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𝗷𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝘅 𝗳𝗲𝗺!𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿

𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆: 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗷𝗮𝗮𝗳𝗮𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗷𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼. 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿.

𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻/ 𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆

𝘄𝗰: 𝟰,𝟴𝗸

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

being best friends with jaafar came with two things automatically: constant chaos… and constant access to his family.

at this point, you were basically part of the furniture in the jackson house. nobody questioned why your shoes stayed by the front door or why alejandra texted you more than some of her actual children.

you’d known them forever.

which was exactly why this was becoming a problem.

because jermajesty jackson was not supposed to suddenly look this good.

“you listening to me?”

you blinked, snapping your attention back toward jaafar sitting across from you on the kitchen island.

“…huh?”

he narrowed his eyes immediately. “wow. fake friend.”

“sorry,” you laughed awkwardly. “what were you saying?”

“i said we’re going to that party friday.”

“oh. yeah okay.”

jaafar kept staring at you suspiciously for another second before grabbing a drink from the fridge.

unfortunately, that gave you the worst possible opportunity.

because the second he moved, you saw jermajesty walk into the kitchen.

and lord help you.

gray sweats hanging low on his waist, black compression shirt, curls messy like he’d just woken up, muscles flexing along his arms while he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

completely unfair.

your brain genuinely stopped working for a second.

which apparently he noticed immediately.

because one corner of his mouth lifted slightly the second your eyes met.

“morning,” he said.

you cleared your throat way too fast. “hi.”

smooth.

real smooth.

jaafar turned around holding his water bottle. “bro tell her i’ve been talking for like ten minutes.”

jermajesty glanced between both of you before smirking.

“she probably got distracted.”

your stomach flipped.

“by what?” jaafar asked.

“who knows.”

that smirk stayed on his face just long enough to make heat rush straight to your cheeks.

oh he knew exactly what he was doing.

you quickly looked down at your phone trying to act normal while jermajesty grabbed coffee from the counter beside you.

too close.

way too close.

his cologne hit you immediately and suddenly remembering how to breathe became difficult.

“you okay?” he asked quietly.

you looked up.

big mistake.

because now he was leaning against the counter watching you with obvious amusement in his eyes.

“why wouldn’t i be?”

“you seem nervous.”

“i’m not nervous.”

“mhm.”

you hated him.

actually no.

worse.

you liked him.

and apparently your body had decided now was the perfect time to betray you over it.

jaafar walked back over completely oblivious. “anyway, i told her we’re leaving around nine friday.”

“cool,” jermajesty nodded.

then casually,

“what’re you wearing?”

your head snapped toward him instantly.

“what?”

he took a sip of coffee without breaking eye contact. “to the party.”

“uh…” your brain stalled. “i don’t know yet.”

“wear black.”

jaafar frowned immediately. “why are you picking her outfit?”

jermajesty shrugged lazily. “just helping.”

helping. right.

the dangerous thing about jermajesty was that he flirted like it was nothing.

subtle enough that nobody else noticed.

obvious enough that you nearly lost your mind every time.

and somehow it had gotten worse over the last few months.

the random compliments, the lingering touches, the staring.

God, the staring.

sometimes you genuinely thought maybe you were imagining it.

until moments like this happened.

“wait,” jaafar suddenly narrowed his eyes. “hold on.”

your heart stopped.

he looked between both of you slowly.

“why are y’all being weird?”

panic. immediate panic.

“we’re not?” you answered too quickly.

jermajesty looked completely calm beside you. “you’re dramatic.”

“no.” jaafar pointed between you both suspiciously. “something just happened.”

“literally nothing happened,” you laughed nervously.

silence.

then jermajesty suddenly reached over your shoulder, grabbing the bag of chips behind you while leaning close enough for you to stop functioning entirely.

“relax,” he murmured low enough for only you to hear.

your stomach flipped so hard it was embarrassing.

then he walked out of the kitchen like he hadn’t just ruined your entire morning.

jaafar blinked after him.

then slowly turned back toward you.

“…why are your ears red?”

“they’re not red.”

jaafar stared at you from across the kitchen island.

“they iterally are.”

“it’s hot in here.”

“the air is on.”

you grabbed your phone immediately, standing up way too fast. “okay well i’m leaving because this conversation is annoying.”

“oh my god,” he gasped dramatically. “you ARE acting weird.”

you pointed at him while backing toward the hallway. “you’re delusional.”

“and you’re sweating.”

