#15. [2PM/SNSD. JAY/JESSICA]
Fandom: 2PM, SNSD
Title: No High School Romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jay/Jessica
Length: 3596 words
Notes: This can’t even compare to how wonderful the original fic is, and excuse me for my lack of creativity, but I hope it still lives up to your expectations. Enjoy, dear! <3
Remixee author: ladadadi
Title of work you remixed: A Wreckless Night
Link to work you remixed: here
Jessica changes her decision four and a half times before deciding she is sick of being in California. By then, the sun is already going down and it is too late to go home and pack, so she hops on the Greyhound with two dollars and the clothes on her back.
She doesn’t glance behind her when the doors on the bus shut. She only sighs and pays the bus fare, deciding the last seat on the left looks comfortable enough.
----
Her nap is going perfectly fine, no drool on her face and no snores on her lips, until she feels a body sink into the seat next to her. Jessica almost gets up, about to find another seat on the bus, but then glances at the person next to her. She assumes it is a boy - with the scent of his cologne and sweat, how could it not be - and figures he can’t really be any harm.
That is, until, he elbows her straight in the head as they go over a bump.
Jessica yawns and sits up, giving a fierce look to her neighbor. Her voice comes out in a harsh tone as she snarls, “Could you not-”, but then her eyes really meet with the man in front of her and she realizes she knows who he is. Oh, how ironic.
“Jessica?” She isn’t shocked that he knows her name - everyone knows her name - but his eyes tell her that he doesn’t seem to recognize her all that well. She hides a smirk, because the fresh-faced cheerleader Jung Jessica is not who he sees right now; thick, dark make-up, and oversized sweatshirt covering her hard-earned figure, and her straight as a needle is what he sees.
Jessica also isn’t surprised that it is him, of all people, riding this bus. “Oh,” she adds on, as if she’s astonished that they’ve bumped into each other. “Jay, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” Jessica thinks she’s gotten all too good at reading faces, because he seems a bit surprised that she knows who he is. “What are you-” She cocks her head to the side in a dare, waiting for him to finish his sentence. “I mean, I didn’t know it was you.”
Jessica grins slightly at this. He’s cute, in a kind of blunt fashion. “That was kind of the point.”
Jay kind of stares at her for a bit, and Jessica pretends that she doesn’t feel him trying to read through her. She gives off a blank expression - the expression that everyone knows how to read, save herself - and runs a hand through her hair. Her hood falls off, revealing her blonde hair, and Jay scratches his neck awkwardly.
This is nothing like the dancer boy she usually passes by at school.
“So, where are you headed?”
It’s a simple question, really, and she feels like she should give a simple answer. “I don’t know.”
He gives her this funny look, then. Jessica doesn’t know whether she wants to wipe it off of his face or laugh, because his eyebrows are raised and his eyes are wide. “So… You just got on a bus with no real plans?” She stares back at him in answer. “I don’t… Get it.”
Jessica runs a finger over her eyelashes.
“Why are you here?”
She gives him a quick glance, shoots out a mere, “Because I want to,” and then turns back to look out the window as if she doesn’t even know he’s there.
“Look, if you need a place to stay, we have a guest room.”
Jessica gives him a millisecond stare, and then gazes at her nails. The polish is becoming chipped. “You’re going home?”
Jay motions to the list of cities in front of them, but she pretends not to notice. “Yeah, this bus is heading towards Seattle. It’s still another-” he pauses for a second, “two hours, but if you don’t want to get off anywhere we stop, you’re welcome to come with me.”
He drops the words casually, and Jessica sneers. She didn’t know he was like this - hell, she almost believed he was a really nice guy, considering they’d only exchanged around twenty words.
“What?” His voice is questioning, and she almost rolls her eyes. Like you don’t know.
“I’m not going to put out,” she mutters.
His eyes get huge, similar to that of an anime character. “I wasn’t - I would never - Jessica. I’m not doing this to sleep with you.”
Jessica snorts, “Why not? Everyone wants to fuck a cheerleader.” It comes out crueler than she expected, but she doesn’t care. He stares at her, and for a second, Jessica wonders if he really knows what she means.
