Hi guys! Yay! Another chapter! Wooooohooooo! Anyway… So there's a (in my opinion) good Jara moment at the end of this and I… yeah, it was sort of spur of the moment, I actually wrote it in class today, while I was on fanfiction… so, yeah. Procrastinator, who me? Anyway, no more songs in the chapters because I always re-use songs for the stories.
REVIEWS ARE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!
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The smells of bacon and eggs awoke her. Fatigue beckoned her to close her eyes again and let the comfort of sleep overcome her again, but purpose made her eyes open abruptly.
The light that poured in through her windows blinded her temporarily (see what I did there?) but her eyes eventually adjusted to the morning light.
Her limbs ached profusely as she stretched her arms and back. The sounds of her popping muscles soothed her.
Patricia had already left the room and Mara felt her heart sink a little.
Of course Patricia isn't here, she thought bitterly, she doesn't need you anymore.
The house altogether seemed too silent to her, as if someone had put a hold on time. She took a deep breath and got off of her bed, preparing herself for the sight of an empty house.
A bitter cold seemed to come over her as she walked down the stairs, the shuffling the only noise she heard.
As she managed to enter the dining room, her suspicions were confirmed. It was completely empty, no Trudy, Mick, or Jerome in sight.
The smell of bacon clung to the air, deceiving her senses.
She groaned loudly, realizing she was now alone. Her anger seemed to bubble up within in her making her angry at everything.
Trudging into the kitchen, she grabbed her favourite cereal out of the cupboard and poured it into a bowl.
She flung the fridge door open to grab the milk than slammed it satisfactorily. A note from the fridge drifted down to her feet and she picked it up, noting that it hadn't been there before.
It was written in Trudy's elegant script, but obviously rushed as it slanted madly near the end:
Dear Mara and Jerome,
We left for our arranged trip to town today. Sorry. Remember to do your chores and homework, we'll be back late afternoon. See you later,
Trudy
Mara slapped her forehead and kicked herself mentally. Of course she had to sleep in on one of the only town days. She had even gotten her parent's consent and everything.
It seemed as if Jerome was also avoiding her. Quickly, she recalled the events of last night, their talk, everything.
The jacket felt heavy on her arms but she didn't rush to take it off. Something about keeping a part of him near her at all times was comforting, and almost compelling.
She breathed in deep, savouring the smells of cigarettes and spearmint, it was strange... But soothing.
It represented him perfectly, someone who was strange and odd at times, but reliable and sweet.
With her mood dampened, she walked into the dining room with her cereal and started eating the mushy wheaties.
As she was eating, she tried hard to remember how she'd gotten back the night before. Vaguely, she remembered climbing down the ladder but what came next?
For a while she sat there, deep in her thoughts, trying hard to remember, but it didn't come to her.
She was so deep in these thoughts, she only saw him coming in until he cleared his throat.
She snapped her head up and looked at him with a questioning look," So you didn't go either?"
He briefly rolled his eyes and sat down next to her and started fidgeting with his fingers.
"My parents never sign the permission form Mara, I'd hope that you'd at least know that." Overwhelming guilt washed over her. Her she was, angry at not being able to go into town when Jerome... He never got the chance to.
"Oh... So I guess we're stuck here for the day." She stared at his hands, continuously twisting them.
"What makes you think that?"
"Jerome, what do you-" He cut her off and said," Mara, just because I've never been to town doesn't mean I've never been to town."
Her eyebrows puckered as she looked at him, and trying to hide his laughter, he told her to go change.
Hesitantly, she walked upstairs, glancing back at the dining room. What did he do on town days?
Quickly, she donned a pair of jeans and a yellow Beatles t-shirt and started to leave, but quickly ran back to grab his jacket.
Her hands thumbed the material dampening her mood as she realised she would have to give it back. The one thing that gave her a connection to him.
As she walked downstairs, she saw him waiting in the hall, his hands in his pockets, in her mind, exactly how he should be, well, exactly how she always pictured Jerome. The nice Jerome, the one that she actually liked, as in a friend.
"I'm ready." She mustered, her voice sounded strangled in her throat.
"Great," he said with a smirk," let's go."
They walked out together into the sunny morning, occasionally bumping into each other.
Her hand gripped the jacket and as she walked, she realised she hadn't given it back yet.
"Uh... Jerome, um... Your jacket, I-" Words failed to connect into sentences, as if she was just destined to screw up. Pointing at it, she hoped it would get the message across.
"Keep it." He stated blankly.
"Really?" Her tone full of surprise. For the years she had been at the house, it was always," What's mine is mine" to him.
"Yeah, it suits you better." He shot her a smile than looked forward again. Even she could see the force behind it, as if it was being forced onto his face like a mask.
They walked into the parking lot, the sound of gravel crunching under their weight, until he guided her to a motorbike.
It was huge and evil looking: the black leather seats, the huge engine, at least, it did to her.
"Come on Mara, we don't have all day." She hesitated, it seemed dangerous. She also didn't like the idea of being pressed up against him. Even thinking about it made her insides churn.
"I don't know about this Jerome. Is it safe?" Panic streaked her voice and he looked about ready to laugh.
