Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Love is Strong	By : harry102 Category: +M through R > New Adventures of Jonny Quest, The Views: 8124 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
“Hey, Jonny. Listen, just give me a call back ok,” Jessie started in a shaky voice. “Please, please call back. I think we just had a huge miscommunication. Of course I’m coming home for Christmas. I’ll wait up for you to call, ok. So just call.” Jessie was so thrown by what just happened. One minute she was sitting on her bed convinced, after two hours of agonizing over what to do, that Jonny would be able to help her figure everything out. That just talking to him would remove all the doubts from her mind, but things didn’t happen like she had planned.

She was supposed to call Jonny, and his voice was supposed to make it all crystal clear. He should have made Jordan Matthews a complete non-issue. She loves him so much, but she really wishes that she didn’t. Her life would be so much easier if she didn’t. She wants to forget about him, and the way he makes her feel. That mixture of pure excitement coupled with the sense that she’s totally safe with him in every way. She wants things to go back to the way that they were, when they were best friends taking on the world together. When she was able to be right there for him whenever he needed her, and vice versa.

Mostly, she just wants to know if he feels the same way. Jessie has always prided herself on not acting like the typical teenage girl, obsessing over guys and overanalyzing every second of her life with friends. When it comes to Jonny, however, she can’t stop herself. It’s never helped that their friends in high school always said they would make the perfect couple, or that it’s so obvious that he’s in love with her. Jessie wishes that his feelings were obvious to her, but they’re not. The best, and only real, female friend that Jessie has is Carrie, who’s still in high school with Jonny. Jessie still talks with her often, and always finds that she carefully steers the conversation towards Jonny to see if Carrie will tell her something that Jonny hasn’t. In particular, where things are going with Mary. She feels guilty after she does it, but she does it anyway.

Jessie has always been able to find solace in the fact that Carrie ends every phone conversation by telling her that she needs to open up her eyes and see that Jonny loves her. For the last month, however, Carrie hasn’t said that once, and it’s driving Jessie crazy. Jessie doesn’t know if it’s because Carrie has finally just given up on her own, or if something occurred that would make her think suddenly think that Jonny doesn’t love her. Did Jonny say something to her? Is he acting more serious about Mary? What? The worst part is that she can’t just come right out and ask Carrie or, even worse, Jonny because it’d be embarrassing, she has too much pride, and because she’s just plain scared of what they might say.

Deep down, she’s always thought they would end up together, and the prospect of finding out otherwise hurts too much. If and when she does find out that he’s really moved on with someone else, she wants to be in a place where she can be happy for him, or, at least in a place where he won’t be able to tell that he just broke her heart. She knows that it’ll be almost impossible for her to fake being happy for him because he knows her so well. He can tell what she’s feeling half the time just by the tone in her voice, so she won’t stand a chance face to face. Obsessing over this possibility has led her to try really hard over the last few months to meet new people so she can move on too.

In high school, she never had to worry about it because she was right there with him and they spent most of their time together. She secretly loved the fact that he always picked hanging out with her over other girls. It was annoying that 99.9 of the girls at Rockport High hated her just for the simple fact that she lived with him. She actually made a lot of female friends during her freshman year. However, once Jonny joined her, the claws came out. Seeing the amount of time she spent with Jonny and learning that she lived with him, all the girls would ask Jessie politely if they were dating. Jessie eventually learned that it didn’t matter whether she said yes or no, but she always said no. She can still feel the blood drain from her face every time a girl asks her that question. After she’d tell these girls, her supposed ‘friends,’ that Jonny wasn’t not her boyfriend, she’d watch as their little faces lit up like Christmas, and then she’d be asked to put in a good word with Jonny, or to set up a date.

Jessie would always relay these conversations back to Jonny because she didn’t want him to find out about them later and question why she didn’t mention it. Her dad always taught her to never put herself in a situation without knowing at least two ways to get out of it, and she knows that she wouldn’t have been able to lie to him if he asked her why. Just like she wouldn’t be able to lie to him now. Jonny never seemed interested in any of the girls, and Jessie was always so relieved. However, there was the tiny little catch that she always had to go back and tell the girl that it wasn’t gonna happen, which caused problems. Half of the girls would think that she didn’t really say anything to him and the other half would think that she said something negative about them to make Jonny say no. Either way, she was the bad guy. She was the reason he didn’t go out with them. It couldn’t possibly be that he just wasn’t interested.

