Shapster's Game of Life 2.0 [Closed-Started]

[Aqualung]

Nathan was drumming his fingers heavily on the wooden counter top of the bar by the time Jenna entered. He gazed for a long moment at the alcohol stored away on the shelves against the wall. A blend of colours and textures stared back, reflecting the sunlight from outdoors calmly. After a minute, the patio door opened with a jingle, and he turned.

"Hey," was all he managed to say at first. He then cleared his throat and straightened.

"Listen, Jenna, I'm sorry. Sorry I didn't call you earlier; sorry I couldn't give you a straight answer. I've been a douche, and you don't deserve that."

 

[CounterAttack]

Jenna sat on a bar stool, smoothing her skirt out underneath her. She looked up at Nate and said softly, "It's all right, Nate. It's partially my fault too. I told you you could take as long as you wanted. I didn't know what to expect when you didn't call for three days. Maybe if I'd known more, I could have told you how I feel at a better time. And I do still feel the same way about you." She hesitated, but said, "If you don't... don't feel the same, I understand."

 

[Aqualung]

Nate opened his mouth to reply, but paused. He then sighed and smiled, resting an elbow on the counter.

"You're too nice, Jenna," he said finally, rubbing at his face with one hand. "Everything you do, you say. Sometimes, it's like nothing I say can hurt you." His smile began to fade. "But sometimes, I'm not so convinced."

Nathan looked over Jenna's shoulder, where the group sat enjoying the onion rings and talking about whatever came to mind. He looked back to Jenna, her eyes soft and kind. He breathed deeply again.

"Jenna, I... You're a terrific friend. One of the best I've ever had. And it'd be nice of me to say that I feel the same way for you, but... I feel that way for someone else. I'm sorry."

Spoiler: OOC

PLOT TWIST! BAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

 

[CounterAttack]

Spoiler: OOC

Well, damn.

Jenna blinked in slight shock, completely stunned by this new declaration. In her mind, she wished she could fall through the floor and never be seen again.

"Oh... okay. I understand. We're still friends though, right? But nothing more than friends?" Her voice was quiet and soft, like she was trying to be smaller. She looked into his eyes; their brown shade reminded her of warmth, comfort and relaxation. Nothing like the way she felt inside.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

"So Tori." Micah said, making conversation. "I heard you kicked some ass at the party. What I'm wondering is whether it was because of the booze, or are you just naturally scrappy?"

Micah dipped an onion ring into the dipping sauce, and wondered what was taking Jenna and Nate so long... Jenna and Nate. Micah finished off his Shirley Temple, he looked inside to see if he could see them, but no luck.

 

[ae86gamer]

"I'm not really hungry", Lyla said to the waitress. "Thank you though."

She took another sip of her lemonade and sighed. "So.. that beach party sounds like a lot of fun. If you guys want we could spend the weekend at my parents beach house. After the party of course. It's a really big place. It has a pool table, jacuzzi, and all sorts of other useless crap. They're never there so we'd be all alone. Anyone interested?"

 

[Aqualung]

Nathan tugged uncomfortably on the inside of his cheek with his teeth. Jenna seemed so small, so fragile. Almost like Lucy. Hesitantly, he stepped closer, his face inches from hers, and placed a supportive hand on her arm.

"Jenna... I wish I knew what to do right now, I truly do. I wish I could make everyone happy. You, Jessica, my sister. Each time I try to please one person, another is hurt. I just- I just-" He removed his hand from her and rubbed at his eyes. He felt his face grow warm under Jenna's gaze and looked away, unable to speak.

 

[CounterAttack]

Jenna cautiously lifted her hand off the counter and put it on his shoulder. She moved closer to him and said, "Hey. Relax. You know the old saying, 'You can't please everyone?' Sometimes sayings like that are true. You've got to stop trying to make everyone else happy and think about yourself, think about what you get out of it. What do you want, right here, right now?"

 

[Aqualung]

Nathan took a few steadying breaths and looked to Jenna, his face reddened and hair dishevelled. What do I want? Out of everything? It sounds like an easy question, but...

He glanced out the window toward the others.

"...I want a drink." Running a hand through his hair, he looked around the bar area, but it was completely empty except for an elderly man reading his newspaper in the corner. They wouldn't have sold him anything, though, anyway; though he looked old enough to drink, his license said otherwise. Looking back to Jenna, he smiled and chuckled shortly.

"You're going to university next year, aren't you? Don't worry, Jenna. You'll find better guys there, trust me. Guys who would be lucky to have you."

 

[Shapsters]

"She was looking for a fight and was hoping to hurt my buddy Nate, so I decided to put her in her place." Tori turned to Lyla, "Wow, that sounds great Lyla! I would love to come! Hopefully Nate and Jenna wont be too awkward and will come to... how do you think thats going? I'm not so sure Nate feels that way about her..."

