Scintilla

serein.

serein
(n.) the fine, light rain that falls from a clear sky at sunset or in the early hours of evening; evening serenity

I knocked once on the plain white door of the house, taking out the earphones from my ears.

"Hi." The little girl smiled as she opened the door, but it faded as soon as she saw it was me.

"Um.." I drawled out awkwardly.

"Lauren, get back here." Ashton came into view. "Don't ever open the door without me ever again, do you understand? Oh, hey." His tone changed when he saw me.

"Hi." I bit my lip, silently hoping Ashton would read my mind and ask his sister to go back inside.

"Hey, Lauren, why don't you go to your friend's house for a little while and I'll pick you up later?" He asked without taking his eyes off of me.

"Jasey's?"

"Yeah, her."

"Okay! I'll go put on my shoes." Lauren scuttled back inside the house.

"So, what's up?"

"We should continue the project." I mumbled, staring at my shoes.

"Sure, sure. I just- I thought you were ignoring me since, you know,"

"Already forgotten."

"Really? Just like that? You've forgotten?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Forgotten what?"

"Okay. Forgotten." Ashton nodded.

"I'm ready!" Lauren chirped, stepping in front of Ashton.

"Then let's go!" Ashton took her hand and I followed quietly behind to Lauren's friend's house.

"Thank you Mrs. Reynolds. I'll pick her up as soon as I can." Ashton smiled, politely. Who knew? Ashton Irwin could be polite.

"Oh, Ashton, it's no problem. You just have fun on your little date." The old lady smiled at me. I immediately felt a blush on my cheeks and cleared my throat in hopes of trying to get this conversation over with.

"Mrs. Reynolds, she's not my girlfriend." He tried to explain.

"Not yet." She teased. "Bye bye now."

"But-" The door was slammed shut and Ashton was left hanging.

"So, where to?" He asked me.

"You're the one that lives here." I shrugged.

"Okay then." We started walking in a direction.

"So, Ashton Irwin. I was born July-" He began.

"Sorry, can I talk this time?" I interrupted.

"Did Jaxx Springsteen just apologize to me, Ashton Irwin?"

"Shut up." I barked.

"There's the Jaxx everyone knows and loves."

"Let's start there. I don't really understand why people hate me. I haven't done anything to deserve it at all. All the staring and whispering, I didn't ask for it."

"No one hates you, Jaxx."

"Lies."

"Well, I don't hate you, at least." I turned my head to the ground, hoping my hair would cover the slight red on my cheeks.

"The only reason people stare and whisper at you is because they don't know anything about you. You're a mystery to them and to me. You show up with a punk attitude and literally don't talk to anyone. What else are people supposed to think about you? They stare because they're curious and whisper because they're clueless."

"I've never thought of it that way before." I never had. Huh. Maybe Ashton knows a lot more than I think.

"Well then, start talking Springsteen."

"Okay. I'm really into music and literature. I read a lot. I don't watch a lot of movies, but I can sing along to every song that plays on a radio. I hate French and I love french fries."

"Cool. What kind of music are you into?"

"I like to mix my genres, but mostly bands. I feel like bands are the most genuine about their music. People stereotype and always assume them to be punk, screaming and talentless freaks that talk about parties and sex, but that's what pop music is. Rock and alternative are what really talk about soul and emotion and feelings. The way bands are able to put their feelings into a deeper presentation and not just flat out say what they have on their mind, the way the lyrics make you think and the way their sad songs don't always have to sound so sad is amazing. The artistry is out of this world. There's variety and it always sounds different. It's nothing like pop. Pop is overrated and disrespected. Music is supposed to be an art form and they've made pop into the opposite of what music is." I rambled on and Ashton and I both stopped in our tracks when I finished. His hand was on my neck, the other grazing my cheek. I could feel his breath on me and his eyes searching for protest in mine, but he found none. He kissed me slowly, then all at once. I was stuck and frozen for I didn't know how I was supposed to react.

"Kiss me back." He breathed in between kisses. "Dammit, Jaxx, kiss me back." He whispered even harsher, biting my bottom lip. I moved my lips along to his and my hands moved, as if on their own, to his chest.

We were left in gasps and breaths right after we pulled away. I didn't know what to feel, what to do or what to say. I didn't know of this was part of what I planned when I decided to take the miles away trip to his house.

"I-" I started to speak, but he placed his thumb on my lips, gently rubbing the dry skin.

Just then, light rain started to drizzle on us and I realized it was past sunset.

"We- we should go and pick up your sister." I stepped a few inches back and turned around in the direction we were from. We never actually went anywhere, just walked around.

"Yeah, we should."

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update yo ive been inactive for so long sorry there's just so much ive been doing but i am back for good

-gabby