A/N: Jenna x Reader
Summary: Y/n bumps into a girl who she meets at a coffee shop, and after spending time together for a couple of months, Jenna has to go back to LA. When she does, she gets a surprised visit afterwards.
Please do enjoy, I'm kinda proud of this, idk, but yeah. Enjoy <3
HERE WE GO!
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Y/n's POV:
I get out of my car and once I shut my door, I lock the car, I really need coffee. I also wanna do some reading, so, I'm gonna sit inside. I brought my laptop bag so, I might write as well. I head inside and see my friend, Dylan, working the front desk,
"Hey, Dylan." I greet her, seeing Dylan look up after cleaning the counter and see her smile.
"Hey, your usual?" She asks me, I nod my head.
"Yeah, please." I answer in reply, getting my wallet out of my back pocket and opening it, pulling out a five dollar bill and giving it to her. She gives me 3 dollars and 50 cents change, and I put it in my wallet. "Thanks." I thank her,
"No problem." She replies, "So, how're you? Did you go to the gym?"
"Not yet, I'm going later though with Flo." I answer in reply, running my hand through my hair then adjust my glasses as I move out of the way. "How're you?"
"Not bad. Not bad." She answers, "Enjoy." She tells me, I nod my head and I step back, turning around, bumping into someone.
"Shit—"
"—Shit, sorry! Sorry—"
"—No, I—I'm sorry." I apologise, both of us holding each other's forearms, "Are you okay? Sorry about that." I apologise, again. She shakes her head.
"My fault." She replies, both of us go to move in the same direction, "Oh."
"Oh, uh, s—sorry—" We move in the same direction again, "All right, this... wow, this just gets better and better." I say to myself, quietly, feeling her move me and both of us swap places.
"There." She lets out, I smile softly and after what feels like looking into each other's eyes for forever, I hear Dylan clear her throat.
"You gonna order or just eye-fuck my friend?" Dylan asks the mysterious girl,
"Dylan." I say, sternly, glancing at the girl and seeing a smile tug on her lips, "I'm sorry about her, uh, have a good date— day. Have a good... day." I wish to her, walking away and heading over to a chair, sitting myself down. I unzip my bag and put one earphone in and play my reading playlist on and grab If We Were Villains (if any of you have read it, no spoilers I'm on Act 1 Scene 12, please and thanks.) and I open to the page I'm on, beginning to read. I read two whole pages and then hear my name being called, I put my bookmark in and get up. Heading over to the counter and grab the hot chocolate. "Thank you." I thank Ruth, her humming and nodding her head as she begins to make the other girl's coffee; as I head over to my chair, the girl stops me.
"Your name's Y/n?" The girl asks me, my eyes move away from her before they meet her brown eyes again. I feel myself get lost in them so easily, they are so enticing.
"Yeah. Yeah, that's me." I confirm,
"That's a really beautiful name." She expresses to me, I smile softly.
"Thank you. My mom was thinking about names while she was giving birth to me, and apparently one of the doctors had that name so she decided to name me after her." I explain to her, seeing her smile softly as she nods her head,
"That's a really nice story." She replies,
"And what about you? What's your name?" I ask her,
"Jenna. I don't have a cool story like yours on how I got it, sadly." She replies, offering her hand, I take it and shake her hand.
"That's a lovely name." I compliment her, seeing her smile softly.
"Thank you." She replies,
"How are you?" I ask her, waiting with her as she stands in line, waiting for her drink to be made.
"Not bad, I start work in like 40 minutes. I'm running a bit late." She informs me,
"Oh, what is it you do?"
"Just... you know, usual 20 year old stuff." She replies, glancing to see if someone was outside. I glance outside before looking back over at her, seeing her eyes meet mine and notice herself sort've relax slightly.
"Waiting for someone?"
"No. You?"
"No, alone." I reply, seeing her nod her head. I take a sip of my hot chocolate.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah, you wanna try? I swear, Dylan makes the best hot chocolate ever." I express to her, handing it over, she takes it and takes a sip before humming and her eyes widening.
"Oh, my god. It is." She agrees, handing it back over. Her face brightening up at the hot chocolate. "I'm jealous." She replies, laughing. I hum and take another sip then hum,
"It's so good, I swear, I could drink this all the time— I say that as if I don't already do that." I express to her, chuckling softly, hearing Jenna begin to chuckle softly. "So, can I be blunt and ask a random question?" I ask her,
"Go for it." She allows me to do,
"Can I give you my number?" I ask her, she turns her head to me in surprise before pulling out her phone and letting me put my number in. "Thank you." I say, through a small hum. I hand her phone back, letting her decide the name contact.
"Jenna." Dylan announces her name, Jenna moves toward the counter and grabs her drink, turning to me,
"It was nice meeting you." She admits, "I'll text you once I'm finished with work." she tells me, I nod my head and watch as she walks away.
