Evie lightly pressed the back of her hand over her mouth as she tried to suppress the yawn that escaped her mouth, her eyes squeezing shut as she stirred the hot drinks in front of her, one after the other. Josh was seated at the kitchen table, lightly drumming his hands over the table top in a steady, catchy beat.
"I ditched school yesterday because of this teacher, Mr. Merrick. Have you had him for anything yet?" Evie asked, removing the spoon from the mug, placing it onto the side beside the kettle and picking up both of the mugs. She turned and took a step towards the table as Josh hesitated for a moment, pausing his light drumming, and shook his head. Evie set his drink in front of him and perched herself in the seat opposite him. "Well, to cut a long story short, he's an ass, and I basically just walked out of his class and ditched school."
Josh loosely held his palms over the hot mug, although he didn't pick it up. "An ass? Really? How come?"
She sighed, tapping gently on the exterior of her own mug. "He has a problem with me, of sorts. I don't know. He never took much of a liking to me since I entered his class. Didn't like me in general, my 'attitude' and the colour of my hair. And before you ask if I really know that, I do, because he literally told me that yesterday."
"Oh, jeez, well...that is rough. Huh. Have you spoken to the principal about it? Teachers shouldn't be like that, it's not as if you ever did anything wrong, right?"
"Nah, he wouldn't be the first teacher who hasn't particularly liked me. Um, I'm not a likeable person, you see. I'm sort of—"
"Hey!" Josh cut her off, making her eyebrows raise slightly. "You are likeable."
She gave him a lopsided, half-smile. "Yeah, a total babe. What I meant was that I'm just difficult to get along with because I come across all miscreant-like, and then when I screw up at something, that get's taken into account and blown up horrifically out of context." She explained, picking up the drink and placing the mug to her lips. She sipped, watching as a confused look passed over his face, his eyebrows drawing together.
"What, so...in your last school you were...?" He trailed off, but Evie's quiet laughter took over the moment of silence between the two. The corner of her eyes crinkled and her mouth stretched into a small grin as she leant back in the chair, placing the mug back onto the table. She shook her head, her chuckles fading.
"Despised." She replied, not seeming bothered or hurt about the revelation. Most people would be generally uncomfortable or a little upset that they were strongly disliked by peers or teachers at their own school, but from what Josh could see, she seemed pretty laid back and if anything, pleased about it. "Many teachers hated me, and the smart, 'popular' kids of the student body just didn't...get me."
Josh leaned forward, resting his forearms on the tabletop. "How do you mean?"
"Let's just say, I have a sort of, well, rebellious streak. Yeah, we'll call it that. I get bored, and I do stuff, and normally, the consequences are extreme and the reactions are typically horrific. I'm what they used to call, 'The Hopeless Case'." She propped herself forward, mirroring Josh's posture and place in his own seat.
"How come you're so...well, good now?" He inquired. "I mean, if you are what you're saying you are, then how come you haven't got a permanent spot outside of the principal's office?"
Evie smiled at this, raising her drink back up to her mouth. "I'm a reformed person now. I have to make a good impression on my family, on Jamie and Sophie. I'd be a terrible influence, wouldn't I? So, Burgess is my clean slate. I get a chance to move on now, for good."
Josh could sense a hidden depth behind her words, but before he could analyse her sentence, a loud, sudden bang close by made them both jump. The mug that Evie had held in her grasp tipped out of her hands, dropping down onto the table top and the contents spilling out across the wooden surface and also, into her lap. A pained gasped erupted from her lips and then, was replaced with a hiss as she sprung up from her chair, raising her hands, one of them stinging from the splash of still scolding hot coffee she'd spilt. Both heads snapped towards the door which had been slammed shut, Josh staring at the area with confusion and Evie glaring fiercely at the figure who stood leant back against the door.
"What the hell was that?" Josh demanded, unable to see the spirit as he smirked. Evie felt herself shaking from the rising, unbearable anger that started to course through her veins. Jack's eyes trailed down her body and then, he noticed the stain of coffee which had absorbed fully into her pants. The arrogant smirk faltered when he realised what his actions had caused, taking in how the drink had soaked through her clothes and most likely burnt her. He took a step forward, his face twisting with guilt, but she shook her head once, her mouth pressed into a straight line. "Oh, shit! You're covered! Here, let me get a towel-" Josh leapt from his chair, but Evie turned to him, forcing a reassuring smile onto her face.
"No, it's fine," She interrupted him, flapping both of her hands down with one, quick flick to get any excess coffee dripping from her fingertips.
