Your Definition of Love

Chapter 14
Spirit Week

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It was spirit week, which meant that maroon and gold were plastered all over the school. Everyone was obviously excited about the game, and all of the popular people were buzzing about the costume party that Greg Scott was throwing for after the big game.

As for me, I could barely believe anything that was happening. Bryce and Paul were busy at practice practically every day. Taylor and I were talking, but we never once mentioned the argument we had had in the kitchen. She never brought it up, and I was too embarrassed to.

I had more friends now than I had ever had in my entire life. If I didn't know from before, I definitely knew now. I was becoming very, very popular. So much, in fact, that it was a little overwhelming. Still, the plan was working perfectly, and all I had to do was to turn up the charm a bit around Adam.

Friday came faster than I expected, and with that came the big game. The whole school was in a frenzy, and just about everyone was excited. The plan was for Taylor, Jake, Annisa, Greg, Adam, and I to all sit together, but when I got there, Adam still hadn't showed up. The stands were a mixture of maroon and gold, and even I had worn a school spirit shirt.

"I can't wait to see Paul and Greg play!" Annisa yelled out, clapping her hands in excitement. I smiled at her in agreement, but Taylor didn't comment. I noticed that Andy was among the cheerleaders, and it seemed almost as if all of the other cheerleaders were sucking up to her. It wasn't surprising, though, since Andy was officially dating the "hottest guy ever!" Ugh.

"Jaelynn," Adam said smoothly, coming up from behind me. "My, my. Don't you look lovely tonight."

I turned around and smiled. "Why, thank you." Surprisingly, Adam reached over to give me a hug. I felt my face get a little hot, but I shook it off. He sat down next to me, and I noticed that he hadn't worn our school colors. I shrugged to myself.

"Excited?" he asked, leaning close so that I could hear him. I shivered as his breath hit my skin.

"I've never actually been to a game before," I sheepishly admitted. It was kind of sad, considering my own brother was on the team.

"Yeah, me neither," he said. I was surprised, and he obviously noticed. "I'm not really into basketball. I'm more of a football kind-of-guy."

"Ah." I nodded, secretly wondering why he had bothered showing up this time if he didn't even like basketball.

It was suddenly time for the players to come out. The guy announced our school's team, and our entire side of the bleachers went crazy. I noticed Bryce run out, and his eyes immediately flew to the bleachers, searching through them quickly. He saw me and grinned, and I waved at him. I even blew him a kiss for good measure, and he pretended to catch it before running to catch up with the team.

The first two quarters of the game flew by. Bryce was our team's point guard, and Paul was the shooting guard. I had to admit: they made a great team. Bryce, as point guard, did a good job of involving the entire team in the game, but it was clear that Bryce and Paul were the star players. The other team's defense was a little bit stronger than ours, but our offense was amazing. Our team was ahead 10 points by halftime.

"I'm going to go get a drink real quick." Adam said, getting up. "Do you want anything?"

"Water?"

"Sure thing." He winked and then left.

Annisa stood up and linked arms with me. "Let's visit our men!" she suggested, even though technically Greg wasn't her "man" yet.

We made our way to the end of the bleachers, where a few players were hanging around, most of them drinking water or just sitting. Before I knew it, Annisa had made her way to Greg and was already flirting with him in full-force. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself. That girl was crazy.

"Boo," somebody suddenly whispered into my ear.

Now, I'd like to say that I reacted gracefully; that I'd merely turned around casually to see who it was that had said that small little word.

Instead, I jumped five feet in the air, screamed my head off, and tripped over the person behind me. Thankfully, Bryce caught me before I could hit the ground.

"Sorry, Lynn," he said. His voice was strained, as if he was trying hard not to laugh.

"I hate you," I muttered, glaring at him.

"No, you don't." He grinned at me. "What was it that you called me last week? A sexy beast? Unavoidably good-looking?"

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't even say it like that."

"Ah, but you were thinking it."

I glared at him, searching my mind, but the best comeback I could come up with was, "You wish."

