Soft Hearts | In A Heartbeat Fanfiction

29: most dinosaurs had feathers fyi

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Ever since Dante's threat, Jonathan and Sherwin had split up during lunch, with Sherwin going to the library and Jon eating alone in the cafeteria. Well, not exactly alone. Kids loved to crowd around him and treat him like some sort of celebrity, but he felt more lonely around many acquaintances than with just Sherwin.

After science that day, though, he decided to convince Sherwin to skip lunch with him. "Hey, wait," Jon said, his hand resting on the ginger's shoulder. Sherwin raised his eyebrows, and he continued: "How...how bout we go outside during lunch? We can hang around the school grounds. We don't have to, you know, avoid each other."

Sherwin smiled, his face hopeful yet still melancholic. "I guess," the freckled boy replied, his cheeks slightly pink. Jonathan grinned and led him out the nearest set of doors, which brought them to the side of the building. It was quite chilly, but better than being alone.

"Where do you wanna go?" Jon asked him, taking his hand once they were out of Newgate's immediate proximity. His friend shrugged, looking around.

"Maybe...we could sit in that patch of trees over there?" Sherwin suggested, pointing towards his left. Jonathan looked over to see a cluster of huge, gnarly oak trees gathered near the corner of the gate. The grass was thin and yellow, but didn't seem too muddy.

"Sure," Jon said, and they settled down behind the tree trunks, hiding from anyone looking through the school's windows. As Sherwin huddled next to him, he watched as the ginger's breath came out in little bursts of fog. "I think I like this better than our previous arrangement," Jonathan noted, chuckling.

Sherwin giggled, and let out a tiny sniff. "I-It's a bit c-cold, though," he sputtered, leaning closer to Jon, who smirked and placed his jacket over the shivering boy.

"Completely freezing, I agree," the brunette joked. My arms are going to fall off, Jonathan thought as the icy air caused goosebumps to rise along his skin. It was worth it though. Sherwin blushed and wrapped his arms tightly around him, pulling him closer. Jon's heart pounded wildly, and he strangely didn't feel so cold anymore.

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Fourth period arrived after half an hour of snuggles and bliss, and Jonathan reluctantly waved goodbye to Sherwin before heading off to english. When he sat down at his desk, he noticed Trish in the corner. So this is the class we have together, he thought, remembering his earlier conversation with Sherwin.

There weren't any of Trish's friends hovering around her like usual, so he decided to make his move. Jon casually stood up and strolled over to where she was seated with her face in a book. "Hey," he greeted, and she nearly jumped.

"Oh! Hi, Jon," Trish replied distractedly, still mesmerized by what she was reading. "What's up?"

Jonathan hadn't actually figured out how he was going to get her address; he figured the conversation would come easily to him, but it was a bit more difficult than he had thought. "Uh, well, I...wanted to see if maybe you had something I could borrow," Jon improvised, eyeing the title of the book in her hands: A Wrinkle in Time. "Do you have the, uh, third one in the series?" he asked, pointing to the story.

Trish eyed him and slowly nodded, then quickly turned back to the page she was on. Jonathan continued, "Yeah, I've been wanting to read it badly since it was published last year, but I uh, don't exactly have the resources to get it anywhere." At least he wasn't lying. Jon loved A Wrinkle in Time, as well as A Wind in the Door.

"I don't have it with me," Trish responded with a shrug, still intently focused on her book. The bell hadn't rung yet. He glanced at Mrs. Williams' empty desk, then used Trish's lack of attention to ask his next question.

"Maybe I could pick it up over the weekend? What's your address?" Jonathan questioned, hoping she wouldn't noticed his shifty behavior.

"509 Madison Street," the blonde answered automatically, not missing a beat.

"Sweet, thanks," Jon replied, then went back to his seat. Mission accomplished.

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