Under Your Skin | Jude Bellingham

020

"Of course I meant it," I sighed, finally sinking down onto the sofa. "And part of me was stupid enough to hope that you'd feel the same."

Jude looked at me. His phone rang again. "I need to go," he said. I didn't reply. I'd tried to do the right thing by going to see if Jude was okay, but instead, we'd bickered, and the atmosphere between us was more tense than it ever had been before.

* * *

"Eating alone, are we?"

I looked up to see Jadon smiling down at me.

"Mhm. I'm sulking," I told him.

He laughed. "Right. So you'd be annoyed if I sat here?" He gestured to the space beside me on the bench. After Jude had left, I'd headed to the nearest store and bought myself lunch to eat in the park, although I was now starting to regret that because it was freezing outside.

"If it was anyone else, yes," I told him, "but because it's you, Jadon, I'll make an exception."

He grinned and sat down. "So why are we sulking?"

"Because Jude is probably shoving his tongue down that bitch's throat as we speak."

Jadon laughed again. "You mind if I state my opinion?" He asked.

"Go for it."

"I fucking hate her. She's constantly paranoid about where Jude is, makes him turn his location on and everything. And they have zero chemistry. I reckon she's using him for clout."

"You really think so?"

"Mhm. I just hope Jude gets his shit together and realises he can do better sooner rather than later."

"I just want him to be happy."

"I know you do." Jadon wrapped an arm around me and I rested my head against him.

"Why does life have to be so goddamn complicated?"

"Well, you know what they say? God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers."

"Yeah? Well I'm not a strong soldier, so please make it stop."

Jadon laughed. "It will all work out in the end, Hannah," he said softly.

"I hope you're right."

"Come on, let's get out of the cold. Where do you wanna go?"

"Back to my hotel room so I can sleep," I said miserably.

"How about bowling and a trip to the cinema first, just to take your mind off things?"

"Well, we do still need that rematch."

"Exactly, but just warning you now, I will win again."

"Hm, we shall see," I grinned.

Unfortunately for me, Jadon was right — he did end up winning at bowling yet again. I did get my revenge, however, when I forced him to watch some new romance movie with me. By the time the credits started rolling, he was bawling his eyes out. I relentlessly teased him for it on the drive back to the hotel to the point where Jadon turned up the radio in an attempt to drown me out. At one point, we ended up singing along, sounding ridiculously out of tune but having fun despite our lack of singing talent.

Jadon dropped me off at the hotel I'd chosen to stay at and even walked me up to my room. "If you need anything, just give me a call," he said.

"I will. Thank you for today, Jadon. I had a blast," I told him.

"Me too," he grinned.

I ended up falling asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, only to be woken a couple of hours later by a persistent knocking on the door. I yawned, quickly straightening out my hair to make it look more presentable before taking a look through the peephole to see who the hell was bothering me. Shocked, I opened the door. "Jude?" I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed to come see you, Hannah," he said.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Jadon told me where to find you. Can I come in?"

"Er, sure." I stepped aside and shut the door behind him as he entered the room.

"How come you're not staying with Chloe and Gio?" Jude asked.

"I didn't want to be a bother. Why are you here, Jude? Aren't you supposed to be with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend. She never was, and she never will be. We're over," Jude told me.

"Huh?" I couldn't mask my surprise. "What do you mean you're over?"

"I ended things with her. Again." Jude sighed. "You were right. Jadon was right. She doesn't make me happy, Hannah. She isn't you."

"What?"

"I thought that being with Grace would help to fill the hole in my heart, but all I could think about when I was with her was that she wasn't you."

I looked at Jude, wanting to savour this moment, unsure if this was all a dream and that I'd soon wake up to face a disappointing reality. But no, this was real, and my heart was racing.

"When you told me you loved me on new year's, I couldn't believe what I was hearing," Jude continued, stepping towards me. "I don't think you realise how long I've wanted to hear you say that. Knowing how you felt about Trent and then seeing you with Felix...that hurt me, Hannah. So, being the idiot that I am, I used Grace to try and make you jealous. But of course that backfired, didn't it?" Jude shook his head. "So then I settled for someone who didn't make me anywhere near as happy as you do because I wanted to move on, only I couldn't stop thinking about you."

It was as if time had stood still. I felt butterflies swirling in my stomach and my gaze was fixed firmly on Jude as I hung on to his every word.

"I was stupid to think I could move on from you that easily, especially when I've been in love with you for years, Hannah," Jude said. And there they were, the words I'd been longing to hear. "When we were kids I thought you were the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. That still remains true to this day."

Jude inched closer still, closing the gap between us at an agonisingly slow pace. I was still afraid that something or someone was going to ruin the moment. "Is this really happening?" I asked him, voicing my disbelief.

He was right in front of me by this point. "I'm afraid so," he smiled down at me.

Moments later, Jude finally closed the gap between us and kissed me.

- - -
A/N: At fucking last.