Love?

~ Chapter 2 ~

My dad is a car fanatic, he loves cars. Myself I'm not that bothered about what car I have, but he said he couldn't bare the thought of his beloved daughter driving around in a Mini Cooper, that's the car I originally wanted, I told him not to get anything expensive. So, with that in mind, guess what my father gets me for my 20th birthday? A $124,000 Audi R8 Spyder. He refused to tell me how much it cost. I had to google it. I was astonished, I didn't know what to say. So I said nothing. I just smiled and said thank you. I had nothing else to say. Now, everywhere I go, everyone wants to be friends with me just because I have an expensive car. I guess money really does buy friends. I pay no attention to the people who approach me just to talk about my car. I tell them I'm busy and leave.

I parked my car in a garage I bought about two blocks down from my house, then walked the rest of the way home. When I got up the stairs I saw a box in front of the door of the apartment across from mine. I was confused as why it was there, seeing as no one lived there. As I went to pick it up, the door opened. I jumped back and waited for someone to emerge from the empty apartment. A guy stepped out. He was very tall, and quite handsome. He was wearing a black and white stripped t-shirt and some jeans. I froze for a while then regained consciousness.
"H-hello." It sounded like I had never seen another human being before. I quickly fixed my slanted posture and cleared my throat. "My name is Joy. I live next door. Nice to meet you." I was quite proud of my greeting. I held my hand out expecting him to shake it and introduce himself, but to my surprise he didn't. He looked at me without saying a word. I thought, maybe he doesn't understand English, but he was holding and English book called 'The Asylum'. I figured he was into horror.
"I see you like horror novels. Is it a good book? I've been looking for a good book. Would you recommend it?" He didn't reply. I felt stupid. It was like I was talking to myself. For once in my life I was the one trying to make conversation with someone. I realised that this must be how Annabelle and all the other people who have tried to connect with me feel. I found myself standing there awkwardly wondering how he could still look so cool even though he should have looked stupider than me. He looked at me one last time, completely ignored me, picked up his boxed and went back inside. I stood there astonished at the fact that I just got ignored. I slowly turned my back at the door and walked towards my apartment in an almost zombie like fashion, confused at what had just happened. I opened my door and stepped inside. Wasabi, my Pomeranian puppy, was, as always, jumping around with excitement. I was too busy being confused that I just ignored him. I dropped my bag on the floor and sat on the couch in my living room. I sat there as still as a rock and thought about what just happened. Wasabi jumped on the couch and crawled into my lap.
"Why am I being like this? It wasn't my fault he didn't talk to me. He was being extremely rude and arrogant! I'm overthinking it. It was his fault that I was standing there talking to myself looking like an idiot. He should be the one thinking over what had just happened. What a rude person."
I thought about confronting him. Telling him that that's no way to arrive at a new building. He should make a good impression. I did. Then I realised that if I confronted him that would make things worse. He wouldn't know me as Joy he would describe me to his friends as that crazy obsessive lady next door. So I decided to be civil about the matter and bake him a welcome cake.

After 3 failed attempts I finally made the perfect welcome cake. I laced it with a blue ribbon and made my way over to his house. I hit the door with my foot, because my hands were too busy holding the cake, and waited for him to open. It took him a couple of minutes but he eventually opened it.
"Hi. Sorry to bother you again, but I baked you cake. I hope your not allergic to blueberries." I said with a smile. He looked at the cake and then at me, his almond shaped eyes lit up and it was like I could see the whole galaxy in them. He smiled a half smile and took the cake from me, and as he did his hands brushed against mine. I stood still and waited for him to introduce himself or at least say thank you, but he didn't. After he took the cake he retreated back to his apartment and closed the door. Once again I was astonished at how rude he was. Just like before I walked my zombie walk back to my apartment, close the door behind and walked towards the living room. As I past the mirror I saw something in the corner of my eye. I stopped and rushed back to the mirror. I looked in horror as I saw my face covered with flour and my hair a mess. I covered my mouth as I realised why such a cold person would suddenly smile.
"No wonder he smiled! I'm surprised he didn't laugh in my face. Look at the state of me. I look like a crazy woman! What am I going to do? I can't face that guy anymore."
I rushed to the bathroom and cleaned myself up. I got out and sat on the couch wondering what I was going to do if I ever bumped into him in the hallway. Then I heard someone knock on the door. I opened the door and he was standing there with one hand on the door hinge and the other holding the plate that the cake was in. He handed it over to me and said
"My name's Jackson."
His voice was soothing and it had a warm and welcoming tone, especially for someone who acts so cold and closed off. He nodded as if to say he was satisfied with the amount of words he had spoken and already made his way to leave.
"Wait" I said. He turned around.
"Did you like the cake?" I asked hesitantly.
He didn't speak but he smiled and nodded.
"Um... Feel free to come over anytime. We can have coffee or tea, or whatever. I mean, if you want. No pressure." That was the most awkwardly structured sentence I had ever said.
"Sure" he said.
Hearing Jackson speak for the first time made me feel quite nervous. Even though his voice was warm and soothing, I felt like I was going to faint with every word he said. I had never felt or acted like this in front of anyone before. I don't know what made him so special. He was just like every other person.

