Next To You

Shades Of Jealousy

Mya had just left her student leadership meeting and was spinning the combination on her locker. She was feeling discouraged. Even though Eoin told her Ivan liked her, he still hadn't told her, or even hinted at it.

She saw Heather walking with Ivan in her direction. He was completely absorbed in what she was saying. She couldn't help but feel jealous. Maybe he had a crush on Heather too. That's the thought that crept into her mind. They were both really smart people, and they had a lot in common on top of that, plus Heather was mature and really easy to talk to, why wouldn't he like her?

Then Eoin appeared and put his arm around her so naturally. Eoin was talking now, and Ivan was just as in tune to him as he was to Heather.

Eoin and Heather both said hello to her as they passed her, Ivan stopped to say hello.

"Hey Mya, how is everything?"

She was caught off guard, "uh, hi. Everything is, what's the word? Good? Heh, yeah. All good... How is everything with you?"

"Things are great. So, there's actually something I've been wanting to ask you..."

Heather and Eoin were looking at the bulletin board when Mya came running up to them, "you will never guess what Ivan just asked me!"

Heather and Eoin exchanged amused looks, before they could guess, Mya cut them off.

"He asked me to be his date for Valentine's Day! Isn't that the best thing ever?!" She squealed excitedly.

Heather smiled, "I'm very happy for you Mya, I'm sure you two will have lots of fun together."

As she ran off to tell more of her friends, Eoin turned to Heather, "it's about time, speaking of which, are you busy on Valentine's day?"

Heather knew what he was going to ask her, she looked around to make sure no one would hear her, "unfortunately, yes. I have a charity gala to go to."

"Oh, okay. Just thought I'd ask," Eoin said with a sad expression.

She glanced down at her phone and bit her lip. She wondered if they would let her off the hook, "I'll be right back."

She found a quiet spot and called her grandmother, Fiona answered after the second ring, "hello dear."

"Grandmother, do I absolutely need to attend this gala? It's my first Valentine's day with Eoin," she asked timidly.

"Yes Heather, as the future head of the company, you need to attend events like this gala to maintain the O'Reilly Corporation's pristine reputation. Valentine's Day is a silly holiday anyway, it holds no real significance. If that's all, I really must get back to my tasks," Fiona said firmly.

"Okay, I should get to class then," she hung up and leaned against the cool stone of the outside of the building.

She should've expected a response like that from her grandmother, but she dared to hope otherwise. She put her phone in her blazer pocket and went back inside. Eoin was still standing by the bulletin board, but this time he was talking with a girl. She heard bits of the conversation as she was approaching them.

"... So are you doing anything for Valentine's day? I heard Jenks' parents are going to be gone for the weekend, he'll be throwing a huge party," the girl was standing too close to him, batting her eyelashes, touching his arm, and laughing at ridiculous moments.

She couldn't believe the way girls made fools of themselves when they were flirting. Eoin just stood there with his hands in his pockets, not really interested in what she was saying.

"I don't do parties Lea, and I know Jenks is going to have drinking there, which I also don't do," Eoin said irritably.

Lea faked a pout, "you used to be more fun Eoin, don't you want to hang out with me, maybe fool around?"

Eoin didn't see Heather standing there, "you knew it didn't mean anything, right? That was a one time thing, I'm done with all of that stuff Lea, I'm over it. It's time to move on."

Heather grabbed his arm, "what does that mean Eoin? What is she talking about?"

A look of alarm crossed his face, "Heather, I thought you had already gone to class."

"No, I had to make a call. Answer me Eoin," she wasn't going to let it go until she got the truth.

Lea laughed, "wow, you really have a girlfriend? I thought that was just a rumor."

Heather still stood there and stared up at him. Eoin took a deep breath, this was it.

"Heather, I'm one of the popular guys, I know it never really came up, but you had to have known on some level that I've dated other girls, they were never anything serious, you understand, don't you?"

Heather shook her head, then the warning bell rang, "of course Eoin, but I never expected any of these girls to talk about me like I'm some kind of joke, like I'm one of these girls that's just a phase for you. I've got to go."

"Heather, wait, you can't possibly blame me for that," he pleaded as he followed after her.

"Yes I can, and I am. I was standing right there Flannery, she was flirting with you the whole time, and you didn't mention once to her that you had a girlfriend, you conceited i***t," she walked faster, then ran up the stairs.

She made it into her classroom right before the tardy bell rang, closing the door right in Eoin's face. Mya witnessed it and watched Heather sit at her desk. She had shut everyone out.