"Ouch." Bryce clutched at his chest, as if it had really hurt him. "That was a good one. Or how about something similar to that in maturity, such as 'I know you are, but what am I?'"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Here's your drink, Jaelynn," somebody said from behind me. I turned around to see Adam holding out a bottle of water to me.

I smiled and grabbed the bottle. "Thanks, Adam."

He smiled at me, and then looked at Bryce. "Nice game."

I glanced at Bryce, whose face suddenly held none of the good humor that it had held a second ago. "Where's your girlfriend?" he asked flatly.

Adam raised an eyebrow. "You mean Jessica? She and I broke up ages ago."

My breath caught at his words. Adam Connors was single. It came at such a shock that I had to let it sink in for a few seconds.

"Have you two broken up yet?" Adam asked Bryce. "Or are you still holding onto Jaelynn here?"

"Hey Bryce," Paul said, walking over. "Break's over. Coach wants us."

Bryce didn't move, instead staring down Adam. And honestly, he looked livid.

Paul pretended not to notice. He put his hand on Bryce's shoulder. "Come on, buddy. Let's go."

He didn't move for a few seconds. Finally, he knocked Paul's hand off of his shoulder and stomped off. Paul sent an obvious glare towards Adam before going to join his friend.

After a stunned silence, I tugged on Adam's arm. "Come on. Let's sit down."

We started making our way up the bleachers, dodging people in all different directions. When we finally sat down, I noticed Paul looking in our direction. I followed his gaze to see him staring right at Taylor. I rolled my eyes. His own girlfriend was doing a cheerleading routine on the floor a few feet from him, and yet he couldn't keep his eyes off of my best friend. Typical.

"You're going to the Halloween party after this, right?" Adam suddenly asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Actually, I am."

"Alright," he replied, smiling. "I'm going to have to hunt you down then."

"You make it sound like you're going to eat me or something."

Adam smiled slightly. "You're so cute, Jaelynn. You say the first thing that pops into your brain." He touched my chin for a second, pushing my head playfully. "It's kind of endearing."

I could feel myself blushing.

The game soon started again, but I could hardly concentrate on it. Adam had just called me cute. Was that a good thing? Did I even want to be cute? It wasn't like Jessica had been endearing. She was just hot, plain and simple.

But then again, they had broken up.

The next thing I knew, everyone was standing up around me, screaming their lungs out. I stood up in alarm. "We won?" I screamed. "We won!" Before I knew what I was doing, I hugged Adam, who unexpectedly picked me up and spun me around. I laughed and then hugged Taylor, who was jumping up and down in excitement. "So this is why people go to these things," I said in amazement. Taylor just rolled her eyes and laughed.

After we all exited from the gym, we decided to split up and meet at Greg's party in an hour or so. Taylor left with Jake, and I got a ride with Annisa to her house so that she could give me a costume that she had made for me. This was the reason that we were now in her bedroom, me waiting in anticipation and her holding a big plastic bag behind her back.

"You have to promise me that you won't freak out when you see it."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is it really that bad?"

"Say it, or you don't get to wear it. You can just go in your pajamas or something."

I sighed in defeat. "I won't freak out," I promised.

Suddenly, an mischievous smile appeared on Annisa's face. Oh gosh. What had I done?

She reached into her bag and pulled out one item after another: first a pair of long red boots, a lasso, a gold belt, a jean skirt with white starts sewn all over it, and... a corset.

"No," I said after a long period of silence. Come on. This was a freaking corset.

"Too bad," she sang happily. "You already promised."

"I don't care. This goes beyond all ties of promises." I pointed at her accusingly. "You are a bad person, Annisa Brown."

"You're definitely wearing this, Jaelynn," she said.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

I glared at her firmly, putting my hand down as if to signify the end of our debate. "No."

Ten minutes later found me in the ridiculous outfit, struggling to lace up the little strings on the back of the very patriotic corset I had on.

"You look just like Wonder Woman!" she exclaimed. She walked over and fixed the strings for me, squeezing my boobs together into the corset.

