We Meet Again (JanTom AU)

Chapter 21

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Tom sat quietly in his seat, hands in his lap and eyes looking straight ahead at Jackie. Yet, he was anything but calm with his mind running laps.

Turns out Janna ended up catching a cold the day after. The cold punch and the freezing autumn weather really took a toll on her. She was currently in bed, sneezing and coughing through the walls.

He did his best to attend to her, bringing more blankets, placing a warm towel on her head, bringing her breakfast in bed. He even went out of his way to pick up some medicine at the closest pharmacy which was about 15 minutes ago.

He had walked inside the store not really having a picture of what he was looking for until he got aid from another customer in exchange for a picture for his daughter. Pretty reasonable on both ends. He left with a bag of cold medicine and tylenol, dropped by Fruit Basket to pick up one of her favorite smoothies and then rushed home.

She then told him to stop, saying she didn't need his help. Classic Janna. That didn't stop him.

"Don't you have a 'date' with Jackie?"

That did however stop him, and just in time or he would've been late.

Even now, he still wasn't on the right page of letting her stay by herself while sick. He had even offered to call Marco and Star to take care of her, to which she quickly refused, saying they would be doing more pestering than caring.

Is that really what one does when sick? Last time he was ill, he was constantly checked up upon, by either his parents or the housekeeper. It was only natural for him to reciprocate that care.

With some quick reassurance, (and a little bit of bickering) he was dressed and ready to go.

"Are you sure you'll be ok?"

"Ask one more time and you won't be. Don't make me get out of bed Tom," she glowered, clutching onto her blanket stuffy nose and all.

"Ok but-"

It quickly ended with Janna kicking him out and slamming the door in his face.

This morning had him thinking, why was she so adamant about him not helping her out? Yeah he's known her to be independent, heck, that's one of the things he admired about her, but a little help never hurt anybody.

A wave of a hand in front of his lost face broke him out of his thoughts. He blinked and sat up to face a concerned-looking Jackie.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You haven't touched your food."

He glanced down at his still full plate of fettuccine alfredo pasta. What once was steaming hot was now a blob of cold noodles.

"Oh."

At the request of Jackie's mom, they were at this fancy Italian restaurant in downtown LA,, where chances of paparazzi spotting them were high. The smell of garlic and pasta sauce pervaded the outside air as they sat at one of the restaurant's patio tables.

"Paparazzi at 1 o'clock," she noted.

The next 10 seconds was followed by Jackie taking a hold of his hand and placing a bright smile on her face. He did the same, just in case they showed up from her side.

Once they were sure the paparazzi were gone for the 3rd time, they went back to their discussion. So far, they had gotten some side glances from ongoing pedestrians and a few other diners, but that was the last thing on his mind.

"What's wrong Tom?"

He sighed, giving in. "I'm just worried about Janna, what if something happens and I'm not there?" He swirled some pasta onto his fork, trying to decide if he should eat it or not.

"Janna doesn't need saving, she can protect herself."

He noticed a sudden tone change in her voice but didn't think anything of it.

"But I feel like she really hates when I try to help her. Am I doing something wrong?"

"You're overreacting, she's just a little sick and probably will just sleep in all day. You shouldn't worry too much. Relax babe" she answered, as a waiter walked past them.

He blushed at how casual she said 'babe', forgetting that he was on a date. Now he felt bad for sulking the whole time.

Maybe he was overthinking it. He did kinda go overboard this morning and she probably just needed a breather from him. Who knew being around a sick person was difficult.

Jackie calmly slammed her palms on the table as she stood up. "I think the paparazzi have taken enough pictures. We have the whole day, why don't we go and have some real fun."

"What do you have in mind?" he asked, following her as they paid and left the restaurant.

"Ever ridden a skateboard before?"

"I've never even ridden a bike."

"Well, today is your lucky day Lucitor, I'm gonna teach you," she declared.

"Woah, you know how to ride a skateboard?"

"Used to, I picked it up from a friend a few summers ago on a trip to France. I kinda stopped last year but I don't think it'll be too hard to pick up from where I started."

"So, whatcha say?"

He pondered for a second. Maybe this will help him get his mind off of things. Janna was going to be fine so there was nothing to worry about.

He held her hand tightly, smiling.

"Alright, let's go."

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Y'ALL I FEEL REALLY BAD FOR UPDATING LATE. EVERYTIME I WRITE I ALWAYS FEEL TIRED AFTER CLASSES AND DOING HOMEWORK SO I END UP FALLING ASLEEP, MY BAD.

But thank you guys so much for everything, if I don't update another chapter before the end of the week, y'all can have my head I promise!😩🤞🏾