As they were walking to their next classes, Heather voiced her concerns, "I feel like I rushed into this Mya. Do you think he was under too much pressure or something? I don't know if I can do this."

"Heather! Get a hold of yourself, okay? You said so yourself, he had admitted there were other girls before. Just because he didn't care enough to go into detail about it, doesn't mean he doesn't care enough about you. Trust me Heather, he's serious about you, why else would he have gone through all the trouble to be with you?" Mya assured her.

Heather froze as she looked ahead of him, "that's the girl he was talking to earlier. I'm going to go another way to class."

Mya tried to grab her as she walked off, but then looked at Lea, she decided to approach her, "Lea LeGrand, it's been a while. You're still after Eoin Flannery?"

Lea smirked, "Mya Song, it has been a long time. I see you haven't grown much, you're still short too."

"Ha, very funny. Do you know who Heather Shannon is?"

"The library shrew, yes. She also interrupted the important conversation I was having with Eoin this morning," Lea had an evil glint in her eyes.

"I doubt it was that important, besides, Heather is Eoin's girlfriend, he loves her, and you don't really know who she is, or you would know better than to screw with her or her boyfriend," Mya warned.

"Why? Is she some kind of psychopath? Because I can totally see that," Lea said mockingly, as she examined her nails. "If he loves her so much, why didn't he just say so."

"Never you mind that, you just butt out, or things are going to become unpleasant, very quickly," Mya stood firm and determined.

Heather didn't know what Mya had done, but started getting threatening notes throughout the day from an unknown source. Eoin had decided to give her space, as much as it hurt him to do it, but he needed to think of a way to make it up to her. He couldn't lose her now.

At lunch, Heather couldn't take it anymore. She confronted Lea, "have you been leaving these notes in my books?"

"No, but my friends have," she stood up from her seat and put a hand on her hip as she faced Heather.

"Why? I haven't done anything to you," Heather stood tall and didn't waiver.

"Your flat-chested midget friend threatened me, I don't take that kindly," she answered coldly.

She glanced over at Mya, then back at Lea, "I had nothing to do with that, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk that way about her."

Tristan sat wide-eyed across the way, was she going to fight her? Eoin came in just as it was getting started and hurried over to them.

"Lea, leave her alone, that's my girlfriend you're talking to," he stood between them.

Heather grabbed his arm and sat him to the side, "I can handle this myself Flannery, besides, I'm still mad at you. Lea, there's nothing to prove here, so I'm going to say this just once; stop trying to intimidate people, and get your own boyfriend."

"Or what? Are you going to humiliate me like you did to Honora Kelly?"

Honora overheard it from where she was sitting and stood up, "Heather didn't humiliate me, I was a bad loser and I embarrassed myself, I deserved it. If you keep going down this road Lea, you'll likely go through the same thing. But I'm in a much better place now, I have a sweet boyfriend and good friends, so get your facts straight."

"Heather is a good person, she doesn't deserve to be treated the way you're treating her," another girl said.

People were coming from everywhere, everyone Heather had ever helped, and Lea knew she wasn't going to win, "whatever, I don't care about you, you can keep Eoin, I only made out with him because I was bored."

She grabbed her stuff and left the cafeteria. Heather smiled triumphantly then thanked everyone for their help. She worked in the library for the rest of lunch. After school, Eoin intercepted her before going to practice.

"Heather, about today, I'm so sorry," he said softly. "You have to believe me."

"It's okay Eoin, you don't need to apologize. This isn't the first time, nor will it be the last I'm sure, but at least now I know I've got more people on my side than I used to think, who knows, if this stuff hadn't happened today, I might've never realized it," Heather smiled, "the good far outnumbers the bad, in this case."

"I have been curious about one thing, while we're still on the subject, this guy Tristan, what exactly is your connection with him?"

"Okay, keep in mind though it was a very long time ago. He was my best friend, we did everything together, he was a sweet kid who had just lost his parents, and we became close. When we were about 10, it had the potential to be more. Then my grandfather was having health problems, so my parents and I packed up and moved in so my father could help out with the company. We never had the chance to really explore any romantic feelings, and here we are now, so far down different paths. I know there are things he's not telling me, but I won't press the issue," she explained, then waited for Eoin's response.

"So that's the history he was referring to. That's actually a relief," he said as he grabbed her hand, "I've been worried that you might secretly be in love with him, this mysterious tough guy from your past, it's a little intimidating."

"This is a rare occurrence, the one and only Eoin Flannery, feeling insecure and jealous, how precious," she smirked.

