𝘿𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮-𝙊 💔

Chapter 1

It was the summer of 1936.

You were merely a woman of 19, and also a sophomore at the prestigious Smith College. You were polite, agreeable, and a tad shy - a regular student, really - but you were always aware of your place in society, and never went out of your way to make a fool out of yourself.

There was nothing particularly interesting or spectacular about you or your family background, except for the fact that you lived right next door to the uproarious Kennedys, who just so happened to be one of Boston's wealthiest political families. They were known to be quite a close-knit clan, whose members would stick together like superglue, and whose patriarch (Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.) reigned supreme.

And what was more bizarre was the fact that you were good friends with one of their elder sons, John Fitzgerald - or "Jack", as he preferred to be called. He was the crown prince of the clan.

Oh yes indeed, you and Jack have been good friends since you were 12 - so much so that you ended up becoming each other's closest confidants. Whenever he was forced to be sent away to Choate (his boarding school) and you'd be left all alone in Boston, you two would maintain a regular correspondence of letters and telegrams, often making wild stories and silly jokes in order to lift each other's spirits. He would also rant about the many bizarre policies of his school, along with its strict teachers and nonsensical morning assemblies.

In return, you would also complain of the dullness of your own school, often wishing that dear Jack would escape from Choate and transfer to your school instead, since life seemed to be so much better with him around.

In a way, he was like a bouncing ball of light. Wherever he went, he always seemed to bring such great joy and energy that it affected all the other people around him. It might've been an innate gift he inherited from his ancestors, but you sure as hell wanted it too.

You were 19 now, and so was he, so that equaled to 7 years of friendship. You were quite thankful that you were able to bask in 7 great years of friendship with him. You two always had so much fun together, frolicking in gardens, swimming in ponds, sailing his father's boats...and you vowed to be forever thankful for the joy and happiness he had showered upon you during those salad days.

But a small part of you loved him, too.

Not in the platonic way, but in the romantic way.

Yet you were still unsure as to whether he reciprocated these feelings.

You had already seen him sleep around with a multitude of girls, knowing full well that it was already a regularity in his nature, yet you wondered why he hadn't considered going out with you yet. Never in 7 years had he hinted in harboring a romantic attraction towards you, which was quite strange, since he tended to have at least a slight attraction for every woman in his orbit.

Eventually, your doubts were answered one summer afternoon, July 19th, while you were laying in bed reading an old novel. Your windows were left all the way open to let the sunshine in. You loved to hear the bluebirds chirp in the nearby apple trees, and sometimes they would even come flying into your room if the weather grew especially hot. All was well, you couldn't ask for an afternoon more pleasant...until your dearest neighbor Jack Kennedy came clambering in through your window. His golden brown hair was tousled in that careless manner of his, but his eyes were sparkling with the freshest sense of delight, and he flashed his movie-star teeth at you as you quickly rose from your bed. His freckled face almost appeared to be glowing under the sunlight.

"Hey, Y/N," he said smilingly, dusting off his pants. "Godammit to hell, it's hot out there, isn't it? Can't you turn on the fan?" 

You shrugged, reaching over to smooth his hair out with your fingers. "My fan broke, that's why I kept the windows open."