Your Sketchbook ✱ jack x katherine - jackrine

[thirteen]

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a/n: unlucky number thirteen,,,?¿¿? hah,,,?

don't expect much out of me because I'm very inconspicuous when it comes to details.

this is a good chapter, though. i'm proud.

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Thunderous applause filled the theater, only reminding Katherine of what she was about to do.

"He agreed to come."

Darcy's words reverberated in her mind, and she couldn't hide the look of anticipation that grew on her face. There was no escaping it now, for the audience was standing and preparing to leave, and Darcy was leaping off of the stage and rushing over in Katherine's direction.

"Now?" Katherine asked, attempting to hide the anxiety in her voice.

"Yes, now. Why are you so nervous?" Darcy asked, guiding Katherine backstage with a tight grip on her wrist.

"Well, wouldn't you be if you were about to face someone that you kissed shortly followed by them leaving you in utter confusion?" Katherine harshly responded, catching sight of Medda who offered her a wink from the far side of the green room. Katherine stifled a groan.

"And that is exactly why you must face him," Darcy responded, basically dragging her to a dressing room. Katherine attempted to pull her wrist out of Darcy's grip.

Katherine felt Darcy gently push her into the dressing room, causing her to express in protest, "Darcy!" The door closed behind her, and she brushed her hair out of her eyes, finding Jack sitting at a desk with a paper and pen in hand and gazing up at her through shocked eyes. "Oh... uh, hi..." Katherine greeted uneasily, shifting her weight between her feet awkwardly.

"Hi," Jack said simply in response, looking down at his paper as an attempt to avoid eye contact with her and continuing the sketch he was drawing. Katherine noticed that it was the sketchbook he was drawing in, and felt the heat rise to her cheeks. There was a reason Katherine was here; there was no avoiding it.

"What the hell is your problem?" Katherine rebuked suddenly, resting her hands on her hips and shooting Jack an intense glare that startled him when he finally looked up at her.

"What?" Jack asked, puzzled for only a short moment by her sudden emotion, but it quickly hit him what Katherine was referring to.

"Don't act dumb, Jack," Katherine seethed. "Look, you may not understand the idea of being dedicated to something or someone, but that doesn't act as an excuse for you to leave me in the dirt with nothing but a meaningless kiss!"

Jack instantly stood up, setting his pen down and responding, "Can you blame me?" Katherine furrowed her brows at this, moving to take a step forward but thinking better of it, remaining firmly in her place. "Girl after girl comes into my life, but with you I felt different."

"You're toying with my emotions," Katherine mumbled, bringing her hands from her hips to cross them at her chest. "I know how you are; everyone does. It was an imbecilic act from me to think that there could actually be something there."

"You say dat kiss was meaningless?" Jack asked, earning a stern nod from Katherine. He shook his head, "Well, it wasn't for me."

"Then why the hell did you leave? Did you plan on tricking me into your amorous actions so you could use me later?" Katherine finally stepped forward, leaning onto her hands that now rested on the desk. "Or were you already using me when you decided to kiss me?"

"I was not using you!" Jack expressed. "And that's da reason I left, because I... I was scared dat there actually was somethin' there..."

The tension in Katherine's muscles loosened, and she felt herself slowly melt away from all of her anger. "Then that leaves one final question: were you being honest when you said it was different with me?"

Jack took a moment before nodding slowly, his eyes finding the sketchbook. "Ya know... every girl seems da same. But I never planned on someone like you ta come into my life."

Katherine's hands were trembling slightly, overcome with a combination of elation and shock. She couldn't bring herself to respond. What was she supposed to say? She didn't expect this. She knew Jack for such little time and she already felt like she knew everything about him except for this side of his personality.

Noticing the silence, Jack took it upon himself to continue, opening the sketchbook. "I drew somethin' that I want you ta see." As Jack flipped through the pages, Katherine stepped softly around the desk to stand at Jack's side. He stopped at a page, and on the paper was a new sketch of Katherine, seemingly frozen in time with a bright smile on her face that matched perfectly with the brightness in her eyes. "I tried ta capture your looks, 'cause I was worried I wouldn't see it again after I left you yesterday."

Katherine felt her breath catch in her throat. She couldn't move her eyes from the drawing, tightening her fingers around the fabric of her sweater where her arms were crossed. Slowly lowering a single hand, she picked up the sketchbook and looked down at the drawing. Jack's words echoed in her mind, and she felt herself slowly succumbing to the gut feeling she received when she looked down at the very first sketch.

And with that, she tossed the sketchbook back onto the desk, not paying any attention to the clattering of pencils as they fell on the floor. She intuitively brought her hands up, placing them on each side of Jack's jaw and pulling his lips to hers, bringing them to an ardent kiss.

The difference with this kiss was that they both knew the truth. Katherine made the first move, which was something she never thought she would have done. But it was funny how fate worked and how it brought two unexpected people together: a boy who never took anything seriously and a girl who took everything seriously. But with that thought came another that caused Katherine to smile into the kiss.

They perfectly balanced each other; that was why fate brought them together.