Strangers | Jean Kirstein College AU

6. Focus

Song of the chapter: Focus - H.E.R
(honourable mention: Focus- NCT 127)

Today was a long day, busy with classroom lectures and dance classes. After returning to your room, you had a shower and took the time to relax. That's how you ended up sitting on your desk chair waiting the sun set paint the clouds shades of orange and pink. The light pitter-patter of rain showers against your window and the slow music playing through your laptop calmed your soul. These were some of the moments of life you enjoyed most. Spending time alone to wholly enjoy the present and absorb the beauty in your surroundings.

The buzzing of your phone momentarily halted your thoughts. You picked it up to see a text from Jean.

Jean👖🥵
Hey wanna come chill with me and con?

You debated your options: you could stay in the comfort of your dorm and inevitably become bored with watching the sky, or you could go hang out with two of the funniest people you know. The choice was easy in your head. You got up from your desk chair and walked over to your wardrobe. You looked at your clothes, deciding what to wear. The idea of sitting in his room with jeans on made your skin crawl, you prioritised your comfort. You chose to wear a matching set of jogging bottoms and a hoodie with a black tank top under it.

You typed out a request for a location from Jean, to which he quickly replied. His accommodation building wasn't far from yours, a ten-minute walk. You forwent a coat or umbrella upon assessing that it wasn't raining too heavily and your hoodie would be enough protection.

You were sorely mistaken...
Halfway to Jean's building, thunder cracked, and the sky began pouring down rain.

You:
I'm outside
Pls hurry, it's pissing it down

Jean👖🥵
Connie's coming down now.

You groaned at Jean's reply. You loved Connie, but that boy could not focus on one task to save his life. Knowing him, he would suddenly need a drink, take a detour to the kitchen and forget his original objective.

You:
PLS NOOOO!!!
YOU OPEN THE DOOR
I'M SOAKED RN AND CONNIE WILL TAKE AGES

Jean👖🥵
Shit okay
Running down now

You bounced from foot to foot in an attempt to stay warm under the small roof shelter over the door. Your arms were covered in goosebumps, even though you weren't under the rain, the cold winds brushing past your soaked clothes were harsh. Luckily, you didn't have to wait too long. An out of breath Jean opened the door for you, clearly he made good on his promise. He quickly ushered you inside, offering his apologies.

Jean opened the door to his room and you saw Connie sat at Jean's desk rolling a joint.
"HEY GIRRRRRRL" he shouted casually. "Why are you sitting there? Weren't you meant to be the one to let me in?" You stated in an irked tone. Your annoyance caused Connie turned to look at you, his jaw dropped when he took you in. "DID YOU FALL IN A PUDDLE?" He laughed and you just held your middle finger at him.

"Here, you can change into this." Jean said handing you a jumper. You thanked him and he led you to his bathroom. so you could change. The jumper smelt of detergent, it was likely fresh from the wash. Nevertheless, you could smell traces of sandalwood and rosewood. It smelt like Jean. It felt soft and warm on your skin, it felt like you were wearing a hug from Jean.

When Jean saw you walk in wearing his jumper his heart stopped beating for a moment. The way the oversized item of clothing hung off your body was perfection in his eyes. You looked beautiful. He's offered his clothes to girls before, like Sasha, but none of them wore it as well as you. He began to imagine you wearing other items of his clothing, maybe even a whole outfit of just his clothes. He was certain you'd look amazing, far better than he does in his own clothes.

Jean's day dreaming was cut short when you asked if he had a radiator you could place your wet clothes on. He quickly got up and grabbed your hoodie and tank top from your hands and placed them on the hot radiator by his door.

You sat on his bed, sideways on, your back against the wall. Jean sat beside you, but his back rested against his headboard. He felt his heart race increase when you stretched your legs over his. It was an action that didn't mean much to you, just a simple show of you feeling comfortable around him. But he took it to heart, found himself feeling proud to be someone you felt so relaxed around.

The three of you shared a joint while you watched animal documentary clips on youtube. Connie's phone chimed, he examined the screen and declared he'd be leaving.

"Where you going?" You inquired, hiding the fact that you were somewhat upset he was leaving so soon.
"I got hooooooeeees caaaaalling." He sang cheerfully. Jean let out a small laugh out his nose, far too used to Connie's behaviour to illicit a bigger response.
"Wow so you're leaving your homies for some puss- oh okay i see how it is." You turned your face away from him in fake disgust. "You'd do it too." was Connie's last words before he said his final goodbyes and left the room.

You and Jean were alone.

An awkward fog clouded the room. You broke the silence thanking him again for letting you borrow his jumper, to which he of course brushed you off. He even went as far to say you looked better in it than he did. Becoming bored of the documentary clips, he suggested you watch something else and you complied. He switched over the netflix and let you pick, you chose it's always sunny in philadelphia. You fell into a comfortable silence after that.

You began to fully feel the effects of the weed and slightly cuddled into his side. You always became more affectionate and open when you were high. Whenever you smoked with Colt the two of you would always lay in his bed cuddling while watching a movie. The action was strictly platonic to you... usually.

You felt yourself become giddy, your stomach began doing butterflies. You could smell Jean so much more now, the lingering scent in his clothes did not do any justice to the real thing. It was intoxicating. You felt bold, wanting more and placed your head against his shoulder. You felt relaxed, you fit perfectly against him, as if you were meant to be there.

Jean on the other hand, didn't feel so comfortable, he was sure you'd be able to hear his heart beating against his chest. His heart would flutter every time you'd giggle at the show. He couldn't even hear anything they were saying on the screen, all he could hear was the soft sounds of your breathing, or the soft chuckles you'd let out. What's worse is he could smell your sweet vanilla scent.

You were driving him crazy. He thought you'd probably think he's so weird for not laughing at a single joke in the show. But how could he possibly pay attention to anything but you at this moment. You fit so perfectly into his side. He swallowed the lump in his throat and dared to place his arm around your shoulder, muttering a poor excuse about his arm falling asleep. Really he just wanted to pull you closer against him.

He thanked every god there ever is, was or will be that for the random girl that texted Connie. It was that girl that made it possible for you and Jean to spend time alone like this. He didn't have the confidence to ask you to meet up with him alone, so he used Connie as a buffer. Never in a million years did he think the evening would go this way. He savoured the moment, unsure of when else he'd be able to spend time with you like this. Cuddling you while you wore his jumper.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter.
It went a different direction than i originally intended, but I'm quite happy with how it turned out.
Any feedback or opinions are greatly appreciated.
Let me know what you think (not that anyone is even seeing this 😭😭)