Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with "The Famous Jett Jackson."

About Ch 4: A couple things had to be edited so it's a bit different but nothing big.

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Jett stared into her eyes.

Something was in them he'd never noticed before. Or maybe it was something Kayla never let him see? Had he ever given her that look? He'd have to be crazy if he ever looked at her like that. Since when did he ever show her his feelings. He was always too scared. For a lot of good reasons of course, or that's what he liked to think. They'd been friends for so long that any kind of relationship other than platonic sounded impossible. Yeah, that and… ok, that was the only reason.

That and rejection.

He had touched her. He actually forgot his fears and doubts for one second and made a move. If he looked calm and casual when he reached for her hand, it was all an act. He couldn't believe she hadn't pulled herself away in an instant. That had to be a good sign. But when he finally got the nerve to look up, she seemed confused. And it felt like a blow to the gut when she suggested the clapping game. So that was it. He shouldn't have touched her.

But you read her palm for crying out loud.

He had to, though. There was no turning back and the urge to touch her again was eating him up. And Kayla's pulling away was just adding fuel to the fire.

He supposed now that it was a good thing he persisted. If he was rewarded with that look, he would read her other palm and the soles of her feet for her to keep looking at him like that.

Kayla blinked. It brought him out of his trance and he realized then that he had somehow gotten closer to her. They were only a couple inches apart. He could see the ends of her eyelashes now. Her loose locks brushed his cheek as she stirred.

And he couldn't move. Not any closer nor further away.

Just move, Jackson. Do something. Her downward glance to his mouth seemed to mean something.

His eyes closed.

Just a bit closer, and they...

Ooogageerggoouuuhhh.

Oh, no it didn't.

Jett's face scrunched up in a disappointed knot. An involuntary groan left his mouth before he opened his eyes to see Kayla's reaction.

She was trying hard not to laugh, though the fingers over her smile were obvious enough. She shook her head. "You need to eat, Jett."

Twisting around to reach for her backpack, she pulled out a bag from inside. "It HAS been awhile since we last ate." Jett caught it as she tossed it over.

Humiliated and defeated by his hunger—for food, nonetheless—he opened the bag and got a handful of the cheetos. He passed it back to her and munched, dissatisfied but trying to look like nothing had happened in the past five minutes.

Kayla had returned to leaning back next to the table, her feet spread out before her. She chewed slowly, with a surprisingly pleasant expression on her face.

You are just the coolest guy on the planet now, you know that, Jackson? You are so suave that Kay will never be able to resist you again. She is putty in your hands now. You are genius for that move. What was that—the rumbly-in-the-tummy pass? He felt like burying himself in a hole.

The crunch of the little snack was the only sound breaking their silence. After making what small progress he had, Jett was back to square one. Thwarted, he stared straight ahead and tried not to make eye contact. And great, he was out of cheetos.

One suddenly flew by him and landed on the floor.

He glimpsed at Kayla, who looked amused and about ready to fling another one. But before he took cover he picked up the cheeto, yelled "Five second rule!", popped it in, and ducked behind a chair.

Jett crawled past the tables swiftly until he was a few yards away. All the while she pitched cheeto after cheeto. Some of them landed nearby, which he picked up and ate, unconcerned with germs. He waited for just the right moment and sprung toward her, simultaneously trying to grab the bag from her clutches. But she had jumped onto her own feet and darted away. "You'll have to try harder, Jackson!"

She hadn't gotten too far when he reached out and pulled her to a stop, his shoes squeaking against the tile. "Ha! Your resistance is futile, West. No one can escape from my lightning moves and cheetah speed. Get it? Cheetos…Chester Cheetah…" he quipped pathetically.

He looked down at Kayla.

"Kay?"

She was bent at the knees and wore a pained look. Her hands grasped at her neck. As she exerted a loud, forceful cough she tried to explain but with difficulty, "I'm choking…it's stuck in my—" Her breath came out short.

"What? You're choking??" Jett paled. He loosened his grip on her sleeve and held her with both arms gently. "Just relax, Kay."

He was about to give one hard slap to her back. But he remembered that would only lodge it further down her throat.

Moving behind her, he entwined his arms underneath hers. He tried to tighten his hold by joining his two hands in front of her. Just as he was going to start the Heimlich maneuver, he felt Kayla elbow him in the stomach.

Kayla spun to face him, her eyes lit up. "Gotcha."

Waving the bag in reminder, she flashed a triumphant, toothy grin and ran off again.

