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CHAPTER ONE: JADELYN MORRIS
BEING THE YOUNGEST of three children had its perks. Though, for Jadelyn Morris, she, unfortunately, dealt with more disadvantages than advantages. While growing up, she was constantly babied and treated like a child, which was something that she grew tired of by the time she turned 10. Jade never really got the chance to act like a teenager, being cooped up in the house for the majority of her teenage years. Her older siblings, Jason and Kamilla, kind of messed that up for her.
Jadelyn's parents dealt with the eldest children's antics for so long that it became second nature to know when they were up to something. Which made the youngest child resent her parents— mostly her father, who she always butted heads with. He claimed that keeping Jadelyn in the house would result in her not being like her older sister, who branched out and left the nest when she was eighteen. After witnessing the huge fight between her father and elder sister, the sixteen-year-old soon became rebellious, confirming the so-called 'fears' that her father had.
This is where Aaron Reynolds comes into play.
Aaron Reynolds was the new kid in school— the seventeen-year-old had just moved to Illinois from Seoul, South Korea with his parents. All the girls wanted to be with him and the guys wanted to be him. If he winked at someone, they would have most likely fainted because of his good looks. Jadelyn would never forget the time they met each other.
The sixteen-year-old walked into the corner store after school dismissal. Jadelyn wore a black hat that hid her eyes from everyone and a grey oversized hoodie— stuff that her brother gave her before leaving the nest as well. The young girl was basically on her own without her siblings with her, and it became too much at times. Jadelyn strolled through the aisles of the store, hoping to find something to snack on-- to be more specific: KitKats. Once she found them and got something to drink, she went to the check-out counter.
"Your total is $5.45."
The color drained from Jadelyn's face when she realized that she left her wallet at home. "Shit..." She thought to herself, a frown became evident on her face. The cashier became quickly irritated, and she could easily tell by the look on his face. "Are you going to buy this shit or what? I'm ready to go." He said, shooting an irritated glance towards her, making the sixteen-year-old grimace slightly.
Jadelyn shook her head lightly, "Sorry for wasting your time..." She mumbled softly as she got ready to turn away from the counter. Before she could turn away, the teen felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see a taller male who seemed to be around her age.
"What's your problem?" The newcomer asked, his eyes narrowed into slits. Jadelyn's gaze turned back to the cashier and noticed that his whole demeanor changed. "Aaron, what's up man?" He chuckled lightly, scratching the back of his neck. "Why were you being mean to her? It's not like she did anything wrong to you, Ramone." The teen scolded, his voice getting deeper.
"Her broke ass came in here and tried to buy shit... anyways, you don't even know her Aaron---" The cashier, whose name she now knew as 'Ramone', stated in annoyance. "I don't care," Aaron retorted, "how much is it, I'll buy it."
Ramone scoffed, "You buggin." He muttered. Jadelyn looked up at Aaron and shook her head. "Thank you, but you don't have to buy anything for me..." She said quietly, wanting to get out of the store as quickly as possible. The sixteen-year-old walked out of the store with her eyes to the ground. Jade made her way to the bus stop and leaned against the pole. Her vision began to blur, and her eyes started burning. "No, I can't cry... I promised Jason that I wouldn't let people get to me." She muttered to herself quietly as she wiped her eyes.
A few minutes passed and the bus still wasn't there. Lord, she hoped that she didn't miss it— the next bus wouldn't come for another two hours. Jadelyn looked at her phone and her frown deepened. She missed the bus. The teen groaned lightly and mumbled to herself, "Just my luck..."
"Hey!" The deep voice made Jadelyn jump slightly, and she looked up to see the guy from the corner store. "Oh... hey." She spoke quietly. He narrowed his eyes slightly, at her somewhat reddened eyes. "Were you crying?" He asked softly. "N-no.." Jadelyn stuttered, which made him raise an eyebrow, but he didn't push further.
Aaron reaches into the plastic bag and grabbed the things that Jadelyn meant to buy in the store. "Here..." He spoke softly, making the latter look up at him in slight shock. "I told you that you didn't have to—" She began before getting cut off with a chuckle from the teen. "And I said that I would buy it anyway. Now take it." Aaron declared as he held out the snacks.
It was silent between the two for a little bit before Jadelyn spoke again. "Thanks..." She spoke softly as she took them from his much larger hands. "You're welcome, kid." Aaron smiled, which made Jadelyn scrunch her nose at what he called her. "Kid? You're not that much older than me." She huffed slightly.
"I'm seventeen."
"And?"
"What are you, like fifteen?"
"I just turned sixteen, you dolt."
Aaron chuckled and held his chest in mock hurt. "Ouch, that hurt." He said sarcastically. The older teen looked around until he saw the bus route times. "The next bus doesn't come for another two hours, and I'm pretty sure that you don't want to sit out here in the hot heat..." He began, which made Jade raise an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I want to give you a ride home." Aaron stated. Jadelyn furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't know if you're new to Chicago, but normally people don't get rides from strangers." She said. The older male grinned and held out his hand for her to shake.
