What Happens On The Balcony

8 - contract

2 days later | 9:15 pm

"so do you do anything besides sit out here by yourself." i looked up from my book when i heard jace's voice as he stepped through his window.

"you're here aren't you?" i deadpanned. jace glared at me, not accepting my response.

"yes." i continued, feeling like my answer was obvious. i picked my bookmark up from beside me and placed it my book.

"like what?" he pressed as he took his seat on his balcony with his legs dangling through the rails.

i shrugged, not really appreciating his skepticism. "like... lots of things."

"lots of things, huh?" he raised an eyebrow at me.

"yeah."

i watch as a cocky smile tugged at one corner of his mouth and he scratched at his jawline in an attempt to conceal his smug expression.

"what?" i snapped at him.

"nothing!" he laughed, holding up his hands in defense. "it's just–you're always out here."

i shrugged, pulling the blanket wrapped around me further over my shoulder. "i like it out here."

"c'mon– what happens on the balcony stays on the balcony remember. that's basically a no lying contract."

i couldn't help but allow my eyes to widen slightly as his comment. i was surprised he was bringing up the other night let-alone seemingly wanted to continue the trend of opening up to each other. the more time i spent around jace the more he surprised me, especially after the other night. my first impression of him was that he was dark, brooding and full of himself and then he completely opened up to me about his complicated relationship with his ex, june. she had been trying to get all of his friends to turn against him since they broke up and she wasn't leaving him alone. by the fire and sense of relief behind his words i could tell he didn't open up often. it seemed as if this had been the first time he'd ever really talked about him and june and by the pure desperation of his words he clearly needed to let it all out.

"you were the one who said that. i never signed anything." i reminded him smartly.

"come on." he egged on, smiling. "it's cheaper than therapy."

as he waited for my answer expectantly, i took a moment to examine his features through the skinny rails that separated our balconies. one of his dark curls drooped in front of his almost black eyes, but he didn't seem to mind. the cocky smile he wore showed off his perfectly straight and perfectly white teeth. he looked almost completely perfect, like a model or a beautifully structured doll. his jawline was sharp and his brown skin seemed to shine in the moonlight. i felt like a troll in comparison to him. my ratty strawberry blonde hair sat in an oversized knot on top of my head and my bare face sported several acne scars i had tried and failed to get rid of.

as he looked at me, waiting for my response, i noticed the honesty in his eyes that he tried so hard to distract with his confident grin. finally he sighed, his smile dropping and his eyes following suit.

"look i'm sorry about the other night. i didn't mean to just unload all my baggage on you like that. my friends don't really like to get deep so i don't get to vent often. i don't know, i guess it turned out kind of nice to have a random third party to vent to who knew nothing about what i was talking about." his eyes returned to meet mine this time with a softer glow to them. i suddenly felt like at this moment, we were the same. we were just two people trying to get through life as best we could, so why not open up to a stranger every once in a while. for all i knew this was exactly what i needed too.

"okay so contract: no lying." i finally spoke up. jace's eyes lit up for a moment as i agreed to his proposition, but he quickly regained a casual expression.

"contract: no judging." he continued off of my first point.

"contract: what happens on the balcony stays on the balcony."

jace smiled. "okay then."

"so how are we signing this contract?"

"a kiss." he wiggled his eyebrows flirtatiously.

i glared at him. "contract: no being a douche bag."

he grabbed his bottom lip between his teeth as he attempted to conceal a goofy laugh. "do you have a better idea?"

i thought for a second before i held out my pinky, leaning closer to the barrier between our spaces.

he looked at my pinky then my eyes, and repeated this action a couple times.

"you're kidding me right?"

"nope." i said seriously.

"what are you 9?" he insulted.

i ignored him. "a pinky promise is how we're going to sign our verbal contract now give me your pinky."

he rolled his eyes and mumbled a barely audible "this is fucking joke" before leaning toward my side of the balcony, his pinky leading the way.