"Have a good day at work, Jenna." I wish to her, heading over to my chair and sitting the hot chocolate down, I pick my book up and open to the page I was reading. Glancing up at the window to see Jenna walking past, both of us staring and smiling at one another. Once she's out of eye-sight, I feel myself manage to look down at my book and fully focus on my book.
***
I'm doing training with my friend at the gym and right now I'm sparring. I have my friend, Florence Pugh, teaching me some moves and she's mostly going through the training that she did for Black Widow. I know Florence as we're childhood best friends as well as cousins. So, yeah, that's always fun.
I go to hit her. Her dodging it and countering, yet I duck and move under her. Kicking her knee. She stumbles, quickly turning around.
"Sneaky." She acknowledges, both of us giggling as we both push forward. She goes to punch me but I grab her wrist, moving out of her way. I use my elbow and push it into hers. Then wrap my arm around her neck and try to pull her down but that fails. She moves her leg in front of mines, trying to trip me up and when she hovers downward.
"Woah—Woah, oh—!" I roll onto her back and land as Florence gains her balance, she turns to me shocked and we look at each other with our mouths open.
"What just happened?" Florence asks me, shocked. Both of us laughing.
"What the fuck did I just do?" I ask her, so surprised. Both of us continuing to laugh. We both approach one another when we're calmed down and high five yet she kicks my side. I groan and hold my side in pain, "Ah, you little bitch." I insult, speaking through a laugh, hearing her chuckle evilly.
"We never said we were done."
"I assumed—"
"—Never assume, darling." She replies, I groan and stand normally, it being a little sore. "Drink break, come on." She tells me, I nod my head and as I notice her start walking, I see her bend down and push her over, making myself laugh. I grab my bottle and see her quickly get up and run after me,
"Aw, shit—! Shit, shit, shit. Bitch. Fucker!" I jump up onto the pull up and pull my body up, before dropping and tilt my head back so I don't chin myself. I jog away from her before sitting on the side of the ring and I slide into the ring when she tried to grab my but she jumps up and jumps over the ropes, "Ah—!" her feet landing on either side of me. "Don't fucking do that, that scared me." I tell her, hearing her laugh.
"That's what you get, shithead." She tells me, I stand up and take a drink of my water. We rest for another 10 seconds before she directs me over toward tires. I groan and tilt my head back.
"No, don't make me do it." I say through a small whimper, seeing her nod her head.
"Come on, you got this." She says, I groan. This wasn't any ordinary tire as well, this was a huge ass tire. Florence helps me move it into one side of the floor and I take a deep breath in, I take another light chug of my water and when I notice someone come in and I want to put my t-shirt back on in case I make them uncomfortable but Florence says, "Right, start." She tells me, I groan and squat down, moving my hands underneath. I bring it up and push it over. Letting it fall. I squat down and lift it up with some struggle but slight ease, I push it over to save some energy and not hold it with so much energy the entire time. I squat down, lift it up halfway then push it over. I squat down, lift it up halfway then push it onto the ground. "Good, good, good! Keep going! Keep going." She cheers me on, I move it toward the end of the mat and once I'm done, I go to sit down. "No, pull ups now." She says, I groan and jog over to the bar that's on the wall. I step back and then get a step in and jump up, I fix my position and begin to do 15 pull ups.
"How the hell are you doing all that?" I hear a familiar voice say, I glance back and see Jenna.
"Oh my, darling, you know Jenna?" Florence asks me, surprised. I hop down and land perfectly fine. Seeing them glance between me and each other, repeatedly.
"'Darling'?" Jenna asks me, I hop down and try to catch my breath.
"I—I met her... t—today. Jenna, this is my cousin and childhood best friend, Florence. Florence, this is Jenna who I met earlier today." I introduce the two,
"Here." Florence says, handing me my water. I take a light chug of my water and I stretch my legs afterwards. I take my hair out to fix it, putting it back up in a ponytail just so it's out the way.
"So, what—what're you doing here?" I ask her, confused.
"I'm here for work." She answers in reply, "I have an acting role and my trainer is gonna help me." she explains to me, I nod my head lightly and hum softly.
"Nice." I reply, calming my breath as I can practically hear my heartbeat beating in my ears. I hate it. "Well, I hope you have a good session." I express to her, offering my best smile to see her return the smile.
"Yeah, yeah, you too. Sorry if I'm distracting you, I just..." She shrugs, lightly. "I don't know, I was walking past and was just surprised." she expresses to me, I narrow my eyes slightly with a small smile as I cross my arms, tilting my head down and looking at her through my eyebrows.
"Do I not look the athletic or gym type?" I ask her, wondering what her answer is.
"Oh, well... n—not—no. Not exactly. But—But now..." She uses her hands as if it to say, 'but now, I know because look at your incoming abs'. "...obviously." She answers, glancing at Florence who is slowly nodding her head. "Well, have a good session." She wishes, "I'll... get outta your hair."
