The Cold Shoulder
"Happy Valentine's Day, Iridiumites! This year, instead of merely buying candy hearts for your sweetheart, you're giving them the cold shoulder! Here's how it works: girls will wear a paper heart around their necks, and for the whole day they can't talk to any guys, the exception being teachers. If a girl does talk to a guy, then she has to give him her heart. The boy who has the most hearts at the end of the day will get a free dinner for two at Brillare! Have fun, girls, and keep your mouths shut!"
Gigi mimed zipping her mouth closed, then throwing away the key. Sebastian lowered the camera, signaling that he was done recording. The junior journalist smiled in satisfaction.
"C'mon, Sebastian, I hear there's another scoop in the cafeteria!" Gigi squealed.
Sebastian merely smirked, holding out a hand.
"Darn it!" Gigi frowned, taking off her paper heart necklace and handing it to her cameraman.
...
"I don't know, Jax. Emma is really smart, I doubt she's going to fall for any of your tricks."
"Philip, this is social butterfly, extremely nice Emma we're talking about. She talks to everyone, especially to me. There's no way she can keep her mouth shut for the whole day," the wizard grinned as he buttoned up his uniform shirt.
Jax and Philip had gym class for first period, which would end in roughly two minutes.
"Besides," Jax went on, "aren't you going to try to get Andi's heart?"
Philip smirked, "I already have it."
Jax rolled his eyes, "smooth."
The boys laughed as they grabbed their bags and headed out of the locker room. They were dismissed two minutes before the bell rang, so everyone could go to their lockers, drop off their bags, and get their books.
The best friends always hurried to their lockers, so they'd have time to wait outside Mrs. Jones's class. Emma and Andi had Physiology together for first period, so the boys would always try to walk their girlfriends to their next classes.
They made it to the door, both of them a little winded.
"You just watch Philip, I'll be wearing Emma's heart by lunchtime," Jax smirked.
"I doubt it, I have faith in her," Philip chuckled. "However, I think I have the perfect way to fool Andi."
The wizard didn't have time to ask what it was because the bell rang. In seconds the hallways were crowded with students. The boyfriends waited patiently for Emma and Andi.
The girl best friends came out of the room, laughing about something the boys didn't know about.
"Hey, Emma," Jax grinned, taking her hand.
Emma only smiled up at him in response.
"Hi, Andi," Philip said.
Like Jax, he was met with a smile and silence.
Soon, Philip and Andi departed for the next class they shared. Unfortunately, Jax didn't have a class with Emma until third period.
The pair arrived in front of Emma's classroom door. Jax stared into her eyes and smiled, before cupping her face with his hand, leaning down to press a kiss on her lips. "See you later, Em."
His girlfriend smiled, squeezing his hand as a form of good-bye. Then, she escaped into her class.
While Jax was walking to his own, he couldn't help but be a bit puzzled. Honestly, he had expected Emma to say something to him within a minute, but she was more clever than he gave her credit for.
He had to make her crack.
...
Daniel wasn't having much luck either, only he was trying to wear down Mia. As they walked down the hall, hand in hand, he tried striking up a conversation but had no such luck. The Kanay was stubbornly silent.
"C'mon, Mia. Are you really doing this? You'd rather not talk to me, your boyfriend, for a whole day than to give up a paper heart?"
Mia smirked as she nodded.
Daniel tried to think of a good tactic.
"So, I was thinking of taking your advice and letting my hair grow out a little bit."
Mia gasped in happiness, opening her mouth to vocally express her joy, only for her eyes to widen and her mouth to clamp shut. Quickly, she took a pen out of her skirt pocket, ripped out a piece of paper from her tablet, and scribbled a message, all the while a slow smile spreading across her features. After a minute, she gave it to Daniel.
Nice try, Killer Miller ;)
...
Diego seemed to be the only satisfied boy of the group that day. Maddie didn't really care about it at all, it was only a second into the school day when she shouted for her Proxy. A corner of his mouth quirked up as he felt the pink paper heart around his neck.
...
Jax sat at his desk, tapping the end of his pen against his tablet as he tried to think. The ongoing drone of the teacher about who-knows-what was really distracting. He had to think of a way to make Emma talk.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Sophie doodling in her tablet. As he looked closer, he could tell that they were supposed to be kangaroos. The wizard at first rolled his eyes, but then focused on the bright pink heart around her neck.
Jax smirked as the wheels in his head began to turn.
...
