Jersey

One

Scarlett's POV

The rain pattering off of my dorm room window seems to relax me while I study for my exams, along with the music coming from my laptop. I let out a sigh of relief when my back cracks from my stretch break, "How long have you been studying?" A deep voice comes from my right. I screech and turn towards the voice grabbing the first thing I can get to, throwing it in the direction of the sound.

"Woah! It's just me, there's no need to throw your stuffed cow at me," The voice chuckles, that I now realize is just Ares. Letting out a huff, I turn fully towards him in my swivel chair, "That cow is my protector, thank you very much. And you're the one who snuck up on me." Ares just laughs, and walks further into my room. He looks comfortable today, wearing sweatpants and his signature football hoodie with his last name and number on the back.

"You do know 'that cow' couldn't really hurt an intruder right?" His voice is teasing, as he reaches out to ruffle my hair. "I said what I said, he's my protector," my voice is defensive, but playful, "I thought you weren't coming over today?" I pause, "Oh, practice got canceled because of the rain?"

He nods, plopping into my papasan chair in the corner, "Yeah, it's rescheduled for Thursday." Humming, he pulls his hood off of his head, "I came to ask if you wanted to go get some food, but I can wait until you're done studying."

"I'm almost done, wanna quiz me?" I pout, batting my eyelashes at him mockingly. He scoffs, getting comfortable in his seat, "Absolutely not, I have my own studying to worry about later. Your little animal answers will get stuck in my head while I'm trying to take my tests." Scoffing, I throw a glare in his direction, "First of all, they're animal surgery answers. It's not like they're just asking me about types of animals." He smirks, tossing the stuffed cow back onto my desk, "Same thing, you have to know the type of animal you're working with to be able to answer correctly."

I roll my eyes, and shut my laptop. "Where do you wanna get food?" Ares shrugs, putting a mock thinking face on while I walk over to my closet and tug out a hoodie with our college mascot on it, 'The Pythons'. It's pretty sick if you ask me, the python looks angry and like it's going to attack.

"You ask me that like we don't always go to Miranda's Diner most nights." He mocks. I shrug, pulling my phone off of the charger and walking over to him, holding my hand out to pull him up, "Maybe I thought you'd want to go somewhere else for a change."

Ares rolls his eyes, and takes my hand pulling himself up. He towers over me easily, being as he is the quarterback of our football team. "Don't be dumb, I could never not eat there," he replies as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Fine, but you're driving." I answer, sticking my tongue out at him as he hooks his arm around my shoulders, "You act like I would ever let you drive anyway, Jem."

We walk out of my dorm, and down into the entrance of the building, "Drive your truck around. I'm not trying to get soaked from the rain." Gripping his arm I duck out from under it, pushing him outside. Ares just laughs jogging over to his parked truck. The engine revs as he turns it on, and pulls it up to the door. I throw my hood up, and rush outside. Ripping open the passenger door, I get in as quickly as possible. "Thank you!" I grin over at him, teasingly.

"Again, don't act like I really had a choice in the matter," he replies to my thanks, gruffly. He pulls off from the side of the building as I smack his arm, "Oh, so you hate me? You couldn't say, 'you're welcome'?" I tease, turning on the seat warmers for both of us. Ares lets out a playful sigh, glancing at me before focusing back on the road.

"You're paying, right?" He asks with a grin, making me roll my eyes, "I'm just a girl, how come I'm expected to pay?" My lip is jutted out in a pout, as I give him my best puppy dog eyes. "Uh, because it's your turn," he glances at me, noticing my stare, "Oh, come on! You can't do that to me, it's not fair." He whines, smacking the steering wheel playfully. Without replying, I just get closer to him, keeping the sad pout on my face. "Okay! Okay, fine I'll pay.. You're a pain in my ass, you know that?" He scoffs.

"Yay! You're the best!" I cheer, punching the air excitedly in victory. "Seriously, you're a pain in my ass, I wasn't kidding," Ares defends, but he can't hide the smirk on his face. I just shrug and relax into the now warm car seat, "Yeah, but you love me. You can't deny it."

-

Ares drops me off at the entrance of the diner when we get there, so I don't get hit by the rain. I step under the awning to wait, as he jogs over to me after parking his truck. Shivering from the cold, I step inside when he opens the door for me.

"Hey guys!" Hazel, one of our best friends, calls from behind the counter. Thank god she works here, we always get her employee discount. Her platinum hair is pulled back into a ponytail since she's working with food. "Hazel! Please tell me we can be in your section this time," I pout at her, jutting my bottom lip out once again. "Only if you let Aphrodite sit under your table. She's pissed she's not able to work right now," she retorts, referring to her service dog.

"Aw, of course she can!" I croon. Hazel grabs her from the break room, and hands her leash over to Ares. "Hello, pretty girl," he coos, squatting down to pet her as he takes her leash.

I smack his shoulder, "Hey! She was talking to me, that is my child right there, asshole," I scoff, but don't move to take the leash from him. He grins up at me, his straight teeth showing, "Maybe, but Aphro loves me more."

Scoffing, I turn back to Hazel, "Which booth is yours?" She points to the corner booth, "Yes! My favorite spot," I grin, as we all walk over to it. Ares and I sit down, with him pulling the golden retriever under the table.

"I already know what you want, but I'm going to pretend that I'm asking because it's so slow right now," Hazel grins, tugging out her notepad. "Yeah, it's raining bad. I'm surprised Ares wanted to drive here in it." I glance at him, but he just shrugs, "I was hungry."

I snort as he brushes his dark curls off his forehead, and I look back to Hazel, "Are you still coming to the party with us on Saturday?" I wiggle my brows, excitement clear on my face, as well as hers. "Yeah, bitch. I need to get laid so bad," she looks over to Ares, "Hook me up with one of your football friends."

Ares laughs, shaking his head. He leans forward resting his hoodie clad arms on the table, "I could probably set you up with Blake. He's got a thing for short blondes." His tone is teasing, Hazel gasping in mock anger, "How could you? I'm not that short!" She cries.

I raise my brow at her before looking back at Ares, "She's in denial," I grin, making him grin back. "We've known that since we met her, I'm afraid." We both laugh, while she pouts. "Ugh, you guys suck. I'm going to put your order in," she huffs, and turns on her heel towards the kitchen.

My giggles slow down as I notice the look on Ares's face, "Are you okay?" I murmur, my face turning concerned. He sighs, rubbing his face, "I'm fine. I just.. Wanted to talk to you about something." There's hesitation in his voice, but I nod, waiting for him to continue.

He glances at the table for a moment, before meeting my gaze, "I don't want this to ruin things between us. You're my best friend, but it's not fair for me or you to keep this from you," his fingers run through his curls in apprehension, "My feelings for you aren't just friendly anymore. I keep finding myself thinking about you, and getting distracted when you wear those cute little outfits to parties. I like you, Scarlett. More than a friend should," his gaze meets mine, my heart stopping.