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“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” JD hissed at Heather as they walked hand-in-hand down the extensive hallway of her massive house. “It’s insane.”
“It’s necessary!” Heather replied, tightening her grip on his hand to something far from friendly. “I think they’re starting to suspect something.”
She knew she looked nervous, and she couldn’t do anything to fix it. He adjusted his hand, forcing her to loosen her death grip, then squeezed her hand reassuringly. She looked up at him. “Do you really mind?”
“No.”
She knew he would rather be with Veronica, but she was out of town, and it wasn’t like he would have been eating with his dad. In a way, they were saving each other with this crazy scheme. As long as they could make her parents believe that they were a couple.
“Thanks,” She forced an anxious smile, and he squeezed her hand once more as they entered the dining room.
“Holy shit,” JD breathed, just loud enough for Heather to hear, but thankfully not her parents. He leaned over to whisper in Heather’s ear, “You live like this?”
She laughed, blushing a little, and for a moment she thought they might be somewhat believable as a couple. The room was fancy; they hardly ever ate in here, and even when they did, Heather couldn’t remember the last time her mother had brought out the fancy crystal glasses and china plates.
They were trying to impress him. Or intimidate him.
Her parents looked at JD with critical eyes, searching for something to disapprove of. Heather knew they would find tons of things; JD looked like he’d just barely managed to roll out of bed for the occasion, though Heather could tell he’d tried a little. His hair almost looked brushed, and maybe he’d taken a pass at his shirt with an iron, but her parents didn’t know him well enough to know how impressive that was.
“Jason,” Heather’s mother said, standing and extending her hand like she expected him to kiss it, “How lovely to meet you.”
“I go by JD,” He said, awkwardly shaking her hand. Heather cringed.
Mr. Duke scoffed, “Men don’t use nicknames.”
The next half an hour of dinner went about as well as could be expected if that was his introduction. Heather did her best to steer the conversation, but it just ended up being nervous babbling.
But even she had to fall silent when her mother pursed her lips and said, “It seems odd that you two are together. Joyce Sawyer was just telling me that her daughter was dating a boy named Jason Dean, and isn’t she a friend of yours, Heather?”
Heather heard JD gulp. Neither of them said a word.
“Heather?” Her father asked.
“When I was your age, girls would never date the same boy as their friends,” Mrs. Duke said, and there was an accusation in her voice, though Heather wasn’t sure what it was.
Heather smiled, “I…” Would her mother believe there was another boy named Jason Dean in their class? “We —”
“Heather, did you lie to us and say that you were dating your best friend’s boyfriend?”
Heather’s stomach dropped to the floor and her heart lurched painfully. She looked up at JD, desperately searching for something to say. “I… You said you wanted me to have a boyfriend, but I don’t like any of the boys at school…” In fact, Heather didn’t like boys at all, but only Veronica and JD knew that. She wished a comet would fly through the roof and destroy them all in one fiery swoop.
Her father frowned, shaking his head. “I’m very disappointed in you, Heather.”
Poor JD looked like he was ready to dive out the window, and Heather was tempted to follow him if he did. “Sir—”
“This isn’t your business,” Mr. Duke snapped, and Heather saw JD tense, his eyes narrowing into a scary glare.
Heather reached for his hand, grabbing it and shaking her head. It wasn’t a good time for his issues with authority figures to show up. “Just go, JD.”
He hesitated for a second, but eventually stood up, muttering a stiff and decidedly ungrateful “Thank you for having me.”
Heather missed him as soon as he left the room. Thankfully her parents had the decency to wait until they heard the front door open and close before the shouting started.
It lasted for almost an hour, and by the end, Heather was exhausted and reduced to pathetic tears that wouldn’t stop, though all she felt was numb. At least her parents hadn’t asked if she was gay. At least she’d gotten through one more fight without screaming it at them, demanding that they recognize who she was. Instead, they called her a liar and her mother made sure to make several comments about how Heather couldn’t get any of the “lovely boys at Westerburg” to go out with her. Each word was like an arrow, and Heather could still feel them in her skin.
She climbed the stairs up to her room slowly, feeling like her body was made of concrete. All she wanted was the comfort of her room, where she could cry or be sick or whatever she needed to do to stop feeling so horrible.
Collapsing onto her bed was a relief, but the fresh wave of sobs that came with it left her feeling raw and worn in.
A sharp tapping on her window startled her enough that for a second she forgot to be sad, then when she saw who it was she felt almost happy. She slid the window open.
“Nevermore,” JD quipped, jumping lightly into her room.
She rolled eyes, quickly wiping them in hopes he wouldn’t see her tears. “What are you doing her?”
He gestured as if it should be obvious. “Making sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” She lied.
“Of course you are.” JD knew her too well to be fooled. “Want to do something about it?”
“Like what?” Suspicion crept into Heather’s voice, but she couldn’t help but be intrigued.
He shrugged. “Something crazy. Anything’s better than staying here and crying.” A slight smile softened his features. “Trust me, I would know.”
Heather knew JD snuck out of his house to spend the night with Veronica when things at his house got bad, and the fact that he’d come back to check on her meant a lot. As tired as she was, the idea of riding around Sherwood on the back of JD’s motorcycle sounded good right about now. And if she was being honest, it would serve her parents right if she snuck out.
“Hold on one second.” She disappeared into her closet to change into jeans and a red t-shirt. When she emerged, she was smiling. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. I feel like being crazy.”
He smirked back at her. “How very.”