"It's fine." I reply, smiling softly.
"You ready to continue?" Florence asks me, "Well, actually, you don't have a choice. Come on." She tells me, I groan in complaint, rolling my eyes as I follow after her.
*****
I've been doing tumbling, boxing, gymnastics, different fighting styles, and more for about 2 months now. It's been really fun, tiring, a pain in my ass at times but hey, makes me more flexible.
Me and Jenna have also been talking more, hanging out more, and going on FaceTime whenever she's done filming. Because of course I happen to meet The Jenna Ortega and not know for a week.
I'm hanging out with her right now and we have ice cream and we're strolling around,
"...No, no, no!" I say, tilting my head and lowering my head as I lick the melting ice cream, "Gosh, whose idea was this?" I ask her, hearing her laugh.
"This was your idea. So... it's your fault." She replies, making me roll my eyes sarcastically.
"I thought it was a good idea in the moment though." I reply, letting my shoulders fall.
"You always think that."
"True, but..." I sigh, licking the rest of the ice cream and beginning to snack on the cone, wiping my face.
"'But...' what?" She asks me, I glance at her and shrug unnoticeably, sighing.
"I—I don't know." I reply, chuckling softly. "So," I long out, glancing at her, not knowing what to say next. "how—ooh," An idea pops into my head, making me become more excited, seeing her smile widen. "how's work going?" I ask her, excitedly.
"Moving from different subjects is hard for you, huh?"
"I thought it was a pretty good transition." I reply, letting my shoulders fall. Shrugging with a smile. I finish my ice cream cone and I wipe my lips and fingers then put it in a passing bin. Jenna then finishes up her ice cream cone, she wipes her lips and fingers.
"Have I got it all?" She asks me, I inspect her lips and see she's missed a bit. I wipe the corner of her lip and then inspect her face once again, seeing her eyes focusing somewhere else from my eyes. Where? Who knows.
"Yeah, got it." I reply, nodding my head and leaning my head back, slightly. "So, work. Talk to me about it." I tell her to do, seeing her think for a moment.
"Uh, well, it's not bad. I'm having fun, filming starts soon so I might be a little bit more busier but I'll still try to make time for my weirdo." She tells me,
"Who's that?" I ask, confused. Glancing at her, seeing her staring me down. "What?" I ask,
"Think about it." She tells me to do, I think for a second.
"What'd you say?" I ask, hoping that she can repeat it, hearing her laugh.
"Dude—!"
"—I'm joking, I'm joking, I'm joking." I tell her, "I promise, I swear. Anyway, uh, yeah, that'll be fun! Just as long as you have fun at work and don't overwork yourself, even if I just get a single text a day, I'll be happy." I express to her, shrugging lightly.
"Really?" She asks, sounding slightly surprised.
"Yeah." I answer, nodding my head. "I get how busy your job is, so, it's not like I'm gonna be waiting around the phone— not that I don't like you, I do. I just mean I understand how busy it is, so, I know better than to be annoyed at you for... let's say not calling or talking to me 24/7." I explain my thoughts to her, seeing her nod her head.
"I appreciate it." I hear her say, I shrug lightly.
"It's a tough thing, I mean, it must be tiring, you know?" I try to sympathise with her,
"Well, sometimes. Sometimes it can be tiring and you just wanna go home, especially with emotional scenes, you really have to hold that energy for quite a while. So, it does get tough and tiring as well as repetitive. But I have this thing where it's like... if I'm working, then, I'm thinking that it could be my last time. So, I work hard, and when I'm not working and having a small break, I feel like I'm missing something." She explains to me, I nod my head.
"Can... Can I be a bother and ask for you to elaborate?" I ask her, hoping that we can continue to talk about it and I can understand where she's coming from.
"Yeah, sure. Sorry, did I explain it oddly?"
"Oh no, I just wanna hear more about your opinion cause I have Florence's opinion on acting and how tiring it is. I just like hearing different opinions." I express to her, seeing her nod her head.
"Right, okay. Thanks." She thanks me, I shrug lightly.
"It's fine, but please. Continue." I tell her, seeing her nod her head. Her continuing to tell me her opinion on her acting and the whole industry.
*****
(3 days later)
It's Jenna's first day filming so I send her a quick message,
"Hey, I know it's your first day so you might be busy, I just wanted to say have a good day and good luck<3" I send to her, getting up and making myself some breakfast. I hear my phone buzz and when I pull my phone out of my pocket, waiting for my pancake to be made. Seeing Jenna's replied.
"Thank you so much for the message, I really appreciate it, everything's going great! Everyone's so nice! I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I'm free! ❤️ I gotta go film a scene but I'll tell you when I'm on my break <3" She sends to me, I smile and like the message to let her know that I've seen it but I don't wanna reply since she's about to film and I don't wanna take her mind off of it.