"I can barely breathe," I wheezed.

"It's totally worth it though!"

I glared at her, tempted to tie her up with my lasso. That would show her.

Annisa pulled me in front of the floor-length mirror, despite my resistance. When I finally (and grudgingly) looked at my reflection, my mouth dropped open. Holy cow. I didn't even look like myself.

The red boots went up to my knees, and the heels of the boots were thin and hazardously high. The skirt was about the length of the skirt I had worn to the last party, so I didn't find myself minding so much. Annisa had attached the lasso onto the big, gold belt so that it hung casually down by my side. The red and gold corset did it's job, amplifying my boobs so that they looked slightly bigger. It covered the majority of my breasts, just leaving the very top of them in view. It dipped slightly in the back, where a line of skin was left visible going down my back underneath the strings that held the corset together. The ends went about an inch or so above the skirt, but the skin that showed wasn't too scandalous. Honestly, I really did look like Wonder Woman. In fact, I looked...

"Hot," Annisa finally said, smiling happily.

I sighed in defeat. It was a blow to my pride to admit I had been wrong. "You were right," I muttered grudgingly.

"What was that?" she asked perkily.

"Don't push it," I grumbled.

After Annisa put on her sexy cop costume, applied makeup on both of us, and fixed her hair, we finally left the house. We reached the party about an hour later, which made us about two hours late. The house that we pulled up to wasn't even a house. It was a freaking mansion. People were everywhere, wearing every costume thought possible. By the time I reached the front door, I had already seen a Tigger, a gumball machine, and a pumpkin.

All of the basketball players, after having won the game, had gone to eat as a team so that they could celebrate. They had gone home to shower, and were now here in their basketball uniforms. This was a tradition that had been going on for as long as anyone could remember.

I almost tripped over my boots just walking in. Some girl laughed at me, but I ignored her. "Do you see Bryce?" I asked Annisa.

She only pointed in the direction of a bunch of basketball players. Bryce was in a big circle with a bunch of his teammates and friends, which made me a little nervous.

Annisa pushed me gently towards him. "Go ahead. I totally want to see your boyfriend's reaction."

I rolled my eyes at her but started walking towards Bryce anyway. "Boo," I said softly.

He turned around quickly. "Jaelynn?"

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. For show, of course. "Hey Greg," I said, smiling. "Great party."

He raised an eyebrow. "Great outfit, Wonder Woman."

I turned to look at Bryce, only to find him staring right back at me.

"Wait," one of the other guys suddenly said, pausing. "So this is Jaelynn Simmons? The Jaelynn Simmons?"

My eyes widened in confusion. "Umm... yes?"

"You're Paul's little sister, right?" he asked. "My name is Jim, by the way."

My stomach dropped. Great. This was yet another person who only knew me because of Paul. God, I was never going to get my own identity, was I?

"Yeah, this is her," Bryce answered for me.

"Man, it's like I already know you." Jim smiled and shook his head. "Freaky."

I frowned. "Because you know Paul?"

"What?" he said, sounding confused. "No, because Bryce here," he put his hand on Bryce's shoulder, "talks about you all the-"

Bryce shrugged his hand off. "Okay, Jim," he interrupted quickly.

"Aww, Brycey-poo is embarrassed," Jim cooed.

I laughed, feeling pleased. "Oh, is that right?"

"Ignore him," Bryce answered, shaking his head.

"I think Bryce has suffered for long enough," Greg, finally cut in. He held out his hand to me, and I stared at it stupidly. "Want to dance?"

I looked at Bryce, and he looked surprised, too. I looked back at Greg and shrugged. "Sure."

He led me out to the dance floor, where a slow song was playing. We started to dance, but we didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked.

I bit my lip. "It's stupid."

"I won't laugh," he promised.

I sighed, suddenly feeling really stupid. "It's nothing. It's just that... Bryce didn't even say anything about how I look tonight." Greg laughed, making me drop my mouth in shock. "You promised!" I yelled accusingly.

