Author's Note
Now it's getting good.
Well, not for Jack.
Everything is terrible for Jack.
21 Credits
Chapter 3
or
"Maybe She Is"
They walk in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds were the light slapping of her flip flops on her heels and the quiet chirp of crickets. He notices her steps are slowing. Perhaps she's no longer angry? Maybe now's the right time to speak up.
"If I may, I am curious," he starts quietly, "about your studies."
She doesn't respond. He presses on.
"You said you are studying conservational sciences. But the major does not exist? What does that mean?"
Silence hangs in the air. He's not entirely surprised.
"It means," she finally speaks, "that I am technically majoring in independent studies."
His eyebrows lift. "Really? I heard only a small percentage of students are allowed such an opportunity." He smiles. "You must be quite bright."
"Bright?" she scoffs. "Who says things like that?"
"Sorry," he says, immediately shutting up.
She huffs. "You're right, though. Not about the whole 'bright' thing but... not many students get the chance to create their own major."
Her steps slow even more as she decides to offer clarification.
"It's basically a biology major with a focus on environmental studies. Bio, chem, physics, ecology, zoology. I'm even taking classes in computer science to see how technology can help with preservation."
She shrugs. "I've always loved forests. Nature, in general, I guess. I like animals. I just want to make sure natural habitats are still around, even as the world keeps... shrinking."
She can feel herself blush all of a sudden, thinking she's shared too much.
"That sounds... quite lovely," he says with with a genuine smile. "And quite difficult." This time he laughs. Her blush deepens. Time to change the subject.
"What are you studying? Did I ask you this already?"
"You did not."
Jack can practically hear the sound of her teeth grinding. "So then tell me." It's intimidating.
"Oh, sociology. Focusing on criminal justice and human services. I am also minoring in international relations. I haven't decided what I'll do with it yet. I wish to travel the world and help as many people as I can."
He shuts up again when he realizes he's bordering on rambling.
"Sounds perfect for you. Spread your popularity across the globe."
Now he's flushing. Ashi rolls her eyes. Who the hell was this guy?
He doesn't particularly like talking about himself but he's willing to try anything if it will keep their conversation going. "I also enjoy learning different languages. I believe bridging language barriers may help bring peace to this world." He rubs the back of his neck in slightly embarrassment, hoping he didn't sound completely pathetic. "Perhaps that is a fool's errand."
She puts her shoulders up to her ears and holds them there. "Eh, I don't think so." She lets her shoulders back down. "Seems we both wanna save the world, just in different ways."
Two shy smiles, two sets of eyes make contact. From then on, things got a bit easier.
They chat more, here and there. She tells him that she's a resident advisor at a freshman dorm which is why they were walking to the most eastern part of campus. She says she connects well with the other students. It surprises him, if he's being frank, that she could connect with freshman, the rowdiest group of them all, at least, he assumes, but not connect with students her own age. But, of course, this was if he were being frank. Which he isn't. He keeps his mouth shut.
It turns out, her studies keep her very busy. She rarely leaves her room, save for food, class, coffee, and the library. The rest of the time she's buried in her books. She doesn't have many friends. Any friends, actually. She doesn't want them.
He tells her a bit about himself, too, about how he'd transferred to this school after completing courses at a community school near his home. She seems shocked by that. How did he have so many goddamn friends after he's only been here a year? And as a part-time student, no less? Turns out, he lives in a townhouse a few blocks off campus. He has three roommates, all of them very outgoing. One of them is his best friend. She didn't catch his first name but she did catch the name 'Scotsman' and apparently everyone calls him that anyway so she doesn't care to ask for him to repeat himself.
They talk about their shared fondness for reading. She likes the classics but has a weakness for dystopian literature. He's partial to history and mythology. He reveals that he once considered pursuing a minor in Japanese literature.
"Ooh! Is that why you speak like a wise, old monk?"
"I wasn't aware that there was anything wrong with using proper vocabulary."
"I wasn't aware that there was anything blah blah— tbpth!" she mocks him loudly. She sticks her tongue out at him before bursting into laughter. "You're such a nerd!"
She can finally see her building from across the park. She kicks off her shoes and runs towards the grass, still laughing with glee. She drops her bag to the grass and jumps, performing an impressive cartwheel and landing with her hands held high in the air in triumph.
"Ha! Beat that, nerd."
He sighs, then grins. He rarely backs down from a challenge. He puts his hands up and quickly lifts his legs to bring himself into a handstand. He holds it for a few seconds, even walks a few steps with his hands, before gracefully lowering himself down.
Her lips form into an 'ooh' shape and gives him a modest golf clap.
"Alright, try this." She takes another running start before doing a perfect front hand spring. Well, perfect, until she lands on a wet patch of grass, causing her to slip and fall flat on her back.
He runs to her, worried that she may have hit her head on the ground. If she was hurt, she certainly doesn't show it. She's cracking up, running a hand through her hair and laughing, loud and clear, stomping her feet into the ground.
Something… flutters in his stomach right then. He tells himself it's probably just heartburn. From the beer. That he had none of.
He reaches out a hand to her and smiles when she takes it, still laughing. She brushes her clothes down and immediately stops laughing, like something has just occurred to her.
She angles her head around to look at her pants. "Aw, man, I love these jeans." She turns her back to him. "Do I have grass stains on my ass?"
He looks down with a flush. He's only looking at her butt for grass stains. For grass stains. He swears.
"I think you're... good."
