Not Together

False Alarms and Sleepovers

You stood in the cold under the café awning, a small smile tugging at your lips as you idly leaned against the cold store window. (B/f) had abandoned you outside, not willing to stand around in the cold and instead went inside to order a hot chocolate. You shrugged your backpack further up your shoulder, unable to shake the chill that you chalked up to anxiety or adrenaline. Possibly both.

"You're a shit actresses." You turned and looked up at the boy you just turned down not but ten minutes earlier. "Sorry, I never took theatre class." You shrugged, crossing your arms. He snorted good naturedly and looked around, trying to locate your partner in crime. He looked through the window, seeing (B/f) waving exaggeratedly at the two of you from her place in line, you turning to look as well. He pulled his hat down, probably out of embarrassment, while you turned away from the looks of some curious customers turned to see what the girl inside was franticly waving at.

What was the easiest way to prove to the entire student body that you "didn't" like Jotaro? Turn him down, of course. When you offhandedly joked about the plan to Jotaro, you never expected him to actually agree to it; what "popular" high-school boy would willingly be turned down in front of a large crowd of people, risking his ego? Apparently Jotaro Kujo was that boy, his level of not giving a shit about what people thought about him was unmatched. He actually praised you on the idea, in his own "unique" way, mentioning that he had a decent poker face and knack for tricking opponents in the past, muttering that it ran in his family; whatever that meant. While his praise was nice, you told him that it was actually (B/f)'s plan, as you probably wouldn't have ever thought of something so outlandish. The girls in school had nothing now. You two "weren't together". It was the most asinine loophole, but it would certainly get them off your back for a while, if not the remainder of high school.

"I'm here. You may now praise me for my brilliant plan, and, yes, I do accept cash." You rolled your eyes as (B/f) came out, holding her hot chocolate with both hands to warm them.

"Yare Yare Daze." Jotaro sighed out, his breath visible in the cold. "Sure, (B/f), your check is in the mail." You said as the three of you began walking, all going the same direction anyway. You bummed a few sips off her hot chocolate, finally feeling some sort of warmth from both the drink and the butterflies from your newly dubbed not-boyfriend. He discreetly wrapped his pinky around your own, a tint of red dusting his cheeks as his eyes remained focused on the horizon; apparently public displays of affection in front of strangers was fine, but not your best friend. You weren't sure if that was just how he was in general, or if it was something he'd eventually grow into being more comfortable with, but for now, you were fine with his discretion. Besides, (B/f) was too oblivious at the moment to even take notice, rambling about one of the movies she wanted the two of you to watch, not to mention she was on the other side of you, the hand holding Jotaro's out of her sight.

"We stopping by the store?" (B/f) asked, stopping her own train of thought, hands clutching her hot chocolate in front of her, the image similar to that of a hamster holding a sunflower seed. You nodded, "Absolutely, because I would probably die otherwise." You and (B/f) would occasionally go to the store before going to her house, buying some snacks and candy for the weekend, hiding them from her mom whenever she walked in the room; the two of you had mastered the art of hiding candy under your pillows as the door opened. "Oh, so Leon suggested a movie for us this weekend." She said, tossing her now empty cup into a nearby trash, burrowing her hands into her jacket pockets. "Leon watches the worst movies." You commented with a chuckle, "he's a trash connoisseur."

"Yeah, it's about vampires apparently. He said the story is shit, but the effects are cool." (B/f) said with a shrug, "I'm not a fan of vampires, like, every story is the same." You felt Jotaro's finger twitch around yours, his shoulders tense as his hat lowered, shielding his gaze. "Like, shit, you can just run into a grocery store and stop them with garlic. Boom, problem solved, idiots. Or just use a silver bullet on them- wait... is that a vampire or werewolf?" You subtly got your friends attention, her musing about make-believe monsters coming to a stop as you cut your eyes over to Jotaro real quick, her taking in his sudden defensive posture, causing her to raise a brow. "So, what about you, Jotaro, you a vampire kind of guy?" She asked, trying to include him in the conversation, as if that was the issue. "No." His response was clipped, clearly not wanting to talk. You and her exchanged glances, having no idea what his problem was all of a sudden. "Yeah, um, me either," She began again awkwardly, "I like, um, murderers." Her tone rose towards the end, making it seem more like a question.