To this day, Molly couldn't think of that afternoon without cringing, without remembering every horrid moment. God, she'd been stupid! Taking a random, accidental erection and making it like it meant something. The remembered humiliation was almost fresh...

*****************

Senior Year...

******************

What was he even thinking up there?

Molly ran for the fridge and opened it, standing in the cold for a moment -- since she obviously needed it! -- and trying to think how to fix this. She'd basically come on to him up there. At least one of them had the sense to joke it away... if that had even worked. 

Were they okay?

She could hear him coming down, so she grabbed a cold bottle of water and forced half of it down her throat, ignoring the ache between her eyes. She could hear him talking, going on about hydration and electrolytes, but she just kept drinking because that meant she wouldn't have to talk.

He seemed nervous. And of course he was! She'd just thrown herself at him, practically batting her lashes and begging him to roll around on the bed with her. How could she smooth this over, maybe somehow reverse things?

That was when she had the brilliant idea of telling him about Rachel...

Yup. That was a real smart move. It led to another stupid fight, which was put on hold when they opened their letters. It was even completely forgotten when it seemed like their entire lives – or at least the next four years of them – were about to work out perfectly. Then she picked the fight up again when she realized she was hugging a very shirtless Jake and... Damn it, something had to be done about it.

And it wasn't even him she was mad at, it was herself. No matter how she tried to push the feelings away, they kept popping up. And she was taking it out on Jake, which she knew was really unfair. It wasn't his fault!

*****************

"Stupid whack-a-mole feelings," Molly muttered, now blasting the mud down the street since her car was clear. It was very satisfying until she realized she was wasting water and guiltily thought someone should confiscate her Earth Day T-shirt collection as she took three tries to turn off the pressure washer. 

Jake would probably know how to do it. Stupid, handy, perfect Jake!

Molly sank to the curb, missing him as she watched the last of the little mud river go into the storm drain. It was nothing to that summer, of course, that summer apart which had actually been her galaxy-brained idea. 

Too bad she'd hated every second of it.

By the time Jake got with Rachel, she finally gave in to Tommy, who'd been after her since at least eighth grade. He was definitely more invested in their relationship than she was and she was invested in the idea that he was not Jake and she really wanted to prove she could be with the anti-Jake, but it turned out Tommy was the anti-Jake in the worst possible way.

Jake was steady and dependable and Tommy was whiny and always itching for a fight - over every second she spent with Jake, over how she listened to NPR in the car, over how she should at least look at schools near his when she'd been accepted to Ithaca for months by then. She made sure he knew she had no interest in some ridiculous party school in Arizona, NPR was obviously too smart for him, and that Jake... Well, Jake would always come first. She didn't say the last, but it was at the root of several/many fights.

Yeah. It hadn't been the best idea, getting with Tommy, but at least the fighting was enough to keep her distracted from Jake and Rachel, who never fought at all, probably because Jake did whatever she said. Jake always talked about it fondly, like a fun summer thing, possibly because all he could see was that he was having sex and lots of it. But Molly found it hard to watch. Rachel was shallow and vain, always ordering him around and deciding where they went and who with, which was never with her. And, of course, Tommy never understood her friendship with Jake.

Consequently, she and Jake were like strangers that summer. Sure, they saw each other every day, but it wasn't the same. They waved across the street, ended up at the same places – hard to avoid in this podunk town – and even went on two extremely awkward double dates. But they weren't Jake and Molly anymore. They were like neighbors who happened to see each other out and about, barely getting a moment to just watch a crappy movie or text each other a joke or even go over college prep.

It was a huge relief when everything finally fell apart. Once Jake and Rachel cut it off, she took a page out of Jake's book and cut Tommy loose with what she thought was an elegant speech about their divergent paths. Tommy called her a stuck-up bitch, proving that he truly was a dumbass. But she didn't care, especially not when she had Jake back.

They made up for lost time freshman year, having almost every meal together when classes would allow. Even in sophomore year, when they both got busier, they made time every day for at least one meal and movie nights twice a week. It was good. It was normal. And Molly was happy to have it again.

She decided to forget about these muddy feelings for Jake. Any day now, she'd meet someone who could make them go away. Then they could simply be friends, without her feeling like she was harboring a secret agenda.

It had to happen at some point, right?

*****************

What if it worked?

Jake couldn't get the idea out of his head. What if it worked and he and Molly could be everything they were, except more and better? Maybe this was it and there was nothing after her. Because this was Molly. How could there be? That was actually scary as hell, but one thing was scarier...

What if it didn't work? And what if it destroyed everything they had now? In those brief moments with the crystals, that last question didn't even register. He'd felt so sure. He preferred that feeling. He wanted it back.

Then again, how could anyone ever be sure? Maybe he just needed to jump in there. Maybe he needed to see where this could go without worrying about what would happen after.

