Collarbones || J.W.H.

Chapter Six

February 4th, 2005

Jasper had stayed the night after, leaning in to what had quickly become their new normal. Their kiss had remained sweet and short, Jasper not wanting to push things too far too quickly. As much as he wanted to ease head first into Camila's affection, he didn't want to overwhelm her. Perhaps it was just him being old fashioned, but he refused to put her in any situation where she would have the slightest chance of feeling uncomfortable, because the last thing that he wanted to do was scare her away.

After their display of affection, the two had stayed awake until the early hours of the morning, Jasper insisting to help with her homework that she hadn't finished due to sleeping all afternoon. As the sun arose, he had reluctantly pulled away from her hold on his hand, knowing that he would have to leave before her mother came in to wake her. The pout she had given him made it nearly impossible for him to leave, so he had settled on trying to kiss the pout away.

Despite their first kiss having only been hours beforehand, the action had felt nothing but natural. The warmth of her breath on his lips made his head spin and for a moment. He couldn't help but question if something was wrong with him, but no. That was just the effect she had on him. She made it feel like the whole world had tilted on its axis, and it took him what felt like a full minute to decipher that it hadn't actually done so.

The moment had been coated in thick, raw emotion, even though the whole thing had only lasted a few seconds. The gentle touch of his stone lips has sent her heart racing. She had to resist the urge to pull him back to her as he pulled away, promising to meet her as soon as she arrived at the school.

He would've offered to drive her if hadn't been for the fact that he hadn't drove there that night. It was much faster to run, and he definitely didn't need one of her parents seeing his car parked anywhere near the house. As much as he selfishly wanted to drive her to and from the school, wanting to spend every moment possible in her presence, he didn't want to overwhelm her. He also knew that the short drive was, at most times, the only time she had alone with her mother, and he didn't want to take that away from either one of them.

So he had left, giving her one last short kiss before climbing back out onto the dewy grass. And he began his run back home, knowing full well that Alice would ambush him as soon as he arrived within a one mile radius.

Camila had taken the time to take a shower, deciding that she needed the feel of the hot water on her skin. Her muscles had begun to ache deeply once more, the meds having been worn off for some time. She refused to take another pill, wanting to be fully alert for her last classes before the weekend. She had a feeling she may end up regretting this choice, but her mind had remained se on her decision.

She stood there in the steam filled room, letting the searing water flow freely over her sore bruised body. Her thoughts began to wander as she sucked in deep breaths, the steam helping open her airways, slightly lifting the weight from her chest. He had initiated the kiss, did that mean it would become a normal thing for them? What did it mean for them? She wasn't exactly keen on defining their relationship, but she couldn't help but wonder what exactly that relationship would be labeled as.

A sudden knock on the bathroom door shook her from her thoughts. "We have to leave soon, Honey." Her mom's voice said, sounding from the other side of the door. Her eyes widened. How long had she been there, just letting the water run over her freshly cleaned hair? Quickly shutting the flow off, she grabbed her fresh towel from the rack, wrapping the fluffy fabric around her chest, letting it hang down to her knees.

Swinging open the cabinet door, she rushed to plug in her hairdryer, knowing that, despite the time crunch, she couldn't go out in the cool whether with wet hair. She ran it over her head for a few minutes, her hair frizzing from the humidity before she was content with the result.