D&J - Gratified Affair - 17/?
Gratified Affair
drake & josh. drake/mindy, josh/ofc. 4761 words. PG13
Drake didn’t hear what Craig said because he felt like he’d been sucker punched when Mindy’s name came up. He remembered the movie nights when she was dating his brother, how they would be snuggled up on the couch and called each other their disgustingly adorable nicknames. The jealousy made his cheeks hot and he angrily shoved the drawer shut.
previous chapters
author's note;
just really quick a big thank you to marleybanana for all her wonderful help and dealing with my neurosis about this fic. &hearts &hearts &hearts you're the best!
and also, i'm really sorry that the last update of this story was in MAY. i promise i'll finish this fic sometime this year.
--
It took a couple days to digest what had happened and when it did, Mindy remembered the exact moment. She had been walking down the hallway at school and through the crowd of students, she saw Drake talking to Josh, and they were both laughing in a way that she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was such a small thing, but she rushed to the bathroom anyway and locked herself in a stall while trying not to hyperventilate.
To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t that she was upset for Drake picking Josh over her. The two boys had been through a lot together and it never would have occurred to her to ever give him an ultimatum like that. It just hurt that he’d rather keep it all a secret, like he was subconsciously ashamed of her or something. The thought alone caused a tear to roll down her cheek and she wiped it away angrily. Mindy had told herself that she wasn’t going to waste tears on this, but the bell rang for class and she found herself wallowing in the girls’ bathroom, alone, hurt, and confused.
She lost track of the time, but she figured being in class would be able to keep her mind off of everything else. Pushing the door open, Mindy left the bathroom and walked briskly down the hallway before turning a corner and running into something (or rather, someone).
“Hey, watch where you’re…” Mindy said angrily, but her sentence trailed off when she made eye contact with the other person. “…going.”
“Sorry about that,” Josh answered, looking at the floor. Papers were spilled all over the linoleum that she had accidentally knocked out of his hands. They both bent over to start picking them up and Mindy was intensely aware of the prickly, guilty feeling racing up her spine.
“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve been watching where I was walking.” She handed him the last sheets and they both stood up while she tried to avoid eye contact. “See you around, Josh.”
“Wait!”
He caught up with her and they were walking down the hallway together, their footsteps in sync as they went from one linoleum corridor to the next. She didn’t know what to do or what to say and Josh wasn’t giving her any indication that he wanted to talk about something. They were almost at her class before Mindy stopped walking and turned to face him.
“This is my class,” she told him pointedly. “I’ll see you around.”
“Hang on Mindy,” Josh said, looping his hand around her elbow as she started to turn away. “I’m having a movie night at my house tonight, if you’re interested. Craig and Eric are coming over and you can invite Cathy if you want. It’ll be fun.”
She remembered those movie nights, back when she and Josh were happy together. Craig and Eric would argue over whether to watch the movie first with or without commentary, Josh would provide limeade and his special brownies (an interesting combination, to say the least), and Cathy would throw popcorn at the boys until they stopped arguing and it turned into an all-out popcorn war.
It was nice, back then.
--
“You said yes?”
Mindy didn’t respond, just kept in step with Cathy as they both walked home from school that afternoon.
“Are you crazy?” Cathy continued, shifting her backpack strap.
“It’s not that crazy of an idea,” Mindy muttered, keeping her eyes straight ahead on the sidewalk path. “We used to hang out together all the time.”
“What if Drake’s there?”
“He can be there if he wants. It’s his house too.”
“You really don’t think he’ll wig if you’re there?”
“You know what Cath, I don’t really care what Drake does or doesn’t do,” Mindy said, irritation tingeing her voice. “My friend Josh invited me over for a movie and that’s it.” They walked a few more steps in silence before she continued. “Besides, he could’ve fixed the problem.”
“I know.”
“’Hey Josh, Mindy and I are dating’” Mindy said, badly imitating Drake’s voice. “How hard would that have been to say?”
“It wouldn’t have been.”
“Exactly. He wants to keep it a secret and I can’t do that anymore.” A few birds flew noisily in front of them, but the silence from her best friend was deafening. “Am I wrong?”
“I didn’t say that,” Cathy replied carefully. “I just think it’s interesting that you’re willing to go back there so soon, if you and Drake are supposedly broken up.”
“I don’t know what Drake and I are. But for once, this isn’t about him and I’m just trying to be a good friend to Josh.”
They walked in a silence a bit longer, weaving in out of the shadows from trees as they entered Cathy’s subdivision. Some birds chirped overhead and there was the hum of sprinklers tch-tch-tcccccching on a distant lawn.
“So let me tell you what I heard about Betsy Jacobs today…”
Mindy welcomed the subject change as their feet continued the steady rhythm until they arrived at Cathy’s house.
--
Parker/Nichols’ House, later that night
“You sure you’re ready?”
“Cath, it’s not going to be that bad.” To prove her point, Mindy reached over and rang the doorbell. She couldn’t deny the tiny attack of butterflies in her stomach, but she sure wasn’t going to admit their existence.
The door opened and revealed Josh’s dad, Walter, greeting them with a wide smile. “Hello girls, come on in.”
“Hi Mr. Nichols,” they replied in unintentional unison.
“Josh is waiting for you in the kitchen,” Walter started as Josh appeared at his side, looking distressed.
“Dad! I said I would get the door.”
“I know, but I was closer. I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” Walter promised, making his way toward the staircase. Josh rolled his eyes as he turned toward Cathy and Mindy.
“Hi. Craig and Eric are here, they’re in the kitchen,” Josh gestured as they all started walking in that direction.
“Has the arguing started yet?” Cathy asked and he didn’t have to answer her. Josh opened the door and they all got the answer.
”If we watch the commentary before the movie, it ruins the experience if we’re watching it for the first time.”
”But watching the commentary before the movie means we can know all the facts when we watch the film without the commentary.”
”YOU’RE IMPOSSIBLE!”
“Guys!” Josh interrupted, waving so that the other two boys would take notice. “Why don’t we let the girls decide?”
