Cigarette Burns // FP Jones

Chapter Two

My alarm blared through my ears, and upon opening my eyes, the sun did the same thing. It was Friday, finally, and I was able to go back to the Wyrm after school for a few drinks and games with my new found friends. It wasn't only them I felt a need to see, however. I craved to see the man again, the mysterious FP. I could picture how his eyes bore into mine, and his calloused hands holding my face, leaning in for a lustful kiss. Though I doubted he would be into me, I could still dream. 

Getting up, I decided on a dark look today, picking out a plain shirt and jeans, and tying my thick hair back into a ponytail, letting a few hairs fall down to tickle my face and neck. Another dull school day, full of science and history. It would be long, and hard to endure, but what day wasn't at this point? Like the past week, I decided on not wearing makeup again, purely because I was too lazy. No one really paid much attention to me anyway, as I was now classed as a Serpent outcast (despite not actually being a Serpent). 

"See you later." I said to my brother as I left, not bothering to eat any breakfast before leaving. He muttered something as I walked out of the door, but I was already putting in my headphones and making my way to school. Unfortunately, I didn't have anymore cigarettes on me, however I did have some lunch money and my ID, which I would use to buy some on the way home from school. The way to school was boring, the path lined only with houses and grey cement, barely any trees or flowers. I wanted something to look at, thrive with, but instead there was only man-made structures. Sighing, I got closer and closer to my hell, wondering if today would hold any value. 

There he was. FP Jones, standing on the sidewalk, smoking and talking to Jughead. I decided to cross the road so I'd walk directly past them, grabbing the attention and hopefully a few words from FP. Crossing the road had made me nervous, and edging closer to them worried me; perhaps the plan wouldn't work out at all, and I'd be ignored and subside to the indistinct chatter around them. I watched as I slowly took each step, observing how they presented themselves to one another. Jug looked different, he stood straighter and looked sharper, as if proving himself to his father. Surprisingly, FP seemed weaker to Jughead, obviously being submissive to his son. It was apparent he didn't feel awfully comfortable with the conversation, looking his son in the eye, yet being physically distant and slouched. 
"I promise, Jug, I'll fix this." I tried to read FP's lips as I got close enough, barely working out what he was saying. 
"Will you, dad?" Jug replied, causing a curiosity to run through me, wondering what they were discussing. I got slower, hoping to postpone the inevitable crossing of paths between them. But as I reached a new record slow speed, Jug's eyes met with mine. 

"Jasmine!" Jughead exclaimed, reaching out to me. I approached him quickly, letting him place an arm around me. I could feel the coolness of his hand as his limb draped around me loosely. 
"I gotta go, dad." He said bitterly, obviously using me as an excuse to leave. I made eye contact with FP, then letting him roam my body. 
"What, is she your new girl?" FP questioned, smirking. I let out a small laugh at his words - he knew Betty was. He'd clearly just wanted to hear me tell him I was single, so he'd feel less guilty about his attraction to me. 
"I don't let no man tame me, Mr Jones." I told him, causing him to raise an eyebrow at myself, and then to Jug. 
"We'll see about that, Jasmine." He replied, before turning and walking off. My cheeks had turned a scarlet colour, and I knew Jughead could probably tell due to my lack of foundation. I didn't look at him, only walking up to the brown gates beside him, hoping to avoid any awkward conversation about what his father had meant. 

History was just as mundane as I'd imagined, and the thought of my new eye candy seemed to be more important than the civil war work we were doing; the thought of going to the Wyrm and seeing him tonight made me oddly giddy. I hadn't spoken to him much, but he was extremely flirtatious when we had. Sadly our conversations were usually cut short when he thought of my age, or Jughead. It was a barrier, but I was willing to continue trying to gain his trust and eventually have an undisturbed discussion with him, perhaps resulting in a sexual encounter. I certainly needed it, after transferring I'd been without a man for a very long time. I'd always told myself I could cope without one, but like most things, I overestimated my abilities. It turns out, Jasmine needed a man. Something I was sure of was that; if not anything else.