By the end of sophomore year, Jessie had more than a few girls who tried to make her life very difficult. No matter what they did though, she never let them get a reaction out of her, which seemed to fuel the girls even more throughout the years. Jonny could always sense when she was on the edge and he’d reel her back in. It was so hard not to use what she knew to kick the crap out of those girls when they would spread rumors about her sleeping around, or something worse. It was even harder to keep Jonny from doing something about it. However, in the end, they decided that never giving them the satisfaction was sweeter. If something nasty was spread around about her all weekend, Jonny would make sure to stick even closer to her on Monday than normal, and he’d have his arm around her for most of the day. If he didn’t believe something was true, or just not a big deal, than most others would follow suit.

It always annoyed her that her school was so immature. The kids there would change their minds about her every five minutes just based on what other people said or thought, and never because of who she was or what she did. She doesn’t know what she would have done without Jonny during those years, but then again, he was the reason most of it happened in the first place. Not that she ever blamed him. It wasn’t his fault that everyone either wanted to be him, be with him, or just hated him because they were jealous. He never asked for any of it, and she knew that he didn’t want it. It always impressed her so much how he handled everything. All that they went through during high school together brought them closer, and he was worth it. When they didn’t like the way that other people were acting, they’d just retreat into their own little world where it only mattered what the other thought. Screw everyone else.

Now that they’re apart, however, things are different. He’s going out with all those girls, and Jessie doesn’t know why he’s doing it. Maybe he was just waiting for her to leave so he could have fun with them. Maybe he’s a lot more like her dad than she thought. Or maybe he’s doing the same thing as her, just trying to move on. The problem is that she doesn’t know which one it is, and it’s driving her crazy. Her emotions towards him keep going from cold to extremely hot depending on which scenario she convinces herself is the most probable at any given time. One minute she’s angry with him, for no reason she has any right to be angry for, and wishes that she never knew he existed. The next she doesn’t think she can go another second without telling him that she loves him. And then, of course, there are those times when she’s lying alone in bed at night thinking about him, and she just wants him.

The longer she goes without seeing him, the more she feels herself trying to find ways to protect her heart against him. She’s never told anyone, but he’s broken her heart in small ways so many times. He’s never done it intentionally of course, but still. She’s just glad that she hasn’t been in Rockport for the last few months to have to watch him with all his new girls, especially Mary. God, for the life of her, Jessie can’t think of what it is that he sees in that girl. There are the obvious reasons. Mary’s a real life Barbie doll and she’s easy to boot, but Jessie refuses to believe that Jonny’s like that. He never has been. Why would he change all of a sudden? Maybe she’s just fooling herself though. He is a guy, and an eighteen-year-old guy at that. Why would he end up being any different than the rest? The conflicting part is that she knows, deep down in her soul and like she knows the back of her hand, that he’s not like every other guy.

Jessie’s dad always taught her to trust her gut. He’d tell her that she comes from a long line of people with great instincts. Over the years, she’s really come to believe that too. Her family has been put into more dangerous situations than she likes to count, but her instincts have helped them to survive numerous times. There have been times that she’s spent with Jonny where everything inside of her is screaming that he loves her, but she’s never fully trusted that feeling because she wants it to be true. She’s afraid that she’s only felt it so strongly because she wants it so badly.

Jessie has spent most of her life building up a wall to protect herself from being hurt the way that her parents hurt each other, and she’s also spent most of her life pretending like Jonny hasn’t always been inside that wall. She knows that he is, but she refuses to full on admit it to herself or, god forbid, anybody else. That would make her vulnerable, which is a position she rarely allows herself to be in. She’s strong, she’s proud, and she’s stubborn. She’s Race Bannon’s daughter, and she feels the pressure of living up to his name and the expectations that follow. In all reality, Jessie knows that those expectations are really her just her own. Her father loves her unconditionally, but she’s always felt like showing any weakness would lessen her in his eyes, or make her seem like she needs to be taken care of. She doesn’t need to be taken care of, and she certainly doesn’t want to be taken care of. She just wants a partner. I man that’s not gonna stand behind her, or try to stand in front of her. She wants someone that will stand beside her no matter what. The only problem is that she found that person when she was six years old, but just doesn’t know what to do about it. More than anything, she’s afraid that he doesn’t feel the same way, and that her heart will never settle less.