“Without,” Cathy said decidedly and Mindy nodded in agreement. Eric looked pleased and Craig looked annoyed while Josh grabbed the plate of his special Fudgie Boos.
“Come on, let’s go start our commentary-less movie.”
“What’s the point?” Craig muttered as he passed Mindy, who grinned.
It was just like old times.
--
A few hours later, outside the Parker/Nichols’ house
Craig’s mom had picked up Craig and Eric moments ago and now Mindy was standing on the porch with Josh as they waited for Cathy to get out of the bathroom. The night was warm enough that Mindy held her jacket in her hands and she looked up to see some of the stars that were able to peek out from behind the clouds and California smog.
“Hey, um…” Josh started and she turned her attention from the sky to his face. “I’m glad you could come tonight.”
“Thanks for inviting me. You were right, it was a lot of fun.”
Josh raised his eyebrows. “Did you just admit I was right about something?”
“Oh, ha ha.” She jokingly hit his arm as he grinned while looking down at the porch.
“Seriously, though. I’m glad that we’re friends now,” he continued. “It was weird there for a little while, running into you all over school. And then with Lisa, I never saw you…” He trailed off before looking into her eyes. “It’s just that, we’re good. Now.”
“Yeah,” Mindy said shortly, feeling guilt rise up the back of her throat. Luckily, before she could say anything else, Cathy appeared.
“All right, let’s go. Thanks for everything Josh.”
“Yeah, no problem. See you guys tomorrow.”
--
Drake climbed in through the window a couple hours later, surprised to see Josh still awake in his bed reading a Persons magazine.
“I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“Wasn’t tired. Where were you?”
“Alicia Moore’s backseat.”
“That’s…you know what, I don’t need to hear anymore,” Josh deadpanned as he set his book down. Drake shot him a sly grin as he started rooting through his dresser drawers for his pajamas.
“What did you end up doing?”
“Had a movie night with Craig, Eric, Cathy, and Mindy. It was a lot of fun, Craig said the funniest thing-“
Drake didn’t hear what Craig said because he felt like he’d been sucker punched when Mindy’s name came up. He remembered the movie nights when she was dating his brother, how they would be snuggled up on the couch and called each other their disgustingly adorable nicknames. The jealousy made his cheeks hot and he angrily shoved the drawer shut.
“Whoa, you okay Drake?”
“Huh? Yeah,” Drake said quickly, trying to find a cover. “Stupid drawer…gets…stuck.”
“Oh. So anyway, the hippo is doing back flips and Craig’s like, ‘I hope he doesn’t get water up his nose!’” Josh waited for laughter, but all he got was a weak smile.
“Hilarious. Sounds like a good time with The Dork Squad.”
Josh rolled his eyes, figuring Drake was being sarcastic, and went back into his book. Drake, pajamas in hand, walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom as he tried to be quiet, lest he wake up his parents.
He winced at the light, but shut the door quietly before pulling out his cell phone and debated calling Mindy despite the late hour. But it’s not like in the old movies where you can call a girl and hang up when she answers because everybody’s got caller ID now and doesn’t that just suck.
He put his cell phone on the counter and began to change into his pajamas, trying not to give her another thought.
--
The next day, Belleview High, before first period
Mindy raced as fast as she could without full out running toward the library, eager to grab a computer before classes started. Her printer broke before she left for school and she wasn’t able to print off the book report that was due for her second class. She was praying the computers wouldn’t all be taken when she spotted Drake chatting up some girl in front of the only door that gave access into the library.
She walked right up to them, expecting him to stop leaning against the door, but was met with a cool look of indifference instead.
“Can I help you?”
“Move.”
“Now that’s not very friendly. Can I hear the magic word?”
As if he hadn’t screwed with her head enough for the past six months, she couldn’t believe they were resorting back to their hateful relationship from before. At least two could play at his little game.
“Move now,” Mindy insisted, grabbing his earlobe and pulling hard enough that he fell to his knees, a mix of surprise and pain on his face. The girl he was talking to gasped and inexplicably ran off while Mindy had her eyes locked on Drake’s clouded brown ones; it was hard to read any emotion on his face.
But he cracked a devious grin, confusing her, before speaking low enough that only she could hear. “Didn’t know you liked it this rough.”
She dropped her hand like she’d been burned and gave him a dirty look before stepping over him and walking into the library, ignoring the crowd of kids that had gathered by the window.
--
Two weeks later
The days were starting to pass a little easier as Mindy kept her distance from Drake, which wasn’t difficult. He wasn’t coming after her, like she stupidly half hoped for, and when she saw him with other girls around school she didn’t deny the sting of betrayal. But the sooner she moved on with her life, the better it got, despite the situation.
She gave her studies a renewed sense of confidence and when a math test came around, Mindy spent whatever free time she had cramming for it. When the day came, she was thrilled to be the first one done and was actually starting to feel like her old self again.
Walking out to her locker, Mindy was in an extraordinarily good mood from having aced her test as Josh appeared by her side.
“Hey.”
“Oh, hey!”
“Could you believe that test?” he asked.
“Oh I know; it was so easy!” Mindy replied, eager to share her good mood.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, too easy,” Josh said, twitching his eyes back and forth like he didn’t believe her for one minute; she smiled as he continued. “Anyway…uh, I’m having a movie night at my house this Saturday. You wanna come by?”
“Oh, sure,” she agreed easily, remembering how well the last time went. Craig and Eric appeared behind Josh and Craig’s eyes lit up excitedly.
“Hey, we should one of those cheesy karate movies from the 70s!”
“Oh, like Dragons of Death!” Eric added happily.
“That would be sick,” Josh agreed as Mr. Roland walked down the hallway toward them.
“Josh, Mindy, the new Chemistry textbooks just arrived. They’re in my classroom,” the teacher said, gesturing with his hands. Josh looked at Mindy and she could tell that he was just as excited as she was.
“No way!”
“Aw, come on,” Josh added gleefully, following her as they raced down the hallway to catch up with Mr. Roland.
