Jerome stared at Bex. She was covered in soap suds, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Come on, then," she taunted, "Or are you chicken?" Jerome grabbed a handful of suds from the sink and walked forward slowly. "Come on now, Bex," he started, "Be reasonable. I'm tall, good-looking and a guy. We own soap fights." He ducked as she sprayed him with washing up liquid, only to lean in close and smush his handful of suds into her hair. She laughed and sprayed him again, getting washing up liquid all over his shirt and neck. "Oi!" he said indignantly, and made to grab her. Unfortunately for Jerome, the floor was slippery and he fell over in a heap. Dazed, he made a grab for Bex's feet, but to his amazement she nimbly jumped over his head and landed perfectly on the other side of the kitchen. "Okay, what was that?" Jerome asked, getting to his feet. "What can I say? I was a gymnast at my old school," Bex answered good—naturedly, but before she could grab a handful of soap suds Jerome came close and grabbed her wrists. "What are you doing? Get off!" she said, laughing, but Jerome merely leaned over her. He dropped her wrists, there was no need to hold them – Bex was already in a corner of the kitchen. He looked into the living room quickly to check that there was no one there.
Bex's heart began to speed up. What was Jerome doing? She was helpless, stuck in the corner. Nevertheless, she clenched her fists by her side as he stared into her eyes. "It's been hours since I kissed you," he whispered. She relaxed in relief and gave him a tiny smile. "Well, we can't have that, can we?" she whispered back. He gave her a charming smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling, and caressed her face with his hand. Bex closed her eyes as Jerome kissed her tattoo, on the inside of her wrist. He kissed the tip of her nose, her forehead, her cheek. He kissed the corner of her mouth and finally, finally, kissed her properly on the mouth. Again, it was a continuous kiss, each afraid to break apart from the other, but Bex's heart went mad. She closed her eyes and kissed him back.
Jerome's heart was thumping loudly. Bex kissing him was incredible. It was an explosion, fire and ice, the sun and the moon, and he loved it. Rebecca entwined her hands around his neck, pulling him closer, and, soon enough, he could feel her heart beating against him. He lowered his hands to her waist and pulled her closer, before lifting her up to the kitchen counter. She broke away to look at him indignantly. "Why am I up here?" she said. "Hey, I'm the tallest guy in the house. You're a titch compared to me," he said, chuckling, and kissed her again. This kiss was sweeter, kinder. There were footsteps behind them, and Fabian walked in.
"Oh," he said confused, turning bright red, "I'll – just – I'll leave you to it…." He walked quickly out of the room and Bex and Jerome burst out laughing. They closed the distance between their faces but did not kiss – instead, they touched foreheads, leaning against one another. Jerome smiled, staring into Bex's eyes. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you," he murmured. Bex giggled. "Well, stick around and you might find I have plenty more to share."
They broke apart and Jerome turned away. His shirt was wet through, and Bex could see a dark mark on his back. She gasped and he whirled around. "Bex?" his voice was low. "You okay?" She swallowed and nodded, but couldn't meet his eyes. "What's wrong?" Jerome asked, worried.
"On your back…" Bex trailed away as Jerome's face darkened. "Is it a birthmark or something? Jerome?" He sighed and leaned back against the island counter. "I was involved in a fire when I was young. It's a burn." Bex watched him as he slowly took his shirt off and showed her his back. A large, faded burn covered nearly his entire upper back and shoulders.
Jerome heard Bex's sharp intake of breath and started to turn around, but instead felt her hands on his shoulders. He stayed facing away and suddenly he could feel her fingers skimming his burn. "What are you doing?" he chuckled quietly, but was only met by silence. "Bex?" he asked, and turned around to see her eyes filled with tears. "Bex? What's wrong?" he demanded.
Bex sniffed, and immediately he held out his arms. He caught her waist and pulled her close, embracing her in such a way that Bex finally felt safe in his arms. He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled closer. "What happened, Jerome?" she asked in a small voice. "Why are you burning?" Jerome looked down at her curly hair. "Burning?" he asked gently. "Maybe your head is still scrambled from what happened to you. I was in a fire when I was younger; I – I started it. You must believe me; I'm different now – because of you. You've changed me. At my old school, I hated my roommates. They took the mickey all the time, stole my money, battered me until I was purple all over. So I started a fire, I still don't know why. Everyone managed to get out, but I got stuck near the exit. The fire-fighters had to come in and get me but I still have my memories."
He hadn't stopped holding Bex during his confession, and now she hugged him back tightly. They stood there for a long time, before finally Bex leaned back to stare in Jerome's eyes. "We're both burned, Jerome," she said quietly. "Maybe we can help each other heal." Jerome stared at her, before leaning down to kiss her once more.
The next week passed pleasantly for the Anubis students. Jerome and Alfie planned several new pranks, which earned them several detentions. Bex, Mara and Nina were voted Top Students of the Term, and as a result Anubis House received no homework. Fabian, Joy and Patricia were asked to make a presentation in the Frobisher Library, on the importance of archaeology. It was a success and although Bex couldn't make the actual date, she did give them lots of points and tips for it.
"The trick is to always appear confident," she said. "Never 'um' and 'ah', then they realise that you don't know what you're talking about." Joy put up her hand. "Sorry, but we're only doing a presentation on the importance of archaeology." Bex shook her head. "Any presentation is important! Now, what's your actual plan? Are you doing, like, a history or something?" Joy looked at her. "But you're going to be there, aren't you?" With a regretful, secret smile, Bex shook her head. "I'm really sorry – I'd be there if I could! But I have to be somewhere else." By this time Nina and Amber had walked in.
"What's going on?" Nina asked curiously. Patricia gestured to Bex. "She says she can't come to the presentation on Thursday!" "I'm really sorry – I have somewhere I need to be," Bex said urgently. "I can't miss it." Amber looked at her slyly. "Going somewhere, with a certain someone?" she asked knowingly. Rebecca looked at her, annoyed. "Actually, no. I'm meeting – someone," and with that she walked quickly out of the room.
Nina looked after her curiously. Fabian laughed, breaking the silence. "Curioser and curioser," he said. Joy smiled. "Looks like someone has a secret life!"