𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒉é𝒓𝒊 || JJK (Editing)

44: eleven years ago

"Yellow suits you." he says, looking at her.

"Hmm." she says, with little interest, as she kept reading whatever mystery lay written in those crisp pages.

He frowns at the miniscule attention Janice has been showering him with. Propped on her elbows and belly, she flips the page of the book in her hands and engrosses herself in the delight of its content whilst Jeongguk lays there, on his back, just beside her, watching every movement she made, as if he could do it all his life. As if she was the only book he'll read all his life. Again and again, going through all of her versions, her moods, her flaws and every other thing that might exist. About her. He would love to read it, finish it and then start again, afresh. Discovering yet a new version of her with every repeated read.

 "You look beautiful today." He says, grazing his fingers on her cheek. She looks at him from the corner of her eyes with a little smile on her face and then switches her attention back to reading. The smile on his face drops and he looks at the book in her hands with a clenched jaw. 

Having enough of the said book, he swiftly snatches it away from her grasp. Sliding a hand beneath her belly, he scoots her just above him effortlessly. And before she could protest against him, he silences all her upcoming words with his lips on hers. She smiles, kissing him back. She cups his face as he holds her with both his arms and gets up from the said couch. With her still clinging to him, he walks across the library and places her on the desk. She locks her hands behind his neck and chuckles heartily at him. 

"What?" he asks, a chuckle escaping his throat as well.

 "Nothing." she states, shaking her head in negative, but failing to abide the laughter that has erupted out of nowhere. She bites her lower lip to prevent from smiling and he asks. 

"You find me funny?" 

 "Maybe." she says, tilting her head to side,
"What if I do?" He shakes his head, sniffing a rhetoric laugh,
 "I can't believe you! I turned down the offer to watch the boxing match with boys , just so that I could spend some time with you. And here you are! Always getting away, hiding your face in that book!" he says, jerking his head towards the book that he'd snatched from her.
"You're jealous." she states, with a hint of amusement lacing her words. 

 "I'm not!" he shuts back with a pout before adding, "Yet."

"But seriously! What do you find so enchanting about these books and why?"

Janice lets out a simple hum pretending to think very hard about his question and says, "Do you know what I was reading?" "Yes. That 'fault in stars' book." "It's 'The Fault In Our Stars'" she corrects him politely, "and it's not just a book or work of fiction, it's," she pauses, thinking for the right sort of words to describe the unsetting feeling rising in her chest. It was as if she had gone through every moment of that book in person and not just in words, but at the same time not.

Biting her lip, she looks at him, expecting to see him not interested anymore. But the way he looked at her with those doe eyes made her take a deep breath. "It's about two teenagers, Hazel and Augustus. She, Hazel, has lung cancer and lives tethered to an oxygen tank. And when she is diagnosed with depression, she is forced to attend a support group, where she meets Augustus Waters." "Hazel is very surprised when he states that he, Augustus is interested in her. The guy is funny, cute and enthralling. He offers Hazel his friendship and they both develop feelings for one another. This wasn't insta-love and there aren't many PDAs or anything like that, but you can see a genuine connection between the pair of them based on shared pain and experiences that made them who they are."

"But they do not have a happy ending. Do they?" he asks abruptly. The glee and curiosity leaving his eyes letting anticipation rise in its wake. "No." something about the way the word leaves her mouth makes his heart race in discomfort.