Jessie
We made lots of plans. Lots and lots and lots of plans. But we weren't able to do all of them, so we started doing the very first plan we discussed together for the New Year's Eve. Watching a movie. Dave wanted to book a hotel in Louisville, because he liked to stay with his friend. But I didn't allow that. I asked him to stay with us until the vacation would be over. Dave was not happy with it, but Nathan was. So we watched Letters to Juliet together. Lights were dimmed. Popcorn was ready. And Letters to Juliet was playing. Nathan was already bored out of his mind, he was yawning, and staring at the television with narrowed eyes. I had to stare at him for exactly twenty seconds, in order to be able to notice that he wasn't blinking. He wasn't talking. And he definitely wasn't watching the movie with us. He was not even having any popcorn. He looked worried, nervous and very tired.
"Jessie?" A voice called my name. I turned around abruptly to find Rachel staring at me with her eyes narrowed. Then her eyes landed on her brother, then back at me, then back at her brother. I felt heat rush into my cheeks, ears, and neck. Oh god! That was very humiliating, Rachel caught me staring at her brother like a maniac. Maybe she'll think I have something for Nathan?
"Hmmm?" I said, swallowing hard. And putting a fistful of popcorn into my mouth. Rachel suddenly smiled, as if she hadn't just caught me staring at her brother. As if she didn't actually care.
"Should we change the movie? I think the guys are bored," Rachel said, as she made a face. And put the already empty bowel of popcorn near her face, to eat the remaining small ones.
"Yeah," I said "what should we watch?"
"Hmmm... How about Taken?" Rachel offered.
"Yesssssss!!!!" Dave said as he threw his fist in the air.
O-kay.
"Alright then, Taken it is." I said, nodding my head. I quickly changed the CD in the CD player into Taken. The movie played, but Nathan's reaction and expressions were the same. He was still not blinking. He was still not talking, and he was silent like a rock. And he still looked in deep thoughts. I shrugged and looked away. Maybe he had girl problems. It was not my business. His closest friend was with him after all. Dave was making funny noises while watching the movie. Which made Rachel roll her eyes, glare at him or even tell him to shut up (sometimes). I giggled at them. And continued watching the movie. It was when Bryan Mills (Liam Nelson) was looking for her daughter in Paris, that I felt someone's eyes on me. Not for ten seconds. Or twenty seconds. Or even a minute. But Nathan was staring at me for more than three minutes.
There was definitely something wrong with him today. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, and tried to focus on the movie. But Nathan's eyes were still on me. I slowly turned around to stare at him, because I thought maybe he was just daydreaming and not realizing that his eyes had landed on me. But he looked away. I frowned and felt every hair on my body stand out. He's acting very weird since I met Harry. But... didn't Harry say they were old friends? I didn't remember Nathan greeting him or talking to him. I reached out my hand to my bowl of popcorn but it was empty. I sighed and managed to walk to the kitchen. And fill my bowl with more popcorn.
I was humming the lyrics of Thunder by Imagine Dragons all the way to the kitchen. When my bowl was full enough, I turned around and dropped the bowl in my hands as I let out a gasp. "Arghhh." Nathan chuckled and stared at the mess I've done. The bowl was broken into thankfully large pieces, I bent down on my knees and started to collect the pieces. Nathan did the same, we both finished collecting the broken pieces, and threw them in the trash can.
"You're not hurt, are you?" He asked.
I frowned in confusion, "I'm not hurt, I guess... I just got scared."
"Yeah, I know you're...jumpy." Nathan said chuckling once more, then he stared at my hands and pointed at them, "I was talking about your hands."
"Oh..." I muttered, feeling stupid. "I'm fine."
"Good to know." He said and smiled politely at me. Then his smile dropped gradually, until his lips were pressed into a thin line. He sighed deeply and stared into my eyes.
"I... want to tell you something." Nathan said, his voice shaky, his eyes dropping a little. It was then when I noticed the dark circles under his eyes, his eyes blood shot red, and his skin pale like a snowball.
"Sure," I said, trying to smile. The poor guy looked very sad. To the point that I wanted to help him with anything. Nathan breathed in, and ran his hands through his hair. He opened his mouth and closed it several times. Like a fish breathing in water. He finally opened his mouth and uttered only three words, which changed my life entirely.
"Be my girlfriend."