we sat in silence, listening to the sound of the waves crashing in the ocean. we were sitting on a beach blanket watching the sunset.
we eventually stood up and took off our socks and slides. we roll up our sweatpants and link hands, then walk through where the water meets the sand. a small wave crashes over our feet as i squeeze his hand from the cold.
the evening was so perfect so far, jaden really knew how to pull off the perfect date. we walked across the sand, hand in hand, most of the date.
everything was just so easy with jaden. there was never any rush or pressure for anything at all, we just went with the flow. the only missing piece of our puzzle was elmo.
jaden and i took selfies and made tiktoks, which we would love to post but couldn't for obvious reasons.
"you cold?" he asks
"kinda. you?"
"kinda"
"do you wanna go back? we can chill in my car for a bit" jaden says as i nod.
we get out of the water, pack away our things and take them back to his car, where we sat in the back seat together.
he turns on the heater and car radio as we relax and listen to music.
"i wish you could spend the rest of the night with me" i pout.
he narrows his eyes and shakes his head.
"what are you saying?"
"elmo always makes sure to not go to sleep too late for his sunday morning run. he's most likely gonna be asleep right now"
"are you suggesting that i should sneak in to your house?"
i nod as he smiles.
"i'm down"
•
timeskip: in mars' room lol
•
"we did it" he whispers.
"we did but i'm freezing"
i walk over to my wall and adjust the temperature settings as jaden takes his hoodie off and gets into bed.
"are you dumb, it's freezing!"
"hey I always sleep like this, you shouldn't discriminate!"
i roll my eyes and get into bed beside him. we looked through all the photos and videos we took today.
"i love this one" i say, showing him as he smiles.
"me too"
i just had to set the image as my Lock Screen, it's not like elmo ever went on my phone anyway.
i put my phone away and turned to jaden. he was the definition of perfect.
"so basically, i hang out with elmo by day and then go out with you by night?" he asks as i nod with a smile.
"i wish we could spend the whole day together. how long are we gonna keep this a secret?"
"maybe i can talk to elmo"
"okay, and if he freaks out?"
"i dunno, we're just gonna have to see"
i yawned and snuggled myself under the blankets.
"you coming for dinner tomorrow?"
"of course, all the boys are"
"of course. night jaden, i had fun today"
"me too mars, sweet dreams"
jaden kissed the top of my forehead and wrapped his arms around me as we fell asleep together. i would love to get used to this.
•
timeskip: movie after sunday dinner
•
i hug everyone goodbye and left the room to do homework in my room upstairs.
after a while of actually doing some work, i hear elmo's footsteps go up the stairs because who can't identify what their family's footsteps sound like?
i purposely turn on some music as i hear a second pair come up, which is most likely jaden's.
after a bit, i hear muffled sounds.
jaden was gonna have the conversation with elmo.
well, kind of.
jaden's pov
"Who asked you man?" Elmo asks.
"dude, i promised i wouldn't say"
my phone goes off from a notification.
elmo tilts his head and notices the Lock Screen of mars. shit.
"who's that?"
"you could say she's my girl"
truth.
"why is her faced covered?"
"she told me to cover it because she didn't like how she looked"
lie.
"well, who is she?"
"can't say just yet"
"bro, you're keeping so many secrets from me! i need to know what guy you're talking about because if it's anthony, that's a big fucking no from me!"
"it's not anthony"
"is it you? is that her?" elmo asks, pointing at my phone as i gulp.
"nah"
lie.
elmo stood there and stared at me.
quickly, he grabbed my phone and ran out the room.
fuck.
mars' pov
"mars!" elmo shouts.
a few seconds later, he storms into my room, jaden following.
"your top! i knew it!"
he handed jaden's phone back to him and pointed at me.
"you! you and jaden are together!" he shouts.
we hear quick footsteps and see Hannah run up, everyone else eventually following.
"elmo, babe, you should calm down" hannah says as she places her hand on his shoulder.
he moves it off and walks over to me.
"what did i say about dating my friends?"
"we aren't dating"
"what is this then!" he says, showing me jaden's lock screen.
"i told you not to date my friends!"
"and i told you not to date mine either but here you are! i'm okay with you two though because hannah's happy and you're happy! why can't you be okay with jaden and i being happy?"
"because! he's my best friend and you're my sister!"
"and hannah's my best friend and you're my brother!"
"fine, I'll end it with Hannah then!" he says as everyone gasps.
"oh yeah? what happened to loving her huh?"
"what the fuck mars!"
"it's true. you told me you love her so much so honestly, if you break up with her you're hurting yourself"
"i don't care if i hurt myself. it would hurt more to see you cry when jaden breaks your fucking heart!"
"he wouldn't."
"you know nothing about him and his past!"
"and you do?"
"i know everything about everyone at this school! jaden is not as innocent as he seems and it's not important to me because he's my friend but it is when it involves you!"
i turned to hannah, who had the girl's surrounding her with hugs. hannah nods, signalling me to say accept elmo's terms to allow myself to be with jaden. i could never do that to her.
"fine. i won't date him"
"mars, no! after what elmo just said i'm not gonna be with him either way!"
hannah stormed off, elmo sighing and following her.
eventually everyone else left except for jaden, who stared at the floor.
"you really gave up that easy?" he eventually says.
"i'm sorry but Hannah is my best friend, what else was i supposed to do?"
"i don't know"
jaden looked up at me with sorry eyes which made my heart break into a million pieces.
"ima head out now"
"can we please just talk about this?"