When they reached the room, Josh could barely contain his joy as he hopped a little behind Mindy and their teacher. Mr. Roland couldn’t open the door fast enough and Josh could see the textbooks, stacked up beautifully on his desk and in cardboard boxes next to his desk and it was almost too much to take.
“Wow,” Mindy breathed, echoing his sentiments.
“Well come in, come in,” Mr. Roland instructed, waving at them. “Come take a look.”
They both walked cautiously toward his desk, as though the books were just a mirage and they would disappear at any moment. But Josh reached out and touched one, feeling the cellophane wrinkle under his finger and he tried to control himself from letting out giggles that were threatening to escape.
“Can I…can I hold one?” Josh asked carefully.
“Go right ahead.”
They both picked one up, testing it out its weight, and Mindy held it to her chest and gave it a big squeeze. “This is amazing. It’s been fifteen years since this school has gotten new books.”
“It’s a miracle,” Josh agreed, staring at the picture of Bunsen burners that adorned the cover.
“Well I’m glad you two are so excited,” Mr. Roland smiled. “Would you mind helping me tear the cellophane off the books?”
“You mean we get to touch all the books first?” Mindy asked, as though he was kidding.
“If you’d like.”
The two of them could not have started fast enough. At one point, Josh looked out of the corner of his eye and saw that Mindy’s expression matched how excited he felt on the inside and he couldn’t imagine sharing this experience with anyone else.
--
That afternoon, Crenshaw’s House
Mindy walked through the front door, making sure to take off her shoes before walking through the rest of the house. There was a strange car in the driveway and she was curious to find out whom it belonged to. She walked into the kitchen, hoping to find her mother for some answers, but the answer was standing next to the island.
“Oh my god, Chad!” Her favorite cousin had a wide smile on his face and scooped her up as she ran to him for a hug. “Why are you here? I thought we were going to visit you for Christmas! I can’t believe how long your hair has gotten! I can’t believe you’re here!”
“Whoa, slow down,” Chad said, giving her an easy grin. “My parents decided to move here for my dad’s job and I wanted to surprise you when you got home from school, which obviously worked.”
“Obviously,” Mindy agreed happily. “I can’t believe that you kept a secret.”
“Hey, stranger things have happened.”
She sized him up and down, not able to contain the smile on her face. She threw her arms around him again and squeezed tight so the reality could sink in. “I’m so glad you’re here. You can meet my friends and I’ll show you around town and you’ll feel like you’re at home in no time.”
“Great, I can’t wait.”
--
Saturday Night, Josh’s Movie Night
When people started to arrive for Josh’s movie night, Drake was in the hall bathroom, staring at his black eye. It wasn’t as tender as yesterday, but the bruising made it look worse than it was. Frankly, he was just glad to see out of it again; the first ten minutes in the nurse’s office had been rough.
“All right people grab a treat and find your seat! The movie’s about to start in nine minutes!”
Drake heard Josh before he saw him as he wandered from the bathroom and into the kitchen. He looked into the living room and saw it packed with familiar looking kids from school, walking around and eating Josh’s homemade snacks.
“Hey, what movie are you guys watching?” Drake asked Walter, who had just closed the refrigerator door. They hadn’t seen each other since before Drake’s accidental black eye due to his late shift at the news station, so Walter was surprised as he leaned in to get a closer look at the bruising.
“What…did you get in a fight at school?”
“Oh, oh…no, not exactly…”
“It’s okay, I understand. I used to get beat up at school all the time,” Walter recalled, a dreamy look on his face. “They used to call me ‘Walter the Doof’. In fact, one time, I- ”
“Have you ever read a book called ‘Embarrassed to Death’ by M.Y. Dad?” Josh asked, interrupting. Drake shot him a grateful look, but other boy didn’t notice. Sometimes they had to run interference when Walter geared up for one of his long stories.
“M.Y. Dad?” Walter asked, not getting it.
“See ya!” Josh pushed him through the foyer and toward the stairs while the doorbell rang. Alone in the kitchen, Drake decided to wander into the living room to find a snack while Josh answered the door.
“Heeey, what’s up Craig?”
“Evening.”
“Where’s Eric?”
“Oh, he didn’t want to come. He was afraid Drake might be mad at him because he punched him in the eye.”
“He’s not mad. Drake, you’re not mad, are you?”
Drake grabbed a pretzel before turning to answer. “No, I’m not mad. Craig didn’t mean to hit me.”
“I’m Craig.”
Drake scoffed. “It matters.” He turned back to the snack table, not giving the boy another thought. He was about to grab some potato chips when the doorbell rang again and Josh called for him from the kitchen.
”Yo Drake, get that?”
“Got it!” He walked into the foyer to open the door; Mindy was standing on the other side and his mouth reacted faster than his brain did. “Ohhh, is it Halloween already? Aren’t you a scary little witch?”
“Aww, look at your black eye. Wow, I hope it hurts,” Mindy replied in the same sarcastic tone. They were falling back into old patterns and this, this he could deal with.
“She-beast.”
“Micro-brain.”
“Weird face.”
“Ignoramus.”
That last insult threw him for a loop. “…What?”
“Exactly!” Mindy threw her hand up in the air as some guy Drake had never seen before sauntered up the lawn and on to the porch behind her. He greeted her with a ‘hey’ and Drake noticed the way she relaxed and gave the mystery guy a bright smile.
“Sorry, I had to park the car at the bottom of the hill,” the guy explained.
“Oh, no problem,” Mindy assured him before turning back to Drake. She used the back of her hand to push on his shoulder before continuing. “Step aside.”
She glided past Drake and the guy gave him an empathetic shrug, but he could’ve cared less. Mindy? With another guy? He wanted to freak out about this, but all he could do was find the one person he knew who overreacted about everything.
“JOSH!”
Surprised, Josh accidentally flipped over the movie projector before groaning. “Ohh, now I gotta reset the white balance!”
