ɴᴏᴡ ᴏʀ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ⇢ ᴊᴇʀᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴀʀᴋᴇ

thirteen

SHE COULDN'T SLEEP THAT night. Marissa thought her mini-getaway would put her mind at semi-ease. It was 2 in the morning and the girl's eyes have yet to close.

She sat up in bed, hoping that maybe one of her roommate's were possibly going through the same thing as she was. The room was dark, so even if Patricia or Joy were awake, Marissa wouldn't be able to tell.

The girl could probably use this time to catch up on the schoolwork she missed from being absent yesterday, but Marissa decided walking out of her room to roam the dark house was a much better idea.

She felt around for her fluffy slippers and slipped (they're called that for a reason) them on, silently tip-toeing out of the bedroom after she threw on a hoodie. She tried to close the door behind her as quietly as she possibly could, but of course, the house hates her; every minuscule step Marissa took, the wooden floors creaked.

She scoffed at the irony of the situation, not caring about the noises anymore. Marissa walked down the steps and found herself in the kitchen, not paying attention to the fact that the lights were already flicked on.

She made a beeline to the fridge and pulled out the milk, getting ready to make the one thing that has truly helped her fall asleep in the past.

As the microwave beeper went off and Marissa made her move to talk a sip of her cup of Heaven, the mystery person makes themselves known.

"What the heck?" Marissa splutters, choking on her milk. She puts the glass on the counter and picks up a wooden spoon laying near her. She raises it above her head, ready to cause some serious damage.

"It's just me," Jerome laughs, raising his hands in surrender. Marissa scowls, putting the spoon down and picking up her spoon again. "Were you actually going to hit me with a spoon?" Jerome questions as he takes a seat next to the girl on the kitchen table.

Marissa gives him the 'duh' look. "What are you doing up?" She asks, looking at the blond boy in confusion.

Jerome shrugs. "Couldn't sleep," he answers simply. "Thought a walk through the house would tire me out a little. What about you?"

Marissa puts her now-empty glass on the table. "Same as you, I guess."

"What's on your mind?" He asks. Marissa gives him a look, which he gladly returns. "I know you well enough by now to know when you're keeping something to yourself. Now tell me," he said firmly.

Marissa sighs and tells him. There's no harm in just telling, right? "What do you think the letter meant, Jerome? Do you think the person that killed my mother is going to continue?"

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"What if he- the person has a personal vendetta against my mom and her graduating class?"

"Wait," Jerome stops. "'He'? Have you met this person?" Marissa stays silent. "You met him yesterday, didn't you? That's why weren't in school and why you came back late."

"Nothing happened, Jerome. We just had a chat. That's it," she reassures, placing her hand on top of his.

"He's a killer, Marissa. You could've gotten hurt."

"But I didn't," she smiles. "I'm right here."

"I can't have you getting hurt," Jerome whispers, moving his hand up to the back of her neck. Marissa trails her eyes up to his, the eye-contact holding.

"I won't," she whispers. Neither of them realized as their faces got closer together. They were so close they could hear each other's heart beating, their sudden rapid breathing.

It was like instinct, for their mouths to touch. They kept their movements slow and unsure, still getting used to the fact that they were doing this.

They didn't realize the time slowly ticking away, and when they pulled apart gasping for breath, the two only smiled at each other.

How could they ever hate each other?

"That was something new," Marissa chuckled.

"Yeah, it was," Jerome agreed, moving in for another kiss. Marissa didn't stop him.

(note!)

im so sorry this is like a million years late, but hopefully this makes up for it?? maybe?? hopefully??

also, here's some shameless self promoting::: just published a new fanfic, so if you guys like new hope club or the vamps then go check it out!!

until next time!