Josh ignored her, frantically searching through the draws in the kitchen as Evie threw weak protests at him, her eyes flickering down to the spilt coffee, towards Jack and then, towards Josh's hurrying figure. He managed to find the correct draw and he instantly tore out one of the towels, not bothering to check if it was pristinely brand new or tattered. He rushed over to his friend's side and without thinking, pressed the towel firmly against her lap, and also, her crotch.
Jack's eyes widened at the action, and for a moment, so did Josh's. Evie stared down at where he'd patted the towel, pursing her lips for a moment and tilting her head and meeting the boy's gaze. For a second, Josh was certain that she was going to freak out, perhaps even punch him in the face, but he was totally surprised when her mouth broke out into a grin. Laughter met his ears, and his shoulders sagged with relief, nervously smiling back at her.
"Thank you." She laughed, carefully taking the towel from him and replacing it back over her lip, watching with amusement as she took a step away from her, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck as he laughed too. "Um, I can take it from here. Why don't you take your drink and sit in the living room with my cousins? They won't mind the company."
Josh hesitated. "You sure you don't want help clearing up?"
"No, I, ah, need to change my pants anyway. Go ahead," She nodded her head towards the shut door, completely avoiding Jack's gaze. Josh nodded and retrieved his mug, shuffling towards the door and opening it, eyeing it with bemusement for a moment. Evie watched as he paused and then finally left, sighing as soon as he was out of sight. She turned her head back towards her stained lap, her mouth twisting down into a scowl as she rubbed the towel harshly over the wet denim.
"I'm sorry."
Evie threw the towel down onto the kitchen table, deliberately missing the spill. She made her away around towards the kitchen side and reached for the kitchen roll, tearing off several sheets and turning back towards the tabletop. Jack watched as she began to clean up the mess, taking several steps towards her and taking some of the paper towels and trying to swab up the beverage.
"Please, let me-"
His hand clumsily pressed over her own, and in an instant, she snatched it away. Evie finally met her gaze and he was able to fully see how angry she was. Her golden eyes appeared electric with rage and her mouth was twisted into a sneer. He recoiled back, bringing his hand away and letting it fall at her side, wishing he hadn't made the mistake.
"What the hell is your problem?" She demanded, keeping her voice low despite how truly irritated she was.
"Evie-"
She cut him off, flinging her arms into the air with exasperation. "Are you just trying to piss me off, huh? First of all you purposely start annoying me in the living room when I was obviously clearly not in the mood, then-"
"Oh, come on! I was only playing around with you! Lighten up, you looked as if you were having fun-!"
She interrupted him. "Playing around? I'm not Jamie or Sophie! I was-I really am tired! I haven't slept, and then, when a friend visits, you think it's cool to play the Bennett's top little poltergeist?" She demanded, shaking her head. She turned and snatched up a few of the left over paper towels and leant down, wiping up the remainder of the spill. "I don't get how someone can be the most irritating person on the planet one minute, to someone actually rather cool the next?"
Jack felt a little hurt by that to to say the least, but he didn't back down. He took a step towards her as she straightened, marching towards the bin and dumping the gathered sodden paper towels into the trash. "My God, you actually act as if you're above me! I hate to break it to you, miss 'Hopeless Case', but talking back to your teacher and storming out of school like a brat doesn't make you as 'reformed' as you think." He spat, watching as she stiffened, slowly turning towards him.
Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. "You were listening in?" He watched as she took a few steps towards him, hatred in her brown orbs. He too took two steps forward, closing the distance between the both of them. They stared one another down, mirroring each others glares. If anyone was to walk in at that moment, they would assume that they were squaring up to fight.
Perhaps they were.
"Call me that again," She murmured, her tone smooth yet entirely deadly. "I dare you."
It was completely silent, the fury between them almost electric, the tension so sharp and deadly like a knife. The only noise they could hear was coming from the living room; the soft cheering from the Chinese crowd outside of the Emperor's palace on the movie and the occasional, soft murmuring of awkward conversation between the three in the other room, all oblivious to what was going on in the kitchen.
Something happened. Evie was glaring up at him, not entirely eye-to-eye with the boy as she was a few inches shorter than his lanky frame; the top of her head just meeting the gap between his eyelids and his dark eyebrows. Jack loomed over her, mouth twisted into a scowl like her own. He was tired of being yelled at, tired of being blamed, tired of feeling these weird things. He wanted to be the one yelling, it was her fault that he was feeling the way he was.
