ALL TOO WELL | jess mariano

𝐱𝐱𝐢. 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐲𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞

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( 𝘨𝘪𝘧: 𝘫𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 )

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𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗝𝗢𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗜𝗡 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞 𝗪𝗔𝗦𝗡'𝗧 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘.

Jess had assured her she didn't have to pay rent for the time being, but Cherry found herself feeling guilty anyways. But getting a job in the busiest city proved harder than what she had originally thought. Flipping through newspaper ads wasn't enough apparently, and Cherry was running out of options as she had to discard most things for not being qualified. And it was killing her, sitting in the apartment bored out of her mind as her three temporary roommates went off to work ─ one as a busker singing in the streets, the other as a sales assistant and the last one in Truncheon Books. 

"I'm bored." Cherry whined, pretending to flick through the pages of ads. "This is a total waste of time. I should just give up."

Apart from her, Jess was the only other one in the apartment, sipping on his mug of coffee. He had made him and Cherry a brew, though she had needed to add a few spoonfuls of sugar to his dark, black coffee. His head was leaning on the back of the sofa, black curls drifting backwards and caramel eyes tracing her jaw with amusement. "You've been in New York for a total of five minutes."

"Don't patronise me." she retorted after letting out a groan, laying across the couch as her blonde curls spread everywhere. "I need a distraction. Something to keep me busy." when Jess wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her, she picked up her cushion and threw it in his direction. "You are so dirty minded!"

A raspy laugh bubbled from his lips as Jess dodged the cushion, moving his hand so the coffee wouldn't spill all over him. "So, what do you want to do then? You've got the whole city in your hand."

Cherry pretended to consider, baby blue eyes wide as they wondered across the ceiling. "We should do a Bonnie and Clyde." 

Jess snorted. "As in hitting a bank and going on the run?"

"Hey, don't rain on my parade." she stuck her tongue out at him, pushing herself to sit straight. "It would be a practical solution to two of our biggest problems ─ money and boredom."

Setting down his mug, Jess propped his arms behind his neck, smirking slightly. "I can picture it already ─ I'd get myself a nice fedora and you could get yourself one of those Kodak box cameras and we'd head across the ocean, stopping occasionally to take pictures of ourselves as a gangster couple."

"Well, I don't see you  coming up with any better options." Cherry pouted at his mocking, before a small smile graced her features, glancing at him through her eyelashes. "So . . . gangster couple, huh?"

As if just realising what he had said, Jess abruptly stood up, heat flashing across his cheeks as he scratched the nape of his neck. "I need a refill." 

As Jess went to hide in the kitchen, Cherry trotted behind him, pulling his shirt slightly as she hugged him from behind, her head reaching slightly above his shoulders. "Let's go get coffee somewhere. Get some fresh air."

A smirk professed his lips as he set his mug in the sink. "You're starting to sound like Luke." Before he could protest furthermore, Cherry reached up from behind him to messily run her fingers through his carefully styled hair as he darted away. "Not the hair!" 

Bubbling giggles sprouted from within Cherry as she dashed away from Jess before he could take his revenge, grabbing her coat as she headed to the exit. Swinging the door open, she leaned her hand on the rattling handle. "You coming?"

While a hint of summer still haunted the streets of New York, autumn was the leader of the new reign. Leaves of every warm colours fluttered across the drabs of grey, painting the foliage in a specific theme of orange, red and brown hues. A dark haired boy had slid on his denim jacket, sliding his arm around a curly-blonde girl as his caramel eyes kept glancing at her. Her head was dug into the crook of his neck, a teasing smile as she met his eyes. 

"There's a few things we should discuss, now that we're a couple."

Jess Mariano raised an eyebrow, nudging her slightly with his hip. "Like?" 

A pensive scrunch of her nose made Cherry twist her lips. "Like kissing in public. Thoughts?"

Tilting his head to a side, Jess mocked pensiveness back at her. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Cherry repeated, her dark eyebrows shooting up. "We have little else if we place a ban on kissing." 

He raised his finger as he pointed at her. "You're right ─ apart from that, there's a million reasons why we wouldn't work. Maybe we should break up."

Standing in front of him, Cherry shrugged as she balanced on her toes. "Well, it was good while it lasted." 

Unable to resist anymore, Jess cupped her cheek as their lips melted into each other, as Cherry wrapped her hands around his neck in an attempt to bring him closer. A throat near them cleared as the two pulled apart. "Excuse me,"

Realising they had been blocking the entrance to a small coffee shop, the two sprung apart, the blonde muttering apologies and the dark-haired boy sticking his tongue out at the stranger while he had his back turned as they let him pass before following him inside. A wave of coffee beans drifted towards them as Cherry slipped her jacket off, thanking Jess when he offered to carry it. "I'll go order the drinks, you get us a table. By the window, preferably."

Jess nodded curtly, adding a last thing. "Fine, but don't get me any of those bright fruity drinks that look like a unicorn as puked in a cup." 

Biting down a laugh, Cherry shook her head in amusement as she made her way to the cashier. While awaiting her order, she glanced back, her baby blue eyes scanning the room in search for her other half. It seemed than even in a crowded room, her eyes would always find his, only to realise they were already staring at her. 

Perhaps it wasn't so bad in New York.

i know jess joining truncheon is 'later' but i'm slightly changing the timeline

also enjoy cherry and jess happiness (while it lasts) *evil laughter*

this was mostly a filler but i wanted to just add a chapter of solely cutesy moments