It was the the start of the school year and Anubis house lay in wait, watching the world with silently sparkling eyes, lying in wait for its house mates to return.
The rooms were bare and white, waiting to be inhabited once more by familiar faces.
All but one room, one room who's inhabitant never changed. The room of Jerome Clarke.
He sat there, in the early hours of the morning on his side of the room, the side with the window watching in eager anticipation.
It would not seem out of the ordinary to be able to recognise that half of the room was his and the other waiting for some one to fill its walls and shelves, but what was out of the ordinary was the fact that Jeromes half of the room was in fact just as bare as the opposite.
The room was small, resembling the modest quarters shared between two people every room had, two single beds, a chest of drawers made of chestnut wood for clothes and a few other shelves for personal possessions.
Alfies side of the room had a bed with no sheets, a duvet and pillow placed at one end and the rest of the area bare as though left to waste.
Jeromes side of the room was exactly the same, although he did have clean sheets and one meager post card on top of his drawers. Jerome Clarke had few possessions, each triggering memories which is why he kept them locked away literally under lock and key.
Here, sat in the window there was no more denying it, it was time to start looking through that box as he had avoided all holidays, this was his last chance before the others arrived in the later hours.
He let his eyes roam the yards outside his window one last time, the lush green fields, the school in all its red brick glory. It was beautiful no one could deny that and every thing green, as though the colour had just been painted on.
But it was to green, to well kept, to simple in its eye catching splendor. The school looked like any other building, in fact it looked more like a prison than a school and to him it was.
The sun was looming, he could see its red tinges warm the navy sky, making it paler and paler as reached its peak and lightened completely.
Slowly, in fact as slow as he could, he approached the chest warily, eyeing it as though it would lash out giant furry paws with talons if he reached out.
His fingers brushed the handle and he pulled just once for the rusty drawer at the top to creak open.
Inside was a white marble chest, elephants and Gods carved into its side, intricate detail on every part, the eyes had hollow shine almost like you would imagine of a person, the rest of the figure so life like that the eyes came as a shock, that it didnt mask a real person just the memory of one. There was a metal lock emblazoned on the front, with the initials JC in fine calligraphy. Reaching in to his pocket, he brought out the key he always carried with him.
The lock clinked, well oiled despite its rare use.
The silence stretched as Jerome stared at the box waiting for it to open by itself, but as always it didnt.
He breathed out once and opened the box, his closed eyes pressuring themselves painfully to stay closed and block all sight.
He knew the items by heart, knew all of their details without looking.
He allowed his hands to search the contents resting on the red velvet lining.
As he brushed against the first his memory came suddenly making him gasp, that was the jolt he needed, just that gentle touch to remember and the emotion filled him, the memory right there, coming to life in front of his opened startled eyes.
But he wasnt there, he was far from Anubis house, he was a five year old boy running towards an old antique shop he had found, a smile on his face suddenly dropping.
His father had been chasing him, suddenly lost in the crowd he had called for Jerome to continue without him.
He walked inside the antique shop in a trance, gazing all around him at the dusty shelves filled to the brim with cobwebby items of all ages.
But none of the leather bound books or gold pocket watches attracted his attention, the only thing that attracted him was the lesser price objects lined up on a shelf below all the others sheltered in their own little world.
The objects were well spaced and yet they were together.
He reached out picking up a golden locket in the shape of heart, with holes carved in as though the object was made of fine lace. But it was to dark inside the locket for him to squint inside and see what hid there.
He found himself opening it subconciously, his breath taken away by the contents.
Inside lay another heart, a rose carved in to the front of this one.
there were four hearts together, laughing he opened them over and over repeatedly, putting them back together and then holding the whole heart close to his chest, inhaling its lavender scent like his mothers perfume, except in a weaker, sweeter and overall more delectable form.
He could hear his father now calling him from outside.
His eyes opened wide, if his father caught him playing with the locket he would be called a sissy and beaten when he got home for playing with girls toys.
So as fast as he could, he tore the change from his pocket threw it on to the counter and showed the locket to the man there.
The mans spectacled gaze looked over the locket, his eyes sparkling, his fingers trembling as they brushed against the metal.
A smile took over his grim expression as he said "Be careful with that boy, when in need that heart will work wonders,"
Jerome watched him nervously and intrigued for a moment before realising his father would have gone further down the street still searching for him.
If he became to worried on finding him, Jerome knew he would end up with a beating.
So he fled the shop, running to the fading black coated figure in the distance, shouting "Father, father wait for me!"
The heart rested in his coat pocket and he stroked it lovingly.
He didnt realise at that point why the locket would become so important to him.
As Jerome locked the box, carrying it back to its place in the draw like a coffin, he pushed away the reasons why the locket was so important to him, the one resemblance between him and that locket.
Because, although Jerome would deny it if confronted on the matter, he knew that the reason he admired that heart was because it had many different layers, he loved how all those hearts were safe inside one another, as though lovingly those four hearts had become one and found another half.
He loved how he could control those hearts and believe that they were the hearts of his family.
His mother, his perfect little sister who he did and did not despise, and the heart of his proud father.
He was comforted by the fact that they were all there with him, although he could not see them and though he knew he would never see them again.
He pretended he sensed them around him, by faking a day dream.
He saw them, when acting as though admiring his reflection.
He saw that golden heart in the middle of Maras chest when ever she spoke to him.
In his fantasy he gave the heart to Mara and he spoke the words he would not admit to himself softly in her ear:
"The heart you hold is yours in mine, you own my heart, cold and hard on the outside, but soft and full of secrets, so much more than you could imagine, once you manage to crack it and get to the centre"
But he pressed himself to the wall as though blown back there, as the dawning of the situation reached his eyes.
His world came crumbling down as he let all that lay in his mind fill him.
He tried and tried to ignore it his face crumbling in agony as the words whispered themselves to him anyway.
He could not deny it anymore, he could not lock away his feelings for Mara Jaffray like he could with his few possessions and memories, his feelings were triggered by anything, looking around, just listening to the birds, any thing made him think of her.
He had fallen in love with a girl who felt the same way, but for some one else.
He had fallen for the girl who would never love him.
Sorry there is no real Jara in this chapter, but this is just the introductory paragraph there is still more to come. Sorry, Im not a very good story teller but I try my hardest, Im not that good at adding speech in which is why its so bad.
10 reviews for the next chapter please.
charlotte~