INFATUATION [VALESKA]

000 / jerome

   - prolouge

000 | JEROME.

   I glanced over at her, where she stood in the middle of a circle of guys - who were far too old for her, if I do say so myself.  My jaw clenched in anger as I watched her toy with them, with an excessive amount of touching and flirting.

   She was a Grayson.

   That fact alone almost made me not want to initiate anything but she made up for it, personality and look wise. The only thing that probably irritated me the most about her was the lack of attention she paid to me.

   Alyssa was interesting, different even, but she shared some qualities with my mother that I definitely wasn't proud of or excited about. Being a whore was one of them; there was some rumors about her floating around the circus but who knew how authentic they really were.

   A guy, who looked about twenty-something wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her small frame closer to him. Her nose scrunched up in distaste at his action, he probably reeked of alcohol and cigarettes; something that was common among the guys she was known to be with.

   "Jerome," My mom angrily hissed as she walked up to where I stood, adjusting the necklace around her neck. "Can you stop staring at that poor girl? It's rude." 

   It took every ounce of self control in me to not shut her up, especially after last night's events. One day, I know I won't be able to rely on my self control but today wasn't that day. Instead, I just nodded and walked away from her.

   Making my way out of the tent, I glanced around for something to do for an hour before the show started. Just as that thought popped up into my head, I caught a glimpse of black hair walking out of the other entrance.

   For once, she was alone.

   "Alyssa!" I called out to her, cupping my hands around my mouth, causing her to stop in her tracks and search for the source of the sound. When her dark eyes landed on me, the corners of her lips curved upwards. She jogged over to me, the bottom of her black dress flowing a bit due to the September winds.

God, please don't notice the bruise.

   "You staying tonight?" I asked, aware of her usual absence throughout the main shows. Truthfully, I didn't blame her. If I didn't live here anymore, I wouldn't mind leaving as much as possible. The only reason that she comes being that almost all her family is here.

   "Should I?" Her voice was soft and gentle, not matching her personality at all. Then again, I never really understood her constant need to hook up; especially, since all her family looked down on her for it.

   I nodded, trying to make my smile as friendly as possible. Whether she was aware of my attraction to her or not was beyond me; me questioning it only made me grow frustrated at the thought.

   "Jerome, right?" She questioned when we started walking together, with me leading the way. I could see her glance at my eye a couple of times, making me wanna yell at my mother and whoever that guy was.

   "Yeah. Jerome Valeska." I told her, for what seemed like the billionth time. The mere fact that my name probably slipped her mind because of the million other names of guys she had in that mind of her pissed me off.

   "Alyssa-" she started, but I quickly cut her off; an introduction being completely unnecessary from her side.

   "I know." I smiled at her, abruptly stopping in front of the rocky path that led towards the circle trailers, looking down at her 5'3 height greatly contrasting my own. "I've heard a lot about you, Alyssa Grayson."

   "All good things, I hope?" She raised a questioning eyebrow at, her hand scratching at the nape of her neck.

   "Of course." I lied, taking a seat on one of the steps of the first trailer. "Bad things from you are almost unheard of, Alyssa."

"Almost." She repeated, taking a seat next to me while holding on to the bottom of her dress. "So, there's some bad things." A disappointed sigh escaped her lips as she placed her face on her palm, her bottom lip sticking out into a small pout.

"Hey hey hey, cheer up." I placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to me and facing her. "People talk, it happens. It's human nature for us to judge people."

"I guess." She softly spoke, fitting comfortably under my arm with her body leaning into mine. Before she could mutter another word, the loud sound of the PA system starting up filled the air.

"Come on."

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I know I'm probably late on the whole Jerome fic thing but here it is, 🌝 I was inspired by that one clip where he talks about abuse to his dad when he's about to kill him. So here we are. ❤️♥️