“bye, jaafar.”

his laugh followed you all the way upstairs.

unfortunately, so did your embarrassment.

because now you had to spend the next three hours pretending you weren’t losing your mind over your best friend’s brother leaning close to whisper in your ear.

pathetic actually pathetic.

you flopped dramatically onto the guest bed in the jackson house and buried your face into the pillow.

this crush had officially become a problem.

especially because jermajesty clearly knew.

and instead of being normal about it…

he kept making it worse.

...·.·*.✵.*·.·...

friday night came way too fast.

music already echoed through the huge hollywood hills house before you and jaafar even got inside. luxury cars lined the driveway while people in designer outfits crowded near the pool with drinks in their hands.

typical l.a. party.

“stay near me,” jaafar yelled over the music while walking inside.

“i’m not five!”

“you kinda act like it.”

you rolled your eyes before immediately fixing your dress for the hundredth time.

you ended up wearing black like jermajesty suggested.

which honestly felt like another mistake.

because the second you walked into the house, his eyes found you instantly from across the room.

and didn’t move.

your stomach flipped violently.

he stood near the kitchen talking to a group of people, all black outfit, chains resting against his chest, one hand holding a drink while the other stayed tucked casually into his pocket.

too attractive. actually offensive at this point.

“damn,” one of jaafar’s friends muttered beside you. “you clean up nice.”

“thank you,” you laughed.

but before the conversation could go further, jermajesty suddenly appeared beside you.

“there y’all are.”

there y’all are.

like his eyes hadn’t been locked on you from the second you walked in.

jaafar handed him a drink. “she almost made us late changing outfits fifty times.”

“worth it,” jermajesty said immediately.

your breath caught.

jaafar completely missed it.

“anyway,” he continued, “i’m getting food. y’all want anything?”

“nah.”

“i’m good.”

the second jaafar disappeared into the crowd, silence fell between you and jermajesty.

dangerous silence.

he looked you over slowly again before shaking his head.

“you trying to kill somebody tonight or what?”

heat rushed straight to your face.

“please stop talking.”

he laughed softly. “why? you nervous again?”

“you make me nervous.”

the words slipped out before you could stop them.

both of you froze.

oh no.

your eyes widened immediately while jermajesty stared at you like he couldn’t believe you actually admitted that out loud.

“i do?” he asked quietly.

abort mission.

abort immediately.

you grabbed the nearest drink off the counter. “i’m actually gonna go find jaafar now.”

he caught your wrist before you could escaped.

your heart nearly exploded.

“wait.”

you looked back slowly.

and suddenly the party noise around you felt distant compared to the way he was looking at you.

completely focused, completely unfair.

“you really get nervous around me?” he asked again, voice lower this time.

you swallowed hard. “sometimes.”

his thumb brushed lightly against your wrist.

“why?”

because you look at me too long.

because every time you touch me i forget how to think.

because i’ve liked you for months and it’s becoming unbearable.

instead you whispered,

“you know why.”

that look in his eyes changed instantly.

for a second neither of you moved, then you heard a creak in the floor.

both of your heads snapped toward the hallway.

jaafar stood there holding a plate of food, staring directly at jermajesty still holding your wrist.

silence.

absolute silence.

“…what am i looking at?” jaafar asked slowly.

jermajesty let go of your wrist immediately.

too immediately.

you wanted to disappear through the floor.

jaafar stood in the hallway staring between both of you while jermajesty slowly let go of your wrist like nothing happened.

too casual, way too casual.

“…what?” jermajesty asked calmly.

jaafar frowned. “why’d she look scared when i walked up?”

“because you came outta nowhere,” you answered quickly.

“like you were in a damn horror movie,” jermajesty added.

you glanced at him briefly.

thank god he was good under pressure.

jaafar still looked suspicious though.

“okayyy…” he dragged out slowly. “whatever.”

he took another bite of food while staring at both of you for another second.

your heart was beating so hard you thought he could hear it.

“anyway,” jaafar shrugged. “y’all coming outside or what?”

“i’ll be out in a minute,” jermajesty answered.

“cool.”

and just like that, he walked off back into the crowd.

the SECOND he disappeared, you exhaled so hard it almost hurt.

“oh my god.”

jermajesty laughed quietly beside you. “you panicked bad.”

“because you were holding my wrist like we were in a romance movie.”

“you liked it though.”

you opened your mouth then closed it again.

because unfortunately… he wasn’t wrong.

his smirk deepened instantly.

“yeah,” he murmured. “thought so.”

you looked away quickly, suddenly very aware of how close he was standing again. the music from downstairs vibrated through the walls while colored lights flashed faintly across the kitchen.

people laughed somewhere outside near the pool. but in here? everything felt quieter.

