Jennifer stopped at a bench and waited for Dave to come to her.  As he approached, she stood with her back straight and her arms crossed.

Dave came to a stop just in front of her.  “Well, we meet again, Jennifer.”

“What do you want, Dave?”  She stayed standing, staring at him from behind the lenses of her sunglasses.

“Come on, Jen, we’re both adults…we can have a civilized conversation, can’t we?”  He gestured to the bench next to them.  “Have a seat.  Let’s talk.”

Jennifer raised an eyebrow at him.  I bet he has something up his sleeve, she thought warily.  I wonder what he wants.  She sat only after he did, and as far as possible from him.  “Okay, I’m sitting.  Now talk.”

“I don’t understand why you’re so hostile towards me, Jennifer.”  Dave leaned back against the bench.

“Think about it,” she said with a nasty streak in her voice.  “We always argued, you always blamed me for every single problem we had during our relationship…”

“Hey, I realize I made a mistake when we were together, but…”

“But, nothing.  Dave, you never cared about me while we were together.”

Jennifer’s statement angered him, and he moved to grab her arm.  She flinched away, and he pulled his hand back.  “Listen, Jen, I understand I made a few mistakes during our relationship, but I’ve changed.  I’m not the same person I was back then.”

“Yeah, right,” she muttered.  “No one changes that much.”

“Damn it, Jennifer, why won’t you believe me?”

“Shall I list the reasons?”  She looked over at him coolly.

He reached over and pulled her sunglasses off before she could protest.  “Let me see you, Jennifer,” he said in a low voice.  “Why are you still angry with me?”

“Hmm…could it possibly be because of the emotional hell you put me through?” she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“That’s enough,” he shot back, his voice raised.  “I know I made mistakes.  I’m willing to admit it.  But you have to admit, you made some mistakes, too.”

“I made mistakes?”  Jennifer got to her feet, her face red with rage, her voice raising with every word she spoke.  “How the hell can you tell me I made mistakes?  Okay, maybe there were times I did the wrong thing, but I loved you, David.  God knows why I did, but I did.  You, on the other hand, never once told me you loved me, and when I managed to pry it out of you, all you wanted to do was have sex!”

“Sit down…people are looking.”  Dave took a hold of Jennifer’s arm and pulled her back down to the bench.

Jennifer jerked her arm out of his grasp.  “Don’t touch me, and don’t tell me what to do.  You did enough of that while we were together.”

“Don’t be unreasonable, Jennifer.  That was the past.  This is now.”

“Okay.”  Jennifer agreed easily, hoping to get the meeting over with.  “So this is now, and you were in my past.  Therefore, there’s no reason for me to be here anymore.”  She stood again, this time to leave.

Dave jumped up and grabbed her hand.  “Hold on.  I’m not finished.”

“Well, I am.”  She pulled her hand free.  “Goodbye, David.”

He snatched her arm again, tighter so she couldn’t escape.  Time to drop the bomb.  “I want to be with you again, Jennifer.  Let’s get back together.”

She stopped dead in her tracks.  Turning slowly to look back at him, she said under her breath, “You what?”

**

Jennifer’s friends sat at a nearby picnic table.  JC, Justin, and Kathy sat on one bench, facing Jennifer and Dave.  The others sat across from them, their backs toward Jennifer.

“Guys, I don’t think we should have let Jennifer do this,” Justin said as he glanced at his friend over Joey’s shoulder.  Taking note of her stiff posture, he added, “She’s obviously not happy.”

“Of course she’s not happy, Justin,” Kathy replied.  “Who would be happy seeing an ex-boyfriend two years after you’ve broken up?”

“Especially an ex-boyfriend who treated her the way Dave did,” Derrick put in.

“And that’s exactly why we should have stopped this before it started,” Justin explained.

JC exhaled loudly and shifted in his seat to get a better view of Jennifer.  “As much as I’d like to agree with you, Justin, we can’t tell her what to do.  Believe me, I kept trying to talk her out of this…”

“Well, maybe you didn’t try hard enough!”  Justin cut him off.

Everyone frowned at the young man’s outburst.  “Whoa there,” Chris said.  “Gee, Justin, settle down.  Give JC a break.  Jen’s a strong person; if she could have been talked out of it, which I doubt, I’m sure between the seven of us, we would have stopped it.”

Justin slumped in his seat.  “I know, but…I just don’t want to see Jen hurt.”

“None of us do,” Joey said.  “That’s why we’re all here.”

“I swear, if Dave does anything to her…” JC threatened under his breath.  “If he lays even one finger on her…”

Kathy laid a calming hand on JC’s arm.  “He can’t hurt her, JC.  She can take care of herself.”

JC looked back at Kathy.  “I hope so.”

“Well, what’s going on?” Lance asked.

“Why don’t you just turn around and look?” Justin said.

“I don’t want to give it away that we are here watching.  Dave might notice and get suspicious.”

“Hmm,” Kathy murmured as she craned her neck to see around the guys in front of her.  “It looks like…they’re just talking now…he just took off her sunglasses.”

