The Understorey

“Hey Elliott,” Jesse said, totally disregarding Jules. “What do you think? Huh?” He asked pointing to the new tattoo on his neck.

“What’s up Jesse?” I said, throwing a subtle nod toward Jules.

“Hey Julia”, he said sweetly, eyeing her strangely.

She ignored him and enthusiastically greeted him like she did with everyone, sweet and sunnily.

Jesse was icy cold to Jules but had recently ceased being outright mean to her. I didn’t quite get Jesse. I was starting to believe something was seriously wrong with him. His behavior was so erratic.

“So?” He asked again.

“Oh, I wondered why you had a bandage on your neck during the game. Is that why you skipped school today?”

“Hell yeah it is! Don’t say anything to my mom, though, she doesn’t know.”

“How the heck are you gonna’ keep something like that away from your mom dude?” I asked in disbelief. “Wear turtlenecks?”

The entire table laughed.

“No,” he said disdainfully. “I’ll break it to her eventually man, just not right now. I’m not doing so hot in my classes and I don’t want to give her extra fuel. Know what I’m sayin’?”

It pissed him off that I called him out like that. Not even a buttoned up shirt with a tie could cover the thing it was so graphic and it practically reached his chin but I’m betting that Jesse wasn’t on the fast track to becoming a CPA so it didn’t bother me if it didn’t bother him, to each their own.

“I do,” I said trying not to appear judgmental.

Jesse was always really sensitive about the things that made him look badly and he didn’t respond well when you ‘put his neck on the chopping block’, as he’d say, so I learned to just keep my mouth shut, most of the time.

“So Julia,” Jesse said, turning toward Jules. He kept an eye on me but eventually turned his focus on Jules.

I almost fell over in my chair. I couldn’t believe he was talking to her and by his own volition.

“Yes, Jesse?” She asked, wide eyed.

He leaned in to Jules, causing her to lean back a bit uncomfortably, and rested his forearm on the back of her chair. I threw him the dirtiest look but he ignored me.

“I was thinking, since you and my boy here seem to be such a sure thing, that you and I should get to know one another better.”

“Okay?”

“Yeah, maybe I could take you to a movie sometime and we can shoot the shit.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. I did not like where this was going. “I’d be coming too right?”

“Nope,” Jesse said, never breaking his gaze on Jules.

I opened my mouth to object but Jules silenced me with a smile.

“Uh, no, it’s okay Elliott. Jesse, I think that’s a wonderful idea. I think you and I started out on the wrong foot.”

“Over my dead body,” I said.

“That can be arranged,” he smiled.

“Come on Jesse. You can’t take my girl out. Isn’t that like a rule or something?”

“What? You don’t trust me?” He asked, doe eyed.

“Nope.”

Jesse laughed darkly toward the tile on the floor before raising his head to speak.

“It’s okay, Elliott. I would never do anything to Jules.” He smoothly mumbled something into a cough but I didn’t catch it.

“Well, that may be true,” I said, skeptical, “but I’m not comfortable with it.”

Jules laughed roughly. The table got eerily quiet as Jesse and I stared each other down.

I’m not sure what had gotten into Jesse lately. I was starting to seriously wonder about his current state of mental health. For the past few weeks, I’d catch him staring at Jules but not in such a way that made me think he wanted her, at least not in the way most teenage boys wanted her. No, he looked at her with possessiveness and always a strange, dark look.

“Cappelli, you rock my world dude!” Greg suddenly said to the table, probably trying to break the unexpected tension that emanated from Jesse.

The conversation took off at a hundred miles per hour, none of us remembering the outcome of the game until that moment. Everyone told the same story in their own words mentioning things they noticed or didn’t notice, all agreeing, except an eerily quiet Jesse, that Jules was hilarious.

On our way home, Jules sat with her forehead against her window. We were both pretty tired and didn’t talk for a minute or two. I could tell that Jules had something on her mind from the pinch in her forehead, so I asked for her thoughts.

“What are you thinkin’ about babe?”

“About Jesse,” she said sadly.

“What about him?” I shifted in annoyance. He was the last thing I wanted her thinking about. I was hoping she’d let the movie idea go.

“For a long time I thought Jesse felt that I would steal his time with you from him, but after all the effort I’ve made to make sure he was always included, he still always acts so coldly towards me. That’s why I was sort of surprised he made such an effort to want to get to know me. No, I was flabbergasted.”

“I know what you mean. Jules,” I paused, “I don’t particularly like the way he gets to know girls and I don’t have a good feeling about his movie invite. God, he was acting so weird tonight.”

“Yeah, he is sort of strange, but I think that I should do it anyway.”

“I don’t think so Jules! Do you have any sense of self preservation? It’s one thing to hang out with him with me but I’ve not been able to get a grasp on him lately. He’s changing.”

“Elliott, you said yourself that I should get to know him better.”

