meet me on the rooftop at midnight

004 》tree emoji

• moondust // jaymes young •

Two weeks later, Jax had kept his promise of saying hello to his beautiful, dark-haired neighbour whenever they passed in the stairwell. The elevator had been out of commission since before either of them moved in, making for encounters on the stairs much more probable.

They'd also crossed paths a few times on the secluded roof, always indulging the other in the horrors of their day to see who'd had the worst. Kaede had taken a liking to the artist and came to see him as a friend. They'd even been at each other's homes to watch a movie or two. Kaede was usually the one at the expense for food, as Jax always played into her stereotype of a 'starving artist.'

One day when she was reading the required psychology chapters for school, her phone vibrated, alerting her to a text message.

unknown
hey can you watch my
dog? i have to go to the
airport

5c
uh i think you have the
wrong number, buddy

unknown
5c?

5c
yeah... and you are?

unknown
it's 7b

5c
oh, um okay sure i can
watch him. when do you
need me?

She heard a knock on the door and went to it. Opening it, she found her neighbour from two floors up with a phone in one hand and a dog leash in the other which kept the golden retriever from running.

"How about right now?"

She scoffed and said, "I'm only doing this because I like your dog." She dropped to her knees, greeting the 6-year-old named Pogo with a smile. "How did you even get my number?" she asked Jax.

"You had to call yourself at my party, remember?"

"So you kept my number?" she asked incredulously.

"I figured if I ever needed a dog sitter, I'd be good," he dismissed with a shake of his hand.

"Well, okay, then."

"Also, I need your car."

She scoffed. "Excuse me?"

"The pretty little blue Prius outside, it's yours, yeah?"

Sighing, she said, "Keys are in the bowl by the door. Wreck it, you pay for it."

"Seriously, I really appreciate this—" The sound of an old telephone ringing cut him off. He looked down at his phone before answering. Kaede had caught a glimpse of the caller ID—a name and a tree emoji. "Hey... No, I did not forget. I'm stuck in traffic. You know how bad it gets here. The airport is ten minutes away... Get your bags, I'll be there soon... Okay, love you, too."

Kaede couldn't help the sinking feeling in her stomach when she tightly smiled and said, "You better get going."

"I will be back within the hour. Thank you for this."

"No problem."

He closed the door behind him, missing the slight change in her attitude.

"So," she said aloud, making the golden retriever tilt his head with a whimper. "Your name is Pogo? How'd that happen?"

***

Just under an hour later, Kaede was on the floor and playing with the dog when her door opened. Pogo ran to the door at the sight of his owner, and with him was a girl a couple inches shorter than Kaede.

"Hiya buddy. Were you a good boy? Oh, I'm sure you were," Jax cooed as he scratched the back of his dog's ear. The girl beside him elbowed his shoulder, and Jax cleared his throat, understanding what she was signalling. "Right, 5C, this is Willow. Will, this is 5C."

"Kaede," she introduced herself, shaking Willow's hand.

"Hi." Kaede couldn't help thinking how beautiful this girl was. Gorgeous hair, great cheekbones, and a smile brighter than Kaede's own future. If Jax weren't dating this girl, Kaede would be.

The awkward greeting—the awkward of which Jax seemed to have missed—was quite short. Willow said that her bags were heavy and Jax quickly offered to carry them up for her. She had three bags, which made Kaede believe this was more than just a trip, and Willow was more than just a girlfriend if she had flown in town to live with him. 

•••

zoey deutch as willow