Logline: In Meshing, a literary fiction story, Jason must figure out how to turn his life around while trying not to disappoint his friends or else he will lose the girl he loves forever.

Meshing

I.

“Haha, Dude, we are for sure pong champs! Undefeated baby!” Kevin pranced around the room excited about his non losing streak.

“Yea for sure, son! Dude, you wanna go outside? I got some stuff.” Jason motioned his head toward the backdoor of the apartment.

“H*ll yea, man. Hold on a sec, I gotta get my lighter.”

“I have one, dude. Let’s go.”

“Nice, dude, you always plan ahead.” Kevin walked toward the door to meet up with Jason who was already heading outside. “Dude, you should really be chillin’ with me on the weekends. The parties are insane! And how come you can’t just move in with me? The weekdays get lonely until you get here at night to light it up.”

“I can’t stay here, man. I got s*** to do during the day. This weed ain’t gonna get itself. And you know I have other plans on the weekends. Sorry, man.”

“It’s all good, dude, I get it. What do you do on the weekends anyways?”

“I work all weekend. But don’t worry bout it, man. I’m sure you can hold down the parties yourself.”

“Haha h*ll yea, man. Don’t you worry bout that! Haha.” Kevin laughed and leaned up against the balcony rail. “You wanna go back inside? I got some girls that I’ve been eyeing up all night for us.”

“Yea for sure, man, I’ll be right in. You sure they’re good? I don’t know if I could handle sleeping with another girl like the ones you hooked us up with last time. Haha”

“Definitely, these girls are legit. Don’t worry bout it, man, I got your back.”
II.

“Mom, do I really have to go?” Shaden packed up her bag and frantically searched in her closet for clothes. “None of my best friends are going this year, I hate all of the chaperones that are going, and you said last year could be my last trip.”

“Yes, sweety, you should go. It’s a church trip, some of your friends are going, and who knows, there might be some cute boys on that trip.” Her mother smiled and winked at her hoping to get a smile back.

“That’s ridiculous, Mom. The only guys that go on these trips are dorks. Seriously, Mom, you really think that I’d find a cute guy on a church trip? Yea right. I’d have better luck finding a girl with only one eye on the trip.”

“I’m sure you’ll have fun, honey. If you keep thinking the way you are, then you definitely won’t have fun. You just need to make the most out of it and see what happens.”
III.

Jason rolled over in bed and woke up to the feeling of a random girl under his right arm. He popped out of bed and walked around the room looking for his clothes. As soon as he was dressed, he walked into the kitchen of Kevin’s apartment and saw his friend making some coffee and sipping down some Advil with a glass of water. “Wow, dude, what a night. You were right about the girl, man. She was FINE! Haha.” Jason walked over to Kevin to complete his compliment with their secret handshake that they’ve had since they were boys.

“Dude, I told you.” Kevin smiled and set down his glass. “I’ve got another party lined up for tonight, man. You comin’?”

“Naw, man, I can’t. I’m going on a trip this weekend and I leave today. Sorry, bro.”

“A trip? A trip to where?”

“I’m going to Virginia Beach. It’s gonna be insane.”

“Virginia Beach!? And you’re not taking me?”

After hearing that, Jason seemed a little nervous. “Naw, man, sorry. I’m going solo on this one. It’s gonna be sweet though, girls like crazy!” Jason found a quick response to cover up his reasoning. Kevin couldn’t know where he was really going.

“Haha alright, dude, that’s sweet. Have fun out there for me.”
IV.

Jason added his bag to massive pile of luggage at the airport that needed to get checked, and as soon as he turned his head, he saw an old friend.

“Jason! Hey, man! How’s it going?” Evan, a friend from Jason’s church, walked up to Jason to give him a hug. “How’s your summer been?”

“It’s been great! How about you? Are you still dating Kristi?”

“Yes, sir. She’s been great.” Evan’s smile lit up the moment they began talking about his girlfriend. “But I was talking to her at church on Sunday, and she said that she couldn’t come on the trip this year. So it looks like it’ll just be you and me.”

“That’s cool, man, we’ll have fun.” Jason laughed on the inside about the way Kristi’s name made Evan respond. “Wo! Evan! Check out that girl! She’s gorgeous.”

