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juliet | jake
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so we made it
yup
our final year of school
may we die before we have to take our exams and fail
amen
so where are you now?
i'm walking into school
you know what they say about walking and texting?
...no?
it's not safe. you never know who you might crash into
i'm excellent at multitasking you know
i'm inside the school now
me too
you should come find me i'm fucking bored
or maybe you should find me ;)
maybe i will
maybe you will
how did your exams go by the way? i never asked
hmm, well, a positive was that they made the word 'bed'
not too bad
i got all vowels
that's vague
that could be As or Es or Us
yep
i bet you're a genius who got all As though
jake ryder: genius
that's the funniest joke you've made yet
before juliet could type out a response onto her phone, she crashed into someone and her phone hit the ground with a smack.
"shit, sorry," she said, rushing to her phone and checking if there was a crack on the screen. jake was right, you shouldn't text and walk, she thought. finally, when she was certain there was no damage to the phone, she looked up. "i'm really—oh. oh my god."
"juliet?"
"jake?"
"hi."
"oh my god. hi."
"hi."
the pair stared at each other for a couple of seconds, neither knowing what exactly to say. juliet wished she could hide her face and have the safety of the screen again.
then, finally, they both burst out into laughter.
"hi," juliet said again.
"you know, you should really look where you're going."
oh god, he's the same as he is over texts. he's going to be so disappointed with me. "oh, yeah ... well, you know ... just texting some ... stupid guy. i won't do it again." she tried to force down her smile so she didn't look so incredibly ridiculously happy.
"oh really? why's he stupid?"
"oh, you know. just that typical asshole guy, the one that says things that make you want to hate him, and talks about sex all the time, and then sometimes is so unbelievably sweet and funny and makes you forget about all the other things. and the sort of—" why are you still talking, juliet? oh god, please make him shut me up.
jake leaned forward and kissed her. "shut up," he whispered against her lips.
"that was . . . nice," she said.
"just nice?"
"i don't know the right word. i wish i could just send an emoji or smiley face or something." fearing she was about to start ranting again, she wrapped her hands around his neck and kissed him.
he pulled her in closer, but it all felt too weird. not the fact that she was kissing the boy she loved – that couldn't have felt more right – but the fact they were standing in the middle of school making out.
two people who barely knew each other's names before summer started.
"they're looking at us," juliet said.
"yeah, probably. and?"
"what if maisie's there? she doesn't know, right?"
"know what?"
juliet willed herself to not turn red from embarrassment. she'd assumed – because jake had kissed her – that maybe they were in a relationship now. that was how it had worked with ethan. but jake was totally different. he was the sort of person who could sleep with someone and still not consider himself to be in a relationship with them.
"sorry, i shouldn't have ... nothing. there's nothing for her to know."
"there isn't?"
why is he still smiling? does he enjoy making me feel uncomfortable. juliet wondered if jake's smile was one of the most beautiful things she'd seen. it was a contagious smile too...
"why don't you tell me, jake? what are we?"
"well, normally, juliet, when two people love each other, they start a relationship."
he was still smiling. how can he find none of this awkward? "what?"
"unless you want to take back the fact that you love me..."
"no! no! i just ... you're ... i—"
"oh, you're so cute, just come here already."
he leaned forward and kissed her again, and all thoughts of the school and her surroundings seemed to leave juliet.
"i love you," he whispered.
"oh my god. me too. i love me too. no, fuck! i mean i love you too. oh my god, this is so bad." the cloudy euphoria juliet seemed to have been feeling faded as she remembered who jake was, what his reputation was, and how the world was set against them. was it realistic? could they make it work? "god, jake, this is all such a mess. do you think it matters, that we love each other?"
"does it matter? come on, juliet – don't start another fight again. i didn't even provoke this one."
"we can't work out, can we? don't you realise? everything's set against us, it's going to be really hard."
"yeah. i guess. it'll be hard, and really shit at times. but you know what, juliet lennox? i love you and i don't care."
THE END
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Short Story"Hit up this number for a good time." Juliet Lennox is quiet, contained and unprepared for when her crush, Jake Ryder, messages her out of the blue. By accident, of course. An accident that leads to a string of conversations, and possibly the star...
