Sunshine || Jai Brooks

chapter thirteen; worries

"I have this urge to watch or read Harry Potter and it's frustrating me," Aileen turned around to look at Jai, who was sitting on high chair at the kitchen island. He was leaning his chin in the palm of his hand and his beautiful brown eyes were glued on her.

"Why is that?"

"That I have this urge or that's frustrating me?" When he shrugged his shoulders – which probably meant he didn't give a damn, instead of wanting to know both answers – she turned back around and opened the refrigerator. "It's just-... I wish I wanted to do something else than stay at home and do things that doesn't have anything to do with socializing. And because of exactly that – the reason why I have this urge – I have been on Tumblr and read this post about half bloods and having the best of both worlds."

"You talk a lot. Are you worrying again?"

She stopped rummaging through the kitchen after grabbing the orange juice and setting that on the counter. If she was worrying again, she would've known. Or she would've and that was why he was asking about it. Was she worried that maybe after that talk with Luke, things were going to get downwards with Jai? She still had no idea if he still loved Ariana, she still had no idea how he thought about her besides the whole as much as I want it thing from last night – whatever it meant.

So, yes. She was worrying.

"If I did, do I have to talk to you about it?"

"Do you?"

A sigh left her mouth and turned around, but when she was about to open her mouth she hear her phone buzz on the island in front of Jai. Somebody was calling her and whoever it was, had saved her. God, she could've blurted out things she would regret later on – like she could've told him the truth, meaning she basically would force him to tell her about Ariana while she actually wanted him to take his time and recover from it.

"It's William."

Aileen raised an eyebrow as she went to grab her phone, picking up and then holding it against her ear. Perhaps she didn't want to sound this surprised, she wanted to sound happy he had thought about her and called her after this long, because she was. "William, hey. What's up?"

"Have you read the book?"

Starting to giggle at how William didn't even bother to tell her hello and would ask her this question instead, she looked down at her hands. Her nails. And she looked at her bare feet, so she didn't have to see how Jai was still staring at her. "I've read the book. It was really good. It was the best."

"You've fallen for Travis?"

"Can't tell you that," she twirled a circle as if it was totally normal, still smiling widely. It had something to do by how comfortable she felt around him, how she could be herself around him. William had the same hobbies as her, and understood she had this weird love for books and fictional characters. "But I did imagine him being really hot. He sounds like an asshole."

"The good  kind of asshole?"

"Oh, my God. Yeah, definitely the good kind of asshole," she groaned in frustration, running a hand through her hair. "I want to marry him-... I wish I was Abby. Really. Why can't I marry him? Why does nobody want to marry me?"

"I want to marry you."

She rolled her eyes, glancing up at Jai for the first time. He was still sitting at the same spot and in the same position as before. His chin in the palm of hands. Just the facial expression had changed. He looked rather bored, pulling at his mouth and stretching the muscles. That bad habit that was so obvious he had it. "No, you don't," she replied back to William. "Why are you calling me anyway?"