TigerEyeJewel
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(Sorry, I thought I read somewhere that we were supposed to pm the stories... Here it is. Oh, and animi means 'at heart.')
Animi Jace grinned impishly at the back of Vannessa’s head and readjusted his hands to make sure she couldn’t see anything. “Where are you taking me?” she demanded, faking annoyance. Jace ignored the question for what had to be the fifth or sixth time. She kept asking though despite it. She should know him better by now, after nearly five years of friendship. Jace had always liked keeping secrets. Thinking of where he was taking her, Jace’s grin became slightly manic and he started walking a little faster through the dense forest, forcing Vanessa to speed up too lest he step on the heels of her shoes by accident. He hoped she would like this place. Finally, they broke through trees into a small clearing. Jace stopped and pulled Vanessa back before she could walk into the bubbling stream. She let out a light grunt when she hit his chest but just said, “Are we there?” sounding almost as excited as Jace was. In place of a verbal answer, he lifted his hands from her eyes. A startled and delighted gasp made an hour of trying to convince Vannessa to go and another half hour hike through the woods worth it. “It’s beautiful!” she gasped out, curly black hair flying all over the place as she looked from side to side, trying to take it all in. Jace allowed himself a grin of triumph and dropped down onto the sand. The clearing really was beautiful. Dark trees framed the uneven oval and a small stream neatly dissected it. Rocks gleamed through the water tumbling over them and small frogs croaked. Birdsong and the tumbling of water were the only sounds this far from their suburban homes. They sat in silence for awhile before Vanessa started talking quietly, telling him all about what was going on with her. Jace sat quietly and listened, glad he had taken Vanessa here. They went to different schools now so it was hard for them to meet up often. Slowly, Jace stopped listening to the words so much as just listened to her voice. She had a lovely voice- a little low for a girl but that just made her musical tones more enjoyable. Her voice matched the rest of her. Vanessa was gorgeous overall. He let his gaze rest on her, on her soulful brown eyes and soft cupid’s bow mouth. He loved her. He really, truly loved this girl. He was attracted to her physically of course, but there was so much more than that. There was her sense of humor and occasional ditzy moment, her stubbornness and slow temper, there was just so much he loved about her. He thought about that as he fingered the necklace in his pocket. “Vanessa,” he started hesitantly, interrupting her flow of words. She looked up at him questioningly and Jace opened his mouth to continue, but there was a sudden crashing in the bushes nearby and a moment later, something shot through the bushes and hit the tree, splattering lime green paint everywhere. Both Vanessa and Jace stood up, startled by the sudden knowledge that there were other people around. Now that he was listening for it, Jace could hear them crashing through the bushes. He had been so involved with Vanessa that he hadn’t noticed them before; judging by her expression, she hadn’t either. The crashing got closer and someone soon crashed through the bushes, tripping over a branch or something and falling at Vanessa and Jace’s feet. With a wry look at each other, they both grabbed one arm and pulled the guy up. He turned around quickly, startled, but relaxed when he saw it was just a couple of teenagers like him. Actually, he recognized one. “Vanessa!” he exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, Chad! What are you doing out here?” she asked, smiling. Jace looked between the two, frowning. Vanessa looked really happy to see this guy… He studied him sharply, noting the highlighted blond hair, expensive looking clothes despite the paint spattering him, and the face his grandmother would say was too good looking for his own good. He suddenly felt widely inadequate with his spiked disarray of dark brown hair and ripped up jeans. “This is Jace,” Vanessa said, ripping him out of his comparison between him and Chad. “He’s been my best friend for years.” Jace forced a smile and shook the proffered hand. Neither tried to the test the other’s grip, but both let go as soon as it was polite. “Well, its been lovely running into you out here,” Chad said, addressing Vanessa. “But I’m afraid I have to go. People to shoot and all that,” he said, waving around the paintball gun he was holding. “Tell your dad I said ‘hello.’ It was nice meeting you Jace,” he said with a smile so bright and shiny that Jace was sure there had been some major dental work on it. He faked his own smile and sighed in relief when the blond turned around and quickly disappeared, the crashing bushes signaling his retreat. “You hate him,” Vanessa said, turning to him with a frown. It wasn’t a question and Jace couldn’t deny it. She sighed. “Can you try to get along with him? I really like him.” Jace gaped at her. “You like him?” At Vanessa’s nod, he continued, hoping for a denunciation of the idea in his head. “You like like him or just like him?” Vanessa rolled her eyes, probably at the juvenility of that statement, but said, “Like like, okay? He‘s a really sweet guy.” After a moment’s reflection, she added, “And he has my dad’s approval.” Jace groaned, covering up the surge of dejection and hurt with overdramatic, horrified surprise. “You like someone your dad approves of?” he said, groaning. Vanessa’s dad hated him with a passion. He thought Jace’s thirft shop clothes were a sign of drug abuse and that he was going nowhere, never mind that Jace had a single mom with four kids who couldn’t afford better. “Your dad hates me and you should never, ever like someone your parents approve of.” Vanessa giggled and Jace grinned, growing reckless at her laughter. “If you really want to piss off your parents, fall in love with me.” Vanessa froze and Jace flushed. The last part had come out serious, a quiet plea. Oh god, he had just confessed. “Jace,” Vanessa began, before she caught sight of Jace’s eyes. She had been about to ask if that was supposed to have been a joke, but that sealed it; it hadn’t been. Jace dropped his eyes, horrified, and mumbled something about having to go, before starting to bolt. Vanessa caught his sleeve before he could. “You brought me here, remember? I don’t know the way back,” she said gently. “Oh,” Jace mumbled. He started down the path slower than he had been planning to a moment before, Vanessa following. The walk was filled with awkward silence, only interrupted once by Vanessa’s halting, “So you like me?” and Jace’s answering, “Yeah.” He walked her all the way to her house and up to her porch, like he always did. “So, I’ll see you around?” he asked. She just nodded and opened the door to go inside. She looked as uncomfortable and nervous as Jace was. She was about to shut the door, not knowing what to do, when Jace said, “Vanessa, wait.” He pushed open the door quickly and reached into his pocket, pulling something out. “This is for you,” he said, awkward. He dropped it into her hand and left before she could say anything, quickly disappearing from view. She opened her hands and stared at the silver locket. A small oval with the words Love Always engraved on it in flowing lines. Flowers and vines wove around the words. Hesitantly, she unfastened the small clasp, letting it fall ajar. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She swooped down and unfolded it. Jace’s handwriting- tiny, neat, and cramped as it always was- completely covered the ivory page. Her eyes widened as she read the confession, the reasons behind it all, what Jace saw in her that no one else did, and finally asked her to please accept him and his feelings even if she didn’t return them. And all of it was poetry; it didn’t all rhyme, but even in her head there was a rhythm and pattern to it. Jace was a sweetheart. He always had been. But date him? She though of the other boy vying for her attention as she dropped down on the bed. Chad had good looks and money, and her father’s approval. She thought of how sweet and protective he could be, and his manners. Then, she turned her mind to Jace. He had been her friend for years and that’s what she always had thought of him as. But now… he had moved himself from that category. Now that she was looking for it, she could tell he was cute if a little gangly. Plus he had the prettiest blue eyes and the most killer smile she had ever seen. Plus, he was Jace. Sarcastic a lot of the time and a bit of a cynic, downright rude to some people, but always incredibly sweet and nice to her. He was a great listener and he actually paid attention to her problems and offered advice instead of just listening. He was funny and knew her well and had always been really accepting of everything about her. Comparing the two, there was no comparison. She would have to call her choice tonight. She giggled slightly. She had always wanted a prince charming. Now she had one, even if he was a bit of an unorthodox prince. |
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I'm currently questing Snowy White cravat.
My birthday was August 13. Presents and random pms would be great.
