Nature's Choice/Jara Challenge for FabinaFan14
Heavy footsteps pounded along the pavement in a set cadence, refusing to stop. They commanded the ground they walked on as cold water flew through the air. The freezing droplets jumped between the hard stone earth and the shoes that tread against them. Nature was angry and it had no problem speaking through the weather. It was the tears of the sky that the footsteps were running from and nature controlled the sky. Nature could stop the tears, but it didn't.
"Hurry Mara! Before we get killed!" voiced one of the fleeing figures. He ran at a pace ten feet ahead of the other figure, trying to slow himself down to be by her.
"Sorry Jerome! My legs aren't as long as yours!" Mara moved her feet as fast as she could, trying to escape from the treacherous storm. She held a coat over her head as her feet splashed through the water. Lightning struck a tree nearby and the two figures jumped in alarm. Jerome quickly turned around and ran towards Mara, placing his arm around her waist to protect her from the lightning. Had it not been for the storm, he wouldn't dare try anything so intimate and had it not been for the cold, she would have resisted the gesture. Mara felt the heat radiate from the boy next to her and a strange sensation moved its way into her toes. She shrugged off the feeling as the two continued to run. Neither knew where they were headed at this point. The plan had originally been to go back to the boarding house, but the drastic weather changed caused any hopes of returning home to vanish.
"The rain is picking up. We've got to find some place to stay while we wait for the storm to subside," Jerome told Mara as he pushed his wet hair from his face and surveyed the area around them. The nearest place was an abandoned building but it was the only one in sight.
"Over there!" Mara exclaimed as she pointed to the building and the two ran towards it—Jerome's hand still on the small of her back. Jerome and Mara burst through the door, shuddering from the chill of the abandoned structure overtaking their bodies. The wind violently slammed the door behind them causing Mara to cry out in fear, and Jerome silently tightened his grip on her back. The room was pitch black and the two teenagers were stuck until the weather subsided, but all he could think about was her safety.
"J-J-Jerome. I-I'm scared of the d-d-ddark," Mara whispered quietly as she reached out to grab his hand. He held her in a tight embrace as she cried into his chest.
"Shh. It's okay, we're safe here. I'm just going to turn on the lights and it'll all be okay." Jerome squeezed her hand before tentatively letting go. He felt around the walls, stumbling in the dark, before finally finding the light switch. As Jerome turned around, the first thing he noticed wasn't the thousands of old books that surrounded him, but the way the light above reflected on Mara. Her previously straightened hair had reverted back to its curly self. Her makeup had washed away in the rain. Her uniform clung to her body and dripped with every step she took. But somehow to Jerome she had never looked more beautiful. He didn't understand; how could someone look so perfect after running through a storm? Her deep brown eyes flitted around the room as she gaped at the books before them and Jerome silently sighed. She went straight to the shelves without even acknowledging what he had done. She hadn't even turned around to face him.
"Wow. Look at all these old books. I bet they've been ignored for years." Mara brushed her fingers across the spines of the books as dust fell from the various shelves. "I can only begin to imagine what kinds of secrets these hold," she added. Mara stopped in the middle of one of the shelves and pulled out a book by its edge. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped, grazing her hand over the cover. Gold calligraphy and ruby stones were delicately placed upon the surface. The binding barely stayed intact as she flipped through the pages, expelling more dust into the air. Strange characters covered every page; there were no empty spaces.
"Yeah, amazing…" Jerome whispered, unable to take his gaze off of the hazel skinned girl before him. It wasn't fair that she could make his stomach flip with the blink of an eye. It wasn't fair that she could make his knees buckle with the slight brush of a finger. It wasn't fair that she could do this to him and not even realize it. He walked towards her, pretending to examine a book nearby. He could see her shivering out of the corner of his eye. Her lips were parted and her teeth chattered.
"Mara, are you cold?" Jerome asked already knowing the answer.