I continue to make my batch of pancakes and feel myself a bit more brighter, I know I did the bare minimum of sending her a 'Good Luck' text but that doesn't mean that it doesn't mean any less to me. Or her for that matter.
*****
(3 weeks later)
I hear my phone ringing and look to see Jenna calling me, I press the green button and put it on speaker since I'm alone in my room, watching a TV show with one earphone in,
"Hi!" I hear her say,
"Hey, you okay?" I ask her, hoping that everything's okay.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Are you busy right now?" I hear her ask me, I think for a moment, moving myself back.
"No, I'm free." I answer, truthfully.
"Do you wanna hang out?" She asks, I can just feel her smile through the screen which makes me smile.
"I'd love too." I agree, "Do you wanna meet up somewhere or do you wanna come over to my house?" I offer options, hearing her let out a long hum. I wait as I glance out the window, seeing that it was quite dark outside. I look at the time, seeing that it's 12:32am.
"Can I come over?" She asks me, a hint of hopefulness in her tone.
"Wait, I just realised, it's literally 12 in the morning." I point out, earning a small snicker.
"Yeah, no shit."
"Don't you wanna sleep?" I question, my eyes narrowing for a second even though I know she can't see me or my facial expressions.
"No, I'm a bit bored." She expresses to me, "So... can I come over?" She asks me,
"Yeah, yeah, sure." I agree, feeling myself smile. "I'll see you soon, hm?"
"I'll see you soon." She repeats back to me, before the line drops. I feel myself take a deep breath in, setting my phone down and I looking at the screen in front of me, releasing the breath and feeling my shoulders deflate. Feeling myself more at ease, with some excitement as I'm excited to hang out with Jenna, we've only talked over text for the last 2 weeks so I haven't seen her in a while.
***
I hear a knock on my door and when I stand up, looking down at the front door from my window, I see Jenna standing there, waiting patiently. Her hands in front of her, connected. I step back, bumping into my chair but stop it from slipping too far away from me. I move it back, tucking it in. I rush myself downstairs and grab my keys, heading over toward the door, unlocking it and opening the door.
Seeing a wider smile tug on Jenna's lips while the moon brightens her skin, however, she does look slightly more pale than usual.
"Are you okay?" I ask her, narrowing my eyes and leaning my head forward, slightly.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Why?" She questions, confused.
"You just look a little... pale." I point out, earning a soft laugh.
"It's make up, I'm fine." She assures me,
"Oh," I let out, feeling myself relax and I open the door wider, stepping to the side. "come in, come in." I allow her, letting her step inside and her eyes wonder around the living room, kitchen, and dining room. Her eyes scanning the house and a small smile tugging on her lips, I shut the door, locking it. "Can I get you anything?" I offer, seeing her turn to me, shaking her head.
"No, I'm okay." She replies, softly, I narrow my eyes, it being silent for a second before I feel myself ask a question I didn't think I'd ask Jenna.
"Have you eaten today?" I ask her, sincerely. Hoping that she has, otherwise I will order anything she wants to make sure that I know she's eaten something.
"Yeah. I've eaten."
"Can I be nosy and ask what you've had?" I question, seeing her inhale deeply, thinking for a moment. Silence filling the air while I wait patiently. "Okay, how about I make you something? Or order you something?" I suggest, seeing her shoulders fall.
"No, seriously, it's fine."
"Please, I... I'm a little hungry myself, so, if you were up for having food. I don't mind joining you." I express to her, seeing her slowly nod her head. I begin to order something for myself, and she orders whatever she wants, I pay for the meal, denying her the satisfaction of paying for me. Even if she did try to pay me back. "Okay, it'll be here in 30-40 minutes." I inform her, "Come on, let me give you a tour." I tell her, seeing her nod her head as I begin to show her around the house.
***
"...And this is my magnificent bedroom." I say, heading over toward my bed and sitting down on the edge, seeing her step inside as her eyes wonder around the room. Taking in my long desk; my king-sized bed with a bedside table beside it, LED lights that circle the ceiling which is currently set on purple, my galaxy projector and there's tree vines on one wall. There's books everywhere, really. Underneath my bed, on my bedside table, inside my bedside table, there's a stack of 6 on my desk, and finally inside the 3 drawers of my desk.
"Wow." She lets out, sitting beside me as her eyes glance up at the ceiling, a smile tugging on her lips. She lies herself down and continues to stare, I lie down beside her, joining her.
"How is filming going? Is it going well?" I ask her, hoping that everything's fine, she chuckles softly and nods her head.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's going great! Everyone feels like a really good family." She expresses to me,
"And you? Do you feel apart of the big family?" I question, wondering if everything's going okay with her. Over the course of the couple of weeks, it's become easier and easier to know when she's hiding her emotions.
"Yeah, I do." She answers, slowly. Turning her head to me, I turn my head to her, both of us smiling. "And you? How're you without me?"
