A Jottie Romance - The Rosewood Chronicles

Chapter 7 - The Song

Lottie's P.O.V:

An hour had passed since Lottie listened to 'Touch'. An hour since she realised she liked Jamie. She couldn't deny it anymore; she truly liked him. She could feel a giddy excitement in her stomach every time she thought of this. I like Jamie Volk!

But she had no idea if he liked Lottie back. What if he didn't? Should she tell someone about this? Maybe Ellie? Her roommate's random mood swing from the other day seemed to be long forgotten; Ellie was back to her usual self. Except, that is, when she saw Lottie and Jamie working together on their project. It was almost like she was jealous. But of what?

Shaking her head, Lottie tried to clear all of these thoughts from her mind. She decided that she needed some fresh air, and got ready to go outside.

As she made her way down the Ivy corridor, with paintings of Florence Ivy looking down on her, Lottie passed Jamie's door. Suddenly, she abruptly stopped in her tracks; she heard a song from inside the room. It was 'Touch'. The very song she had been listening to. But that wasn't what shocked Lottie the most.

It was that she could hear that it was Jamie singing. He was singing softly to himself, under his breath, barely audible above what sounded like a guitar. Curious, Lottie quietly opened the door just a crack, as silently as she could.

Inside the room, she saw Jamie facing his balcony, sat on a stool, strumming a guitar. Lottie was sure that she was much too loud when she opened the door, but, if Jamie heard her, he didn't show any signs. He continued to sing, his voice filling the room. It was deep and rich, yet soft and gentle. It made Lottie feel an unfamiliar feeling that she had never felt before, but she just couldn't place what.

That scent of cinnamon flooded her nose and a smile started to work its way on to her face. She hadn't heard Jamie sing before, nor did she know that he could play the guitar. Lottie's smile grew smaller as she realised that Jamie had so many secrets that he constantly hid away from everyone, concealing the real him, the real boy underneath his cold defence.

Finally, the song came to an end. Then Jamie turned around, looking Lottie in the eye.

Jamie's P.O.V:

Lottie. That's who he was thinking of as he sang the song. That's who, by chance, entered his room as he was singing. That's who he couldn't stop thinking about since the day he first met her.

He always tried to fight those feelings, pushing them away to the back of his mind. But he couldn't take it any longer, and he gave in.

...He liked Lottie.

There was no denying it, not anymore. He liked her, and that was that. The only thing he was worried about, or afraid of was that Lottie wouldn't like him back. Who was he kidding? Of course Lottie didn't. She was kind and smart and funny and cute. Why would she ever like someone like me? No, she doesn't.

Throughout the song, he was fully aware that someone had cracked open the door, fully aware that it was Lottie watching. She was crazy to think that he didn't hear her; no matter how quiet she could try to be, he would always be able to hear someone trying to be discreet. His Partizan training would make sure of that.

Smirking to himself, he continued singing, pretending he never heard her. He was, however, a little nervous. No one had ever heard him sing before, and not many people knew that he could even play the guitar. When they found out he could, people always seemed to be surprised by it.

Once the song came to an end, he turned around to face Lottie, looking her in the eye, proving to her that he knew the whole time she was stood there, listening in. Her eyes widened in shock and her cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment. His heart started to beat faster purely from just looking at her.

"I- I- I'm sorry...I didn't meant t- to...well, you know..." She stuttered, clearly afraid of looking at him. "I shouldn't h- have listened in like that..." She trailed off. "But...I just had to listen because I was listening to the same song earlier, and then I could hear it from your room as I walked past, and then I realised that it was you singing and playing the guitar," she was nervously rambling on, "and then I tried to get a better listen, so I opened the door, and then I-"

"Lottie," he said softly. She looked up at this, and immediately stopped her rambling. "I have something I have to tell you."

"Y- you do?"

"Yes, sit down," he told her. Lottie walked over and sat on a spare stool near Jamie's.

"Is it about...Anastacia?" She asked him.

He chuckled softly to himself, something he hadn't done in a long time. Simply being in Lottie's presence made him feel happier. "No, no it's not."

"Oh, then what is it?" She was anxiously fiddling with her fingers, her hands resting on her lap. Jamie could feel his heart thrumming even faster, and blood pounding in his ears. He looked out of the glass doors of the balcony, taking in the Rose Wood forest below. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to reveal his biggest secret.

"Lottie," he said quietly, "I like you."