Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl,
and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.

A N N A B E T H

"Can I give you a nickname?"

"Absolutely the fuck not."

"Why not?" my lips turn downwards, "I could introduce you to people like- 'Give it up for my boy: Jambo-Rambo, the grumpiest dudebro in town.' Wouldn't that be the coolest?"

"I will leave you on the side of the road."

As if. He was the one that offered to walk me in the first place. 

Okay- he didn't offer to walk me back, he told me he was walking me back, and he gave me a look that said I wasn't allowed to argue with that, but I'll take what I can get.

"C'mon Jammer Hammer," I drawl teasingly, "Don't be like that."

He looked like he wanted to throw me into oncoming traffic.

"This," he says with a sharp inhale, "is why I think you're a little shit."

"See, you call me that," I point accusingly at him, "You have a nickname for me, why can't I have one for you Jimmy boy?"

He glares down at me.

"Well, Shimmer Jimmer," I tell him, with a completely straight face- doing my absolute best not to smile, "It's either a nickname, or your full name. James Jordan Jackson."

"Neither," he grits out, "don't call me anything at all."

"I can always add more J-names to the end of your full name," I threaten, wiggling my finger in his direction, "I'll make it James Jordan Jackson Jefferson Joseph Jesus J-"

"Jesus?!"

"Oh yes," I nod at him, wide-eyed, "That would make you the official...." I drag the word out and pause for dramatic effect,

"J-man."

"You absolute little shit."

I give him a big smile, nudging him with my elbow. "What kind of partner would I be if I didn't annoy you just a tiny little bit?"

"Just a tiny little bit?" he echoes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"At least I don't annoy you as much as your friends," I point out.

He opens his mouth as if he was about to argue, but after a pause he closes it again.

"For once," he concedes, almost unwillingly, "I have to agree with that."

I give him a victorious smile and he rolls his eyes in response. "Look at us, getting along like old pals-"

"Do not call me your pal."

I scrunch my face at him. Rude.

He didn't know that I could be a great pal. His loss.

"Any-who," I tell him, as soon as the dorm rooms come into view, "This is me. See you tomorrow!"

Unsurprisingly, he doesn't return the goodbye. He just stares at me as I let go of his arm. 

I make sure to smile extra big at him as I wave my fingers at him, but just as I turn on my heel- ready to scurry off, a warm, slightly rough hand wraps around my wrist.

Oh?

When I turn around, I see James staring down at my hand as if he wasn't sure himself, of why he chose to suddenly hold it.

"What?" I said, hesitantly after a few seconds. 

"I-" his mouth opened and closed a couple of times, as if he didn't know what to say.

It takes a few more seconds, before his face morphs into a deep scowl. 

"I'm upset," he grumbled, suddenly.

My whole head jerks back at that. Uh, what?

"Okay?" I said lamely, frowning up at him in confusion, "Uhm, what's wrong?"

"You aren't supposed to ask," he glared at me as if I'm supposed to know what to do, "You're supposed to offer comfort."

"Um," I cleared my throat delicately, still completely baffled. "Uh, there there." I pat his shoulder awkwardly. 

He glared harder at me. "Offer comfort," he repeats, as if it's supposed to mean something. 

I can only stare at him in complete confusion. The last time he referred to something as offering comfort was when-

Oh. 

A smile begins to tug at the corner of my lips, and I ignore the red that creeps it's way into my cheeks.

His scowl deepens at the sight of the amusement on my face.

"You want me to-" I clear my throat, forcing the smile back, "You want me to um, give you a hug?"

"No, I don't want a hug," he denies almost too quickly, turning his glare to the ground. "I'm upset. You're supposed to offer comfort."

I only stare at him, bemused, before I decide to take a step forward, until I'm right under his chin. 

He glares down at me. Typical. 

Gently, with the soft- but teasing smile still on my face, I wrap my arms around his torso, and rest my cheek against his chest. 

"If you want a hug," I say softly, "you can ask me any time."

He grumbles something under his breath before his muscular arms wrap around my frame, pulling me closer than before until I'm completely pressed against him. I can hear his heart thudding against my cheek as he does that, and for a moment I'm almost worried that he could tell that my heartbeat was faster than usual. 

"I didn't want one," he mumbles defiantly, making me giggle.

"Sure, James Jordan Jackson."

"Shut the hell up."

*****

For some odd reason, my friends assumed that I had been on a date.

"How was it?"

I smile over at Beth. "How was what?"

"That little date you went on, with your partner," Elliot drags the last word out.

My eyes go wide. "That wasn't a date! We were finishing the assignment together-"

"What assignment?" Beth raises an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side.

Despite myself, I can feel my cheeks start to go warm. "The get-to-know-your-partner one."

"That one shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes, should it?" Elliot asks Beth, a lazy smile on his face.

"Mhm, it shouldn't," she nods slowly, giving him a little nudge, "Five questions on either side should've been enough."

"We were drinking milkshakes too," I tell them, hoping that the light blush on my cheeks doesn't start to darken.

"That shouldn't have taken very long either," Elliot comments, "I wonder what they could've possibly been doing for three whole hours."

I laugh nervously, pulling my phone out as my face burns even more. "Naw, it couldn't have been three hours. I-"

I pause when I see what the time on the screen is. "Oh. 8:17 p.m. Huh, that did take long, didn't it?"

I really hadn't realized that I had spent that much time with him. That was a tad bit surprising. 

Oh, well. Time flies by in the yellow and green- and whaddya know, I was wearing a green dress today, wasn't I?