Emma bit her lip in her own class.
It was so hard not to talk to Jax. She loved talking to him, she even confided in him back when he wasn't her boyfriend.
It felt so weird that Emma couldn't greet him with her usual, 'hi, Jax!' Instead, she had to stay quiet, only giving him smiles and the occasional nod.
Turns out, Andi wasn't doing much better with the struggle. She and Philip were, for the most part, inseperatable, so this was hard for her too.
But the witch was determined to keep her heart. She wasn't going to let Jax win in the end this time.
...
At last, third period ended. Jax confidantly strode over to Sophie's desk, quickly charming her with a smile.
"Hey, Sophie."
The girl smiled brightly, "hi, Jax!"
The wizard said nothing, only opening his hand toward her.
It dawned on her, her smile was replaced by a disappointed frown. "Aw, man!"
Okay, he felt a bit bad, but he was set on wearing Emma's heart around his neck by the end of the day.
That sounded so wrong, he thought with a disgusted curl of his lips.
...
Emma's face was buried in a tablet, doing homework, so she didn't see her boyfriend walk in the room.
As usual, he took the seat besides hers, and when Emma noticed his presence, she looked up and smiled...only to frown when she saw what was around his neck.
Emma wasn't stupid, she knew more than half the girls at Iridium admired Jax. However, he only had eyes for her. At least, that's what she assumed.
Jax smirked at the witch's cold glare. "What's wrong, Em?"
Emma tore out a piece of paper, wrote a note, then put it on his desk for him to read.
Whose heart is that?
Jax feigned confusion, he pulled the paper closer to his face. Finally, he placed it back on the desk. "Sorry, but I can't read your writing," he lied. Emma's penmanship was near perfection, and they both knew it.
Emma rose an eyebrow, then crossed her arms and turned away from him in a gesture that meant, 'fine.'
Hm, he thought. He was sure she'd press him about his paper heart. Since this was a study, he could talk to her freely.
"It was actually pretty easy to get this heart, she was only too eager to talk to me," Jax smirked as he taunted her.
Emma's mouth formed a pout as he eyes narrowed. Still, she didn't say a word.
"All I had to do was give her the old 'Jax smirk' and I had her eating out of the palm of my hand. Well, more like 'talking.'"
Nothing. Although, Emma was starting to get pretty ticked.
"I wonder if I can get any other girls to give their hearts to me," he chuckled, "actually, no, I don't wonder. I know I can."
The witch growled low in her throat.
"I-" he started to say when the bell went off, signaling that it was time for fourth period.
With a huff, Emma grabbed her books and hurried out of the room, without so much as a passing glance to Jax. He only scowled, annoyed that she kept silent. He's going to have to try harder.
...
At lunchtime, Emma, Jax, Andi, and Philip were all sitting together, as usual. However, instead of all of them socializing with each other, Emma was only speaking to Andi and Jax was talking only with Philip.
It was a good thing she couldn't talk to Jax, because Emma was pretty angry at the fact of how he now had six hearts around his neck.
"You're not jealous, are you, Em?" Andi grinned.
"No, why would I be?" she lied.
"You shouldn't, Jax is just doing all this to make you talk. You know he doesn't care about any other girls."
Emma gave a small smile, "I know. It's just...ugh."
"Besides, the guy who gets the most hearts gets that dinner for two at Brillare. If Jax wins, then you know he'll take you," Andi replied.
"I'm still not giving him my heart, I will keep it," Emma vowed.
"Andi," Philip suddenly said.
Curious, Andi brought her gaze over to him.
"You know how Zombie Apocalypse Four was supposed to come out in two weeks?"
Andi nodded.
"Well, I heard that they're actually giving it an early release, we can get it at midnight."
"No way!" Andi gasped, "really?! You're lying!"
"Andi!" Emma quietly scolded.
"What?" she replied. Then it dawned on her. "Oh."
Philip smirked, holding out his hand.
Andi glowered at him, yet handed over her heart. "That was just low."
Jax and Philip laughed, giving each other a fist bump.
"Now all I have to do is get yours, Em," Jax provoked.
The witch only shook her head.
...
By the last class of the day, Jax was wearing eleven hearts around his neck. However, the heart he really wanted he still didn't obtain.
Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.
It was freaking Valentine's Day, and he hadn't said 'Happy Valentine's Day' to her. He didn't even give her the note he had written her. Instead, he obsessed over winning her paper heart.
