***

"Why the sudden interest in this party?" Liz questioned.

"No reason," I casually replied, looking out the window of her car.

She pulled over into the parking lot, although it wasn't really so much a parking lot as it was a sand field filled with trucks and old cars.

"Did I tell you you're acting weird?"

I rolled my eyes. "Only a couple hundred times."

"Good." She unfastened her seatbelt and shifted in her seat to face me. "That's because you are."

I drifted my gaze from the panorama onto my best friend. "I'm just getting familiar with the scenery."

Liz's lip twitched upwards. "Yeah, well you have a strange way of showing it." Her stare hovered over me for a few more seconds before she opened the door and hopped out of the car.

I shrugged and got out too.

Liz and I walked towards the party scene, contemplating everything going on around the lake. I ignored the hungry stares from several guys that trailed my body from head to toe.

Parties like these are just an excuse to see people in swimsuits and there was nothing anyone would say that would change my mind.

Mine was hidden behind an off white, linen shirt of which I had popped a few buttons, and a pair of denim shorts that showed off my long, toned legs. I liked to keep a few things mysterious. I mean, last time I checked, dessert wasn't brought out before the appetizers.

Before we'd left home I'd tied my hair up in a bun and applied a little mascara but nothing too crazy. Heavy make-up wasn't really the vibe to go for in these types of parties. Or at least that's what I thought.

Liz and I left our bags on the ground by a wide tree, we decided it would be smart to pack some towels and other stuff in case we wanted to go for a swim or something.

A few more looks later, Liz spotted the guy she'd been flirting with in that frat party from the other night. "Go," I simply said when I noticed her taking a few intermitent peeks at him.

She looked at me hesitantly. "Are you sure?"

"I'll be fine."

As she was leaving she turned around once more and tilted her head. "Yo- "

"Go," I repteated, slightly unamused.

Liz shot me one last grin. "I won't be long," she assured me.

After she was off I scanned the place in the lookout for something to do other than just standing there. Maybe if I was lucky I'd find a certain someone.

Something out there must've been hearing my thoughts, because it wasn't long until I saw the light brown-haired boy, talking to a brunette girl who had her back to me.

Maybe he has more game than I anticipated, I thought.

I mean, he didn't have the kind of looks to attract that many girls but there he stood, and the girl seemed pretty interested, judging by her body language. Now that I think about it, he did try to flirt with me the other night, even if his way of doing it was arguably questionable.

Perhaps awkwardness has its charms? I don't know.

Our eyes briefly met, Jesse looked away before his brain proccessed my face and he snapped his head back in my direction.

My lips formed a slight smile as I waved at him once, then walked away towards the lake. I wanted to see what the fuss about the traditional lake party was all about. As I made my way there, I noticed how he was excusing himself to the girl and was soon heading my way.

I kept my stare on the scene as he adressed me.

"Jade, hey!" He said. "You came."

"That I did." I turned my head to face him.

He was just wearing a pair of board shorts and some flip flops. My eyes subtly trailed down his slender physique. He was kind of like me, slim but slightly defined. Even though his abs weren't showing, he did have slightly toned pecs and v line, probably due to genetics because it didn't look like he worked out.

"So how are you liking Brown so far?" He asked me.

A brooding frown took over my features for a split second before I allowed myself to smirk suggestively. "I'm still deciding."

Jesse pressed his lips together to quell a sheepish smile from creeping up to his mouth.

"Well, there's a music concert next week," he said after clearing his throat, trying to tone down the blush that had invaded his cheeks. "Maybe we could - if you want - we could, I don't know, check it out?"

And nervous Jesse is back.

When he noticed I wasn't answering he tried to save it by saying, "But only if you want. I mean maybe it helps you make up your mind."

Was that intentional? I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow.

"A-about Brown, of course," he quickly elaborated.

"Sure," I finally answered.

He was letting out a sigh of relief, when a guy came up from behind him and smacked his shoulder acknowledgingly, making him stumble forward.

"Hey, Jess!" The guy said. His gaze soon came to a stop on me, and he shot his eyebrows up in surprise. "And who might this be?" He said, giving Jesse an evocative look.

"This might be Jade," I opted to answer for myself, which led two pairs of eyes to instantly land on me.

Jesse rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Jade, this is my friend Tyler."

"Best friend," Tyler corrected him.

"Sure, that," Jesse humored the black haired boy.

I looked away to hide a chuckle and caught Liz staring at me knowingly from the table where all the drinks were.

Without taking my eyes off her, I told the guys, "I'm going to go get a drink." I glanced at them both, then smiled. "I'll be right back."

They did nothing but nod as I swayed away.

When I got there, I brushed off Liz's sneer and took a look at the table, trying to decide what to get to drink. I examined Jesse as he talked to his friend while pouring myself a beer.

"That's an interesting choice," Liz said, taking a sip of her beer.

An empty expression prevailed on my face as I kept my gaze locked on him.

Liz looked over at him again. She raised an eyebrow and smirked at me. "Isn't he the guy you chased after the other day?"

"You have a conveniently good memory when your primary mission is finding ways to become a pain in my ass."

Liz giggled and granted me a sly grin, which I shook off once again. I took a sip of my drink before I began coasting towards Jesse.

The second I so much as blinked, I felt beer all over my chest. My mouth snapped open, hissing in reaction to the liquid's coldness. I sent a black look to the brown haired girl in front of me.

She covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh my god, I am so sorry."