“I don’t.” He says it bluntly, and Jessica gives him a strange look. “Well, I mean, it’s not like I’d say no, but what I mean is that…” Jay awkwardly fumbles off, but it’s so clumsy and embarrassing that Jessica finds herself laughing at him. Her mind rushes back to, , but Jessica just thinks he’s kind of adorable. Like a little kid, even. His face is still serious, though, and he adds, “Look. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m not even going to ask you what you’re doing here. I just don’t… Like the idea of you being alone.”
Jessica thinks it’s kind of strange that she doesn’t want to immediately defend herself. “I can take care of myself,” she replies, but she says it evenly. Sometimes, people want to be taken care off.
She is not one of those people, but it is nothing to be ashamed about.
It’s silent, for a moment, and she can’t decide whether it is awkward or not. Jessica shuffles a bit in her seat and tightens the drawstrings around her hood. “So what’s your family like?”
The sentence comes out of her mouth unexpectedly, but Jay doesn’t give her a look. He starts talking about his family, about Art of Movement and how he’s so close with them, and Jessica realizes that his voice is really lovely. It’s got a soothing tone to it, and she can listen to it all day, because it keeps her in this little paradise spot, where the sun is always warm and the water is always cool and there’s someone next to her to hold her and tell her it will be okay. His eyes sparkle when he talks about his dance crew, and his smile stretches from ear to ear. It’s handsome and inelegant and charismatic all at the same time, and Jessica wonders how Jay is able to handle being so perfect.
“They’re like my second family,” he suddenly says, breaking apart her thoughts. “I go to see them whenever I can, but it’s not the same as practicing with them and going to battles and all that, you know?” He chuckles, slightly, his eyes giving off an almost nostalgic look. “But you know what I mean about the family thing. The cheerleaders are all really close, right?”
She smiles softly, thinking back the rest of the cheerleaders. “Yeah. We’re really different and sometimes we get in fights,” Jessica thinks of the head cheerleader at this, the toughest of all the girls, “but we’re always there for each other.” She grimaces, then, but just barely. “You never have to be alone.”
Jay looks at her, but Jessica just fiddles with her fingers in front her. She wonders why it’s gotten so quiet. “Do they know you’re here?”
She pretends like she hadn’t expected him to say those exact words, even though it’s what would’ve come out of everyone’s mouth. Jessica puts on her face again (the one that she thought he didn’t need to see), and pulls her hood back up. “I said you never have to be alone,” she spits, “not that you never want to.”
Jay sighs, and it sounds like he’s trying to stop an argument that has yet to start. Jessica keeps her back to him, ignoring him until the programmed voice states, “Seattle, five minutes.” She feels Jay’s stare at her, but stays turned around.
“My offer still stands, if you want it.” I don’t, she thinks, but forces herself to not say it aloud. Jessica hears him searching through his backpack, and then watches as a dirty yellow post-it note finds its way on the seat in front of her. It’s got a bunch of numbers and random letters scribbled on it - she’s too lazy to make sense of them - and almost wrestles her feet to stay planted on the ground in front of her as Jay walks off the three steps leading off the bus, not glancing back just as she’d done only hours before.
----
Jessica gets off of the Greyhound only one stop later, only fifteen minutes away from where Jay’s stop was. She makes eye contact with the bus driver as she gets up from her seat, who gives her a small smile, and she steps off the bus seconds later.
The street is empty, but there are a couple of lights beaming down from the nearby stores. Jessica sees a small café down the road, and her stomach grumbles. Swallowing, she realizes that she hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning.
As she’s walking, Jessica hears behind her drunk laughing of men who have just excited the nearest bar. She wrings her hands together and quickly continues walking, suddenly wished that she’d paid more attention in her martial arts lessons as a child. Behind her, the laughing continues, even louder now. She winces slightly when she hears, “Ooh, look at that nice little thing in front.”
Jessica pulls her hood up, just noticing that her long, blonde hair has given away her gender, but that doesn’t stop the men from whistling. “Keep it down, baby!”
She mutters curse words under her breath and only quickens her pace. The men seem even closer, and she swears she can smell their nasty beer breath behind her. It’s when a hand lands on her shoulder, pulling her back, that Jessica screams and runs forward. There is stumbling behind her as the men call out for her to wait, but the years of cheerleading have paid off and her legs easily run down the street, turning into a sharp left midway through. It leads her down an alley, and even though she’s sure the men are a couple of blocks down, she can hear their laughter in her ear.