“Jeez! Too bad girls like that don’t go to our church. Haha. But Kristi is about as good as it gets for me.”

“I just wanna….umm yea I wish girls like that went to our church.” Jason caught himself just in time. He almost acted the way he would around Kevin. “It would definitely make church more interesting.”
V.

“Girl, I’m so glad you went on this trip with me. I would’ve died otherwise! My mom made me go again this year.” Shaden took a seat next to just about her only friend on this trip, Payton. “Did your man make it on the trip this year?”

“Yep, he’s here. He’s sitting in the back with his little group of guys. I swear, letting them seat by each other on a plane was probably not a smart idea.”

“Haha thanks for that, PayPay. That was probably the first time I’ve laughed all week.” Shaden smiled and looked to the row across from her. “Oh my gosh Payton!” Shaden quick turned back and whispered, “He is soooo cute!”

“Who?”

“That guy across the aisle sitting in the window seat!”

“Ooo d*mn, girl! Your right! He is F-I-N-E…FINE!”

“Too bad guys like that don’t go on trips like this. Do you know which churches are going on this trip this year?”

“I have no idea, but lots.”
VI.

After turning up his music intolerably loud, Jason unpacked all of his clothes in the hotel room.

“Hey, dude, it’s time for devotion. You coming?” Evan poked his head into the room. “You can finish unpacking later. What else are we going to do on this trip otherwise. Haha.”

“Haha true. I’m coming.”

Jason and Evan took a seat and devotion started. However, as soon the pastor started talking, everything in the room became a blur. Jason looked up and across the room only to see the girl from the airport. “Evan!” Jason whispered and punched Evan in the side of his thigh. “That girl from the airport is here!” Jason couldn’t get his eyes off of her. But then she looked up and noticed him, too. Jason smiled and looked down.
. . .

“Payton! Remember that guy from the plane? He’s here!”

“What really? Where?” Payton sat up straight in her chair for the first time during the whole devotion. Shaden pointed as subtly as possible. Payton tapped Shaden’s leg rapidly and whispered, “It looks like he’s motioning for you to meet up with him in the back of the room when devotion is over.”

Shaden nodded her head and smiled back at the boy across the room.
. . .

“Hey, I saw you at the airport. I couldn’t believe it when I saw you here! I knew that I had to talk to a beautiful girl like you if I ever had the chance.” Jason smiled at Shaden with a very charming touch.

“Did you really?” Shaden seemed surprised. “I saw you on the plane! You were sitting across the aisle from me.” Shaden gave little smile back as well. “So which church are you from?”

“I’m from Holy Cross in Madison. How ‘bout you? Because if you went to my church, I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Shaden blushed and then smiled a little again. “I go to Holy Trinity in Watertown. I wasn’t even going to go on this trip.”

“Well I’m glad you did.”

Evan approached the two of them, “Hey, guys, how’s it going back here, huh? I’m Evan by the way.”

Payton walked up to the little group as well. “Hi, I’m Payton. And your guys are…?”

“I’m Evan.”

“I’m Jason.”

“Ooo Jason, huh? Well it is very nice to meet the two of you.” Payton grabbed Shaden’s arm. “Unfortunately, Shaden and I have to go, though.”

“That’s fine. So, Shaden, I’ll see you around then?” Jason had a look of disappointment on his face.

“Yep, I guess you will.” Shaden smiled and leaned in to give him a hug goodbye. She whispered in his ear, “Wanna meet me back here around 12:30 tonight?”

Jason nodded politely and smiled back, instantly turning a little red.

VII.

“Hey, for a second there I wasn’t sure if you were coming.” Jason stood up from his seat to meet her.

“Sorry about that. It took forever to get Payton to fall asleep. I wish I would’ve had your number to let you know that I was going to be a little late.” Shaden went in for a hug and Jason met her half way.

“Well, here. Let’s take care of that now.” Jason pulled out his phone and the two of them exchanged numbers. “Perfect. Now I have someone to text all night.”

“Or all day, if you ever get bored.” Shaden smiled.

“I don’t think that I’d need to be bored to text you.” Jason dropped his phone after attempting to be a little too smooth. However, then there was a noise coming from the hallway. It sounded like someone walking. “We should probably go. I don’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Or we could go outside…” Shaden started walking toward the hallway and peeked out the door to see if anyone was there. “No one’s here. Let’s go.”

