Under Your Skin | Jude Bellingham

014

"Oh, I'm sorry about your girlfriend."

"Eh, it's alright. We broke up months ago. I'm over it now." He looked at me. "You know, I never got a chance to ask for your number the other week."

"You want my number?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know...so we can arrange a date."

"Hmm I dunno, you did say you were moving away."

"Maybe you could be my reason to stay?" Felix grinned.

I laughed. "Wow, smooth," I said, "but I'm sorry, I'm not exactly interested in having a relationship right now." I wasn't entirely over Trent so I figured it wouldn't be fair to Felix. I pictured Hayley's face, knowing she'd be shaking her head at me for rejecting such an attractive guy.

"Ah no worries," Felix said. "At least give me your Instagram so we can be friends?"

"You don't give up, do you?" I joked, but didn't see the harm in giving him my social media, so that's what I did.

I spent some time chatting with Felix, getting to know him before he offered to walk me home. He actually seemed like a pleasant guy, very intelligent too. Once again I thought about what Hayley would say — she'd probably yell at me for not being interested in Felix but there was nothing I could do about it.

When I reached the house, I noticed Gio's car had just pulled up on the driveway. He climbed out, and so did Jude. Jude took one look at Felix, and immediately the grin on his face disappeared. I was confused, to say the least. Jude seemed to despise Felix and yet he didn't even know him.

"Thank you for walking me home," I said, turning to Felix.

"It was no problem, Hannah," he responded. "It was lovely to meet you."

"Yeah, you too."

"Your boyfriend seems nice," Jude said once Felix had gone. There wasn't a trace of amusement in his voice.

"You seem jealous, Jude," Gio noted.

"I'm not jealous," he snapped.

"Relax, he just offered to walk me home," I told him.

"Probably so he can try to get into your pants," Jude muttered.

"Jude!" Gio exclaimed.

"Actually, I already rejected him once so I don't think so, Jude," I said, wondering why on earth he seemed so worked up.

"Whatever," Jude said and stomped into the house.

Gio and I looked at each other. "What the hell was all that about?" I asked him.

"I have no idea," he responded.

* * *

I'd only been at the party twenty minutes, but already I was in a foul mood. Jude had invited Grace, and now I was watching from the corner of the room as she refused to leave his side, laughing way too hard at his jokes and finding any excuse to touch him. I rolled my eyes at the display, deciding that Jude had been too nice for his own good to forgive her as quickly as he had. What made matters worse was that he seemed to be enjoying her obvious flirting, bending down to whisper something in her ear and watching her with a grin on his face.

Every so often, he'd glance my way to see that I was watching. I wasn't sure what game he was playing, or why the hell I felt so furious to see the pair of them laughing together. Initially, I figured it was just me being protective over my friend, but the more I thought about it, I realised I was jealous.

Why the hell are you feeling jealous? I asked myself as I poured another drink into my cup. I liked Trent, not Jude. I mean sure, recently I'd felt differently about Jude, but I'd just assumed that was because I'd made him my friend and didn't hate him anymore. I thought about all the time we'd spent together recently, how much I loved to be in his company and how he always managed to bring a smile to my lips. I chose to acknowledge the times I'd look at him and feel as though every ounce of air had been knocked out of my lungs, the way he made my heart flutter and my cheeks turn red whenever he complimented me. I thought about him often, especially when we were apart, and always looked forward to the next time we'd be able to hang out together, making sure I looked nice without it seeming as though I'd made too much of an effort.

"Shit!" I said aloud.

Karim, who was stood next to me, looked to me with a raised eyebrow. "Everything okay, Hannah?" He asked.

"Er yeah...I'm just going to get some fresh air." I left my drink where it was and scurried out into the garden, thankful that no one had followed me out here. Right, get a grip Hannah, I thought to myself as I sank down into a chair and glanced upwards at the star filled sky.

I couldn't make sense of the way I was feeling. I didn't like Jude in that way, that just wasn't possible...

But maybe it was. I had been thinking about Trent less and less recently. Instead, Jude occupied my mind more often than I liked to admit. I buried my head in my hands. This sudden realisation was starting to hurt my head and made me feel like an idiot.

I like Jude. Jude Bellingham, of all people! I repeated over and over in my head, wanting to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. I'd gone from hating the guy for most of my life to being friends with him and then to liking him all in the space of a couple of months.

I liked Jude. Jude who'd shown a completely different side to him over the past few months. Jude who'd become my friend, always willing to listen and find ways to cheer me up like no one else could. Jude, who was now flirting with some other girl, sending me the message that he didn't feel the same despite what Chloe and Hayley had said. I let out a heavy sigh, realising my rotten luck. Here I went again, falling for someone who only had eyes for someone else.

No wonder I'd rejected Felix. No sane person would've rejected that guy unless they liked someone else. In my case, that was Jude, who for my whole life had been the guy I thought I'd hated more than anything.

I headed back inside once the cold had become too much to bare. I knew without looking that Jude was laughing, the sound of his laugh echoing in the air. I turned my head to look at him, slightly embarrassed by my ability to find him so easily in a room full of people. How could I not have realised it before? This guy with his annoyingly good looks and annoying charm was suddenly the one I wanted. The guy who'd always teased me when I was younger, the guy I'd done my best to avoid at any possible moment.

"Where did you disappear to?" Gio asked me.

"Just needed some air," I told him. "What's the deal with Jude and Grace?"

Gio shrugged. "I'm not entirely sure, but at the moment it looks like they're going to get back together."

"Did he tell you that?"

"Not explicitly. But they've been messaging a lot and hanging out recently, too. I warned him not to go there again but I suppose at the end of the day he can make his own decisions."

"Yeah..." I took another glance at Jude, Grace still by his side. She caught me staring and glared. "Bitch," I muttered under my breath, but it wasn't quiet enough because Gio started laughing.

I'd had enough. I pulled out my phone, deciding I needed a distraction.

Hannah:
what are you up to tonight? you up for
a party?

Felix:
sure, why not? text me the address and
i'll be there ;)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
A/N: 👀