Jolene

Freckles and blemishes dot her sun-kissed skin. Her black hair, like her, is untameable. A sharp jawline frames her face quite perfectly in your opinion. Slender fingers twirl a pencil around, while the other hand supports her head. She slouches over her paper. Warm, dark brown eyes skim over the paper, lips mouthing works as she reads.

Suddenly, her eyes meet yours and you realized she had asked a question. "What?" you ask, dumbfounded.

"I asked how the play was going. Are you stuck on a part? You haven't been writing."

"Oh, y-yeah. I guess I got sidetracked," you answer honestly.

She snorts a laugh and it's the best sound you've ever heard. You feel blessed to have her by your side. "Let's take a break, then. Wanna watch a movie?"

"What do you want to watch?" you ask.

"Surprise me," she answers.

Relaxing on your couch, she lets out a sigh. She cracks her knuckles and stretches. You turn the lights out and hand her a bowl of popcorn, which she takes. In the dim lighting, you can still make out her features. The TV screen lights up her face suddenly, making her dark skin look pale. She's not as bright as the sun, but she glows like the moon.

The Disney logo lights up the room, the noise filling your ears.

She snorts a laugh. "You're such a nerd."

"Yeah, I am."

She falls asleep before Kerchak dies, and you're thankful for that because you always cry during that scene. You watch the rest of the movie with her head on your lap. She dreams peacefully and you don't want to wake her when it's over. Instead, you sit there with her, running your fingers through her curly, tangled hair.

At one am, you drift off into a dreamless sleep. Two hours pass and you are rudely awoken by your roommate. Your best friend/roommate wanders in drunk and nudges you awake.

"Hey Nick," you grumble angrily. You stare into his eyes, hoping to portray your annoyance.

"Good morning, Alex," he happily greets.

"You just woke me up. What about this morning is good?"

He laughs in response. "Well, I suppose Jolene sleeping on your lap is a plus," he says suggestively, mocking you.

"You smell horrible," you change the topic. Nick shuffles over and plops himself down into the recliner. He looks like he's been partying- his clothes rumpled, his blonde hair messy and sticking out in every direction. His green eyes are clouded over with sleepiness.

Getting the message, he changes the topic. "So how'd the playwriting go?" he asks.

"Well..." you start, running your hand through your hair. "I might've gotten distracted. Then Jolene and I watched Tarzan and she fell asleep."

"How romantic," he jokes.

Then Jolene stirs in her sleep. She rolls over and takes your hand. You smile down at her. Even though she did it unconsciously, the gesture fills your heart with warmth.

You and Nick fall into silence for a few minutes. Thinking he might of fallen asleep, you look over at him. By the look on his face, you know he's going to make a smart comment.

"Don't even," you warn him.

"I totally wasn't going to," he says.

"You were and you know it."

Later that day at lunch time, the three of you sit around the table. You made pancakes, since Nick said he was craving them. Now he sits across from you happily eating his share. You bury your pancakes in syrup. You have quite the sweet tooth and everyone knows it. It seems that Jolene is the complete opposite, as she puts no syrup on her pancakes, only butter. ("It tastes better this way!").