Sitting on her bed going through all of this yet again, her concentration is suddenly broken by the sound of a key in the door. She quickly threw her phone aside, wiped off the remaining tears on her face, and sat down in front of her laptop to act like she was busy.

“Hey, Jess,” she heard her roommate whisper as she closed the door behind her.

“Hey, Jen,” she replied just as softly. “Why are we whispering?”

At Jess’s question, Jen got a semi-perplexed look on her face and then said, “I have absolutely no idea,” in her normally above average voice. “I was just outside saying goodnight to Paul, and he kept telling me to be quiet. I guess he didn’t want a repeat of last week,” she said with a smile and started walking towards the bathroom.

“I’d imagine not,” Jessie replied as she walked away. Jessie couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head at the way Jen said ‘goodnight.’ Jen and her boyfriend Paul have been known to get a little crazy in strange places all over the campus, but last week they got caught by a resident advisor in the common room. Needless to say, Paul has been walking on eggshells around their building ever since because he’s gonna be band from the dormitory if he steps out of line again.

Not that Jen seems to care. That girl doesn’t brake for anyone. It’s one of the reasons that Jessie likes her. The main reason is that she reminds her so much of Carrie. It’s like having a little taste of home with her everyday. She’s also really grateful that she didn’t get stuck with someone whose only purpose in life is to study and get straight A’s, which, incidentally, is the only purpose in life for most students at Harvard. Jessie doesn’t know how she lucked out with Jen, she’s just happy that she did. They get their work done, but know how to have a good time too.

She’s found a few other kids on campus with the same philosophy, and really likes the little group of friends that she’s formed. Coming to Harvard was like a fresh start in that way. Her friends like her for who she is, completely independent of Jonny. It’s kinda nice. She’s had so many great conversations with people that have done some truly amazing and interesting things. Meeting so many well-rounded and intelligent men over the last few months has made Jessie feel like she really can move past Jonny. She finds herself to be excited before her dates, and she’s had a really great time with most of the guys she’s been out with. The boys in Rockport definitely don’t hold a candle. Most of the men at Harvard are gentlemen, and they treat her right. She’s also only been dating older men too, which helps.

However, despite all of their great qualities, Jessie’s never been able to get past the first date, until Jordan anyway. She can never give the guy a good explanation either. She always reverts to the cliché, ‘It’s not you, it’s me,’ type excuses. She can’t tell them the real reason, which is a certain blonde in Maine. After every date, she calls Jonny to tell him about it and, after telling him all that’s happened and listening to his opinions, she always comes to the realization that the guy isn’t good enough. Now, some people might think that she reaches this conclusion because Jonny tells her that the guy is not good enough, which he always does, but the truth is that she reaches it on her own after she hangs up. Because until she can hang up and not wish that she had just spent the whole night with Jonny, after just five minutes of talking to him versus hours of actually having fun with a great guy, than the guy is not going to be good enough. Until she can get through half the date without wishing the guy were Jonny, or at least the first ten minutes without mentioning his name, the guy will not be good enough. In reality, all of these guys are great, but her heart just won’t let her see that right now.

One of the things that’s always scared her most about the idea of getting into a relationship with Jonny is how reckless he is. If she let herself love him out in the open, she doesn’t know if she’d survive it if something ever happened to him. Hell, she doesn’t even think she could survive it now, and considering her family’s history and his particular propensity for trouble, the chance of something happening is much greater than for most. Just thinking about it makes her feel like she can’t breath. She can’t lie though. She also really loves that aspect of his personality. It one of the reasons they have so much fun together. He has this amazing ability to just let go and have fun, and when she’s with him, she does too. He can make her do things, and feel things, that no else on this planet can.

