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"Can anyone tell me, how we discovered the evolution of the atmosphere?" Mrs Vilen asked the class. And obviously, only one person had their hand up. "Anyone besides Mara?" she asked.

A few people in class sniggered. Mara rolled her eyes, but kept her hand firmly up in the air. She wasn't wearing glasses, and her near flawless face was framed by her silky black hair.

"Okay then, Mara?"

"We can learn a lot about the past of the atmosphere by Antarctic ice cores. Each year a layer of ice forms and bubbles of air get trapped inside it, then it's buried by the next layer. So the deeper the ice, the colder the air, and if you examine the bubbles in different layers, you can see how the air has changed. The me-"

"Okay Mara! Don't give the whole lesson away!" the teacher beamed. Mara smiled shyly, eyes drifting down to her neat book.

When the blonde girl next to her tapped her shoulder, Mara frowned, "A note," she said as if it were obvious, holding the paper in her hand. Mara looked at the teacher, to see if she could see, but her back was turned "Just take it," sighed the girl, placing the paper on her table. Mara looked at the paper, was the meant to read it now? Or after class?

She slid the paper of the table, keeping her eyes on the teacher the whole time, before opening it under the table, then reading it.

Meet me in the chess rooms after class

Mara looked around, but everyone seemed to be doing their own thing.

Line Break

Mara walked along the green carpeted corridor, until she came to the chess room, she held onto her bag tightly, opening the door. And she burst out laughing at what she saw.

"Oh my gosh!" she laughed, leaning back against the now closed door, hands covering her mouth as she laughed even harder.

Jerome stood in the centre of the lonely room. His hair was gelled back, creating a backward quiff. He was wearing thick black rimmed square glasses, and a green and yellow sweater vest over a white shirt tucked into black trousers.

"Sorry Jerome!" she cried, still laughing. Jerome stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I thought you liked smart guys," he offered weekly, wincing at her laughs.

"Jerome!" she exclaimed "I do! But this…" she gestured to his clothes, and couldn't contain her laughter "What have you done to your hair?"

"I thought you liked smart guys." He said again.

"Oh Jerome," she sighed, laughter dying out "Come on," he just shook his head at her.

"2nd time's the charm," he whispered, not knocked down easily, as he opened the chess room window and hopped out.

"What are you doing?" Mara hissed, going over to the window

"Pass my bag," he whispered. If anyone saw him sneaking out of a class room window…he didn't see himself explaining that one. Mara looked around and picked up his bag from under the table

"Why couldn't you leave through the door like a sane person?" she hissed, passing his bag through the window

"What? And risk someone seeing me like this?" they both smiled at the thought "Help me close the window,"

They both struggled, tiptoeing to grab onto the black rimmed smooth edge, and tugging down

"Did you…did you do that for me?"

"Yeah," he whispered, straining his arms "Push on 3?"

Mara watched him for a moment, looking into his eyes that were focused on the task. She couldn't describe the feeling that rushed through her.

"Mara?" he asked, meeting her eyes. He arched an eye brow at her "On three?"

"On three," she coughed, clearing her throat "One, two,"

And they heaved the window down.

They stood on either side of the closed window for a moment, and Mara couldn't help but think. He did truly love her, didn't he? He loved her. There he was, dressed like a nerd, outside in the cold. And she looked at him, through the window.

The window with smudged glass which slightly messed up his appearance, because even in those clothes, he still had his piercing blue eyes, still had his thin blonde hair. And Mara could stare as hard as she wanted, she could try to pick flaws with him all day long, but it wouldn't change the fact that…she found him perfect.

Even when he made endless mistakes and bad choices, he was perfect. His whole essence, to Mara, she knew he would never be anything less.

And if she'd walked through that chess room door with a different expression on her face, she knew there was no way he'd be leaping out a window away from her.

"You okay?" Jerome mouthed. Mara nodded, stepping back. Jerome watched her curiously for a moment, before smiling and disappearing.

Line Break

Mara was sat in chemistry when she got the next note, it was from Fabian, who looked very uncomfortable passing it on her

"For you?" he offered weekly. Mara smiled at him, taking it, and opening it under the desk.

Meet me behind the bike shed

And Mara had to smile at how stereotypical it sounded. It made her sound…cool. Yeah, she was Mara Jaffray, and she was going to meet Jerome Clarke behind the bike shed.

She sighed to herself, copying down the formulae on the board.

"Hurry up, Eddie," Patricia stomped her foot at the end of class. There were only three people left in the class, Mara, who had volunteered to clean the board for the teacher. Eddie who was going through his bag, and Patricia who was waiting for him

"I can't find my book," he mumbled.

"Since when do you read?" Patricia asked, leaning against the wall.

"Shut up, yacker,"

"Eddie?" Mara called from across the room, he turned to her

"Right, sorry. I mean be quiet yacker," he corrected. Patricia rolled her eyes

Mara grinned "Thank you, but I meant, Eddie I think I've found your book,"

"Oh." Eddie stood and walked over to her, she handed him the book. And he grinned "Can we not tell people about this?" he whispered to her. Mara smiled,

"Of course,"

"Hurry up!" Patricia whined, Eddie took the book and hiding the cover, stuffed it into his back. "What book was it anyway?" she asked. Eddie wrapped and arm around her, heading for the door

"Um…Batman," he lied.

Mara picked her own bag up, laughing. The book had been Pride and Prejudice.

Line Break

Mara opened the back door, it was lunch and everyone was either out front or inside.

She walked down the side of the brick wall, tucking some dark hair behind her ear, before she froze.

There, leaning against the wall with one flat foot, in all his glory, was Jerome.

He had his hair slicked back, but this time he looked…hot. He wore black sunglasses, a black leather jacket, and a long white shirt that contrasted well with his dark blue tight jeans. He wore flat white hightops.

When he saw her, he removed the sunglasses.

"Wow." Was all Mara could manage.

"Ah," he smiled, kicking off from the wall "Mara likes a bad boy."

"I…never said that," she shook her head, eyes never leaving his body.

"Didn't have to." Jerome said smugly.

"W-what are you trying to do Jerome?" she asked, tearing her eyes away from his body to look into his blue shimmering orbs.

"I love you." He said sincerely.

"I like you." She said, even though her heart wanted her to say something else. "I'm sorry Jerome, but you can change how you look a million times, but deep down you'll be the same person,"

"And you don't like me as a person?"

"Jerome-"

"Not the poem? Or the way I helped you quit Diodide? Or the way I say sorry? Or my brain? Or my persistence? I don't know what else to do, Mara! Give me something!"

"I…"

"Right." Jerome sighed. Lifting his hands in surrender "Just know, that I'll get over you, Mara. And by the time you realise what a mistake you've made, it'll be too late." he looked right into her eyes "By that time, there will be no poems, no more apologies, no more help. No more, whatever this is," he motioned between the two of them. And it finally dawned on Mara, he was right.

"So you're saying, if I don't go out with you, we can't be friends?"

"I-"

Jerome's phone rang. He picked it out of his pocket, and seemed to glare at it for a moment, before sighing and answering.

"What?"

Mara watched him for a moment, before running back inside.

So Summary: Jerome has given Mara the choice, be with him, or have nothing with him at all. Eddie's been reading Pride and Prejudice, it would be a shame if someone found out…

I know I've kept JARA apart for a while, but all's well that ends well!

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