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 Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:42 am
Nights had not been easy for Jett. Hell, days hadn't been, either.
No word from Raven. About anything.
No indication that she was going to be changing her mind about anything anytime soon.
So he had to take matters into his own hands.
He was not proud to have caved so soon, but the important things in life were slipping away so quickly.
He couldn't focus in school. He didn't have any social drive at work. He'd spent the past two days without willingly speaking to anyone. He'd said all of maybe thirty words.
He had no appetite. No motivation. Nearly no sleep. Two days, and he was at wit's end.
There was nothing for him to distract himself with—nothing to bury himself in.
So he'd caved.
It wasn't entirely an impromptu decision. He'd gone out for coffee—the only thing he was really relying on right now—and the girl had mentioned a promotion. A free drink. Raven's favorite.
He'd accepted.
Jett didn't even know if she was at her parents' house, but he was only a few minutes away. Sitting in his car, which smelled faintly of smoke once again, he set the drinks in the cupholders and retracted his phone. It took him a few seconds, sluggish as he'd become, to draft up a new message to Raven.
'Picked up coffee. Got your favorite.'
It didn't seem complete, though. There was so much he wanted to say—and that he got her coffee was not exactly a priority.
But some things you just couldn’t text.
He added, 'I want to see you,' looked at the message, and then sighed.
He wanted to discard his phone and drive home, to just try and be patient. To give her all the time she needed. He just wasn't sure how much longer he'd last holing himself up in an empty bedroom.
He wasn't doing so well so far.
Jett hadn't been able to force himself to do much the past few days, but he managed to force himself to press send.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:21 pm
Raven hadn’t really moved from her bed in the past few days. She kept her phone charged but hadn’t called anyone, nor gone out of the house. When the phone buzzed however she glanced over, grabbing it and looking at the text, heart beginning to pound.
Well. He wanted to see her, that was a good thing. A very good thing. She sloppily sent a text back. ‘Where? When? I like coffee.’
Finally the blonde managed to drag her lazy butt out of bed, raking her brush through her hair and sighing. Should she have written more in her message? She picked up her phone again and typed another short text. ‘I want to see you too. I’ve missed you.’
Which she had. Though she might have been just a little bit too proud to admit it. A little bit too proud really did translate to way to proud, if she wanted to be totally honest…but hey. She admitted it now, so no harm no foul, right? Better late than never.
With a sigh, the blonde went to the bathroom to freshen up before Jett showed up. Or texted her back. Whatever came first.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:44 pm
Jett had been holding his breath when the text came through.
He released it with more relief than he would have thought possible. 'I'll be there in ten minutes,' he texted back swiftly; he knew it would take less time than that, but he didn't want to seem too eager. It was painstaking to force himself to remain in the parking spot for a few more minutes before he pulled out. He passed the time by combing his hair, brushing out his shirt, trying to attain the perfect appearance.
He was taking everything slowly. He drove the speed limit exactly, so as not to seem too eager. The drive took him nine minutes, but it felt like twenty.
Just like old times, he pulled into her driveway. Just in case she hadn't heard him or needed more time, he texted, 'Here,' and then carefully lifted both drinks and made his way to her door. Hands full, he was unwilling to try and hold them both in one hand while he knocked; his hand-eye coordination was fairly poor, so instead he opted to ring the doorbell with his elbow.
He was holding his breath again, standing tall—trying to look as charming as possible.
He wasn't doing so well.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:48 pm
Raven hadn’t been waiting by the door. She totally hadn’t been waiting by the door. There was no chance at all that that was the case.
Well. Except for the fact that the moment the doorbell rang she opened it and flung her arms around Jett, not caring about the coffee in his hands, not really caring about anything. “Uh…hi.”
She wasn’t showing how much she missed him. Not at all. Clearly there had just…been a bear. And she was afraid. That was all. But then there was the small fact that she didn’t want to let go, hugging him tightly and just breathing in his scent, frowning just a bit when it smelled smoky…but that wasn’t an issue right now.
Nothing was.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:53 pm
He had tensed with the hug, not quite sure what he was expecting. A machete? Why was he thinking about Raven and a machete. For a few seconds he lingered like that before he managed to shift positions so that he could wrap his arms around her. "Hi," he said.
It was too easy to relax against her, too easy to just breathe.
The seconds ticked on, and while he could have stayed like that for a long time, he was afraid if he didn't do something, things might get awkward.
So he tried to make small talk. Or any talk.
Any talk was good talk, at this point.
"How's your hand doing?" he asked, making no effort to pull away. Instead, he found it was quite comfortable to rest against her.
Her shoulder made the perfect pillow. He could have fallen asleep standing up were it not for his heart pounding so loudly.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:57 pm
She finally made the conscious decision to pull away and took one of the coffees from Jett’s hand so she could take his now empty hand and tug him inside. “I’m tired of standing. And my hand hasn’t fallen off yet, so I think that’s going to be good news for it. If it hasn’t dropped now I don’t think it’s going to.”
Raven gave a little smile and half dragged him to her room. “You can put the drinks on the dresser or something. I don’t care. Just hold me please. That’s all I want right now.”
And some kisses, and possibly some other things, but that could come later. Not much later though. “…I think we should order a pizza too. And watch movies. And cuddle…is that okay with you?” She sounded half pained and half excited. “I really missed you, Jett…and I guess I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:07 pm
He wanted to say yes. Really, honestly wanted to say yes. He wanted to stay, order a pizza, fall asleep on the couch cuddling her.
