Battlefield: Control (Book Two)

Chapter Six - Cadence

Per their usual routine, JD dropped Cadence off at her apartment building and then walked her up to her door. She shivered while fumbling with her keys. There wasn't any snow on the ground yet, but it was still getting cold to the point where it was the only thing missing.

Thanksgiving was too early to have snow, in her eyes. Even in the Midwest where it was acceptable for it to fall from any point past October, she didn't want to see any fluffy white flakes until a week before Christmas and then it needed to be gone promptly after the new year.

Still, she selfishly did enjoy the cold as an opportunity to get a little closer to her best friend.

JD moved his hands to her arms and rubbed them up and down to help warm her. It worked, and she appreciated it. She always took forever to heat back up again after being outside.

"I think I'm supposed to live in the tropical areas of the world. You know, where it doesn't go below seventy degrees and it rains once a day for about ten minutes," she said and opened up her door.

Like always, her mom was gone for the night working. She'd have Thanksgiving off, and that was all Cadence could ask for. That had always been their most treasured family holiday when her Dad was still alive. Breaking the tradition would break her heart.

"Promise to take me with you?" JD asked with small smile.

"Of course I couldn't go anywhere without my best friend." She nudged him playfully as she moved past him to hang up her coat.

He scowled a little. Did she do something wrong? Or maybe he was still upset from earlier. His sister getting powers had to be bothering him to no end.

"You okay?" she asked. "Be honest."

JD shrugged as he kicked off his shoes, then hung his jacket over a nearby kitchen chair before making himself comfortable on the living room couch. "Yeah, I think so."

"Just wanted to be sure. You seem a little off, and with Angela getting powers and all, I didn't know how that was affecting you. How her even being on the team was. I know you two don't always get along," Cadence said.

She grabbed two cans of soda from the refrigerator and then joined him on the couch. Pulling a blanket around her, she picked up the remote for the television so they could have some background noise. He helped her with the blanket, taking extra care to make sure it wrapped around her completely.

When he wanted to, JD could be super sweet. Those moments were the ones that caught her eye the most, and sometimes made her wonder if he could ever be more than just her best friend.

He was certainly attractive. They were close to being the same height, him maybe having a couple of inches on her at the most. What he lacked in height he made up for in strength. His tan complexion made his hazel eyes look dark more often than not and that, along with his dark hair, gave him a great deal of mystery.

And all of the times he'd been able to make her laugh, the way he understood her so well, it was easy to let her mind wander down that path of "what if".

The problem with JD was he didn't have the best romantic record on the planet. He tended to fall hard and fast. One week he was in love with Bethany, and then the next it was Rachel. The guy got around, and he had issues saying he was committed to one girl. Cadence understood why he did things that way even if she didn't like it, nor did she think it all too smart.

If he could get over all of that, then maybe she'd be able to date him. He'd been single for a lot longer than usual. All through the summer and the beginning of the school year. More often than not it lasted for a couple of months at the most. Maybe he was finally starting to mature? He'd been a little more affectionate with her lately too. Was he trying to hint at something?