chapter xiii.

     A few more weeks had passed, and Charles and Kat seemed closer than ever. Since their date, they were more touchy feely, more affectionate— but, they swore they weren't together. It was obvious to everyone that their date had went well, and Jordan did not know how to feel about it. In simple words, he didn't like it. In less simple words, he felt a million emotions. He was jealous, he was angry, but he was also conflicted. He granted permission for them to go out, he didn't think he had the right to be mad. Kat wasn't and never was his property, and she wasn't his girlfriend anymore. She could be with whoever she wanted, just like he could.

     It had been months since the split, some days he felt he was getting over it and like he was healing. On those days, seeing Kat and Charles didn't sting all that much. However, on days when he wasn't feeling that way, it hurt like a motherfucker. It either made him insanely mad or incredibly jealous, and being around them all day almost everyday didn't help whatsoever. On top of it, nearly all their scenes were together. The only time he had away from them was in his trailer or when he was sleeping whilst on set.

On this particular day, Jordan was feeling rather upset. At himself, at them, at the world really. When he first woke up, he was immediately hit with a reminder of his heartache when he saw a memory on his snapchat of him and Kat from a particularly significant date of theirs. It was from a year prior, and they were still doing rather well and traveled to Italy together. It was an incredible vacation and they made plenty of fond memories. He never would've guessed that a year later they'd be where they were now— broken up, working together, and one of them seeing someone else. It put him in a grumpy mood that only escalated when he realized what they were shooting today. Of all days for him to be feeling this way, it was the day where most of his scenes were with Kat or Charles or both. He got out of bed and showered and made himself look presentable enough to show up on set and be ready for hair and makeup. He swung by Tim Horton's on the way to work for breakfast, and soon arrived on set. Within a half hour, he was in the hair and makeup trailer with Kat, Drew, and Vanessa. He took a quick sip of his iced coffee whilst his makeup artist was grabbing something.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and rub your iced coffee in our faces, why don't ya," Drew teased, shaking his head in a joking manner.

"It's not my fault I get up early and you don't," Jordan responded, trying his best to put on a fake grin. He didn't want to take his bad day out on him, or anyone really. It wasn't fair to them just because he had a wolf hair up his ass, as Jordan himself would put it. Soon enough, he was ready to go change into his costume for this episode. It was typical Sweet Pea attire; a grey t-shirt, a flannel, his Southside Serpent jacket and some black jeans. He got on Sweet Pea's shoes and headed outside of the Sweet Pea's trailer in the trailer park set. Soon enough, Kat joined him as they got ready to film their scene.

Roberto approached them, going over the scene. "Okay guys, the camera is gonna be inside the trailer and the shot is gonna start with Sweet Pea storming inside and Remi following behind him. Kat, you have the first line, sound good? Good," both actors were on board and knew exactly what was going on. They each were extremely nervous for this scene; the dialogue didn't directly fit with their situation, but it hit a bit too close to home. The crew were in their positions, the camera was set, and Kat and Jordan got in their own positions to start the scene.

"Quiet on set, rolling! And, action!" Roberto called, and Jordan opened the door and stomped into the trailer. Kat was following close behind, slamming the door closed behind her as she called for him.

    "Sweet Pea! Sweet Pea!" She shouted, nearly chasing him to the bedroom door. Jordan went to slam it shut, as it said in the script. Kat used her hand to stop the door before continuing to go after him, then in one swift motion she grabbed his shoulder and swung him around before grabbing ahold of both shoulders so he couldn't move. He huffed angrily, staring down at her with a glare. "Don't just storm off like that, not from me."

     He scoffed, "yeah, whatever."

     "Hey! What's your problem? Why are you so pissed?" She exclaimed, visibly frustrated.

     "I don't have a problem," he said flatly, trying to turn away only to be stopped by her once again.

     "Really? You don't have a problem?" The girl challenged, raising an eyebrow. "You just go around hitting people— specifically your best friend's boyfriend— and getting into fights because you have no problem?"

     "I'm not talking to you about this right now," he spat, pushing past her to leave his bedroom. In the script, it said Sweet Pea wanted nothing more than to be away from her, and to ignore their problem.

     "Tough, because we're talking about it and handling it. Not tomorrow, not next week, now." Kat declared as she followed him into the kitchen, her arms crossed over her chest. She watched as he faced away from her, preparing a sandwich as he disregarded her. "You beat up my boyfriend, Sweet Pea. You can't expect me to just sweep it under the rug—" Jordan cut her off with a snort, shaking his head.

     "I didn't beat him up, I punched him. Yes, we got into a fight, but I barely tough him. Unless he's too chicken shit to handle that," He spoke in a "matter of fact" type of tone.

     Kat rolled her eyes, playing it seem like she was getting more pissed off by the minute, as well as confused as to why he was acting this way. "I don't get it, Sweet Pea. I don't understand your problem with Reggie, he has been nothing but nice to you since last year. He has done nothing to you."

     "Whatever you say, princess." He said, putting his hands up for a moment. He turned around, leaning against the counter with his sandwich in one hand. "It's not gonna last."

     The girl squinted her eyes at him in disbelief, "Excuse me?"

     "You heard me. I didn't stutter," he took a bite of the sandwich, staring into her eyes with a hard glare.

     "You don't know what you're talking about, Sweet Pea—" he cut her off once again.