It takes her less than thirty seconds to whip her phone out of her pocket, dial in the number that she pretends she hasn’t memorized off the backseat of a bus, and put the phone next to her ear. It rings six times before Jessica decides that he isn’t planning on picking -
“Hello?”
“Can you give me a ride?” The words come out of her mouth all too quick, and normally, Jessica would’ve thought she sounded too desperate, but it doesn’t matter in a situation like this.
“Jessica? Why are you-”
“Jay, please,” Jessica cuts his sentence short and wraps her free arm around her waist, hugging herself. “I don’t know anyone else here.” She looks towards the front of the alley and closes her eyes when she sees the drunken men stagger past. “I need you to come get me.”
There is shuffling on the other land, and she assumes he’s putting on his jacket. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Where are you?” Jessica glances around and quickly whispers the street names into the speaker, sighing as he says, “Okay, stay where you are, I’m coming.”
The phone clicks off and it takes her seconds to fall back against the wall and slide to the floor. The sobbing comes out dry and hard, her phone falling to the wet gravel road, but Jessica is too busy crying into her sleeves to care.
----
When she hears the car pull up, Jessica tip toes back into the alley, afraid that the men are back to come and get her. She drops to the ground to search for her phone, and begins pressing Jay’s number again when she finds it, but the lights of the car switch on and she recognizes the spiked hair.
Jessica stands up and walks towards the car, ridding her clothes of the dirt she has encountered before stepping into the car. She pulls her head back as she settles comfortably in the seat, but Jay thinks otherwise. “Hey, you okay?”
She turns away and wipes her hand across her face, praying that there aren’t any tears or snot left. “I’m fine. Can you take me to a hotel or something?” She has no idea how she plans to pay, but it is better than staying in a deserted alley.
“Just stay with us. We have a couch, and my parents won’t mind, I promise.”
Opening her mouth to deny the offer, Jessica sees Jay’s open face, his eyes filled with worry. “Okay,” she finally breathes out, and it feels like a relief. “Just one night, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
He breaks out into a grin and starts the engine of the car. “You can stay as long as you want.” About to thank him, Jessica suddenly hears a loud rumble erupt from her stomach, and groans in embarrassment. “Have you eaten yet?”
“… No.”
“Okay, first things first.” He leans over and Jessica tries not to lean in and hug him. He smells so nice, and his arm brushing across her wet jeans feels so warm. Jay pulls out a ten dollar bill and hands it to Jessica, his hand lingering a little longer than necessary. The bright lights of Burger King show his face to be pale and distressed, and she hopes that it isn’t because of her. “You go get some food while I call my parents and let them know you’ll be coming.” Jessica gives him a look, wanting to know what he’ll eat, but he shakes his head with a smile. “I had dinner already, just get something for yourself.”
She smiles gratefully, and steps out of the car, almost sprinting to the register when she enters the fast food restaurant. She orders the first thing her eyes spot on the menu, almost snatching it out of the cashier’s hands when he hands her the meal.
Minutes later, Jay walks in, and Jessica doesn’t even bother trying to act ladylike as she feasts on the burger in front of her. “Wow. I guess you were hungry.”
She shrugs, as if she hasn’t not eaten since six this morning. “I didn’t eat lunch today. And I don’t have fast food very often.” Jessica scoffs, making sure to add, “Gotta keep my figure, you know.”
It is silent for a bit afterwards, until Jay finally says, “What are you doing here?” Jessica pauses midway through her fry, waiting as he quickly adds, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, and it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone or anything, but I’m just…” She looks at him as he struggles to find the rights words. “It’s kind of weird.”
Jessica sighs and sets her burger down, cleaning the corners of her lips with her fingers. “Things happened,” she replied. “People weren’t who I thought they were. The usual.” Drama, she wants to add, but she decides to keep it in.
“But why here?” Jay looks intent in finding out Jessica’s reason. She almost cracks a smile, but settles for taking a fry instead. “You don’t know anyone here, it’s pure luck that we ran into each other. Why not go somewhere else?”
