I do not own anything in this one shot, everything belongs to their rightful owners.
The anual carnival has arrived, and Mara and the gang couldn't be more happier. Mick will be going to California soon and Mara hopes to reconnect with him before he leaves, only things don't go as planned when Amber gets her to be about of the kissing booth with her, Patricia, and Nina. Will all thoughts about her and Mick's future be wiped away from her mind when she get a kiss from someone she never saw coming, said kiss being one that swept her off of her feet and sent her to cloud nine?
Mara was excited about the school's carnival. This was probably her favorite school event ever, or at least it was her favorite school event until this year. She couldn't believe what Amber had gotten her into this time. How had she even let Amber guilt her into doing this? Oh yeah, using the Mick card on her. It wasn't her fault Mick left Amber, she had forgotten her picnic date with Mick.
Mara was just happy that Mick had forgiven her for the Miss Robertson incident. She was excited that Mick was going to be able to enjoy this last event before he went off to California. She was going to miss him dearly, and she wished that they were an actual couple again, but she was happy for what she could get. As much as she hated to admit it though, she knew that Mick didn't trust her anymore. Which made her worried about the booth that Amber had her working in tonight.
A kissing booth.
"Earth to Mara!" Mara returned from her thoughts to see Patricia waving a hand in front of her face. "Amber says that it's not going to get crowded for a while since it's still early. We can go see the other games if you want?" Patricia said to her, trying to make up for shutting Mara out lately. Mara nodded and linked arms with Patricia happily as they left.
The two wondered around for a while, checking out the other booths as they went about. They had stopped to play a few of the games, but soon came up to one that caught Mara's eye. It was a dunk tank. She felt bad for who ever had to sit in the tank. Her eyes popped open when she saw the person in the swim suit. "Mick!" She blurted out with out even thinking twice about it. Mick looked over at them and smiled, waving over to them.
"We should be getting back to the booth before it gets too late. It's starting to get dark, Mara." Patricia said to her friend as she led her off into the other direction back to the kissing booth. Even though she's been preoccupied with the whole Joy mystery thing, it doesn't mean that she's been completely ignoring her friend. Amber's been filling her in here and there, and honestly? She didn't like the way Mick was treating Mara.
The two soon arrived back at the booth. It was now dark and the kids who weren't hosting their own booths were starting to show up. "There you two are. Hurry, it looks like we'll be getting some people soon." Amber said to them as she hurried them back into the booth. The two rolled their eyes at Amber, but still managed to give themselves one last look over and gloss check before boys started showing up.
It was an hour into the carnival, and Mara had only kissed a handful of boy so far. Not saying that they didn't get a lot of people stopping by, it was just that Amber got most of the kisses. Even Patricia and Nina had gotten more kisses than her. Not that she wanted to be kissed by a lot of boys tonight, a few of them were very creepy looking, but she would like to be more apart of this thing.
Mara giggled as she watched Fabian and Nina, very awkwardly, kiss. She saw the sparks fly between them, and she saw that they didn't even realize that they were still kissing. She wasn't an expect, but she could safely bet that this wasn't just some stupid kissing booth kiss for them. She was happy for them, they were perfect for the other. She just wished that she could have a kiss like that.
"Mara, you're up." Nina nudged Mara forward, only she ended up tripping and stumbling a little. She hadn't even noticed that Nina and Fabian had stopped kissing each other. "Oops, sorry." Nina said to her with fake innocence. Mara shot her a look before looking up to see who she was suppose to kiss this time. Her jaw dropped when she saw who it was.
"Jerome? What are you doing here?" Mara asked him, completely forgetting about the line behind Jerome. Jerome just grinned smugly down at Mara, tilting his head to the side as he slid his hands into his jean pockets. He couldn't help but notice that Mara had applied fresh lip gloss to her pink lips. He gave her a quick look over and saw that she was in usual Mara fashion, simple but still cute on her.
"Well this is a kissing booth, Mara. I'm here for my kiss, which apparently is going to be from you." Jerome said to her with a small chuckle upon seeing her shocked expression. Jerome pulled out a ten and slapped it on the counter. Mara bit her lip, wondering if she could get a pass on this one and let Amber or Nina kiss Jerome. She couldn't kiss Jerome, it would be . . . well, it would be strange. She was about to go do just that when she saw the daring look in his eyes. He was daring her to kiss him, and if she backed out? She'd be a wimp. It was just a kiss, not even a kiss kiss, just a stupid kissing booth, means absolutely nothing, kiss.
"Fine, but no tongue. I feel tongue, and you get a stinging cheek. Got it, Jerome?" Mara said to him as she looked him in the eye. Jerome's grin grew bigger on his face as he nodded. Mara bit her lip again as she reached up onto her tippy toes, leaning over toward Jerome. Jerome grinned as he leaned down and met Mara's lips half way.
