Undercover Love

Chapter 1

Julia's POV

Young enough to be as bad as the rest, and old enough to be a cop. That's what it takes to be assigned to Jump Street. 

I arrived here about six months ago, and even if it wasn't exactly my choice in the first place, I must say that I regret nothing. I liked being a "regular" cop, but looking as young as I do for my age, I was never taken seriously by anyone. Each time I would attempt to arrest someone, they would laugh at me and say stuff like "You've lost your mommy, haven't ya ?" or "Still up so late ? Little girls your age need sleep". That kind of comments was really irritating, especially when heard on a daily basis, and it was beginning to serously piss me off. I guess that's why when my then captain told me about this program called Jump Street that actually required young looking officers to go undercover in high schools, I accepted. Well, I accepted to at least consider it. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of having to go back to school, I'd hated it the first time. Plus, I'd joined the force to go on patrols, not play teenager again. I still decided to give it a try though, figuring it could hardly be worse than being made fun of everyday anyway. 

That's how I ended up at the Jump Street chapel. Pretty unusual place for police headquarters, I know. I actually thought I'd gotten the wrong address when I pulled into the parking lot for the very first time. Turned out it was the good one though. 

I was so anxious on my first day here. My stomach was in knots when I walked into the chapel. However, there was really no need to worry that much, the squad I'd be joining was the best I could've wished for, and I quickly realized it. Even our captain, Adam Fuller, is amazing. He could easily pass for a very strict guy, but in fact it's just a façade. He cares a lot about us, almost like a father. Actually, it's a whole family I found here. My fellow officers are probably the closest friends I've ever had. The only other girl of the team, Judy Hoffs, has become my favorite shopping buddy. Being a female, she's obviously the one who understands me and my girlish problems best. I still love the three boys though. I particularly admire one of them, Harry Truman Ioki, for how  brave and strong he is. His whole family got killed when they decided to leave their country for the U.S. during the Vietnam war. Only his grandmother, who chose not to go with them, survived. Harry was the only one who made it here. He had to be a true warrior to get where he is now. I doubt I would've been that strong in the same situation. I probably wouldn't have even survived. Then there's Doug Penhall, the funniest and craziest of us all, the big brother I never had. He's got a very special sense of humor, but I think joking around all the time is just his way of hiding his true feelings and emotions. Very few people know about that, but his life hasn't always been easy. His mom killed herself when Doug was only 6, and his dad drank himself to death shortly after. That kind of thing leaves scars, I should know it. My mom died of cancer when I was 8. I went to live with my grandma after her passing, the only family I actually had left. She raised me, and became like a second mother to me. Unfortunately, I only got to live with her for 10 years before she too passed away, leaving me alone in the world. A piece of me went with her when she died, and I'll never get it back. She left a huge void in my life that I doubt anyone will ever be able to fill, even though I gotta admit that all my new friends healed me a bit, especially Tom Hanson, the third guy of our squad. Tommy is Penhall's best friend, but also mine. Just like us, he's had his fair share of tragic events : his father, who was also a cop, fell in the line of duty on the night of Valentine's day when Tom was only 16. If he's in the police now, it's because he wanted to be like his dad, and wherever he is now, I'm sure Mr. Hanson is proud of the young man his son has become. He has every reason to be. 

Tom is a wonderful guy, I clicked with him the second we met. There's something about him, some kind of connection between us that I don't have with the three others, no matter how important they all are to me. He's always been so protective of me, he's always made me feel so safe, like nothing can harm me when he's around. Hanson is the one I will call if I wake up crying in the middle of the night and need someone to talk to, and he's the one that will come over to my place after we hang up just to make sure I'm fine. He just makes me feel good and happy. I actually had a little crush on him at the very beginning, but then again, he's probably the most attractive man I've ever laid my eyes on. This cute little baby face, high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and those big brown eyes. I caught myself a few times calling him Handsome instead of Hanson. The guy is literally every girl's dream. I get butterflies in my stomach when he's around and the hair on my arms stand up whenever he touches me. If I'm being completely honest, I wouldn't mind dating him. Wouldn't mind at all. However, I'm definitely not planning on trying anything with him. We all know love stories rarely end well, and I wouldn't take the risk of ruining our friendship. I doubt he feels the same way about me anyway. I mean, we did flirt a little when I began working here, but that was about it. Plus, dating someone you work with is a terrible idea. 

I do my best to act as casual as possible in his presence, especially at work. I mean, last thing I want is for somebody to start thinking  that I'm romantically interested in Tom or something. I never got any remark so far, so I guess I'm doing pretty good. Well, except maybe for this one time Judy caught me staring at him one afternoon from behind my desk. The next day, Jude and I had both a day off, and we had agreed to spending it together. We were having dinner at my place when she confronted me. 

"Is there something going on between you and Hanson ?" she blurted out, causing me to choke on my food. 

"What are you talking about ?" I replied, faking utter confusion. 

"Oh come on Lia! I saw you staring at him all afternoon yesterday ! I'm not stupid !" she insisted, a knowing smile on her pretty face. 

I opened my mouth to speak but no sound came out. I didn't know what to say. I was trying to think of something, but my brain didn't seem to be very cooperative. 

"He stares at you too...A lot...I caught him more than once...So I thought maybe you guys were into each other" Judy spoke again after a few seconds of silence. 

"Oh no, not at all !" I quickly replied, laughing nervously.

"Okay, whatever you say" she sighed, almost disappointedly. "You guys would be cute together though. I can totally see it happening. I mean, you're always glued to each other anyway."

"No way" I assured her, pretending to find the idea unimaginable. "We don't like each other like that."

I must have been convincing, because Judy never brought back the subject after this. Not that there would have been much to say anyway. Tom is my best friend, and that's all he'll ever be.

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Hey guys ! So I finally posted the first chapter of this story. I hope you like it🙈. Tell me what you think ! Should I continue or stop right here ? Or even delete the whole thing ? What do you think will happen next ? Let me know !
Feel free to comment no matter what it is you have to say.
Anyway thank you so much for reading ❤