Chapter 20 - PILLOWTALK

''Can you like leave?"' I yell from the water. I'm only in my underwear and I do not want anyone seeing me like this, most especially Jason. I'm not ashamed of my body or anything, don't get me wrong, but it's just weird having a guy see you…you know, like that.

''This is public property, Jones. I'm allowed to be here.'' I ignore him and continue swimming, but it doesn't mean I don't catch a glimpse of him stripping. He jumps from the rock which I was plopped on minutes ago, and dives straight into the water, splashing water on me in the process.

''Hey, watch it.'' I warn in a bid to annoy him. ''Don't mess up my hair.''

He swims a little closer to me and splashes some more water on my face, much to my surprise. ''Real mature, Jason. Real mature.''

''Can I ask you something?'' he says, his chestnut hair dripping wet from the water. 

Don't look at his abs.

Don't look at his abs.

Actually stare at his abs.

The slash which I had stitched months ago has faded. If you peer in very closely like I'm doing right now, you'd probably see it. Other than that, it has healed quite nicely.

"How's your, you know." I point to the slash. He traces it with his fingers and sighs. "It's healed now."

I'm still going to find out how you got it in the first place.

''You're an anime fan, right?''

''How do you know that?'' I question in both amazement and curiosity. I've never told anyone before, not even Paris, but yes, I am anime fan. My anime journey started back when I was in Linkdale High. I had this massive crush on a guy named Weston in 7th grade. He was this huge anime geek with glasses that were way too big for his face and I wanted to impress him. Too bad he didn't even look my way, instead he went for this Asian chick who was also an anime geek.

On the bright side, I started watching the Japanese made flicks and I've been hooked ever since.

''I follow you on IG. You follow like 50 anime accounts.''

It's actually 65, but who is counting?

I raise an eyebrow at him and swim back a little in order to put some healthy distance between us. ''You follow me on social media?''

''Yup,'' he confirms. ''Your account is public after all.''

Time to change it to private then.

''I'm starting to think you're obsessed with me, Jason. You know my house address and now you follow me on social? What next?'' I clap my hands dramatically and narrow my eyes. ''You know my social security, don't you?''

He laughs heartily. ''No one knows your social security except for you and the government.''

''One can never be too careful.'' 

''Yea.''

We fall into a peaceful silence, both not knowing what to say. I have to admit, this is nice: talking to Jason without the back and forth and bickering. I never would have pegged him for an anime fan, but life is full of surprises.

Come to think of it, Jason and I have gotten a little bit...closer. I mean, we share the same hotel room so I've picked up on a few things he does; he leaves the toilet seat open, he never sleeps with a shirt on, he's afraid of the dark so we leave the light on at night and he never leaves without a particular gold chain around his neck.

We also have a few things in common: we both love music, anime, swimming and have a slight obsession with Maltesers.

Who would've thought that the bad boy and his nemesis will ever have something in common?

"Fairytail or Black Clover ?" I ask, breaking the silence. He puts his thumb on his chin and thinks about it for a second. "Definitely Fairytail, no comparison needed."

"Weird, I pegged you to be a Black Clover fan since you and Asta share some uncanny similarities."

He raises a brow, "How so?"

"For one thing, you're both nothing special yet somehow y'all have people wrapped around your finger."

Laughing again, he swims towards my direction, his piercing blue eyes set on mine/ "Princess, I have people wrapped around my finger because I AM special. Why'd you think they worship me at Adelaide?"

Because they have peanuts for brains.

"I roll my eyes at him. ''Your arrogance is so irritating. Word of advice, you're not going to be the self-pronounced 'King of Adelaide' forever so tone it down a notch."

He smirks, "And if I don't?

"That's your problem not mine."

"Hey Princess,'' he says. We're facing each other now and I can literally hear his heart beating from my end. His face looks troubled, almost like he wants to say something but is too afraid to.

''Yea?''

''I'm sorry.''

I blink twice. ''What?''

Did he just apologize?

"I said I'm sorry,'' he repeats, this time a little more seriously. The playful Jason from seconds ago is long gone. Is this another episode of Punk'd? Where's Ashton Kutcher?

"Why are you sorry?" I ask. Usually, when people apologize to me, I always like to know what they're apologizing for, you know, for mutuality of purpose and intention. He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "You stole my other stash of Maltesers in the medicine cabinet, didn't you? I know it wasn't the smartest place to hide it, but still, how could you?''

