𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐁𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄!

CHAPTER THREE

Jace knows he's had a lot of changes in his life since junior year, but the day he ran into Riele single-handedly took the cake.

It was the day he was scheduled to get his Appendectomy, and he was floating around the hospital in the thin gowns they gave with his iv bag and a whir-y cart holding it in place, trying to scope out anything to make his stay more entertaining.

Lets just say, Riele did that for him.

He walked around the quiet hospital and took everything around him in with greedy eyes, avoiding eye contact with all of the doctors or nurses he saw as he walked.He wasn't exactly supposed to be up moving around, but who runs Jace?Jace runs Jace.

Riele was sitting in the waiting room on the other side of the hospital, earphones plugged into her ears, bopping her head erratically.

Jace has never been the 'Mack Daddy' type, but he felt like Riele was an approachable being.She was a small thing then, and wore glasses.

He practiced walking over to her with finesse, walking up and down the hallway with a lean and strut, but his stupid iv bag was getting in the way.

She'd approached him, after he'd lost himself in his walk, and said—

"You're putting a little too much lean into it.If you go any farther, you'll probably fall."She pushed her glasses up on her face and turned so that she was standing right beside him, instead of in front.

"Watch me."She said confidently, before taking off in a strut of her own.She did have an undeniable swagger, but Jace still thought she could use some work.

"Im like, 1000 percent sure I could do that better than you."He told her when she returned back to his side, and she gasped, causing him to nod, smirk on his face.

"You seemed to be struggling before.Show me what you really got, then."She put her hand out in the direction of the straight hallway they were on, which was more or less vacant, lucky for them.

Jace lifted his nose to the sky, and began his best 'Mack Daddy' walk of all time.He put one foot in front of the other, and suppressed his laugh when she clapped loudly behind him, making small remarks.

"Ill admit, that was absolutely fantastic."She whisper-shouted from the end of the hallway.

Jace shrugged.

"Its what I do.Im the best at this."He cooly lied, before strutting back up to her, just to show off.

Too bad he got so into it he was speeding up, and his feet were moving too fast.When he crossed his right foot overtop his left to move forward, he stepped on the toe of his sneaker, and tripped, lightly spraining his ankle and hitting the floor, taking his iv bag and whir-y thingy with him.

"Dont laugh."He glanced around him sharply, hoping no nurse would come to his rescue, because he was enjoying this so much.He stayed on the ground and stared as Riele's face contorted strangely.It was painfully obvious she was trying to keep from laughing.

"I'm not."She responded, but it was overly pitched, and her nostrils flared as she breathed raggedly through her nose.

"I'm not."She repeated,more to herself than him, before she let out a sharp yelp, to disguise her giggle.

"Can you atleast help me up, giggly lady?"Jace snarked playfully, and she coughed and straightened her face before she walked the small distance to his side, outstretching her hand to grab his own.

There was no spark, like in the cliché movies and books.
Riele has always believed that the couple creates the spark, it doesn't just arise.

"You could meet anyone and feel as if you weren't meant to be with anyone else, but that doesn't mean that you aren't.You have to find home in your lover, and after making it, will you then find the spark you've been searching for, in your own hearts for one another."Riele would go on to tell him this, years into the future, but for now, she stuck with—