“No, I need to talk to you!” Drake turned to Craig and gave him a look. “Get out.” Craig rolled his eyes and left the kitchen as Josh turned to look at Drake.
“What?”
“Mindy’s here.”
“I know. I invited her.”
Well, of course he did, Drake thought. Of course Josh would try to be friends with everybody, including his ex, no matter how many times in the past Drake tried to tell him how bad of an idea that was.
“Did you invite him?” Drake asked, grabbing Josh’s hair to turn his head toward the living room. Mindy and her date were chatting calmly by the couch as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Who’s him?” Josh asked innocently.
“Her date!” Drake stated matter-of-factly.
“Her…” Josh trailed off, obviously upset as he tried not to yell in surprise. He was able to regain composure before continuing. “I don’t care.”
“Yes you do! Now go out there and make a scene!” Drake suggested, wanting to do exactly what he was advising. But he held back, plied his brother with evil ideas, and prayed Josh wouldn’t ask why he was getting so bent out of shape over Mindy and this new guy she had decided to parade around.
“No! All right, Mindy and I broke up. She’s allowed to date whoever she wants,” Josh explained calmly. He almost looked convinced while saying it.
“And you’re cool with that?” The words weighed heavily in Drake’s mouth as he waited anxiously for the answer. It was a question that he probably should’ve asked a long time ago, but no one said Drake was known for his timing.
“Sure, I’m cool.”
Drake rolled his eyes and turned away as Josh left the kitchen to enter the living room, ready to start the movie night. “Okay everyone! The movie’s about to start, please sit down.”
“Can I use the restroom real qui-“
Drake heard the question start to come out of Mindy’s date’s mouth and smirked when he heard Josh’s response:
“SIT DOWN!”
Yeah, Josh was real cool with everything.
--
An hour into Dragons of Death, Mindy couldn’t ignore her need for a drink as she looked around the room. All the lights for the downstairs had been turned off and everyone was bathed in the glow of the movie that was streaming from the projector. She slipped off the couch and tried to walk over the kids sitting on the floor without too much disruption. Once she was in the kitchen, the projector’s glow made it a little easier to walk around, but most of the room was covered in shadow and as a result, she ran her side into the corner of the island.
Mindy made her way to the fridge by groping along the side of the island while absentmindedly rubbing her side. She was moving closer toward the darkness and it was getting harder to see; she didn’t expect to feel a warm hand on the refrigerator handle.
“Oh my god!”
Her yelp, fortunately, coincided with the loud music of an action scene and she stepped back out of instinct, closer to the light. The body attached to the hand followed her and in the glow, she was able to make out the figure.
“Drake?”
“Ignoragmus,” he answered, incorrectly stealing her insult from earlier. She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm instead of correcting him.
“What are you doing? You scared me half to death!”
“I came to get a macaroon. What are you doing? Getting macaroons for you and your date?”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Oh, am I?”
“Yeah, you are.” She turned to get back to the movie when he grabbed her wrist unexpectedly. She looked at his hand and at his shadowed face. “Let go of me.”
“Just…” Drake started, before trailing off. He pulled her instead and stupidly she followed. Out of the kitchen, through the foyer, and into the dark hallway where he guided her into the tiny bathroom. He didn’t immediately go for the light switch, but she heard the door click shut as they stood in complete darkness.
“Drake, what are you doing?”
Instead of responding, his fingers slid around the back of her neck as he pulled her head toward his and their lips came together, crashing into a rough kiss. She was stunned for a moment until he started moving and then everything got…blurry.
In one swift move, her back was pressed up against the door as his tongued traced the invisible seam on her bottom lip and everything was back like it was and it was a little scary but a lot more exciting. All of her friends and Chad and geez, Josh, were out there, all involved in the movie and her world was centered on the fact that Drake’s hand was sliding under her bare thigh and bringing it close to his hip as everything under her skin began to melt. Mindy allowed herself to get lost as she dug her fingers through his soft hair, but a whimper shot out of her mouth when his hand accidentally dug into the small bruise forming on her hip from her run in with the island. She pulled her lips away from his, but he didn’t get the hint; Drake just moved his mouth down the column of her neck as she tried to regain focus.
“Drake…Drake, stop.”
“Why?” He murmured against her skin and she knew she had to untangle herself from him. Blindly groping for the switch, the sudden light caused both of them to wince. Her leg dropped to the floor, but he didn’t let go of her side as he placed his forehead against hers.
“We can’t do this,” she told him softly. A million reasons ran through her head, the most prevalent being that she didn’t want to keep this relationship a secret anymore. But she felt his grin against her forehead before he kissed the skin there as he answered her.
“I think we’re doing a pretty good job.”
“Drake…”
“Mindy…”
There was a heavy silence between them and she could feel his chest meet hers, rising and falling with each breath. It had hurt to stay away from each other for this long, hurt even more to fall back into their old routines. She knew he loved her; he just had a not so funny way of wanting to keep it from everybody else. It wasn’t fair.
“You can’t do this to me,” she continued, using her palms to push against his shoulders. Drake took a few steps back and watched as she straightened out her blue and yellow sweater. “You can’t just expect me to be with you when it’s convenient for you. That’s not how this works anymore.”
“But Josh said he was cool with you having another boyfriend.”
“He did?”
“Yeah.”
“Does he know that you were the other boyfriend?”
“Well…not exactly,” Drake admitted.
She let out a frustrated groan as she used her hands to cover her face. “God, it’s like talking to a brick wall.” Dropping her hands, Mindy looked directly into his eyes and made sure her words were clear. “Stay away from me. It’s a lot easier that way.”
She turned and exited the bathroom, making sure to get back to the couch as fast as possible. When she settled in next to Chad, he leaned over as she noticed Josh had turned to look at her too.
“You were gone awhile. Are you okay?” Chad asked, whispering in her ear.
