DIE ➳ JACK JOHNSON

XXI. DARLING

i'm starting to go back through the chapters, and capitalizing everything correctly. i didn't capitalize it in the first place, because i intended for this story to be a short story, but i realized that this story needs so many more depth to it. 

chapter twenty-one - july 22

"This is impossible," Jack groaned from behind Alaska. He held strands of her hair in his hands, not knowing what to do next. "How do girls do this? I don't understand." He looked confusedly at her hair, as if giving it a stern glare long enough would magically give him the ability to successfully braid hair. 

Alaska laughed at Jack's now five failed attempts. "You grab three strands of hair."

"That's the only part I do understand," he told her grumpily. 

"Okay, now," she chuckled, unable to contain herself. "Cross the right strand over the middle one, only the middle one," she reminded him again. He did exactly as she said carefully. "Now, cross the left one over the middle one - over the one you just crossed over." 

He stopped what he was doing with a perplexed look. "What?"

"You crossed the right one over, and now that's the middle strand, right?" she asked, and he nodded. 

He realized seconds later she couldn't see him, so he answered. "Yes."

"Now cross the left one over that one," she instructed. 

He followed that. "Now what?"

"This part gets a tad confusing, so bare with me, okay?" she questioned.

"More confusing than this?" he asked with clear shock in his tone.

She chuckled. "Even more confusing. So okay, take a section of hair and attach it to the right strand, then just cross it over the middle one like before."

He tried to keep up with her words, but it ended up sounding like some huge jumble in his head. He tried to accomplish it, but his mind and his hands couldn't wrap nor keep up with what she was saying. After a while, he accepted defeat and sighed. 

"This is impossible," he grumbled, letting go of her hair.

She giggled, turning around in his lap. She noticed his pout, and laughed even more. "It's okay. You're not the first boy to attempt to do a braid and fail," she reassured him. 

"I was quite determined to do it too," he said with a matter-of-fact tone. 

She couldn't get over how adorable he was being right now. In moments like this, in moments of complete bliss in their relationship, she couldn't help but think about why in the world she ever doubted him. She couldn't think of why she would think that she couldn't be happy forever. This felt like forever, but she knew it was all a myth. 

She smiled, but kept it at low bay. "I know you were, love." 

"Hey, love is my thing!" he told her.

"Then what do I call you?" she asked him. "Jackie McCutiekins?" she teased, raising an eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, that's a mouthful," he said with a sarcastic tone, "but I'd allow you to call me anything as long as you're mine."

I laughed. "I will never call you that."

"Oh, I know. You love me too much."

His words caught her off guard, because he said that word, love. Love was something huge, something she knew she couldn't change in a snap of a finger. She didn't even want to admit it herself, scared of how true this will all be. There's no way she wanted Jack to know.