Hey! So my newest oneshot is here, prompted by gentleautumnrain on FF, or becauseireadbooks as she is known as on Tumblr. :)
It's basically just a bunch of little snippets of what Jerome and Mara do on weekends while they're in high school. And yes, plenty of fluffy Jara romance. ;)
I hope you enjoy this, love!
Jerome rubbed his hands together excitedly, watching Mara slide the tray of unbaked cookies into the oven. Once the timer had been started, he hopped onto the counter and grabbed a spoon from the silverware draw. He scooped some of the cookie dough out of the bowl and shoveled it into his mouth, his blue eyes meeting Mara's brown ones.
She planted her fists on her hips and arched an eyebrow. "Jerome Henry Clarke," she murmured, lifting the bowl to the other counter, and her boyfriend pouted.
"What am I supposed to snack on before the cookies?" he asked.
"You sound like Eddie." She laughed.
He scrunched his nose and shook his head. "No."
"No?"
"No."
Mara smiled and took the spoon from him, scooping some cookie dough into her mouth. Jerome scoffed, looking offended as he slid off the counter.
"Why can't I have any?"
Mara giggled and fed him some. He chuckled, kissing her forehead, and Mara walked around him when the timer started to beep, signaling that the cookies were done.
When the cookies had cooled enough to eat, they sat down across from each other at the dining room table with tall glasses of milk, tapped their cookies together, and dug into their snack.
Jerome sat beside Mara on the park bench with a heavy sigh. She looked up from her book and slid her glasses off her face.
"Are you okay?" she asked with a small smile.
"Do you ever have those days where you just…?"
"Need a hug for no reason?"
Jerome nodded silently, sinking into her embrace as she wrapped her arms around his back. He buried his face into her neck and breathed in deeply. His pulse started to race when she began tracing lines along his back, humming softly into his ear. They were both silent. And they comforted each other, even though they felt that nothing was wrong.
Jerome ran a hand through his hair and stopped in the doorway of the common room. He stared at Mara silently, and then looked down at hisshirt which read, Stay Crazy and Call Joker. He looked back up at Mara and found her biting her lip to hold back a laugh. He looked down at her t-shirt that was almost exactly like his, except without the scribbling that was on his shirt, it read, Keep Calm and Call Batman.
Jerome reached out and grinned, taking her hand. "Please, don't ever stop loving me."
Mara giggled and wrapped her arm around his waist as his went around her shoulders, leaving the house together.
"What's the occasion?" Jerome smirked, poking his head around the door, his electric blue eyes landing on his girlfriend.
Mara smoothed the white blouse down her sides and turned to him. "I've got a hot date."
"With whom, may I ask?" He ran a hand through his blonde hair.
"Batman,"
"No, Joker," he corrected with a grin and wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned around before he could kiss her and lifted her cell phone, pointing it at the fall length mirror they were standing in front of. "What are you doing?"
"Taking a picture of my Joker," She smiled.
"Are you in the picture?"
"Yes,"
"Good," he tightened his grip on her waist and kissed her cheek as she took the photo.
She was about to protest that he hadn't been looking at the camera, but Jerome just laughed, taking her hand and pulling her out of the room.
Mara looked up at Jerome warily and he turned away from her, acting like he didn't just smirk at her like a total psychopath. She directed her gaze back to her book and felt his gaze on her almost instantly when he grinned at her again.
Finally, she groaned, standing up. "Jer—" But her voice was cut off by her laughter when he suddenly pounced on her, wrapping his arms around her waist and rolling them onto the sofa as he tickled her sides. "Jer-Jerome," she chortled, squirming in his arms. "St-stop it—I can't breathe!"
After a few more seconds, he relented, and stopped tickling her. He sat up, holding her in his lap, and grinning at her giddily. And then he laughed when she squeezed his knee, knowing his legs were ticklish. He stood up, pushing her away from him with wide, warning eyes. But grabbed his tie quickly and attacked his sides with her fingers. He burst out laughing, falling to the floor, and Mara straddled him. He rolled them until she was on her back and gripped her wrists, pinning them on the floor above her head.
