The Kindness Project

-Chapter 10

"WHAT MADE HER STRONG WAS DESPITE THE MILLION THINGS THAT HURT HER, SHE SPOKE OF NOTHING BUT HAPPINESS."

- j.a.

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"Just one more box," I assure myself, stumbling through the door way of the consignment shop as the summer wind blows past me.

Today is just one of those days. One of those days where everything that occurs makes your frown deepen and somehow makes your mind feel more exhausted.

I was up all night last night studying, which meant that I am currently running on less than two hours of sleep. But, hey, it's all worth it in the end, right?

I decided to stop by the thrift store on my way home today, considering I have several boxes of hand-me-downs that have been sitting in my room for ages.

The welcoming committee was supposed to meet today; but Molly canceled the meeting because of a sickness that's been going around. However, she sent out an e-mail with all the partners that were randomly assigned for the kindness project. And, much to my surprise, Jim and I got assigned to be partners.

Just great.

It's not that I don't care for Jim—because on some levels, I do. It's just that he hates being around me; anyone can see that. Also, he was obviously forced to join the welcoming committee because of his long list of past detentions, which means that he doesn't even want to be apart of the committee in the first place.

"Thank you," the kind old lady at the counter thanks me as I drop off the last box, my smile widening at her round blue eyes.

With a heavy sigh I begin the short drive to my mother's coffee shop; the place that Jim and I agreed we would meet to discuss the project. I finally convinced him to do it with me, considering this project counts as extra credit and would look great on both of our college applications. He grimaced over the phone when I mentioned college, but he nevertheless agreed to meet me there.

"Good morning, Mr Convey," I greet the man leaning against the brick wall before entering into the cozy coffee shop, a content smile never leaving my face as I search the tables for my rather grumpy partner.

"Wow. I'm surprised you turned up," I smile half-heartedly at Jim, making a silent note of the prominent bags under his eyes.

"Yeah, me too," he mutters under his breath, avoiding my curious eyes by taking a long sip of his coffee.

"Let me re-phrase that," I fold my hands on the table and smile warmly at the boy seated across from me. "I'm glad that you turned up."

He exhales, a slight groan leaving his lips as he rubs his eyes and leans back in his chair. "I don't care about your feelings, Anna. Let's just get this over with."

"Alright, then, mr grumpy pants," I chuckle, nonchalantly trying to brush off his remark about not caring about my feelings.

He once did.

"Well, that girl with the freckles gave me the list of things we have to do," he tosses a faded manila folder onto the space in front of us, his eyes suddenly wide and alert at the sound of someone entering the cafe.

"You mean Molly?" I question a rather distracted Jim, following his line of sight to a tall, stocky man standing at the entrance of the cafe, the dark hood concealing his face not doing much to hide the tattoos that run up and down his exposed arms.

"Uhh," he gulps, still distracted by the intimidating man standing several feet away from our table. "Yeah, that's what I meant."

"Jim?" I snap my fingers. "You alright?"

"Yeah," he licks his lips, startling me as he suddenly jumps up from his seat and grabs my wrist to pull me up.

"What—?" I gasp, my eyes widening as he pulls me out the back door of the cafe.

"Shhh!" he covers my mouth with his hand, his eyes darting around the alley as he pushes me up against the brick wall and stands protectively against me.

"Jim, what the heck is going on?" I whisper harshly once he removes his hand, desperately trying to break free of the hold he has on my wrists.

He ignores me, pushing me further up against the wall as he looks left and right. There's something in his eyes that makes my pulse quicken and goosebumps erupt on my skin because it's something I never thought I would see in Jim Howard's eyes. Fear.

"Listen—I'll explain everything later, but I need you to shut up," he hisses, making me cower further into the wall at the fierce glare burning in his eyes.

After a couple seconds of silence, Jim is about to loosen his hold on me but is stopped as the distinct sound of footsteps reaches our ears.

We lock eyes in pure horror, my heart rate picking up considerably at the thought of who is about to round the corner into the alley we are hiding in. Because I know if Jim Howard is scared of someone, I am definitely scared of them too.

The footsteps grow louder, a definite sign that someone is about to see us, and I start to mumble a silent prayer as I sub-consciously squeeze Jim's hands.

However, just as the unknown figure turns into the alleyway, I freeze in pure shock as Jim grabs my face and kisses me with such force and power I would have most-likely fallen to the ground, had he not been holding me up.

Jim holds me tightly by the waist, my eyes squeezed shut as I try and process what exactly is happening right now. Obviously, Jim is only kissing me to conceal our identities so that the unknown threat will leave us alone, but I can't help but feel exhilarated at the feeling of adrenaline pumping through my veins.

Every inch of my skin is covered in goosebumps and I'm sure my cheeks are darker than crimson as I relax into Jim's hold, the sudden fear from before vanishing as I get lost in our own little world.

However, after several minutes of pure shock and surprise, I pull away to find that the oncoming figure is gone and we are perfectly safe.

So, I do the thing that any logical girl would do.

I slap him.

Heyy GUYS! Hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it! I turn fourteen in four days!!! Ahhhhhhh!!
Anyways, don't forget to vote, comment, share and all that good stuff xoxo
Love, Mae