"oh, fuck."
those were his first words to her.
"shit, sorry."
and those were her first words to him.
neither could have guessed what'd come of meeting on the rooftop of their building at midnight when they both needed a getaway from their own profou...
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• kiss you inside out // hedley •
"Four hours?!" Jax exclaimed upon hearing how long it would take to drive to the Edward Paxton Manor where Jaiden was to hold her wedding.
Kaede was washing dishes and handing them to Jax to dry as he had tried a new muffin recipe, making many dishes. And she was not about to let him leave before helping her clean his mess.
"It's not that bad. You can drive," she offered with a smile, handing him a newly cleaned mixing bowl.
He fake-laughed, drying the plastic bowl. "Why can't we just fly?"
Kaede's hand slipped as she tried to clean another bowl. "B—because it'd be a half hour flight. I mean, w—what's the point?" she awkwardly chuckled, avoiding his gaze.
"What's wrong with you?"
"N—nothing," she quickly dismissed.
Jax narrowed his eyes at the girl, unconvinced. "You're stuttering. What's with the anxiety?"
"I can't fly," she whispered, stopping washing the dishes and taking the towel from Jax to dry her hands.
"Why not?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
She placed the towel on the counter, taking a moment to breathe. "I—I just can't. Lots of people have a—a fear of flying."
"And just talking about flying freaks you out?"
"C—can we just drive? Please?" she begged, hating how weak she sounded.
"Yeah. It's okay. Look, I'm sorry. We can drive," he offered a friendly smile and walked forward to wrap his arms around her in a hug.
"Thank you," she said meekly, burying her face in his chest.
***
The day before the wedding and around 10AM, Jax used the key he'd taken to enter Kaede's apartment, dropping his packed duffel bag by her door with a thud.
He looked around the place, seeing no sign of the brunette, he called out, "Kaede? You home?"
He heard soft grumbling from her bedroom and noticed the maroon comforter shifting slightly.
"What time is it?" she asked, her voice laced with sleep.
"Just after 10," he said, chuckling as she slowly sat up, stretching her arms with a moan. "You sound sexy when you're sleepy," he noted aloud.
She glared at him with droopy eyes and a more than messy bun on the top of her head.
He laughed again. "Now... not so sexy."
She hummed, raising her middle finger as she slumped back down on the mattress. "Why the fuck are you here so early?"
"We better hit the road soon. Your cousin's wedding is tomorrow," he reminded her.
"No," she whined, covering herself with the blanket. "Not until later."
Jax moved from his leaning position against her archway and sat beside Kaede's form under the blanket. "Sweetheart, come on. You can't stay here all day."
"Then you stay with me," she suggested, her voice muffled by the comforter.
Jax kicked off his shoes and jumped to the vacant spot beside her. When he was entirely under the covers, he poked Kaede's nose. She wrinkled her face with her eyes closed, muttering for him not to do that.
"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.
She shrugged, opening her eyes and noticing how close he was to her. "I just don't want to go until later."
"When's later?"
"Never?"
He scoffed, shaking his head. She laughed at how his hair gained static and stuck to her sheets. She reached over and fixed his hair, not seeing how he looked at her.
"You have a pretty smile," he said.
Kaede pulled her hand back and laughed disgracefully, only making him smile wider as she rolled onto her back. "Pfft, okay," she said in disbelief, turning her head to face him. "What's with all the compliments lately?"
Jax shrugged, "I can't make statements?"
"Not those kind."
"Why not?"
"You're the reason your sister thinks we're sleeping together, you know that, right? It's saying shit like that that makes people wonder."
"Am I not allowed to say nice things about my best friend?" he asked with a smirk.
She stared at him—a little too long—and he was so close she could count the flecks of brown in his hazel eyes.
"We should get going," Jax whispered.
"We could stay here a little longer," she replied, so quietly he almost didn't hear. He smiled, nodding his head slightly.
Kaede moved closer to him and snuggled into Jax's chest as her eyes started to close. He wrapped his arms around her back, knowing how nervous she was about today and tomorrow, and therefore probably did not sleep much—so, he decided to let her rest a while more.
"For the record," he began with a smirk, to which she hummed. "It's shit like this that makes people think we're dating."
•••
i actually really like this chapter and these two are highkey in love with each other
