Jiana is new.
After getting adopted by one of the country's wealthiest couples, she is steeped into high society full of people who have everything. As she struggles to shake that feeling of being completely out of depth with her new environment, Ji...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
◯◯◯
JIANA WAS PANICKING.
She could no longer deny it, the force of this thing between her and Jay. At some point, their relationship had changed. She hadn't known exactly when it happened, but she saw it in herself, saw it in her always wanting to be alone with him, finding excuses to touch him, cataloguing his every detail. It was dangerous territory.
Jiana sat at Jay's desk in his office after school, doing homework. She wasn't being very productive. He was on the phone with some business executive his father was making him contact on his behalf, and she kept glancing over at him.
Now Jiana felt guilty about laughing at Riki for his hopeless crush. She was in the same boat.
The green apple lollipop dangled from between her lips, forgotten as she watched him. Jiana knew what this was. She knew what it meant that she was noticing, noticing things like the heart-shaped birthmark on his neck or the way his jaw tightened when he heard something he didn't like or the one dimple that formed in his cheek when he pursed his lips.
Jiana's computer was open to a website article entitled "Do You Have A Crush?" talking about the difference between having a crush versus being in love. Apparently, it had to do with how much you knew the person. And she knew too much. She knew Jay sometimes smiled in his sleep. She knew that if not for nutrition, he could subsist purely on honey and corn. That he was a good cook. That he'd been insecure about wearing glasses. She knew he was self-aware, could be dangerous when he felt her needed to be. He feigned anger a lot but hardly ever was. He could be loud but never raised his voice seriously.
He's your best friend, she reminded herself. Except... she already had a best friend. Genny. Did Jiana fantasize about kissing Genny? Not often. But with Jay...
Perhaps she'd just been fooling herself.
Jiana got up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, feeling his gaze track her movement.
She stared out over the city, contemplating. She couldn't do this to Jay. She'd tried with Jake. That'd crashed and burned. Jay was too important to her to let the same thing happen; she didn't know how to be with a boy she liked this much. Maybe she was confusing platonic feelings for romantic ones? Was she even in the right frame of mind?
"What are you thinking about?"
Jiana whirled around. He was suddenly standing right before her. Her hands faltered as she tried to sign. Life, was all the answer she could come up with.
"Yeah?" Jay cocked his head, and those damned glasses slipped a little further down his nose bridge. He raised his eyebrows. "What about life?"
Jiana swallowed. He had to know what he was doing; there was no way he didn't know.