And then...they were kissing. Something snapped inside of him and compelled him to lean down and slam his lips onto her own. The blue-haired girl hadn't seen it coming, a small, quiet squeak erupting from the back of her throat in some sort of protest. She staggered back, throwing her hands upwards and grasping onto his shoulders, her eyes widening when she felt hands being pressed firmly onto her waist, pressing her tight against him. She could feel the coldness of his touch through her sweater. Her eyes were still wide with alarm, shocked to find that his eyes had fluttered shut.
What? No! Stop! Idiot! Why are you doing this? What makes you think you can just-?!
All she had to do was push him away, shove him off and then it would be over. But she didn't. She was deepening the kiss for crying out loud! What was she doing? Stop! She couldn't breathe, she didn't want this, did she? Evie suddenly realised that she could no longer see him, and was shocked to discover that at some stage during her inner turmoil, her own eyes had flickered shut. Unsure of what to do, seeing though her brain wouldn't actually work, she raised her hands from his shoulders, leaving them in the air as her slender fingers folded down into her palm. She was there, making out with Jack Frost in the middle of her aunts kitchen, still radiating with anger, and unable to breathe.
The two of them separated, pulling away at the same time, Evie gasping sharply for air. Both of their eyes were wide open and they were staring at one another, no longer mirroring hatred, not showing any other angst-y emotion, just staring. His arms had intertwined around her waist, holding her in a soft of embrace as she breathlessly tried to straighten herself out and stop her mind from racing. She felt pretty light-headed, and at a loss to say...but, she knew for certain that she wanted to be left on her own.
Gently, she brought her hands down and patted his shoulders, averting her gaze away and silently asking for him to release her. He didn't take his eyes off of her as she hesitated, before unwinding his arms from her waist. She pursed her lips, her eyes trailing around the room to anything but the boy.
"I need to, uh..." She trailed off, waving her hand down to her stained jeans. He nodded once, swallowing as she stepped around him, fists clenching, and then unclenching as she disappeared into the hall. He didn't turn as she made her retreat, at seconds later, he could hear her pounding footfalls on the staircase. He was able to imagine her panicked, confused expression as she went, and he too pursed his lips.
There was suddenly a loud thump, followed by a quiet hiss of a curse, before he could hear the sixteen-year-old bound up the staircase again after presumably losing her footing. His mouth stretched into a small grin as she chuckled, shaking his head.
"Well, this could be a problem." He muttered under his breath, as unfortunately for him, he did like Evie Grayson.
Evie threw herself into the guest bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She pressed her back against it, shakily letting out a breath of panic as her heart raced in her chest from her sprint. Or, perhaps-
No, no. She didn't even want to think about it. It couldn't have just happened, could it? It shouldn't have. Why did it? How did she let this happen? She was so mad at him! Just pissing her off and kissing her like that! As if it would make things better, as if she would fall at his feet and swoon? Urgh!
Her ears burnt, a prickling, warm sensation rose up her throat. Her lips tingled and her clenched fists shook. Frustration bubbled within her and a betraying, different feeling joined it too. She angrily shook her head, grumbling soft curses under her breath as she unbuttoned her pants and unzipped them, shoving them down her legs as she stomped towards the chest of drawers with her other jeans inside. She sharply pulled open the bottom drawer, snatching up a pair of gray denim skinny jeans and kicking the furniture shut with her foot. It hurt a little, but it wasn't enough to maker her hop about wildly and howl in pain. She turned, stomping angrily on the jeans that she was trying to remove, snagging one foot out and finally the other.
She bowed her head down as she went to shove her right foot into the leg of the pants, but paused, something out-of-place catching her attention. She froze where she was, blinking down in surprise at the white substance that marked the sides of her burgundy sweater. Slowly, she let go of the waistline of her jeans and straightened, taking the right side of her sweater into her hands and examining the surface of it.
Along the soft material were intricate, oddly beautiful patterns of frost.
*reaches forwards, takes each of their heads and presses them hastily together* AAAAAND KISS!
I love how like, in my last update I was worried that I was moving things along to quickly, and now here I am, making them schneck and stuff. Hope this wasn't weird or too fast and stuff. I don't know, it seems like I just keep worrying and then moving things too forward. BUT SOMETHING HAD TO HAPPEN SOONER OR LATER, RIGHT? Right?
Right :D
It did begin in the last chapter, so I suppose the only thing now is to bring in gradually further. GRADUALLY. They're not going to get married in the next chapter, don't worry. Or confess their undying love. HAHA, just imagine that. Or not, please, don't think that I'll do that. Oh, man. Nah. Let's not. Slow and gradual, guys, slow and gradual...