One In The Same - Jess Mariano

In Their Own Little World

- Third Person POV

  On their walk back to Luke's, Jess and Y/N have remained pretty much attached at the hip, something that was completely foreign territory for them, but felt completely natural despite such a fact. They were bouncing of each other with jokes and light-hearted slights that held no bite or bad intention.

  As they approached the door of the diner, now devoid of the hustle and bustle from the earlier crowd of customers - with the exception of a few stragglers, Y/N stops and turns to Jess with a smile playing on her lips.

  "Thank you," It felt like the best thing for her to say, especially after everything Jess had done to take her mind off things. Today had made her realise how good of a listener the boy could be. She was already well aware of his intellect, no matter how nonchalant his attitude was to school, but after the day had come and gone it was his emotional intelligence that really took the cake.

  It wasn't a complete shock to the girl of course. It became apparent pretty early on for her that most of his quiet but brash persona to most people was just a front he put on as a way to keep himself guarded - because if she was honest with herself, it was like looking into a mirror sometimes. But after this whole affair, it just deepened the reality of it for her. It deepened her faith in the feelings she had been having for the boy.

  "Of course," He shrugs, as though it were the bare minimum for him to comfort her in the way that he had.

  The pair, stuck in their own little world, orbiting one another like a binary star system, are thrown back into reality by the sudden outburst of shouts.

  "Where the hell have you two been?!" Luke says, standing at the door of the building, glaring down at the two, who are both trying to regain their abilities to breath after nearly jumping out of their respective skins. "How hard is it to pick up your phones? Or send a message? Is it really that much of a colossal task that you can't even take two seconds out of your day?"

  "We always come back, don't we?" Jess says, with that typical attitude that is expected of him.

  "Like moths to a flame," Y/N adds in, and they both walk past Luke, into the building without giving him a second glance. They both know they aren't helping themselves by being snarky, but it is all too entertaining to rile Luke up when he's in a bad mood.

- Y/N's POV

  In the apartment, me and Jess slump down onto the couch, and as I sink down into the comfort of the cushions, I can feel Jess' eyes on me. I tuck my feet underneath me and turn my body to the side so I can meet his gaze.

  The way he's looking at me now... I don't think anyone has ever looked at me quite like that before. It's enchanting - addictive. It's the type of look that you could only ever wish you receive, one that a young girl would write endlessly in her journal to manifest into her life, and honestly... I feel almost intimidated by it.

  It is like Jess is looking into me, taking in every single detail, seeing below the surface, so meticulously. It's an interrogation on my entire being, but at the same time it's so strikingly tender.

  My mouth is getting dry, and I can feel heat crawling up my neck. Jess' note in the book pops back to the forefront of my mind, and I can't move, or feel my body anymore. It's like I'm no longer a physical presence here, all that's left of me is what he perceives me to be, and though it pains my 'feminism-first' soul, it feels incredible.

  "I broke it off with Shane," The softness of his voice almost completely distracts me of the words he actually said, but once the cogs start turning again, it is like my mind is wiped of all intelligent thought.

  "Oh,"

  "Yeah... Oh," He imitates. "It didn't feel right after, well, you know,"

  "Well... yeah. That was the mature thing to do," Our eyes are still locked, even though it feels searing. I want to say more, but it all seems so hard.

  "I couldn't stop,"

  What does that mean? "But, you ran off,"

  He starts chuckling breathlessly, "No. That's not what I meant. I couldn't stop... thinking about you,"

  "Neither could I," I suck in a breath before slowly getting up. Finding my bag, I pull out the book. "This didn't help," Jess catches it easily, and I can practically see his brain whirring away as he realises what I'm implying.

  "Reading classical romance tends to make people nostalgic for past intimate encounters,"

  "Jess," I whine at his blatant deflection.

  "Right. So, you find a new appreciation for Jane Austen?"

  "Fine, I'll play along with your stubbornness. I have to admit, I thought by the fourth read, a book could lose it's charm, but wouldn't you know it. Something about this particular copy felt even more... personal," Jess stands up, slowly sauntering towards me, and I don't back down.

  "Paperbacks seem to have that effect,"

  "You know, all this dancing around the elephant in the room is fun, but don't you think it's growing tired?"

  "Perhaps. Well, what would you have in mind for a new conversation topic?"

  "You're exhausting, you know that right?" He's getting closer, I can feel the heat radiating off his skin.

  "I meant it. What I wrote. Every word of it,"

  "You know, I think if you had skipped the whole first 20 chapters of filler and kissed me right when the book came into play, I think the message would've gotten through all the same," I pull him in by the sherpa collar of his jacket and press a chaste kiss to his smirky lips.

  "I'll keep that in mind for future reference," He beams, then leans back in, stealing the air from my lungs with a passionate, lengthy kiss.