thinkin bout you

jerome: sup wanna go for a drink together?

jerome: someone blew me off and now im sitting here all alone

jerome: you looked good in that bikini today

jerome: hello, jerome here

“and how are you goin’ to avoid the whole situation, man? no one is safe ‘ere if you ‘aven’t noticed.” he points out, before he was shaking his head at his next set of words. “i ain’t sayin’ we ‘ave to be the best of buds, but we’re all goin’ through this. every single one of us. so it makes sense that we try not to attack each other, and isolate people. what if we just don’t play? stop givin’ this person names when the polls come out?”

“fuck, i don’t know,” jerome sighed. “yeah, but we’re still a bunch of college kids grouped together. it’s brilliant, really. we’re all too busy with our own lives and problems to think about the others. besides, the problem with your idea is, as soon as one person gives in, and there will be at least one, fear is a powerful motivator, the whole thing caves in.”

“ugh, i don’t like immunology,” she said with a sigh. “don’t get me wrong, it’s interesting but…” she shook her head a bit. this was what she liked about being around jerome, being able to talk about similar subjects and just nerd it out from time to time. it was nice. “you’ll really need that coffee, then,” she said, pointing at the starbucks on the corner of the street. “go get it, i’ll wait here,” she smiled at him.

“yeah, i understand. i like but it’s kinda heavy in the morning.” cancer, autoimmune diseases, weird allergies, it’d all been discussed in detail before he’d even properly waken up. “excited for lab work though. i’m ready to poke at some cells.” he nodded, grinning at sohee and giving her a a salute. “alright, operation coffee starts now. i’ll see you at the end for a debriefing.” he turned towards the starbucks, walking inside. the line was surprisingly short, there were only two equally sleepy looking people standing in front of him. he ordered his preferred drink - coffee, black -, winked at the barista when he handed him his cup of coffee and walked back outside, to where sohee was standing. “mission succesful,” he sighed before taking a big gulp and then wincing immediately. “fuck, fuck, hot coffee, hot coffee.”

flynn: gross. are you flirting with me?

jerome: you were the one texting me in the middle of the night saying you were dreaming bout me

HER   grin   widened   as   Jerome   eyed   her,   giving   a   little   spin   so   that   he   can   see   from   all   angle,   pushing   them   up   for   observation,   “Of   course   YOU   would   think   the   more   boob   the   better.   Let’s   be   real…the   trick   is   to   start   with   less   side   boob   and   as   the   night   goes   on,   showcase   the   girls   a   bit   MORE.”

jerome bit his lip, shrugging in a what can you do about it kind of way. “you’re a tease, rory. where you and the girls going?”

his impressive display of theatrics had an airy laugh falling from her lips. “you sure you want to take that risk? i could take my coffee black and doused with sugar.” she glanced down at the deep red stain marking her cup. the cream consistency meant transfer was a guarantee. “and i’m not sure you’re ready to rock his shade of red.”

“who said i’m a coffee snob?” he was though. coffee should be drank black, and black only. but desperate times called for desperate measures. “i totally could,” he quipped, raising his eyebrows and grinning. “i’m usually more for pink, but i could pull off red.”

“I wouldn’t mind dressing like an early 20th century heart throb,” Poppy said with a cheeky grin. Relieved that someone finally agreed to let her photograph them, Poppy stood up and knelt down at the foot of the steps, angling her camera so he was positioned in a low angle shot. He owned those steps, and she already had ideas of how she could edit the background and the people walking behind him. “Um, can it be both?” she asked as she clicked her camera a few times, testing the lighting and adjusting her settings accordingly. “I tend to just shoot the same few people over and over again. I need new meat.” She took a few more test shots before becoming satisfied, and then said, “Look off to the side, maybe rest your forearms on your knees,” as she moved a bit closer. “You ever been professionally photographed before? You got the face for it, for sure.”

“you’d look dope,” jerome agreed. the clicks of the camera weren’t foreign to him, so he just sat on his spot and waited until poppy was done taking test shots. “well, i’m all yours.” he followed poppy’s directions, leaning forwards a bit so his forearms were resting on his knees, looking somewhere left of poppy, his posture relaxed. “yeah, actually. one of my moms is a pretty hotshot writer over in france, and this one magazine did a piece about her and her family. i was younger then though. still had pimples and shit.” the memory made him smile. he’d been so nervous, only 15, in the middle of his grow spurt, but his moms were so happy and proud. “the photographer wasn’t as charming as you though.”

Luana nodded in agreement, an amused chuckle bubbling up her throat. “Unfortunately no even though that would be an impeccable skill to have. Video game design, actually,” she corrected softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear as she typed with the other hand. “ Who else would be there to aid me in case I fall again ? I can’t miss out on anything like that, “ she joked, eyes darting up towards him with a slight nod. “It’s pretty common at the place I come from,” she informed him nonchalantly, handing him his phone back once the contact was saved. “It’s lovely to meet you, Jerome.” 

jerome nodded in agreement, rubbing at his lip and smiling. “that’s dope.” jerome wasn’t an avid gamer, but he played now and then, especially when he was high. “exactly. i’ll even make sure i have some band-aids with dinosaurs in my first aid kit, just in case. i’ll be your medical kim possible. call me, beep me, when you wanna reach me,” he deadpanned, before cracking up and shooting luana a grin. “and where’s that?” he took his phone, looking down and smiling. “likewise, luana” jerome said, looking up and into luana’s eyes, winking quickly.

A   SMIRK   DARED   TO   DANCE   ACROSS   HER   LIPS,   “Maybe   this   is   all   just   a   ploy   so   I   can   paint   you   like   one   of   my   french   girls.   Though…using   light   to   paint   and   well…I’ll   be   Jack   and   you   be   Rose,   in   this   scenario.”   Hadley   bit   down   upon   her   bottom   lip   before   bumping   her   hip   against   his,   “And   just   like   that,   you’ve   become   my   favorite   person.   So   quick   impromptu,   adventure   shoot   and   then   drinks.”

“hm. well, if you wanted me naked, you should have just asked,” jerome replied, a cocky grin and a sly wink shot in hadley’s direction. “as long as we don’t die at the end of this photography session.” jerome laughed and clapped his hands together. “all right, sounds like a plan. so, you want to take the pics here? or wanna go somewhere more private?”

His smile had butterflies forming in her stomach once again, her own smile growing as her cheeks grew warm under his gaze. “Yeah, sure, I have a little bit of time before my class.” She nodded eagerly, shifting her backpack on her shoulders. Glancing back over her shoulder at him, she began to walk towards the door. “How have you been? I mean, like, since I last saw you.”

“great,” jerome replied, a soft smile on his lips. he followed arabella, opening the door and holding it open for her. “i’ve been alright. classes have been killing me, but that’s nothing new. i got into agatha christie though, so now i’m up at three in the morning still trying to figure out who done it.” maybe his newly found detective skills would come in handy with the whole watershed situation, he thought bitterly. “how was your week?”

“Maybe they do, but why us?” he repeated the previous question. “There has to be a reason, right? Like why choose this school? These people? Connect all the dots to make us all crazy? Doesn’t seem random, honestly.”

“maybe  it’s someone who’s been fucked over by a lot of people on this campus and they just decided to fuck us all over? i don’t know. you think it’s someone from the outside?”