Westside || Jonah Marais

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❝ H E A D  O V E R  H E E L S❞

Bey and Amity journey down the sand-ridden path with their arms linked, following the instructions Google had given them to reach the allegedly best club in Bora Bora. Conversation lulled between the girls, broken only when they thought of something funny - which was quite often. The pair was lost in their own thoughts, busy admiring the beautiful night life of the island.

Unlike England, Canada, or their hometown Boston, there wasn't a constant bustling with hundreds of people rushing to get somewhere. The people here were simply easy going. While most chose to spend their nights in their homes, those that were out weren't in any hurry at all. Amity found the change in pace rather relaxing.

But, at the same time, it left little to distract herself from her thoughts running in circles.

"Hey, Bey," Amity sighs, breaking the silence with a tone so different from the light-hearted one she had moments ago that it causes the other girl to falter. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Bey jokes, nudging her with her elbow. "But you can ask me another question."

"What do you think of Jonah?"

"I- well-"

For the first time since she's know the girl, Amity had rendered her opinionated best friend speechless. Their pace slows as Bey thinks, choosing her words carefully.

"I think he stares at you like you're the only thing on this planet that matters, and he certainly doesn't know how to tell you no when you ask for something, because he's head over heels for you," she states, noticing Amity's growing smile out of the corner of her eye. "And I think that you like him just as much. But-" Bey hesitates, not wanting to ruin Amity's mood, but she knows it needs to be said. "But I also thought the same thing about Xavier, and look at how that turned out. I don't want you to get hurt again, Amie."

Xavier was a boy Amity met in Greece three years ago. They met on the second day of her and Bey's vacation, when Amity had taken a morning walk on the beach while Bey slept. He had been scouring the sand for seashells, and the two tripped over each other because they weren't paying attention. From that point on, they were inseparable.

He took it upon himself to give Bey and Amity private tours of Greece, showing them places only locals knew about along with all of the famous locations. During the night, he would take Amity to secluded spots where the stars smiled down at her, with nothing to obscure them for miles. In between their intimate moments and stolen kisses, he would tell her stories about the Greek Gods she had never heard of before.

When the vacation ended, Xavier saw her off at the airport with a container of seashells and promises to not let the distance break them apart.

Once the plane landed several hours later, Amity eagerly checked her phone only to find no missed calls or texts from him. She reasoned with herself to forget the disappointment, telling herself that it's silly to expect a hundred missed calls and texts after only being gone for less than a day.

She went home to visit her mothers. After sleeping away the jetlag that night and putting away all of the stuff in her suitcase the next morning, she still had not received any notification from Xavier. That's when Amity took it upon herself to call him, eager to hear his voice again even if it was only through a phone.

But when the phone was answered, it wasn't the same Xavier she left behind merely a day ago. He sounded distant and not at all like the romantic person she had fallen in love with.

As the months went on, their weekly phone calls and daily texts dwindled down to monthly calls and seldom ever texting. Amity knew something was off, but any time she brought it up, he blamed the time zone or simply told her she was being paranoid. And she believed him, not wanting to fight with him when they couldn't physically hug and make up afterwards.

But one day, it all came crashing down. At the beginning of her winter break, before she even went back to the United States after several long months of college, Amity flew to Greece to surprise Xavier.

Standing on his door step with his Christmas gift in hand and an eager smile on her face, she bounced up and down in anticipation as the door slowly opened.

Only to have her heart broken as she was met with a girl that claimed to be Xavier's girlfriend of sixteen months.

"I know," Amity sighs, resting her head on Bey's shoulder. "But this time is different. Whatever I have with Jonah ends as soon as our vacation does."

<<>>

Amity sits at the bar, beyond exhausted from dancing the night away with Bey and only a teensy bit drunk as she absentmindedly sips yet another dirty martini. Bey is nowhere to be seen, having slipped away with a man she had affectionately dubbed her IONS - Island One Night Stand. Although, Amity didn't mind because it worked out well for their preferences - Bey preferred to be with someone while she was drunk while Amity would rather be left alone, not wanting some stranger to see her make a fool of herself.

"What's a gorgeous lady like you doing sitting here all by yourself?" A rather handsome man asks, sliding into the barstool next to Amity with a mischievous grin.

"I'm not alone," she states confidently, glancing around the room. "There's plenty of people around me."

The stranger's smile falters, not having expected the answer. Unbeknownst to him; on night's very similar to their current one, when Amity has had one too many drinks, she becomes very confident.

"You're really fucking pretty," she slurs, poking him in the chest. "Like Zac Efron and Jensen Ackles mixed together."

"Thanks?" he chuckles, sliding a cocktail towards her as he buys another for himself. "I propose a toast, to the both of us for being 'really fucking pretty'."

"I'll drink to that."

Amity giggles, lifting her glass to clink against his. Right before the drink reaches her lips, it's out of her hand. And, for a solid twenty seconds, the girl thinks it simply disappeared before realizing someone had snatched it out of her grasp.

"I don't fucking think so," Jonah snarls, glaring at the stranger. "Amity, my car is parked out front. Please go get in it."

"But I wanna drink with Zac Ackles!"

"You can some other time, after he learns not to drug a woman's drink."

In the midst of his anger, Jonah doesn't wait for Amity to walk away and lands a firm punch to the man's face, causing him to fall backwards off his barstool. Not uttering another word, he turns away, swiftly lifting Amity off of her feet and carrying her to his car.

Immediately upon getting buckled in the Chevrolet Corvair, the girl unfortunately thanks him in the true Drunk Amity fashion - by throwing up all over herself and the floorboard.

"Oh my-" Jonah grimaces, not wanting to make her feel any worse. Turning around in his seat, he searches for something to throw over the mess. Due to his slight OCD, there was hardly anything that would work. "I don't think I- um . . . . Amity, do you- did you-"

The girl peers over at him innocently, smudging her makeup as she attempts to wipe away the sleepiness in her eyes. "What? My dress was dirty and I don't want to step in puke, so it works."

Jonah can't help but to chuckle slightly, keeping his gaze fixed straight ahead. The self conscious girl he met only a couple of days ago is now confidently sitting in his passenger seat, wearing nothing but compression shorts and a bra as her mini dress lays discarded at her feet.

"Here," he offers, not taking his eyes off of the road as he removes his own shirt and hands it to her. "You can wear this."

When she doesn't take it, Jonah risks a glance towards her, finding her already fast asleep.