Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of "The Famous Jett Jackson."

Note from author: I am SO grateful when you guys comment. :D

-----------------------------------

Kayla walked back to where they had left their backpacks near the front of the building. Outside, the wind seemed to scream through the air and it sent a chill up her spine. She realized then that the heater had gone out with the electricity too. Their little run around the library made them both break into a sweat. And now she was nearly freezing.

She picked up her mittens from where she had dropped them, and pulled them on. Cupping one hand with the other, she blew into them, trying to warm up.

As Jett neared, he noticed and asked, "Are you cold?"

She smirked. "Yeah. You were right earlier. Now the cold's in the building."

"Oh...then give it here." Leaning next to her on the table, he took one of her hands. He held it in between his and rubbed it back and forth.

Kayla stared down at their joined hands, speechless. Yet a stream of panicked thoughts ran through her head. Why's he doing that? He's never done that before. What does this mean? Stop shaking! She bit down her lip to keep from smiling. Hey... don't get too giddy. He's just concerned...yeah, that's it...

It felt so good. And sweet.

But wrong. They were friends and nothing more.

But goooood.

Finally, she looked up at him. He was apparently concentrating on his knack to warm hands. She felt her cheeks getting warmer at his deliberate attention, and she wondered what to do. What COULD you do when the friend you've secretly had a thing for suddenly returns the same, never-before-displayed interest? Especially after all this time the most intimate you two got was a whack on the shoulder, or some other body part that didn't conjure up any indecent thoughts. All of this felt too weird.

His eyes rose to connect with hers. Her eyebrows lifted unexpectedly.

"Is that better?" Either he was speaking really low or she couldn't possibly focus on his words. She tried to read his lips, which didn't help. In understanding him that is.

"Huh...?"

"There ya go."

He let go gently and made a move to reach for her other hand.

"Hey! Have you played this clapping game before?" Kayla blurted out in a voice entirely too enthusiastic. Could you be any more of a nerd??

"What?"

"This clapping game." Unconsciously, she took a step away from him. If she wasn't avoiding looking into his eyes, she would have noticed his slight frown.

He went along with it anyway. "How do you play?"

After a few minutes of explaining and a couple demonstrations, they started playing. It was kind of like the games girls play when they're little, like "Miss Suzy" but without the singing. Facing one another, they clapped their own hands then clapped against each other's hands once, then one hand would cross to join the other hand, and finally again with the other hand. It would end with a slap down to their own laps. Another round would begin, repeating everything but doing two claps. The next, three claps, and so on. Each round was supposed to go a little faster. (note from author: u guys know what I'm talking about? sorry if that's confusing.)

It was actually quite hard and they had to start over and over again, Jett being the one who usually screwed up. It was difficult though with Kayla making him sputter with laughter while he tried to focus.

They finally got up to twelve claps, and stopped in cheers.

"Sheesh, Jackson. You have some trouble with counting, huh?" Exhausted but smiling, Kayla leaned back onto the leg of a chair.

Jett groaned and fell to his side, merely nodding. Resting his head against his arm he mumbled into his sleeve. "Uh-huh. Jett no like to count."

The two being tired, a period passed with them just sitting in silence. Kayla took to listening to their surroundings again outside. Raindrops persisted to beat down on the roof. And if she was hearing right, there was thunder far away.

Was anyone wondering about them? They'd been gone for several hours since school ended. Her parents probably thought she was either at Jett or JB's house. But what if they already called their houses? No--the phone lines were dead. They were probably worried sick. She closed her eyes, trying not to think too hard.

Jett slowly opened one eye and peeked over. Yeah, he was fighting it but he had to. Knowing she couldn't see, he took all of her in. Even in the dark, there was something about her...maybe even more so in the dark actually. He gulped. What the hell was he thinking? She looked so worried there, with her forehead wrinkled like that. Her feet were in front of her, crossed at the ankles. And her fingers were folded onto her lap.

