Chapter 13: Trouble

Lindy and I made it to the mall within the hour. But I wasn't feeling it today. I kept thinking about Jack and that stupid kiss last night. A kiss I wanted a repeat of, but I knew I couldn't. I guess I could, but I shouldn't. I need to learn some self-control and I think Jack should too.

We stopped at the food court to grab some lunch and catch up. She was talking about this new guy, Dylan, who is Michael's best friend. Lindy never liked guys into sports, but it seems she's found a new type. "And he keeps talking about you."

"Wait-What?" I chose the perfect time to zone back in.

She rolled her eyes, "Have you been listening to anything I've said?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Michael. He keeps talking about you. He wants another chance."

I shook my head, "No thanks."

She leaned over the table, eying me warily, "Jack's got a massive hold on you, doesn't he?"

"Unfortunately." I mumbled and took a sip of my drink. "I have to go back there today after what happened last night—" I quickly snapped my mouth shut. Why did I do that?

Lindy's eyes widened, "What the hell happened last night, Juliet?"

It was too late now. It was a subject I liked to avoid with Lindy. Not in a bad way towards her, but to me. She's very persuasive and she thinks I can do nothing wrong. She's kind of like Jack in that way. "We had a moment."

Her eyes narrowed into slits, "He kissed you, didn't he?"

"I kissed him back."

A smile slowly surfaced on her lips, "You liked it. Probably more than you thought, right?"

I nodded sheepishly, "And that's why it can't happen again."

Lindy barked out a short laugh, "Take that with a grain of salt. It's going to happen again whether you want it to or not."

She was probably right. It happened after I already told myself it wouldn't. I just wanted to give in. I feel like that would be the easiest solution to all of this. I need to keep my heart guarded. I don't want to fall for someone that I can lose. And that's exactly what's happening. "We should go." Is all I said.

Lindy smiled sadly as she nodded.

She dropped me off at my house and gave me a reassuring smile, "I'll be back tomorrow."

"See you then."

I waited for Lindy to back out of the driveway, and drive away. I didn't bother going to my house. My grandparents weren't home and neither were the twins. They were leaving about the same time I was and they weren't back yet. So I walked over to Jack's at a normal pace and rang the doorbell.

I was nervous again. The nervousness thickened in the pit of my stomach. I don't know what I'll say to him or how I'll even react to seeing him. With the way I left things last night, I'll be surprised he wants to talk to me at all.

The door opened and Jack's smiling face was on the other side.

Smiling.

At me.

He didn't seem mad. And he hasn't told me to leave and never talk to him again. He looks much better than he did last night, that's for sure. The bruises on his face were still there, but they've faded a bit. Maybe they weren't as bad as I thought they were. "Didn't think you'd actually be back." He said as he closed the door behind me.

He reappeared in front of me, "I said I would, and here I am."

"Good." He continued to smile, and I guess I should be happy, but it was starting to freak me out.

I didn't say anything while we walked up the stairs. I thought maybe I'd let it play out for a couple of hours and hope he returns to Jack. Not that I'm complaining, he's just acting really strange.

We made it to his room. Instead of the work being on his bed, it was back at his desk. At least sitting on his bed there was a barrier of books and papers between us. I can manage.

Jack immediately sat down and started working. I sat down in the chair next to him and leaned a bit closer to see what he's working on. Jack stopped moving the pencil and looked at me from the corner of his eye, "That's not helping." There he is. He wasn't lost.

I blushed and moved away from him, "Sorry." I tried to sound strong, but it came out as a mumble. Great. He didn't seem to notice my unease and he went back to what he was doing. He seemed to be working on his own, so I'm not sure why I'm even here. "Do you want me to go?"

"No." He said, not even stopping what he was doing.

"You seem to be working fine on your own." I leaned my elbow on his desk and rested my head in the palm of my hand. I could see his face better this way even if he wasn't looking at me. He's avoiding it.

"Not really." He said bluntly.

