"Why does it matter to you Mara? I just thought you wanted revenge…"
Joy failed to understand what was going round Mara's head; she understood that she was mad at Jerome for cheating on her and her way of finding some peace with the whole situation was to use Joy to break his heart like he had Mara's. But she'd already publicly humiliated him with that list her and Willow created and dished out- hell Joy had even helped them at first…but then Mara turned cruel. Her toxic words impacted Jerome in a way Joy had never seen before. She knew what Jerome had done was wrong and she was the first to tell that to Mara and Willow, but she'd also seen a completely different side to Jerome while they'd been 'dating'. A sensitive, compassionate, and damaged boy who had gone through so much it was a surprise he wasn't a stone-hearted monster. And slowly but surely, they weren't just 'dating' anymore to Joy; it felt real. But now Jerome hated her, and so did Mara.
"Because he broke my heart! He was my boyfriend, this was my jacket to wear when I got cold, and those were my drawings to make me smile in class! And these were important to me! It was supposed to be me who Jerome cared about!" Mara cried in exasperation and angrily swept at the bitter tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. She charged around the room, sweeping up Jerome's jacket and pictures into her arms all the while Joy just looked on helplessly. Both failed to notice a certain boy loitering in the door frame to listen to the rest of the conversation, and that he'd heard so much of it already.
"Mara, I know he hurt you bu-
"No Joy, it's not about him 'hurting me' anymore!" She finally stopped pacing the room and stood directly in front of Joy, struggling to refrain from collapsing onto the floor in tears.
"But that's what this has all been about, hurting him! Breaking his heart the way he broke yours! But you've done that now, he knows that I've been using him; isn't that enough for you? Isn't that what you wanted? He's hurt and upset Mara, just like you wanted him to be, why does it matter if I really do have feelings for him or not?" Joy trailed off bitterly, realising the truth to her words and how it was too little too late. She'd ruined it, she'd wrecked her chances with Jerome and knowing this wasn't the best feeling in the world.
"Because he likes you! And if you like him, there's no reason for you two not to be together! There's nothing stopping him from moving on with another girl, but he can't" Mara's voice cracked at the end of her sentence, her heart thud thud thudding inside of her chest. The mere prospect of him actually dating Joy sending her dizzy with torment and pain. No, she thought. This isn't what was supposed to happen…
"You've hurt him Mara, he knows not to do it to another girl again. He's not going to hurt me-
"I KNOW HE'S NOT GOING TO HURT YOU! I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! I CARE ABOUT THE FACT THAT HE'S MOVING ON WITH MY BEST FRIEND AND IM STILL IN LOVE WITH HIM!" she instantly regretted the way she screamed her hidden truth, quickly clamping her hands over her mouth as she said it. But it was too late, her words were snatched from her mouth leaving them ringing in Joy's- and unbeknownst to Mara and Joy, Jerome's- ears.
"You're…you're in love with him?" Joy's whisper barely reached Mara's ears, as she could hardly believe the words herself. She had never, ever, guessed that Mara felt that way about Jerome. Even when they were dating, she never believed her feelings ran so deep. Since Jerome's cheating ways had become apparent, all Joy had seen from Mara was anger. But now she could see why; the anger was to cover up the unbearable pain she was hiding underneath. She loved him.
"I can't help it; I know that I shouldn't and that it's stupid to think that way, but I do. And I know that he doesn't feel the same way otherwise he would have never cheated on me in the first place, and that he wouldn't have feelings for you right now. But he does, and that's killing me"
"I'm so, so, sorry Mara. I didn't know you felt like-
"No, let me finish. I need to get this off my chest…I love him so much, he was the first person to make me feel like I was perfect- he treated me that way. And even if I wasn't, that didn't matter because I had him. Him who was kind, and smart, and caring, and actually understood me way better than half the people in my life could. I love him, and everything that makes him Jerome. His cocky little smile, the way he cares so much about his hair, the way him and Alfie still act like kids around each other, the way his eyes shine when he talks about Poppy because I know she means so much more to him than he lets on to anybody, even her. And the way he put me first, before everything else in his life. He made me feel special, because he was so, so special. And when I found out that he was also seeing Willow, it hurt me so much. Because he was mine, he was my perfect boyfriend. And it was his fault that I didn't have that anymore, that I didn't have him anymore. And I wanted him to feel that pain…at first. But then when I realised that you had genuine feelings for him, that wasn't what I wanted. This whole time I'd really just been waiting for him to turn around and beg for my forgiveness. To tell me how sorry he was, and how much he knew he had hurt me but he'd make it up to me some way, somehow. And he'd still be mine at the end of it. But now he's not" Mara couldn't control the sobs that rocked her body or the tears that blurred her vision no matter how many of them she tried to sweep away.
As both girls stood in silence, neither sure what to say nor do, Jerome made his presence known. His deliberate, slow footsteps echoed around the bedroom gaining him the attention he was seeking. He wanted to apologise, to take it all back, and to rekindle the relationship that she'd described that he'd loved. But before he had the chance to say anything, Mara spoke.
"You heard all that?" Mara asked although it was more of a statement than a question. She stared right into his eyes to see what emotions her dramatic outburst had sparked from him.
He nodded.
"Good. So now you know. Now you know how I'm just some broken, pathetic girl who's in love with a boy who's never going to love her back. Now you know how much you hurt me" she finished off with a bleak smile before beginning to head for the door
Not sure whether to make this a one-shot or to carry on with it as another Jara story- sorry Jeroy shippers! Anyway, if I get enough reviews with people who want this to continue or if I get any ideas, I shall update again soon(ish). Read, enjoy, review! :-)