TEENAGE FEVER

21

Halloween brought with it the reminder that Christmas was coming soon. And I got antsy. I spent most of my time with my head in the clouds, watching everything whilst also trying to clear my head and not think about Archer and Steve and Addison. The greatest distraction I had was school and my friends but sometimes, I'd find myself with an idle mind and every fear I had about going back to New York came creeping in.

Jaden finally said something the night before Halloween. We were sitting in my room, him on the floor and me on my bed, studying, when he finally looked up at me. "Maddie," he said.

"Hmm," I said, looking up from my notes to look at him. He'd started wearing his hair down more seeing as it was becoming cold and I took every chance I could to look at him. He sat up, moving towards the bed and stared at me.

"What's on your mind?" He asked me.

"Nothing,"

He scoffed, "Bullshit."

I chuckled, patting the space next to me. He quietly hopped onto the bed, resting against the headboard before letting his arm rest on a pillow so I could sit under it. I leaned back into the arm and he squeezed me, placing a kiss on my forehead. I smiled at the feeling, enjoying every second I had around him.

"You're still thinking about Archer?" He asked me, his lips moving against the skin on my forehead, tickling me.

"Yeah," the word came out choked. He squeezed me again.

"Okay then.....let me take you out tomorrow," Jaden said, "There's a drive-in theater showing horror movies tomorrow and I thought a change of scenery. It's in one of the neighbouring towns."

"That sounds like fun," I said, sitting up, "Which town?"

He hesitated for a moment and I already knew which one it was. A few weeks ago, a school from another time had driven in for a game. The striker on the other team had managed to get on Jaden's nerves which caused him to get benched after he almost broke the guy's leg. It was the first time in a while that he had lost his temper and I had known that it was because a verdict had finally been made on his father's case. A life sentence.

"Are you sure you want to go to Greendale?"  I questioned, turning to face him fully. He clenched his jaw slightly, his eyes moving to the roof.

"Maddie, babe," he said, "I'm fine. I was just going through a rough patch then. I promise I'll be okay."

"Pinky promise?" I asked, eyebrows raised as I looked up at him. He chuckled at the sight of my stuck out pinky finger and linked his own with mine. His skin was smooth and his finger was longer than mine.

"It'll be just you and me," he reassured me. The smile on my face widened and just for a moment, I forgot about Archer.

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I was dressed as Heather Chandler. Jenny found this ironic seeing that compared to her, I was an angel. Jaden was dressed as Prince, purple coat and everything. He grinned at me when he saw me walk down the stairs in my red blazer jacket and checked black and red skirt.

"You look beautiful," he said.

"I know," I answered, true to my costume and he chuckled, holding out his hand so that I could get down the last step easily in my heels. My mother was working the night shift seeing as Halloween was a seriously hectic period with all the drunks running around.

The car ride to the next town was silent, with only music to fill the silence. Without the pressure of my own secret and not knowing Jaden's secret forcing itself onto me for the first time in a while, I could truly enjoy the moment.

"I wanna do something," I said, sliding my heels off. He glanced at me, a lazy grin on his face.

"Then do it,"

A smile spread onto my face. Quickly, I flicked the switch that opened the over head window. Jaden caught wind of what I was doing and slowed the car down so that I could stand up without almost falling. As soon as I let my head through the space on the roof a huge feeling of relief rushed through me. The air was fresh and stung my cheeks. I could feel my hair blowing behind me, probably ruining the way I had styled it for the evening but I didn't care.

I yelled with joy, throwing my hands in the air. Part of me didn't know where the wind began and where my own body did and I felt stronger than ever. I felt freer than ever.

Cold fingers against my skin made me jump. I looked down at Jaden who kept his eyes on the road but from where I was I could tell that he had a smirk on his face. I slid back into my seat and nudged his shoulder.

"You ruined my moment," I told him.

"Honey I made that moment possible," he told me, "You should be thanking me. "

"Oh?" I leaned towards him, fingering one of his dreadlocks. He stiffened visibly and I smirked before moving closer to whisper into his ear, "How do you want to be thanked?"

The car swerved lightly. I moved away from him and burst out laughing at his reaction. He coughed. "That wasn't cool Maddie," he said to me, his voice making it obvious that he was trying to hold back a laugh. He was so happy that I knew that the night would be alright. No outbursts, nothing.

"You know, this last month has been the greatest," I said, hours later as we sat in the car park of the theatre, watching the projection on the billboard ahead of us. Jaden looked at me, dusting the salt from the popcorn off of his mouth area. "I've gotten more comfortable here, with you, than I've ever been anywhere else. I feel like I belong somewhere, with the people around me and I just....don't lose faith in me. Ever. Please."

"Maddie," he looked me dead in the eye, his hand slipping into mine. He rubbed his thumb against my hand and used his other hand to brush my hair behind my ear. His hand remained at the back of my neck, rubbing small circles there too and I shut my eyes, humming at the feeling. "I love you. You've helped me see that who I am is worth being loved by other people. By people with good hearts and I never want you to lose faith in me."

And as we just sat there, letting the movie play, I realized that this, this was peace. He was my peace. And I was his.

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Just a few more chapters and we're done. I've actually finished a book ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ

Please make sure to vote and comment. Also, keep your eyes peeled for the next book! It's gonna be good!

Lots of love
Musawa