Mara's eyes opened wide for a second as she felt a shock go through her whole body. Her eyes slowly closed as she felt herself give in to the kiss. Jerome's hand slowly moved up and cupped Mara's cheek, pulling her closer so he could deepen the kiss. The two didn't even realize what was going on around them, or even hear the wolf whistles echoing through the air. As much as Jerome wanted the kiss to go on longer, they both needed to breath and the rule was that there was to be no tongue involved.
They slowly pulled apart, a shocked expression on both of their faces as they stared at each other. Mara could still feel the tingling feeling on her lips from Jerome's kiss. Their eyes stayed locked on the other, both confused and curious as to what had just happened. A throat cleared behind them, causing Mara to jump out of her skin and look behind Jerome. It was then that she remembered that there was a line behind Jerome. She felt her cheeks go red from blushing, her heart feeling as if it was ripped out when she saw who was back a few people. Jerome's eyes slowly left Mara as he turned around to see who she was looking at.
Oh, crap. Mick. And did he not look happy to have watched Mara, who was suppose to be his 'girl', kissing the king of jokes, Jerome. One look at Jerome and he could see the smug look on his face, practically rubbing it in his face that he kissed Mara in front of him. Mick glared at the two before storming off, waving them off as he did.
Mara froze, what was she suppose to do now? Did she go after him? Should she stay here and talk to Mick later on at the house? She glanced at Jerome to see him still looking at her with that curious look on his face. It was just a stupid kissing booth kiss, it had to be. It couldn't be anything more than that. She was with Mick, sort of, right?
"Uh, um . . . ah, Mick wait!" Mara shouted out as she hurried after Mick. The other three girls didn't even try to get her to stay, not even Amber. As much as she hated the idea of Mara and Mick together, she didn't want them both to be hurt. They looked back at the line to see that Jerome was gone and the next boy in line was waiting for his kiss.
It didn't take long for Mara to catch up to Mick. "Mick! Mick, please wait! Mick!" Mara shouted out as she hurried after a fuming Mick. She skidded to a stop when he spun around to face her. "Mick, please. It was just a stupid kissing booth kiss. There was no tongue!" Mara didn't understand any of what had just happened in the last five minutes. Kissing Jerome wasn't suppose to send shivers down her spine, and feel like there were fire works going off in her head when his lips touched hers. That was how it was suppose to feel when Mick kissed her, not Jerome.
But it didn't feel like that when Mick kissed her. When Mick kissed her, he was sweaty or smelled like dusty old people. Jerome was dry and smelled like her favorite flavor of chocolate. Dark chocolate with a hint of banana mixed in. Wait, why was she comparing the two? The kiss with Jerome couldn't mean anything more than just a stupid kissing booth kiss.
"Is that how you've been kissing all night then? That was not just some kissing booth kiss, Mara. I was trying not to think about it all night, did you know that? Did you hate me that much that you had to kiss Jerome? Jerome, Mara! You're my girl, and you let him kiss you like that!" Mick was beat red from shouting. Mara felt tears stinging her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Mick wasn't being fair. It wasn't even about him, it was just a stupid kissing booth kiss, which just happened to be with Jerome.
"That's not fair, Mick. I don't hate you at all, far from it really. I'm not property though, especially not yours. I wanted to be your girl, Mick, but I'm not. As much as I would have liked to be, I'm not." Mara couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth right now. She wanted to be Mick's girl so badly, but she had to be honest. She wasn't Mick's girl, and she doubted that she would ever truly be his girl.
"What's not fair is having to hear you lie about wanting Jerome. Do you think I'm stupid, Mara, do you? I asked you to be my girl, and you said yes. I read your note and thought it was the truth. Well, stupid me then. You don't kiss someone like that when it's just a 'kissing booth kiss', Mara. So, ha ha, jokes on me then. I'm out of here. I gotta get back to the dunk tank." Mara flinched as Mick yelled at her before he stormed off. Once he was was gone, she couldn't keep fighting the tears back any longer.
"Mara?" Mara jumped a mile as she spun around, wiping her traitor tears as she turned to face a worried Patricia. Mara sniffled and gave Patricia a fake smile, one which Patricia saw straight through. "I heard everything, kind of hard not to when he 's shouting at you like he was." Patricia confessed to her with an innocent shrug. She wrapped an arm around Mara's shoulders and gave her a quick hug. "Mick's a bloke if he's letting you and Amber go like he did." Patricia said to her with a small smile. Mara smiled back and hugged her friend again.
"Patricia's right, can't believe I just said that, but she is." Mara looked behind Patricia to see that both Nina and Amber standing there. She was surprised to see Amber, she would have thought that Amber would be excited to hear Mick rip her heart out and stomp on it.