"I know. I'm sorry," he said. "It's just ironic, considering Bryce could hardly keep his eyes off of you."

"What?" I asked, surprised. Bryce was doing a better job at acting like my boyfriend than I had thought.

"In fact, he's watching us right now." I turned to look, but Greg wouldn't let me. "I'll make this quick, before Bryce comes over and attacks me for dancing with you."

I stared at him in confusion.

"It's kind of about Annisa." He shrugged, seeming embarrassed. "I mean, I know you guys are friends and all, and-"

"She likes you, too," I interrupted.

He smiled, but then quickly covered it up with a shrug. "Oh, okay. Cool."

The song had ended by now, so we separated. "I'll see you around," I told him. "Good luck with Annisa." I turned around, only to bump into someone else. "Oh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It was my f-" She paused when she saw it was me. "Oh. Hi Jaelynn."

"Hey Charli." I forced a grin. "I love your costume."

She was dressed up as a zombie, but she still managed to remain absolutely gorgeous. I had to admit: I was a little jealous.

"Thanks," she replied flatly, about to turn around. "I'll talk to you lat-"

"Why do you hate me?" I blurted out. Charli looked surprised, and I didn't blame her. Even I was shocked at the blunt question.

"I don't hate you, Jaelynn," she said.

"Yes you do. And I want to know why."

She stared at me for a while, and I stared back, neither one of us wanting to give in. Finally, she sighed. "It's nothing against you. It's just that... Bryce and I have been really good friends for a long time now, but lately he's been... distant."

I frowned. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"It has everything to do with you," she protested. "Every time you show up, he completely ignores me."

What was she talking about? Bryce ignored me more than he ignored her. "Oh," I finally murmured.

She sighed. "I'll talk to you later, Jaelynn. Okay?"

"Okay." She turned around and walked into a big crowd of people, dodging around them before heading into another room. I sighed to myself, feeling incredibly thirsty all of a sudden. Making my way over to the beverages, I picked up a cup of what looked like punch. Yup. Definitely spiked. I sighed and grabbed a soda, taking a huge sip of it instead. I definitely did not want a repeat of the last time I was at a party.

"Damn," somebody suddenly whispered in my ear. "You are one patriotic lady." I spun around and almost choked on my drink when I saw it was Adam. He put his hands on the table behind me so that I was trapped between his arms.

On reflex, I backed up until I hit the table.

Adam chuckled. "Relax, Jaelynn. I don't bite." He looked down at what I was wearing. "Well, usually," he corrected.

I laughed nervously. "Hey Adam."

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked softly.

"Umm." I shrugged. "No idea." I didn't have to be a genius about boys to know that he was flirting with me. And it was exciting, sure, but it was also incredibly nerve-wracking.

"In that case," he said, lowering his gaze again, "you look very hot."

Oh my gosh. Holy freak. "Thanks," I squeaked.

"Did you come here with Healy?" Adam asked.

I frowned a little. Why did he keep bringing up Bryce? "No, I met him here."

"Oh." He grinned. "So, you guys are getting pretty serious, huh?"

I shrugged. "We've only been going out for a week or two."

"True," he said. Somehow he had gotten closer to me without me even realizing it. "But he's already practically in love with you."

My breath caught. "What? What are you talking about?"

Adam frowned at my reaction. "Well, I don't know. It just seems like it." He shrugged. "Bryce probably likes you more than you like him, though, right?"

Wow. Bryce was putting more effort into this than I had thought. Suddenly noticing that Adam was looking at me expectantly, I mumbled an absentminded, "Right."

Adam's smile grew. He reached down at my waist and pulled out my lasso. He used it as a rope to pull me in closer as he stepped back from the table. "So, Jaelynn Simmons," he said, staring intently at me. "What exactly is your type, anyway?"

"Type?" I squeaked.

He only grinned. "Brunettes like me, or blondes like Healy?"

"Oh." I giggled nervously. "Umm, no preference."

