“ NICE TATTOO.I heard that ankles hurt a lot. Is that true? ”His own ink sits on his chest, hidden away. Three stars, one for each member of his family. Only the very lucky –– or very smelly, as in: the baseball team –– ever get to see it.
“ HEY, THANKS FOR COMING, MAN. ” Sitting up, with minimal grunts escaping his bruised lips, Jeff aims a half-smile at Zach. “ Team said you couldn’t make it earlier because you were picking up your sister? ” Jeff had always liked Zach. Out of the younger players, he was a good guy. Different than all those other dicks on the team. His girlfriend, Leah, had confirmed it when she’d once admitted that Zach was one of the few that she actually felt comfortable being around. Consider that the seal of approval, or something. “ Nice to have you. There’s this guy next door who keeps talking to himself and it was kinda starting to FREAK me out. Watch me start doing that in a day or two. ”
“ WELL, YOU THROW ONE HELL OF A WELCOME BACK PARTY, KAT. ” He drags a hand across his chin –– shaved nice and clean, thanks mom –– and raises his brow at the packs of beer scattered everywhere. Normally, he’d be watching his intake –– college scouts and all that. But… “ Pass me one? It’s like a jillion degrees tonight. You didn’t invite the whole school or anything, right? ”
“ YEAH, LEAH SOMEHOW CONVINCEDme to come to this thing… ” He leans against the crutches. His cast is decorated in signatures and smiley faces galore, well wishes and doodled hearts in all the colors Crayola has to offer ––– his crutches are no different, despite being loaned by the hospital. He hadn’t the HEART to deny his parents when they’d insisted his friends decorate it for him too. The accident was somehow worse on them then it was on him. Maybe. “ She went to go get us some coffee. I don’t know, poetry’s not really my thing. Why can’t people just say what they want to say, you know? But Leah thinks it might be BENEFICIAL. I love that girl, but I told her there was no way I was getting on that stage, man. ”
emma was patrolling around the pier for any demon activity, since lately it had been high around certain points of la. if anything suspicious caught her eye, she would shoot julian a text, and he along with cristina and mark would meet her there. the blonde passed by a starbucks and was suddenly craving a latte, but decided to just keep walking. suddenly, she felt something hot splatter against her skin — it smelled like coffee. emma turned around as the mundane began speaking to her. eyebrows furrowed together in confusion — she was glamoured, there was no way he should have been able to see her, unless of course he had the sight. he was cute for a mundane. the blonde stared at him a bit more carefully, because she could have sworn this wasn’t the first time they had run into each other. that’s when it all hit her, he was the boy she had saved a few nights back from what would have been a fatal car accident. shit — this was messy. she couldn’t tell him that they’d met before, and emma only hoped he wouldn’t piece it all together because that would leave her to come up with some sort of explanation for the impossible. ‘is that your way of picking up girls? spilling coffee on them and then asking if you know each other?’ she rose an unamused brow, before wiping the coffee off her arm. ‘you don’t look familiar. sorry, pretty boy.’ she turned around and began to walk off, hoping that he wouldn’t follow behind.
He hoped to God himself he wasn’t blushing. His arm rose up to scratch at the back of his head, a sheepish smile rising on Jeff’s lips. “ Not usually, nah. ” It’s interesting to note that Jeff doesn’t really have any go to moves –– well, not anymore. Whatever methods of flirting he once had have all run dry as a river in the middle of the desert. Which should be kind of OBVIOUS, considering how badly he’s floundering in front of the blonde. But it’s not every run day you run into the person you’ve convinced yourself was some kind of MIRAGE, some kind of DREAM, some kind of ANGEL that everyone tells you couldn’t really have existed. That it was just something your mind made up to keep you from going crazy when the world was turning upside down and it was pretty likely you were going to DIE.
But there was always one person that believed him –– his mom. The one person that held his hand in the ER and thanked whatever ANGEL it was that saved him. And sure, Jeff didn’t consider himself to be the most religious guy out there –– he didn’t pray, he didn’t go to Church, he’d only ever read the bible once in middle school –– but… there was something connecting him to this girl. He could feel it in his bones, simmering in his blood, tugging him to her like a magnet to iron. “ Hold on! Don’t go! I swear I’ve seen you before. This is going to sound… Insane, I know, but I SWEAR I saw your face once before… You’re going to think I’m crazy when I tell you… I was in a car accident a few months back and before I passed out, I swear I saw… You. ”
She’s a swerve of lights and a rush of ADRENALINE like a kick to the chest, breath snatched straight from Jeff;s lungs –– no warning, no explanation. A swish of hair the color of sand or starlight, dirty blond and extraordinary, for a reason he can’t quite figure out. There’s a hole where the answer should be, and Jeff’s wading in shallow memories, trying to place her face, sinking faster than he can swim. who are you / who are you / who are you ?
He tips the barista at Starbucks way too generously and races out after the blonde without thinking. Coffee flies everywhere when he INEVITABLY trips over his feet( be patient with him, Emma, he’s still learning how to walk with legs that won’t forgive him for a night he can’t make up for). “ Shit. Shit. Shit. ” Jeff’s gaze snaps up to meet hers. “ Sorry, did I –– Are you –– I mean, are you –– ” Deep breath in, he starts again. “ Sorry. I’m not usually this much of a MESS. Just… I have to ask: do I know you? ”
It’s his first day on crutches –– what kind of question is that? There’s a knot of tension in his jaw, and it only gets tighter. The pain medication is wearing off and he can feel it slipping away bit by bit. His heart says go home, but Jeff’s mind screams to stay. “ I’m fine. ” He tries for a smile, but it feels PLASTIC. “ I can’t, uh… Remember my locker code. ”