"Even I have to admit that he was being mean, Mara. You're still my friend, and you're hurt. I don't like it when my friends are hurt, not even when it's concerning you and Mick." Amber said to her with a small smile. Mara let out a sob laced laugh as she pulled Nina and Amber into the little hug. The two girls smiled as they joined in on the hug.
"Guys, I think I have an idea. Mick's in the dunk tank, right?" Nina said, a grin growing on her lips as they nodded confused. "Well, we should so dunk him." Nina said with a small laugh. She had talked to Fabian, before their kissing booth kiss, and found out that all of the guys in the Anubis house were going to be running the dunk tank. Mara wasn't sure, but it wasn't like she had a choice on the matter. The three practically dragged her over there.
Mick looked up angrily when he heard the girl's laughter. He was still dry, happy to say that no one had dunked him as of yet. His sights locked on a nervous Mara and his eyes narrowed at her. Mara bit her lip, not so sure about this anymore. Mick hated her now. She felt a little nudge on her arm and turned to see Amber giving her a small smile. Mara gave her a small smile back before she pulled out a ten and gave it to Fabian, who was blushing every time he looked at Nina. Alfie fetched her a couple balls for her to throw.
She aimed up the first ball, closing her eyes as she threw it. She opened her eyes just in time to see it miss. Mick laughed that bitter laugh that he's been fond of using with her lately. "Is that all you got, Mara?" Mic taunted her. Mara took a deep breath, she could do this. She aimed the second ball and threw it with all her might. The girls all cheered as the ball hit the target, but soon their laughter faded when Mick didn't fall in. The game was rigged!
Mara only had one chance left to dunk Mick, and that wasn't enough to try and find the hit point. Mick grinned in triumph, thinking that he wouldn't be getting dunked into the water any time soon. "Might I suggest something?" His grin disappeared when he saw Jerome appear beside Mara. Mara looked up at him shyly, but hesitantly nodded after a quick glance back at the others. Jerome moved behind her and placed one hand on her waist and the other laced between her fingers that was holding onto the ball.
Mara tensed up by the closeness, blushing when she felt herself pressed up against Jerome's chest. She jumped when his hand on her waist moved across her stomach. "It's all in the hips, Mara." She heard Jerome chuckle at her reaction. "You know, I'm surprised that being who your parents are that you didn't already dunk him." Jerome whispered to her as he got her arm into position. Mara looked up at him and shot him a look. As much as her parents wanted her to be into sports, she just wasn't. It didn't mean that she was clueless about sports, she just wasn't any good at them.
"It's rigged, but you already knew that, didn't you Jerome?" Mara whispered back him, causing him to chuckle again. She could feel the vibration of his laughter inside of his chest. The hand on her waist went to her shoulders, trying to get them to relax. She was too tensed up and wouldn't be able to do this unless she relaxed a little.
"Relax, Mara, or you'll never hit your target." Jerome whispered to her. Mara nodded and took a deep breath, trying her best to relax. It was harder said than done though with Jerome right behind her. After that kiss, everything was confusing and different now. "Okay, good enough. Now pull your arm back, keep your eyes open, and aim just a bit to the left." Jerome said to her as he moved her arm with his. Mara did as he said, throwing the ball toward the big target.
The ball hit the target again, only not directly this time. It hit the bottom left of it. The target moved though, causing the plank that Mick was sitting on to collapse out from under him. The other girls cheered as Mick went into the water. Mara's jaw dropped, excitement filling her body. She squealed and spun around, jumping up and pulling Jerome down by wrapping her arms around his neck. Jerome laughed as he lifted her up off of the ground and spun her around, causing her to laugh out more.
"You cheated! He told you where to throw the ball!" Mick sputtered when he came back up to the surface of the water. Jerome put Mara back down on the ground, the duo's smiles fading from their faces as they looked at Mick. Mick was fuming upon watching them laugh together. He hated Jerome so much at that moment. As much as Mick would have wanted to believe Mara when she said that the kiss he had witnessed was just some stupid kissing booth kiss, he couldn't kid himself when he saw how she reacted when Jerome was near by her.
"I did not cheat! The only cheating done here was done by you boys. The game was rigged, no wonder you weren't getting dunked." Mara told him, not believing that she was telling off Mick. The other girls cheered behind her, happy to see that Mara was finally standing up to Mick. Fabian, Jerome, and Alfie were trying their best not to laugh at their other friend. They were happy as well to see Mara standing up to Mick.
"I wasn't talking about just the game, Mara." Mick said to her with a pointed look at Jerome as he climbed out the tank and grabbed a towel. Mara couldn't believe him. They weren't even really together! He broke it off, and they had yet to say that they were back together again. Mara couldn't take the look that he was giving her anymore. She brushed passed the others and took off running toward the Anubis house. Jerome watched her retreating form before turning to look at Mick coldly.
