A/N: Hey all! Thank you for returning!
Please enjoy!
Chapter title taken from The Social Network's Score/Soundtrack.
"So young when the pain had begun
Now forever afraid of being loved"
- 'For the Love of a Daughter', Demi Lovato
Jupiter's heart races as she pushes herself farther than normal. It's been awhile since she ran and the recommended procedure is to start slow and work your way up, but today she's feeling a little too pumped to slow down.
She runs past the bank and the park, barely even seeing them. The rock song blasting through her earbuds is an easy distraction; she can forget about the world when she has her music.
She's invincible, nothing can touch her.
She runs farther and farther, taking longer than she should to get back. By the time she's done her final lap, she's parched but totally energized. Heading to the local coffee shop to get an iced latte, she waits in line.
The barista smiles at her warmly as he jots down her order and she grins back. It's not until she's taking her chilled latte and croissant and turning around to leave when she sees a figure pass by the coffee shop's window.
The awareness doesn't hit her right away; the passerby could be any other stranger, a face among the thousands. She could easily forget him and go about her day. But she doesn't. As if they have a mind of their own, her feet pull her forward, out the door of the coffee shop and down the street.
Amidst the sea of faces, she doesn't see anyone familiar. Her mind frantically tries to figure out what's drawing her to this man and why she isn't going back toward the direction of her and John's apartment, but it comes up short.
Jupiter keeps walking, long past following the mysterious man and now just going where her legs are taking her. This path isn't similar to any path she's taken before but it's like she just knows.
The sidewalk tapers off into an alley. Above her, the sky roars with the thunder of an approaching storm and the earthy smell of rain surrounds her. People scurry past her to get away from the impending deluge but Jupiter doesn't move.
The first fat drop from the angry grey clouds splashes on her shoulder so cold it gives her a shock. The lady on the weather channel warned that this storm was going to be pretty bad, but Jupiter can't worry about that now, not when the graffiti on the alley walls are painted in that vicious red she's growing to hate even more.
"Jubee, Jubee, Jubee…" the walls read. She takes her time, standing there in the now falling arctic water, reading each scrawled word. A joker card falls from the sky down to her feet below and she watches as the rain buries it in a slosh of mud.
Jupiter doesn't react. She simply bends down to retrieve the card. As she flips it around, the writing on the back reads: "We have unfinished business, you and I."
Taking a long look around the alley, she pockets the Joker card and turns to leave.
The walk back home is brutal thanks to the pouring rain. She spends most of the journey internally kicking herself for not bringing an umbrella with her when she left the house.
It occurs to her several times to seek shelter but she ignores the temptation, figuring it would be quicker to just run home through the storm than wait for it to pass. With that brilliant idea, Jupiter arrives back at their apartment looking like a wet cat.
John opens the door for her, his eyes going wide in shock when he takes in her drenched state. "What happened? Forget your umbrella again?" he asks, hurrying to get a warm towel for her.
Jupiter nods, shivering like a leaf in the wind.
When he returns, his smile is soft and amused. "You should be careful, you could get sick," he reprimands, wrapping the towel around her body and pulling her in for a kiss. As he draws her in, Jupiter presses up against his chest, warming herself in his embrace.
"I have something to tell you," John says, after a bit.
Jupiter closes her eyes, revelling in the familiar scent of him. John always smells like body wash and cheap shampoo though there's also an underlying scent, a scent that is uniquely him. It never fails to soothe Jupiter, no matter how bad a day she's having.
"You know you can tell me anything," she says, leaning back to look into his eyes.
He frowns, and looks away.
Jupiter stiffens. Her heart starts to beat, a disjointed rhythm. "What is it, John?"
His frown deepens and he takes her hand in his, still resolutely not looking at her. "I'd rather just show you."
He leads her to the small, tidy area they call their living room. Jupiter's confused until she sees who it is. Sitting on their sofa, waiting for her, looking every bit as pathetic as he is, is no one other than her father, Grant Harlow.
The man who turned me down when I had nothing, she thinks. I'm sure somewhere in the heavens, God is laughing.
A/N: Hope you liked this chapter! More to come soon! ;)