He reached out a hand to stroke her hair, admiring her face for a long moment. "It's mostly okay with me," he said after a moment. "I just don't want to keep hurting you. I don't want to pretend like I can change as much as you want me to. I don't want to let you go, but I don't want to lead you on. And there are parts of me that…that I can't give up. And I'm sorry for it. But if that's something you can deal with, then yeah. I'll order a pizza right now and you can put on whatever movie you want, and I won't leave your side until you're sick of me."
But he needed to know that they both knew what they were getting into. And that they were both on the same page. And that they were both okay with that.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:16 pm
She nodded slowly and pulled away, getting the key from her dresser and going to brave her closet, stepping on a few things as she went to remove the box from her top shelf.
Her fingertips managed to bring it down…though she lost her balance right after and the box fell on top of her as she fell on top of the mess in her closet. “******** ow.” Getting up, Raven inserted the key and turned it, drawing out Jett’s henshin pen, and closing the box again, locking it back up and tossing it into the deep and endless abyss that was her closet.
“Here.” She walked over to him and drew in a breath, holding the pen out for him to take. “I’ll try. I’ll really try. If that’s enough for you. Hell..I’ll go see someone if you want me to, I don’t care. Just…Make it a good pizza…and get some cheese sticks while you’re at it. I’m starving. Spend lots of money on me, okay?”
She gave a tentative grin, still holding the pen out. Hopefully he wouldn’t be to mad.
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:30 pm
He hadn't thought he'd see his pen today.
He wasn't even sure if she'd taken it or if he was just overreacting. But there it was, in one piece. Safe.
His heart was throbbing, but for the first time since she'd left, it didn't hurt.
He wanted to say something snarky, but he couldn’t. He was just happy.
And she was going to make an effort. And whatever effort she made, he'd match.
He tried not to seem so eager for his pen; he reached out, took it in his hand. Relished in the familiar smoothness. He looked from it to her face, and then reached out for her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her tightly. Lifting her just slightly off the ground so he could kiss her.
What remnants of coffee and smoke and long since been washed away by the copious amount of mouthwash he'd indulged in before coming over.
He hadn't expected to kiss her—not like this—but he was ready for it. He needed it.
He didn't put her down or pull away until he'd run out of breath, and even then it was reluctantly. "I'll spend every last penny of mine to keep you happy, Raven. I'll spare no expense."
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 8:35 pm
She returned the kiss with desperation and as much love as she could muster, trying to squash any of the jealous feeling she might have had about how he looked at his pen. He was kissing her, wasn’t he? Not his pen. He wasn’t giving it any tongue. No, no he liked her more. Loved her more.
Raven gave a smile when he pulled away and just pressed close. “Mushroom pizza with extra cheese…and cheesy bread and some soda for us…and something sweet. I don’t even care…” She tried to sound as snarky as possible, but she couldn’t drive the glee from her voice. “I love you, Jett. I really do. I’m sorry that I keep freaking out…I just…I get jealous. I guess I’m just…used to people liking things more than me…I mean, look at my parents. They never really knew what to do with me. I was just another part of their Poe collection…and I was a product that I bet they would have gotten a refund on if they could have. I didn’t fit.”
She rested close to him, sighing. “I just felt like I don’t fit with you. I don’t know. I guess it’s stupid. I just don’t want you to find someone better and leave me. I’m terrified of it.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 11:17 pm
"Hey," he gave her a stern, somewhat tired look before sitting down on the couch. He pulled her close to him, unwilling to let her go. He thought that perhaps by drawing her closer it might help her understand how important she was to him—what a priority she was to him.
"You know you're not just some trophy to me. You're not part of some collection. And I've told you. You've got no competition. Ever."
He kept her pulled close, hand resting on her hip. "We have our ups and downs. But I couldn't imagine anyone but you by my side. If it's not you, it's not going to be anyone."
If he lost her, he didn't think he'd ever want another relationship.
He was young, but stubborn. He had never wanted to give up on them. There were things he had done wrong. Things he would improve—for her.
Because he didn't want to do this again.
Didn't want to do it to himself—and didn't want to do it to her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:00 am
Raven nodded, relaxing slightly. “Okay. Okay. I’ll try to keep telling myself that…I promise.” She sighed and made herself move as close to him as possible, closing her eyes and finally letting all of the tension that had built up just go away. “Think you’re just up to carrying me around? I don’t really want to let go or anything, sorry pal.”
She squished a little closer and gave a laugh. “Remember. Mushrooms and extra cheese and all of the other stuff that I said. It sound delicious to me.” She wanted to move on, start again. All of the explanations and apologies…she wanted them to be over and she wanted to go home. She really did.
Even though…perhaps home was right here in his arms. “…Hey, Jett?” The blonde looked up and gave a sheepish little smile. “…I need you, okay?” More than she wanted to admit she needed him. And it was high time he knew it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2013 7:34 am
A small, thin smile appeared on his face. He was tired, but no longer uncomfortably. It didn't feel like he was restless, and while he was running on the last of his energy, he was comfortable.
And he better order that damned pizza before he fell asleep.
"It's nice to hear that, Raven." Hopefully she needed him more than that pizza, though he wasn't going to risk it. While he moved the hand on her hip so that he could slide his fingers up and down her back, with his other hand he withdrew his phone and began scrolling through his contacts to pull up the number for his favorite pizza place.
"I need you, too. And if you ever start to doubt it, just talk to me. I'll be more than happy to remind you."
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