Do You Trust Me? (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 13: Fearless

"WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?"
I sighed. "Because you're not supposed to shower with your clothes on."
I grabbed an apple from the fridge and bit into it. "I have a towel on, anyway. It's not like I'm flashing you."
My phone went off.
J: ok, now I really feel old. I'm pretty sure 26 year old dudes don't wear turtlenecks.
I laughed.
"What?" Bella asked. I shushed her.
S: you aren't exactly 15, though.
J: oh shut it. Look, you wanna come over and play something with me? I found this super cool game and I think you'd like it. No recording though, so less shouting. :3
S: lol sure. I'll be over in twenty minutes. Ttyl <3
J: k bye <3
I blushed for a moment, but caught myself.
Don't go all Damsel in Distress just because you're dating someone. You had to prove you were tough enough on the streets. You can't afford to go softer now. You already broke too easily with your damn sob story. Don't do it again. He could leave you as soon as your mother. A voice in my head said.
But he won't, I thought.
That's nothing more than wishful thinking. Do you actually believe he won't abandon you?
I shook the voice out of my thoughts and went to get dressed.
(Twenty Minutes Later)
The skies were dark and overcast, like a storm was quickly approaching. I knocked on the door, slightly on edge. Stop being such a puss, the storm can't kill you. You're lucky your father didn't, honestly.
The door opened to reveal a smiling, bright-eyed face. "Hi!" Jack greeted cheerfully.
I smiled. "Hey, what've you got in store?"
A smirk crossed his face slowly. "Something FRIGHTENING!" he said, letting out a corny evil laugh.
I laughed. "Sounds fun.", I said sarcastically.
"Frighteningly fun." he corrected me, poking my nose. "I love you."
My face abruptly burst into flames, weirdly. "That was corny."
He nodded, his cheeks also tinted bright pink. "Incredibly. Now, shall we play video games?"
"We shall."
(Jack's POV)
She seemed kind of paranoid about something. Her eyes were a deep grayish-green. Weird.
"Fear Factor! The game made to test your inner strength, and your ability to face your worst fears!" I read aloud off of the screen.
"Is dramatic music apt?" She asked.
"Yes."
Snow nodded, grabbing her phone and going to Rainymood.com. (No seriously check that shit out it's relaxing as fuck)
(Snow's POV)
"There we go. Rain simulator 2016."
Just as I said that, thunder crashed loudly outside.
Reflexively, I screamed, jumping a foot in the air.
Jack laughed at my sudden outburst. "You ok?"
I shuddered. Don't be a wuss.
"Yeah, it just scared me, that's all. I'm fine. Shall we play?" I asked, trying for a chuckle. Jack didn't really seem to buy it, but shrugged it off.
"Ok, sure. Let's just-"
Another clap of thunder boomed and the television turned off, along with the lights.
"Aww COME ON!" Jack shouted. I tried to stop my trembling hands, to no avail.
STOP IT!
Jack turned to me, and his anger vanished like a cloud of dissipating smoke. "Snow, what's wrong? You're shaking like an addict." he asked, grabbing my wrists in his own attempts to stop my quivering. He too, failed.
"I gotta go check to see if Bella's ok!" I spurted, hopping up.
"Snow, talk to me." Jack said, a slight pleading tone evident in his voice.
I frowned, taking a deep breath. "I'll be back in a minute, I just need to check on her." I assured him quietly, hurrying out the door directly into the storm.
"Damn it." I said to myself as I threw open the door to my house, my hair wet like a mop.
"Snow, what's up?" Bella asked concernedly, eyeing me strangely.
"Bella, are you ok?" I asked.
She knit her brow together. "Um..yeah. The power just went out. It's a storm. The world isn't ending."
I shut the door behind me quickly, the sound of rain crashing against our windows muffling slightly.
Lightning flashed just outside, thunder soon following.
"Snow, are you cold? You're shivering a bunch."
I shook my head quickly. "I'm fine."
I ran into my bedroom. Why are you so fucking weak?! I almost pity you.
My wooden wardrobe, looking like something out of Narnia, loomed over me with its dark shadow. Outside, the clouds were dark, so I wouldn't have been able to tell that it was only 11:30 in the morning.
Another loud thunder clap sounded, shaking the house slightly. I glanced at my hands. I really was shaking badly.
I crawled into bed, pulling the covers over my head, and I curled into a ball.
Pathetic.
A few minutes later, I heard Bella open the door after some muffled talking.
No no no no, please don't be Jack...
"I think she's in her room." a young voice said. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach.
Don't move. Then he might not see you. Oh wait! You're too busy quivering from some stupid little rainstorm. Pathetic idiot.
I heard the door to my bedroom open slowly, it's creak sending a shiver down my spine. I held my breath as best I could.
