“Oh good grief Aaron please don’t start again!” Jess was extremely pissed.

“Jess I’m not going to give it up until you realize he’s not right for you!” Aaron opened the door.

“You’ve been giving me this crap since the day he asked me out!”

“Your point?” Aaron slammed the door behind them.

“Aaron you are really pissing me off! Every time I mention him you’ve gotta get all defensive and start in on the crap that he’s gonna hurt me and it’s really starting to get on my nerves, okay? So give it up!”

“Hey! What the heck are you two fighting about?” A.J. walked into the room holding McKenzie who they had obviously woken up.

“JASON!” they both yelled at the same time.

“He started it!” Jess turned away from Aaron.

“Oh BULL CRAP Jess!”

“STOP IT!” A.J. yelled.

“What’s the matter?” Elise walked in the room.

“They’re fighting… again.” A.J. handed McKenzie to Elsie.

“You two still haven’t worked this out?”

“NO!” they yelled again.

“Three hours ago at the play you were just fine, what happened?”

“We were fine at the party too.” Jess whispered.

“Yeah, then when we got out of the car here and she had to go and start in on him when she knows I hate him.” Aaron refused to look at her.

“Dude isn’t hate a bit strong?” A.J. asked.

“No, he’s a bastard.”

“AARON!” Jess lunged at him but A.J. stepped in her way.

“He is!”

“Aaron go to your room. Alex, you go with him.” Elise ordered.

“Hey, what did I…”

“ALEX.” Elise shot him a look.

“Come on Aaron let’s go.” A.J. made Aaron go in front of him and walked backwards to make sure Jess didn’t try to attack Aaron again.

Once the boys were gone Elise turned to Jess, “Are you okay?”

“No,” Jess’ eyes swelled with tears.

“Talk to me.” Elise sat down and motioned for Jess to sit next to her.

“Jason’s been trying to get me to…”

“What sweetie?”

“He’s been kind of urging me to… you know.”

“Jess you haven’t! I mean you wouldn’t would you?”

“No. But, I don’t want Aaron to be right about him. I know how conceited that sounds but…”

“It’s okay Jess. I know what you mean.”

“I love Aaron because he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. To think that our friendship is almost ruined because of Jason… and Aaron being right from the start… I don’t know what to think.”

“Jess do you only love Aaron as a friend?” Elise immediately regretted asking but it was too late to take it back.

Jess just stared at Elise for a few minutes and was about to say something when music blared from Aaron’s room

“OH SCREW YOU AARON!” she yelled as ‘Get Another Boyfriend’ poured through the house.

“Jess?”

“I might. I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Jess ran out the door to her car.

Elise stood up and walked to Aaron’s room, stopping only to set McKenzie down in the bassinet siting near the door. “Turn it off.” Elise ordered as she stepped into the room. Her voice was so stern it sent shivers down A.J.’s spine.

Aaron turned it down and switched it to the next song. “Did she leave?” Aaron asked sadly.

“Yeah she went home.”

“I’m sorry,” Aaron began to cry.

A.J. stood up and waked out to McKenzie who was fussing.

“What were you thinking Aaron? That is no way to get back on her good side! Have you gone nuts?”

“I only do it to protect her. I love her Shorty.” He looked right at Elise, “I really love her.”

“I know you do,” she leaned over and gave him a hug.

“I’m getting pretty good at screwing things up aren’t I?”

“Now Aaron don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“She hates me know. I know it. I mean come on… why should she like me?”

“You know she could never hate you.”

“Sure she could. She has more than enough reason to. I hate her boyfriend, I’m a complete jerk-off… and I sure haven’t been much of a best friend lately.”

“You’re just confused right now.”

“And like she knows that? God! I can’t sleep half the time because I’m thinking about her. I can’t get her out of my mind.” His voice was weak and his eyes red and puffy from the crying.

“Aaron, please rest. At least lay down and try to calm down. You can’t expect to think straight when you’re this upset.”

“Okay,” he fell backwards onto his pillow. “I wish the play was still going on so I could kiss her again,” he said with a quiet whisper, then closed his eyes.

He stayed there listening to the music then all of the sudden something pulled at his heart and he turned up the music. As ‘How Did I Fall in Love With You’ filled the room her got up and pulled on his coat. He tried to wipe the tears off his face but it was no use when they were just replaced with more. He ran up the stairs to A.J. and Elise’s door. “I’m going to Jess, I can’t lose her now.” He managed to say when Elise opened the door.

“Good luck,” she whispered, “and Aaron please be careful.”

He nodded and ran to his car. ‘Please don’t hate me’ he prayed on his way there. Aaron walked up to the door of the house trying frantically to wipe his eyes. It was late but a light was on.

“Hi,” her dad answered the door.

“Is Jess here?”

“She’s on a walk. She’s been gone for awhile.”

“Thanks,” Aaron turned and started walking away.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Aaron started running around the neighborhood. “JESSIE! Please answer me! I’m sorry!” He searched for almost twenty minutes with no success. He was about to give up but something inside told him to call once more. “JESS!”

Up ahead he saw someone run out of a patch of trees along the side of the road. It was obviously a guy but Aaron decided to go see what he had been running from. When Aaron looked into the trees at first he saw nothing but gradually his eyes adjusted to the lack of light and he saw the worst thing he could possibly imagine.