I forced my eyes shut to try and keep it together. It was an accident, I repeatedly told myself. "Mm..." I slowly took in a deep breath to calm my burning anger. "It's no big deal."

"But I got your shirt all soaked in beer."

No shit?

It was getting harder for me not to lose my composure. "Yeah, well I never said it was pleasant, did I?" That came out unintentionally piercing.

"I really am sorry," she insisted with a concerned expression.

Sorry is not going to unruin my shirt, I thought. But instead I just forced a weak smile and glanced at the girl. "That's okay, really."

Her step faltered at first but she ended up floundering away. As I resumed trying to calm down, I could've sworn I'd seen her before but I pushed that thought to the back of my mind when the wetness of my shirt started bugging me.

Sighing, I took it off and pressed a hand against my forehead. I don't even remember what I was on my way to do in the first place.

Looking back at where Jesse was standing, I checked to see if he had witnessed that embarrassing moment, when I caught him already gawking at me from afar.

As they say, one door closes, another one opens.

That's when I decided to stop playing games and bring it on. I squeezed the beer out of my shirt before leaving it on the ground below a tree, right next to my bag.

I untied my bun to let my black hair hang loose and gave my head a slight shake to make it all fall into place. Hiding a smirk, I took off my denim shorts before making my way towards the lake, where I dived in without hesitation.

When I came back up to the surface, I slicked my hair back and sneaked a peek at Jesse and Tyler. As I predicted, they were still enjoying the show.

Never fails.

I got out of the water and strode confidently towards my bag, where I grabbed a towel and started drying off the water from my body. Before I knew it, I already had Jesse by my side. I looked up at him with a blank face as he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I thought you were going to get a drink," he let out a small laugh.

"I was," I admitted. "But I had a wardrobe malfunction." I pointed at my soaked shirt.

"Beer?" he asked, to which I nodded. "Yikes," he said with a grimace.

Suddenly he noticed me bend down to dry my hair with the towel and shifted uncomfortably. There's no denying the fact that I made him nervous.

Ultimately I showed him some mercy and wrapped the towel around my shoulders. "Walk with me?"

Jesse broke out of his trance. "Sounds great."

"So," Jesse started. "Are you from around here?"

"No." I glanced at him. "NYC, born and raised."

Jesse's brows rose. "Ooh, a New Yorker."

I chuckled and gave him a small smile. "In the flesh." I sat down on a big log and looked up at him. "Are you from here?"

"Yes, actually." He sat down next to me. "I was born in Providence."

"So you're a local?" My lips curled into a flirty smirk. "You'll have to show me around then."

"Consider it done."

There was an awkward silence after that.

Apparently neither of us was too much of a social creature, so we didn't really know what to say next. We kind of just watched the people in front of us while they talked, danced and drank.

The water of the lake projected an orange reflection as the twilight came down upon the day, signalling night time was imminent. I admired the beauty of the landscape before ruining the moment so idiotically.

"Ever had a girlfriend?"

Nice one, Jade. We don't want to sound too desperate.

I rolled my eyes internally at my own question and shuffled to face Jesse.

His gaze stayed on the party scene. "Back in high school."

"Awe, high school sweethearts." I mocked him playfully. "D'you have sex?"

His face flushed bright red before turning to me with an incredulous smile. "Really? No "Were you in love?" or "Why did you break up?""

I shrugged. "You don't seem like the type to fall in love."

"Why is that?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"You just don't."

That was a lie. I could tell Jesse was broken, I've seen that look way too many times not to recognize it. By whom? That's a whole different story.

"Have you?" he said, interrupting my internal monologue.

"Have I what?"

"Ever fallen for anyone."

I snorted. "That's funny."

I looked up to him, but he wasn't laughing along with me.

My face fell into a frown. "Oh, you're being serious?"

"Yes."

My eyebrows rose. "Do I look like I have?"

He analysed me for a second before saying, "I guess not."

As the sky darkened, people started turning on the headlights of their trucks to go on with the party. After all, it's not a real party without teenagers doing stupid shit in the dark, is it?

A low chuckle escaped my mouth. "So, tell me, Jesse. What's your story?"

He looked down at the ground before answering. "I don't know that I have one. And even if I did, it's probably boring."

"Everyone has a story," I argued. "It's not your fault that the highlight of yours was getting slapped across the face by me."

He laughed, but his dark brown eyes hid a glint of sadness. "You make a good point."

Who hurt him?

"Wha-" I was shamelessly cut off by a voice that seemed to have come out of nowhere.

"Are you the Black Widow?"

You have got to be kidding me.

***

A/N

And I oop-
Sorry Jade, but I think you just got painfully exposed. I wonder what this means for their relationship. It definitely is going to spark a change I will tell you that, the question is - In what way?

Honestly I wouldn't want anything to do with her if something like that happened but that's just me, who knows what's going on inside Jesse's head.

Oh wait, I do. HAHAHAH sucks for y'alll!!!!!

*Jade appears* "Are you talking to them about me again?"

"You're literally the main character of the book."

*Jade narrows her eyes* "Well, what did you say?"

*The author clears her throat nervously* "Um- nothing. Just that you kinda' maybe got a tiny bit exposed. But that's all."

*Jade gives the author a blank look* "Watch me still come out on top."

*The author nods in agreement* "Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you did. Anyway, Jade, tell the readers."

*Jade turns to look at the reader but stays unfazed*

*The author speaks through her stiff smile* "Go on, tell them." *The author sighs* "Oh come on, we rehearsed this."

*Jade blinks twice*

*The author scoffs* "Forget it."

See you all in the next chapter. :/