The two of them walked around outside and talked until they came up to a little pond on the back side of the hotel. They sat down on the bench and the moonlight illuminated the water, just as the stars lit up the sky.

“I want to keep seeing you, even when this trip is over.” Jason put his arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Then we will, and I can’t wait.” Shaden smiled and looked at his calm, strong face. He leaned in to kiss her, and they kissed under the moon and star-lit sky.
VIII.

“God it feels great to be back at school. I wonder what Shaden is up to?” Jason talked to himself as he lay on the bed in his dorm room. He picked up the phone to text Shaden, who he had been officially dating for five months now. However, just as he picked up his phone, Kevin called. “Hello?”

“Hey, man, I’ve got some plans tonight. You wanna join me?” Kevin sounded thrilled to here Jason’s voice. “I haven’t seen you since last week, bro! Let’s do something.”

“Haha ok. What you got in mind?”

“I’ve got a party lined up in Madison. It’s gonna be one h*ll of a party, so I hear anyway.”

“Sounds good, bro. I’ll meet you at the Kwik Trip by that run down motel, ok?”

“Sounds good, man. Peace.”

Jason grabbed his sweatshirt and a little, brown paper lunch bag. He hopped in his car and drove to the Kwik Trip with his foot on the gas the entire way. When he pulled in, Kevin was already there waiting for him with a smile and cup of coffee for each of them.

When they got to the party, they started drinking right away, but something didn’t feel right to Jason. Jason grabbed Kevin by the arm and motioned for him to follow him. The two of them ended up outside in the back of the house.

“Hey, man, what’s going on?” Kevin seemed a little confused.

“Nothing. I’ve just got a bag. You want some?”

“Oh h*ll yea, man! Dude, at first you had me a little worried. It seemed like something was wrong.” Kevin set down his drink and grabbed the lighter from his right pocket. “This house is loaded! And did you see the girls in there?! Holy s***, it’s like they’re from Hollywood!”

“Haha yea.” Jason had a little bit of a nervous laugh, but he played it off enough for Kevin not to notice.

“After this, I think I’m gonna grab one of ‘em and spend a little time with her upstairs.” Kevin winked and laughed a little bit. “How about you? How many tonight? Two or three?”

“I’m not really in the mood tonight, man.”

“Not in the mood for girls? Really hot girls!? Come, man, it’s not gonna kill you. Just fake it if you’re not in the mood.”

“It’s not like that. I’m just not in the mood alright.”

“Yea whatever.” Kevin walked off and left with a disappointed look on his face, while Jason stayed outside and sunk his head into his lap after he sat down on one of the patio chairs.
IX.
“Hey, Mom? I know that I said that I didn’t want to go on the youth group trip this year, but I’m glad you made me.” Shaden smiled as she continued help her mom unpack the groceries.

“Well that trip was a little over five months ago. What makes you bring it up now?”

“I just can’t believe how much of a fairytale it’s been for me since then. Jason is truly amazing, Mom. He goes to school. He goes to church. He gets good grades. He always has time for me on the weekends. And on top of all it, he’s actually super cute.”

“He does seem like a pretty nice guy.” Shaden’s mom smiled. “So everything is going pretty well for the two of you, huh?”

“I couldn’t describe it if I tried. The trip was amazing. We spent the whole thing together. And somehow, even though we’re back in school and I really only get to see him on the weekend, I feel like I’m always with him. It’s hard to explain. But what happened on the trip was an absolute dream. We just clicked instantly, Mom.” Shaden couldn’t stop smiling and eventually she realized that she wasn’t even unpacking groceries anymore.

“You should call him and tell him to spend the weekend here. He could watch you play basketball on Friday and then go to church with us on Sunday morning.”

Shaden ran to get her phone from her room and called Jason to tell him about this marvelous idea. After hearing the dialing tone, Jason’s voicemail kicked in. Shaden left a voicemail with all the details and told him to call her back as soon as he could.
X.

