Something Else Entirely

23 - Jet is something else entirely.

I tried my best to listen to Celeste as she talked about herself and asked questions about me. I tried to dance with her and not feel like an uncoordinated loser, focussing on nothing else but Celeste. But my mind was reeling at a million miles per minute, fuelled by an unrelenting anger I just couldn't shake. I eventually gave up trying, excusing myself and walking inside past Logan who still sat on the retaining wall where I left her, and ignoring both her calls of my name and the tears welling in her eyes. Tears that were already flooding my heart with guilt.

Finding Dad and Sadie seated around a table with Kendall and Carson, I pulled out my own chair and got comfortable there, already having made up my mind that I was done trying to socialise and act a normal teenager for the night. I talked with the adults until Byron came looking for me, all the while hypothesizing why Logan would assume I was some womanising scumbag. My only viable conclusion thus far is that she must be friends with Cole Thompson or something, thereby having heard the rumours about me from years ago, which is really disappointing on so many levels. I would have thought her smarter and more respectable than to even entertain the prospect of saying 'hi' to an asshat like him, let alone believe a single word he might say.

"Jet, where've you been? Been looking for you for ages," Byron said, pulling up a chair next to me. He had a beer in hand, and was looking slightly tipsy, while I, on the other hand, was dead sober.

"Just got a bit of a headache, mate, so I came inside for a break from the music," I answered, ignoring Sadie and Dad's watchful gaze.

"You're lucky you've been in here, Jetty. Too many crying drunk girls for my liking out there," he said, reaching over to grab a cracker and slice of cheese from the platter in the middle of the table.

"Crying drunk girls?" said Kendall, looking concerned.

"Yeah, Logan was crying before, but she wouldn't tell me why," Byron said, shrugging his shoulders in defeat while I buried my gaze in my can of Coke, feeling the heat of my parents' eyes on me the whole time. "I haven't seen that girl cry since primary school. Weird."

Jesus. Way to make me feel like a dick, By. Never mind the fact that I was the one morally attacked by her, and was just defending myself.

"I'm sure she'll tell me later," Byron said, stuffing an olive in his mouth. "Anyways, you gonna come back outside, Jet?"

"Sure thing," I said, feeling compelled to agree to it being as it was his birthday after all, and to avoid the silent questions being hurtled at me by my parents. Also, my damn conscience wouldn't let me not feel guilty for making Logan cry and wanting to make amends.

I got up, avoiding my parents as I did so, and followed Bryon back outside. Before we reached the back door, however, I stopped him, wanting to know what I was walking into before I did. "Hey, By? Did, uh . . . Logan say what was wrong?"

"Not really. She had a go at me for misleading her or something, but didn't say how exactly. She's insane. Love her, but she's nuts when she's drinking. But I didn't think she had had that much . . ." Byron said, continuing to talk under his own breath and trying to rationalise why Logan might be crying.

Misleading her? That doesn't make any sense.

"Odd question, but do you know whether she's dated or been friends with a guy named Cole Thompson, by any chance?" I probed. "Our age, plays footy? Gross, dirty blonde dreadlocks?"

"Isn't Cole the name of that dickhead who harassed you at school? The one with the pervy Facebook group?" No instant recognition of him being linked with Logan, so that's something, I guess.

"Yeah," I said, waiting for him to remember that they dated or something, so I could make sense of Logan's poor perception of me.

Byron just laughed. "Logan? Dating a guy who sexually exploits girls like that? Are you insane? She'd probably rip his balls right off with her bare hands if she ever met him and knew what he'd done," he said, still chuckling. "Also, that girl wouldn't be caught dead dating a guy with dreadlocks. She thinks they're filthy." Because they are . . .