“we should probably go back before he gets suspicious,” you muttered.

“he’s already suspicious.”

“…true.”

that made both of you laugh softly.

then silence settled again.

jermajesty looked at you for a second too long before speaking quietly.

“you really get nervous around me?”

your stomach flipped remembering what you admitted earlier.

“maybe a little.”

“why?”

you looked up at him slowly.

“because you flirt with me all the time.”

“and?”

“and you know exactly what you’re doing.”

his eyes darkened slightly at that.

“maybe i like seeing you nervous.”

heat rushed straight to your face.

“that’s evil.”

“probably.”

you hated how easy it was to stand here with him like this. how every conversation somehow turned into tension without either of you trying.

or maybe trying too much.

his hand brushed lightly against your waist then. small touch. barely there.

but enough to make your breath catch instantly.

“jer…”

“what?” he asked softly, stepping closer. “you want me to stop?”

the answer should’ve been yes. instead you stayed completely still. which apparently told him enough.

his hand settled more firmly against your waist now, pulling you slightly closer until you could smell his cologne again. warm. expensive. distracting.

your heart pounded harder the second his eyes dropped briefly to your lips.

“you know what’s crazy?” he murmured.

“what?”

“i’ve been trying not to do this for months. your breath caught.

“do what?”

he didn’t answer right away.

instead his fingers tilted your chin up gently before he kissed you.

soft at first, like he was testing whether this was real.

then the second you kissed him back, something shifted completely.

the tension that had been building for months finally snapped all at once.

his hand tightened slightly at your waist while yours grabbed the front of his shirt instinctively, pulling him closer. the kiss deepened slower this time, warm and addictive and making it impossible to think straight.

you could feel him smile briefly against your lips when you moved closer into him.

“see?” he whispered softly between kisses. “nervous.”

“shut up.”

he laughed quietly before kissing you again, slower this time, his thumb brushing along your hip beneath the fabric of your dress.

every touch felt unfairly gentle.

intimate in a way that made your chest ache.

outside the kitchen, the party still roared on completely unaware while jermajesty kissed you like this had been on his mind for way too long.

it probably had.

jermajesty pulled back just enough to look at you, both of your breathing uneven now.

the music outside the kitchen walls suddenly felt too loud.

too many people and too much risk.

his thumb brushed slowly against your waist while his eyes stayed locked on yours.

“come with me for a second.”

your stomach flipped immediately.

“where?”

one side of his mouth lifted slightly. “relax.”

easy for him to say.

still, you followed him anyway.

which was probably another terrible decision.

he led you quietly through the crowded hallway, fingers loosely hooked around your hand whenever people got too close. every once in a while someone stopped him to talk, but his attention kept drifting back to you like he couldn’t help it.

that alone nearly ruined your ability to think.

eventually he pushed open a quieter bathroom near the upstairs hallway and locked the door behind both of you.

the second the click sounded, your heart started racing again.

“jermajesty…”

“what?” he asked softly, stepping closer.

the bathroom lighting was dim, gold against his skin while the bass from downstairs vibrated faintly through the walls. suddenly the space felt very small.

very warm.

you looked up at him nervously. “if jaafar catches us—”

“he won’t.”

“you sound very confident for somebody risking his life right now.”

that made him laugh quietly.

“worth it.”

your breath caught again.

he stepped closer until your back lightly touched the counter behind you, hands settling carefully at your waist. slower this time, more intentional. like he wanted to take his time.

“you know how long i’ve wanted to kiss you like that?” he murmured.

you swallowed hard. “how long?”

“too long.”

his lips found yours again before you could answer. it felt deeper now.

your fingers slid into his curls instinctively while he pulled you closer against him, hands tracing slowly along your waist and hips beneath the soft fabric of your dress.

every touch made your pulse jump.

the tension between you had stopped feeling playful minutes ago. now it felt dangerous.

his mouth brushed briefly along your jaw before he kissed your neck slowly, and the quiet sound that escaped you made him pause for half a second.

“…there it is,” he murmured against your skin.

you covered your face immediately out of embarrassment. “stop talking.”

he laughed softly, pulling your hands away gently.

“you’re cute when you get shy.”

“you’re annoying.”

“and you still followed me here.”

you hated how right he was.

his forehead rested lightly against yours afterward, both of you catching your breath while the party carried on downstairs completely unaware.

for a second everything felt still.

until loud footsteps suddenly echoed somewhere outside the bathroom door.

both of you froze instantly.