𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎; 𝚓𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚛

𝐱𝐥𝐯. 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥!

Jaden

as I start towards the door, I instantly lurch backwards when I see the silhouette. "Cora! uh... when did you get here? I mean I knew you were here, but when did you... walk... upstairs? okay I'm sorry that sounded stupid, I'll just shut up now," I ramble. she steps into the light, and now I can see the smile on her face.

god, I missed being the reason behind that smile.

"didn't feel like hearing all the ways you guys ruined Kio," she takes another step forward, her body fully illuminated by the light now.

"I had nothing to do with that"

"he said 'shoutout Cora'. only you say 'shoutout' in a regular conversation. Oh and he's shirtless. Which, you know..." she trails off, waving a hand at my chest. Instantly my hands are flying to cover myself up, scared of what she might think. Her only reaction is a confused glance. "sorry, did I make you uncomfortable?"

"no you're fine, I just... don't like showing my body anymore," I say awkwardly, unsure of how else to phrase it.

A mix of confusion, anger, and sorrow flits across her face. "oh my god... Jaden, I am so sorry if the song I released sent any haters after you. I thought my fans were better than that. There's no need for you to be insecure about yourself," she whispers, but it sounds more like begging. Why is she begging me to not be insecure about myself? Does she still care that much?

"nah I'm fine, just not as comfortable anymore-"

"but you're beautiful!" the words burst out of her and we both stare at each other, waiting for her to do her usual routine of blushing, covering her mouth, and running as far away as possible.

it never comes.

"I thought you didn't think my abs were husband material?" I joke, trying to lighten the mood.

"opinions chan-" she instantly covers her mouth as she stares at me with wide eyes.

well there it is. 

The reflex I've come to love so much ever since I met her has me resisting the urge to run forward and kiss her.

but she deserves better.

while I argue with my inner demons, her eyes flick between mine and my neck. why is she looking at my neck? Kio once told me some people find the veins in necks really attractive. Is she one of them?

"you got new tattoos?"

and here i thought she wanted to bite my neck or something.

"yeah. yeah, a week ago," I hesitantly step forward, allowing the light to wash over my neck tattoos. She walks at the same time, leaving us a foot away from each other. I watch as her hand flits towards me before pulling back, uncertainty displayed across her features.

"Can I...?"

"please," my voice comes out as a hoarse whisper, desperate to feel the touch I once took for granted.

her fingers draw closer to my arm, achingly slow. The moment they make contact with my body, both of us inhale sharply and glance away from each other. Finally, she runs them across the tattoos on my arm first, gently tracing along the flowers I had before. It slowly makes its way up until it's touching the angels on my shoulder.

A/N: i searched the internet for a good ten minutes to find out what the flying naked boys on jaden's arm are, and came up with nothing but many pictures i wanna erase from my mind. hope y'all appreciate my sacrifices. oh and thanks to the crackhouse gc for telling me they're angels😭