A LEAP OF FATE

Chapter 6 - Meet

Jerome's P.O.V

When I'd decided to open my window and get a bit of fresh air, I hadn't expected to see Sydney McCormick sitting almost directly in front of me. She sat with her head down, her eyes glued to her phone. Obviously, she hadn't noticed me yet. If she had, she'd either have run off or locked her window by now. That's what she did the other two times I tried to talk to her, the reason she kept doing it was what I didn't understand.

I looked over at her book that was on my bed, she probably hadn't noticed it was missing yet. I glanced back at her, she was so focused on whatever she was doing on her phone. I didn't want to spook her out, but I couldn't exactly keep her book either. I had to give it back. I'd just make sure I explained what I wanted to do before she could run off.

Without further ado, I called out "Sydney". Her eyes wandered around for a moment, before finally, they settled on me. Her eyes immediately widened, and her demeanour changed to an alarmed one.

"Please don't run this time" I quickly said, hoping I could get her to stay. Our buildings were so close to each other, I didn't even have to shout before she heard me.
"What do you want?" She asked, a very impatient tone to her voice.

"Uhhh......." I quickly stood up to grab her book from my bed. "I wanted to return your book, it fell this afternoon when you were running" I said, raising the book up so she could see it.

Her expression changed to a surprised one, then it changed again, this time to an embarrassed expression, and then it changed one last time, an expression of scorn, which happened to be the final one she wore.

"Is that all you wanted to give me?" She asks, her eyes narrowing as if she was waiting for me to give a wrong answer.

"Ummmm.........yeah?" I say slowly, not sure if the answer I gave was the one she wanted. "What else would I want to give you?"

"Oh?" The embarrassed expression came back. She started rubbing her neck awkwardly.

"Um......I'm..... sorry for...... running then, I just thought you wanted to do something else" she said timidly.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "What did you think I wanted to do?" I asked, already suspecting what it was, but expecting a confirmation of my suspicion.
"Um.........you know?" She tried to explain, nervously running her neck with her hands.

I gave her a deadpan expression. "No, I don't know" I say.

She sighed "I thought you were gonna mock and embarrass me" she said, with a very embarrassed voice.

I frowned at that, did she think I was the kind of person who'd do something like that? I wasn't, I never was, and I never wanted to be. However, I couldn't exactly fault her for thinking like that, I hadn't given her any reason not to, we'd been neighbours for nine years, and not once had I ever even said hello to her, the shock of seeing me trying to talk to her must've been surprising, so it wasn't her fault.

But I couldn't help it, the fact that she thought I was that kind of person still left a bitter taste in my mouth, it made me feel bad.

"I wouldn't do something like that" I said, frowning. Although, it sounded more like I was trying to convince myself than her.

She gave me a weird look, tilting her head to the side as if she was trying to read me.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing......... I'm just...... surprised" she answered, in a tone that said she was still evaluating me.
"Surprised? Why?"

"It's just.........well, you're not exactly how everyone made you out to be in highschool" she said. That was true, I was not. At Rosecliff, there was an hierarchy, consisting of douchebags and losers. Those were the only two sides of the social circle, you could only belong to one. I was the captain of the basketball team ,so obviously, I didn't belong to the 'loser' category, so automatically, I had to be a douchebag.

Although, I wasn't a douchebag, it just further proved how senseless the entire social ladder at the school actually was.

"At Rosecliff, everyone made you out to be some unapproachable snob" she continued. I looked towards her.

"But now that you're talking to me, you aren't actually like that.........it's nice" she finally concludes, a smile turning on her lips as she finished the last sentence. It was a cute smile.

She may not have known it, but that complement she gave me meant more than she could ever understand. For the first time, somebody was acknowledging the real me, the me that wasn't just that jock guy who threw a spherical ball into a tall net, the me that wasn't that guy who had to constantly show my talents and my skills, the me that wasn't a douchebag. The complement made me smile.

"Thank you very much" I said, smirking.

"When you get to know me better, you'll find that I'm a very nice guy" it was an invitation to friendship, one I was serious about, one she probably wouldn't take, but one I'd offered anyway. She'd probably think it was a joke.

"Whoa, slow down, who says anything about getting to know each other better" she said, a smile on her lips and her arms outstretched in front of her. I laughed, and she followed and laughed too.

It was funny, I hadn't had a genuine smile in ages, I'd become perfect at acting for the cameras, ever since I'd started getting famous for playing basketball. I wasn't happy, but I'd complied and I'd done whatever my dad wanted. I was perfect at giving fake smiles, but no one could put a real one on my face, not my teammates, not my highschool 'friends', not even my own father.

Then, here came Sydney McCormick, the girl I'd never even shared up to 10 words with, the girl who'd been so close yet so distant from me, the girl who'd been my neighbour for nine years. She'd managed to get me to smile genuinely, and not only smile but to actually laugh too. She was definitely special.

"It would be nice though" I looked towards Sydney, she smiled at me again. "It would be nice to get to know you, Jerome Johnson." She said.

A grin was threatening to spread its way through my lips. "You too, Sydney McCormick" I answered.

"Friends?" I asked, we weren't close enough for our hands to meet if I tried to give her a handshake, but it didn't matter, I'd asked the question without the gesture, hoping she'd accept.

"Friends" she said, smiling. I smiled too, it looked like I was doing that a lot tonight.
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnndddddd finally, the chapter we've all been waiting for💆🏼‍♂️💆🏼‍♂️💆🏼‍♂️.
Progress, progress, progress.
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