“I didn’t want to know anyone.” Jessica sighs again, and feels her heart drop to the bottom of her chest. “I’m tired of people I’ve never met knowing my face.”
He smiles awkwardly, adding, “Oh. Sorry, there wasn’t another seat on the bus when I got on.” Jessica smiles slightly. “You must have been annoyed when you saw me.”
Jessica looks up and into his eyes, the smile on her face sad and ironic. “No, I - that’s just my luck. Even if I want to get away, I’m bound to run into someone.” She thinks of her numerous attempts at running away, and almost laughs as she thinks it’s the time she meets Jay that she finally gets away.
Jay shuffles uncomfortably in his seat, and Jessica watches him as his eyes dart back and forth, from her plate to her face to his hands, and back again. “If you want, I can get you a hotel or, or something. You don’t have to stay with us, I was just trying to-”
Jessica brushes her hair out of her face and interrupts Jay, staring at him directly. “Jay.” He looks up at her. “I called you, remember? I…” She feels her cheeks blushing and forces out, “I wanted to see you.”
A smile breaks out on his face and it looks like it hurts, but Jessica finds it all the more adorable. “Oh.”
Her heart beat increases rapidly, and she reaches over to squeeze his hand. His hands are soft and worn and gentle, and she wouldn’t mind keeping her fingers intertwined with his forever. Jay smiles at her and she smiles back, and suddenly, she’s not really hungry anymore.
Picking up her food, Jessica glances at him through her bangs. “Let’s go.”
----
His clothes feel strangely comfortable against her skin, Jessica thinks. They are warm, but cool at the same time. It’s like their bipolar.
She laughs at the thought and wonders why she’s so happy.
Right then, however, there is a knock on the door, and she bites her lip to keep from laughing. “Jessica?”
It doesn’t stop her mouth from widening into a smile. “Yes?”
The door opens slowly and Jessica hops on to the bed, fiddling with the ends of the ratty sweatshirt. It smells wonderfully nice, the smell she’d probably ask God for in heaven. “I hope it’s okay,” she explains to Jay as he scans her attire. “Your mom said I could just borrow your clothes since I don’t really have anything else.”
Jay laughs, and Jessica has to resist asking why, like she doesn’t already know. “You really didn’t think this trip through, did you?”
She laughs at that, because it is a hundred percent true. “No, I guess not.”
Her laugh breaks off, and she watches as Jay eyes the bed. Shifting back towards the pillow, Jessica motions for him to sit down. “Thanks for letting me sleep in your room.” She thinks back to their first encounter. “When you said you had a couch, I assumed you meant it was for me.”
Jay scratches the back of his neck, looking at her like it’s a bit obvious. “You’re a guest.” He laughs, then, a light sound from his lips. “Sorry it’s so messy, though, I didn’t really expect you to call.” The next sentence comes out as a surprise, when he adds, “But I hoped you would.”
She grins toothily. “I’m still not going to put out,” she retorts, but the corners of her lips are still upturned and she can’t think of anything that can bring them down.
“Not tonight.” Her eyes widen in mock horror, and Jay laughs, squeezing her hand. Since when were they holding hands? “Kidding. I have no ulterior motives, I promise.”
She smiles and leans toward him, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Her eyebrow cocks teasingly, her eyelids still down. “Or maybe I’m the one with motives.”
“Yeah?” Jessica senses him lean towards her, until they are almost nose to nose. “Is that really why you got on the bus?”
A laugh comes out accidentally, and she prays that her breath doesn’t smell like her last meal of burger and fries, even though she has just brushed. “Caught me. It’s all just a big conspiracy.”
Jessica opens her eyes and suddenly, Jay is right in front of her, his eyes just as wide as hers probably are. She blinks once, twice, and almost reaches a third until a set of lips is pressed against hers, warm and plump. They taste kind of like vanilla ice cream, sweet and light and refreshing. She pulls away after a couple of seconds, afraid her heart is going to pound out of her chest, but is pulled back when Jay leans his forehead against hers. She smiles and wonders if he realizes that at this moment, right here, she’s a changed girl.
“Goodnight, Jessica,” he finally says, standing up, and Jessica forces her hands behind her back to keep from pulling him down.
She smiles and pulls the bed covers over herself. “Sweet dreams.”