Please don't see me, please don't see me, please! I pleaded to myself, sobbing internally.
"...Snow?"
I hugged my knees tight to my chest, a lump forming in my throat.
Silence for a minute.
"Snow, I can see you under the covers. You aren't invisible." Jack laughed just a little bit, before falling silent again.
"Please, just tell me what's wrong."
I felt sick. Yeah, tell more people about how pathetic and spineless and weak you are.
A tiny sob escaped. My eyes began to sting as more thunder clapped outside, causing me to shake even more somehow.
"Snow, what-" he stopped mid-sentence. Is he leaving? He probably finally gave up on you, like he should've a long time ago.
"Oh..." Jack said, realization in his tone. "I get it."
What?
"That's why you ran. You're scared of storms, right?"
I don't....maybe he'll believe I fell asleep?
"You're really weird, Snow. You know? You seem like you wouldn't be afraid of anything. When I met you, I thought you were just some badass. But as I hung around you more....you're not just a badass anymore. You are fearless, in a way."
I sniffed. "No, I'm not. Look at me, Jack. I'm hiding under the covers like a little kid hiding from the dark. At least they have a reason to be scared of the dark."
Jack didn't say anything for a moment. "No, I think you are fearless, in a lot of ways. Fearless doesn't really mean you aren't afraid of anything, because everyone's afraid of something. Fearless means that you're willing to stand up and face your fear, even though you're terrified."
I shook my head, even though I was pretty sure he wouldn't see. "I'm hiding from my fear, though."
"The guy who tried to take Bella when we met? You weren't afraid of him?"
I stayed silent.
"And yet, you willingly put yourself between her and the man that could've killed you both."
"I was being stupid."
"Stupid? So you'd rather say you were being smart, and let her die? You'd rather be like most people, just turn away? Would you rather be 'stupid', or a coward?"
I wanted to yell at him that I was already both. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be. But, I have to ask, why didn't you just come back? You said you would."
"That's why I'm sorry. I didn't want to be a burden. This is how I'd get through storms when I was younger. After my mom died, and I was alone. I'm just not really used to people coming to check on me yet." I muttered.
Jack sighed. "You didn't want me to find you, did you?"
"...no. I didn't want you to see me like this."
"So..now that I'm here, do you want me to leave?"
The room was quiet.
"Do you want to leave?" I asked slowly.
"I asked you first." Jack insisted childishly.
"No. If you want to, then you can leave, but..." I trailed off.
"Snow, can you come out of your blanket cave now?"
I giggled. "Never."
Lightning flashed so brightly I could see it through the covers, and thunder shook the house, more violently this time. I hugged my knees tighter to my body.
"Damn, it's getting pretty bad out there. Look, how about we make a deal?"
I couldn't help but smile a little. "I'm listening."
"If I watch the storm with you, will you come out?" Jack proposed.
"What's in it for me?" I teased.
"If you don't, I'll drag you out and make Bella tickle you until you succumb to my orders."
I fake groaned. "Fine."
Another roar of thunder made me yelp, shivering again. Pathetic.
"C'mon, Snow. There's nothing to be afraid of. I promise." Jack said soothingly.
I slowly pulled the covers off of me. My hair was probably a mess.
"Nice hair." he remarked, laughing.
I ran my fingers through it, pushing it out of my face. "Yeah, yeah."
(Jack's POV)
Her eyes were a little red, and her hair was damp and tangled, but she didn't look too bad. Not that it would've mattered anyhow. Her eyes were still greenish-gray, except even darker now. They would've looked almost black from a distance.
Another clap of thunder roared and shook the house. Snow's eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around her knees as she buried her head into them. Her body shook slightly.
I looked out the window. "See, Snow? It's just rain. The thunder is just noise, and the lightning is just light. It's nowhere near the house, it's just bright. It's pretty."
She lifted her face out of her knees and looked out the window. The rain splattered on the glass pane heavily. She watched it for a while, before leaning her head onto my shoulder.
I felt my face grow hot, but I couldn't help but smile. I wrapped my arm around her waist carefully. She didn't flinch, but she looked up at me. Her eyes were a little less grey, a little more blue. She smiled a little, cute dimples beginning to form in her cheeks.
She looked back out to the storm, and I pulled her closer to me with my arm.
Thunder boomed in the distance, and Snow jumped, tensing up.
"Don't worry," I said, tightening my grip a little. "I've got you."

(Ok. I've got no excuse this time. Writers block, like always. Sorry, whoops. But uh, I hope you enjoyed this you guys! I love you all a lot, I always will. I'm really sorry about the absolutely ginormous pause, I have so much shit right now I've got to balance, especially online. I have commitments to a bunch of stuff, but I'll be on a lot tonight, since it's Saturday! :D ok, I'll go now. I love you guys bunches. Bye, guys. ~Light)