“Yeah, around me!” I repeated.

“Well, maybe he feels like he can’t be himself without you around. You are pretty intimidating.”

“No! No way!”

“Come on Elliott! He won’t try anything. He knows that I’d tell you if he did anything weird.”

I let out a deep breath.

“Fine.” Seriously, what’s the worst that can happen? “But let me just go on record as saying that I don’t like this at all.”

That Saturday night, I sat at Jules’ house waiting for another dude to take her to a movie. I felt like a complete and utter tool.

“This is just too weird Jules. My gut is telling me this is a bad idea.”

“Oh, Elliott. We’ve already been through all of this. It’ll be fine. I promise you. He’s making an effort.”

“Yeah, but what kind of effort?”

I heard the roar of Jesse’s engine come to a halt.

“He’s here.”

The door bell rang.

“Wanna’ get that?” She asked, applying lipstick in her vanity mirror.

“What are you doing that for Jules! You don’t need to impress Jesse!”

“Elliott! What is wrong with you?” She laughed. “Go answer the door. My parents aren’t here and I’m not finished getting ready.”

I hesitated but got the door anyway. Jesse was on the other side with something in his hand. I didn’t even greet him. He knew that I didn’t like this one bit.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“None of your business Gray.” He smiled, sticking whatever it was in his back pocket. “Come on buddy! Relax! It’s me!”

“Exactly!” I snapped. Maybe, I am being a bit overprotective. This is Jesse. I’ve known him since I was a baby! So what if he’s been acting strangely lately. I know he’d never step over my line.

I led him to the sitting room.

“Sit,” I barked and he sat, lounging his arms across the top of the sofa, peering about the room before letting out a low whistle. “Damn, Elliott. You bagged a wealthy one didn’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s it Thomas. I ‘bagged’ Jules because somehow this is all going to be mine right?” I gestured to the room.

I leaned against the banister, the wood creaking beneath my weight, as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“God you’re testy. Something botherin’ you man?”

“Why are you doing this Jesse? The truth.”

“Dude, you’ve got to relax!” He sat quiet and narrowed his eyes. “Is this about Tanen’s party? Because I apologized for that already! I’m sorry! How many more times can I say it?”

“This isn’t about Tanen’s party and you know it.”

“ I’m just taking her to a film Elliott. We’ll talk. I’ll get to know her. I’m doing this for you remember? Then, I’ll bring her right back here. No harm. No foul.”

“No! I mean, no,” I added quietly, “You can bring her back to my place afterwards.”

I smiled.

“Okay.” He eyed me carefully, the corners of his mouth turning up. “This is serious for you, isn’t it Elliott?”

“Very.” I walked across the room and stood over him. He didn’t even flinch. I kept my arms crossed. “I don’t feel the necessity to tell you how much I love her Jesse and that if you let one strand of hair on her head get harmed that we’ll have serious problems.”

“If it wasn’t necessary, then why did you even bother to tell me?”

I stared him down but turned toward the hallway when I heard Jules’ padding down the corridor. She was a vision in dark red. Dark red with dark hair. Wow. Jesse stood up next to me and elbowed me.

“Don’t piss me off Jesse,” I gritted through my teeth.

He rolled his eyes at me.

“Hi Jesse!” Jules said.

“Hi beautiful,” he responded.

I could have hit him. He left my side and grabbed Jules to hug her. I really could have hit him.

“That was.....unexpected,” she said with a laugh.

“Well, I figure I’d make a concerted effort. You know? For Elliott’s sake.”

I snorted.

“Here,” he said, “I got you something.”

He pulled a little book from the back of his jeans pocket and handed it to her. She took it and read the title. Her eyes shot wide.

“The Complete Collection of Poems by Edgar Allen Poe! How did you know I wanted this?”

“I remember you mentioning it at lunch two weeks ago.”

Jerk. I wanted to have been the one who thought to give that to her.

Jealousy is one of those things that seem to take you over, clouds your judgment and makes you crazier than you ever thought possible. It does funny things to me because I’m ninety-nine percent sure I think I go a little out of my head. Green doesn’t even begin to cover it. I was jealous. Insanely jealous because I knew how things went down when girls were with Jesse, not that I couldn’t trust Jules, it was he who couldn’t be trusted.

Before Jules, if we were at a party, or anywhere in public really, Jesse was the one the girls made a beeline for with his pretty boy features and trendy clothing. So, naturally I may be a little self-conscious about this whole thing.

I am by no means a ‘pretty boy’. I’m tall, big, broad, yet lean. I have hard, rugged features, except for, I’ll admit, a bit of baby fat on my face. I don’t wear any kind of hair product. I’ve never even seen moisturizer. I wash with bar soap and if someone dared to come at me with an emery board I’d tell them to stick it where the sun don’t shine. I only wear cologne because Jules seems to like it.