Before, he had been touching the table. Now his hands were low on my hips, touching my bare skin and holding me extremely close to him. I could barely breathe.

Adam looked at something behind me before breaking into another grin. He leaned down so that his mouth was to my ear. "I think your boyfriend is a little jealous," he murmured.

"What?" I asked breathlessly.

Suddenly, Adam started leaning down towards my face. I froze, my eyes huge. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Adam Connors was going to kiss me.

Instead of kissing me, however, he stopped when our foreheads touched. "I'll talk to you later, Jaelynn Simmons." His hand touched my cheek for a second, and then he was gone. I stared at his retreating back for a few seconds, feeling a bit dazed and dizzy. What the heck had just happened here?

"What the fuck was Connors doing just now?" somebody asked from behind me.

I spun around to see a furious-looking Bryce. "Nothing," I quickly said.

"I'm going to fucking kill him," he said angrily. He looked around the room. "Where is that fucker?"

"Bryce, please." I was starting to get nervous. I tugged on his arm a little. "Don't overreact. It was nothing." He ignored me and started walking away, but I quickly grabbed his arm. "Bryce, stop! I don't need you to protect me!"

"What I'm about to do to Connors is nothing compared to what Paul would do if he had seen you two."

"But nothing even happened-"

"He was all over you!" he hissed. "And with you wearing that, no less." He pointed to my costume.

I blinked and looked down at my outfit, suddenly feeling hurt. "I didn't think it was that bad," I muttered.

"That's exactly the problem!" he said angrily. "You're so goddamn beautiful that he can't even keep his hands off of you, much less his eyes!"

I was stunned silent. Bryce had just called me beautiful. Me. "We were just talking," I said finally.

"No. This-" He motioned back and forth between us. "This is talking. His hands were practically on your ass!"

I felt myself cringe at the crudeness.

He moved forward, pinning me against the wall. My eyes grew wide at the sudden move. "This," he said softly, "is what you guys looked like." His face was barely a few inches away from mine, and my eyes moved involuntarily to his lips.

I swallowed to get rid of the strange lump in my throat and forced my eyes upward. "Stop exaggerating," I said as frostily as possible.

Bryce searched my face for a few seconds, and then he angrily hit the wall beside me, making me cringe. Backing away, he paced around angrily for a moment and then turned back to me.

"What's so good about him, anyway?"

My eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"What does he have that's so great? Why do you even like him?"

I didn't know how to answer that question. "I-"

"I mean, what has he done to deserve you?" he continued. "He has a huge ego, all he wants is a piece of ass, and everything that comes out of his mouth is bull."

"Bryce, I-"

"Is that your type or something? Do you have a thing for guys that treat girls like shit?" He threw his hands up in the air, frustrated. "It makes no fucking sense, Jaelynn!"

I stared at him, bewildered. He rarely cussed this much around me, and it was starting to scare me a little.

"I mean, there are a million guys you could have chosen from. Anyone would have been better than him. His longest relationship was barely even a relationship. The part that makes it even worse is that fact that all you even have to do is look around at a roomful of guys and point, and that guy will run to you willingly."

"Name one!" I finally shouted.

He stared at me, surprised. "What?"

"You keep saying that I deserve better. That guys genuinely want me. Well, give me a name then."

He blinked, not comprehending my question for a few seconds. He wouldn't meet my eyes, instead looking at everything behind me.

I crossed my arms, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know," he finally answered, his voice dull.

"See?" I said, frustrated for some strange reason. I suddenly felt like ripping my own hair out. "Stop lying to me, Bryce. Stop telling me that I'm different and that I'm better than these other girls, because I'm not." I hated the way that my voice was starting to choke. "Stop treating me like I'm some delicate little thing just because I'm your friend's little sister. Stop protecting me from guys like Adam just because you feel like it's your duty, or whatever. Just stop."

He stared at me for a second, apparently shocked from my outburst. I, myself, was shocked. Without a word, he turned around and walked away from me, leaving me to lean against the wall for support as I watched him disappear into the crowd.