“I’m fine,” Mind answered tersely, crossing her arms over her stomach. She avoided Josh’s gaze until she saw out of the corner of her eye that he went back to watching the movie.
chapter 18 | consequences of what i chose
drake & josh. drake/mindy, josh/ofc. 4761 words. PG13
Drake didn’t hear what Craig said because he felt like he’d been sucker punched when Mindy’s name came up. He remembered the movie nights when she was dating his brother, how they would be snuggled up on the couch and called each other their disgustingly adorable nicknames. The jealousy made his cheeks hot and he angrily shoved the drawer shut.
previous chapters
author's note;
just really quick a big thank you to marleybanana for all her wonderful help and dealing with my neurosis about this fic. &hearts &hearts &hearts you're the best!
and also, i'm really sorry that the last update of this story was in MAY. i promise i'll finish this fic sometime this year.
--
It took a couple days to digest what had happened and when it did, Mindy remembered the exact moment. She had been walking down the hallway at school and through the crowd of students, she saw Drake talking to Josh, and they were both laughing in a way that she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was such a small thing, but she rushed to the bathroom anyway and locked herself in a stall while trying not to hyperventilate.
To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t that she was upset for Drake picking Josh over her. The two boys had been through a lot together and it never would have occurred to her to ever give him an ultimatum like that. It just hurt that he’d rather keep it all a secret, like he was subconsciously ashamed of her or something. The thought alone caused a tear to roll down her cheek and she wiped it away angrily. Mindy had told herself that she wasn’t going to waste tears on this, but the bell rang for class and she found herself wallowing in the girls’ bathroom, alone, hurt, and confused.
She lost track of the time, but she figured being in class would be able to keep her mind off of everything else. Pushing the door open, Mindy left the bathroom and walked briskly down the hallway before turning a corner and running into something (or rather, someone).
“Hey, watch where you’re…” Mindy said angrily, but her sentence trailed off when she made eye contact with the other person. “…going.”
“Sorry about that,” Josh answered, looking at the floor. Papers were spilled all over the linoleum that she had accidentally knocked out of his hands. They both bent over to start picking them up and Mindy was intensely aware of the prickly, guilty feeling racing up her spine.
“No, I’m sorry. I should’ve been watching where I was walking.” She handed him the last sheets and they both stood up while she tried to avoid eye contact. “See you around, Josh.”
“Wait!”
He caught up with her and they were walking down the hallway together, their footsteps in sync as they went from one linoleum corridor to the next. She didn’t know what to do or what to say and Josh wasn’t giving her any indication that he wanted to talk about something. They were almost at her class before Mindy stopped walking and turned to face him.
“This is my class,” she told him pointedly. “I’ll see you around.”
“Hang on Mindy,” Josh said, looping his hand around her elbow as she started to turn away. “I’m having a movie night at my house tonight, if you’re interested. Craig and Eric are coming over and you can invite Cathy if you want. It’ll be fun.”
She remembered those movie nights, back when she and Josh were happy together. Craig and Eric would argue over whether to watch the movie first with or without commentary, Josh would provide limeade and his special brownies (an interesting combination, to say the least), and Cathy would throw popcorn at the boys until they stopped arguing and it turned into an all-out popcorn war.
It was nice, back then.
--
“You said yes?”
Mindy didn’t respond, just kept in step with Cathy as they both walked home from school that afternoon.
“Are you crazy?” Cathy continued, shifting her backpack strap.
“It’s not that crazy of an idea,” Mindy muttered, keeping her eyes straight ahead on the sidewalk path. “We used to hang out together all the time.”
“What if Drake’s there?”
“He can be there if he wants. It’s his house too.”
“You really don’t think he’ll wig if you’re there?”
“You know what Cath, I don’t really care what Drake does or doesn’t do,” Mindy said, irritation tingeing her voice. “My friend Josh invited me over for a movie and that’s it.” They walked a few more steps in silence before she continued. “Besides, he could’ve fixed the problem.”
“I know.”
“’Hey Josh, Mindy and I are dating’” Mindy said, badly imitating Drake’s voice. “How hard would that have been to say?”
“It wouldn’t have been.”
“Exactly. He wants to keep it a secret and I can’t do that anymore.” A few birds flew noisily in front of them, but the silence from her best friend was deafening. “Am I wrong?”
“I didn’t say that,” Cathy replied carefully. “I just think it’s interesting that you’re willing to go back there so soon, if you and Drake are supposedly broken up.”
“I don’t know what Drake and I are. But for once, this isn’t about him and I’m just trying to be a good friend to Josh.”
They walked in a silence a bit longer, weaving in out of the shadows from trees as they entered Cathy’s subdivision. Some birds chirped overhead and there was the hum of sprinklers tch-tch-tcccccching on a distant lawn.
“So let me tell you what I heard about Betsy Jacobs today…”
Mindy welcomed the subject change as their feet continued the steady rhythm until they arrived at Cathy’s house.
--
Parker/Nichols’ House, later that night
“You sure you’re ready?”
“Cath, it’s not going to be that bad.” To prove her point, Mindy reached over and rang the doorbell. She couldn’t deny the tiny attack of butterflies in her stomach, but she sure wasn’t going to admit their existence.
The door opened and revealed Josh’s dad, Walter, greeting them with a wide smile. “Hello girls, come on in.”
“Hi Mr. Nichols,” they replied in unintentional unison.
“Josh is waiting for you in the kitchen,” Walter started as Josh appeared at his side, looking distressed.
“Dad! I said I would get the door.”
“I know, but I was closer. I’m leaving, I’m leaving,” Walter promised, making his way toward the staircase. Josh rolled his eyes as he turned toward Cathy and Mindy.
“Hi. Craig and Eric are here, they’re in the kitchen,” Josh gestured as they all started walking in that direction.
“Has the arguing started yet?” Cathy asked and he didn’t have to answer her. Josh opened the door and they all got the answer.
”If we watch the commentary before the movie, it ruins the experience if we’re watching it for the first time.”
”But watching the commentary before the movie means we can know all the facts when we watch the film without the commentary.”
”YOU’RE IMPOSSIBLE!”
“Guys!” Josh interrupted, waving so that the other two boys would take notice. “Why don’t we let the girls decide?”
