love game; ℓ.н/ ρ.נ

chapter 21, reminders of him

Third person pov

"I promise you'll never have to cry because of me ever again" 

Jia glanced at her hands, which were tightly in place in between his. His knuckles turned while, that's how hard he was holding her, as if afraid to let go fearing she might run away. 

He leaned in for a kiss, and Jia let him, not trying to resist. She wanted it as much as him. His soft lips brushed against hers and she got lost for a moment in his deceiving scent. 

"I love you," he said, breathing her in. 

Jia was unable to speak. She could not tell him she loved him too. She wanted to scream that she loved him more than anything in this world. But her voice got the better of her. 

A single teardrop fell from her cheeks and Jay disappeared into thin dust. 

Jia woke up with a start, breathing heavily. It was still dark outside besieged with the cold winds of winter. 

She felt her damp cheeks.

It couldn't be possible. It was just a dream. A dream about the reality that happened two years ago, which she had almost forgotten about. 

She wiped her cheeks, still bewildered at how she could cry in a dream. Sedative as it was, crying brought back so many memories of him. Painful ones. She hadn't thought about her and Jay in a very long time, and she was planning on keeping it that way, but the dream-slash-nightmare got the better of her.

Jia checked the time on her phone, knowing very well that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. 

3:32 am, it read. 

Jia sighed and got out of bed and decided to throw some food in her stomach while she was at it. 

After emptying the entire stock of snacks in her little kitchen, Jia decided to try to sleep, since she has school later in the morning. She groaned at the thought of school. 

Two hours later, when she still couldn't sleep, her phone buzzed, which sounded louder in the silence of the night and scared the shit out of her. She stretched her hands towards her nightstand, annoyed for ruining the sleep that she wasn't even going to get. 

It was a call. 

And from the most dreaded person in question, as of now. 

"Hello?" Jia spoke, dubious if it was a mistake picking up. 

She waited for a response for over thirty seconds, before he spoke. "Hey"

Jia suppressed a sigh. "What is your reason," Jia asked, "for waking me up at this hour?"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to sleep. I woke up from a dream and it reminded me of you," Jay said. "Besides, you sound wide awake yourself" 

Jia's stomach flipped on its head, hearing the former. Did he have the same dream as hers? His voice sounded hoarse as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. It gave Jia tickles in her stomach to think that she was the first person he called after a nightmare.  She decided to play dumb and hang up as soon as possible.

She released a loud sigh this time, letting Jay know that she wanted to hang up. "What do you want?" 

"Can we meet?"

There was silence for over a minute, probably because both of them were surprised at what they heard. 

"I can't leave my house right now, Hwan's asleep," Jia reasoned. 

"I can come over," Jay offered right away. "If you'd like" 

Jia sighed again, and Jay took that as a positive response. "Be there in five," he said and hung up. 

Jia sat on the couch and stared at the wall clock while she waited for Jay to show up. Was it a mistake calling her ex-slash-friend over in the middle of the night? Only time could tell if her decision was right, or was she just bringing more trouble upon her. The clock ticked loudly, and as each second passed, she became more anxious. 

What was she supposed to do when he showed up? She already sucked at human interaction as it was. 

After exactly six anxious minutes, her phone buzzed. It was Jay telling her to open the door. 

Jia expected a simple hello or a good morning when she opened the door, but instead, she was engulfed in Jay's huge arms, his scent surrounding her very existence. His perfume gave her deja vu and she was taken back to the dream, the reason why she was standing in front of her door in the first place. 

Jay pulled back, arms still around her waist. 

"You have no idea how relieved I am to see you right now," he breathed. His light brown eyes searched her face, and for a second, Jia forgot to breathe. 

Jia pulled herself out of his grasp and looked away from his alluring visuals. 

"What do you want to do now?" Jia asked him leading him inside. 

She glanced across the pathway to see if Hwan was asleep, and to her relief, he was hugging his favorite pillow, deep in sleep. 

"How about a movie?" Jay suggested. "I don't think you will fall back asleep now, are you?" 

Unfortunately, Jay knew Jia too well. 

"Sure," Jia said, leading him to her room, where, unfortunately, the TV happened to be. 

As if done the drill a thousand times, Jay switched the TV on and laid himself on the bed without Jia telling him to do so. She was taken back to the times when they stayed up late and had comfy movie nights. It made her sick in the stomach and gave her melancholic a Deja Vu. 

She slid beside him under the covers as he pressed play. 

Jay's pov

An hour passed and I could feel my eyes getting heavier by the minute. I turned to look at Jia, who had already fallen asleep on my shoulders. How I longed for moments like these. 

She had this cute way of letting out small puffs of breaths when she was asleep. Her short hair fell on her face and she twitched her eyes in reflex. I pulled out my hand from under the covers and put the strand of hair behind her ears. She moved to a comfortable position, and that happened to be leaning completely on me with her arms around my torso. 

I smiled at myself. At least her habit of hugging pillows to sleep had some advantages.

I switched off the TV and pulled the covers above both of us. I slid inside and gazed at Jia's ethereal expression until I fell asleep looking at her. 

rate this chapter, cuz idk if i like it lol TOT

i might have to rewrite it.

also, don't forget to vote <3