"Ah," I laugh, "I... I will admit, I do miss our hanging out but I understand it— and we're still keeping in touch which is great, so, I'm glad that we're at least still talking." I express to her, sincerely. Seeing her nod her head.
"Thanks... for being understanding about it." She replies, speaking softly. I shrug.
"No problem." I reply, she sits up and looks around again, standing up and heading over toward the books on my desk, she picks up The Secret History which makes me grin, she flicks through it and hums, beginning to read the blurb. "You can borrow it if you like." I inform her, seeing her look over at me before looking back at the book, turning it back onto the front, inspecting it. Her hand gliding down the book.
"Are you sure?" She asks me,
"Yeah. I have two copies of that book anyway, so, you can keep it." I express to her, standing up. She hands it to me and I skim through it, "Let me give you the non-annotated version of it." I inform her,
"No! It's even better seeing your thoughts throughout it." She expresses to me, I hand it back to her.
"Okay, then. Enjoy." I tell her,
"Why don't you read it to me?" She suggests,
"What're you, five?"
"Yeah." She answers, seriously. Making me laugh softly. I nod my head and begin to open the book, I sit down on my chair and she sits on the edge of my bed, I move close to her and begin to read to her. We get to page 25 before our food comes and we head downstairs, and I hand her the food and we sit in the kitchen and eat together.
*****
(4 days later)
Me and Florence are hanging out and I get a text from Jenna, while I wait for Florence to come back with my hot chocolate,
"Okay, stay safe and make sure to text me when your home so I know that you're okay❤️" She sends me, I smile at the text and type out my reply,
"I will, don't worry x" I send to her, putting my phone away and seeing Florence.
"Jenna?" She asks me, sitting across from me and handing me my hot chocolate with whip cream on it.
"How'd you know?" I ask, confused, picking up the cup and taking a light sip, licking my top lip just to make sure I don't get any whip cream on it.
"You don't smile whenever someone texts you, you barely talk to anyone." She replies, "Speaking of Jenna, I think you should tell her how you feel." She expresses to me, I look at her confused,
"Wha—? I don't... I don't feel anything for her."
"That's humorous." She replies, looking at me in disbelief, I chuckle softly, returning her look of disbelief.
"I mean it, I don't."
"Yeah, okay. Me and you both know that's a lie." She replies,
"I mean it—"
"—You don't—"
"—Do—"
"—I'm not playing a child's game with you, you like her. I know you do. You'll realise it." She replies, nodding her head and taking a sip of her drink. I think for a moment, I mean... do I get happy whenever I hear her voice? Yes, but that's normal. Do I get happy whenever she texts me? Yeah, but that's normal. Everything we do is normal.
*****
(2 weeks later)
(Gonna steal a scene from Gilmore Girls, hope you don't mind <3)
I hear my phone ringing and I look over and see Jenna calling me, I answer it and put it to my ear,
"Hello?" I ask, a little confused.
"Hi." I hear Jenna's voice say,
"Hi." I greet her, again. Sitting up a little bit more.
"What're you doing?" She asks me, I hear movement in the background and I'm assuming, she jumps onto her bed,
"Nothing, you?" I ask,
"Nothing." She replies, calmly.
"Why'd you call?" I ask her, wondering why she called as I know she should be working right now,
"I... uh, I wanted too..."
"I'm glad you called." I assure her in case she had any doubts,
"Yeah?" She asks, sounding cheerful.
"Yeah." I confirm,
"Can I ask why?"
"Cause maybe you can finally tell me where you're at in The Secret History. You've been avoiding the question for 3 weeks now." I express to her, earning a laugh.
"Maybe you can explain to me what the hell Donna Tartt is trying to tell me during Henry's confession and explanation of how their souls left their body." She replies, making me laugh.
"Yeah, she's... she's an amazing writer but no one can write an 11 page confession like her." I reply, hearing her laugh.
"If I finish this book, will you read something for me?" I hear Jenna ask me, hesitantly.
"Yeah, how about I read The FountainHead. It's absolutely ridiculous and I've tried to read it but I know you have and like it." I suggest, hearing her hum excitedly.
"It is a good book."
"I'll give it another go." I reply, hearing her let out a very adorable,
"Yes!" She lets out, excitedly. "Wanna read the whole confession scene to me? Maybe it'll make more sense." She replies, making me laugh.
"Do you just want me to read to you?" I ask,
"Yeah..." She replies, sheepishly.
"Even though you have my annotations, you still don't understand it?"
"I thought that if I spoke to the person that wrote the annotations, it'd be better. Now read and explain, please." She replies, making me smile. I grab my second copy and go to page 180. Beginning to read to her.
*****
(2 weeks)
I hear a knock on my door and when I head over to the door, I unlock it and open to see Jenna and a guy with long-ish hair behind her, I narrow my eyes slightly as I glance between the two.
"I feel like I'm in trouble." I express to her, hearing a laugh from the guy and Jenna.
