ᴊᴜɴᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʙʟᴏɴᴅ ʙᴏʏ
James caught up with me after I left the diner, walking down the quaint sidewalks of Berkeley.
"Hey, you okay? What was that back there?" he chuckled softly, tucking his blond hair behind his ear as he walked beside me.
"Uh, I just got a really bad stomach ache." I waved him off dismissively, holding my stomach once more.
"But, you were in the bathroom just before that..." he blinked at me sideways.
"Yeah, I was just talking to Hayden." I shrugged, hoping he'd just let it go.
He didn't, instead, he let out a snort in a laughing manner. "You guys fight or somethin'?" he pushed.
"No, James. We didn't fight." I snapped, sending him a sideways glare. The third world war happening inside my stomach was not lightening my mood at all as he continued interrogating me.
"Jeez, sorry." he widened his eyes, holding his hands up in surrender.
"You shouldn't be so curious about what goes on in the ladies' room." I shook my head, eyeing him up and down briefly before looking in the direction I was walking.
"Can't help myself." he shrugged, grinning at me and eyeing me up and down too, only in a different way. I scoffed. "You're a perv."
"Is that why you left? 'Cause of whatever you and Hayden were talking about?" he asked again.
"No— kinda— sorta, I don't know! Just shut up about it."
Both Hayden and James were my closest friends. If they ever hooked up, how would it effect my friendship with them? Not that I care who James dates— or Hayden, of course... but I'd constantly be third wheeling, and it'd surely take both of their attention away from me. It's not like I'm some kind of attention whore, but they're my only friends that I feel 100% comfortable with, and I feel that them dating could possibly interfere with our bonds. Even if Hayden specified that they wouldn't be dating, it'd be ten times more awkward knowing that they bone each other on the down-low whenever they're bored and hormonal.
"Hello?" James snapped his fingers in my face, pulling me from my thoughts. I was sure he'd asked me another five times about what happened in the bathroom.
"Are you seriously not gonna tell me?" he grumbled, finally averting his attention to the direction he was walking.
"It's—" I struggled, pausing and sighing out of annoyance.
"She just thought I had a crush on you, and stuff..."
I should've smacked myself in the face right then and there.
James cocked his head back in surprise, instantly killing the cat with his curiosity.
"Uh..." he chuckled awkwardly. "Well, you don't, right? Have— have a crush on me?" he looked at me with wide eyes.
"No! No... she's just weird, she thought I did..." I rambled.
"You don't? Okay, yeah, good... 'cause, like, that'd be weird... and stuff..." he muttered, looking away.
I didn't understand one bit why he was so weirded out at the thought of me liking him romantically, if he'd always make jokes just to see me flustered.
That was it. I'd answered my own question. They were jokes, and there was no chance he'd ever actually go through with the things he says that make me blush ferociously every time.
"Yeah..."
"You okay, though?" just like always, he'd recovered from the awkwardness unlike me, and looped his arm over my shoulders to pull me closer.
"Yeah." I nodded. "There's actually a few parties for parent's week going on tonight if you wanna hit a few." I suggested with a shrug.
"Like, parent parties?" he snorted.
"No... people just find any excuse around here to party. Most of them are at the frats so there'll be a lot of guys there." I offered with another shrug. Maybe he'd rather be around a few guys than me the whole time.
"Yeah..." he said, uncertainty laced in his voice. "I dunno, I'd honestly rather spend it with you than a bunch of pussies."
I laughed at that. "You know they'd kick your ass if you said that to their faces."
"Oh, please. I can take 'em..." his words slowly trailed off along with his walking as he seemed to be staring off into the distance.
"Russell Buckins..?" he spoke loudly, planting his feet at a stop.
I furrowed my brows, following his line of sight to the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house balcony, where Russell and a few other guys were lounging with drinks in their hands.
"Hey pal! Long time no see!" Russell grinned at him, holding his hand up in a waving manner as if he were a middle aged father. The sunglasses and polo really added a dramatic effect.
"Yeah... pal..." James muttered, squinting his eyes as he was looking upwards and the sun glared in his eyes.
Russell walked down the steps to approach us, greeting me with a charming smile. "Sweetheart."
I rolled my eyes.
"Don't call her that." James stated in a demanding tone, stepping forward so he was a bit further in front of me.
Russell held his hands up in defense. Just as I thought he was done, he eyed James up and down. "Didn't know they let kids like you in here."
"They don't, so I'm not sure what you're doing here." James shot back, glaring down at him. Somehow over the past five months he'd grown to tower over Russell, when it was the opposite before.
"You and I are nothing alike." Russell barked a laugh, looking back at his frat brothers as if to see that they heard what James was saying.
"Okay, can we all stop? Please? James is just here for parent's week, we're just trying to have a good time." I held my hands up in surrender.
Russell only grinned at me. "You're lookin' for a good time? Come down here later tonight, you're guaranteed a good time." some of the other frat boys whistled.
I rolled my eyes, ready to ease my stomach pain by vomiting all over the walking garbage can. I saw James' jaw tense, along with his fists. Before he could even think about swinging, I pulled him by his arm toward the courtyard.