Eoin chuckled, "and what about you? You were jealous today, admit it." Heather shot a look at him, "what? Too soon?"

She shook her head and blushed, "no, you're right, I was jealous. I think that's why I was so upset, it was an awful feeling and I hated it. I knew there were other girls, but to see one of them personally, and actually see how much she still wanted you, it made me feel so possessive and defensive, I thought I was going to go crazy."

"I'm glad you're telling me this, though I wish I would've known right then, I would've put that anxiety to rest," he put his arms around her and kissed her.

One of his teammates called out to him, "Flannery, you heading to practice or what?!"

Eoin put his finger up, signaling him to wait a minute, and finished kissing Heather, "okay, I've got to get to practice now. Do you want me to meet you back here afterwards?"

"I'll leave that up to you," she smiled as she reached for the door. Some of his teammates were calling him again.

He glanced over his shoulder, then grabbed her and kissed her again, "okay, I'll be here, I really need to go now before coach gets annoyed with me. See you in a bit."

She waved to him as he ran off. The day had been a long one, and it wasn't over yet. She walked into the class room and sat next to some of the student council members. The committee was made up of a bunch of students from several academic and social clubs. Heather liked it because it was lots of different people equally contributing to the event they were planning. Ivan was one of the committee heads. He felt it was experience that would help him with his role as student body president better. He was already planning his campaign to run for it next year.

Sarah sat at the back of the room, invisible, like always. She watched Heather get up and talk. She seemed comfortable up there in front of everyone, she talked so eloquently and easily, Sarah found it unusual. That was the girl Eoin was dating though, she was no cheerleader, she wasn't one of the pretty and popular girls he had been hanging around with before, but there was definitely something about her, Sarah had to admit.

Once the meeting was over, as they were all leaving the room, she found Eoin waiting in the hall.

She bashfully walked up to him, "Hi Eoin, funny running into you out here."

"Is it?" He said as his face broke into a sweet smile, which always made her melt inside. "I didn't know you were part of the committee, what do you do?"

Sarah blushed and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, "mostly I take notes, for the head of the committee, but I help with fliers and banners too."

Heather finally came out of the classroom, "hey Eoin, sorry it took me so long. I'll see you tomorrow, Sarah."

"Wait, what did you call me?" It took her by surprise.

"Sarah. That is your name, right?" Heather seemed unsure now.

"Well, yes, but I didn't know you knew who I was," Sarah answered shyly.

"Well of course I do, we've been on lots of committees together, and I've read some of your love poems in the school's literary magazine, they're really beautifully written," Heather smiled warmly.

Sarah really wanted to dislike Heather, but she was having a difficult time doing so, "uh, thank you, I didn't know anyone actually read those, or that anyone remembered me from anything."

"Oh yeah, I've read some of those, I don't really remember what I read in them, but that's awesome Sarah, I'll have to read more of them," Eoin chimed in cheerfully.

Sarah blushed deeper, "oh no, you don't have to do that, really."

"Too late, now that I know my favorite neighbor is a future famous poet, I have to," he grinned.

"She's your neighbor? Wow, that must be really nice."

"It is. She's also the best babysitter, she's always available when Tara or myself can't be at home with Ryan," he said as he reached for Heather's books.

"That's great," she smiled at Sarah.

"Oh it's nothing, Ryan is a sweet kid, and my favorite one to babysit out of all the ones I've babysat," Sarah answered timidly.

"We should get going, see you later Sarah," Eoin shifted Heather's books to his other arm and took her by the hand.

Sarah watched after them longingly. Many times she had imagined him doing the same thing for her. It was even harder living next door to him, she saw things no one else saw.

During the summer, when it was too hot, he was the only one who would run through the sprinkler with Ryan. The neighbor kids always came to him whenever they got things stuck up in the trees, and he always helped them with a smile on his face. He was always the one who came to cheer her up when she was hurt or sad. She wondered what would happen to all that, now that he had a girlfriend.

There was a knock at Gregory's door right before the scheduled 'lights out.' He groggily answered it, feeling annoyed.

"Yeah, what?" He said as he answered the door.

"You have some letters, this one came by urgent delivery. What's that stench?" A boy responded.

Gregory glared and snatched the mail out of his hands, "nothing, goodnight Benny."

"Oh, okay. Goodnight Gre-" the door was slammed in his face, "you're welcome! Geesh, what's his problem?" Benny mumbled to himself as he walked down the hall.

Gregory peeked through the c***k in the door to make sure he was gone, then closed it quietly, "sorry dear boy, it's nothing personal."