Whatever happened, it would change everything and that was fucking terrifying.

But, damn it, he wanted to find out more than he wanted to wonder forever.

Can't say no again.

He was willing to test that.

*********************

Molly trudged back to the house -- wet, exhausted, defeated, and only brightening up a little at the thought of bacon mac and cheese and finally giving her dad a gift he didn't already have a cooler version of.

She almost hated that gift now. It had been the start of all the confusion just when she thought things were clearing up for her. Then came Juliet, the mud, the bathroom, those stupid rocks! 

She still wasn't sure what it was about the rocks. There had to be some explanation besides magic. And she wasn't sold on roofie powder or hippie hypnosis either, even though she had suggested both of those as some kind of answer.

Then again, wasn't the fact that Jake was absolutely convinced there was magic a kind of hypnosis? And wasn't the fact that he seemed so sure they had power equally as bad as if they actually did? For a second, she'd even thought they were working on her. Then again, maybe that was just Jake.

She dared any girl to resist a very determined Jake Roberts all over her. And he was determined. It was like he was chasing those stupid bits of glass down and tormenting her in the process. The fact that she got through it said volumes about her strength and willpower and... possible insanity.

Why hadn't she let it happen? Hadn't she been crazy about him since she found out what boy-craziness was?

Except it didn't count, not when Jake thought he was under the thrall of magic sex crystals. Of all the ways for things to come to a head, she'd have never bet on that one.

Maybe it didn't matter how it happened. Maybe it was about time, even way past time something happened so they could talk it out, deal with it, and maybe – just maybe – she could put her muddy feelings for him away after all this time.

Molly stopped short of getting in the shower, thinking of one thing that could help. By the time she had the four-ounce jar marked "raven" in her hand, things were getting clearer.

**********************

Jake was wondering how he could possibly be clearer. It was the third time he'd tried to explain it to the guy, and he was absolutely not getting it. "Look, I know you're not a jewelry shop, but I've seen crystals and things in the window before."

"Man, that's just for aesthetic," said the bleary-eyed cashier - or Zeke, according to his nametag.

"Okay, but do you know anywhere that sells crystals?"

"Dude..." The guy leaned in, his eyes bleary and earnest. "That shit'll fuck you up. Me to you, Man, life is too precious!"

"For the last time," Jake ground out, "I'm not looking for meth."

"Yeah?" Zeke reached across the counter and gripped his arm, smiled a little tearily. "I'm glad I got through to you, man, for real."

"Yeah, thanks, you changed my life," Jake said dully. He'd tried multiple routes of questioning with this guy. Once they got past the idea that "Patience" wasn't a code word, Jake was not a narc, and several of Zeke's rants about the red tape around Pennsylvania's medical MJ status, Jake was exhausted. And this was the sixth place he'd been to!

"Hey, that's what I do. But seriously, I can give you my guy's number if you need something for the DTs."

"I think I'm good, thanks." Jake got out of there, making a mental note never to indulge during daylight hours again. If he came off like Zeke after toking on a Tuesday afternoon, no wonder his philosophy professor talked to him like he was five.

Between three jewelry stores, one antiques mart, a souvenir shop halfway up the Poconos, and now this place, he was about to give up. None of them had a vendor named Patience or anything crystal that wasn't hanging off a lampshade. He'd even reduced his ask from three stones to just the two. He didn't need the clarity or the focus anymore. He had enough of both. He needed the boost.

At this point, he was almost desperate enough to try things the natural way with Molly. Maybe he'd get close and she'd get close and then the both of them would... get closer. But every time he thought about it, he cringed so hard he felt like his head was caving in. He needed some kind of crystal intervention, here. The idea of approaching her without it was tying his gut in knots.

Maybe he should go back and get Zeke's guy's number. He wasn't sure if his churning innards were mental or whatever-the-hell. All he'd had to eat today was some cereal and toast, an omelet, some more toast, some home fries, a muffin, a burger and fries, two burritos, and some tater tots. Maybe that was the problem - not enough dairy. His mom always said it settled the stomach. He did glance back at the head shop, but decided to be a responsible grown-up and go to the pharmacy instead.

He'd hardly looked at the antacids when he saw her, and not the her he wanted to see. It wasn't like he could avoid Juliet. She was right at the counter, messing with a "Jewelry by Juliet" display as an obviously lovestruck cashier talked to her... or listened to her talk. Poor guy. He used to have that problem, too.

He grabbed a pack of Tums and steeled himself to face her except, when Juliet spotted him at the counter, she actually started to hide behind it. But they'd seen each other under fluorescent lights by then. It was too late for either of them to escape. Then again, he had to wonder why she seemed embarrassed. He was the one who walked away yesterday, practically in mid-conversation, to go cop a feel off his best friend.

Once again, he wondered what the hell he was doing. But he was not chickening out now. He'd come too far.

