IDLE TOWN, jess mariano

⁰⁶a lady never reveals her age

「 chapter six 」
❝ I'm practically fluent in luke danes—it's like a second language to me „

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

"YOU DIDN'T COME BACK," Jess said as he left the diner and met up with Aries on the sidewalk.

She nonchalantly shrugged. "I never specified when I would be back."

"Right."

"What? Did you miss me or something?" she joked.

"As if," he replied with a scoff, but his furrowed eyebrows and slightly more readable than normal expression from before told her otherwise and she giggled to herself. "What?"

"Nothing," she said with a shrug and she started walking in the direction she was heading before he had caught her.

After she had left Luke's that morning, she had gone home to charge her camera batteries and then went back to Luke's for her shift. After that, Rory helped Lane and Aries pick out their outfits for the play that Rory was performing in. She also filled the girls in on how their rehearsal went and how Dean wanted to watch.

"Where are you headed?" Jess asked as he walked alongside her.

She shrugged while looking ahead. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"That's why I asked."

"Just wandering around," she said. "Miss Patty shouldn't be in her studio, so I was planning on picking the lock and just ... you know, hanging out there for a while; it's cool and quiet."

"Shouldn't be in her studio?" repeated Jess. "Did you do something to her?"

Aries paused and lightly put a hand on his forearm to stop him as well. She furrowed her brows and looked around making sure no one was listening and Jess mimicked the action, trying to figure out what exactly she was doing.

"If I tell you, you can't tell anyone," she said.

Jess furrowed his brows and started to laugh a little before realizing that she was still dead serious. "What? Did you actually do something?"

"I—" she hesitated, pinching at her lip as if in thought. "You have to promise me first."

He gave her a confused look before sighing; either he was going to find out something worth promising over, or he would just be the butt of some stupid joke.

"Fine, yeah," he said. "I won't tell anyone whatever great secret you have to tell me."

She smiled a little, comforted by his promise before spotting what she knew she would see across the street from them where Jess had his back to. Going on her toes a bit, she cupped her hand and pretended like she was going to share a secret via whispering in the ear before blowing hard into his ear.

He flinched and rolled his eyes at her. "Real mature," he said, clearly annoyed but she didn't really care.

She pointed behind him, and he huffed out a breath, reluctant to look. Seeing as she didn't budge, he sighed before turning around and seeing Miss Patty speed walking across the street from them.

"There's your answer," she said, starting to walk again. "You still coming?"

He didn't verbally answer, but he continued to walk alongside her, albeit with an annoyed expression on his face. They walked in silence for a bit which was par for the course for Jess and Aries just didn't want to bother him any more than she already had.