He opened the large envelope that had come urgently first. He tore the end open and pulled out a file, reading it to himself, "Heather Shannon? Why Shannon? What are you hiding from?" He read more, then laughed to himself, "how deliciously interesting." He pulled his phone out and quickly dialed a number, after a couple of rings, someone answered, "thanks for the information, now I have something else I want you to do for me."

Early Friday afternoon, Heather watched Tristan chew on his pencil as he reviewed the questions on his math assignments.

"Does that even help you think better? It seems you're more likely to give yourself a sore mouth," she observed with an amused smile.

"Why don't you try to help me understand it instead of mocking my study habits?" Tristan had come into the library during lunch to study while Heather was working there, to see if she could help him.

"Tristan, I'm not mocking you, I'm simply saying that you might be able to get the problems better if you weren't focusing so much on how your pencil tastes," Heather said as she put some books away.

"When am I ever going to use this kind of math? It makes no sense, who cares what x equals, or what the square root of whatever is?" Tristan huffed in frustration.

Heather laughed and sat next to him, "do you think you're the only one to feel that way? We've all been there, but you are smart Tristan, once you realize that, you can do anything you set your mind to, and of course I'll help you in any way I can."

Sarah peeked through the bookshelf as Heather showed him a few simple tricks for algebra problems. She couldn't help but watch her whenever they were in the same place. She seemed to be very close with the new guy.

Another person was watching them through the bookshelves. He snapped some pictures with his phone and started texting someone. He tried to hide when he saw Heather walking his way, but he wasn't quick enough, "Kevin? What are you doing?"

"Uh, nothing, just looking for something. Ah, here it is, my student ID card, I dropped it," Kevin had discreetly pulled it out of his pocket as he was backing out from underneath the study desk and held it up to her.

"Oh, well that's good. Let me know if you need help with anything else," Heather eyed him suspiciously.

He had been acting very strange lately. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but it seemed like he had been watching her a lot. They were only in one club together, and rarely ever worked on anything together, with the exception of the Holiday Bazaar, but everyone helped with that. She made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

After school, she went to another meeting, then was able to wait around until Eoin's game. She felt a little awkward sitting in the bleachers, still in her school uniform. Everyone else had gotten the chance to go home and deck themselves out in school colors. The basketball team hadn't come out yet, they were still prepping for the game in the locker room. Mya came in, followed by Ivan and Melody, then they all sat next to her.

"This game is starting a little late, isn't it?" Mya asked Heather.

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on," she answered as she looked around.

The crowd started chanting, Ivan felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out, "I just got a text from Eoin. He says the other team's bus is running late, but they should be here soon."

Right after he said it, the announcer explained it through the speakers. Some people groaned, others chanted louder. Once the other team arrived, some people had already left. The game finally started, Heather cheered with her friends. She still gave Eoin kisses for luck, even though she knew they were winning because they played well together as a team.

Tristan stood next to one of the gym exits, well hidden in the shadows, as he watched the game. His heart sank even more when he saw Heather kiss him. He didn't want to watch anymore and left. He found a quiet, dimly lit spot, and with his guitar and notebook, wrote another song about Heather. He hated the fact that it was the only type of inspiration he found to create anything, but he figured if he could one day perform them on stage and makes lots of money from these songs about unrequited love and heartbreak, it was worth the pain and effort.

After the game ended, as people were leaving the school, Heather came across him and heard some of the words he sang, she didn't realize they were about her though, she tapped him on the shoulder, "that sounded really good."

Tristan jumped with a start and grabbed his chest to calm himself down once he realized it was her, "sorry, you startled me. Thanks, I guess. How long have you been standing there?"

"Only for a minute. But your lyrics seemed like they had a lot of feeling behind them, and I think that's the best kind," she beamed.

Tristan had to look away and concentrate on the fact she had a boyfriend. He couldn't stand the way she was looking at him without doing something about it. He heard a twig snap in the trees next to them and reached in to pull them out. Instead of him pulling the person out, they swung him onto the ground with excessive force.

Heather gasped, "Tristan, are you okay?"

Tristan sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, "I think so, do you know this guy?"

Heather looked over the person standing next to her and rolled her eyes, "yeah, it's just Connelly. Help him up please. I don't know why you did that."

"Who the hell is Connelly?" Tristan was pulled to his feet before he could protest.

Heather turned red, "he is just someone my grandparents pay to watch everything I do, it's annoying, but I had no say in the matter."

