| When Words Fail | Jesse Swanson x Reader

Homey [8]

  "Home, sweet home." Claire sighed as she pushed the door to her dorm room open, the keys jingling from inside the key hole. She watched as Jesse entered and looked around, his eyes stopping on her desk set-up.

  "Ooh, what's this?" He asked with a glance before he moved towards it.

  "Oh, that's uh, nothing!" She told him nervously as she hurried to close her laptop. He flashed her a curious smirk.

  "Oh, nothing, okay." He nodded as he raised his hands up. She let out a silent sigh as he moved to sit down on her bed, her plopping down onto her computer chair. A faint voice was heard before a loud beep erupted from Claire's desk. Jesse watched with confusion as she slid open a door and grabbed a Walkie Talkie.

  "Hey, Bec, I got Jesse over, I'm kinda busy right now. You're not dying right?" She said as she held a button down. Jesse flashed her an amused smile as Beca came on over the Walkie Talkie.

  "Ooh, okay, just make sure you give me details later." Beca joked, making Claire giggle.

  "Shut up, you weirdo." She responded before flicking a button and dropping the Walkie Talkie back into the door, slamming it shut. Jesse looked at her for a moment.

  "Should I ask?"

  "It was a group idea, we wanted an efficient way to reach each other." She shrugged, making Jesse smile. He shrugged and leaned back against her bed frame.

  "So, what's your roommate like?" He asked as he dropped his bag against her bed frame. Claire huffed as she looked up at the ceiling.

  "The first time we met she didn't even say anything to me, and she hasn't since. It's like she's avoiding me." She chuckled.

  "Well, at least she doesn't hate you." He shrugged, making Claire scoff playfully.

  "We don't know that yet." She smiled, and he let out a smooth chuckle as he began to dig around in his backpack.

  "What are you looking for, weirdo?" She teased, glancing down at his backpack. He slid a laptop out of it and a CD case, dropping the laptop down next to him on the bed.

  "So, I brought this over because I want to watch you watch the end of this movie." He flashed Claire a smile as she looked down at the CD case. She recognized it, though she had never seen it. It was called 'The Breakfast Club', and her grandmother used to watch it. She choked back the painful memories and looked back up at his grinning face with an awkward smile. "Then, I can die a hero." He shifted to set himself up on Claire's bed, adjusting pillows as Claire watched him with a smile.

  "You have a habit of making yourself at home, did you know that?" She smiled, and he looked up at her.

  "Yeah!" He nodded, then waving her over with his fingers. She sighed in defeat and lifted herself up off her desk chair, then plopping herself back down onto her bed as Jesse shut her lamp off.

  "Okay, the breakfast club," He sighed as she cleared her throat "Nineteen eighty-five, greatest ending to any movie ever. This song launched Simple Minds in the US. It could have been a Billy Idol song but he turned it down. Idiot." He continued, making Claire chuckle. "It perfectly sums up the movie, it's equally beautiful and sad." He finished, his eyes glued to his laptop screen as Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds played softly.

  "That is fascinating." Claire smiled, only half sarcastically.

  "Right?"

  "Tell me, what does Judd Nelson eat for breakfast?" She joked as she looked blankly at Jesse's laptop screen.

  "Oh, well, like all misunderstood rebels he feeds on hypocrisy,"He started, pausing momentarily as Claire replied 'sure'. "And, black coffee to help with his morning dumps." He nodded, making Claire smile widely.

  "You're an idiot." She grinned, making him chuckle.

  "It's true, I'm full of fun facts." He nodded, making her smile again. She scanned his face for a moment before looking back at the screen.

  "You should let other people tell you different." Jesse smiled, but focused on his computer screen.

  "And an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question?" It said, and Claire looked over to Jesse as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes. He was mouthing the words, matching every single one perfectly. Jesus, that's cute.

  "Sincerely yours, the breakfast club." The movie said, and Claire watched as Jesse raised his fist slightly to match the character's on screen. She could tell he really loved the movie. She looked back up at his face to find his brown eyes clouded with emotion.

  "You're missing the ending." He told her as he moved his head to look at her. She smiled.

  "Oh, sorry." She grinned, glancing back at him momentarily but redirecting her attention to the screen. She could still feel his eyes on her, so she looked back at him. His eyes were filled with an emotion she didn't recognize as he stared directly back into her green orbs. She had never seen him like this before, and she couldn't tell if she was excited or scared. He slowly leaned in as she choked down the lump in her throat. His eyes flickered down to her lips a few times as she slowly leaned in, but she cleared her throat and looked away, reaching forward and pausing the movie.

  "It's good," She smiled as he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "I'm sure the beginning is-" She tried to continue, but they both looked up as the door swung open and the light flicked on. Her roommate, along with a few other people, walked in and stopped smiling as they noticed Jesse and Claire.

  "She's back." Her roommate said quietly to her friends, and they both stared at Claire and Jesse. Claire cleared her throat as she looked back at Jesse's laptop screen.

  "And, I'm out!" Jesse announced as he shut his laptop and bounced off Claire's bed. She avoided looking at him as he gathered his things and shoved them back into his backpack. "It was a pleasure, miss." Jesse told Claire's roommate awkwardly. He looked back at Claire, and they looked at each other for a moment before Jesse nodded and left the room. Claire glanced down at the ground before letting out a silent sigh and letting her head fall back against the wall.