ON AND OFF THE SCREEN || J.N ✔️

18.

i swipe right on the message to respond to him.

maggie
hey j

i glance over to his window and i can see him laying on his bed.

jace
open your window

i walk to my window and open it, crossing my arms on the frame. he gets off his bed and opens his window. we look face to face. man, he looks good. he's shirtless, has a pair of sweatpants on and his dirty blond hair is scattered.

"i've been a jerk," he says, looking at me in the eye.

"yeah, i know," i joke, slightly snickering at him.

he gives me a look.

"hey, can we meet outside?" he asks.

"yeah," i respond.

i close my window and look down at what i'm wearing, joggers, a t-shirt and birkenstocks. nice one, maggie. i put my natural curls in a loose bun as i walk downstairs to head outside.

jace stands up, kicking a rock, his hands in his pockets, his head held down. he upgraded from his chest to a white t-shirt.

"hey," i say, approaching him.

"let's sit," he says, sitting on the lawn between our houses.

"you probably won't believe me and i don't expect you to, but i didn't realize what i was doing until i actually did," he starts, "ok, that sounded dumb, but-"

"no, i gotcha," i respond, hugging my legs.

"and i know how you feel about isabela and how you share the feeling with all of my other friends, but, well, i don't know," he says, his eyes not leaving the same spot he's been staring at for awhile.

i look at him. "how did you know?"

"you're my best friend. i know how you act around everyone, especially those who you don't like," he retorts, a smile slightly forming on his face.

"you know me too well. that kind of scares me, too," i say, returning the smile.

"to reiterate, i just wanted to apologize for the way i've been acting toward you. i don't want to lose my best friend," he says, standing up, holding his hands out to help me up.

i take his hands and stand up.

"you couldn't lose me, no matter how hard you try," i respond.

he embraces me into a hug. just a simple hug. but he doesn't know how much i want it to be more than simple.

"good night, marge," he says.

"good night, jason."

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