Jason woke up the next morning still sitting in that patio chair. With a huge headache, he picked up his phone to check the time. One new voicemail. He checked to see who called. One missed call. Shaden. Jason’s face lit up and he called his voicemail. After listening to it, he called her back.
“Hello?” Shaden answered.
“Hey, Shaden, it’s Jason. I got your voicemail and I would love too. When should I drive over?”
“Don’t worry about driving. I’ll pick you up. And I’ll text you when I get there.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Jason smiled “I’ll talk to you later, alright? I love you.”
“I love you, too. Bye, Jason.”
XI.

“You are amazing at basketball! I’m pretty sure that you had like 500 points tonight.” Jason was blown away as they pulled into her drive way.

“Haha I’m pretty sure I only had 22, but I’ll take it.”

“Oh, only 22. Not a big deal then.” Jason smiled and winked at Shaden and the two of them got out of the car to head inside.

“Looks like no one is home. My mom said that the parents of the basketball team were going to go out for some drinks tonight. My parents won’t be back for a while.” Shaden smiled and then paused for a second. “Hey come here. I wanna show you something in my room.” They headed up stairs and Shaden shoved him onto the bed. They started making out, until Shaden suddenly stopped and looked at him.

“What’s the matter? Is everything ok?”

“Yea, everything is fine.” She paused. “Jason, I love you. I wouldn’t be able to explain what happened between us if I could.”

“Me too, babe. Trust me. I love you more than anything.”

Shaden rolls on top of him and starts kissing his neck. Time goes by and the two of them made love for the first time.

XII.

“Thanks for going to church with my family today. I know that it means a lot to my mom.” Shaden kissed him on the cheek as she dropped him back off at school.

“Baby, I wanted to go. I had a great time this weekend.” Jason rolled down the window, got out of the car, and shut the door. He poked his head back in through the open window. “Trust me. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Shaden smiled and kissed him goodbye.

“You’re not leaving that fast are you? Why don’t you come inside? I’ll show you my room and stuff.”

Shaden went to park the car and then met up with Jason on the sidewalk. The two of them walked inside and headed up to his room. “Home sweet home.” Jason escorted her through the door.

Shaden smiled a devious smile and pushed him onto the bed again. As she crawled on top of him, she looked over at his desk. There was a brown paper bag sticking out of one of the drawers. “Please tell me that this isn’t an old lunch bag.” She giggled and pulled it out of the drawer. However, before Jason could tell her not to, she opened it up and found nothing but weed inside. “Really? Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t think that you did any of this stuff. Why do you have to keep this a secret from me?”

“Shaden, it’s hard to explain. There’s a lot about me that you don’t know.”

“Oh really? There’s more? Jason I’m sorry but I can’t handle this right now.” She jumped off the bed and grabbed her keys. “Bye, Jason.”

Jason yelled after her to come back so that he could explain, but she kept walking.
XIII.

Jason lay on his bed with his face buried in the pillow. He pounded his fist into the bed just as his cell began to ring. He jumped up to look at it, hoping it was Shaden. When he looked, however, it was Kevin. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jason, how’s it goin’, man? I’ve got some stuff going on tonight so you should probably come.”

“Naw, man I don’t think I can tonight. I’m not really up for it. Sorry, bro.”

“What!? Not up for it? Come on, it’ll cheer you up.”

“Alright, fine. Where is it?”

“It’s at my apartment.”

“Ok, I’ll be there in like 30 minutes.”

As Jason pulled up to the curb at the apartment, he paused for a moment before opening up the car door. He decided that he should call Shaden, but when he went to reach for the phone in his pocket, it wasn’t there. He searched all over the car for it but realized that he left it back in his room. As depressed as he was, he opened the door and went inside.

“Hey, man, I’m glad you showed up!” Kevin was already wasted. “Grab yourself a little something to drink. Don’t worry, whatever’s bugging you, I’ll make it better.” Kevin smiled and patted Jason on the back.

Kevin had Jason drinking shot after shot after shot, until Jason was completely numb. They went outside and smoked the last bit of weed that Jason possessed. “Dude, there’s some fine looking girls in there. And this chick named Vicky has been eyeing you up all night.” Kevin slammed down another shot.

“I don’t know, man.”