"What, you think Mick wouldn't approve?" She shot him a glare but she could feel the heat rush up to her cheeks, staining them crimson.
He passed her a helmet and started the engine. She gripped him out of sheer fear. Motorbikes always reminded her of evil... And accidents.
Jerome backed up and shot out of the parking lot.
She yelped as this happened and scooted closer to him, hoping that his steadiness would help calm her.
They blazed down the winding road jerking to the left and the right, obviously on purpose.
The initial shock had passed and she let her grip loosen. She turned her head to the left watched the trees pass by.
The wind licked her face and she squinted in order to stop it from battering her.
Warmth emanated from his back and she felt the blood rush back to her cheeks. He was so close to her, and he still smelled like cigarettes and spearmint.
She could feel the ridges of his back through his shirt and wondered how skinny he actually was.
The drive was so exhilarating and she found herself trying to take everything in. The sounds of the wind, the colours streaking past her.
Eventually, they made it to town, and she started to worry. What if the other house students saw them? What would they think? The questions swirled around in her mind blocking any sense of speech she had.
It petrified her, thinking what Mick would think if he saw her right now. This was basically cheating on him.
Jerome jerked to halt and got off quickly, offering a hand and a smile towards Mara, who tried to return it.
"Come on, I know a great cafe off the radar, no chance they'll be there." She nodded briskly, still feeling as if the silence held her voice captive.
As they walked, she tried to distract herself with other things. The sky was speckled with fluffy white clouds, the air wasn't too cool or too warm. She could still smell the smell of the grass and wind on her clothes as they walked.
She wondered what Jerome was thinking about. His expression was always so cold and calculating, his eyes as cold as ice, yet she guessed she could always tell that he was thinking of something distant, something faraway.
"Mara, what're you staring at?" Her cheeks stained red as she looked down at the ground.
"N-nothing."
"It can't have been nothing, Mara, you do everything with purpose." How was she supposed to reply to that?
Silence was her only option, and she didn't look up until they had made it to the café.
The café lived up to Jerome's descriptions. On the outside, it looked like a classic Parisian café, ivy clawing up brick walls. The tables were made out of black iron, like the garden chairs she knew from her own home. She could smell the strong aroma of coffee wafting out of the door and it dragged her in with its warm tendrils.
The inside of the café had worn out sofas that looked like they were bought in the eighties as well as light wood chairs that had every scratch imaginable on them.
Behind the counter stood an old woman, probably around sixty, with kind gentle eyes, those of a grandmother. Her bushy white hair was piled into a messy knot her face round and rosy. She wore a crimson skirt that fell to her ankles topped off with an old floral shirt. She fit right in with the warmth of the café, almost as if the whole thing was built around her.
"Hello there, oh, Jerome, it's so good to see you again!" The woman beamed while walking up to him and hugged him which he returned, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"It's good to see you too Mrs. Hall." Something about the way he had said that made her think that he had been here a lot more times than he had let on.
"Who's this Jerome? Is this your girlfriend?" Mrs. Hall fought to hold back giggles that were trying mercilessly to escape. Mara felt herself blush and look down.
"No, she's my housemate. We were stuck in today and so I just invited her to come with me because, I mean, I thought she'd like it here, that's all."
Mrs. Hall's facial expression fell and Mara noticed her sneak a quick glance of sadness towards Jerome but his expression remained the solemn, his eyes looking around casually as something had changed.
"Well then, I'll get you two some coffee."
Mara headed over towards a worn out mustard couch and sank in it, hoping to let the comfort of the spongy pillows take on her worries.
She could feel him sit next to her and self-consciously moved away from him.
It seemed like forever until they talked, almost as if they were both daring each other to do something. They didn't though, and each of them sat, not wanting to say anything in particular.
"Here you go you two!" Mrs. Hall came out triumphantly with coffee mugs. Quickly they both reached for the coffee, Mara personally hoping it would spark conversation, maybe even picking up where it left off last night.
Looking down in the swirling cup of black liquid, she hesitated. She never liked coffee, and this didn't look like an exception. Closing her eyes, she took a sip, wincing at the heat but after waiting a bit, savoring the bold flavors.
"This is amazing, how have I not heard of this before?" She asked aloud, quickly ducking her head back down.
Mrs. Hall slunked (I don't care if it's a word or not, it sounds cool) down in the chair opposite to them and rubbed her forehead before looking back at her.
"My family had a great business here, and we were almost full each day all until Starbucks came and parked themselves down the street. Now, no one ever comes in here. The only relief I ever have is waiting for the students days, and even then there isn't a large turnout, but I love it when Jerome comes to visit me, and now, you're here, which makes it all the better." Guilt swirled around her. First, she asks uncomfortable questions that make a person feel like a failure, than she manages to embarrass Jerome.
"I'm sorry." Mrs. Hall looked up at her with her pleasant eyes and smiled.
"It's not you're fault Mara. Now, tell me a little bit about yourself. Since I rarely ever get customers, I try and learn as much as I can about them. I virtually know Jerome inside out."
I doubt it, she thought to herself.