Bewildered, Jett recovered slowly from his shock. She is definitely getting it now. In his head he swore grimly but he chased after her with a mischievous sneer.

As he crept past the bookshelves, he thought he saw Kayla dash by several shelves down. Quietly, he snuck to the end of the aisle and glanced side to side. He skimmed above the top of the books. Nothing. Where did she go?

"Jehhh-ehhhht…" He heard her call in a sing-song tone. Turning around, he caught sight of her smiling on the other side of the room. Looking bored, she leaned against a shelf. She yawned. As he bolted for her, she disappeared to her right.

He was now near the entrance. He knew she was around there somewhere.

Aha. She had her back against a display case, which was blocking his view of her. But in front of the case was another with a mirrored interior. She wasn't aware of it. Jett could see her reflection so clearly that he saw her watching the corner of the case, her eyes wide and alert, waiting for any sound of him.

Stifling his smirk, he tiptoed to the side of the case opposite from her view. It was almost too easy. Only a few feet behind her, he readied his stance.

Then he pounced.

She yelped as he connected. He wrapped his arms quickly around her body, one arm across her shoulders and the other across her waist. They hit the floor but her fall was cushioned as Jett landed on his back. They slid several feet together until they stopped at the center of the entrance. Stunned, Kayla realized she needed control again and twisted within his hold. 

She squirmed and wriggled. Soon she was able to get on her knees. He still had her by the wrists, so she pulled with all her might until they were freed. As gross as it was, it helped that her hands were still greasy from the cheetos. Before Jett could get the advantage she grabbed his clothes, and flipped him over onto his stomach with surprising strength. She bent his arm so the back of his hand was held against his back. Her knees brought heavy pressure to the back of his legs. He cried out, "Ow! Damn, Kay!"

Her eyebrows rose at his response to her torture. But she wouldn't let up.

"Say 'uncle'!"

"What?? And since when are you so violent? Seriously, this is—" He gasped as she brought down more pressure. "All right! Uncle!"

"Say 'I regret the day that Britney Spears went to the Halloween dance!'"

"I thought you liked her!"

She only dug her knees harder.

"Okay okay! I regret the day that Britney Spears went to the Halloween dance!"

"Good." Kayla eased her hold on him.

As she let go, Jett got up amazingly quick. Immediately the tables were turned and he had HER restrained this time, except she was on her back looking up. With one of his legs on each side, he brought his fingers to her stomach and tickled her ruthlessly. As she squealed, she clawed the air and tried to push him off. But his tickling left her powerless.

Her hysterical giggling pierced the air. Once in awhile she let out a desperate scream, and it only encouraged him. Staring down at her, Jett's grin slowly vanished. For some reason this position wasn't so funny anymore. He wasn't even sitting on top of her but…just the idea of it…

His tickling slowed, and his fingertips rested on her stomach. Kayla let out a couple more breathless giggles and stopped. Gasping for air, she looked up at him. Why did he stop?

It took awhile. But there it was again. That look. He felt his insides churning.

"You're beautiful, Kay."

The words came out without any warning.

Her eyes widened at them. And he didn't care. There was only one thing he wanted to do and dammit, he was going to do it.

He laid his hands next to her sides and bent down. Their eyes never lost sight of each other.

The noise of shattering glass broke their concentration. They turned to the entrance at the same time to see one of the window panes smashed open and a huge tree branch protruding into the room. A gust of wind suddenly pushed the branch further inside and ripped off more of the glass. As the pieces fell into the room, Jett realized where they would land. He moved hastily.

******

"You didn't have to do that, you know."

Jett knew she meant that. She said it so softly and her forehead was wrinkled just how it did when he knew she was worried. The way she pressed the cool towel onto his head too, she was so gentle. As she took it off and looked to see the blood, she tsked and shook her head. Before placing it back right above his hairline, she folded the towel to a fresh spot.

"I mean, at least cover your own head too."

He smiled at her advice. "I'll remember that next time."

But she was frowning. "It won't stop bleeding. And it looks kind of deep."

"Kay, don't worry about it. I don't think it cut any veins or arteries, or whatever." As Kayla lifted the towel again to take a peek, a cool breeze blew across the damp surface of his cut. He shivered.

She noticed and quickly returned the towel to its spot. "We should move." She gestured toward the broken window, which was still too high up to be of any help for the two. "We'll freeze if we stay here."

Holding onto his arm, Kayla helped him up. She guided him far away from the window, and they settled comfortably in a corner near the back of the library.