"Why are you asking Jon? Thinking I'll put out instead of your girlfriend?" Linda chuckled before striking a pose. Jon hated thinking of his former mom that way, but she had the killer figure Sarah had back in that life. The large perky breasts Karyn had accidentally given herself, the long tone legs from cheering, slim waist and full heart shaped butt.
"Knock it off Linda." What she had said was teasing, but not malicious like she had been yesterday. Not the way Sarah had always been. It was the way two close friends would joke.
"Geez, what are you so on edge about?" She crossed her arms, but Jon could see empathy in her eyes. "Want to talk about it?"
"Sorry, it's just my phone being stolen opened a whole can of worms. The person who has it wants compensation for returning it." Jon wouldn't tell her everything about the blackmail, but Linda was showing real concern. It was like he was seeing traces of the woman who had raised him in her.
"You know who took it? I can see about getting it back if you want." Linda offered, leaving Jon stunned.
"How would you do that?" He asked.
"Jon, being who I am has plenty of advantages. I'd have to hide that I was getting it back to you, but the right leverage and I should be able to get it in my hands." She explained. Jon forgot that Linda had popularity, wealth and beauty on her side. There were things she could do that no one else he knew could in the school. "So how about it?"
"Thanks for the offer Linda, but I don't want you getting caught up in my trouble." Jon said firmly. If Linda got the phone for him half the people he wanted at the school would have no reason to be there for the swap.
"Fine, I guess you know what you're doing." She let out an exaggerated sigh as she threw her hands up. "But you're never any trouble. You're the only one who really gets how hard things are for me. Our moms are both so demanding. They want us to be perfect and happy, but they don't think of what that means to us. If I could just be free to do what I want. To pick who I want..."
"Linda?" Jon spoke up after several long moments. It was as if Linda was looking him over. It was in the same loving way that Tiffany had been.
"Look, I'll be at cheer practice around quarter to four. We have a game tomorrow night and our routine has to be flawless. I'm not allowed to be any less than that." Linda began walking past Jon.
He wasn't sure why he stopped her. He had a clearer picture of what their relationship in this reality was. They were confidants to each other. Not friends in public, but they'd bonded over the stresses in their lives and found some common ground. He wanted to say it was because he hated seeing his former mom look so upset, but right now as he hugged her he just thought of her as a girl reaching out for help.
"I'll always be here for you Linda." Jon solemnly swore.
Linda melted in his hands for a second before remembering where they were. If anyone saw their relationship would be ruined. She couldn't afford losing him as a friend. At some point she had come to depend on him being by her side. She had struggled with what Jon was to her for a long time. He was the only one who saw her cracks, and he'd accepted them. She felt she could only be her best self around him, but she couldn't stand against her mother's plans for her. If she could just find the strength she would...
"Think about my offer Jon. I'll help if you'd just ask." With that she broke away from the hug and hurried away.
Jon watched her go. He wasn't sure what to think at the moment. When the swap happened Linda wouldn't be a McMillan anymore. Today was his big play for getting the ones he cared about swapped out of the lives they were in, but after that interaction Jon wondered if there was more to Linda than the queen bee of the school.