"Sure about that?"

He glanced at me for only a fraction of a second before looking back down at his work, "If you want to leave, go ahead. I don't need you here."

I'm going to pretend his words didn't sting, "But I want to be here." I admitted.

He laughed and dropped his pencil again. He didn't look at me, instead he buried his face in his hands and let out a long breath. I didn't know what to do. I guess I shouldn't have said that, but I'm trying to be honest. And maybe I need to learn when to keep things to myself.

Lying and choosing not to share something is totally different.

Isn't it?

I probably should've kept that to myself.

"Why would you say that to me?" He lifted his head from his hands and looked at me. It's the first time he's looked at me since he dropped that façade.

"I'm trying out this new thing called honesty. How's it working?" My attempt at a joke embarrassed me. I think I was the joke.

"Horribly." He replied. "I think I got a taste of that honesty last night. And no, not the kiss either. I'm talking about after that."

Yep, Jack's still in there. All the sarcasm and the smartass remarks are still in there. "I told you, I was—"

"Scared. I know." His hard expression softened a bit, "I am too."

This came as a surprise to me, "About what?"

"Everything." He avoided my eyes again, "From you to the idea of not knowing what's about to happen to me. Maybe I need more help than what you can give me, Juliet. I'm glad you've been around. You seem to be the only person not running away from me." He laughed a little. "But sometimes, I wish you would." His eyes bore into mine and now I was having trouble keeping a steady gaze.

"I'm not going anywhere." I whispered.

It took Jack by surprise, I think. But the shocked look turned into a frown tugging on his lips, "I want that to be a good thing. I don't want to drag you down with me."

Still didn't help how I felt. "Can I ask what happened that night?"

He tilted his head, scanning my face, "I just told you I'm not dragging you into this, so I'm not telling you anything." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

I leaned further towards him, "It's too late for that, don't you think?"

Now he was leaning in further, "Not at all." He smirked, "I'm not telling you anything. And it's going to stay that way."

"This honesty thing works better both ways." I commented.

"And I have been nothing but honest. I'm choosing not to tell you something. That's not lying. It's just not sharing."

I glared at him and he laughed. But his laughter faded and he turned serious again, "I'm keeping you out of this for your own good, Juliet."

I realized something in that moment. I leaned back in my chair again, putting together roaming thoughts, "You really don't know, do you? You have no idea what happened that night. If you did it or not."

Jack looked like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar, "If I knew, I wouldn't be in this mess." The sharpness in his tone sent chills down my spine. It definitely didn't go unnoticed. "Just pretend I'm just the loser next door that can't do his homework."

But he's not.

Well, he can't do his homework.

He's more than just the boy next door.

"What did you say?" Jack asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I just stared at him like a deer in headlights, "I didn't say anything." Oh, god, did I seriously say that out loud? Burry me now, because I just dug myself a really deep hole and there's no coming out of it.

"You said I'm more. What does that even mean?"

Okay, good. He was confused. "Ignore me. Let's just get to work." I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and attempted to get the book in front of Jack. But his fingers around my wrist stopped me. "Juliet."

Why did I always have to go weak when he said my name?

I squeezed my eyes closed, "I was thinking out loud. Ignore me." I repeated. I finally opened my eyes to meet his. I really shouldn't have.

"You think about me?" He was shocked. He didn't sound cocky, like oh, you think about me? But more of a question. Like why are you thinking about me when you could be thinking about something else?

Yeah, I got all of that out of a small question and the tone of his voice.

"It's not a secret."

He didn't say anything else. He didn't question it, didn't make a comment that would make me want to slap him. He just turned around and went back to what he was doing before. And why did it annoy me so much? He disregarded my statement like he's used to it. "I'm not in the mood for working." I said, trying to get his attention.

"Go home." He's back to this again.

"No."

That got his attention, "What? Do you want to go swimming again? Because that really worked out well for the both of us."

"Then you won't mind if I use your pool while you're studying?" I grinned.