“Without,” Cathy said decidedly and Mindy nodded in agreement. Eric looked pleased and Craig looked annoyed while Josh grabbed the plate of his special Fudgie Boos.
“Come on, let’s go start our commentary-less movie.”
“What’s the point?” Craig muttered as he passed Mindy, who grinned.
It was just like old times.
--
A few hours later, outside the Parker/Nichols’ house
Craig’s mom had picked up Craig and Eric moments ago and now Mindy was standing on the porch with Josh as they waited for Cathy to get out of the bathroom. The night was warm enough that Mindy held her jacket in her hands and she looked up to see some of the stars that were able to peek out from behind the clouds and California smog.
“Hey, um…” Josh started and she turned her attention from the sky to his face. “I’m glad you could come tonight.”
“Thanks for inviting me. You were right, it was a lot of fun.”
Josh raised his eyebrows. “Did you just admit I was right about something?”
“Oh, ha ha.” She jokingly hit his arm as he grinned while looking down at the porch.
“Seriously, though. I’m glad that we’re friends now,” he continued. “It was weird there for a little while, running into you all over school. And then with Lisa, I never saw you…” He trailed off before looking into her eyes. “It’s just that, we’re good. Now.”
“Yeah,” Mindy said shortly, feeling guilt rise up the back of her throat. Luckily, before she could say anything else, Cathy appeared.
“All right, let’s go. Thanks for everything Josh.”
“Yeah, no problem. See you guys tomorrow.”
--
Drake climbed in through the window a couple hours later, surprised to see Josh still awake in his bed reading a Persons magazine.
“I thought you’d be asleep by now.”
“Wasn’t tired. Where were you?”
“Alicia Moore’s backseat.”
“That’s…you know what, I don’t need to hear anymore,” Josh deadpanned as he set his book down. Drake shot him a sly grin as he started rooting through his dresser drawers for his pajamas.
“What did you end up doing?”
“Had a movie night with Craig, Eric, Cathy, and Mindy. It was a lot of fun, Craig said the funniest thing-“
Drake didn’t hear what Craig said because he felt like he’d been sucker punched when Mindy’s name came up. He remembered the movie nights when she was dating his brother, how they would be snuggled up on the couch and called each other their disgustingly adorable nicknames. The jealousy made his cheeks hot and he angrily shoved the drawer shut.
“Whoa, you okay Drake?”
“Huh? Yeah,” Drake said quickly, trying to find a cover. “Stupid drawer…gets…stuck.”
“Oh. So anyway, the hippo is doing back flips and Craig’s like, ‘I hope he doesn’t get water up his nose!’” Josh waited for laughter, but all he got was a weak smile.
“Hilarious. Sounds like a good time with The Dork Squad.”
Josh rolled his eyes, figuring Drake was being sarcastic, and went back into his book. Drake, pajamas in hand, walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom as he tried to be quiet, lest he wake up his parents.
He winced at the light, but shut the door quietly before pulling out his cell phone and debated calling Mindy despite the late hour. But it’s not like in the old movies where you can call a girl and hang up when she answers because everybody’s got caller ID now and doesn’t that just suck.
He put his cell phone on the counter and began to change into his pajamas, trying not to give her another thought.
--
The next day, Belleview High, before first period
Mindy raced as fast as she could without full out running toward the library, eager to grab a computer before classes started. Her printer broke before she left for school and she wasn’t able to print off the book report that was due for her second class. She was praying the computers wouldn’t all be taken when she spotted Drake chatting up some girl in front of the only door that gave access into the library.
She walked right up to them, expecting him to stop leaning against the door, but was met with a cool look of indifference instead.
“Can I help you?”
“Move.”
“Now that’s not very friendly. Can I hear the magic word?”
As if he hadn’t screwed with her head enough for the past six months, she couldn’t believe they were resorting back to their hateful relationship from before. At least two could play at his little game.
“Move now,” Mindy insisted, grabbing his earlobe and pulling hard enough that he fell to his knees, a mix of surprise and pain on his face. The girl he was talking to gasped and inexplicably ran off while Mindy had her eyes locked on Drake’s clouded brown ones; it was hard to read any emotion on his face.
But he cracked a devious grin, confusing her, before speaking low enough that only she could hear. “Didn’t know you liked it this rough.”
She dropped her hand like she’d been burned and gave him a dirty look before stepping over him and walking into the library, ignoring the crowd of kids that had gathered by the window.
--
Two weeks later
The days were starting to pass a little easier as Mindy kept her distance from Drake, which wasn’t difficult. He wasn’t coming after her, like she stupidly half hoped for, and when she saw him with other girls around school she didn’t deny the sting of betrayal. But the sooner she moved on with her life, the better it got, despite the situation.
She gave her studies a renewed sense of confidence and when a math test came around, Mindy spent whatever free time she had cramming for it. When the day came, she was thrilled to be the first one done and was actually starting to feel like her old self again.
Walking out to her locker, Mindy was in an extraordinarily good mood from having aced her test as Josh appeared by her side.
“Hey.”
“Oh, hey!”
“Could you believe that test?” he asked.
“Oh I know; it was so easy!” Mindy replied, eager to share her good mood.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, too easy,” Josh said, twitching his eyes back and forth like he didn’t believe her for one minute; she smiled as he continued. “Anyway…uh, I’m having a movie night at my house this Saturday. You wanna come by?”
“Oh, sure,” she agreed easily, remembering how well the last time went. Craig and Eric appeared behind Josh and Craig’s eyes lit up excitedly.
“Hey, we should one of those cheesy karate movies from the 70s!”
“Oh, like Dragons of Death!” Eric added happily.
“That would be sick,” Josh agreed as Mr. Roland walked down the hallway toward them.
“Josh, Mindy, the new Chemistry textbooks just arrived. They’re in my classroom,” the teacher said, gesturing with his hands. Josh looked at Mindy and she could tell that he was just as excited as she was.
“No way!”
“Aw, come on,” Josh added gleefully, following her as they raced down the hallway to catch up with Mr. Roland.