“Come on! It’s not gonna hurt ya! What’s been with you lately? No girls? Turning down parties? Something’s up man. Tell me.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s get back in there.” Jason walked throught the door. He couldn’t let Kevin know about his other life. School, church, a steady girlfriend. That would completely ruin his reputation with Kevin. Jason motioned his head at Vicky to follow him. He took her into the bedroom and slept with her.

XIV.
Shaden felt terrible for getting so mad and wanted to apologize and talk about things. She wanted to let him explain. She called and called until she finally decided to leave a voicemail. She explained that she was sorry and that she wanted to make it up to him by listening to his side of the story. The last thing she said was, “You know what, I’m going to come and visit you at school tomorrow so that we can talk. I love you. Bye.”
XV.

When Jason got back to his dorm room the next day, he tried looking for his phone. But then he looked up at the door to find Vicky standing in his room. “What are you doing here? How did you know I lived here?”

“You told me last night that you went here. So I asked around until I found out what room you were in. Listen, Jason, I had a lot of fun last night. I was thinking that…”

“Vicky, I’m sorry but,” Jason interrupted, “that wasn’t me last night. I’m really in love with someone else. I know I shouldn’t have done anything to lead you on, and I feel terrible about cheating on my girlfriend, but Kevin was pressuring me and I was so drunk that I lost my mind.”

“Oh, I understand.” Vicky looked disappointed. “However, there’s nothing wrong with saying a little goodbye.” She pushed him onto his desk chair and straddled him while she started licking around his earlobe.

Just as all this was happening and Jason was trying to get her off, Shaden walked in through the door. “Wow! Jason, what the h*ll is this! I came back to apologize and this is what I get? You know what, have fun. But don’t ever talk to me again.” She stormed out of the room and cried her way down the long hallway.

“Wait, Shaden! Let me explain!” Jason caught up to her and grabbed her by the hand. She turned around and slapped him right across the face. She turned back around and kept walking.
XVI.

Kevin’s phone vibrated in his back left pocket, so he picked it up and answered, “Hello?”

“Hey, Kevin, it’s Jason.”

“Hey, bro, what’s goin’ on!? Hey I saw you with Vicky last night. How’d it go?”

“Listen, man, I’m done.”

“Done? What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m done with the parties, the drinking, the weed, the girls, all of it. I quit.”

“Haha what? You can’t just quit. What the h*ll has gotten into you?”

“You know how I’m always busy during the day? Or how I can’t hang out on weekends? Do you really wanna know why I stopped being in the mood for all of this s***? There’s another side of me, man. I just couldn’t tell you before. During the week I go to school. On the weekends I spend time with my family and go to church on Sunday. Everything was great for a while. But I fell in love, man. And this life is killing my chances with her. She’s the one I wanna be with for the rest of my life, but I can’t do that living like this.”

“What the h*ll? So you’ve had like this whole other secret life that you’ve been keeping from me? Your best friend? Some friend you are. And how do you think I’m gonna get my weed now, huh?”

“Well maybe you won’t. But I’m done. If we can’t still be cool with each other now that I quit, then maybe it’s not worth talking anymore. You said you got my back, but is that only if I have what you want?”

“Naw, dude, it’s not like that. I’m just not a fan of liars. I don’t got people’s backs who lie to me. And those people sure as h*ll aren’t my friends.”

“Well then I guess we’re done here.”

“Yea I guess so.”

XVII.

Shaden couldn’t help but cry in her bed with her face buried in the pillow. Her phone was going off left and right with calls and texts from Jason. Shaden couldn’t bring herself to read any of them or answer any of his calls. But then, there was a knock at her bedroom door. “Who is it?” She sat up in her bed trying to wipe away her tears. Jason opened the door without responding. “Go away, Jason. I don’t want to see your face ever again.”

“I understand if you never want to talk to me again, but I have to tell you something. Before I met you, I lived what some people would call a ‘double life’. I’d go to school during the day and party at night. Then on the weekends I’d spend time with my family and go to church Sunday morning, and then I’d back to school and do it all over again. But when I met you, everything changed. I tried a million times to get away from my other life. I couldn’t sleep with other girls anymore because you were the only one on my mind. Parties weren’t even fun anymore because I would rather be with you. But one of my best friends didn’t know about the other life that I live, the one that involves you. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. But after everything that happened, I know that all that matters to me is you. I quit. I called my friend today and told him that I’m done for good. He was obviously pissed and won’t talk to me anymore, but I’d rather lose him than you. I’m sorry that you had to find out the way you did, but if it means anything to you, I love you more than anything and I hope that you’ll forgive me. I only want to live this life, but I can only live it if you’re there with me.”