"Nice one, mate." Jerome said over to Mick, who was glaring just as coldly in the direction that Mara had run off in. "I'll go find her." He said to the girls before he went to go after Mara. The three girls all shared a knowing look between them as they watched Jerome run after Mara. That was something to watch progress once Mick was gone.
Mara didn't now where she was running to, or even why she was running away, but she was. She wasn't surprised when she didn't hear any of her friends calling after her, but she was surprised when she heard Jerome's voice calling out to her. Why was Jerome everywhere she was when she wanted to be alone tonight? Things would be so much more easier if he just left her alone, like she wanted to be, but did she really want that?
"Everything's fine, Jerome. Go back to the dunk tank." Mara said out behind her as she continued toward the Anubis house. Jerome just rolled his eyes at her and picked up his pace to catch up to her. Obviously not everything was fine if she was leaving to go back to the house, alone, instead of staying and having some fun.
"You know, Mara, Mick was extremely wrong, and completely out of line back there." Jerome said to her as he fell into step with her. Mara didn't say anything back to him though. She didn't want to risk her voice cracking and Jerome having proof that she wasn't alright. Jerome sighed when he saw that Mara wasn't going to stop walking any time soon. "Mara, look at me." He grabbed a hold of her arm and spun her around, pulling her to a stop.
"What is it, Jerome? What do you want now?" Mara asked him angrily. She just wanted to go to her room and cry into her pillow. Jerome was shocked to see tears filling up in Mara's eyes. He had never wanted to see her cry, especially not over someone like Mick. He was a meat head, he didn't deserve to be cried over.
"Well, I'd like a smile, and maybe a little laugh out of you." Jerome said to her with a small grin. Mara looked at him, was he serious right now? She rolled her eyes at him and went to leave, but Jerome caught her wrist and pulled her back, closer to him this time. "Mara, luv, what Mick just said? He was wrong, complete and totally wrong. Well, besides one thing, he was wrong." Jerome said, hoping that he hadn't made a mistake of saying that last bit. Mara looked at him confused. What was Mick right about?
"What was he right about?" Mara asked him confused. She had never thought that in a million years that Jerome would ever say that Mick was right about anything. Jerome didn't look like he was going to come out and just tell her though. "Jerome? Tell me, please." Mara asked him, taking a step closer to him, if that was even possible.
"That kiss wasn't just some stupid charity thing, and you know it as well as I do." Jerome told her, his eyes flicking down to her pink lips quickly, the memory of his kiss with Mara replaying in his head again. Mara bit her lip, her eyes looking up at him unsure. She didn't want Mick to be right about that. She didn't want to like Jerome like she does.
"Jerome, I . . ." Mara trailed off, not knowing what to say to him. Jerome bit his lip, thinking that she just didn't know how to reject him nicely.
"It's alright, no big deal. My mistake, I should be getting back then." Jerome said to her, his walls building back up just as quickly as they had come down. He turned to leave and started walking back toward the carnival. Mara bit her lip as she watched him walking away. She glanced back at the house. She didn't know what she was doing, but suddenly she was running over to Jerome.
"Jerome!" She called out to him, causing him to stop and slowly turn to face her. He didn't even get a moment to prepare before Mara jumped into his arms and crashed her lips onto his own. Jerome stumbled back a little on impact, but didn't waist any time before responding to Mara's kiss. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Mara smiled when Jerome nipped at her bottom lip, asking for permission to deepen their kiss more. Mara happily opened her mouth, letting their tongue battle out their kiss. Her fingers threaded through his hair, pulling him closer to her. The need for air soon became too strong, and they couldn't put it off any longer. They broke apart slowly, breathing heavily as they leaned their heads against the others. Their eyes stayed locked together as they both smiled.
Mara giggled, squealing out in laughter as Jerome picked her up off of the ground and spun her around as he chuckled. Her knees felt weak as he set her back down on the ground. It felt as if Jerome's arms wrapped around her were the only thing keeping her from falling onto the ground. It was Jerome's kiss that had done that to her. Sure, Mick kisses had made her smile, but Jerome's kisses did so much more than that. They made her tingle all over, and get weak in the knees. God, she even giggled just thinking about kissing Jerome again.
Jerome gave her another peck on the lips before slinging his arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him as he led her back to the carnival to have some fun. Mara was right earlier when she thought this carnival would be different from the rest. She had thought her and Mick were on the road to being together for real, but she knew that she had been mistaken after that kissing booth kiss with Jerome, even though she hadn't known it at the time. She officially loved kissing booths, especially when it was Jerome that was waiting in line to kiss her.