There was something intriguing about Jackson. He was different in a way I could not quite pin point, and that made me curious.

It had been 5 minuets since my eventful conversation with Jackson, and already I missed him. I had never missed anyone, except Min Seo, before. I was confused as to why exactly I missed him. Before I knew it I was standing on a chair looking out the peep hole, hoping Jackson would pass so that I could get get a glimpse of him. As expected he was carrying boxes up the stairs and into his apartment. I presumed he was getting quite tired with all the carrying he was doing, so I ran to the kitchen and got a big glass with ice cold water in it and made my way towards the door. I got on the chair and waited for him to come out the door. When he did, I pushed the chair out the way and quickly opened the door, and as expected he was just emerging.
"Oh! Jackson!" I said in the most surprised tone of voice that I could. "I was just going to bring you a glass of water. I thought you might need it because of all the moving around you've been doing" he looked at me, I knew he thought I must have been spying on him, even I wouldn't have believed myself. He then looked at the glass. At first I didn't think he would take it, but to my surprise he did.
He looked straight into my eyes and said "thank you" with a calm voice.
I couldn't break eye contact with him, to the point where it started getting weird. "Uh.. Your welcome" I said finally lowering my eyes. He took the glass and drank it all in one go. "Umm do you want me to bring you some more?" I asked as he handed the glass back.
He shook his head "no thank you".
I nodded and turned to leave when I caught a glimpse of all the boxes down stairs. Then an idea sprung to mind. "Would you like some help with all the boxes?" I said as I turned around.
"I don't know, they're quite heavy."
"Oh, don't worry I'm stronger than I look" I said with confidence.
"Okay then, if you insist" he replied.

I made my way down the stairs with Jackson closely behind. I grabbed two boxes labeled clothes and stacked them one on top of the other. Jackson looked at me contently. I struggled a little but I managed to pick it up. Jackson had taken three boxes labeled kitchen and was already half way up the stairs. He looked back at me and saw that I was struggling.
"Are you sure you'll be able to carry that?" He asked.
"Yeah" I said with a shaky voice.
He walked into his apartment and placed the boxes in the kitchen. I was just about to walk in when I tripped over a piece of wood in front of the door. The boxes dropped and I thought I was going to fall flat on my face, but I didn't. I opened my eyes and I was staring straight at the floor. I felt someone holding me by the waist. I was being picked up, next thing I knew I was standing on my feet, but my eyes were still glued to the floor.
"Are you okay?" I heard Jackson say as I snapped out of the trans I was in.
"Huh? Yeah ... Thank you" I said weakly.
"I told you that you wouldn't be able to carry those boxes" he said as his face produced a smile that could kill anyone. I sighed and smiled back.
"I guess I didn't want to seem weak" I said grabbing my neck in embarrassment.
He looked at my ankle and widened his eyes.
"Oh! Your ankle's bleeding."
I looked down and saw my sock had turned red with blood. "Oh your right." I looked back and saw the nail sticking out of the piece of wood. "I must have cut it on the nail as I tripped."
Jackson looked at the nail, then at me. He walked over, picked me up and carried me to the living room. I wanted to ask him what he was doing and demand to be put down, but I was too comfortable that I just couldn't bring myself to complain.
"Stay here, I'll go get a bandage" he said making his way to the cupboard.
"That won't be necessary" I said as he turned around. "Some rubbing alcohol and a plaster should be enough it's only a small scratch" I said in a professional tone.
"Are you sure?" He said in confusion.
"Trust me I'm a doctor" I replied with a slight smile.
He looked at me then nodded. He quickly made his way to the kitchen and got what I requested. I went to take the rubbing alcohol from his hands but he pulled away. He kneeled down, slowly took off my sock and started cleaning the wound. I observed as I noticed that he was doing a better job than most of the nurses at the hospital. I was impressed. As Jackson continued treating the wound I looked around his apartment. There wasn't much, I found that normal seeing as he had just moved in. There were a lot of boxes, understandably. Most of the boxes were labelled 'CLOTHES'. I looked down at his face, he looked so concentrated. So... can I say, innocent? I couldn't take my eyes off of him his face was kind of addictive. I got a bit bored waiting for him to finish, he was doing a good job but he was way too slow. So I decided to count the stripes on his shirt. I got up to 15 then I felt my eyes start to close, I couldn't get them open, it was like I wasn't controlling them. Before I knew it I was fast asleep.