He felt like an idiot, not only did he purposely make her jealous, but it was possibly the most romantic day of the year and he hadn't done anything for her.
Jax glanced at the hearts, maybe he had enough to win.
When Emma walked in the room, her eyes widened at the sight of the many hearts he had. Yet she took her usual place at the desk next to his, ignoring him.
"Hey, Em," he greeted.
He received a nod for a response.
"Happy Valentine's Day."
Her shoulders relaxed, as she turned to look at him. Emma gave him a smile, then returned her attention to her desk. She didn't have any homework to do.
"I have the perfect date planned for tonight; we're going to an expensive restaurant and you can have anything you want. Would you like that?" he asked.
Emma excitedly nodded her head.
Jax grinned, "but I won't tell you where it is yet, it's a surprise."
The witch frowned slightly, disappointed.
He scooted his chair closer to hers, "I'm sorry I forgot to tell you 'Happy Valentine's Day,' and for making you jealous. I'm sorry I took you for granted, all I did today was obsess about getting your heart. I know it's late, but-" he paused, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a note.
Touched, Emma took the note and began to read it.
Emma,
You have no idea how lucky I still consider myself that you chose me instead of Daniel. I love being with you, there is no one else I'd rather be with. You can always bring a smile to my face, and I feel I can talk to you about anything. Only you know the real me.
I have completely fallen for you. Everything you do, everything you say, everything you are. You're my first thought in the morning, you're my last thought before I fall asleep, and you're almost every thought in between.
I love you, Emma.
Happy Valentine's Day
Always yours,
Jax
Emma wiped the lone tear that escaped her eye, biting her lip to suppress the large grin that was threatening to take over her features.
"I love you too, Jax."
Suddenly she gasped, covering her mouth.
She talked.
Jax was shocked to say the least, yet smirked as he held out his hand.
"That's not fair!" she protested.
"Yes it is, you talked to me. You gotta give me your heart now, Em," he was holding back a laugh.
With a glare, she took off the heart and handed it to him.
"Well, now that I can talk, whose hearts are those?" Emma crossed her arms together.
The wizard chuckled, "just some random girls, one of them was Sophie. I figured if I got a ton of hearts you would've asked me about them, but instead you kept quiet. I didn't expect you to actually say that you loved me back after reading the note, though."
"Even though you're a sneaky wizard," Emma smiled playfully, "you're a good one, and it's one of the many reasons why I love you."
"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow, "and what are the others?" he smirked.
"I'll let you know later," she promised flirtatiously.
He was about to say something, but he was interrupted when a teacher came into the room.
"Does any boy have over eleven hearts?"
Jax couldn't believe it.
"Over here!"
The teacher walked to his desk, then counted each heart.
"Congradulations, Mr. Novoa. It seems you have the most hearts. Here's a certificate to a free dinner for two this evening at Brillare! Happy Valentine's Day!"
The teacher left the room, and eventually everyone stopped staring at the wizard.
"You won!" Emma quietly squealed.
"Yep, I guess I did," he smiled, fingering the certificate.
"So..." she pressed, waiting to hear him ask her to dinner.
"Oh, yeah! Sorry Em, I'm gonna have to cancel our plans tonight. Philip has been wanting to eat at Brillare for a long time, I couldn't let him down," Jax teased.
"Oh...I understand," she replied, her smile being replaced by a frown.
"Emma," Jax rolled his eyes, "I was only kidding! We're going to Brillare tonight, not me and Philip!"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to ruin your bromance," she giggled.
He shook his head, "I'm sure."
She smiled, taking his hand, "happy Valentine's Day."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Em."
A/N: Did you like that ending? See, that's my problem. I can never make a good ending :/ Irregardless (as Gretchen Weiners would say XD), I hope you enjoyed this oneshot. Happy Valentine's Day!
I got the idea for this because this is what my school did. However, the girls wore their hearts on one day, while the boys wore their hearts the next. The rules were the same on both days: don't talk to a member of the opposite gender. But unlike this story, the hearts cost $1 (the money went towards charity). Since a lot of people are cheap at my school, many girls didn't buy hearts, and only about 60 girls bought them out of like 500.
I know you're wondering, and yes, I bought a heart. I managed to keep mine, since I didn't talk to a boy for that day. Also, the prize wasn't a free meal to a restaurant, it was a pack of candy hearts. Since hardly any girls participated, it was decided that any boy who managed to snag a paper heart AND any girl who was able to keep theirs, got a pack of candy hearts.