“What?” Chris said, turning slightly to catch a glimpse.  “Why?”

“Does it look like I know why?” Kathy said sarcastically.  She shook her head and kept watching.  “Hold on…Jen doesn’t look too happy…she’s on her feet now.”

All the guys turned to look, then quickly turned back to the table, remembering their plan.

“This shouldn’t be happening,” Justin stated again, his jaw clenched.  “Look how angry Jen is.”

JC knew exactly what his friend was talking about.  When he saw Jennifer get to her feet, he tensed, ready to get her away from Dave.  “I’m going to go get her,” he said, rising from the bench.

“No,” Kathy answered, grabbing his arm and pulling him back.  “If Dave finds out we’re here, there’s no telling what he’ll do to Jen.  Let’s just wait a little longer, okay?  Jen’s smart.  She can handle this.  We just have to trust her.”

“We can’t just sit here, though,” Joey mentioned.  “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

“Not without giving ourselves away.  Trust me, guys, I know you want this to be over just as much as I do, but we have to stay here.”

“This is killing me,” Derrick said.  “I need to see what’s happening.”  He turned around to see Jennifer stand up again.  “Hey, something’s going on, and it doesn’t look good.”

Now everyone looked over to where Jennifer was now standing.  They saw Dave rise from the bench and grab her arm.  As she jerked it out of his hold, JC quickly stood.  “That’s it, I’m going after him.”

“Wait up, man,” Justin spoke as he also stood.  “I’m going with you.”

Lance, Joey, Chris, and Derrick all took one look at each other, nodded, and got to their feet.  “Us, too,” Lance said.

“Guys, wait,” Kathy called out, but no one heard her.  She quickly left the table to follow the group of men storming towards Jennifer and Dave.  “Dave’s not going to like this,” she said to herself.

**

“You what?” Jennifer asked again.  She stood gazing at Dave, unable to move.

He loosened his grip on her arm but didn’t let go.  “We belong together, Jennifer.”  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but she can’t be happy if I’m not happy.

She narrowed her eyes at him, studying the look on his face.  “You don’t mean that.”

Damn…she sees way too much with those looks of hers.  “Come on, Jen.  I’m better for you than that bas-…boyfriend you have now.”

“His name is JC, and I love him.  I do not love you, and…” She trailed off, thinking about what Dave just said, or more like what he didn’t say.  “Oh, my goodness…you’re trying to break us up,” she said softly, not believing what was going on.

Dave’s temper started to flare as he began to realize that she found out his reason for seeing her.  He grabbed both of her arms and forcefully turned her to face him.  “The only reason you’re going out with him is to make me jealous,” he said in a dangerously cool tone.

“Damn you, bastard.  Not everything is about you,” she yelled back, struggling to free herself.  “Get your filthy hands off me.”

With fire in his eyes, he tightened his hold.  “You little bitch, strutting your whore ass around with your famous boyfriend.  You’re doing this to make me angry.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she provoked him.  “Are you going to hit me?  Are you going to hurt me like you did while we were together?  Go ahead.”  She stuck her chin out as if she were daring him to hit her.  “Go ahead and show everyone around here how you hit defenseless women.”

Dave raised his hand, about to accept her challenge, but before he could follow through, two pairs of hands snatched him back by the shoulders and pulled him away from her.

Jennifer blinked in surprise.  She was fully expecting Dave to hit her, but when she felt herself being released, she looked around to see what was happening.  Justin and Joey were the ones who pulled Dave off Jennifer and now, JC was standing face to face with him.

“You bastard…I don’t ever want to see you around Jennifer again,” JC said menacingly.

“I’ll see Jennifer whenever I want,” Dave shot back.  He thrashed around a bit to get his shoulders loose from Justin and Joey’s hold.  “You can’t keep me away from her.”

“Oh, yes, I can.”  JC reared back, about to throw a punch at Dave, but Jennifer spoke up.

“JC, stop,” she said, raising her voice.  “I can do this.”  JC lowered his fist and turned to her.  She gently took his arm and pulled him to her side.  As his arm came up protectively around her shoulders, she faced her ex-boyfriend and took a deep breath.  “David, don’t you ever contact me again.  Don’t call, don’t write, and don’t visit, expecting me to drop everything to see you.  I’ve made that mistake once before, and I will not do it again.”  Kathy, Derrick, Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris surrounded her and JC as she continued.  “There are seven people standing around me who care about me very much, and they will not let you hurt me again.  Neither will I let you hurt me again.”  She reached a hand behind her, and she felt Justin take it and hold tight.  “It’s over, and now it’s time for you to leave.”

Dave looked at the group of eight facing him.  “It’s not over, Jennifer.  You’ll get what’s coming to you.”  He turned on his heel and stalked away, muttering something under his breath.

Jennifer stood rigidly, not taking her eyes off Dave until he had left the park.  Once he did, she began shaking violently.  “Oh, Lord,” she managed to say before she collapsed in JC’s arms.