"Fuck off, Russell." I rolled my eyes once more. I was already getting a headache from all the eye rolling today. James grumbled in disapproval as I pulled him away.
"Nice hair, any chance there's a brain hidden under it?" Russell retorted, no doubt directing it to the blond boy standing next to me.
"Nice head, does it come with a neck?" he shot back, referring to his abnormally short neck.
I smacked James on the arm, unable to contain my laughter as we left with the last word.
I walked ahead of him as we made it to my sorority house, and didn't realize he had stopped walking. I turned to face him from the top of the steps. "What?"
Soon, that beaming smile appears on his face as he shakes his head, his blond curls flowing with the movement. "Nothin'." he only stared at me from the bottom of the steps for a moment, making my heart rate pick up until he broke his eyes away, walking up the path steps.
"God, I'm exhausted." I wiped my hand down my face as he caught up and reached over me to pull open the door.
Abby greeted us warmly when we came in.
"You know boys aren't allowed in here." she blinked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Can you go, please?" she then glanced at James.
"He's a girl." I joked, twirling a piece of his blond hair. "I mean— she's a girl." I corrected myself.
James nodded, tucking his hair behind his ear in a girlish way and attempting to jut his hip out.
Abby squinted her eyes.
My shoulders fell as I scoffed quietly. "You bring boys over all the time. If Jen sees him she'll just assume he's a girl." I said, brushing my hand through his hair once more, only for him to smack my hand away.
"Fine," she finally said, as if I needed her approval, "but if I find him snooping around, he's banned." she glared at James one more time, swiping her car keys off the counter and brushing past us to leave.
"Is she, like, in charge of the house?" James asked as he followed me to the living room.
"No. Jen is the president, Abby's just a bitch." I hissed, taking a seat on the couch with a tired sigh that turned into a yawn. I looked over at James as he sat beside me. "You wouldn't mind if I took a nap, would you?"
"No, in fact—" he laid on his side, stretching his long legs across the sectional until his feet reached my lap. "I could use one myself." he kicked his shoes off so they'd fall carelessly onto the carpet.
I stared blankly at him as he got extremely comfortable with hogging the couch. He opened one eye, then the other, peeking down at me.
"Oh, don't let me disrupt you." I said sarcastically, backing away to give him more room.
He laughed softly, scooting back further against the cushions and patting the spot in front of him. When I didn't move, he opened his eyes again. "C'mere." he muttered, reaching for my arm.
I sighed, a bit annoyed that he had to take up the whole couch with his lanky body, but I was more than happy to lay right beside him with my back against his chest. His arm fell lazily around my waist, and I quickly drifted off to sleep.
I'd slept for about an hour when I woke up to soft tugging on my hair, and as I drifted back into consciousness, I realized James had started braiding my hair. And he wasn't all that bad at it. Somehow I slept through him moving to sit upright and put my head in his lap.
He must've realized I was awake when he spoke softly, "I used to do my mom's. It's harder with curls, though..." the huskiness in his voice from sleeping woke me up real quick.
I reached to run my fingers along the french braid when his hand grabbed mine. I was confused what he was doing for a moment until he tugged the hair tie off my wrist, tying off the braid at the end.
"Hey, turn so I can do the other side." he tapped my arm. I listened, moving to turn when I paused to stretch, then fully turning so I had a view of his t-shirt.
As he braided the other side, it was quiet besides both of our breathing, and his occasional whispers of "fuck," or "damn it," any time his fingers would slip or get caught. I could fall right back to sleep just listening to the breathy expletives.
"All done," he muttered. I lifted my hand so he could pull off the second hair tie that I happened to have on my wrist.
I gave him a sleepy smile as I sat upright, popping my ankles as I stretched my legs once more. "Did you even sleep?" I turned to him again.
He nodded. "I woke up about.. ten minutes before you did, and I got bored, and you were right there, so.." he trailed off, gesturing to the braids in my hair.
God, he is so cute...
I violently fought the urge to say those words out loud, offering him another grin before I stood up. He followed me to my bedroom just as the phone rang.
"Hello?" I placed it against my ear, fidgeting with the ends of my braided hair.
"Hi my lovely niece, thanks so much for leaving me with your college friends and stinky uncle. Lars hasn't shut his damn mouth since you left, and— oh, they're coming back. I gotta go, but I'm still pissed at you. We're gonna do a little shopping then we'll be back, love you."
The phone call ended as quick as it began, and I wasn't able to get one word in besides hello.
I glanced at James, shrugging my shoulders as I put the phone back on the hook.
James stood from my bed as I moved to my mirror, pulling a few strands of hair out of the braids. "Hey, don't do that.." he mumbled disappointedly, moving my hand away.
"I'm just pulling some front pieces out. It looks better." the frown on his face stayed until I turned to face him. It slowly went away as he looked over me. "Fine." he grumbled childishly. "...mess up my hard work." he spoke under his breath, flopping on the bed again.
"I'm gonna get ready for the party," I wiped the sleep out of my face, getting ready for a night of chaos.
they're so cheesy i love them
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