Rockin' Romeo and Jammin' Juliet

Genitals Are Food, Not Friends

Chapter 34: Genitals Are Food, Not Friends

((Playlist: It Remembers by Every Time I Die, ft. Brendon Urie))

Sophie and Jackson's eyes met. They gazed at each other for a moment before Jackson looked back up at the sky. Softly, he said, "can we fix this?"

Sophie watched the sun crest over the mountains. She nodded slowly. "I want to."

"So do I." He smiled faintly. "And that's all we really need."

She smiled too, enlightened by the idea. Sure, this would be difficult, but that didn't make it impossible. "So, does this mean we're dating again?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. But did we ever really stop?"

Sophie raised her eyebrows. "I mean, we coldly ignored each other for more than forty eight hours after declaring we were done with each other. Not to be a pessimist, but I think that counts."

"That's not really that long, though."

"Jackson, relationships are not like eating food off the floor. There is no five-second rule."

"Fair point," he conceded, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Anyway, good to have you back, girlfriend."

She giggled. "Good to have you back too, boyfriend."

For a long moment, they just sat and watched as the sky painted the dawn into a fantastic watercolor and let the silence stretch out lazily between them. The display amazed Sophie, but as the sun climbed a little higher and the pastels began to fade, her eyelids drooped.

Only when the sun was high overhead did the light pry her eyes back open. She squinted into the cloudless blue, bringing up a hand to shield her face. It is seriously intense out here. What is it, noon?

Noon? On a Monday? Oh, crap.

"Hey." She nudged Jackson in the side. "Wake up!"

He stirred, blinking heavily. "What?" He yawned. "What is it?"

"Isn't it a school day?" She asked, scowling slightly.

He swallowed. "I thought today was Sunday."

"It's Monday."

"Oh." He checked the time on his phone. "Yeah, it's eleven. There goes half a school day."

"I can't believe we missed school!"

"I wouldn't worry too much, Soph," he said, shrugging. "Just consider it Senior Skip Day."

"But we're juniors."

"We took ours early. We were thinking ahead."

"But my mom would kill me if I skipped school!" Sophie exclaimed nervously.

"Not if she doesn't find out," Jackson said with a grin. "The day'll be over by the time we get back to Albuquerque. Would you rather be doing math and science, or hanging out with me?"

She snorted. "I think you already know the answer. Just don't let my parents find out. I'll tell them I stayed late to study or something."

"Perfect." He squinted up at the now-bright sky and said, "now that the show's over and it's really bright out here, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm." Sophie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I don't know. What do teenagers usually do when they skip school?"

"Party, do drugs, call up strippers..." Jackson listed on his fingers. When he saw Sophie's expression, he laughed. "I'm joking. We could go to a movie or something."