Rhythm of Heartbreak (COMPLETED)

Chapter 12

As his gaze continued to deepen, she found herself grasping for air. Little drops of sweat formed on her forehead as she felt her throat dry, she swallowed nervously.

"Well, well... What a sight to behold" Shaun uttered, his words were coated with sarcasm.

He too was stunned to see Jess in the hotel, little did he know that in this forsaken countryside, their paths would cross again. He was unsure if he would be amused or annoyed. Nonetheless, he is surprised. Jess looked different, the same but different, something changed in her he couldn't just put his fingers on what exactly. Then it dawned on him. She's looking radiant, is it her clothes? Her hair?

"What are you doing here?" She spat more firmly than she intended. She readily roamed her eyes to the front desk and see if it caught their attention. She sighed when no reaction was captured from the clerks.

The hotel was practically empty during that time, she was unsure if the other artists were already checked in or if she was just early, but she was grateful, she had not figured out yet how to tone down her anger towards Shaun and in such rare moment she can't be exposed to a crowd. Alexander's words haunted her when it suddenly prompted her mind.

"Remember that you have an image to maintain now, be careful about how you act" 

She breathed. Thank goodness that everyone seems oblivious to the rising tension.

"I could probably ask you the same thing, I thought that this boot camp is exclusive for artists?" He responded while raising his brows. He has no idea why he's provoking Jess; their last encounter was unpleasant and having to bear that embarrassment about what she did with him in the cafe and even in the mall was enough to play some dirty tricks to get even with her. He knows it was immature but then again seeing how Jess gets riled up is such an adorable scene to watch.

A spark of tiny bolts rampaged within her; did he mean she didn't deserve to be there because she was not an artist yet? She stared at him menacingly, then she breathed deeply, there's no point arguing, they could not seem to talk casually anymore, she breathed again this time dismissing her previous demeanor.

Instead of getting worked up by his words, Jess decided to stare at Shaun intently and lingered there for a few seconds, she then noticed his discomfort.

She smiled inwardly. "Bullseye!" She thought to herself.

"I was invited..." she decided to respond, leaving the details to his imagination.

Shaun's eyes grew bigger as he checked if she was pranking him but there was no humor plastered in her pretty little face.

"Pretty? When did he start seeing Jess as pretty?" Shaun was baffled internally by his realization.

Earlier, he thought she looked more radiant, like she was different, he studied her, wearing a white summer dress that flaunted her creamy shoulders, and it seemed both got the memo of wearing white outfits, he smirked. Her reddening cheek added a glow to her face, he wanted to touch her. He remembered how much he wanted to pinch it when they were younger, such cute aggression that Jess allowed him to do it without complaint. Her long brown hair cascaded below her shoulders which complimented her even more. It suits to see her hair flow, she usually ties it down because of work and chores but seeing it like this, makes him want to run his fingers to her strands, feeling its softness. He knows it is still Jess overall, but something is intriguing in her currently. What could that be?

He cleared his throat as he tried to clear his mind about his curiosity, he had no time to deal with this, he was here to help soar his career even more, and he must not give in to any distractions. Shaun was about to ask who had invited her when an alluring presence stood behind him, for some reason Shaun felt the heaviness of its presence like a strong force pushing him to his knees, it didn't help when he saw Jess's eyes got fixated to whoever was behind him and instinctively Shaun looked around and was greeted by Rick Reed.