here's to never growing up

A little sigh slipped his lips as he leaned back and looked at her. As much as he loved to tease her and make fun of her a bit, he hated to see her so sad. That started when he saw her getting upset over her parents and he saw the sadness in her eyes, which was exactly what he was seeing right now. She didn’t want this, and he knew that but what could he do? “Don’t be like that.” He muttered as he leaned his head back and caught her eyes for a moment. “I… I know you don’t want this. Hell, this is all new for me too, but we have to at least give all of this a try, you know? Your parents aren’t gonna stop until we’re married.” He muttered once again. “But maybe we could travel, go on adventures whatever you want, we just have to do it together, alright?”

For a moment she thought she was calm, but then anger was all she could feel. “No, it’s not alright.” She replied, slightly raising her voice. “I’m not ready for this and I am not getting married to you or anyone else.” She went on, her eyebrows furrowed as she got the feeling that it was not that funny anymore. “The life that is planned out for me sounds really nice and all, but I don’t want something to keep me from doing anything I want.” Jess closed her eyes in an effort to calm herself down once again, but this time it didn’t work. “Nobody gets it, I want to be free.” The girl said, disappointed now that she thought of the image as a whole. “Marriage is basically people depending on each other and I am not doing that. I don’t want to have to be loyal to anyone.” She finished, taking another sip.

A happy smile played on his lips as he moved to sit on the couch and leaned back a bit before taking one of the glasses. He knew he wouldn’t let himself get too drunk but he didn’t mind getting a little buzzed with her. He slowly started to sip on the drink as he looked over at her and patted the spot next to him. If he was going to make this work, he knew that the two of them were going to slowly have to start acting like a married couple. Even though she wasn’t fully up for marriage, he knew that no matter how much she begged and pleaded that her parents wouldn’t let her get out of this one. “So… how was you day?” He said, trying his best not to chuckle at himself.

Leaving the bottle on the table, she sat back next to him. The girl took a deep breath, letting it out with a soft sigh. “It was terrible.” Jess replied, the same fake smile forming her lips as she turned to gaze over at him. “How about yours, darling?” She asked, knowing that this isn’t what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. Come back home, sit on the couch and have the same talk over and over again. She was not ready for that big a step, her thought was that she would run away eventually. Would never say the ‘I do’ to him and that was solid in her mind as a decision. If they could lock her in that house so that she stays, then she would simply be miserable for the rest of her life.

The smirk widened on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. The two knew how to tease each other and really push each other’s buttons, but Henry found it very enjoyable. “Well, maybe I do.” He teased as he shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, if I didn’t spend time with you, who would I have to mock.” He was trying his best not to chuckle, but he knew that he did deserve to get a little punch for his last comment. As he shook his head, he ran another hand through his hair before looking down at her. “So are you coming to bed, or am I sleeping on the couch since we’re not yet married, my love.” 

She could actually see herself in a real fight with him, no words, just fighting. Only the idea of it simply amused her, but she didn’t really want those sarcastic comments to stop. At first they seemed to irritate her, but in all honesty, he was short of funny indeed. “Oh my God, don’t tell me you want to sleep already.” Jess sighed deeply, grabbing two glasses and a bottle of alcohol, she would drink either with to without him, but wasn’t willing to go to bed yet. “Want one or are you going to get drunk and express the love you have for me?” She asked jokingly, taking a sip of her own drink.

Henry did find it extremely adorable how fired up she would get over the smallest things. Not only that but also because she was so tiny he loved to pick on her even more. He looked over at her and chuckled a bit more before shaking his head, not even replying to the fact that she would probably punch him. “The sweetest.” He teased once again as he playfully nudged her before running a hand through his hair. Sure at first he was slightly against this whole marriage thing, but again he was slowly warming up to the girl. “You know what’s crazy?” He said as he playfully leaned against the wall, his smirk widening. “I think you actually like to spend time with me.” 

Jess almost screamed when he replied, her hand forming a punch, but she managed to hold it down as for the time being. “Always.” She responded, her smiling widening. Instead of punching him, she pushed his arm slightly, desperately trying to show how calm she was. Hearing his question, she raised an eyebrow waiting curiously for his next words. After she realised what he had just said, she widened her eyes, pressing her lips together. “In your dreams, my love.” She almost flipped out, but tried to hide how she actually felt. “In fact, I think that you like to spend time with me.”

“Oh, I know you are.” Henry said with a teasing smile as he looked over at the smaller girl. What turned into a purely business arrangement was starting to turn into something more. No matter how stubborn she was, he actually enjoyed spending time with her and would make up excused to do so. He chuckled once again as he saw her eyes roll and her cross her arms over her chest, but he just shook his head. “Yup, will not be involved in anything your parents choose.” He teased right again as he looked over at her and just felt his smile widen. “I don’t know if you remember, but you have told me this at least a hundred times, just today.” 

Jess wanted to growl at him, but decided it was not that of a good idea to do things like that in public. Rumors traveled much too quick and that could possibly have an effect on her. “Mock me again and I will punch you.” She replied calmly, fake-smiling ironically with a tiresome little sigh. Sometimes she genuinely thought he was a complete jerk, but then again, it took five seconds for her to change her mind and find him adorable again. That was not something she would admit, though. “I will say it again tomorrow, only because I’m a nice person.” The girl added, nodding softly, a slight smirk forming her lips.