Out and out, he’s just the best all around person that she knows. He’s caring and sweet. He protects her and defends her no matter what, which, although annoying at times, is much appreciated. He’s funny, and has a great laugh. He’s so much smarter than he would ever give himself credit for. He always puts his family first. He works so hard at everything he does. A lot of people think he’s so rich that he gets everything handed to him. That would certainly be possible if he wasn’t so stubborn. He won’t let anyone give him something just because of the Quest name. He works so hard for everything, and he wants to make it on his own. There’s not a doubt in Jessie mind that if the Quest name wasn’t already synonymous with success, it would be very soon. And it certainly doesn’t hurt matters, or help matters in Jessie case, that he’s built like a Greek god and is about ten times better looking than any other man she has ever seen. And it doesn’t help that, despite all of this, he doesn’t think he’s God’s gift to women.

Most of the students at Rockport call him Romeo. Jessie’s always thought it was so cute how that embarrasses him. The truth is, he could have any girl he wants whether he knows it or not. Maybe he’s finally realized this, and that’s why he’s going out with all of these girls. ‘God, stop driving yourself crazy with assumptions and possible scenarios,’ she tells herself. Before she could comply, however, her roommate’s voice interrupted her thoughts again.

“Do you know that we run out of hot water quicker and quicker every time I enter the damn shower,” she steamed while riffling through her drawers for a night shirt.

“Yeah, but look on the bright side,” Jessie humored her, “at least we don’t have communal bathrooms like most schools.”

“Ah, praise the Lord. I don’t know how people do that. I would go crazy,” she replied honestly. “So, let’s get to the good stuff. What happened tonight with Mr. Wonderful you lucky bitch?”

Jessie couldn’t help but giggle. Jen was nothing if not blunt. “It was fine,” she answered her, knowing that would not be a good enough answer. Honestly, the last thing she wanted to do right now was recount her night with Jordan. She’s spent enough time thinking about that already.

“You are gonna have to give me more than that darling. I’m not gonna be able to sleep if you don’t. Have you at least kissed him yet? His lips are just so amazing,” she gushed like a twelve-year-old teenybopper.

“Yes, we kissed, but it wasn’t a big deal or anything,” Jessie sighed.

“Not a big deal?” Jen repeated flabbergasted. “How can you call your first kiss with the future father of your children no big deal.”

Jessie didn’t answer for a second because she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “What the hell are you talking about?” she asked in a disbelieving voice.

“What do you mean what am I talking about? The too of you are so perfect for one another, and he’s absolutely crazy about you. I mean, he talks about you all the time and he’s asked you to spend Christmas and this summer with him, which, by the way, I think your insane if you refuse.”

“Yeah,” Jessie started, “but don’t you think he’s moving a little too fast. We’ve only been on a few dates, and we’ve barely kissed?”

“Haven’t the two of you known each other since you were little?” Jen asked. “That is so romantic. He’s probably always loved you. Your gonna grow up and marry your best friend from when you were little. That’s like every girl’s fantasy,” she said with a big sigh.

“He’s not my best friend,” Jessie automatically responded without thinking, and then realized from the look on Jen’s face that she said it more harshly than she had intended. “I mean, before last month, we haven’t even seen each other since we were four. I barely remember it. I know what you meant though,” she quickly recovered.

“Hey, girl. I’m just trying to let you know that there are about a million girls that would kill to be in your position right now. I don’t want you to screw it up. He’s such a great guy,” Jen said sincerely.

“I know you just looking out for me,” Jessie responded. “I really do appreciate it too. It’s just that I’m not sure how I feel yet. It’s only been a month.”

“So what’s holding you back from jumping in with this gift from the heavens,” Jen asked with a smile.

The question caught Jessie completely off guard, but she never got the chance to answer because she heard her phone ringing. Before the first ring completed she had the phone in her hand, and her heart was going about a mile a minute. She just looked at the phone for a minute, totally oblivious to Jen’s curious stares. Without saying I word she walked out of the room to answer.

“I guess I should have asked who’s holding you back,” Jen said quietly to herself as she watched the door close.

In the common room, Jessie’s hands were actually shaking as she answered on the fourth ring. She’s been waiting and willing for the phone to ring for to hours, and now she almost wishes that it didn’t.

“Hey,” she said quietly as she sank down onto a leather couch.

“Hey,” he replied just as quietly. He sounded sad, and it completely tore at her heart.
- 5
- 6
- 7
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Love is Strong