"A bit…"
Jerome removed his blazer from his body and wrapped it around Mara. The inside had managed to stay dry and the jacket was still warm from his body. Mara graciously wiggled her arms into the jacket and smiled.
"Thank you. That was very sweet." Mara said as she turned to face him.
"I don't mind the cold," Jerome whispered as he stared into her eyes. He looked distraught. His eyes screamed out in misery and exhaustion, but he smiled back none the less. Mara hesitantly turned back towards the shelves as they continued to walk through the sections. She stopped occasionally to distract herself with the books before her, but her mind kept drifting to the sad boy that walked by her side. She couldn't recall every seeing him look so tortured.
The storm raged on and thunder roared through the sky so they just walked in silence. They went through every genre imaginable: history, art, science, math, fiction, and even reference books. Only one set of shelves remained before them-the sport section. Mara's jaw dropped as she raced towards the shelves, a title catching her attention from afar.
"Oh my god! Look Jerome, its Beckham: Both Feet on the Ground!" Mara exclaimed joyously.
"What on earth is that?" he asked.
"Only David Beckham's autobiography."
"Since when do you like reading about David Beckham? I mean I get that he's a good-looking bloke and all, but you don't even like football," Jerome questioned her as he scratched his head in confusion.
"No, Jerome. Don't you get it? It's not me who likes reading about David Beckham, it's Mick. This book is his favorite book-well the only book he's ever read," Mara giggled quietly.
"Oh… Mick." Jerome said curtly as he rolled his eyes. He turned his back to Mara, walking towards the window, and watched the rain fall behind the glass.
"Whatever. I just can't believe you have no emotion whatsoever over his departure." Mara continued to flip through the book.
"I guess I just didn't like the guy." Jerome put his hand to the window and traced the falling rain with his finger.
"What's not to like? He's funny, cute, sweet, athletic, and a joy to be around. Not to mention he's never done anything to do." She studied him carefully as his eyes were glued to the window. Jerome quickly turned around.
"I get it okay? Mick's the greatest person on the planet! Sorry I'm not a part of the fan club. I honestly can't believe you're still hung up on the guy. He lives halfway across the globe!"
"Just because he isn't around doesn't mean I don't still care for him. I'll always care for him!" Mara exclaimed as she hit Jerome on the arm.
"Well if you care about him so dearly, why did you break up with him right before he left?" Jerome hissed as he stared Mara right in the eye. She flinched.
"I broke up with him because I care about him, you jerk! He wouldn't have gone to that amazing football academy if I was still with him! I had to let him go. I had to, for him. Mara abruptly turned from Jerome and crossed her arms. She felt tears start to fall from her eyes as the memories of Mick flooded her mind.
"Whatever," Jerome retorted as he began to walk away.
"You know what your problem is, Jerome? You don't know how difficult it is to be apart from someone you love. You're the most egocentric person I've ever met in my life you don't care about anybody but yourself!" Mara cried as the tears streamed down her face.
"I don't understand? You know Mara, of course you're right—I mean you're always right aren't you? I don't understand how difficult it is to be away from someone I love. I've only been away from my parents since I was five. I've only just seen my sister for the first time in three years. Of course I don't understand. How could I possibly fathom the type of pain you're feeling?" Jerome seethed as he walked closer and closer to Mara, his eyes losing stability with every step he took. He dropped his voice to a low whisper. "But you know what you don't understand, dear little Mara? You don't understand what it's like to wake up every day only to be reminded that the person you love doesn't even notice you. You don't have to spend every waking hour knowing that the person you love literally sees right through you. How he goes to you with every little problem in his own love life, yet never bothers to ask you what's wrong. And certainly not with the fact that no matter how much you wish you could forget about him and move on, you just can't. But it's okay because you don't know what that feels like, do you Mara?" Jerome's face hung inches away from hers as she trembled and shook her head. He quickly withdrew his face and wore a frown.