"Y/n, this is my friend, Percy. Percy, this is my friend, Y/n. We're hanging out and I thought that I'd introduce the two of you." She expresses to me, I nod my head lightly and offer my hand, Percy shaking my hand.
"Nice to meet you." I tell him,
"Nice to meet you too." He replies, we untangle our hands from one another and I nod my head, lightly.
"Okay." I let out, quietly. Glancing at Jenna to see her looking at me expectantly, I narrow my eyes for a second and look at her a little confused, "W—What?" I whisper.
"Let us in." She whispers,
"Oh," I let out, quietly. "you wanna come in?"
"Yeah."
"No— nah, I'm kidding. Come on in." I say, moving out of the way and opening the door wider. We sit in the living room and Percy and Jenna are talking and trying to involve me but I'm not really in a talking mood. So, I'm not really bothering to try.
"We'll be right back." Jenna replies, grabbing my hand and standing me up, moving my arm over her shoulder as she continues to drag me outside into my backyard. "Okay, what is going on with you?" She asks me, turning to me and letting go of my arm.
"I... I don't know what you want me to do, here."
"Be kind."
"I am being kind."
"You're being blunt."
"Which is me being kind."
"You're nice to me."
"That's because it's you and we've talked for months, Ortega." I reply, "I don't know that guy and to be honest, I have no interest in getting to know him."
"Not even for me?" She asks me, I feel myself freeze, confused on what she's truly asking me to do for her. I have no interest in him, especially when he has a smug smile and a smugness to him, plus the obvious flirting between the two makes me oddly hate him even though there's nothing for me to hate.
Why am I jealous?
"Are you going to date him?" I ask, surprised.
"What, no!"
"Then why'd you bring him here?" I question, with a shrug. "Come on, you seriously expect me to not think that when you bring him here, is it because you feel comfortable here—?"
"—I came here because I thought that you two were similar and you could join my friend group." She explains to me, I sigh and stare at the ground, my eyes not meeting hers.
"Okay, I'm sorry." I apologise, "I'm not in a talking mood but that isn't an excuse, I'm sorry." I apologise, again. "I... will try to get to know him." I add, feeling her hug me. I stumble slightly, quickly stabilising myself. I wrap my arms around her waist and hug her back, I'm a little confused on why we're hugging but it must be for a reason.
"Thank you." She replies, I don't say anything in reply as I don't know what to say; I feel herself begin to move so I unwrap my arms around her, her doing the same, both of us looking into each other's eyes.
I feel her eyes move down slightly, my eyes move to her lips and for seconds, it feels as if everything's freezing and I can feel my heart beating against my chest, my heart telling me to go for it but my head telling me that I maybe shouldn't. I step close but she steps back, glancing away from me before walking inside, not even looking back. I force my eyes shut and let my shoulders fall, sighing.
"That was dumb." I say, through a breathy sigh. I head back inside and I try to participate in the conversation but there is just too much inside jokes and everything, I hate it.
This is the first time I want Jenna to go, and I hate feeling like this.
It feels really shitty.
*****
(2 weeks later)
Me and Jenna haven't talked in 2 weeks and it's been torture, I want to tell her how The Fountainhead is going for me but every time I want to text her, my heart tells me not too and my heart lied to me the last time I listened to it, so, I'm not doing that again.
I hate not talking to her, though. It's really shitty and the last 7 days have been boring without her, however, I also feel as if it's ridiculous. She's ignoring me for something that isn't fully on me. She showed up at my house, without warning with one of her co-stars that she definitely has a thing with and expects me to be welcoming even though I don't know the guy? How's that even fair? Then they repeatedly leave me out!
I'm lying on my couch and I hear something at my door being posted, I look and see it's a letter. My eyebrows furrow and I stand up, going over seeing that it was a letter from Jenna. Why is Jenna sending me a letter? I unlock and open the door and I don't see her. I shut it, locking the door and opening the note.
"Dear Y/n,
I thought I'd write a letter for you as I don't know if we're still friends or not at this point since of our break and I'm a little nervous to face you in person. I know it might seem a little bit childish of me but writing this down helps. I wrapped filming on Friday and I'm back in LA now, I know I didn't come see you. I'm sorry, I just thought that you wouldn't want to see me."
What the fuck? Why has she just up and left? I want to see her! I want to see her more than anything.
I move the letter closer to me, continuing to read on and feeling multiple tears falling down my cheeks, I wipe them away.
"Thanks for being so welcoming to me, though when I first arrived here. I really appreciate it, it meant a lot to me. I think I might even have felt attracted to how endearing it was and every moment after spent with you made me admire and adore you even more.
I want to apologise for how I acted, it was immature and certainly wrong as I can tell how odd it must've been when you want to be alone and a girl you've only known for exactly 5 months showing up to your house with a guy you've only heard about and expect you two to be friends. It was wrong." I feel a tear fall down my cheek as I continue to read, sniffling.