An idea slowly formed in his mind. He couldn't help it. He couldn't get enough of them.

"I'll be back."

Kayla opened her eyes in time to see him jog away into the shadows. She shrugged and waited.

He returned holding a book, and plopped down. It wasn't that thick, more like the size of a picture book. As he flipped through the pages, Kayla got a glimpse of some drawings but couldn't tell of what.

"You shouldn't read in the dark."

He looked genuinely disappointed when he heard her say that. "Why?"

"It's bad for your eyes."

"Really...?" He thought for a bit. "I'll use the phone." Reaching into his pocket, he took it out and flipped the cover. The green screen offered little light, but he continued reading.

After a few minutes, she couldn't take it anymore. "What is that?"

"You'll see."

She leaned back again. She started tapping on the floor. Looked out the window again. Looked back at Jett.

A few seconds later, she realized, "Shouldn't you be saving the battery of your phone?"

He looked up at her, exasperated, and said in a pseudo-stern voice, "Kayla--please! Can I have a moment?"

"But I--"

"Just some peace, that's all I'm asking."

"Really, though, what if--"

"A moment?"

She rolled her eyes and gave up, smiling. She knew he was only playing.

See, this is what I'm comfortable with. I can deal with us kidding around. We laugh, we joke. When we do the touchy-feely stuff, it's just...

"All right." He picked up the book and scootched his behind until he was right in front of her. "Gimme your hand."

"Huh?"

"You wanted to know what I was looking at, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Then would you please give me your hand?"

Uneasily, she held it out. Taking it onto his own, he flipped it over. She nearly jerked when he started peeling off her mitten.

She giggled nervously. "Erm...is that really necessary?" Did you just giggle?

"'Fraid so." He brought her palm up to his face and squinted hard. She watched him, much like she had before. And now she was more confused than ever.

My, that's close...I can feel his breath. Kinda tickles. No, you WON'T giggle again so just suck it up, West. But he's so close and his fingers are so warm... No!

But she grinned when he started talking.

"Well, it looks like your life line goes all the way across your palm, which means you tend to think reasonably and logically...hmm...why am I not surprised?" he mumbled under his breath. She was about to jab him but he started running a finger gently along another line. She stopped.

"See this one that meets with your life line?"

"...Mm-hmm?"

"That's your fate line. It shows that you will know early on what to do with your life."

"Like become an artist?"

"Maybe."

She smiled happily.

"Parallel to that..." His finger slid slowly and ran down from her ring finger. "...is your line of fame. It's a little broken." She studied his face and thought she saw a small frown. "Your work may not be acknowledged all the time. Like, there will be good and bad times with your work."

She mused, "Oh...that's okay." Her voice came out softer than she would have liked. "An artist should struggle for her art."

He chuckled softly, the air exhaled from his nose flowing onto her hand. "Your money line here says you will receive a large amount of money unexpectedly." He raised his eyebrows, approvingly.

"So I won't be struggling too long." Kayla guessed.

His hand moved underneath hers and squeezed gently on the sides. The lines on her palm appeared to become deeper and more obvious. "You have a health line."

"Does that mean good health?"

"Umm... generally, no. If it were deep and continuous, you wouldn't have to worry about your ability to work. But..." he said ominously, "it's kind of wavy. You might have a nervous condition."

He squeezed her hand again. Not to see her lines more clearly, however. "Don't worry about it though, Kay. You'll be fine," he said, reassuringly.

The truth was that she wasn't really worried in the first place. It must've been the reasonable side in her telling her that not everything Jett was saying was completely believable. Plus, it was hard to think straight or worry about anything with him gripping her like that.

"And your heart line..."

Her ears perked up immediately. "...has double lines. You will be protected by someone who loves you." He paused. Then cleared his throat.

Well, maybe SOME things are believable.

"Yeah, so...that's all I can see." Jett let go of her hand and raised his eyes cautiously up to meet hers. She had her head tilted to one side, and was looking at him curiously. A small smile played on her lips.

-------