fact that girls in my grade had constantly made fun of me in middle school gym class for being so flat-chested. I wasn't really sure if it was karma or not since sometimes I hated the size increase. Finding comfortable bras was usually a problem.

I would have fit in just fine with those girls on screen, but no one would have really known by how I dressed. My mom always insisted I keep my boobs thoroughly covered, so I did.

Jesse joked about them a lot, but it was all in fun. I also didn't like how blue my eyes were, or how dark brown my hair was, but I was more okay with that stuff than my chest.

But we were still maturing, living in an era when
everything
was kind of awkward. One way or another, we were just close friends, close friends who were trying to figure out what everything meant.

"Awesome!" I proclaimed, my eyes fixed on the giant candy package. "It's like we're really at the movies now. Except we didn't spend ten bucks for snacks!"

Jesse ran back to the couch and sat down. He tore aggressively at the package and suddenly it exploded, filling the popcorn bowl with candy shrapnel. "Dammit," he muttered. "My hands are slippery from the butter."

I eyed the mistake and smiled. "It'll be awesome blended in there. Don't you like salty and sweet?"

He sent his hand digging into the bowl, returning with a homogenous mixture of popcorn and M+M's. After dumping the contents into his mouth, he chewed slowly, deliberately, a quizzical look on his face. "Hell yeah I do!"

I joined in after that and we didn't stop until four more girls had been chopped to bits and the bowl was depressingly empty.

"I gotta go to the bathroom. Pause it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Jesse said.

I crept up the stairs and quietly crossed the kitchen floor until I got to the bathroom. And when I was done, I rushed back to Jesse, excited to see the rest of the movie. We scooted close again on the couch.

On the screen, frozen, were two heads, locked in a dramatic kiss. "Just look at those two," I joked as I waited for Jesse to start the movie again.

"Would you ever kiss me like that?" he asked suddenly, catching me off guard. He had a half-cocked smile on his face.

I stared down at my lap, a little confused, but also not offended. "Not like
that
," I said. I felt really comfortable around Jesse, and this, while a little weird, wasn't totally crazy. "But maybe just a little one," I added. "As friends."

"Yeah, it's no big deal," he said. "Let's try it."

I shrugged and turned toward him and closed my eyes. Our lips met briefly, but as I stopped, he put his hand on my shoulder and kissed me again.

I pulled away, surprised. "Jesse, what are you doing?"

He laughed, but it seemed unnatural. "Just messing around," he said.

"By trying to make out with me?" I wasn't upset, but I was a little shocked.

"I didn't know when to stop," he contested. His tone wasn't very convincing, but it was also pretty late. "I've never kissed anyone before."

I decided to let it go. "Whatever. I think it's time we get back to the movie," I said, pressing play on the remote. "It's getting late. And we've both got church in the morning."

The on-screen kiss continued—and quickly turned into sex. And then the couple wound up dead, just like everybody else.

I was beginning to wonder if
anyone
would survive this massacre.

"Are you going to the homecoming dance?" Jesse asked. There was a bit of a lull after the last murder, so we had both basically stopped paying attention.

Somehow, we hadn't discussed the dance and it was less than a week away. "Mason asked me to go with him last week," I said offhandedly. "So yeah, I'm going."

"Oh," Jesse said. The color seemed to leave his face. "He didn't tell
me
."

"He didn't? Wait, is something wrong, Jesse?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said. "It's... nothing. I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Jesse, I know you too well. What's up?" In our tightly packed position, I managed to shift my body until I could actually face him.

"Well," he said softly, "we probably won't get to hang out much if you're going to be there with him. Like
with him
. It's different from just being friends or whatever. Going with someone to a dance is like a date, right?"

I rubbed his shoulder slowly. "A
date
? I mean, sort of, but it's not a big deal. Sometimes a 'date' is just, like, drinking coffee together." I shot him a warm smile. "We can all still hang out together the whole night. Don't worry. It's nothing serious, if that's what you're worried about."

"Do you
like him
or something?" Jesse asked. He was watching the movie, but based on his vacant expression, he didn't look like he was processing anything.

"I think he's cute," I confessed giddily. I felt comfortable discussing the topic with Jesse. We had always shared our deepest secrets. "I've had a little crush on him for a long time. Does he ever talk about me?"

Jesse responded abruptly. "I don't really remember. Maybe." He continued blankly staring at the flashing images of death and despair on the TV.

"Cheer up," I said. "It won't be a big deal, I promise. You're still my best friend. Nothing can change that. It's just one little school dance, that's all."

It didn't matter though, because his exterior had apparently turned to stone. He was just frozen, his posture stiff, his arms crossed over his chest. Nothing was getting through no matter how hard I tried. I didn't understand.

"I'm just worried we're gonna drift apart. He's a really great guy. You'll probably
really
like him. You won't have any time for me."

"No way," I remarked. "That's not how real friends work. I'm not like that, Jesse. You know that."

He shrugged. "Yeah. I guess."

We dropped the discussion after that, and I did my best to stay focused on the movie.

"Man, that was gross," I said as a guy's head rolled off, blood pooling beneath him.

Jesse unenthusiastically smiled. "Yeah. Sucks for him."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked. "You usually go crazy about the gory stuff."

"Just tired," he said firmly.

I wanted to believe him, but it seemed like he was probably still thinking about the dance. But maybe he actually
was
tired. I decided not to push him too hard.

So we finished the movie and we said our goodnights. Everything seemed normal. He seemed
tired
. No big deal.

Sometimes he could be a little moody. It was nothing. In a couple days, we wouldn't even remember it.

Well, that's what I thought, anyway.

***

The week before the dance went by in a busy blur, so much that Jesse and I barely talked at all. Both Jesse and Mason were on the football team, but Mason was the
quarterback.
I definitely wasn't going to say it around Jesse—he was the wide receiver—but it was kind of mind-blowing that the quarterback had asked me out.

On Wednesday I called Jesse after school.

"It sucks that we don't have any classes together this semester. We need to hang out. Do you want to go eat somewhere after school tomorrow?" I asked, trying to keep things light. "Do something fun?"

"I've got too much going on, Naomi," he said stiffly. "Y'know, football practice and homework."

"We could eat after practice," I suggested. "I want to try that new pizza place. People are saying it's really good."

"I'm trying not to eat junk food before the game," he said. "And I seriously have a ton of homework."

He kept shooting me down, no matter what I proposed. It made me think about Saturday night, about our conversation.

"Did you ask anyone to the dance yet, Jesse?" I asked.

"Haven't had a chance to," he said.

Something was definitely off. He was keeping something from me.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Jesse wasn't known to make excuses, at least not with me. I decided to be more direct. "Is this about the dance? About Mason? Because I can totally—"

"No! It's not." The volume of his voice rose and fell abruptly and it startled me into silence. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just... just
stressed
. Don't change your plans for me."

I sighed. "Okay, Jesse," I said. "Well, try to relax. It'll be fine. I'll talk to you later."

Well, I didn't talk to him later.

Friday rolled around and I went to the dance with Mason, and all I can say is that a lot of things changed that night. It all happened so fast.

"Are you ready?" he asked me, just before we walked in.

My heart pounded. I could hear the excitement spilling into the hall from the cafeteria.

"Yeah, I think so," I said, feeling giddier than I'd been in years,

I guess it was probably just hormones, but when he took my arm in the hall and led me into the dance—after throwing the game-winning touchdown pass, of course—I lost myself in the moment.