Title: No High School Romance
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jay/Jessica
Length: 3596 words
Notes: This can’t even compare to how wonderful the original fic is, and excuse me for my lack of creativity, but I hope it still lives up to your expectations. Enjoy, dear! <3
Remixee author: ladadadi
Title of work you remixed: A Wreckless Night
Link to work you remixed: here
Jessica changes her decision four and a half times before deciding she is sick of being in California. By then, the sun is already going down and it is too late to go home and pack, so she hops on the Greyhound with two dollars and the clothes on her back.
She doesn’t glance behind her when the doors on the bus shut. She only sighs and pays the bus fare, deciding the last seat on the left looks comfortable enough.
----
Her nap is going perfectly fine, no drool on her face and no snores on her lips, until she feels a body sink into the seat next to her. Jessica almost gets up, about to find another seat on the bus, but then glances at the person next to her. She assumes it is a boy - with the scent of his cologne and sweat, how could it not be - and figures he can’t really be any harm.
That is, until, he elbows her straight in the head as they go over a bump.
Jessica yawns and sits up, giving a fierce look to her neighbor. Her voice comes out in a harsh tone as she snarls, “Could you not-”, but then her eyes really meet with the man in front of her and she realizes she knows who he is. Oh, how ironic.
“Jessica?” She isn’t shocked that he knows her name - everyone knows her name - but his eyes tell her that he doesn’t seem to recognize her all that well. She hides a smirk, because the fresh-faced cheerleader Jung Jessica is not who he sees right now; thick, dark make-up, and oversized sweatshirt covering her hard-earned figure, and her straight as a needle is what he sees.
Jessica also isn’t surprised that it is him, of all people, riding this bus. “Oh,” she adds on, as if she’s astonished that they’ve bumped into each other. “Jay, right?”
“Uh, yeah.” Jessica thinks she’s gotten all too good at reading faces, because he seems a bit surprised that she knows who he is. “What are you-” She cocks her head to the side in a dare, waiting for him to finish his sentence. “I mean, I didn’t know it was you.”
Jessica grins slightly at this. He’s cute, in a kind of blunt fashion. “That was kind of the point.”
Jay kind of stares at her for a bit, and Jessica pretends that she doesn’t feel him trying to read through her. She gives off a blank expression - the expression that everyone knows how to read, save herself - and runs a hand through her hair. Her hood falls off, revealing her blonde hair, and Jay scratches his neck awkwardly.
This is nothing like the dancer boy she usually passes by at school.
“So, where are you headed?”
It’s a simple question, really, and she feels like she should give a simple answer. “I don’t know.”
He gives her this funny look, then. Jessica doesn’t know whether she wants to wipe it off of his face or laugh, because his eyebrows are raised and his eyes are wide. “So… You just got on a bus with no real plans?” She stares back at him in answer. “I don’t… Get it.”
Jessica runs a finger over her eyelashes.
“Why are you here?”
She gives him a quick glance, shoots out a mere, “Because I want to,” and then turns back to look out the window as if she doesn’t even know he’s there.
“Look, if you need a place to stay, we have a guest room.”
Jessica gives him a millisecond stare, and then gazes at her nails. The polish is becoming chipped. “You’re going home?”
Jay motions to the list of cities in front of them, but she pretends not to notice. “Yeah, this bus is heading towards Seattle. It’s still another-” he pauses for a second, “two hours, but if you don’t want to get off anywhere we stop, you’re welcome to come with me.”
He drops the words casually, and Jessica sneers. She didn’t know he was like this - hell, she almost believed he was a really nice guy, considering they’d only exchanged around twenty words.
“What?” His voice is questioning, and she almost rolls her eyes. Like you don’t know.
“I’m not going to put out,” she mutters.
His eyes get huge, similar to that of an anime character. “I wasn’t - I would never - Jessica. I’m not doing this to sleep with you.”
Jessica snorts, “Why not? Everyone wants to fuck a cheerleader.” It comes out crueler than she expected, but she doesn’t care. He stares at her, and for a second, Jessica wonders if he really knows what she means.