When they reached the room, Josh could barely contain his joy as he hopped a little behind Mindy and their teacher. Mr. Roland couldn’t open the door fast enough and Josh could see the textbooks, stacked up beautifully on his desk and in cardboard boxes next to his desk and it was almost too much to take.
“Wow,” Mindy breathed, echoing his sentiments.
“Well come in, come in,” Mr. Roland instructed, waving at them. “Come take a look.”
They both walked cautiously toward his desk, as though the books were just a mirage and they would disappear at any moment. But Josh reached out and touched one, feeling the cellophane wrinkle under his finger and he tried to control himself from letting out giggles that were threatening to escape.
“Can I…can I hold one?” Josh asked carefully.
“Go right ahead.”
They both picked one up, testing it out its weight, and Mindy held it to her chest and gave it a big squeeze. “This is amazing. It’s been fifteen years since this school has gotten new books.”
“It’s a miracle,” Josh agreed, staring at the picture of Bunsen burners that adorned the cover.
“Well I’m glad you two are so excited,” Mr. Roland smiled. “Would you mind helping me tear the cellophane off the books?”
“You mean we get to touch all the books first?” Mindy asked, as though he was kidding.
“If you’d like.”
The two of them could not have started fast enough. At one point, Josh looked out of the corner of his eye and saw that Mindy’s expression matched how excited he felt on the inside and he couldn’t imagine sharing this experience with anyone else.
--
That afternoon, Crenshaw’s House
Mindy walked through the front door, making sure to take off her shoes before walking through the rest of the house. There was a strange car in the driveway and she was curious to find out whom it belonged to. She walked into the kitchen, hoping to find her mother for some answers, but the answer was standing next to the island.
“Oh my god, Chad!” Her favorite cousin had a wide smile on his face and scooped her up as she ran to him for a hug. “Why are you here? I thought we were going to visit you for Christmas! I can’t believe how long your hair has gotten! I can’t believe you’re here!”
“Whoa, slow down,” Chad said, giving her an easy grin. “My parents decided to move here for my dad’s job and I wanted to surprise you when you got home from school, which obviously worked.”
“Obviously,” Mindy agreed happily. “I can’t believe that you kept a secret.”
“Hey, stranger things have happened.”
She sized him up and down, not able to contain the smile on her face. She threw her arms around him again and squeezed tight so the reality could sink in. “I’m so glad you’re here. You can meet my friends and I’ll show you around town and you’ll feel like you’re at home in no time.”
“Great, I can’t wait.”
--
Saturday Night, Josh’s Movie Night
When people started to arrive for Josh’s movie night, Drake was in the hall bathroom, staring at his black eye. It wasn’t as tender as yesterday, but the bruising made it look worse than it was. Frankly, he was just glad to see out of it again; the first ten minutes in the nurse’s office had been rough.
“All right people grab a treat and find your seat! The movie’s about to start in nine minutes!”
Drake heard Josh before he saw him as he wandered from the bathroom and into the kitchen. He looked into the living room and saw it packed with familiar looking kids from school, walking around and eating Josh’s homemade snacks.
“Hey, what movie are you guys watching?” Drake asked Walter, who had just closed the refrigerator door. They hadn’t seen each other since before Drake’s accidental black eye due to his late shift at the news station, so Walter was surprised as he leaned in to get a closer look at the bruising.
“What…did you get in a fight at school?”
“Oh, oh…no, not exactly…”
“It’s okay, I understand. I used to get beat up at school all the time,” Walter recalled, a dreamy look on his face. “They used to call me ‘Walter the Doof’. In fact, one time, I- ”
“Have you ever read a book called ‘Embarrassed to Death’ by M.Y. Dad?” Josh asked, interrupting. Drake shot him a grateful look, but other boy didn’t notice. Sometimes they had to run interference when Walter geared up for one of his long stories.
“M.Y. Dad?” Walter asked, not getting it.
“See ya!” Josh pushed him through the foyer and toward the stairs while the doorbell rang. Alone in the kitchen, Drake decided to wander into the living room to find a snack while Josh answered the door.
“Heeey, what’s up Craig?”
“Evening.”
“Where’s Eric?”
“Oh, he didn’t want to come. He was afraid Drake might be mad at him because he punched him in the eye.”
“He’s not mad. Drake, you’re not mad, are you?”
Drake grabbed a pretzel before turning to answer. “No, I’m not mad. Craig didn’t mean to hit me.”
“I’m Craig.”
Drake scoffed. “It matters.” He turned back to the snack table, not giving the boy another thought. He was about to grab some potato chips when the doorbell rang again and Josh called for him from the kitchen.
”Yo Drake, get that?”
“Got it!” He walked into the foyer to open the door; Mindy was standing on the other side and his mouth reacted faster than his brain did. “Ohhh, is it Halloween already? Aren’t you a scary little witch?”
“Aww, look at your black eye. Wow, I hope it hurts,” Mindy replied in the same sarcastic tone. They were falling back into old patterns and this, this he could deal with.
“She-beast.”
“Micro-brain.”
“Weird face.”
“Ignoramus.”
That last insult threw him for a loop. “…What?”
“Exactly!” Mindy threw her hand up in the air as some guy Drake had never seen before sauntered up the lawn and on to the porch behind her. He greeted her with a ‘hey’ and Drake noticed the way she relaxed and gave the mystery guy a bright smile.
“Sorry, I had to park the car at the bottom of the hill,” the guy explained.
“Oh, no problem,” Mindy assured him before turning back to Drake. She used the back of her hand to push on his shoulder before continuing. “Step aside.”
She glided past Drake and the guy gave him an empathetic shrug, but he could’ve cared less. Mindy? With another guy? He wanted to freak out about this, but all he could do was find the one person he knew who overreacted about everything.
“JOSH!”
Surprised, Josh accidentally flipped over the movie projector before groaning. “Ohh, now I gotta reset the white balance!”