Tristan brushed himself off and sized up Connelly. He didn't seem like much, but judging by the way he so easily had thrown him down, he was a ridiculously strong person. Connelly offered no explanation or apologies, he just stood there, wearing his shades, staring.

"Sorry Tristan, he's like a creepy ninja, I don't even know what he does when I'm in school, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was around there too," Heather glared in Connelly's direction.

Eoin stepped outside and saw them together. He walked over to see what they were doing. Then he saw Connelly standing there with them, "Connelly? What's he doing here?"

"He's probably here to take me home," she looked up at Eoin with a sad smile.

Eoin nodded, "okay, call me when you get home?"

"Of course," she kissed his cheek, then turned to Tristan, "I'll see you around Tristan."

They both stood there and watched her leave, then Tristan turned to Eoin, "you know about this guy?"

"Yeah, when I was first trying to get permission from her grandparents, briefly, he was part of the problem."

"So you know everything about her then?" Tristan seemed surprised, since he had quickly figured out Heather was keeping that part of herself away from people.

"Anyone close to Heather knows some of it. Mya knows too. What exactly do you know?" Eoin wondered how much Tristan knew.

"Heather told me some of it. I've never met her grandparents in person, but I know of them. Her grandma is the one who came to their house to talk her father into coming home with her," he started to recall that day, it still bothered him.

Seven years ago...

"Tristan!" Heather sang as she came running through the back screen door of her house.

Tristan was sitting up in a tree with his guitar, he looked over his shoulder as she reached the base of the tree with a big smile on and a notepad in her hand. He put his hand out to help her up next to him.

As she steadied herself, she held out her gift for him, "here, you said you needed a notepad. Happy Birthday Tristan."

She put the notepad in his hands and gave him a pen. Tristan smiled appreciatively, "thanks Heather."

He hugged her and then they started playing music together. Tristan played his guitar and Heather sang. They were trying to write a song together. After a while, a black limousine pulled up in front of Heather's house. A chauffeur stepped out and opened the door for a wealthy older woman.

Tristan saw her going up the walk to Heather's front door, "who was that?"

Heather stared at the house, "I'm not sure." Suddenly, Heather's mom called her from inside, "I should see what's going on. Later Tristan."

She hopped down from the tree and ran. Later on that evening, Tristan watched through his window as they packed up their car. He ran out to see what was going on, "where are you going?"

Heather sniffed and a tear trickled down her cheek, "my grandpa is sick, so we're going to go live with him for a little bit and take care of him. I'm sure we'll be back soon."

Shamus put his hand on her shoulder, "do you have everything kitten?"

Heather nodded slowly and sniffed again, then turned to Tristan once more, "you'll be here for me, won't you Tristan?"

"I will," he hugged her again, then handed her a small box, "I want you to have this."

Shamus smiled kindly at the two of them and ruffled Tristan's hair, "take care of yourself, son, and stay out of trouble." With those words, he got behind the wheel, Milly gave him a quick hug as she passed him before joining Shamus in the car, calling out to Heather, "come along, my dove, it's getting late."

Heather opened the box and found a folded picture of them, and a guitar pick with his initials carved into it. It wasn't much, but it was all he had to give so she wouldn't forget him. He had a feeling it would be a long time before they would see each other again. Heather smiled sadly and hugged him, then took off a wrist band she had made and put it on him. She got into the car and waved, then she was gone. That was the last time he saw her.

Tristan shook his head to pull himself back into the present, then looked down at the leather strap around his wrist. It was the same band she had given him before she left, he wondered if she still had the things he gave to her. He looked over at Eoin, who awkwardly glanced down at his watch. Tristan picked up his notebook and guitar, it was too dark now to see anything, except for the dim glow of a lamp post.

"I'm going to go now, like you care, but whatever."

Eoin was still unsure of the reason behind his attitude, but shrugged it off, "okay, bye Gallagher."

Tristan looked over his shoulder once he was sure Eoin wasn't watching him. For some reason, he didn't want him to see which direction he went in. As he continued on his way home, he still couldn't believe Shamus and Milly were gone. They were like second parents to him, they always made sure he was taken care of. He could only imagine what Heather was going through, but he felt he understood her more than anyone else did, especially Eoin, with his perfect life. He probably never had to experience difficult things, or lose anyone.

Tristan stopped himself, Heather wouldn't like the way he was thinking, he was being judgmental, one type of thing she disliked in others. He didn't like it either. When he got home, no one was there. So he lied in the dark on his bed and stared up at the sky through his dirty window, trying to figure out what he could do to stop thinking about Heather.