Adrianne Palicki as Avery Peterson
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"Look, Jessie. I don't know what Erica told you or possibly threatened you with, but I'm not doing this." I explain, annoyed by what Erica resorted to. She can't possibly expect this to work. "Now will you move out of the way from the door?" I motion towards the locked door that he was currently guarding.
"Sorry Danny-boy. No can do." He states, shaking his head. "I'd hate to admit it, but Erica actually made some good points about our, um, situation. We actually can't keep avoiding each other. No matter how much we want to." He mumbles at the end. I just roll my eyes. He can't seriously be agreeing with Erica.
"Why are you even doing this? In case you forgot, you're the one who picks on me every single fricking day. So what's your deal here?" I question him. Jessie sighs, running his fingers through his hair and pulling at it.
"Ugh. Here's the deal. First of all, I'm an asshole. I know that I'm an asshole and that's part of the reason that I pick on you. The other reason is because you're always so alone, you're an easy target, and I kind of like how your nose scrunches up when you scowl at me." My hand immediately flies up to my face, but Jessie continues on. "Now I know that what I do to you is wrong, and as crazy as it seems, I am sorry for that. Anyways, my point is, I want for us to be able to at least talk and maybe get to know each other. I'm not saying that I want us to actually go out or anything, because of all," he taps his glowing chest, "this. But, it would be easier on both of us if we at least try to be friends." Jessie finishes his speech and looks back at me, waiting for some sort of response.
I stare back at him, unsure of how to respond. What do I say to that? It's really not a bad idea. In fact, it's a pretty damn good idea, coming from Jessie. I didn't peg him as the type to think so deeply about a topic such as this one. And for once, he appears to be sincere about it all.
"Alright." I mutter under my breath.
"Wait, what was that?"
"I said alright! We can do your plan or whatever." I say louder. Jessie looks almost relieved by my answer, almost.
"So can I go now? Or will Erica not allow it?" I ask, motioning back to the door.
"Oh, right, sure. But, uh, give me your number first." He demands awkwardly. At that I could feel my heart speed up. Wait! No. Stop it you stupid heart!
"Um, yeah, I guess. Here, you should also put your number into my phone." I take his phone and hand him mine, as we officially exchange phone numbers. Yup, that's not weird at all.
"There you go then. So can I leave? Because I have something I need to do." It's really time for me to come out of the closet, no pun intended.
Jessie steps to the side and unlocks the door. "I am sorry about this, Danny. Oh, and Erica wanted me to invite you to hang out after school. I guess that's her way of getting us to know each other." He scratches the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact with me.
Normally, I'd say no in a heartbeat. But everything is different now, and I know that one of the worst things a person can do, is reject their soulmate. Of course it seems that we've both failed already.
Ah what the hell?
"Fine. You can meet me in the back parking lot after class and we'll head over to my house. Got it?"
Jessie nods his head as I rush out the door. As much as I'd love to stay longer and chit-chat, I still have a coach to go find.
------ Time skip------
I finally got to talk to coach Jones about trying out for soccer. He appeared to be very excited and told me that he was looking forward to seeing me at try-outs next week. But right now I have something more important on my mind.
If I have to wait another five minutes for Jessie to get his ass out here, then I'm walking away, and going home myself.
"Ready to go?" I jump at the sudden voice behind me. I turn around to see Jessie leaning against the door.
"Uh, yeah sure. Let's go." I reply awkwardly with my head down. I had decided to throw on a sweatshirt and hold a binder over my chest so that the glow wouldn't be so blatantly obvious. Yet even though I can't see it, I can feel the warm sensation throughout my body.
It appears as though Jessie had the same idea. As we're walking, I notice the black sweater he has on, along with the very faint glow on his chest.
We walked to my house in silence. A tense, uncomfortable, silence. It was one of the worst three minutes of my life.
Finally! Home. I fumble with my keys for a second before unlocking the door and stepping inside.
"Well, this is it. My lovely home." Jessie walks in after me and closes the door behind him.
"Sooo. Is anyone else even here right now?" He asks as he looks around.
"I don't think so. Uncle Matt is usually still at the school by now, Aunt Avery said she'd be going shopping with Abby, and I think Connor is staying at a friends house tonight." I explain as we go to sit on the couch. "So, uh, do we start asking each other questions now?" I ask.
"Sure. I actually have one I want to ask, but you don't have to answer if it's too personal." Jessie rubs the back of his neck and continues. "From the way it sounds, it seems like you live with your aunt and uncle. But what about your parents?"
I saw this coming, so I'm not surprised that he asked. I just shrug and tell him anyways.