"what else is there to say mars? we can't have everything we want"
"we can work something out!"
jaden shook his head and left the room. i followed him all the way down the stairs and to the front door to try and stop him.
"jaden stop, please!"
"i just wanna be alone. don't call me."
i watched him get into his car and leave. to say i was heart broken would be an understatement.
everyone tried to comfort me inside but i wasn't having it. i went straight to my room and laid on my bed, staring at the ceiling. i could hear shouting coming from the kitchen downstairs from elmo and hannah.
after an hour of me laying in silence, i hear a knock on my door. elmo.
"leave me alone"
"no, we need to talk. about the guys, specifically jaden"
"what else is there to say? we really like each other elmo but now things are over before they could even start!"
"there's stuff you don't know about him! please just listen to what i have to say!"
i walk over and open the door for him.
he sits me down and explains how jaden cheated on all of his exes and that he was notorious for being a no-commitment kind of guy. a few of the guys in his group were still like that. i felt kind of guilty for not hearing elmo out earlier.
"why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
"do you still like him?"
"yes?"
"exactly. wouldn't have changed anything"
"still! at least i would've understood why you didn't want him around me! and you know what, thank you for caring about me but i think jaden and i need to try this on our own! if he cheats on me, he cheats on me but i think he's changed!"
"ok you're right. i'm sorry for overstepping, it really was none of my business. he does cheat just know that i that told you so. and that i'm here for you, even though you're a fucking retard"
"at least i'm not failing math" i say as he rolls his eyes. "anyway, how are you and Hannah?"
"that girl is like gold. she didn't leave me"
"that's good. at least one of our relationships are solid"
elmo stood up and left the room.
"again mars, i really am sorry" and then he shut the door. this was the first time he's given me a genuine apology wow.
i laid back down on my bed thinking about jaden. there's no way we're gonna end like this! i couldn't imagine life being good without him.
i immediately change into sweatpants and a hoodie. i then look on my floor and see another hoodie. i pick it up and notice it was jaden's, which made me frown.
i put on my fuzzy socks and airforces, then grab my phone and call the girls.
"i'm gonna go see jaden"
"at this time?" gabby asks.
"i have to. otherwise i'd be up all night regretting not talking to him sooner"
"I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do for love" jada replies.
love?
i walk downstairs and see elmo.
"where are you going so late?"
"to jaden's"
elmo turns off the tv and crosses his arms.
"why?"
"to clear things up with him"
elmo looked down for a second, then looking up at me.
"get in the car, i'll drive you. you on a call with hannah?"
"hi elmo" she says from the phone.
"mind if i come over?"
"my parents aren't home so, not at all!" she says with a giggle.
"yuck!" i say as the girls laugh.
i end the call with the girls and get into elmo's car, butterflies filling my stomach.
i sat there and waited for elmo to get changed but he ended up showering, which took forever!
after his 25 minute "quick" shower, elmo finally got into the car and drove off to jaden's house.
"i hope he's not asleep because of you taking forever"
"mans is a night owl don't worry"
after the three minutes that seemed like three hours, we arrive at jaden's.
i get out of the car and walk over to his door and knock a few times. after no answer, i sadly turn around to go back to the car, until i hear the door unlocking. i turn back around and see jaden.
"can we talk?" i say as my body shook from the cold.
jaden moves to the side and let's me in as i feel the warmth of his fireplace.
"you're not cold?" i ask as he shakes his head.
"you know me, a hoe never gets cold"
"and you're a hoe?"
"hoe's cheat don't they?"
i look down, not knowing what to say.
we both sat down on his sofa in front of the fireplace.
"i'm sorry i didn't tell you. i just thought telling you would drive you away and i obviously didn't want that. cheating is so terrible and i never realised until it happened to me!"
"it's okay, jaden! i wasn't the most loyal girlfriend to my exes either but my excuses were reasonable"
"yeah, your exes treated you pretty badly, didn't they?"
"yeah. i've only ever dated two guys. there was my shit boyfriend and then an actual good boyfriend who helped me break up with my shit one"
"what happened to the good one?"
"he cheated on me"
"fuck. that makes me feel ten times worse. i swear, i'm not like those guys anymore. i've been to therapy and i've grown and moved on."
"i believe you"
he looks into my eyes and nods.
"i noticed elmo took you here, what changed his mind?"
"i told him that i'm not gonna let him be the one choosing my relationships and that he should stay out of ours"
he places his hands around my face.
"ours?"
"i mean, i don't want the thing we have going on to end, especially not the way things happened"
"me neither"
"maybe i'll need a bit of time to process what happened tonight though"
"of course! take all the time you need! anyway, are elmo and hannah good?"
"yeah. they're okay now"
"that's so good to hear"
jaden wraps his arms around me as we cuddle
together in front of the fire.
"what's this?" he asks, looking at my lap.
"i brought it to give it back to you"
he looks down at the hoodie and then looks back up at me as he shakes his head.
"take your hoodie off"
i looked down at myself and shook my head slowly.
i was only wearing a bra underneath and he's never seen me fully with my clothes off before.
"you're hot as mars! but don't worry, I won't peek if you don't want me to" he says covering his eyes as i laugh.
he hands me the hoodie i wanted to give back to him and i slide it on.
"that's much better"
we continued to cuddle for the next hour until my phone rang.
"it's elmo"
i answer the call.
"ready to be picked up?"
"yeah"
"i'll see you in 5"
and then he ends the call.
"elmo's coming in five minutes"
"that's fine. i just hope he's chill with me"
"you're his best friend, of course he is"