Unedited
This one is actually a bit of a filler chapter but it's necessary to set up the next chapter which is where things start to get a bit more interesting
By the time they reached Mark and Chelsea, the slight purse to Jett's lips and the crinkle between her brows had melted away.
Once she had parked, Jett pulled down the visor on her side to reveal its small mirror and fiddled with her hair a bit. If it were anyone else it'd be a harmless manoeuvre, perhaps a self-conscious tick to ensure that everything looked okay. The problem was that Kayden wasn't even sure that Jett knew what the word self-conscious meant and she spoke like a thousand languages. As he watched curiously, he realised that she played particular attention to her right side, fluffing it here and there to ensure that it adequately covered her ear.
That was when it clicked.
"I can't believe you," he exclaimed, watching her with a newly founded incredulity
She didn't bother to respond, just gave herself one last once over. Her olive toned skin caught the light of a nearby street lamp as she moved, causing shadows and golden highlights to dance across her features. Seemingly satisfied with herself she moved to leave.
Though, before she could, Kayden grabbed her arm "Jett this isn't some mission, these are my friends, you don't need the ear piece." What was she planning to do? Call for back up as soon as something slightly suspicious happened? Or was she just letting the other girls listen in on the conversation in case Mark said something incriminating and she missed it? Whatever she was thinking, it was ridiculous.
"I don't trust Mark," she replied as she shook his arm off "something isn't right about him."
Kayden rolled his eyes at that "well duh, his sister is dead, his mum is on the other side of the country and his dad is a drug dealer of course something isn't right!" Kayden couldn't remember ever being genuinely annoyed at Jett. He had definitely been frustrated by her but never annoyed to such an extent. He had grown up with Mark, they were practically brothers, so it almost felt like a personal attack when she spoke about him as if he were some sort of a criminal.
"His father tried to kill you just a few days ago," she reminded him calmly, her blank expression a stark contrast to his annoyed one. "I don't feel like taking unnecessary risks."
"You aren't defined by the actions of your parents," Kayden ground out.
Something about the words shocked her. Whether it was the sentence itself or the heat with which Kayden had said it, Jett's blank expression broke for a split second.
"People do actually have these things called choices in life."
At that Jett bit her lip before grimacing "sometimes when it comes to family, you really don't, no matter how hard you try." Her words were quiet, a distant expression crossing over her features.
A second or two passed before she ran her fingers through her hair in what seemed to be frustration and turned towards him. Her dark eyes met his with an intensity he wasn't able to look away from. "Do you trust him?"
"What?"
"Mark," she clarified, gaze not wavering, "do you trust him?"
With only a moment's hesitation to process her words, Kayden nodded. He had to admit that, perhaps, he had doubted Mark's innocence for a short period after their run in with Rob. Though, thinking of the pained look on Mark's face when they were talking about his father the other day, Kayden knew he'd never willingly team up with the man.
That seemed to be enough for Jett. "Fine." With that she took her ear piece out and slipped it into the cars cup holder. Without glancing back she slipped out of the car.
Kayden knew the move was more significant than Jett let it on to be. She was a creature of caution when other people's lives were on the line. To think that she'd trust his instincts over her own was as empowering as it was terrifying.
That flash of doubt came back, a brief tightness in his chest.
He wasn't quite sure what he'd do if he was wrong about Mark.
***
"They're here!" Kayden heard Chelsea exclaim before he could even make out her features.
Kayden caught Jett's lips twitched; it seemed as if the cheery blonde had begun to grow on her.
Standing together in front of the cinema, Chelsea and Mark almost looked as if they could be a couple. They stood quite close together in contrasting outfits, Chelsea all tight fitted and bright while Mark was more loose fitting and clad in black. If Kayden didn't know that Chelsea didn't swing then he would've made a joke about it.
"We were starting to think you were going to stand us up," Mark commented, his gaze on Jett.
Jett smirked at him "Kayden had to finish doing his hair." She lied, the others believing her so easily that Kayden's indignation was not entirely fake.
"That's not true! If anything you're the one who was fixing their hair."
Jett's lips quirked at that, catching onto the meaning behind it that the other two wouldn't understand.
"Sure Kayd," Mark cut in, eyes glinting humorously "because out of the two of you Jett is definitely the more self-absorbed."
"Well, I'm certainly the only one who has the right to be," Jett quipped back.
The laugh Kayden let out of that was more of a startled reflex than anything else. Typically she'd ignore his comments or merely respond to them with an eye roll. Which was why it took Mark a second before he laughed as well.
Chelsea grinned and looped her arm through Jett's, leading her inside the movie theatre "I really don't know why we didn't invite you out sooner."
Kayden and Mark followed behind, the latter grinning at Kayden's exaggeratingly annoyed expression.
"I can't believe she thinks she's better looking than me," Kayden sulked dramatically, "anyone with a working pair of eyes would see otherwise."
Jett flipped him off without even turning her head to look back.
Mark laughed.
For the first time in a long time everything felt completely normal to Kayden.
He even found himself kind of relieved when Chelsea's rom-com decision trumped Mark's drug dealing action movie. He'd dealt with that stuff enough in his day to day life, watching someone on a screen take down bad guys in the most unrealistic ways possible didn't particularly appeal to him that night.
***
If he had been with other people he would have believed it to be a sheer stroke of luck when he ended up sitting next to Jett rather than in between Mark and Chelsea. Though, the pair were not too subtle in their high five after Chelsea switched seats with Jett because she "liked the feel of Jett's spot better."
Jett, not buying it, merely rolled her eyes before switching spots without complaint.
"They're so trying to set us up," Kayden whispered
Jett's lips twitched "I know."
It was as the opening credits started that Kayden had an idea. In the same manner he'd seen people do on television, he stretched his arms as if he were stiff before moving his right one to not so subtly wrap around Jett.
He could feel her tense almost instantaneously.
"What are you doing?"
Low enough that it'd just be out of Chelsea's ear shot Kayden whispered "just play along. I want to see whether or not we can send Chelsea into cardiac arrest."
Jett raised one perfectly plucked brow before her dark irises moved in Chelsea's direction. Despite being aromantic, she did enjoy meddling in other peoples love lives. Chelsea was grinning smugly as she tried to keep her eyes on the movie. Though her hand had made its way to Mark's forearm to squeeze tightly in attempt to convey that their plan was working.
Mark, funnily enough, didn't look nearly as excited as Chelsea. He was more preoccupied with the fact that her manicured nails were making crescent moon shapes into his skin.
Jett's gaze found Kayden's once more before she sighed. "Fine," and with that shuffled her body so that she was leaning into him.
For a split second Kayden was caught off guard, expecting her to tell him to fuck off long before she agreed to play along.
He really hoped she couldn't hear the way his heart had picked up speed. It was different to the day of the storm where he was more preoccupied with keeping her mind off of what was going on. Right there, in the cinema, he could almost convince himself that it was some sort of date. He just about thought he'd be the one sent into cardiac arrest when he felt Jett shift so that her head rested more on his chest.
It was going to be a long movie.
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I promise next chapter is when one very important thing will be revealed and one very exciting thing will finally happen. I'd love to hear your predictions!
As always, if you enjoyed it please don't forget to comment vote and share!
Until next time,
Stay safe and treat yourselves kindly,
Artemis.