"I never got to know my mom because she died some time after I was born. My dad though, I actually did have time to know him. He was always kind and he definitely liked to laugh a lot." I smile thinking about the sound of his laugh. "But anyways, I was four, and we had been living in Chicago at the time. I remember being at a daycare and my dad was coming to pick me up. Or at least, he was supposed to. I waited for about three hours, until a friend of my dad's came for me instead. I didn't understand it much then but later on someone explained to me that there was some hit and run accident. My dad was walking to pick me up, but... he never got there."
I finish my story and realize I had been zoning out, staring at the wall the whole time. I shake my head and look back at Jessie.
"So anyways, that happened. And so my uncle and aunt took me in and they already had two kids at the time, my cousins Dominic and Courtney, and I refer to them all as my brothers and sisters but obviously, they're not." Ok, I think I'm just rambling now.
Jessie breathes out a long breath and seems to be thinking of what to say to all of that.
"Wow, um, I'm sorry for bringing up something about your parents." He apologizes hesitantly.
"No, no, you don't have to apologize. It's fine really. Besides, that was almost thirteen years ago." I give Jessie what I hope is a reassuring smile. "So what about your family ?"
"For starters, I have three sisters," Jessie laughs, "but Natalie is 22 and she moved out a long time ago. I do have an older brother, Jackson, a police officer, and he's 25. Then there's the two youngest, Isabella is ten, and Sophia is four. I've always been close to Jackson because he's someone I've looked up to and wanted to be since I was a kid. I even started working out with him when I turned 12 so that I'd one day be as strong as him." He abruptly stops talking and an awkward silence falls between us once again.
"Sooooo, your aunt's name is Avery? Why does that sound familiar?" At that moment the front door opens and Aunt Avery and Abigail walk in.
"Hello--- Jessie?" Avery stops in her tracks.
"Oh that's right. Hi Ms. Avery." Jessie greets her.
"Hi Jessie!" Abby yells running over to attack him.
"Hey Abby." He chuckles, hugging her back.
"I'm so confused." I finally say over all the greetings. Avery looks over at me and laughs.
"I thought you knew I was friends with Evelyn Ryder. You know, Sophia's mom?"
"I didn't think it'd be this Ryder!" I exclaim pointing at Jessie. I immediately feel guilty for sounding really rude. I shoot an apologetic look at him and he just shakes his head and waves it off.
"So what are you two doing? I didn't know you were friends." Avery questions us.
Jessie and I look over at each other, as if we could communicate through some soulmate bond.
"Uhh, we actually just recently became... friends, and we decided that we should start hanging out more." Jessie explains to her. It looks like she believes it because she nods with understanding.
"That sounds great! I'm happy to see that you boys get along. I guess I'll get out of your hair then." Avery laughs. She starts to walk away but turns back around.
"Oh yeah! Before I forget, I think your uncle wants to talk to you. He said something about it yesterday but you were gone with Erica. So make sure you talk about whatever it is that he wants to talk about." She finally leaves and I sink down on the couch.
Shit. I completely forgot that Uncle Matt wanted to talk to me about you know who.
"You don't think she suspected anything, do you?" Jessie whispers to me.
"Nah. If she did, you'd know it from a mile away. She was way to calm. If she did notice then... well, she'd be like Erica right now." I laugh.
I clear my throat before speaking again.
"I was just wondering, but have you told anyone else about this?" I ask. Just out of curiosity of course.
A strange look crosses his face before he decides to answer my question.
"Yes and no. I actually talked to Natalie about it over the phone, but I didn't give her any details. I just told her that I found my soulmate and left it at that."
Jessie averts his eyes away from me with a light blush on his face. Even I can feel my face start to heat up and my heart speed up.
What the hell is this?! Can we not go five minutes without ending up in embarrassing or awkward silences?
This silence has gone on for like a minute which is way too long for people to go without saying anything.
"Hey! I've got an idea!" I shout to break the silence. Jessie jerks his head towards me with an eyebrow raised.
"Why don't we call Erica over so it's not just us?" I suggest.
"That sounds great!" Jessie agrees, looking relieved. I nod and pull out my phone to text Erica.
Yo, get your butt over here -D
A minute later, she texts back
Why? Aren't you and Jessie supposed to be getting it on right now? -E
What the hell? No, I just think that it'd be easier to know each other if it wasn't just the 2 of us staring at each other awkwardly-D
Damn you Erica. I'd rather not think about getting it on with Jessie.
You know I'm messing with you, don't worry, I'll be there in a bit. Love ya!-E
I sigh in relief. I don't think I can handle being alone with Jessie for any longer. So please hurry Erica.
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After 7 months, I've finally rised from the deep, dark, depths of writers block and finished this chapter. My creativity and motivation have been at an all time low since school started so it was hard for me to even want to write this chapter. But, (and I hope this person doesn't mind) I would like to thank ZeeStar30 for reading and commenting on my story, because it really made me feel like I needed to get off my butt and write the dang chapter. So thank you, and I hope you all sorta enjoy this! ~(^-^)~