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jaeden and florence
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florence hugged grayson goodbye as he dropped her off at her house before he drove away. it was about 9 o'clock pm, and the girl was worn out from her exciting day with grayson. as she walked to her front door a voice spoke which startled her causing her to let out a short screech.
"florence," it said, more specifically he.
"jaeden?" she responded, a little uneasy from the idea of him waiting for her. "what are you doing here?"
"i came to say i'm sorry," he said. she flicked the porch lights on and saw that across the entrance he was holding a bouquet of flowers while wearing a fancy outfit.
"what is this?" she said eyeing the flowers. he stepped closer to her slowly and eventually held one arm out for her to take the flowers and the other to link with. after hesitating for a moment, the girl obeyed and grabbed a hold of jaeden's arm, who then led her to the woods.
"you know this is sketchy, are you going to kill me? that's what happens in the movies," she mumbled. he chuckled at her comment and kept walking with her through the woods, until the reached an opening. it wasn't very far from her home, maybe a five minute walk. the opening had christmas lights hanging around trees and a picnic set up in the middle. as she looked around, her mouth went dry taking it all in. "jaeden," she started, "it's beautiful."
"yeah," he said looking at her. her cheeks heated up as she felt his gaze on her but decided to ignore it, too interested in the pleasurable atmosphere surrounding her.
"why?" florence eventually said, looking at him. she found that his gaze was already on her.
"as i said before, i'm sorry. i wasn't telling you the right things or anything, and i feel bad. i didn't mean anything hurtful i swear, i was honestly just jealous of grayson," he admitted.
"jealous? of grayson? oh gosh why?" florence laughed. how could jaeden be jealous of grayson?
"that doesn't matter," he said looking down while scratching the back of his neck. "now, will you join me in a late dinner?" he smiled. florence smiled in return and nodded her head, sitting down.
the two ate and talked, mostly laughing and smiling while doing so. jaeden couldn't get over how beautiful she was, more specifically how beautiful inside and outside she was. she was the most caring, funny, kind, and humble person he had ever met.
by the end of the meal, florence was ready to pass out. she was laying on the blanket next to the boy, gazing up at the sky. he was looking up too, only also sending secret glances at florence. her eyes began to slowly shut making him realize they should head back.
"hey, lets go drop you off okay?" he smiled. she hummed a sweet reply, giving him an answer as yes. he slowly helped her up, chuckling at her sleepiness, and walked her back to her home.
"well, i gotta go clean up everything then hit the road. tonight was really nice," jaeden said. florence meanwhile was leaning against her front door, attempting to open it while vaguely listening to the boy.
"yeah, thank you," she yawned, "for everything. tonight was wonderful." when she finally got the front door unlocked she turned around to face her guest and hugged him. surprised at first, he didn't react but then wrapped his arms around her. she smelled like the outdoors with a hint of peppermint, making him feel relaxed. as he pulled away, she stayed clung on to him, resting her head on his shoulder. "can you stay?" she mumbled. jaeden immediately pulled back, confused on what was happening. he looked down at her and saw she had a pleading expression while he had a worried one. why would she ask for me to stay? he thought.
florence however felt a pang of uneasiness as he looked down at her with a confused look. she felt sick from the idea of him not wanting to spend anymore time with her so she backed up from his grip. feeling sad from his reaction at her request, the girl muttered another quick thank you and goodbye before turning and entering her home. jaeden stood outside dumfounded beyond belief at what just happened. only seconds before was he hugging the girl he admired dearly, and now she was gone.
meanwhile, from inside florence let tears roll down her cheeks. did jaeden not like her that way? why did he look disgusted when she asked him to stay?
eventually, jaeden cleaned up everything and made it back to his home disappointed in how the night ended. biting his nail while sitting on the edge of his bed, he thought. why was she sad? did he do something?
not knowing it, the two were thinking the same questions about each other and the night events that had played out.
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