**

Jennifer heard a voice calling her softly.  “Jen?  Sweetheart, are you okay?  Please open your eyes for me.”  She blinked and looked up to JC gazing at her with a worried look on his face.

“What…happened?” she asked.  She tried to stand, but JC held her firmly in his lap.

“Just relax, sweetie.  You fainted.”  He kissed her temple and stroked her hair.  “Are you okay?”

“I…I’m fine.”  She looked around and saw her friends surrounding her.  “Is Dave still here?”

“No, the jerk left,” Lance told her.

“What did he say to you?” Kathy wanted to know.

Jennifer took a deep breath and leaned against JC.  “He wanted us to get back together.”  She then sat up quickly to look at her boyfriend.  “He tried to tell me it was because he was better for me than you, JC, which is so wrong, and then I figured out he was only saying it to break us up.  When I realized that and said so, he blew up and said I was only dating you to make him angry.  He called me a bitch and a whore and was probably going to hit me if you guys didn’t come.”

JC wrapped his arms tightly around Jennifer.  I have to be strong for her…no matter how much I want to kill him for saying those awful things to her.  “He won’t break us up, Jennifer.  He can’t.  We love each other too much.”

“I know, JC, but he seemed determined, and…well, Kat, you and Derrick both know what Dave is capable of doing when he’s determined to get something.”  She looked over at them, and they both nodded, their thoughts on the same wavelength as Jennifer’s.

“I don’t care,” JC answered.  “I’m determined, too…determined to keep him away from you.”

“He won’t try to bother me again.  I actually stood up to him today, and I’d never done that once while we were together.”

“Even so, I’ll make sure he doesn’t come near you again.”

“Hey, guys, let’s go home,” Joey spoke up.  “Jen, you probably want to rest, right?”

“Yeah…thanks.”  She moved to stand from JC’s lap, but her knees were shaky, and she fell back onto the bench.

Moving quickly, JC pulled her close.  “Sweetie?  What happened?”

Everyone looked on in concern as Jennifer raised a hand to her forehead.  “I think I just need to sit for a while.”

“No, let’s get you home,” Kathy said.  “JC, carry her to her car and then you drive.  You can follow us in the van.”

“You don’t need to carry me,” Jennifer said hurriedly as JC reached for her.  “I’m fine, really.”

“You’re not walking,” Derrick said, agreeing with the others.  “Jen, you fainted after Dave left.  We don’t want you hurting yourself.”

JC lifted Jennifer off the bench where she sat.  “Hey, you know what?  I feel like I’m a knight in shining armor, rescuing you from the evil villain, and carrying you off to your awaiting steed.”

A smile broke out on her face, just as he hoped.  She draped an arm over his shoulders and whispered, “You know, this reminds me of another time you were carrying me somewhere.”

He grinned wickedly at her as he walked toward the exit.  “Don’t get me started,” he murmured back.  “I have to drive us home, you know.”

“Spoilsport.”  She frowned, then laughed out loud.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”  They walked through the park gates and over to Jennifer’s car.

**

JC pulled the car into the driveway, stopping just behind the van.  He walked around to the passenger side as the others began piling out of the van.

“How’s she doing?” Justin called out.

“She fell asleep on the way back.”  JC opened her door and gently lifted her out of the car.  Lance came over to shut the car door, and JC began walking to the house.

“Here,” Kathy said as she swung the door open for him.  “Why don’t you bring her to her bedroom?  Justin, go along with them and open the door for JC, okay?”

“Okay.”  He and JC made their way down to the master bedroom.  Once Justin opened the door, JC made his way over to the bed.  “Hey, can you pull the covers back, man?”

Justin did so, and then JC set Jennifer down gently.  As he straightened, Justin placed the covers over her and then stood with JC, simply gazing at her sleeping face.

“I can’t believe she actually got through all that,” Justin said under his breath.  “I mean, that was awful, what Dave said to her.”

“I know, and I’m damn proud of her,” JC answered, kneeling down next to the bed.  He stroked her hair and took her hand in his.  “Dave was going to hit her, can you believe it?  He was going to hit her.”

“I know, I know, and he’s a bastard for even thinking about doing it.”

“I swear, if he ever comes near her again…”

“JC, man, it’s over.  You saw how Jen stood up to him.  He’s going to think twice before he tries anything from now on.”

“I know that.”  He paused to kiss her limp fingers.  “But just thinking about what he could have done…what he’s done before…” A tear welled up in his eye as he remembered what Derrick told him before.  “I never want to see her hurt.”  He dropped his head onto the comforter and let his fears roll out along with the tears from his eyes.

“I’m going to go see how the others are doing,” Justin said, not expecting JC to hear him.  He turned and left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

JC still had his head down, breathing deeply.  When he lifted his head, he turned his tear-stained eyes to Jennifer’s face.  “I love you, Jennifer.  No one will ever hurt you again.”  He stood and eased himself onto the bed next to her.  When she turned to him and pulled him close, he flashed a shaky smile and kissed her forehead.  There JC remained for the rest of the evening, Jennifer’s resting body in his arms, his cheek laid against her hair.