     "Oh, I know exactly what I'm talking about. Think about it, Remi. What are the chances of someone like him and someone like you actually making it work? Slim to none, maybe even less than none." Jordan argued, the annoyance heavy in his tone.

    "Someone like me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kat grilled, taking a step closer to the man in front of her.

     "You're from the Southside, he's from the Northside. Yeah maybe he's in his "bad girl" phase right now, but eventually it's gonna fizzle out when he realizes it's not all up it's cracked up to be, to be with one of us. Then it's only a matter of time before he runs off to some Northsider princess because that is what guys him do!" He shouted, slamming his sandwich down on a plate. He quickly continued his rant, "Maybe he did change, maybe we have made peace. But I will never be cordial with someone like him as long as you're together."

     "What about me is so bad that he wouldn't want me? Hmm?" She scoffed, putting on her best pissed off look.

     "It's not because of you, it's because of him. He's that kind of guy, there's no way he isn't and you just need to accept that he isn't good enough for you!" Jordan yelled, his voice getting progressively louder.

     Kat kept shouting back, "He is nothing like that! Why can't you get it through your head?" She exclaimed, throwing her arms out in frustration.

     "Why can't you get it through your head that you shouldn't be with him?!" He got closer to her, looking down at her with a large, angry frown as he towered over her.

     "Why can't you just be happy for me?! You're supposed to be my best friend!" The brunette yelled in his face. She took a moment, taking a deep breath before speaking again. "If you are so convinced that I shouldn't be with him, Pea, then who should I be with? Huh?"

     Jordan rolled his eyes with a scoff, "Stop it." He said, but "Remi" wasn't having it. She got even closer, jabbing his chest with her finger.

     "What, now you want to be all quiet? Come on now, tell me!" She even took it a step further and slightly pushed him, just as it said in the script.

     "Remi, just leave it,"

      No, tell me who you think should I be with. If you're so convinced he isn't the one for me, then tell me who is—" The girl demanded, holding their intense eye contact until he cut her off.

     "I am! Okay?! Is that what you wanted to hear?! That I'm the one you should be with, that I'm the one who loves you, who always has loved you, not him? Huh?!" The man blurted, slamming his hand on the nearby counter. Kat's eyes widened, knowing that wasn't the exact line that was scripted.

     "Hold on," she said, her voice much softer than before, with a hint of confusion.

     "No, just get out. Go away, leave! Now!" The man boomed, watching as the girl slowly backed up as tears formed in her eyes before running out of the trailer. He ran a hand through his hair before kicking one of the chairs nearby, then plopping down in another.

"Cut!" Roberto yelled before walking over and discussing the scene with the two of them. He went over what he liked, what he didn't like, as well as those unscripted lines that he ended up liking a lot. Jordan and Kat just nodded their heads along to what he was saying, trying to avoid eye contact with each other. Something about the scene was more than just a scene. There was real emotion and hurt behind it, real anger. It shook Kat to her core, she didn't know how to feel or what to say or do. Hell, neither did Jordan. All they knew was they just had white the moment.

After speaking with Roberto, they reshot the scene a couple times. It got more intense the more they did it and the more they switched up the lines. By the end of it, Jordan was physically and mentally exhausted. Once he was given the clear to change out of his costume and be done for the day, he wasted no time getting the hell away from there. For a bit he was just driving aimlessly with no real destination, until he made the decision to go to a bar on a whim. He parked outside of the building and headed inside, going straight for the bar.

"Hey, how're you doing tonight? Can I get you something to drink?" The bartender asked.

"I'm fine, could I get a beer please?" He asked, pulling out his I.D. and his card and handing them to the bartender.

"Yeah sure thing, do you want to open a tab?" She then asked, preparing his drink. He simply nodded and accepted the beer and his cards back. He took a couple big gulps of his drink, glancing around the bar at the other people. He tried his best not to think of work or of Kat. That was proving to be difficult until Jordan locked eyes with a girl a couple seats down from him. He could see her dark black hair from there, and could somewhat make out her facial features. The more he studied her face as she seemingly studied his, he couldn't deny that she was beautiful. They kept staring at one another for a few minutes before he decided he was gonna go talk to her.

Jordan told himself in that moment it was time he put himself out there again. He and Kat had broken up months ago, it was time for him to stop waiting around for her to come back when clearly she wasn't. He took a deep breathe as he approached the raven haired beauty and took a seat next to her.

"Hey," he said, not really sure what else to start out with.

"Hey there," the woman replied, and oh my did he enjoy her voice.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Jordan asked, trying his best not to come off as too nervous or awkward. He girl stared at him before a moment before looking him up and down with a growing grin.

"Sure, why not?" She responded, "surprise me."

"Wait what?"

"With the drink. Surprise me with what you get, handsome." She responded with a small wink. He smiled at her, then going to order a green tea shot. Sure, it was an easy drink, but good nonetheless. He brought it back over to her and took a sip of his beer as she tried the drink. "Oooh, you have good taste. Thank you."

"No problem," Jordan responded, setting his drink down on the counter.

"What's your name, handsome?" The girl asked, pushing some of her hair behind her ear.

"Jordan. What's yours?" He asked in response.

She stuck out her hand, "I'm Lucy, it's nice to meet you." He took her hand in his and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you too."

—
hehehe cliffhanger