ɴᴏᴡ ᴏʀ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ⇢ ᴊᴇʀᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴀʀᴋᴇ

twelve

MARISSA LEFT SCHOOL BEFORE anyone could spot her. There was no way she could walk into class and talk to her friends and act like everything was normal, when in fact it wasn't. It was ten o'clock, her friends were undoubtedly worried about her. Marissa was worried about herself, to be honest.

She contemplated going back to Anubis; maybe she could sneak past Victor and sleep the rest of the day away. Her other option was to suck it up and go get an education. Marissa didn't want to do that either.

So the girl walked out of school and took a walk. She didn't have any set destination in mind; she just needed to drift away for a little while. She needed to get lost.

She walked and walked, and "a little while" turned into a whole day. The sun was setting, and Marissa got a clear view of the cotton candy skies where she decided to stop and rest for a bit. Somehow, the girl found herself in the same clearing her and Jerome were in not too long ago. She sat on the rock and stared up into the colourful sky, giving her hyperactive brain some time to cool off.

She wouldn't let herself think of this morning. Mr. Samuels wants her to keep quiet when he gave a personal confession that he was the one that killed her mother? Marissa didn't want to believe that this was the world she lived in.

A world where her mother was probably brutally murdered, a world where she was sent thousands of kilometers away from home because her father found peace with a new family. When she first moved into Anubis house, Marissa couldn't help but feel unloved. Her mind always jumped to unnecessary conclusions and Marissa built up a wall as a result.

Marissa cried herself to sleep those first few months. Each night that past after that, the tears dried faster and faster, until eventually, they never resurfaced. From that day forward, the girl wasn't the positive, optimistic and playful girl she grew up as; she was the opposite. It's a wonder her housemates even liked her.

When times got too rough (for example, when her and Jerome started their arguing), Marissa lived by one rule and one rule only: just keep breathing. It's been more than helpful, especially now.

"Come on, Mar, you can do this. Don't you dare start crying," the girl spoke to herself in a stern voice. To any onlookers, this may be an interesting site to see, thankfully the girl was in the middle of the woods.

Despite herself, a single drop of water rolled down her cheek, hitting the hand she let sit on her lap. Marissa rolled her eyes at herself, frustrated that she let herself start to break.

"Now is not the time, " she told herself, her voice wavering slightly. She threw her head back in defeat, and loud groan emanating from her.

One tear triggered another, and before Marissa knew it, she was full on sobbing, her tears rushing down like water does a waterfall.

Oh, how Marissa wishes for the world to be right once again.

-

"Have you guys seen Br-Marissa?" Jerome asks everyone sitting in the living room back at Anubis. He heard mumbles of 'no' in response which aggravated the boy. He hasn't seen the girl all day and he was getting worried. No, scratch that, he was already worried, now Jerome was full-blown freaking out.

"What's going on?" Patricia asks when she sees the blond boy is just about ready to pull his hair out.

"I can't find Marissa anywhere. Is she in her room? Please tell me she accidentally slept through school again," Jerome said, desperation clear in his voice. Patricia furrowed her eyebrows and called up the stairs for Joy.

"I haven't gone to our room yet," Patricia informed him. Joy skipped down the stairs, jumping down the last step to put herself in front of her two friends. "Is Mar up there by any chance?" the girl who's hair currently adorned streaks of pink asked her female friend.

Joy's happy demeanour vanished. "No, I thought she was down here with you guys?"

Jerome groaned, moving his hands up to pull at his hair again. Patricia hit them away, "Don't do that," she scolded.

"Well, I'm sorry if I have more pressing matters to be concerned about other than pulling at my hair," Jerome glared.

"Do you want to be bald at seventeen?" Patricia pressed, narrowing her eyes.

Jerome opened his mouth to respond with something equally witty, when a soft voice spoke from behind him, causing Jerome's whole body to visibly relax.

"Wow, you two are starting to sound like you and I a few weeks ago," Marissa said, standing by the door with a tired look in her eyes.

Jerome rushed towards the girl, engulfing her in a hug. Marissa chuckled and wrapped her arms around the boy's tall frame. "Where were you?" he asked, his voice muffled by her hair.

"I needed to take a walk," Marissa answered vaguely, hoping the boy would take the hint and not ask more on the subject. "Glad to see you were worried about me, though," she joked, trying to lighten the suddenly stiff mood.

"I will always be worried about you," Jerome said, meeting her hazel eyes with his blue ones. Marissa couldn't help but stare; his azure orbs that resembled the ocean. The eyes that always calmed her down, even when the two were arguing. Marissa found comfort just looking into those eyes.

They kept contact for a few moments; their hands interlocked and their bodies so close that if the room were silent enough, they could probably hear both their rushing heartbeats.

Then, of course, someone cut them off with an awkward sounding 'ahem.'

'Nothing can last forever, even if forever was just in front of you.' a voice said in Marissa's head. Marissa's mother, to be more specific. It was a saying Evelyn reminded her daughter over and over while she was growing up.

It was something Marissa never intended to forget.

"We would want a hug too," Joy started after the two split up (they took one step away from each other) "but it looks like Jerome hugged you enough for both Patricia and I." The boy in question could feel the heat rising up his neck, eventually taking its clearly visible place on the apples of his cheeks.

To make matters so much better, the rest of their housemates decided to make their appearance known at that moment, giving no time for Jerome's face to turn back to its proper colour.

While everyone else told Marissa they were glad she was safe and alright, Amber - being Amber - asked the one thing that caused the rest of the house to turn their attention on to Jerome, and made the boy want to crawl into a hole and stay there for a few centuries.

"Why is your face so red?"

(note!)

i'm sorry i made you guys wait so longggg

i'm finally on march break though, so hopefully i'll get some more updates out.

i hoped you like this!!

don't forget to vote!