ɴᴏᴡ ᴏʀ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ⇢ ᴊᴇʀᴏᴍᴇ ᴄʟᴀʀᴋᴇ

fourteen

TO JOY AND PATRICIA, it seemed like time moved backwards instead of forwards. All week, Jerome and Marissa couldn't even look at each other. It was so instinctual it was almost like the two were taking turns at who walks out of the room next when the other comes in.

The two girls were confused at Jerome and Marissa's peculiar behaviour. They thought the two were finally getting along.

"Do you think he did something?" Joy asks one night Marissa wasn't in the room. Patricia shrugged.

"He probably did, knowing Jerome and all," she replied, looking at Marissa's empty bed. "I could've sworn she was right behind us when we were walking upstairs," Patricia stated, hugging her pillow to her chest in an attempt to warm herself up. She's been feeling a bit sick lately. Joy jokes that it's because she doesn't know everything that goes on in Anubis House. Patricia scoffed at that.

Joy looked at her friend worriedly. The bedroom was boiling, yet Patricia was dressed head-to-toe in Marissa's winter gear. "Are you okay?" she asks, hoping Patricia will finally give in and admit she needs to see a doctor. The stubborn girl shakes her head no, despite having a coughing fit while Joy asked the question.

"If you say so," Joy trails off unsurely.

"I'm perfectly fine," Patricia scoffs (which quickly turned into a sneeze). "See," she smiled weakly. Joy rolls her eyes but nods anyways.

"What are we going to do about Marissa, though," Joy says. "Her and Jerome only just started getting along, and I know something is off about her."

"How can you tell?" Patricia asks.

Joy was silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should spill the news. She shook her head and started to speak. "I heard her sneaking out of the room a few nights ago. I thought nothing of it 'cause I thought she would be back in a couple of minutes or so. She came back a half hour later. Almost fell asleep again waiting for the girl to show up," Joy finishes, muttering the last part.

Patricia bit her lip, a clear sign she was thinking. "Maybe," she started off slowly, "she went to get a glass of milk to help her fall asleep? She used to do that a lot when she first moved to Anubis, remember?"

Joy nodded. "Unless the milk really did its job and Marissa fell asleep downstairs, there must be another reason why she took thirty minutes."

"Maybe that's when Jerome did something," Patricia says out of the blue. Joy's head shoots up.

"You're right!" she exclaims excitedly. "He must've scared her or something and she yelled at him, and that's why it's awkward between them!" she says, her words getting louder as her level of excitement grew. "We've figured it out!" she squealed, jumping out of her bed to give Patricia a bone-crushing hug.

The "sick" girl chuckled and let her enthusiastic friend into her embrace, despite the feeling of her stomach wanting to revisit dinner. Joy must've heard the gurgling sounds radiating off of her friend.

"You need a doctor," Joy says, walking away from Patricia.

The girl glared at her friend and got up from her bed with her head held high (even though she almost fell over) and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Ignoring Joy's pleas for her to sit down again before she passes out in the middle of the hallway, Patricia left her bedroom and descended the stairs, embarking on a journey for a glass of water (and maybe some ibuprofen as well).

She got off the final step and quickly slid over to the opposite wall to hang on to. Patricia took one step into the kitchen, expecting the lights off and silence (it was past 10 o'clock). She was met with a comfortable-looking Jerome and an equally comfortable-looking Marissa, very much comfortable on the couch.

To say Patricia's eyes were as wide as plates would be an understatement.

It didn't seem like either of them noticed her shocked and temporarily-frozen state, so Patricia slowly backed out of there, hoping and praying to any God willing to listen that the floors won't creak.

She practically ran up the stairs and flew into her bedroom, successfully scaring the living daylights out of Joy.

Turns out, Jerome and Marissa weren't upset with each other. It was the complete opposite.

Joy noticed her friend's horrified state and walked towards her, placing her hands on Patricia's shoulders. The girl looked like she was going to pass out at any second. "What happened 'Trixie?" Joy chuckled.

Patricia gulped and focused her eyes on Joy's. "I think I do need a doctor."

(note!)
go check out my new book called "Crush" if you're a fan of New Hope Club!!

also hoped you liked this :))