Chapter 35

Devon wiped down one of her empty tables. Her shift was almost over, and she was trying to get all of her stuff done before Sean came by to pick her up. She looked up and glanced out the window when she saw a car pull into The Dot parking lot.

Devon watched Jay Hogart step out of his Civic and proceeded across the street to the gas station nearby. She quickly shook out of her trance when she realized that she was staring at him. Jay was Sean's best friend here in Toronto, but she had yet to hang out with the guy. Of course there was the "interaction" that took place in front of her locker, but that was hardly considered "hanging out." She couldn't get over what Sean did to Jay. Sean was just letting out some steam, and unfortunately, his best friend just so happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ever since that altercation, the two haven't spoken, or even acknowledged each other.

Devon sighed as she stuffed more napkins into the napkin dispenser. What she wanted to do was go out there and keep Jay from leaving. If he could hang out in the parking lot a little longer, he will most likely run into Sean just as he came by to pick her up. But of course, that wouldn't do any good. All Jay had to do was get into his car and speed off. The only way for him to stay put would be to get his attention and piss him off long enough for him to stay.

Devon paused for a moment, then looked up. She took another peek out the window towards Jay's Civic. It was currently vacant, which only meant that he was still in the gas station.

"Hmmm…" Devon muttered to herself, then the corners of her mouth slid up into a sly grin. She had an idea…

Jay grinned devilishly as he walked out of the gas station with a case of beer. The gas attendant was new, so his fake ID worked like a charm. He proceeded to make his way across the street towards The Dot's parking lot where his Civic was parked. He reluctantly slowed down when he noticed a peculiar figure leaning against his car.

Devon casually slipped her hands into her jean pockets as she leaned against Jay's car door. She flashed a mischievous smile.

Jay didn't see Devon's smile as neither charming or friendly. It was almost threatening. "What do you want?" he asked. Actually, he really meant to ask 'What did you do to my car?'

Devon pushed herself away from the car. She glided her hand down the hood of his Civic. "I was just admiring your car. It's in such great shape."

Jay darted towards his car, then circled around it to see if Devon dented it anywhere. "Well…you can stop doing that now." Devon's demeanor only made Jay nervous. There wasn't a scratch on his car, but somehow, he knew she must have done something.

Devon lifted up her hands defensively to prove that she had no intentions of vandalizing his property. "I come in peace," she replied. "I just want to talk."

Jay didn't reply back. He unlocked his front door and placed the beer on the passenger seat. Maybe if he didn't say anything, she would go away.

"I just want to talk about…" She scrambled in her head to find an interesting subject to stall on. "…street racing."

Jay turned around to look at her. What the hell was she babbling about? He closed the driver's side door. "…What?"

"Street racing!" Devon replied back more confidently. 'Just roll with it,' she thought to herself. 'Sean should be here any minute.' "Your car would be great for street racing."

Jay crossed his arms. He might as well entertain himself. "Really," he replied more in a stated response than a question.

"Uh, yeah! In fact, Sean would be the best person to vamp your car up for racing."

Jay shook his head. How did he not know that this was coming? "Yeah, well, you can forget about that. Sean obviously has other things going on right now." He turned around and opened his car door.

"Jay, I just need a minute. Just to talk about Sean—"

"Look, kid," Jay interrupted. "I don't have time for this. I've got places to go. Besides, Sean's got other friends in Degrassi-- go bug THEM!"

"But if you can just listen!" Devon pleaded, but it was too late. Jay slammed the car door shut. She rolled her eyes. "I don't see why you're not talking to him," she replied loud enough to soak through his closed window. "You guys BECAME friends after getting into a pointless fight. There's no reason to end your friendship because of another one!" She stopped right there. There was no use in trying anymore. She gave a look of disappointment towards Jay's direction, long enough for him to see then turned around to walk away. The second she turned away and her face was out of sight, she quickly grinned to herself. 'Now for plan B…'

Jay turned away and rolled his eyes. All he wanted was for Devon to stop babbling! He fished into his front pocket and pulled out his keys. As he was doing that, he couldn't help but absorb Devon's last comment. He smirked to himself. She was right. He and Sean DID become friends after they got into a fight. In fact, he couldn't even remember what they were fighting about. All he knew was that Sean showed zero evidence of hesitation. Not only did that get Jay's attention, it got his respect right away. Now that it had happened a second time, why SHOULD he be mad at Sean about it? Sean was just being Sean. He quickly shook out of his thoughts. He was annoyed with the fact that he was THINKING.

