hang
by jess ryan
chapter 4

  Josh stared around the room he found himself in.  It looked like the master bedroom in the dark, but he couldn’t be sure.  All he was sure of was that he was here, by himself, and no one had seen him slip in here.

  Over the music, no one heard the sound of a gunshot.

  From the doorway, Jackson spotted her at once.  Pretty in blue, he thought, eyeing her figure and shoulder-length blonde hair.  She would be a perfect Brittany, if only her name wasn’t Catherine.
  She was dancing with her back to him, moving seductively to the music, and he went up and tapped her on the shoulder.  She turned at once, her smile fading to a look of confusion.  “Can I help you?” she yelled over the music.
  “Are you Catherine?” he asked.
  She nodded; taking his hand and leading him down onto the lawn where she could hear better.  “Did you want something?” she repeated.
  “So you’re Catherine?” he confirmed, folding his arms across his chest and leaning towards her.  “Or should I say Brittany?”
  Her blue eyes widened in surprise, and shock.  “Who are you?” she asked.
  He laughed at her.  “A friend.”
  “A friend?”
  “Yup.”  He glanced around the yard.  “And where’s Tiffany?  I don’t know her real name, so we’ll just have to go by that for the moment.  I’d been so looking forward to meeting my little friends, until I discovered that they’d been lying to me.  I don’t like being lied to.”
  Catherine looked frightened for a moment, then steeled herself.  “Piss off.  I don’t want you here.  Go away before I call the police.”
  Again, Jackson laughed.  “Aw, you wouldn’t really call the cops on your old buddy Jackson, would you?”
  “Yes I would, so piss off.  This is exactly why we lied, so that you wouldn’t find come looking for us, you sicko.”
  “Sicko?”  He loved the raspiness of her voice when she was pissed off.  He found it highly amusing.  “Oh, you’re so mistaken.  I just wanted to be friends with you guys.  You seemed like such nice girls.  And where’s Tiffany, huh?  You’re a bitch, but maybe she’s nicer.”
  “Yeah, well you’re an asshole and I’m going.”  She started to walk away, but he grabbed her arm.  “Hey!” she cried out, attracting the attention of the circle of chairs where her friends sat.  Kevin stood up immediately, followed closely by Adrian, Hayden, Brian and Nick.  Alana, Rhiannon and Casey Davenport watched with interest.
  Kevin grabbed Jackson’s arm and pushed him away from Catherine.  “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.
  “Just talking to my friend Catherine,” Jackson replied defensively.  “A guy can do that, can’t he?”
  “Not at a private party you’re not invited to,” Kevin told him.  “So get out of here.”
  “I was invited,” Jackson lied.  “Catherine invited me.”  He glared at her over Kevin’s shoulder, but she shook her head.
  “I didn’t invite him – he’s an asshole,” she replied.
  Kevin turned back to Jackson.  “Well, you heard the lady – you’re an asshole.  So get out of here before we call the cops.”
  Jackson contemplated just punching this guy in the face, but decided against it at the sight of his friends.  One of these dudes he could take, but not five of ‘em.  “Okay, I can see when I’m not wanted.  I’ll be seeing you, Catherine.”
  He stalked off, throwing her an I-always-get-my-way grin as he went.  Catherine sank into a chair next to Alana.
  “Who was that?” Alana asked.
  “Jackson,” Catherine mumbled.
  “What?” Alana exclaimed.  “As in, OUR Jackson?”
  “That’s the one.”
  “Who’s Jackson?” Kevin asked.
  “We met him on the Internet,” Alana explained.  “We made up fake names and stuff so he wouldn’t be able to track us down, ‘cuz he started to turn kinda obsessive and stuff, and…I can’t believe he was here!  We have to tell the police!”
  “I know,” Catherine murmured.  “But can we wait ‘til tomorrow morning?  I don’t feel like going out there when we know he’s still around.”
  Kevin nodded.  “That’s a good idea.  Just hang out here for awhile then we’ll take you home, and you can go to the police in the morning.”
  Catherine nodded.  “Okay.”  Alana looked at her in concern.  The encounter with Jackson had scared her more than she would ever let on.