“I don’t.” He says it bluntly, and Jessica gives him a strange look. “Well, I mean, it’s not like I’d say no, but what I mean is that…” Jay awkwardly fumbles off, but it’s so clumsy and embarrassing that Jessica finds herself laughing at him. Her mind rushes back to, , but Jessica just thinks he’s kind of adorable. Like a little kid, even. His face is still serious, though, and he adds, “Look. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m not even going to ask you what you’re doing here. I just don’t… Like the idea of you being alone.”
Jessica thinks it’s kind of strange that she doesn’t want to immediately defend herself. “I can take care of myself,” she replies, but she says it evenly. Sometimes, people want to be taken care off.
She is not one of those people, but it is nothing to be ashamed about.
It’s silent, for a moment, and she can’t decide whether it is awkward or not. Jessica shuffles a bit in her seat and tightens the drawstrings around her hood. “So what’s your family like?”
The sentence comes out of her mouth unexpectedly, but Jay doesn’t give her a look. He starts talking about his family, about Art of Movement and how he’s so close with them, and Jessica realizes that his voice is really lovely. It’s got a soothing tone to it, and she can listen to it all day, because it keeps her in this little paradise spot, where the sun is always warm and the water is always cool and there’s someone next to her to hold her and tell her it will be okay. His eyes sparkle when he talks about his dance crew, and his smile stretches from ear to ear. It’s handsome and inelegant and charismatic all at the same time, and Jessica wonders how Jay is able to handle being so perfect.
“They’re like my second family,” he suddenly says, breaking apart her thoughts. “I go to see them whenever I can, but it’s not the same as practicing with them and going to battles and all that, you know?” He chuckles, slightly, his eyes giving off an almost nostalgic look. “But you know what I mean about the family thing. The cheerleaders are all really close, right?”
She smiles softly, thinking back the rest of the cheerleaders. “Yeah. We’re really different and sometimes we get in fights,” Jessica thinks of the head cheerleader at this, the toughest of all the girls, “but we’re always there for each other.” She grimaces, then, but just barely. “You never have to be alone.”
Jay looks at her, but Jessica just fiddles with her fingers in front her. She wonders why it’s gotten so quiet. “Do they know you’re here?”
She pretends like she hadn’t expected him to say those exact words, even though it’s what would’ve come out of everyone’s mouth. Jessica puts on her face again (the one that she thought he didn’t need to see), and pulls her hood back up. “I said you never have to be alone,” she spits, “not that you never want to.”
Jay sighs, and it sounds like he’s trying to stop an argument that has yet to start. Jessica keeps her back to him, ignoring him until the programmed voice states, “Seattle, five minutes.” She feels Jay’s stare at her, but stays turned around.
“My offer still stands, if you want it.” I don’t, she thinks, but forces herself to not say it aloud. Jessica hears him searching through his backpack, and then watches as a dirty yellow post-it note finds its way on the seat in front of her. It’s got a bunch of numbers and random letters scribbled on it - she’s too lazy to make sense of them - and almost wrestles her feet to stay planted on the ground in front of her as Jay walks off the three steps leading off the bus, not glancing back just as she’d done only hours before.
----
Jessica gets off of the Greyhound only one stop later, only fifteen minutes away from where Jay’s stop was. She makes eye contact with the bus driver as she gets up from her seat, who gives her a small smile, and she steps off the bus seconds later.
The street is empty, but there are a couple of lights beaming down from the nearby stores. Jessica sees a small café down the road, and her stomach grumbles. Swallowing, she realizes that she hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast that morning.
As she’s walking, Jessica hears behind her drunk laughing of men who have just excited the nearest bar. She wrings her hands together and quickly continues walking, suddenly wished that she’d paid more attention in her martial arts lessons as a child. Behind her, the laughing continues, even louder now. She winces slightly when she hears, “Ooh, look at that nice little thing in front.”
Jessica pulls her hood up, just noticing that her long, blonde hair has given away her gender, but that doesn’t stop the men from whistling. “Keep it down, baby!”
She mutters curse words under her breath and only quickens her pace. The men seem even closer, and she swears she can smell their nasty beer breath behind her. It’s when a hand lands on her shoulder, pulling her back, that Jessica screams and runs forward. There is stumbling behind her as the men call out for her to wait, but the years of cheerleading have paid off and her legs easily run down the street, turning into a sharp left midway through. It leads her down an alley, and even though she’s sure the men are a couple of blocks down, she can hear their laughter in her ear.