He chuckled, struggling to catch his breath as she did the same. And then he couldn't help himself as he watched her lying beneath him, blushing furiously and hair splayed on the floor wildly. He leaned down and kissed her lips, letting her wrists go and then suddenly bursting out in loud guffaws when she began tickling him again.
The tables were turned again and he found himself under her. She giggled.
"Alright, I surrender." He licked his lips and Mara leaned down so their lips met again.
Jerome hummed thoughtfully, tracing patterns on Mara's thigh as they sat in one of the arm chairs in the House common room. "Okay, Jaffray, what about a movie?"
Mara shook her head. "We did that yesterday."
"Oh, right… Chess," he raised his dark eyebrows.
"We do that all the time."
"Park?"
She shook her head, dark hair falling around her face.
"Why don't we listen to some music?" he smiled.
She tilted her head curiously. "Explain."
"We could listen to a couple albums all the way through." He said.
"You pick first," she said, biting her lip.
"Alright, I'll be right back." he winked and stood up, leaving the room to get a CD. When he returned, he popped it into the DVD player and the TV's screen shimmered with wavy lights as the first song began. "This album is so calming." He said as he pulled her back into his lap and leaned his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes.
"If I gave you my heart…"
Jerome chuckled and leaned down a little. Mara laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and hopping on his back, legs winding around his waist. She kissed his cheek and Jerome shook his head, feeling the cool sea water wash over his feet as he carried her piggyback down the beach. "Darling, you're such a kid."
"You love me for it." she sang into his ear.
"Maybe," he smirked, one of his hands sliding up her thigh, and she shrieked, her arms tightening around his neck, when he pinched her butt.
"Jerome Clarke, you're impossible." she mumbled into his shoulder, her face burning.
"You love me for it." he repeated.
"Maybe," she copied him teasingly.
Jerome smirked, scrolling down the webpage. "What about this one? Chateau Miranda in Belgium; the castle was originally built by French aristocrats fleeing the revolution. During and after World War II, Miranda Castle was used as an orphanage. It was abandoned in 1980, with the family refusing to allow authorities to care for the structure. Because of its past, this haunting castle remains a favorite amongst ghost hunters."
Mara nodded with an eager look in her brown orbs. "That's really creepy."
"Or this military hospital in Germany; that one's pretty haunted looking." He grinned, examining the photos.
"We need to go exploring." Mara laughed, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I promise I'll take you to all the haunted abandoned places you want to go, Jaffray." Jerome said, kissing her forehead.
Mara covered her mouth to silence her giggles and set her cup of tea on the dining room table. "J, please, stop making me laugh. It's almost one in the morning. We're going to wake up the whole house."
"It's a weekend. We can laugh if we want to." He hissed with a playfulness gleaming in his bright irises. "Weekends were made for laughter."
Mara sipped her tea slowly, pulling her legs up to her chest. "I guess you're right. But we don't need to be rude."
Jerome pressed his thin lips together and chuckled under his breath. He stood up and took her hand while his other hand held his tea. He pulled her toward the back door. "Then let's go outside so we're not disturbing anyone and I can be romantic under the stars, which will make me even more romantic." He said with a wink and Mara giggled again, following him out of the house.
Mara smirked in a way her boyfriend was proud of and pointed her spray fan at him. Mist blew onto his face and he mockingly returned her smirk. "You know that feels good, right? It's so freaking hot."
"You're the one that wanted to come." Mara accused teasingly.
"And aren't you glad I invited you?" he asked, spreading his arms as wide as he could in the large crowd they stood in that surrounded a stage. "Warped Tour is amazing, babe! Don't you agree?"
"Yes, I agree." She nodded, closing her eyes when a sudden breeze swept through the lot, and she knew everyone was taking a moment to bask in the coolness while it lasted.
"J," Mara drifted off warningly when she saw his eyes snap toward her briefly when a band that was playing beside the stage started performing an acoustic song.