  Having decided to just go home, Jess made her way slowly down the stairs and out the front door, hoping that no one had noticed her slip out.  So preoccupied with her thoughts was she, that she didn’t notice the lone figure sitting on the front steps until he called out her name.
  “Rob!” she said, startled, as she turned.  “What are you doing out here by yourself?”
  Rob Thomas sat all on his lonesome, smoking a cigarette and looking at her in concern.  “Watching the stars,” he replied, indicating the sky.  “There’s too much light out the back to see much.  Say, you’re not going home are you?”
  Jess nodded.  “Yeah.  I’m really not in much of a party mood.”
  Rob grinned and took another drag of his cigarette, his smoke as he exhaled visible in the air.  “What do you mean, you’re not in a party mood?  You’re always in a party mood.”
  Smiling wistfully and willing herself not to cry, Jess looked at the ground.  “Not tonight.”
  Rob stared at her for a moment.  After only a few months, he could already read her thoughts.  “It’s Matt, isn’t it?  I heard what happened.”
  Jess couldn’t help herself – she bit her lip as a single tear rolled down her cheek.  Rob quickly stubbed his smoke out and held his arms out to her.  “Come here.”
  She went and sat beside him on the front step, sobbing into his chest as he held her.  He couldn’t help himself but gently breathe in the citrus scent of her hair, remembering.  He was new to this town – he’d been here about five months now – and Jess was the first person to take him under her wing.  He remembered their first meeting as if it were yesterday, the memory playing in his mind like a movie.  It had been his first day at Riverdale High, and he was trying in vain to decipher the student timetable posted to the wall near his locker.  He had History now, but he didn’t understand the timetable enough to be able to figure out what room he was in.  As he stood trying to figure it out, a pretty redhead had come along and glanced quickly at the timetable before walking away.  After only a few steps though, she’d turned back to him and studied him carefully.
  “You look a little lost,” she’d stated with an amused and slightly teasing, but still friendly, smile.
  “I have no idea how this thing works,” he’d admitted sheepishly.
  She grinned wider.  “That’s okay.  What class have you got now?”
  “History.”
  “Cool, you’re with me.  Come on, I’ll show you.”
  So he’d followed her down the hall, learning along the way that her name was Jess and that she was captain of the varsity cheerleading squad, and into the noisy classroom.  She sat up the back with her friends, in the same order they sat every single class – with Jess at one end, then Catherine, Alana and finally Aleesha.  Jess had sat down in her usual spot and told her step brother, Brian, to move across one place so Rob could sit next to her.  From then on they’d been friends, and from then on Rob had been in love with her, even though she’d been going out with that asshole Matt Rich for almost a year.
  So now, even as she cried over their horrible breakup, Rob couldn’t help but be a little pleased that she’d chosen him to pour her heart out to.  Finally she sat back and wiped her damp cheeks with the back of her hand.
  “Oh God, I’m sorry,” she said, turning slightly away from him.  He turned her back and began to wipe her tears away himself.
  “It’s okay,” he told her.  “Really.  You’re gonna be okay.”
  “It doesn’t feel like I’m gonna be okay.”  She sniffed, and her voice sounded shaky.  Rob put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close again.
  “I know, but you will.”  They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, just staring at the sky and enjoying each other’s company.
  “Thanks, Rob,” Jess said finally, in a small voice that broke his heart.
  “For what?”
  “For being here.”  She pulled back slightly and looked up at him.  “For being my friend.”
  “Anytime,” he whispered.  Jess stared up into the intense green eyes of her friend, her best friend other than the girls, and felt a strange sense of peace settle over her.  Was he going to kiss her, she wondered.  Despite the ache that still resonated throughout her heart, she hoped he would.  Matt had never looked at her in such a way, and Rob’s gaze made her feel like a princess, or at least someone important.  As if reading her thoughts, he leaned down and softly touched his lips to hers.  After a few moments he increased the pressure, pulling her tighter into his arms as the kiss grew in intensity.  Jess clung to him for dear life, not wanting to let go and see the reality when she opened her eyes, and he held her with the same emotion.  At last, though, he pulled back.
  “I’m sorry,” he said softly.
  “Don’t be.”  Her eyes welled with tears of a different kind this time, and she smiled and leaned in for another kiss.  “You know,” she said when they pulled apart.  “I think I might stay for awhile.”