It takes her less than thirty seconds to whip her phone out of her pocket, dial in the number that she pretends she hasn’t memorized off the backseat of a bus, and put the phone next to her ear. It rings six times before Jessica decides that he isn’t planning on picking -
“Hello?”
“Can you give me a ride?” The words come out of her mouth all too quick, and normally, Jessica would’ve thought she sounded too desperate, but it doesn’t matter in a situation like this.
“Jessica? Why are you-”
“Jay, please,” Jessica cuts his sentence short and wraps her free arm around her waist, hugging herself. “I don’t know anyone else here.” She looks towards the front of the alley and closes her eyes when she sees the drunken men stagger past. “I need you to come get me.”
There is shuffling on the other land, and she assumes he’s putting on his jacket. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Where are you?” Jessica glances around and quickly whispers the street names into the speaker, sighing as he says, “Okay, stay where you are, I’m coming.”
The phone clicks off and it takes her seconds to fall back against the wall and slide to the floor. The sobbing comes out dry and hard, her phone falling to the wet gravel road, but Jessica is too busy crying into her sleeves to care.
----
When she hears the car pull up, Jessica tip toes back into the alley, afraid that the men are back to come and get her. She drops to the ground to search for her phone, and begins pressing Jay’s number again when she finds it, but the lights of the car switch on and she recognizes the spiked hair.
Jessica stands up and walks towards the car, ridding her clothes of the dirt she has encountered before stepping into the car. She pulls her head back as she settles comfortably in the seat, but Jay thinks otherwise. “Hey, you okay?”
She turns away and wipes her hand across her face, praying that there aren’t any tears or snot left. “I’m fine. Can you take me to a hotel or something?” She has no idea how she plans to pay, but it is better than staying in a deserted alley.
“Just stay with us. We have a couch, and my parents won’t mind, I promise.”
Opening her mouth to deny the offer, Jessica sees Jay’s open face, his eyes filled with worry. “Okay,” she finally breathes out, and it feels like a relief. “Just one night, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
He breaks out into a grin and starts the engine of the car. “You can stay as long as you want.” About to thank him, Jessica suddenly hears a loud rumble erupt from her stomach, and groans in embarrassment. “Have you eaten yet?”
“… No.”
“Okay, first things first.” He leans over and Jessica tries not to lean in and hug him. He smells so nice, and his arm brushing across her wet jeans feels so warm. Jay pulls out a ten dollar bill and hands it to Jessica, his hand lingering a little longer than necessary. The bright lights of Burger King show his face to be pale and distressed, and she hopes that it isn’t because of her. “You go get some food while I call my parents and let them know you’ll be coming.” Jessica gives him a look, wanting to know what he’ll eat, but he shakes his head with a smile. “I had dinner already, just get something for yourself.”
She smiles gratefully, and steps out of the car, almost sprinting to the register when she enters the fast food restaurant. She orders the first thing her eyes spot on the menu, almost snatching it out of the cashier’s hands when he hands her the meal.
Minutes later, Jay walks in, and Jessica doesn’t even bother trying to act ladylike as she feasts on the burger in front of her. “Wow. I guess you were hungry.”
She shrugs, as if she hasn’t not eaten since six this morning. “I didn’t eat lunch today. And I don’t have fast food very often.” Jessica scoffs, making sure to add, “Gotta keep my figure, you know.”
It is silent for a bit afterwards, until Jay finally says, “What are you doing here?” Jessica pauses midway through her fry, waiting as he quickly adds, “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, and it’s not like I’m going to tell anyone or anything, but I’m just…” She looks at him as he struggles to find the rights words. “It’s kind of weird.”
Jessica sighs and sets her burger down, cleaning the corners of her lips with her fingers. “Things happened,” she replied. “People weren’t who I thought they were. The usual.” Drama, she wants to add, but she decides to keep it in.
“But why here?” Jay looks intent in finding out Jessica’s reason. She almost cracks a smile, but settles for taking a fry instead. “You don’t know anyone here, it’s pure luck that we ran into each other. Why not go somewhere else?”
“I didn’t want to know anyone.” Jessica sighs again, and feels her heart drop to the bottom of her chest. “I’m tired of people I’ve never met knowing my face.”
