FOOL'S GOLD
CHAPTER FIVE
MOVING on is not the easiest task. It requires time, effort and an easy going personality. That was something Annie didn't have. She obsessed. Her brain rattled over and over again about the stupidity of her mistakes. Even as The Wizard of Oz, a group favourite, played on Trin's large TV, Annie's mind was elsewhere. The trio had noticed their friend's lack of presence but knew the root of her distance. Or they thought they did.
Annie didn't speak of that night. Of the mistake she had made, of the consequences she would face. She knew her friends disapproved of her situation, this would only make it worse. She bit her nails in silent anxiety. Her nail beds, fraying, almost bleeding.
She hadn't even noticed that the movie had finished. Trin nudged her shoulder, tearing her away from her own brain. She left Trin's house with a smile and silence. Her friends watched the sad sunshine leave into the night with worried expressions. Except Kaelyn, of course, who rolled her eyes instead.
The last thing that Annie expected was to face one of her problems at eleven o'clock at night. She stood dead in the road with curious eyes. She questioned her strength for tonight. Could she bear another rejection today? A large part of her no, walk away. But again, Annie made stupid decisions.
"What are you doing here?" Her voice was loud in the quiet street. Jess stopped in his tracks, shocked at the sudden noise. His feet scuffed against the pavement and hugged his bag closer to his chest.
"picking up groceries." He shrugged nonchalantly, his eyes focusing on the lamppost rather than the blonde.
"at 11 o'clock at night?"
"What can I say? I enjoy a midnight snack." He remarked, finally looking her in the eyes.
Annie pushed herself to her tiptoes, peaking at the contents of his bag. "Ah yes, a lovely meal of chalk, red paint, and tape."
"A basic New York meal."
"Stars Hollow is deprived."
"Extremely." Silence grew between them. Jess looked back and forth between streets, keeping an eye on other possible passerbys. "So, you gonna go away?"
A smirk formed on her lips as she crossed her arms in front of her. "I think I'd like to see this meal go down."
Jess pressed his lips together, sucking in some air. "You ever pulled a prank, Hartley?"
"No, pranks make enemies, I only make friends."
"I'm familiar." He retorted. "You friends with this Taylor dude?"
"Friends is a strong word."
"Is there anyone you're not friends with?" He enquired. It seemed natural that everyone had at least one enemy in life. At least one person that you didn't like. But not Annie. The one who loved everyone. The one who everyone loved.
A name flashed before her when he asked but she pushed it to the back of her brain and decided to tease instead. "You. Why is that?"
Jess shifted uncomfortably. "I don't have any friends. I'm the lone wolf type."
Annie stepped forward. "Wolves travel in packs. They're stronger together."
The boy sucked in a breath with a shake of his head. There was no budging this girl. "You wanna be friends, Hartley? get painting."
He threw his paper bag of paint and chalk to the ground in front of her. He crouched down himself and began taking out it's contents. Annie was taken back, almost appalled. "What?"
"Come on, it will be funny."
"It will be a crime." She countered.
"Friends who go to jail together, stay together." He knew he got her there. The way her eyes shifted uncomfortably to say she was actually considering it. He smirked. She released her hands from her crossed stance and stepped forward. Jess stood back up, chalk in hand. "Okay, lie down."
Annie jerked. "What? You lie down."
"It's my prank, you're just tagging along. You lie down." He argued.
Annie pursed her lips in though. "Rock, paper, scissors?"
The boy wanted to refuse. It was his prank, his paint, his money. He didn't want her here in the first place let alone have her force him to the ground. However, he had learned with Annie Hartley, to get her to shut up, you needed to compromise. He sighed. "Fine."
They drew twice. First time on scissors, second time on rock. Third time's a charm. One, two, three. Scissors vs Paper. "ha! I won!" The blonde cheered loudly with a gleeful laugh. Jess swore under his breath. Annie removed the chalk from his hands and ushered him down. "Lie down, wolf boy."
Curses fell softly from his lips as he reluctantly lay on the cold pavement. Annie started at his feet, tracing the bends of his knee and around his arm. Jess watched as she did. She hasn't noticed, her eyes trained on her lines.
"You're really nice."
Her hand stopped. She looked at him as if to see if she had heard correctly. "Thank you."
"I didn't say it was a good thing."
"Why wouldn't it be?" Annie enquired, disappointment in her voice. She thought for a moment that the stone cold Jess Mariano had actually spared her a compliment. Too good to be true.
"You're too nice. It's unnerving. What are you hiding?" He raised his head slightly off the ground to squint his eyes at her.
"Hiding?"
"It's always the nice ones that hide the darkest secrets."
Annie chuckled to herself, shaking her head. "To know my secrets, you've got to be my friend."
"Ooh, hard pass." Jess winced.
"Do you hate everyone or is it just me?"
"I hate everyone, you're just no exception." Jess Mariano didn't do friends. He didn't do company. He had spent the majority of his childhood alone and found believing in people only led to disappointment. Even living with his uncle Luke was pain enough. In New York everyone was alone. People marched busy streets, minding their own business. People didn't share their feelings and didn't ask others how they were. But in this close-knit town, everyone knew what you had for breakfast this morning. He could get away with being alone in New York.
"I'm everyone's exception." The sunshine argued.
"Not mine."
"Why not?"
Jess raised his head again, getting slightly aggravated. "Why is it such a big deal to you?"
Annie paused for a moment before looking down at her chalk-covered hands. She spoke in a low voice. "It's classified."
"You are really difficult, aren't you?" Jess scoffed. He was tired of this one sided invasion. All Annie did was ask, ask, ask. Never did she answers one of his questions truthfully.
Like a harp string, Annie's heart plucked at his words. The lump in her throat prevented her from speaking. She swallowed it along with the glass window of tears over her eyes. "I'm sorry."
The boy raised his head, not expecting such a serious toned response. He expected an argument, a comeback, not sincere apologies that didn't deserve to be aired.
The thing was that Jess Mariano didn't do tears. Man or woman, he did not like the sight of the emotion that poured out of people. He himself hadn't cried in years. Not since his parents divorce and he burned fury not sadness. Annie's tears didn't fall but they edge the cliff of her eyes. The boy didn't what to do or day to remedy the situation which he himself didn't fully understand. "You done?" He asked instead.
Annie looked down at the line of chalk she had created around him. She swallowed and said quietly. "Yeah."
"Perfect." Jess clapped his hands together as he stood up. The blonde followed suit as she also stood, playing with the chalk between her hands. Silence lingered. "You gonna help me finish this or what?"
The blonde raised her head. She assumed the tears had thrown him off. A smile emerged and she nodded her head. Jess didn't ask questions. Actually he barely said anything the rest of the night. For once, their silence was almost comfortable.
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sorry this is quite short