"Is this a game to you?" I could tell he was fighting a smile.

"No, it's going to rain anyway. But there are things called movies and I do know you have a pantry filled with junk food."

Jack finally let the smile surface, "I'm the one that should be corrupting you, not the other way around."

"Then it's settled."

Jack was hesitant, but he got up and followed me down stairs. We walked into the kitchen and I found myself standing in the middle of the pantry. Seriously, the food was endless. I think I gained ten pounds just looking at it. "Don't your grandparents ever wonder where you are?"

I looked over at Jack. He was leaning against the door frame of the pantry, "They know when I work. And they know they can trust me. You can't leave the house, so how much trouble can I actually get into?"

Jack took a step in the pantry, "Is that a challenge?"

"Actually, yes. What could you possibly do to get me in trouble without leaving your house?"

My body warmed with each step Jack took towards me, "I can think of a few things that could get you into trouble."

With each step he took towards me, I took another step back. "Just being here with me can get you into all kinds of trouble." He continued walking towards me until I was pressed against the back shelf of the pantry. It wasn't very well lit, but I could see the taunt sliding behind his eyes.

"Then get me in trouble." It just slipped out. I would never actually want to get into trouble. It basically goes against everything I've done to stay out of trouble. But in that moment, I wanted to know exactly how he could get me into trouble. And I'm pretty sure it's not my definition of trouble.

Jack lowered his gaze to my lips and back up to my eyes, "So tempting." I felt his hand against my cheek and his eyes lowered to my lips again as if he was asking for permission. "This will only get me in trouble." His breath fanned over my lips. He was right about tempting. "And if you can't tell, I'm already in a lot of it."

"You can make an exception."

"This is why we should be studying. At least I have something to focus on." He paused. "I need to focus on something else but it's too damn hard." He was leaning in closer and my heart skipped. "I think about you too, you know? And I—I can't stop. And I don't want to..."

Jack lifted his free hand, resting it against my chest. He pressed down over my heart. And my heart betrayed me, beating harder against the feel of his hand. "I make you nervous." He stated like it's new information. He didn't need to feel my heartbeat for that.

I couldn't take it anymore. How close he was. The way his hands felt. Everything about him surrounded me, sucking me into a vortex that I wasn't getting out of.

I stood on my toes and in one swift motion, our lips connected. The warmth filled me to my toes as I cupped his face between my hands. He responded to the kiss quicker than I expected. He was already expecting it. But he wasn't expecting me to make the move.

His hands were on my hips and he pulled me close until I was pressed against him. He brushed a hand up my arm, letting it slip into my hair that fell against my shoulders. I didn't think kissing Jack could get better, but everything about this kiss felt right. The choice of location wasn't ideal, but I totally forgot where we were until we knocked down a bag of chips.

It made me jump away from Jack and look down at the ground. Jack laughed and buried his face in my hair. "It's not funny." I whined, biting back my own laugh. Jack placed a hand on my cheek and turned my face so I was level with him. He kissed me quick and stepped back to pick up what fell. "It's adorable."

I just turned away from him and started scanning the shelves, "Laugh it up. It's hilarious." I said sarcastically. I started plucking things from the shelves and throwing them towards Jack to catch. And by the time I was done, his arms were overflowing to the point where things where falling.

It was my turn to laugh.

I walked out of the pantry ahead of him and I felt him follow me into the living room. He dropped everything on the coffee table and about that time the doorbell rang. "Expecting someone?" I asked.

He gestured for me to follow him, "Go up to my room. I'll come get you in a minute." He whispered.

"Why—"

"Just go, okay?"

I didn't ask any more questions and went upstairs to wait for Jack.

—————————————

I enjoyed writing this chapter way too much, hahaha. Hope you guys liked it! :)

I've started writing the next one but I'm not sure when it'll be up because I have a final this week (Last one BLESS)

Thank you guys! :)

Song: Strings by Shawn Mendes