He smiles awkwardly, adding, “Oh. Sorry, there wasn’t another seat on the bus when I got on.” Jessica smiles slightly. “You must have been annoyed when you saw me.”
Jessica looks up and into his eyes, the smile on her face sad and ironic. “No, I - that’s just my luck. Even if I want to get away, I’m bound to run into someone.” She thinks of her numerous attempts at running away, and almost laughs as she thinks it’s the time she meets Jay that she finally gets away.
Jay shuffles uncomfortably in his seat, and Jessica watches him as his eyes dart back and forth, from her plate to her face to his hands, and back again. “If you want, I can get you a hotel or, or something. You don’t have to stay with us, I was just trying to-”
Jessica brushes her hair out of her face and interrupts Jay, staring at him directly. “Jay.” He looks up at her. “I called you, remember? I…” She feels her cheeks blushing and forces out, “I wanted to see you.”
A smile breaks out on his face and it looks like it hurts, but Jessica finds it all the more adorable. “Oh.”
Her heart beat increases rapidly, and she reaches over to squeeze his hand. His hands are soft and worn and gentle, and she wouldn’t mind keeping her fingers intertwined with his forever. Jay smiles at her and she smiles back, and suddenly, she’s not really hungry anymore.
Picking up her food, Jessica glances at him through her bangs. “Let’s go.”
----
His clothes feel strangely comfortable against her skin, Jessica thinks. They are warm, but cool at the same time. It’s like their bipolar.
She laughs at the thought and wonders why she’s so happy.
Right then, however, there is a knock on the door, and she bites her lip to keep from laughing. “Jessica?”
It doesn’t stop her mouth from widening into a smile. “Yes?”
The door opens slowly and Jessica hops on to the bed, fiddling with the ends of the ratty sweatshirt. It smells wonderfully nice, the smell she’d probably ask God for in heaven. “I hope it’s okay,” she explains to Jay as he scans her attire. “Your mom said I could just borrow your clothes since I don’t really have anything else.”
Jay laughs, and Jessica has to resist asking why, like she doesn’t already know. “You really didn’t think this trip through, did you?”
She laughs at that, because it is a hundred percent true. “No, I guess not.”
Her laugh breaks off, and she watches as Jay eyes the bed. Shifting back towards the pillow, Jessica motions for him to sit down. “Thanks for letting me sleep in your room.” She thinks back to their first encounter. “When you said you had a couch, I assumed you meant it was for me.”
Jay scratches the back of his neck, looking at her like it’s a bit obvious. “You’re a guest.” He laughs, then, a light sound from his lips. “Sorry it’s so messy, though, I didn’t really expect you to call.” The next sentence comes out as a surprise, when he adds, “But I hoped you would.”
She grins toothily. “I’m still not going to put out,” she retorts, but the corners of her lips are still upturned and she can’t think of anything that can bring them down.
“Not tonight.” Her eyes widen in mock horror, and Jay laughs, squeezing her hand. Since when were they holding hands? “Kidding. I have no ulterior motives, I promise.”
She smiles and leans toward him, closing her eyes and breathing in his scent. “Maybe. Maybe not.” Her eyebrow cocks teasingly, her eyelids still down. “Or maybe I’m the one with motives.”
“Yeah?” Jessica senses him lean towards her, until they are almost nose to nose. “Is that really why you got on the bus?”
A laugh comes out accidentally, and she prays that her breath doesn’t smell like her last meal of burger and fries, even though she has just brushed. “Caught me. It’s all just a big conspiracy.”
Jessica opens her eyes and suddenly, Jay is right in front of her, his eyes just as wide as hers probably are. She blinks once, twice, and almost reaches a third until a set of lips is pressed against hers, warm and plump. They taste kind of like vanilla ice cream, sweet and light and refreshing. She pulls away after a couple of seconds, afraid her heart is going to pound out of her chest, but is pulled back when Jay leans his forehead against hers. She smiles and wonders if he realizes that at this moment, right here, she’s a changed girl.
“Goodnight, Jessica,” he finally says, standing up, and Jessica forces her hands behind her back to keep from pulling him down.
She smiles and pulls the bed covers over herself. “Sweet dreams.”