FicWad

Jess talked me into inviting James over to help paint the apartment.

He arrived at our door the next morning in an old-looking t-shirt and pair of jeans.

"Hey." I smiled as I opened the door for him.

"Hey yourself."

Jess came out and greeted him and we got started.

James and I threw plastic over all of our furniture while Jess prepped the walls. "Why do you get the easy job?" She complained between swipes of sandpaper.

"Because." I said simply.

The first 2 hours were spent sanding and washing the walls. It was quite possibly, the most boring thing I've ever done. FINALLY Jess got the paint out. I grabbed a brush and immediately tackled the nearest wall. James went to work on the same wall as me, and every once in a while, he would throw a big, beautiful smile at me. I grinned nervously back. I wish I could tell you that we got into a huge, flirty paint fight, but alas, he was agentleman and kept his roller to himself.

By the time we were finished, it was dinnertime so Jess ordered a pizza for us. We sat in the middle of our newly painted living room and ate. We were, quite literally, watching paint dry.

James finally broke the silence. "I'm really glad I ran into you guys. I don't know anyone around here except for a few people at work and Idon't want to become one of those guys whose only friends are the people he works with."

Jess smiled. "I'm glad we ran into you too. We were getting pretty lonely with the guys gone and everything."

James looked confused. "What guys?"

Oh, we might have forgotten the small little detail that we were best friends with Fall Out Boy...

"Um..." Would he act different once he knew? "Well actually, we're friends with Fall Out Boy. They're gone on tour and... yeah." I gave the simplest version of the story I could think of.

James scrunched up his face. "They're not your boyfriends though, right?"

"Right."

He looked happier. "Oh ok. Cool."

I felt my heart give a little leap. He's interested. He has to be. But then again, maybe he's interested in Jess...probably. And anyway, you have Patrick... yeah. The same Patrick that has a girlfriend. I shrugged off these uncomfortable thoughts and continued to eat.



It soon came time for James to go home and I didn't do avery good job of hiding my disappointment. He said goodbye to Jess and came over to me. "Jenna can I talk to you outside really quick?"

"Yeah." We stepped outside onto the small balcony that our apartment had.

"I know we haven't seen each other since High School," He started, "But would you consider going somewhere with me? Just the two of us?"

"Like on a date?" I said dumbly.

"Well... yeah."

The smile that came to my face after he said that was the biggest one I had smiled since the guys left.

"I take that as a yes?" He grinned.

"You bet."

"I'll call you ok?" He said.

"Ok." I took him back inside and he gave me a hug goodbye.

I shut the door behind him and went to my room, still smiling. Patrick who?





The next night, James called and asked me to go to dinner with him. I couldn't keep myself from smiling as I told Jess. It seems I had been doing a lot of smiling lately...

He picked me up at precisely 7:30 and drove me to a nice-not fancy- restaurant. The conversation wasn't awkward or forced and I couldn't remember the last time I had felt that safe and happy. Ok well maybe I could remember. If I'm not mistaken, it was when I hugged Patrick last. I quickly willed that little voice in my head to shut the hell up.

"Did you have a good time?" James asked on the drive home.

"The best I've had in a long time." I answered truthfully.

He smiled. "I'm glad."

He sounded so sincere... There was a pause before he continued. "Jenna, I know it's only been one date, but would you maybe be my girlfriend?"

When I didn't answer right away, he hastily said, "I know that's a little fast. Please tell me if I'm being too forward, it's just that Iliked you back in High School and now that I have the chance to go out with you, I don't want to pass it up like I did back then."

"James, relax. Of course I'd like to be your girlfriend. After such a great night, I really couldn't say no." I smiled over at him.

A mix of different emotions came over his face. He looked relieved and happy and no longer nervous. We got out of the car and he walked me up to my apartment.

"Thanks for the great night." I said.

"No. Thank you." He replied cheerfully.

He gave me the quickest of kisses on the cheek and disappeared towards his car.

I touched my cheek like the little schoolgirl I was and flung myself into the apartment. Jess looked up from her nest of blankets on the couch where she was watching TV. "Judging from the look on your face, I'd say everything went well, right?"

"More than right. He asked me to be his girlfriend." I gushed.

She raised an eyebrow. "That soon, huh?" Then her face relaxed into a smile. "Well I'm happy for you Jen."

I just grinned back at her and practically floated into my room.



Another month of Fall Out Boy's tour passed and the guys were coming home soon. On the rare occasion that I got to talk to them, Ididn't mention James. I knew Pete, Andy and Joe would just yell at me for not waiting for Patrick to come around.

In that first month that James and I were together, Iallowed myself to relax for the first time in 2 months. I taught myself how to have fun again. In short, I fell in love. James helped me forget about Patrick and maybe that's why I loved him. Whatever the reason, I wasn't planning on giving him up any time soon.