Both Bethany and Elliot start to 'mmmmmmmmh' while wiggling their eyebrows, and while I was preparing to laugh it off, my phone starts to ring.

"Wow" I say brightly, thanking every god up there for sending this distraction my way, "Would you look at that? I've got to run, and take this very important phone call."

"Really?"

"Yep," I smile innocently, "The Richmond Police Department is calling."

Bethany rolls her eyes.

"This isn't over!" Elliot says from behind me, but I only smile to myself in response. It so was. Soon enough, they'd forget about it.

"I don't like you," I say snippily into my phone.

"What the hell?" the voice on the other end demands, "Because I finished your Rice Krispies, seriously?"

"No, not because y- wait," I go still, eyes widening, "You did what?"

There's silence on the other end.

"Well," he says slowly, clearing his throat uncomfortably, "It's a funny story. One I'd rather not tell-"

"First you kill Carl, then you eat my food?" I demand, my eyebrows drawing together.

"I did not kill your damn succulent," he snaps back, "What kind of loser names their plants anyway?"

My jaw drops. "You take that back."

"Nah."

"Thomas, take it back."

"Don't call me Thomas."

"I will hang up on you," I threaten, holding a finger up even though he can't see me.

My older brother groans over the phone. "I called to ask how you're doing. Not bicker."

"I'm doing great," I tell him pointedly, "But you know when I was doing even better? When Carl was alive and when I still had my rice Krispies!"

He sighs tiredly from the other end. "Tell you what- I'll buy you extra. Along with some pop tarts and two tubs of ice cream."

My face brightens instantly. "Deal."

I had to give it to Thomas, he knew how to worm his way out of things like this. I hadn't been lying about the Richmond Police Department thing either, considering he was a cop.

"Dork," I hear him mutter under his breath before he continues, "How's everything going with your new partner? James?"

"Yeah, that's his name," I put my phone between my ear and shoulder as I slip my bag off and slump onto the tiny bed, "He's... cool."

I wasn't going to tell him that he was the grouchiest person I knew so far. If Thomas heard the slightest hint of him being a jerk, he'd fly his overprotective butt all the way here and try to fight him for it.

"Is he, really?" Thomas sounds skeptical, "Are you sure he isn't even the tiniest bit sleazy?"

"Yes," I say immediately, "He's not like that. Not at all. He nearly punched someone in the face for being a sleaze."

The thoughtful pause that follows has me wondering why I jumped to his defense that quickly. The guy barely tolerated me, and if it were up to him- I don't think he'd say anything in my defense, but here I was defending his honor. Whew.

"Remember to keep away from the boys though," he warns lightly, "God knows what some of these high school kids are up to."

"Eh, he really isn't all that bad," I tell him reassuringly, "Don't worry about me, Thomas- he's taken good care of me so far."

That last line was meant to be said jokingly. But as soon as the words are out of my mouth, I realize that despite how grumpy James is- he always made sure I was okay.

Whether it was walking me home, letting me hold on to his arm so that I don't trip, giving me the carrots off his tray, or handing me some spare change to get myself candy- he did it all. Sure, he'd roll his eyes and grumble about it, but he did make sure I was okay.

"Good kid or not," Thomas says, making me snap out of it, "Be careful, and no boys, okay?"

I smile to myself, but it isn't happy. It's a tiny bit bitter. Thomas didn't know that Ralph had scared me enough to not want to ever associate with a guy again- in a way more than platonically.

"No boys," I echo, "I'll text you after dinner, yeah? Don't burn the kitchen down."

"That would be you, lame-ass," is his retort, before his voice softens, "And yeah. Take care, Annie."

"You too."

I let the phone slip from my fingers when he hangs up, and it bounces lightly on the mattress as I reach over to my bag, pulling the paper that I was using to write at the diner.

My eyes skim over what I had messily scribbled across the ruled sheet.

Middle name: Jordan (three J's???)

Favorite color: A shade of blue (midnight + sunset)

Favorite flowers: Calla Lilies (blue ones too??? SO PRETTY?!?!?)

Favorite candy: he doesn't have one !! THE ABSOLUTE AUDACITY. officially #canceled :( (he said chewing gum and mints, but that doesn't count)

Favorite kind of coffee: just coffee??? Boring. (really thought he'd say black coffee)

Favorite book: The Catcher in the Rye (secret book nerd oooh)

Favorite ice-cream flavor : mint ( glorified toothpaste !!!!)

edit: ^^^ he also said anyone who thinks it tastes like toothpaste has no taste, I no longer want to be his friend -_-

Favorite go-to food: salad (or as I like to call it, expensive leaf nonsense)

edit: ^^^^ turns out his chef aunt makes a hecking good chicken caeser salad so I was wrong, sorry salad enthusiasts

The list goes on for about another half a page and stops, because I had forgotten to continue writing after a point. It's mostly short points, with my own comments and occasional doodles.

Despite that, I still seem to remember the conversation that followed even after that, with the answers to all the questions I had. Nearly verbatim too.

I realize only after a good minute of thinking back to the conversation, that I was smiling at just the thought of it.

I sigh, putting the paper back down as I lean back onto the bed, rubbing my forehead.

"No boys," I mutter to myself, "Not even the grumpy, attractive ones."

thanks for reading ! don't forget to vote and comment :) so there used to be an a/n rant here about how the old version isn't coming back, but I think I got the point across so here's a more cheery, short one instead !! have a good day :)

Cassie's bucket list #10: The next time you fall, dramatically look at the nearest person, and go, "When your legs don't work like they used to before."