“No, I need to talk to you!” Drake turned to Craig and gave him a look. “Get out.” Craig rolled his eyes and left the kitchen as Josh turned to look at Drake.
“What?”
“Mindy’s here.”
“I know. I invited her.”
Well, of course he did, Drake thought. Of course Josh would try to be friends with everybody, including his ex, no matter how many times in the past Drake tried to tell him how bad of an idea that was.
“Did you invite him?” Drake asked, grabbing Josh’s hair to turn his head toward the living room. Mindy and her date were chatting calmly by the couch as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
“Who’s him?” Josh asked innocently.
“Her date!” Drake stated matter-of-factly.
“Her…” Josh trailed off, obviously upset as he tried not to yell in surprise. He was able to regain composure before continuing. “I don’t care.”
“Yes you do! Now go out there and make a scene!” Drake suggested, wanting to do exactly what he was advising. But he held back, plied his brother with evil ideas, and prayed Josh wouldn’t ask why he was getting so bent out of shape over Mindy and this new guy she had decided to parade around.
“No! All right, Mindy and I broke up. She’s allowed to date whoever she wants,” Josh explained calmly. He almost looked convinced while saying it.
“And you’re cool with that?” The words weighed heavily in Drake’s mouth as he waited anxiously for the answer. It was a question that he probably should’ve asked a long time ago, but no one said Drake was known for his timing.
“Sure, I’m cool.”
Drake rolled his eyes and turned away as Josh left the kitchen to enter the living room, ready to start the movie night. “Okay everyone! The movie’s about to start, please sit down.”
“Can I use the restroom real qui-“
Drake heard the question start to come out of Mindy’s date’s mouth and smirked when he heard Josh’s response:
“SIT DOWN!”
Yeah, Josh was real cool with everything.
--
An hour into Dragons of Death, Mindy couldn’t ignore her need for a drink as she looked around the room. All the lights for the downstairs had been turned off and everyone was bathed in the glow of the movie that was streaming from the projector. She slipped off the couch and tried to walk over the kids sitting on the floor without too much disruption. Once she was in the kitchen, the projector’s glow made it a little easier to walk around, but most of the room was covered in shadow and as a result, she ran her side into the corner of the island.
Mindy made her way to the fridge by groping along the side of the island while absentmindedly rubbing her side. She was moving closer toward the darkness and it was getting harder to see; she didn’t expect to feel a warm hand on the refrigerator handle.
“Oh my god!”
Her yelp, fortunately, coincided with the loud music of an action scene and she stepped back out of instinct, closer to the light. The body attached to the hand followed her and in the glow, she was able to make out the figure.
“Drake?”
“Ignoragmus,” he answered, incorrectly stealing her insult from earlier. She rolled her eyes and slapped his arm instead of correcting him.
“What are you doing? You scared me half to death!”
“I came to get a macaroon. What are you doing? Getting macaroons for you and your date?”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“Oh, am I?”
“Yeah, you are.” She turned to get back to the movie when he grabbed her wrist unexpectedly. She looked at his hand and at his shadowed face. “Let go of me.”
“Just…” Drake started, before trailing off. He pulled her instead and stupidly she followed. Out of the kitchen, through the foyer, and into the dark hallway where he guided her into the tiny bathroom. He didn’t immediately go for the light switch, but she heard the door click shut as they stood in complete darkness.
“Drake, what are you doing?”
Instead of responding, his fingers slid around the back of her neck as he pulled her head toward his and their lips came together, crashing into a rough kiss. She was stunned for a moment until he started moving and then everything got…blurry.
In one swift move, her back was pressed up against the door as his tongued traced the invisible seam on her bottom lip and everything was back like it was and it was a little scary but a lot more exciting. All of her friends and Chad and geez, Josh, were out there, all involved in the movie and her world was centered on the fact that Drake’s hand was sliding under her bare thigh and bringing it close to his hip as everything under her skin began to melt. Mindy allowed herself to get lost as she dug her fingers through his soft hair, but a whimper shot out of her mouth when his hand accidentally dug into the small bruise forming on her hip from her run in with the island. She pulled her lips away from his, but he didn’t get the hint; Drake just moved his mouth down the column of her neck as she tried to regain focus.
“Drake…Drake, stop.”
“Why?” He murmured against her skin and she knew she had to untangle herself from him. Blindly groping for the switch, the sudden light caused both of them to wince. Her leg dropped to the floor, but he didn’t let go of her side as he placed his forehead against hers.
“We can’t do this,” she told him softly. A million reasons ran through her head, the most prevalent being that she didn’t want to keep this relationship a secret anymore. But she felt his grin against her forehead before he kissed the skin there as he answered her.
“I think we’re doing a pretty good job.”
“Drake…”
“Mindy…”
There was a heavy silence between them and she could feel his chest meet hers, rising and falling with each breath. It had hurt to stay away from each other for this long, hurt even more to fall back into their old routines. She knew he loved her; he just had a not so funny way of wanting to keep it from everybody else. It wasn’t fair.
“You can’t do this to me,” she continued, using her palms to push against his shoulders. Drake took a few steps back and watched as she straightened out her blue and yellow sweater. “You can’t just expect me to be with you when it’s convenient for you. That’s not how this works anymore.”
“But Josh said he was cool with you having another boyfriend.”
“He did?”
“Yeah.”
“Does he know that you were the other boyfriend?”
“Well…not exactly,” Drake admitted.
She let out a frustrated groan as she used her hands to cover her face. “God, it’s like talking to a brick wall.” Dropping her hands, Mindy looked directly into his eyes and made sure her words were clear. “Stay away from me. It’s a lot easier that way.”
She turned and exited the bathroom, making sure to get back to the couch as fast as possible. When she settled in next to Chad, he leaned over as she noticed Josh had turned to look at her too.
“You were gone awhile. Are you okay?” Chad asked, whispering in her ear.
“I’m fine,” Mind answered tersely, crossing her arms over her stomach. She avoided Josh’s gaze until she saw out of the corner of her eye that he went back to watching the movie.
chapter 18 | consequences of what i chose