alexia | jjk

023. full chapter

Apr. 7, 2016, 10:30 PM-Apr. 7, 2016, 10:30 PM
Alexia's time-Jeongguk's time

"Iron Man! Iron Man! Iron Man!" Jeongguk yelled out the window five minutes into the car ride.

He ducked his head back into the car upon seeing the judging eyes of those driving past them. Lexie had counted the amount of times he'd said 'Iron Man'. Twenty-three.

"Iron Man!" He yelled one last time.

"Twenty-four!" Lexie exclaimed.

"Twenty-four, what?" Jeongguk asked, looking over at her with dark eyebrows furrowed.

Lexie responded quietly, "Nothing."

About five more minutes into their car ride, Jeongguk bounced up and down in his seat and squirmed around like a restless child. He asked, "We're almost there, right?"

"Yes, Jeongguk." She replied. Satisfied with her answer, he nodded his head and sank back in his seat.

A couple more minutes after that, he shifted his eyes to Lexie. Like a lovesick puppy, he stared at her with utmost adoration as her face crinkled with concentration and her fingers tapped on the steering wheel with impatience. When she had stopped at the sixth red light, she sighed with frustration. Her attention shifted to Jeongguk.

"The odds are stacked against us." She said dramatically.

"They really are." He agreed. His words didn't seem like much, but the emotion behind them was powerful. The tenseness in his face and cloudy, faraway sadness in his eyes matched with his words. Lexie was surprised by his sudden mood swing.

After a moment of silence, she asked, "Hey, smile, won't you?" She poked his cheeks, trying to be playful and relieve him of the emotion that seemed to be paining him.

He finally let a toothy grin loose, and Lexie pulled her hand away and looked at the light. Still red. Her attention was automatically drawn away from the light when Jeongguk caught her hand midway. She stared at him, but his eyes were trained on their hands. He took her hand into his, and stared at them. He began drawing patterns on her palm with his finger and weaving their fingers together. He was immersed in thought.

"I wasn't talking about Iron Man." He answered quietly after awhile. "It's stupid but. . . You and I, we have the odds against us. You're going to college, I'm a celebrity, and we're close, but so far away." He whispered, his voice rich with emotion.

He didn't speak more, for he was worried that if he were to, tears would come. He sniffed and took an even breath. Then, he leaned down and kissed her knuckles gently. His lips were soft against her skin. Boiling heat grazed her cheeks, but sadness blossomed inside her heart like an unforgiving rose. It pierced her straight through and teared away at her seams.

A loud, blaring horn snapped her out of her thoughts. Her and Jeongguk looked up quickly. The light had turned green. Due to Minnesotan kindness, some friendly people waited for them to drive, but after a good thirty seconds, they were fed up. Some cars weaved around them with glaring passengers. Lexie waved her hand in apology and drove away quickly.

She didn't say a word more on the subject to Jeongguk. She had a dozen thoughts swimming through her head that she couldn't keep track of. Instead of trying to force words out of herself, she decided to leave the subject for another time when she had a clear conscience. Her hands shook violently with nerves as she turned corners. Her eyes flicked over to Jeongguk, checking to see if he was alright.

His face looked distant, as if he was deep in thought. His eyes were thoughtful and his mind appeared to be lost in careful pondering. Lexie thought he looked adorable in his Iron Man t-shirt. He looked youthful. A sigh left her shapely lips, and she continued to navigate through the darkness.

The lights were still on when they arrived to her house. Jeongguk felt enveloped in a blanket of belonging just glancing at the place. Lexie opened the car door, and he followed close behind. He trailed behind her on the cobblestone trail leading to her house, letting his finger catch on an exquisitely purple flower sprouting on the flowerbeds along the route.

"Welcome." Lexie said boisterously. She pulled open the door, warm air instantly embraced both of them.

Lexie's eyes followed Jeongguk as he stepped in, he looked around, mumbling inaudible compliments about the house to himself. She stepped in behind him and closed the door. To her surprise, and adding to Jeongguk's nerves and horror alike, her parents were still up. The woman, who Jeongguk presumed to be her mother, sprang up from the couch with a jolly smile.

She pulled up the man, Lexie's father, who was immersed in the TV. His favorite football team was playing. He switched off the TV after a sharp glance from his wife and they shuffled over to Lexie and Jeongguk emitting friendly greetings. They both rushed for Jungkook, standing awkwardly.

"Hello... Jeon...guk?" Lexie's father said uncertainly, grasping his hand tightly and giving it a lively shake.

"Yes, that's right." He answered, smiling friendlily.

"Hello, Juncook." her mom tried.

"That's. . . not right." Lexie murmured quietly.

Jeongguk laughed it off and complimented their home. Lexie's mom was delighted, and full of apologies for her mispronunciation. After getting to know each other a little bit more, her parents said they were feeling tired, so they retired to bed. Jeongguk and Lexie looked at each other. He did a summersault on the couch, Lexie turned on the TV and popped in Iron Man.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"No!" Jeongguk exclaimed, excited beyond belief.

xxx

hi guys! i am so sorry for the overdue update. i've been having a rough past month. i missed writing this story. prepare for insane amount of fluff in the next chapters.