As for Juliet, it seemed like she was the one chickening out, giving him an awkward wave and loudly saying she needed to get something from her car to the lovestruck kid. Maybe that was for the best. That kid was never going to ring him up with her around.

When he got outside, Tums in hand, there Juliet was, leaning on her car as if waiting for him. "Hey, Jack." She gave a tittering laugh. "Yeah, I know it's Jake. It's like our little joke, remember? I was being funny."

He forced a laugh and popped an antacid. "You got me."

She tittered again. "People always tell me I'm so funny. I'm so glad you think so, too! Anyway, for reals..." Her face turned dead serious. "I had to, I don't know, see if we could get back to normal."

He stared at her. He wasn't sure what normal was supposed to be with Juliet, but he only had a couple days and 2.5 conversations to go by.

"I get it if you're still mad." She seemed to mistake his confused silence for anger.

"What? No! I'm not mad! I thought maybe you were..."

"I was. I was super mad, but I was probably being jealous and petty. You should know I'm not at all good at dealing with rejection. It just never happens to me," she said with a look of bewilderment.

He'd bet. "Juliet, I didn't mean-"

"No, you don't have to apologize. I had no right to be mad in the first place," Juliet said with a sheepish look. "I thought it over and it's obvious you and Molly have a history."

That was an understatement. He couldn't think of anyone he knew better than Molly and vice-versa. Still, did that mean anything? Maybe he was feeling it, but was she?

"You've been nothing but super sweet to me, Jake," Juliet was saying and he forced himself to pay attention, with how sincere she sounded.

He smiled, hoping to lighten it up. "Well, I think you're great, too. It's only-"

"You've been supportive of my career and my goals. It's like we've totally bonded, so I really didn't want to be mad at you, but it was super hard for me because it seemed like, as soon as I told you I was interested in her, you suddenly made some kind of move."

Her?

He dropped his smile. He tried not to drop his jaw.

"But I thought it over and, even if she wasn't into you, it doesn't mean she'd necessarily be into me," Juliet went on.

"Oh, good. I was... hoping you'd see it that way." What the damned hell?

"I guess I read her wrong, the way she was joking and laughing and how she made sure to tell me you guys aren't dating and 'just friends,' like I thought she was trying to tell me something."

"Oh, yeah. Some girls can be hard to read," he said weakly.

"She seemed so flirty and cute."

"She is pretty damned cute," he had to agree. The rest of it was still like a wet slap to his brain. How stupid was he?

"Obviously, I was seeing what I wanted to see. I had this silly little crush on her in high school. Not like I could do anything about it then, with her being an underclassman. It just wasn't done. You know, also the whole gay thing," she finished hurriedly with a sigh. "It's like I was saying. There's so much pressure in high school to be a certain way, but now... Well, you know. We can be who we are now."

"Yes," he said nodding several times. "That was what you were saying. And I understood it," he lied.

"Anyway, I was also mad because..." She preened a little. "I usually have way more luck with the girls."

"I bet." If it was anything close to her luck with the guys...

"And, after I thought about it, I was kind of relieved she's not on my team. I was actually questioning my allure, which was super bumming me out. Anyhoo, it seemed extra pointless yesterday, when I realized - like two minutes into the bazaar - that she was so obviously into you."

"Obviously?" Yeah. He really needed to hear a lot more about that. He leaned in. She'd said something before, but... "You think it was obvious? How obvious? Obvious in what way?"

"I don't know. Just all the stuff. Like, if I talked to her, she kept looking at you. Then she never even looked at my table unless you were there."

He supposed he had noticed that, but never thought it meant anything. Juliet could still be reading Molly about as well as he'd read Juliet.

"Then, that morning, she said all this stuff about you two getting closer the other day, that you guys had come to some kind of understanding."

"She did, huh?"

"I mean, she basically told me to back off and... I mean, I can take a hint. It did sting for a second, though. But then I remembered," Juliet shrugged, "I'm really pretty, so..."

"You are," Jake said with a nod.

"Thanks," Juliet said with grin..

Jake found himself grinning, too. Molly, at that moment, thought she was putting Juliet off Jake, not even knowing Juliet was never on him. That little sneak, running around sabotaging his love life.

If it wasn't on before, it was really on now.

"I'm not bitter or anything," Juliet went on. "Like, except if you guys aren't working it out. That would be a real waste of a perfectly good girl."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," he said with relish. "I have plans for her." Several of them. Before, the plan had been to get his hands on the crystals, find her, and kiss her stupid face off until she admitted she wanted him, too. That was when he had one measly sentence to go off. Now he had even more evidence, and definitely more plans.

"Good," Juliet gushed. "Because I'm still super looking forward to our lunch!"

"You know what, Juliet? Lunch will be on me any time you choose and anywhere you want if you can help me out with a couple things..."

TBC

***************

LOL. Everybody wants a piece of Molly. That girl is in high demand.