Shaden leaped into his arms and cried even harder. “I love you,” she sobbed softly.

“I love you, too.” Jason held her tight and let her cry into his shoulder for as long as she needed to. But then his phone rang. “Hello?”

“Hey, Jason, it’s Kevin. I wouldn’t have called but you’re my last chance.”

“What’s wong?”

“I promised a guy that I could get him some weed, but I don’t know where to get it from now. He said that if I don’t get it to him by tonight he’s gonna shoot me, man. I know you’re done, but I really need your help.”

“Hold on a second.” Jason put Kevin on hold and talked to Shaden. “It’s my friend. He says he needs help.”

Shaden wiped away her tears. “What does he need help with?”

“He needs weed by tonight or someone’s going to hunt him down. This is a tricky business to get into, and to get out of.”

“So what are you going to do?” Shaden stared at his worried eyes.

“I don’t know. Tell me what to do.”


“Help him, one last time. I’ll help, too.”

“No, I don’t want you to help. It’s dangerous and I don’t want you to get involved.”

“If you want me to be part of your life, I want you to include in me in every part of it.”

Jason paused. “Hey, Kevin, you still there?”

“Yea, man. Can you help me out?”

“Yea, but then after this I’m done for good.”

“I know.” Kevin hung up and the phone went silent.
XVIII.

Jason and Shaden pulled up to the meeting place where he normally got his weed from. “Stay in the car. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“No.” Shaden demanded. “I’m coming with you.” She got out of the car and walked over by Jason.

As they approached the dealer, named Big Frank, he called out to Jason. “Jason, I haven’t seen you here in a while. What can I do for you?”

“I’m here to pick up a little package.”

“O really? Who’s the girl? She’s hot!”

“Don’t worry about her. Do you have something for me or no?”

“I might, but it’ll cost you.”

“The usual? I have cash.”

“No, no, no. It’s going to be a little different this time. I’ll take the money, but you won’t get the stuff unless I get the girl.” Big Frank laughed and made a kissing face at Shaden.

“No deal. You can’t have her. I’ll pay double, though.”

“Wo wo wo…how about this. I won’t keep her, I’ll just use her for the night and then you can have her right back. I’ll keep her in one piece. Haha” Big Frank laughed even harder.

“Nope, sorry. We’re outa here then. Let’s go Shaden.”

But Shaden stood still. “It’s a deal”

“Shaden what are you doing!?” Jason came and grabbed her by the arm. “You don’t know what these guys are like and I will not allow anything like this to happen to you.”

“Jason, there are some things you will never understand about me. But if it means that I’m helping you out and if it means that you will be done with this forever, I’ll do it.” Shaden took his hand off of her arm.

“I like this little girl of yours.” Big Frank smiled and winked at her. “So we have a deal?”

“Yes.” Jason took the package from Frank and slowly backed away. Just as Big Frank took hold of Shaden, Jason took a gun out from his back left pocket and shot Big Frank right through the forehead. Frank dropped to the ground and Jason grabbed Shaden by the arm. “Let’s go. Now!” Jason made sure that she was headed for the car, and he put the gun in Frank’s hand right before he ran to the car too.

“What the h*ll just happened? You just shot someone!” Shaden was in shock while they drove away.

“I told you that this was a tricky and dangerous business. You always have to come prepared.”
XIX.

Jason and Shaden pulled up in front of Kevin’s apartment. They walked inside to see Kevin pacing in the kitchen. “Jason! You made it! Thanks so much, man. I’m sorry about being mad at you before.”

“It’s ok, bro. I should’ve been honest with you.” Jason put his hand up for their secret handshake.

“Don’t worry about it, man. We cool?”

Jason smiled. “Yea, we’re cool.”

“Is this your girlfriend?”

“Yep, this is Shaden.” Jason brought her forward. “Shaden, this is Kevin.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Shaden smiled and shook Kevin’s hand.

“You, too Shaden. You too.”