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

"They're inside talking, I bet." Micah said. "Why else do you think they've been in there this long. It doesn't take this long for a guy to pee... Unless he's passing a stone or something."

Micah cringed at the thought of small mineral fragments coming out of someone's urethra... Like pissing shards of glass.

"Anyway... You're right." Micah agreed with them. "I don't think Nathan likes Jenna, which is bound to be very upsetting for her. All we can do is hope that the two of them work things out on their own. We just have to be good friends, and be there for them."

Micah took the maraschino cherry out of his drink, and bit off the fruit. The waitress came by and brought the groups orders, and another Shirley Temple for Micah.

"Thank you very much." Micah smiled at the waitress, and picked up one of his wings. "Dig in, guys. As for the beach house idea... It sounds like fun. Question about the jacuzzi, though. Are we allowed to be naked in it?"

 

[Lost In The Void]

"A Beach Party," Josh mused, "Sounds good to me, of course if I'm good to go there."

He turned to Micah, "Just lucky I guess, I don't really work out that much, though we had an indoor gym in the house, never really used it."

 

[ae86gamer]

"It should be fun", Lyla said to Torri, "but if Jenna and Nate are still awkward around each other then we can just put them in different parts of the house."

"Question about the jacuzzi, though. Are we allowed to be naked in it?" Lyla thought about the question for a bit. She shrugged and nodded. "Uh.. I guess. I mean, as long as everyone else doesn't mind."

Spoiler: OOC

The beach house looks like this [http://thesociety.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/carolina11.jpg]. I know it's big, but Lyla's parents are wealthy so.. yeah..

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

"Kickass." Micah said when Lyla okayed being naked in the jacuzzi. "Thanks, I'll be sure to ask if anyone minds before I strip down."

Micah cleaned the first of his wings, leaving nothing but the bones. He licked the sauce from his fingers, and started into his second and third ones.

"But yeah, If they seem like they're avoiding each other then we'll separate them." Micah agreed with Lyla. "Sounds like fun, Lyla. I'm looking forward to it."

 

[CounterAttack]

Spoiler: OOC

So sorry for the delay, guys, something came up with work and I had to go in.

Jenna closed her eyes, fighting back against the barrage of tears threatening to overwhelm her. When she spoke, it was in a whisper, her eyes still closed. "Nate... I don't care if there are guys out there who would look at me and lose the ability to speak coherently. I know you well enough to know that whoever this other girl you're interested in is, she'll be in good hands. I just wish it was me instead of her."

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "It'll be all right. It doesn't have to be awkward between us."

 

[Aqualung]

Nate smiled slightly. "That's good. I really don't want to lose you, Jenna."

Taking a long sigh, he glanced out the window once more in time to see a couple glances shoot their way curiously. Shaking his head, he looked to Jenna. "Are you alright? We can ditch right now, if you want. I'm sure they'd understand."

Spoiler: OOC

Bed NIGHT NIGHT

 

[CounterAttack]

"Nah, I'm fine. You can ditch if you want." Jenna paused. "How are we gonna tell the others? Just that it didn't work out?"

She pulled a small box of tissues out of her bag and wiped her eyes with one, blinking a few times. "How do I look? Any different?"

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

Micah got up and excused himself for a moment.

"Be right back, gotta pee." He said, going inside to find the bathroom. After he had found it, relieved himself, and washed his hands, he left and walked back towards the patio. He walked past the bar area, just as Nathan was turning to leave.

"How are we gonna tell the others?" Jenna asked Nathan. "Just that it didn't work out"

Jenna pulled out some tissues from her bag, and wiped her eyes.

"How do I look, any different?" She asked Nathan, but Micah heard he as well.

"Aside from looking like you're about to cry... You look fine, Jenna." Micah commented, showing himself. "Are you alright?"

 

[Shapsters]

"Typical guy, a hot tub comes up and immediately he turns to nudity!" Tori laughed and drank her lemonaide, "But hey, I got in a fight after 3 quick ones, it probably wont take much to get me naked in a hot-tub."

She smiled at Lyla then thought about Rick, if she didn't leave him soon he wouldn't let her go the to beach house,

"I just need to ditch that asshole so I can do what I want..."

 

[CounterAttack]

"Wha-? Oh. Hey, Micah. Didn't see you there. I'm fine, we're both fine," Jenna said as she stowed the box in her bag. "If you're going, I'll see you around, Nate," she said with a quick wave as she walked back to the group with Micah.

Jenna sat down with a small smile, and helped herself to a wing. Between bites she said, "Hey, all. What'cha been talking about?"