His Little Brother

Chapter Fifteen

Jazz woke up to the smell of blueberry pancakes. Her mom only made them whenever Jazz needed cheering up. 

I guess dad spilled the beans, she thought to herself. 

She got up and sat in front of her vanity. Images of Dylan and Grace kept showing up in her mind. Dylan looked so cute in his chinos and button down shirt. It was the first time Jazz had seen him even remotely dressed up. He wasn't even wearing his usual Converse and swapped them out for a pair of clean sneakers.

Jazz breathed in deeply when she felt a tug on her heart again.

You'll get over it. She thought to herself. Once Dylan is happy, that's all that matters. He deserves it. 

She took in a few more breaths before she focused on the task at hand—completing she and David's paper. 

Jazz had been editing the paper for about an hour before the phone rang. When her mom called out to her from the kitchen, Jazz knew that the only person it could be was Hailey.

She tried her best to sound enthusiastic, not at all ready to tell Hailey about Dylan and Grace.

"Hey Hailes, what's up?"

"Hailes?"

Jazz's heart leapt when she heard his voice. 

"Dylan?"

"Hey Jazz."

"Uhh....hey," she said quietly. 

Hearing his voice reminded her of how much she actually liked him. It scared her.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"You don't sound like yourself," he told her. Jazz could hear a girls' voice in the background as he spoke.

Jazz coughed. "I...I'm fine. I just had something stuck in my throat."

"You should drink some warm water." 

"I will..." Jazz told him, not sure what to say next.

"Listen Jazz, I'm sure David already mentioned it to you, but I'm having a party tonight."

"A party?"

"Yeah.." Jazz could hear the hesitation in his voice. "Grace....well, she thought it would be a good way to meet some more kids our age. Plus, my birthday's tomorrow, so it all sort of came together."

Jazz willed herself not to cry. "Grace?"

"Uhh....yeah. It was all her idea."

"Oh."

"Are you alright Jazz?"

"Not really...I'm sorry. I actually have a lot of work to finish up right now," she told him, staring at her computer screen. The words looked like a blur through the unshed tears in her eyes. 

"I'm sorry I interrupted you...I just....I wanted you to be there," he hesitated again. "I thought it would be nice for you to meet Grace."

"You want me to meet her?"

"Well, yeah."

"Why?"

"Because, I value your opinion. I want you to tell me what you think of her."

Jazz didn't know how to respond.

"Jazz, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. What time is the party?"

"Seven sharp. I'm sure David already mentioned it," he said again, waiting for a response. She was silent. 

Jazz felt a sharp sting when she heard a girl's voice in the background again. "Sorry Jazz, that's Grace asking my mom for her coleslaw recipe. Mom doesn't seem too enthused," Dylan finally mentioned.

"I'll see you then, Dylan."

"Wait Jazz....so that means you're coming?"

"I still have a lot of work to do, but I may stop by."

"You may?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Yeah...I have to go. Bye Dylan." When Jazz hung up the phone, she didn't know how she felt. Nothing made sense to her anymore.

A few moments later, when she saw Hailey's name pop up on her cellphone screen, Jazz knew that the only way she could get through an evening seeing Dylan and Grace together was if Hailey was there.

As soon as she messaged Hailey the details, her best friend was at her doorstep twenty minutes later. 

She hugged Jazz as soon as she saw her. "I'm so sorry, Jazz. I can't believe all of that happened."

"Yeah, just my luck huh," Jazz told her, using sarcasm to mask her sadness. She was failing miserably.  

"So, why are you going to the party if it's hurting you this much?" Hailey asked, searching through Jazz's closet.

"I don't want to disappoint Dylan. He sounded like he really wanted me to go."

"But seeing him with Fiona's little sister doesn't exactly sound like a good time."

"Yeah, but, " Jazz started. 

"But, you like him alot and you want him to be happy," Hailey told her. 

Jazz sighed. "Pathetic, I know."

"Nothing is pathetic about that, Jazz. You just really like him."

"I do," she sighed. " But the more I think about it, which is alot...I'm honestly happy that he seems happy. I know that overtime, I'll be able to move on from this. I'll just get through tonight, and then I won't have to see him again."

"Do you really want that?"

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"You might."

"And what is that?"

"Tell Dylan how you feel," Hailey told her plainly.

"Of course not."

"Why not, Jazz?"

"Because...he's with Grace and I'm not the sort of girl to come in between two people."

"But you don't even know if they're dating. They may just well be friends."

"I'm not going to say anything Hailey."

"Fine," Hailey said and plopped down on the bed next to Jazz. "We're gonna get through this one way or another."

Jazz hugged her friend. "I know we will."