"Well, I'm school rep, um… I came to Ra Academy Boarding School… probably since I was eleven? Um… I like biology and I guess that's it. I'm not the most interesting of people, really."
"Mara, I meant juicy things. Anything interesting going at school, that sort of thing."
Jerome snorted at this. Why did he always have a snide comment for anything she did?
"Watch out, she's probably gonna start babbling on about how great Mick is. Mick is so gorgeous, I'm so lucky to have him." He imitated her voice ending up sounding like an old woman in the progress.
"Hey! I do not sound like, and that is not true. I know how to talk about other things!" Her argument sounded that of a two year old and noticing this, she let her head fall back to the mug in her hands.
"Really Mara, really?" Her head tilted up to see him leaning in, too close for comfort, teasing her with his smirk.
"In that case Jerome, let's talk about you and your family." Where had that come from? Usually she wouldn't even dare to aim that low.
His eyes darkened and she prepared herself for a snide comment, utterly rude comment to be fired back at her.
"Mrs. Hall, could you just leave us alone for a second?" She nodded curtly, and got up.
"Jerome, that's rude, just because your parents were never around to teach you manners, it doesn't mean you can just act… horrible to everyone!" She bit her lip. She knew she had gone too far. It was in his eyes, the hurt, the pain.
"Nobody has a perfect little life like your Mara," he spat," What happened to the nice Mara would never chastise someone?"
"You're just jealous! You're jealous I picked him over you!" Jerome looked like he could've hit the wall. Everything: all that she had just said, had sunken in. Wasn't she supposed to help him? She closed her eyes, trying to count to ten, letting herself calm down and apologize.
But when she opened her eyes, he was gone.
~0o0o0o0~
He stormed back to the parking lot, and she bolted after him, half scared he would abandon her and the other half scared of what he would do when he was alone.
"Jerome! Wait up!" Her voice grew hoarse as she screamed to catch his attention.
He stopped stiff and she ran up to him feeling her lungs strain from the pressure.
"Why? So I can just listen to you ranting on about your love life? So that I can hear you trashing my family? You know nothing about me Mara!" His face was inches from hers, but his eyes were enraged, full of fire. Anger pulsed in waves towards her.
"We're going back to the house, and you will never speak about this, any of this again." He climbed on and she could feel him tense up as she clung to his mid-section.
Tears stung her eyes, threatening to spill over, a sob threatening to let loose wildly.
Her chest heaved as they took off and she hoped he hadn't noticed. It was always the nice ones she hurt. I guess, she thought, when it's the nice ones that always break your heart...
She knew she was shaking horribly and that she wouldn't be able to hide it from Jerome.
Wrenching her eyes shut, she tried to control herself but the emotions bubbled up once again.
Eventually, they made it back to school, and she was intent on leaving and running. To where, she didn't know, as long as she didn't have to look in his eyes and feel all the grief and anger that bombarded them.
Her feet pounded the gravel as she tried to leave, but his hand grasped hers. She tried to squirm free, but his grip was too strong.
"Jerome! Let. Me. Go!"
"You really think I'd let you leave that easily?" His voice was full of malice as he spun her around to meet his eyes.
"Ok! I'm sorry, now let me go!"
"No Mara."
His eyes were dangerous, like the rough waters of the sea, waiting to drown her. But within his eyes, she could see all the pain she had caused him.
Part desire and fear coursed through her as she stared into his eyes. No, her sensible side threatened, remember Mara, you have a boyfriend who loves you. Does he? Her rebellious side commented. When was the last time he told you that? Yeah, never.
He caught her up in his lips, gripping her arms to prevent her from running. The sheer shock had paralysed her and it took a while to register she was kissing Jerome.
Jerome of all people.
His kiss emanated passion, wrath, and ice. Despite this, his lips were soft and tasted like cherry ripes, unlike Mick's sweaty lips that always tasted like meat or fruit.
Breaking the kiss he avoided eye contact and left a trail of kisses along her jaw. "I'm-dangerous-Mara. You-need-to-stay-away-from-me," his kisses made her shiver from the electricity.
His eyes focused on her's again and she squirmed. This wasn't supposed to happen... The kiss... The way she felt, that was supposed to be what it was like with Mick, not Jerome.
"Jerome, I-" Tears welled in her eyes. She was a cheater, an adulterer. How could she ever look Mick in the eyes again? And after all he'd done for her, cared for her, embarrassed himself for her. Why?
Her plan wasn't ever meant to end up like this. They were supposed to become best friends, then she would convince him not to kill himself, and then everything would be right in the world.
A sob wrangled its way out of her throat as she broke free and ran. Hot tears blocked her vision as she desperately tried to get away from him.
It was always the nice guys she hurt, she reminded herself, and so she had, unaware that a blonde boy stood out-of-sight, completely and utterly heartbroken.
~0o0o0o0~
Ok, well that took forever to write. Sorry for the late upload, I wrote part of this on my phone but the emails weren't sending and... Yah, I was too lazy to re-write it on my computer. But here it is, voila!
Read AND PLEASE REVIEW! ( Not to threaten you guys, but I like a certain amount of reviews before I actually update)
Eskimo kisses,
z3stygurl97