Summary: She studied alone in the library until a mysterious man turned up.
Pairings: Ghost Writer x Jazz
Written: December 2013

Hot Chocolate

Frustration curled around her like a tightening noose as she furiously backspaced through an entire paragraph on her laptop. The Christmas break was just around the corner, and her teacher decided to assign a huge paper that was due on the very last day before the break began. Academics might be her thing, but even she was prone to moments of increasing frustration when things weren't going as well as she hoped. She knew her brother always looked at her as some sort of know-it-all brainiac who never needed to study to get perfect straight A's, but that was all an illusion. She worked hard to achieve her good grades. She studied day and night, reviewed every possible detail that might be included on tests and exams.

Jazz paused as she stared at the blinking cursor on the much too bright page of the Word document that she had open to write her assignment. Books were spread out and open all around her on the table. Maybe that was why she had no friends, even now that she was in college. She was too busy filling her mind with facts and figures as she strove to achieve her goal of becoming a brilliant psychologist. She sighed, rubbing at her forehead with one hand. Was it all worth it in the end? Was being obsessed with her education and eventually her job worth it if she was alone with no friends? She would have her parents and her brother, but at this rate, she would never have her own family because she couldn't connect with anyone. Danny made having friends look easy. He could relate to almost everyone and have them like him. He was even making friends with some of the ghosts that used to attack him. She was jealous of that. When she tried to relate to people, she was awkward and weird, and the other students at the college would give her weird looks before walking away from her.

She jumped when something appeared within her lowered line of sight. After blinking at the steaming mug with a swirl of whipped cream held out before her, she lifted her gaze to the one holding it. He stared at her with his eyebrows lifted with an expectant look in his green eyes behind rounded glasses. His hair was short and dark with a matching beard upon his chin. The coat he wore reached down to his ankles, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He looked vaguely familiar, though Jazz had trouble placing him.

"You're not supposed to have food and drink in the library," Jazz told him then bit her tongue as she mentally cursed herself. It was probably also things like that, that made people not like her. Not only was she a know-it-all, but she was a stickler for the rules and probably thought of as a tattletale.

"It'll be our little secret," the man said with a slightly curling of his mouth as he set the mug down beside her. Then he took a seat next to her at the table in the back of the library. "It looked like you could use something to drink. Perhaps a break from an all night study session?"

Jazz started to argue but changed her mind and offered him a pleasant smile. She picked up the mug and took a small sip. The hot chocolate held a hint of mint to it, and she smiled happily as the warmth filled her. "Maybe you're right," she admitted with a light blush as she set the mug back down on the table. "Perhaps I did need a little break." When the man chuckled a little, trying to hide it behind a hand, Jazz flushed a little darker. "What?"

He leaned over, reaching out a hand. With his thumb, he wiped it over her upper lip, making her blush even more. "You had a bit of whipped cream on your lip," he explained then scraped the blob of white off his thumb with his teeth. "Mm, tasty," he murmured with a twist of a grin, and Jazz had to look away, reaching up to brush some of her auburn hair behind an ear. This was flirting, wasn't it? But they had just met. She didn't even know his name.

"Th-Thanks," Jazz said, feeling flustered. "For the drink. And um-" She waved at her mouth, embarrassed about getting whipped cream on her lip.

"Well, I just wanted an excuse to come over here and meet you." The man smiled at her, and Jazz swore her heart skipped a beat. "William Gore." He held out his hand to her.

"Jasmine Fenton." She shook his hand, which was colder than she would have expected. "But most people just call me Jazz."

C-Lide the Teddi Lover: If you like. XD

midnight: Yush! Yay for the Box Ghost~ 8D