"Good." She meanders over to her discarded shoes and bag and bends down to pick them up. But at the last second, instead of retrieving them, she plops to the ground with a huff.
"Are you okay?"
"I think," she says slowly. "I think doing front flips while drunk is not the smartest decision I've ever made."
"Do you think you may be ill?"
"No, no." She waves her hand dismissing his concern. "I don't throw up. Ever."
"Ever?"
"Ever. It's like a curse. I can feel as sick as can be, but never get a chance to let it out."
Jack frowns down at her, not expecting to hear something like that. Ashi looks up at him after a moment with an annoyed look.
"Don't read too much into that, got it? It just means I can't throw up."
"Right," he replies slowly.
She lets out a puff of air. "I'm tired."
He laughs. "I am impressed, that you can go from energetic to exhaustion so quickly." She sends him a half-hearted scowl. "I could," he asks slowly, "carry you?"
To his surprise, her eyes light up. "Is that a real offer?"
He turns and bends down on one knee, inviting her to climb aboard his back.
"I haven't been carried like this in forever!" She scrambles to stand and straddles her legs around him. She lets out a quiet 'wee!' as he stands to continue their walk. He finds it adorable.
"You know, when I left my room tonight, the last thing I expected was to be carried home on some cute guy's back."
He blushes, like the big dork he knows he is.
"You think I'm… cute?"
"Don't flatter yourself, nerd." He laughs at that.
"I believe it is you who is the nerd," he jokes. "You are the one that doesn't attend parties. You only study. That makes you far more of a nerd than I."
"Pff," she retorts smartly. "I am evolved."
He laughs again. "Very well."
She brushes his ponytail away to one shoulder. Her fingertips on his neck makes him involuntarily shudder. She doesn't notice. She's using his shoulder as a resting place for her chin and he could feel her breath on the back of his ear. He tries to ignore it.
He gets to her building and lightly jogs up the steps. Another girl is leaving the building and holds the front door open. She snickers at them both, no doubt one of Ashi's residents. That she's supposed to be advising.
"You get it, Ashi."
"Mm-mm. Nope." She extends a casual middle finger to the younger woman, which only makes said woman laugh harder. "Not like that."
Jack adjusts his grip on her legs. "Where are the stairs?"
She snorts. "You really want to carry me up eight flights of stairs?"
"Uh." Perhaps he did not think this through.
"I'm joking. I'm on the third floor. And there's an elevator around the corner, to the left." He feels her head loll to the side. "Stupid." He could feel her lips on his neck. It definitely makes him feel some kind of stupid.
He sets her down when he finally reaches her door. She finds her keys and quickly pulls them out and unlocks it. She flings the door open wide and steps inside dramatically.
"Well, this is me."
He's caught off guard when she pulls him by the front of his shirt and kisses him. In fact, he's frozen for a second. She had spent all night either telling him to leave her sight or insulting him. She'd even flipped off one of her students who thought this was exactly what they were coming here to do. His body jumps when she lifts a leg to kick her door closed.
He knows what to do in this situation. All he has to do is grab her shoulders and pull back. It's all part of the routine. She'll apologize, he'll reassure her. Water, lying on side, lights off, out the door. But he finds himself grabbing her waist. No, wait, this isn't right. His head is tilting and he's kissing her back and he's not sure why because this never happens. He never kisses them back.
She breaks apart with a breathy moan and pulls him backwards toward her bed. She kisses him again, deeper this time, and drags him down to her comforter. She's evidently stronger than she looks because he's lost his balance and is now on top of her, one hand on either side of her. She smirks up at him and undoes the first button of his shirt before he's scrambling away.
"No, no!" Her face immediately falls and he can tell she's upset but there's nothing he can do to fix this. He lead her on by kissing her back and it's all his fault.
He can see a conflict of emotions flicker across her face before she finally settles on one: emptiness. Her eyes are unfocused. She sitting up now but she's slightly slumped forward. She's mumbling to herself.
"This was a dumb fucking idea."
He wants to tell her. That he would kiss her. If she were sober. Is that insulting? Would she even want him to do that if she were sober?
Unfortunately, tonight is not the night for answers.
"This is why I don't go to parties. This is why I don't talk to anyone."
He swallows hard. "You can talk to me."
Her eyes sharpen and focus on him. It's unnerving. She looks like she could strike at any moment.
"Fuck off," she says. "Go home."
He sighs. He knows he's lost this battle. He sees a nearly empty glass of water on the desk next to her bed and moves to grab it. He walks across the room into the bathroom and fills it up with water. He's stunned when he returns, she's shirtless, and struggling to remove her jeans. He clears his throat, loudly, and she doesn't even look up. Did she... forget? That he was here?
He puts up a hand to his eyes like a visor and redirects his gaze downward. He sets the glass on her desk and moves away. He peeks through his hand when he hears her movements cease. She's under her covers now, already on her side, completely passed out. He sighs and makes his way to the door.
He spares a final glance at her sleeping form and... has second thoughts.
He has an idea. It's a dumb idea. It's really, really dumb idea but he finds himself unable to talk himself out of it.
He wonders if she'll kill him for this.
Author's Note
Spoiler alert. She will, Jack. She will kill you for this.
So I basically have a dozen or so scenes written for this story, which is why updates are happening so quickly. As soon as I fashion these scenes into actual chapters, I'll post them. I'm still working on 'I Exist', among other things, but this is a really fun thing to write when I feel stuck.
Thank you all for your responses! Til next time! :D
