BLANK SPACE ; jess mariano

ᴠɪɪɪ. ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ

DEAN stopped dead.
"She's not going with you." he barked, jaw clenched as he spoke.
"Really, is that true?"
"Yes it's true." Rory and I locked eyes as we watched the boys argue.
"Excuse me Edgar Bergen, I think I'd like Charlie McCarthy to answer now." Jess contested.
"Shut up." Dean bellowed, before grabbing Rory's hand and taking her away.
"Dean.." she made them stop.
"What?"
"Well..." Rory looked to Jess, then to her basket.
"Oh come on!"
"It's tradition!" Rory protested.
"I don't believe this.."
"It's true. My mother and I have been doing this every year since we moved here."
"Same here." Sage raised her hand but shoved it straight down when she earned an angered stare from Dean.
"So buck tradition."
"Are you kidding? Do you remember how mad Taylor was when I was sick and I couldn't go to the turkey-calling contest?" Rory told.
"This isn't school, you're not getting graded." Dean retorted and Rory went silent, hurt.
"Don't make this into a big thing." Rory's tone was quieter this time.
"Don't go."
"Oh geez man, she's not shipping off to Nam." Jess used his humour, but quickly shut up on receiving a look from all three of us.
"You so need to shut up now."
"Look, Dean, it's a picnic, it's lunch. We'll sit, we'll eat, it's over." Rory exclaimed.
"No."
"What'd you think's gonna happen?" Rory asked her currently fuming boyfriend.
"Yeah, I'd like to hear this one also." Jess licked his top lip.
"I don't want you to go!" Dean screamed.
"Dean!" Rory tried, looking sorrowful.
"Fine, forget it, go. I don't care. In fact, I'll just have the picnic with Sage. If it's tradition." Dean grasped Sage's hand.
"Great. So it all works in the end!" Jess sighed with relief.
"No!" Rory and Sage shook their  heads, "Dean, no, that's not fair.." Sage stammered.
"Why? Rory's going with him, you have no bids on your basket right?"
"Well, no, but I can just eat with my mother.."
"Well that's just sad." Dean informed. Sage was dragged away by Dean's strong grip. She mouthed to Rory 'I'm sorry' and she replied 'It's okay' although no emotion showed on her face.

Dean and Sage ate in silence. Sage kept on trying to start a conversation, but then decided it was better to shut up, and pretend to forget what she was going to say.
"I just can't believe she would do this, and him aswell!" Dean spoke for the first time in an hour.
"Dean, it's tradition."
"I don't care!" he cried, the sandwich on his lap flying off as he bashed the bench with his fist, "I really don't care, I hate him so much." Sage quickly noticed that they were very close together.
"I really don't care.." Dean whispered into her lips, before the space was closed. It took Sage a second to comprehend what was happening. She pulled away rapidly.
"Dean! What're you doing?" Sage got up although Dean tried to sit her back down.
"I don't care.."
"No! Dean, you're upset. I've got to go." She ran away from Dean as quick as she could. She reached the river. She spotted Rory and Jess, laughing over lunch. She sat with the top of her shoes skimming the water, creating small ripples as they touched it, and burst into tears. Jess noticed the crying girl and apologised to Rory as he went to see what was wrong. As he tapped her shoulder, she looked up and he immediately noticed her lips, that had turned a bright shade of crimson, and her face was stained with tears.
"Hey, Sage, what's wrong?"
"Shut up! This is all your fault!" Sage sobbed, putting her face into her hands.
"What'd you mean?" Jess questioned the tearful girl.
"If you would've just stayed silent, and not won over Rory's basket, everything would've been fine, now he's gone and..." Sage was cut off as she choked up sobs.
"Why what happened?" Jess furrowed his brow in confusion.
"I can't say. I never want to talk about it, I never want to think about it. I never want to see him again." Sage turned to his shoulder and cried into it. Jess hesitantly put his arm around her back, stroking her hair comfortingly. He looked back to Rory, who had now disappeared, and thought. He thought about the sensation he felt when he was around Rory, and when he was around Sage. And realised, they were so similar, but so different.