"I just wanted to say bye and a quick thanks for the welcoming. I'll cherish The Secret History and I hope you enjoyed The Fountainhead. It's a good book even though there's a 40-page monologue coming your way " I groan, tilting my head back at the thought of it, chuckling softly while wiping tears that continue to fall, "so I hope you enjoy that torture.
Love, Jenna. Your weirdo <3 " I feel my heart break at the 'Your weirdo' part, upset at the whole letter. Letting myself cry for what feels like forever when in reality it's been 10 minutes and I feel as if I need to do something about this. My eyes wander around the room before I grab my laptop and look up the cheapest flights to LA.
I impulsively book a flight that's in 5 hours. I rush upstairs, grabbing books that I want her to read and I'm only going for 4 days. I don't want to attach myself to her too much, I just want a proper goodbye. That's all I want.
Hopefully she wants to see me, I want to see her.
*****
I arrive in LA and I dumped my clothes bag in my room and kept my book bag, having my film camera in it to make memories with her, my heart is racing though. Thankfully, when we were hanging out, she shared her location with me so I know where she is right now, she's sitting on a bench near some park.
It better be a freaking beautiful park.
***
I've made it to the park, listening to music on my way there and I've checked and she's still there, I got a hot dog on the way and I'm not gonna lie, wearing gray sweatpants, a gray t-shirt, black and white converse, and a blue corduroy shirt was the way to go, I'm so comfy. I take a deep breath in as I continue to glance around, looking at all the possible benches. I pause my music, disconnect my headphones and put it in my navy blue Jansport bag. I zip it up and put the left strap over my shoulder again.
I walk over to all sorts of benches before I see her, reading, looking radiant. What upsets me more, though is that she's reading The Secret History. My book. My annotated book. I go over to her bench, me walking toward the back of the bench, I stop a couple of meters away from it. Her earphones aren't in and neither are her headphones.
Mhmm, odd.
"Hi." I let out, seeing her move the book down on her lap, turning her head toward me. Her shoulders fall and she puts her bookmark in, shutting the book over before standing up, looking a confused and surprised.
"Y/n, what... what're you doing here?" She asks me,
"You didn't say goodbye." I reply, shrugging. Moving beside her and sitting down. "Come on, sit, I wanna see how you're liking it." I tell her, seeing her smile and sit beside me as she begins to explain what part she's at, I have my arm on the back of the bench and we're both facing one another.
"You gotta tell me! Please? I mean come on, I knew that Bunny made a joke about Charles and Camila being a thing, but are they really something?" She asks me,
"I'm not answering that." I reply, shaking my head.
"Come on! Please? Just say it!"
"No, I can't." I deny, she groans and tilts her head up before letting it fall and looking at me with her head tilted. Her hand now on my wrist that is resting on my hand that's on the back of the bench.
"Come on, I'm your friend. You can tell me."
"I'm not spoiling it."
"You are."
"No. Just... read." I order her to do, she huffs, rolling her eyes and letting her shoulders fall.
"I hate you."
"Do you?" I reply, opening my bag and pulling out her letter, "Because..." I let out a soft breath and look at the note, her handwriting is really nice. "this note indicates something else." She snatches it from me and scrunches it up.
"You weren't supposed to bring it here."
"Don't scrunch that up—"
"—I already did—"
"—Un-scrunch it—"
"—It's nothing—"
"—It was something to me, Jenna! Now, give it." I demand, seeing her hand it to me. I take it and un-scrunch it. "If it really meant nothing to you, then... then why'd you write it? Why'd you send it—?"
"—I... don't know." She replies, turning away from me and facing ahead, no longer looking at me. "I don't know why I did it, I don't even know why I wrote it. I just..."
"...You just...?" I trail off,
"I just felt as if you deserved it, it might've not been a face-to-face goodbye, but that was too hard— es—especially since I didn't know if you wanted to ever even see me again! How was I supposed to know? So, I—I wrote multiple notes— I wrote about 25 different versions of that letter! It was hard! It... It was hard to just stop talking to you and not know if you even liked me or wanted to be around me!" She rambles on,
"Of course, I wanna be around you, you seriously think I'd hop on a plane and fly here just to say that 'I hate you'?"
"Shouldn't you? I mean, I brought a friend that you didn't even know— and thought that I liked! Which is something I wanna wrap around to but not right now, so yeah! I brought a friend, I self-invited myself and him in and—and then we excluded you which I feel really bad about—"
"—It's fine—"
"—No, it isn't. What I did was wrong, and I understand if you're mad at me for that but what the fuck were you thinking, accusing me of liking him? You seriously think that I'd like him?"
"Well... yeah, sorta." I say with a shrug,
"How dumb are you?" She asks me, looking at me in the eyes now but not welcomingly, she's annoyed at me and I don't know what I did.
"What?"