Jerome laughed, winding an arm around her waist and taking her hand, spinning them around slowly. Mara giggled at the random slow dance, but, despite the slight embarrassment of have several people around them watch with longing or amusement, she let him twirl her around because this just made her love him even more.
Mara bit her lip and popped up from behind the common room sofa. She uncapped the Sharpie marker and lowered the tip of it to Jerome's face. She drew a black triangle with rounder corners on the tip of his nose and then drew six lines on his cheeks, three on either side of his nose. And then his eyes suddenly snapped open, startling her and she jumped away from him.
He stood up and locked eyes with her before he eyed the pen in her hand. He turned to the mirror quickly and gaped at the cat whiskers she drew on his face. Mara finally burst into a fit of laughter, holding her stomach.
"You look so cute—Jerome, no!" she screamed, dropping the marker and taking off toward the door.
The blonde swiped the Sharpie from the ground and dashed after her. He jumped down the front porch steps and landed on the gravel pathway, spotting his girlfriend running toward the school. He smirked, breaking into a sprint. In seconds he was right behind her, and he grabbed her by her waist, twisting her to a stop and pushing her onto the ground beneath him.
"Jerome Clarke, this can be considered sexual harass—" she stopped talking when she felt the cold tip of the marker press onto her nose. She stopped struggling, realizing she had no chance of escape. When he was finished, he stood up and pulled her with him. He grinned and leaned down, pecking her lips.
"Don't prank me next time, alright, love?" he chuckled, chucking her under the chin.
Jerome brushed his nose against Mara's cheek, entwining their fingers together as they sat on the park bench. "I love you."
"I love you more."
"I love you most."
"I love you more than you can love me most." She said teasingly.
Jerome laughed. "I love you more than anyone can love anything."
"I love you more than love songs could ever explain."
"I love you more than I could ever scream."
Mara scoffed. "I love you more than I need air to breathe."
"I love you more than I need you to live."
"I love you more than life itself."
Jerome rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."
"I love you more." She whispered.
Jerome softly massaged Mara's shoulders with his hands while they sat on the common room sofa, Jerome leaning back on the arm, and Mara between his legs, head resting on his chest. They were watching Beauty and the Beast. It had been Mara's choice of the movie they'd watch for movie night. Mara was singing along softly with 'Be Our Guest' while Jerome just kissed her neck, loving that something as simple as a Disney movie made her so happy.
Jerome ran a hand through his hair and silently leaned back on the wooden guardrail before he stepped away from it rather nervously. When Mara rested her elbows on the wood, looking out at trees, mountains, animals, flowers, giant rocks and the stream that rushed beneath them, Jerome grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from it.
"J, what's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, her dark brown hair pulled up into a ponytail.
"I don't like that banister. It doesn't look safe." He mumbled, slapping his neck when he felt a bug land on him.
Mara pressed her lips together a bit sympathetically when she noticed how uncomfortable he seemed. "I'm sorry, Jerome. I wasn't being very considerate. I forgot that hiking isn't really your thing."
"No, it's alright." He assured her, waving flies out of his face. "I need to get out more anyway. It's Saturday. I don't need to be cooped up inside—stupid flies, get out of my face."
"They might like your hair products." Mara explained quietly.
Jerome sighed, giving up and hanging his head.
His girlfriend shuffled her feet over the leaf covered path.
Finally, he took a deep breath, inhaling air that defined nature. He silently picked up a stone from the ground and took her hand, entwining their fingers. "You want to carve our initials into the bridge?"
Mara smiled and nodded, but she pulled a small pocket knife out of her pocket, which caused Jerome too blush a little because he knew that she'd have something like that with her. He took it from her and successfully carved their initials inside a heart onto the banister.
Review?
Hope you liked it!
Babe, I'm working on the other prompt right now! I hope I like that one as much as I love this one. :P
"It's all the rain that's putting me to sleep. I'll let the blood tell the truth tonight. This is my life's work. 11 tracks is not enough to tell you how I've died inside. And love is lost like words..." -Creatures, Motionless In White
-Rachel