"Yeah I didn't think so. It's always rainbows and sunshine with you, isn't it?" Jerome stormed out of the library and ran into the middle of the storm, feeling the ice cold rain pierce his skin. Mara quickly chased after him, confusion running through her mind.
"Jerome! Are you crazy? You're going to get yourself killed!" Mara ran out toward him, stopping short a few feet. She felt the rain wipe away her tears, only to feel the cold water numbing her skin.
"What do you care?" Jerome yelled up to the sky at the top of his lungs. His body basically begged the lightning to take a hold of him and strike him from the sky. The rain water mixed with his tears and streamed down his cheeks, and he let out a silent sob.
"Of course I care, Jerome! You're my friend."
"Your friend? Are you really telling me that after everything that has happened the only thing you see fit to call me is your friend? Jerome turned toward her, his eyes blank and a morbid curl upon his lips.
"W-what d-do you mean?" Mara met him in the center of the field and looked up into his blue eyes. She could swear she saw a tear fall down his face, but it could've just been the rain. Gently, she reached up to wipe the tear from his face, letting her hand linger a bit. He really did have beautiful eyes. Jerome could feel his stomach flip as she touched his face. He flinched slightly as she let her hand drop and shook his head.
"You really don't know, do you?" He studied her closely and stroked a piece of hair from her face. Mara shook her head gently in reply. She couldn't even begin to fathom what he was talking about. How did he not see them as friends?
"Oh Mara, where do I even begin?" Jerome sighed as brought his hands behind his head and looked down in disbelief. He paced back and forth for a bit trying to get the words out, but they were lodged in his throat. He couldn't seem to speak them.
"I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love you Mara. I'm completely and hopelessly in love with you. Sometimes I wish I wasn't because of how painful it is, but I can't help it. I guess on some level I always have, I just didn't realize it until it was too late and you were already with Mick." Jerome stuffed his hands in his pockets and quietly shuffled his feet. "But how could I not love you? You're smart, funny, kind—everything I'm not—and not to mention that I can't breathe every time I'm near you. So I waited; waited for you and Mick to end, waited for you to see that you're meant for me. And when Mick left I thought you might finally notice how I act around you. How it's different from how I act around everyone else. But you never did. You were too busy moping about Mick to even see. You couldn't stop thinking about him, or talking about him and it killed me on the inside. Whenever you started to cry, it was my shoulder that got wet. Whenever you couldn't walk straight, it was my hand that played the crutch. Whenever you needed me, I was there." Jerome ran his fingers through his hair as he took a deep breath. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've been here all along, right here in front of you—you've just been too blind to notice."
Mara blinked, completely speechless, as she felt Jerome's breathe linger in the air. She tried to say something, anything, but the words just wouldn't escape. He had just poured his heart out in front of her, and she couldn't even react.
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything, I didn't think you would. I'd rather not be told of what a fool I've just made of myself." Jerome chuckled silently, trying to lighten the heavy mood he had caused, but the air was still thick with tension. He turned his back to Mara and started to walk away from the clearing when he felt a slight tug on his hand. Jerome slowly turned around to see her standing right before him. Her eyes were clear and her mouth was slightly parted.
"You haven't been the fool, Jerome. I have." She whispered quietly as she brushed his hair from his face. He stroked her cheek gently with his hand and stared into her dark brown eyes. Gently, Jerome nudged her chin up and met her lips with his. He kissed her with all the passion he had and she met his kiss-trusting him in a way she never had. At that moment, the rain subsided and the sun broke through the clouds. The storm had calmed and even Jerome wore a smile. Nature was happy once again.
Authors Note/ Finally decided to write something again and I absolutely love this pairing so I hope I did the story some justice. If anyone catches any grammatical errors or other errors please let me know. Oh and please review/critique, I'm trying to improve with every piece I submit. Also note that this was written for FabinaFan14's Jara challenge so check out the other submissions too!