"I like you! Why do you think I talked to you so much, I hung out with you so much, talked about you literally everyone that I knew and convinced them that we were dating— and—" She sighs, and I don't know why I'm still talking." She adds, calming down. I feel myself sit ahead, no longer facing her, I process all the things she said and stand up, taking a couple of steps away from her, before stopping and tucking my hands in my sweatpants. I turn back to her and she looks like she's about to breakdown any minute. I head over and I grab my bag, I take her hands and I help her stand up, "What're you doing?"
"We're going to your house. Only fair, you saw mine." I reply with a shrug and my most charming smile, seeing her smile softly and lean into me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I ick up her book and hold it for her then wrap my free arm around her, her directing me on where to go.
***
We arrive at her house and she shows me around, we go into her room and I see her book collection, I gasp and immediately head over, inspecting all of the books, hearing her laugh.
"Woah, you're books are so much cooler than mines." I express to her, picking up one at random and opening it, skimming through the book and smiling. I set it back and glance around the rest of the room, seeing her standing by the door just like she was when we were at my house, "Oh, did I get too excited? Am I being rude?" I ask her,
"No. No, you..." She chuckles, "you're not being rude." she denies, I nod my head slowly and sit down on the edge of her bed, patting my hands on my thighs in a rhythm, inspecting her room. It's a lot more comforting and minimalistic than I thought she would have.
"Are you just gonna stare at me or are you gonna come in and sit with me?" I ask her, moving my head toward her, seeing her smile. She walks in and shuts the door, walking over to me. She sits beside me, both of us sitting close to one another. Both of us looking at one another before her eyes move to my bag,
"What's in the bag?" She asks me,
"Ah," I let out, moving the bag onto my lap, I open it and show her the 5 books that are in there and the camera, she chuckles. "I thought I'd bring some books I'd like for you to read, I felt as if that's sort've our thing." I express to her, sincerely, looking over at her and seeing her force back a smile as she stares at the books in there, before meeting my eyes. "They're all annotated as I know how much you like my annotations." I sarcastically add, earning a laugh. "But yeah, these are for you." I say through a chuckle, pulling out the 5 books. There's: 1984 George Orwell, The Pictures of Dorian Gray Oliver Wilde, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Arthur Conan Doyle, If We Were Villains M.L Rio, The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. I stop when it comes to Emily Dickinson's poems as I know she's been wanting to read them,
"What's the last one your hiding?" She asks me, I move it behind my back and swap it between my left and right hand,
"Pick." I tell her,
"You're not gonna pull a Dean from Gilmore Girls and kiss me when I try to pick one, are you?" She asks me, I shrug.
"Only if you want me too." I express to her, seeing her roll her eyes.
"Hm..." She glances between my left and right hand before looking at me, "I don't know."
"Come on, 50/50 chance here." I remind her,
"I have a feeling your gonna do something, though."
"Do you want me to assure you that I won't?" I ask her, she thinks for a moment before shaking her head. "Do you want me to do something?" I ask, she nods her head, "Do you want me to pull a Dean and—? Wait, you watched Gilmore Girls?" I ask, surprised,
"You like it. I wanted to see what it was all about." She expresses to me, I smile softly.
"Okay, pick. Hurry." I tell her, she picks my left hand and I move it into my left, I hand it to her and she looks at me, excitedly.
"Thank you!" She thanks me, attacking me with a hug. I laugh and hug her back, holding her tightly. She pulls away and we both smile at one another,
"Let me show you one." I tell her, opening it to a certain page and showing her the Wild Nights poem, knowing she likes it because of some show named Dickinson that she's been telling me to watch which I will... with her. She reads it and smiles before reading my annotation, she looks at me in surprise, I wrote a small poem on the side about Jenna. I knew it was her favourite poem so I wrote one like it for her.
"These are the best presents ever, thank you." She expresses to me,
"No problem." I reply, both of us looking at one another. She sighs and sets the books down, "What're you doing, weirdo? Don't you want me to read to you—?" I feel a pair of lips on mine and after regaining my senses, I rest my hand on her cheek and kiss her back, leaning into the kiss with her, her leaning back now. I move my arms under her thighs and pull her closer, setting her on my lap. I rest my hand on her neck as we pull away to catch our breath.
"You need to hurry up." She tells me, making me laugh. I kiss her again and she kisses me back, I wrap my arm around her waist and flip us around, her legs around my waist, I lie her down on her bed, carefully. Both of us making out and complimenting one another, blushing, and laughing in breaks. "Mm-mm," She pats my shoulder and I pull away,
"Sorry—Sorry— Did... Did I do too much?"
"No, I want you to read to me." She tells me, making me laugh.
"Okay, what one?"
"What one is your favourite?"
"Uh, probably If We Were Villains." I answer in reply,
"Let's read it then!" She says, getting comfortable. I grab the book and move the rest onto her bedside table, she can deal with them. I lie beside her and she immediately cuddles into me, I smile and place a kiss on her head as I begin to read the blurb for her.
I'm glad I came to see her.
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