"No I didn't steal your stash. Hell, I didn't even know you had another stash in there, but now that I do…'' he says with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Touch my baby and I will murder you in your sleep."

"Okay we're drifting away from the point here. I'msorryforthreateningyouwithaswitchblade."

Huh?

''What are you saying?''

"Don't make me repeat it,'' he mumbles, "I said I'm sorry for threatening you with a switchblade and for tying you up. It was uncalled for and very immature of me. Ryan and I had a fight and he called me out on my bullshit; told me it was wrong of me to threaten to slice your fingers off,'' he grimaces. "You know he stopped talking to me, like really talking to me ever since then? Said I had to apologize to you first before he could consider being my friend again."

Wow.

I-I don't know what you want me to say Jason."

"I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted."

"Wait really?" he asks doubtfully. I nod. "Yea. Believe it or not, I really do not hold grudges. It's all water under the bridge, after all there's no use crying over spilled milk." He searches my face for any hint of insincerity but I give him a small smile. Satisfied, he swims towards the edge of the lake and I follow suit. We get out of the water and I grab a face towel from my bag, put my jeans back on and settle on the ground. "Hey Jason, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot.''

"How long have you been in a gang? Why are you in a gang if you're rich? Who is Vladmir? Why where you at Sylvia Street that day and why were you injured?''

"Okay that's four questions,'' he points out with his signature smirk. "I've been in a gang for three years now and a gangleader for two; that question is personal; Vladmir is a mafia boss I regularly deliver drugs and weapons to; I can't answer the last question."

''Why can't you answer my last question?'' It's been bugging me for a long time as to why he was at Sylvia Street that night. I'm guessing it has to do with his gang activity but I can't be too sure.

''Because some things are best left unsaid, Princess,'' his right hand sweeps his hair back and his forehead creases. ''For safety reasons, it's best if you not know. You know too much already.''

Know too much? More like I know nothing at all because let's be real, it's like the more I know about him, the less I actually know about him. Jason is like an unsolved mystery: the closer you are to a conclusion, the farther you are from the truth.

He sits down next to me and dries his hair with his jacket. "Why are you telling me all this? For all you know, I could snitch to the police and tell them everything.'' I question.

"You won't do that.''

"And how do you know that?"

"Because if you snitch on me, then I have no choice but to snitch on you."

Again with this mantra. What could he possibly know that can be used as leverage against me?

I roll my eyes, "I have nothing to hide."

He turns to face me, "Really?"

"Really."

We have a mini stare challenge, neither of us wanting to lose, but he looks away and stared straight ahead again.

I won, right?

"What's your biggest fear?"

Random but okay.

"Death. Losing the ones I love to the cruel hands of death."

"My biggest fear is falling in love,'' he whispers, more to himself than to me but I heard it.

That explains the screwing around with anyone with a vagina.

I smile and throw a stone into the body of water. "Love is a beautiful thing and it's nothing to be afraid of. To love is to be human and one must love in order to know what it feels like to be selfless."

"So why do the ones I love always leave me?" Again, I don't think he realized he said that out loud but I hear it and I feel a pang in my chest. He's hurting, and it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. His mood is down and his eyes look clouded. I may not know what his home situation is like, or what he's going through, but I can provide a source of comfort through words, nemesis and petty behaviour aside. "I know what it feels like to be abandoned by someone you love and trust me, it hurts like hell and maybe your situation may not be the same as mine, but you just have to keep it moving and keep it pushing because at the end of the day, it's their loss, not yours,'' I give his hand an encouraging squeeze. "They missed out on the opportunity of knowing how awesome you really are."

''Why are you being so nice to me?''

''I can tell when someone just needs a shoulder to cry on.''

He looks at me, eyes filled with unshed tears and I smile at him. He inches closer to my face, eyes zoning in on my lips. His right hand caresses my face as he leans in for a kiss, but before he can capture my lips, I turn away so his lips touch the corner of my mouth.

''Jason-I-we can't do this.'' I say. He looks crushed but masks it. "It's my mistake. I got caught up in the moment is all,'' he smiles sadly. "It's getting pretty late so I guess we have to go.''

"They've probably sent out a search party looking for us or something.'' I joke, trying to lighten the tension a bit. He nods and forces a smile on his face. ''Yea, let's go.''

I know I did the right thing, but why is my heart saying otherwise?