Love Is A Strong Word But I Really Like You

Chapter One

As she relaxed back into her seat, Jenna Hills stared longingly out of the window at the place she had considered to be home the past 8 months. She sighed as the flight attendant roamed up and down the aisle of the plane, making sure everything was in order before reciting the safety information that every passenger had heard a million times before. As the plane took off, Jenna's attention never left the sight from the window. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the window as the Paris she came to know and love disappeared right before her. Moments later, she opened her eyes slowly and shook her head, the small frown on her face being replaced with a very slight smile. She plugged in her headphones, and let herself slowly drift off to sleep.

~~~~~

The cool air was refreshing as she stepped out into the luggage area. Taking in a deep breath, Jenna flung herself so she was stood leaning against a wall, observing her surroundings. A young couple were stood hand in hand at the carousel with two children running round happily. An elderly woman stood with her middle aged daughter, both happily talking. A professional looking business man stood with a laptop case in his hand, furiously typing on his phone with his other. Jenna sighed deeply and closed her eyes. Her few moments of peace were interrupted when a young boy crashed into her side, knocking her over in the process.

"James!" shouted a shrill voice from across the room. "Apologise now!"

The young boy hung his head low and muttered a sulky 'sorry'. The fierce looking woman stood above the two, her red painted lips pressed firmly together.

"I'm ever so sorry about that." she said, giving Jenna a look of sympathy before turning back to the angry demeanour.

Jenna looked up at the child's angry mother and gave her a sweet smile. "Don't worry about it, he must've been restless having to sit on a plane for god knows how long." The woman gave Jenna a small smile, before walking off with her embarrassed son.

Jenna pulled herself off the floor and regained her position leaning against the wall. She stayed like that for some time, until she spotted her bright red suitcase finally come round the carousel. She gave a small grin to herself and sighed happily at the thought of home. She pushed herself off the wall and reached for the bag, only for her hand to collide with another slim, unfamiliar hand. Her eyes darted up towards the person, and was greeted with the long, slim face of a boy her age. His short brown hair matched the colour of his narrowed eyes, his face was pale as if he hadn't seen sunlight in years. His eyes examined her face slowly before darting away. The boy quickly withdrew his hand and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me," he said gruffly, "But this is my bag, what do you think you're doing taking it?"

Jenna raised an eyebrow at the boys rude approach to the situation. She pulled her suitcase off of the carousel. "I'm sorry, is your name Jenna?" She gestured to the stickers lining the back of the case. "Do you like One Direction?" She set the suitcase down and crossed her arms. "I didn't think boys wore bras and bikinis, and I can't see any piercing holes in your ear." She flipped her hair, grabbed the suitcase and swiftly walked away, leaving the boy glaring angrily at the back of her head. Jenna exited through into the car park, looking desperately for her friends. Kathryn came into view waving frantically, whilst Esmèe typed away on her phone, Emma and Jack were talking quietly to one another, and Kristee and Jordan held hands, looking longingly into each others eyes. Jenna ran over dragging her suitcase behind her, crashing into Kathryn and enveloping her in a hug.

"How was Paris!" Kathryn squealed excitedly as she let Jenna go.

"It was absolutely amazing," Jenna said just as fast. "Let's go home, I can tell you everything and show you the pictures."

"We'll leave in a minute, I have to wait for my friend from Belgium to get here." Kathryn said, smirking over at Jenna.

Jenna snorted. "And who may that be?" She teased, giving Kathryn the 'look'. Kathryn's eyes widened as she shook her head so hard it was a wonder she didn't break her neck.

"No! No no no, he's just a good friend of mine." She said, punching Jenna lightly in the arm. She suddenly looked up and gave a small wave. "Speak of the devil..."

Jenna whipped her head around to see who she was waving to. Her eyes widened as the boy from the luggage carousel sauntered over, pulling a burgundy coloured suitcase behind him. The boy's eyes narrowed even more than they were when he spotted the group with Jenna standing there. Kathryn cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the two glaring teenagers.

"Jenna, this is Brett."