Just Friends (A Jaime Preciado Fanfiction)

'It's Not Like We're Dating'

----Jaime's POV----

I pull into Raine's driveway Monday morning to pick her up. I'm not sure if anyone's still asleep, so I call her to let her know I'm here.

"Yeah?" she answers, her voice breaking.

"Hey, im out front. Is everything okay?"

Before she can respond, I hear a loud bang followed by a male voice screaming curse words angrily. All I can make out is "stupid whore" and my heart jumps. That better not be directed at Raine.

"I'll be right out," she says quietly and hangs up.

I wait anxiously and eventually see her come out the door. She tries to force a smile at me, but the amount of effort she put into it is close to zero.

"Hello," she says as she slides into my car, putting her backpack on the floor as if nothing happened. There's black makeup streaming down her face and she honestly looks terrified.

"Hey, what's going on? I heard a lot of words over the phone that should not have been directed at you. Are you okay?"

Her face falls.

"Oh, you heard. yeah, I'm okay. My dad just gets a little mad sometimes, I deserved it, I forgot to do the dishes,"

I look at her, eyes wide

"What? you forgot to do the dishes and he called you that? You don't deserve that at all. That's crazy. Please tell me he didn't hurt you."

"No, he didn't hurt me. It's okay. He just overreacts. I'm used to it"

"Promise me?"

"I promise you, Jaime." she says, smiling. "Just forget about this, alright? I'm fine, it's all good, but thank you for being concerned."

I look at her doubtfully but try to drop it.

"Alright..um, I was going to get coffee but I didn't know what you wanted, so we're going to Dunkin Donuts."

She smiles.

"Alright. Thank you for being considerate and for picking me up."

"You're very welcome. What's wrong with your car exactly?"

"Well, my dad stole my keys and won't give them back."

"Why? did you get a ticket or something?"

"Nope. I guess I was being too loud and I woke him up or something."

"Loud? You're not a very loud person."

"Breathing is too loud when my dad's asleep. If there's something he can punish me for, he won't miss an opportunity."

I open my mouth but stop myself. I'm very concerned about her dad. Where's her mom? Doesn't she help her?

It's silent for a little bit, but then we both talk at the same time.

"So you and Vic-"

"Can I ask-"

We stop.

"Go ahead." I say.

"No, I was just filling empty space. You sounded like you actually had something to say." she states.

I did. I was going to ask if she was okay and I was going to ask about her mom. A simple question, but i would do anything to know the answer.

"No, just filling space too. What about Vic and I?" I ask.

"Oh, well, I was going to ask if you, Vic, and Mike are still meeting up Friday about the band."

"Yes, we are. I'm pretty nervous, though."

"Why?"

"Well, they seemed to like me, but I feel like I need to earn their trust to be your friend."

She laughs.

"You don't..They're stoked about the band. and..I mean, It's not like we're dating or anything." she laughs again, and glances at me. Then, she stops like she just realized what she said.

Like that, the mood changes.

Not gonna lie, that hurt a bit. I pull into Dunkin Donuts and order our coffee without a word. I wonder what she would think if I told her I wish that we were.

--Raine POV--

Why the hell did I say that? I actually really like this guy, and I just made everything awkward. I'm so stupid. Every time something is going well, I screw it up. I glance over at the now silent Jaime and try to read his expression. He looks guilty, like he knows how I feel and he doesn't feel the same.

"Thank you for the coffee," I try to break the silence. He gives me a small smile and nods. I guess that's his way of saying that he's not interested. I understand that we've only been officially friends for about a week, but he has to realize that I like him. He can't be that oblivious. If he felt the same, I think he would have said something in response to that. Knowing Jaime, probably a witty comment. "Maybe we should," or "not yet, anyway." Anything but this silence would be good.

We pull into the parking lot at school and he turns his car off. Before he opens his door, he pauses.

"Jaime?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, there's just some things I need to figure out."

"Like what?" I press him for details. He looks at me for a bit, as if deciding if he should tell me or not.

"Just..things. Don't worry about it," he says as he opens his door, slowly exiting the car.

"Jaime?" I stop him again.

"Yes?" he sounds kind of annoyed.

"Are we okay?"

"Of course we're okay. Why wouldn't we be?"

I shake my head and walk towards the school, slinging my backpack over one shoulder.