He slid the key into the ignition and turned it to start his car. He turned his key and was confused when his Civic didn't start. He turned the key again. All he heard was empty clicking. He looked around his dashboard. "What the hell?" he muttered.

He slammed his palms against the steering wheel. That crazy bitch did something to his car! All that babbling was just her way of stalling things. He pulled the latch that popped open his hood. He continued to mutter obscenities about Devon as he peeked into his engine. "What the hell did she do?!"

He was so consumed in his car that he didn't realize that someone pulled up behind him.

Sean rolled into The Dot's parking lot in his motorcycle. He turned off his engine. He stared at Jay. "Is something wrong with your car?"

Jay stood up straight, then turned around. "No, man," he snarled back sarcastically. "I was just taking the time to admire my goods!"

Sean dismounted his motorcycle. "You know…I can take a look at it." It felt a little awkward as he approached Jay. Jay had remnants of the bruises he put on his face from their fight. The closer he walked towards him, the clearer and more evident those bruises became.

Jay gave out an aggravated sigh as he stepped away from his car to allow Sean to look at it. Who ELSE was around to fix his car? He suddenly had this nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. He almost felt relieved to see Sean.

Sean poked around the engine. He looked at the oil and transmission fluid. No problems. He turned around and looked at Jay. "What is it doing?"

"Nothing!" Jay replied back. "It's not starting!" He walked around Sean and slipped into the driver's seat. He turned his key again. Once again…just the empty clicking.

Sean knew that sound too well. He couldn't help but grin. Was Jay really that clueless? He walked up to the driver's seat and hovered over Jay's shoulder. He reached across and tapped the gas gage. "Your gas tank is bone dry, man! That's all!"

Jay looked up at Sean, then stared at his gas gage. He KNEW that he filled up his tank yesterday. He shook his head and laughed in disbelief. Devon! That conniving little sneak…

Jay got out of his car and opened his trunk to pull out a gas can.

Sean stepped back to watch him. He shamefully looked down at his feet, then looked at Jay. "So…what's up? We haven't talked since…"

Jay brushed past him and started to walk across the street to the gas station. "Yeah…I know…"

Sean turned around to follow him. "Look, I'm sorry, man. I was just letting out some steam that day. You just happened to be--"

Jay turned around. "Cameron, what the hell are you mumbling about?" He pointed at the bruises on his face. "It's just a couple of scratches. I'm over it." He was tired of trying to figure out what was up with Sean. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he just wanted to get past everything and get back to hanging out with his friend again. He was certainly in no mood for the two of them to "work things out" and tell each other their "feelings". He wasn't into any of that mushy stuff. As odd as it was, he really wasn't mad at Sean for what happened. He was a little confused, but not angry.

Jay didn't know whether to strangle Devon or applaud her. This whole set up was to get him to talk to Sean again…and it worked.

Sean stopped mid-sentence. "Really?" No explanations? No apologies?

"Look, I'm over it, alright? Whatever is going on with you is your business. If you don't want to tell me, then fine," Jay replied back lackadaisically. "Just…don't pound my face in the next time you have a problem."

Sean smiled back. "Okay," was all he could say.

Jay gave a sigh of relief. There. That wasn't so bad. "Look, I bought some beer earlier, because there's a get-together at the ravine tonight." He shifted the gas can from one hand to the other. "You can come if you want."

Sean was still a little confused with what just happened. "Sure."

Jay turned around. "Oh…and you can bring your friend Devon, too," he called over his shoulder. The trick Devon just pulled over him was almost masterful. Anyone capable of doing THAT had to be someone worth getting to know. After thinking about it, Devon seemed to remind him a lot like Sean. They had the same mannerisms and same I-don't-care attitude. She also showed him zero hesitation in fighting with him when they were in front of her locker. It almost pained him to admit that he just developed an ounce of respect towards that girl.

Sean just stood in the middle of the street dumbfounded. What just happened? He turned around and started to walk towards The Dot to get Devon. He noticed Devon peeking through the window. He didn't know why…but he had this odd feeling that Devon had something to do with whatever just happened.

Devon quickly turned away from the window when Sean realized she was watching. By the smile on his face, she knew that her plan had worked. She scratched her head. There wasn't much "talking" between Jay and Sean. They exchanged a couple words here and there to each other and made up. "Guys," she muttered to herself. The best way to get two guys talking to each other again was to force them to confront each other…so they can AVOID talking through their problems and feelings and become friends again anyway. She shook her head. What ever works, right?