ˏˋ°•*⁀➷  M A S T E R P I E C E
➥ chapter SEVEN
| the weathervane storage room |
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"WHAT'S YOUR ASSIGNMENT?" Enid eagerly bounded over to Jaymes' side, almost tackling the brunette over in the process.

"Whoa, calm down! It's literally eight in the morning!" Jaymes pushed Enid off of her with a tired smile.

"Exactly, it's eight in the morning, so wake up!" Enid said, grinning ear to ear. "And tell me what your assignment is, maybe we'll be together!"

Jaymes chuckled softly to herself at the ball of energy that was her friend, taking the small, blue pamphlet that Principal Weems had handed out just moments earlier out of her jacket pocket.

Enid was pressed against her shoulder, staring eagerly down at the paper for the big reveal of Jaymes' Outreach Day assignment.

After unfolding the paper as slow as possible to torture the eager Enid, Jaymes read the lettering on the page. "Weathervane."

Enid slumped against her, groaning loudly. "Ugh, lucky. That's the little coffee shop right over there." She pointed and Jaymes' followed her finger, spotting the corner cafe that was built into the rest of the shops, its brick walls stretching towards the sky.

Just as Jaymes was about to ask where Enid would be spending her afternoon, Principal Weems interrupted with a booming announcement. "Alright everybody, get to your assignments and we'll see you back in the town center for lunch! Enjoy!"

With this dismissal, all of the students began to file down the street, going off in different directions on their own missions.

"I'll see you later." Jaymes gave Enid a small wave before the two girls parted. She crossed the street, stepping back onto the sidewalk to get out of the way of traffic, approaching the entrance of the Weathervane.

She pulled the green door open, causing a little bell to chime as she stepped inside. A boy wearing an apron with the cafe's logo on it approached her, wearing a friendly smile.

"Hey," he greeted her. "I'm Tyler, I'll be working alongside you and the other student that was assigned here."

Jaymes was about to ask who the other student was, but was interupted by the door swinging open and the bell ringing again. Jaymes and Tyler turned to look at the visitor, and Jaymes almost laughed out loud when she saw who it was.

"You've got to be kidding me. Xavier?" Jaymes smiled at him. "Why do we always run into each other everywhere we go?"

Xavier shrugged, smiling back at her. "I don't know, maybe it's fate."

Jaymes blushed and her eyes dropped down to the floor, feeling both boys' eyes on her.

"Okay," Tyler breathed, trying to get back on track. "Your uniforms are in the back, once you're changed I'll show you the ropes."

"Thank you." Jaymes smiled politely at him as he walked away, leaving her and Xavier standing together.

"God, I hate that guy." He muttered.

"Why?" Jaymes asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "He seems sweet."

"Doesn't matter." Xavier changed the subject. "Ready to work a service job all day and not get paid a penny?"

"Sounds like a blast." His sarcasm made Jaymes giggle.

"Tell me about it."

The two went behind the counter, grabbing their stack of brown polos and aprons, both of them quickly changing in the bathrooms. The hours went by fast, and Jaymes was surprised at how much fun she was having making the drinks and serving customers.

She was standing by the coffee machine, starting on another drink when Tyler approached her. "Hey," he said. "How's it going?"

"Surprisingly, I'm enjoying myself." Jaymes joked, grabbing a mug from across the counter to stick under the dispenser.

"That's good." Tyler smiled. "I've got to run down the street and get some more straws from the store. We're all out, even in the back, and our next shipment isn't coming until next week. Do you think you guys will be okay without me?"

Jaymes looked up, watching Xavier cleaning a table across the room, looking miserable. "Yeah," she scoffed at his lack of enthusiasm, turning back to Tyler. "We can handle it."

"Alright, cool." Tyler slipped his apron off over his head, letting it fall onto the counter. "Thanks Jaymes, you're the best."

"So I'm told." Jaymes said, watching him leave. Her attention was quickly grabbed by the coffee machine making a loud sputtering noise. She looked down to see that the stream of coffee was dwindling. Reaching over to the bag of coffee grounds to refill the top, she found the bag to be empty.

"Shit." She sighed, moving away from the machine and slipping into the storage closet to look for a fresh bag.

"Some kid just dumped an entire lemonade on the ground."

Jaymes turned to see Xavier entering into the small room with her, frustration oozing from his very presence. He turned sharply, moving the door so that it was mostly closed so he could reach the mop in the corner.

"Hey, you're the one who volunteered to be on cleaning duty." She reminded him, going back to her search for the new bag of coffee grounds.

"Yeah, but I can still complain about it." He chuckled, mood having been lightened.

"Fair enough." Jaymes finally spotted the small yellow bag of grounds, which was on the highest shelf in the whole closet. "You're kidding me, right?" She groaned, looking around for a place to step so she could hoist herself up to the desired object. "They put it on the freaking highest shelf possible."

"Whoa, whoa, slow down." Jaymes felt hands grab her waist and pull her back down to the ground, preventing her from climbing the shelves like a small child.

She turned around to face Xavier, who had come up behind her. He was already reaching up for the coffee grounds so she hoped that he didn't notice how her breath caught in her throat when she realized she was inches away from his chest.

His colone filled her nostrils and it was practically intoxicating, and Jaymes had to use every ounce of restraint inside her not to squeal at their closeness.

"Here you go." He returned with the bag, holding it out to her, oblivious to the internal panic that was happening behind her eyes.

"T-thanks." She swallowed dryly, taking the bag from him, hoping he didn't notice her hands shaking.

For somebody that was acting like he didn't know what he was doing to her, he sure stood over her in the same place for a long time.

Eventually, Jaymes got the courage to look him in the eye, only to find that he was already staring down at her. Her eyes darted back and forth between his pupils and his lips, the movement out of her control.

When she caught his gaze for the last time, she noticed that he had locked onto her lips as well, and his eyelids were fluttering slightly as he stared.

Jaymes felt like she couldn't breathe, the tension in the air so thick that she could actually feel it choking her.

She let her hands wander, eventually landing on his upper arm, her touch so light but still purposeful. She felt him hold his breath, removing his gaze from her mouth to make eye contact with her once again.

Then, suddenly, like he was snapping out of a trance, Xavier moved away from her in a swift motion.

"Sorry," he murmured, keeping his head down as he crossed the room, going back over to grab the mop that he had originally been searching for.

Jaymes knew that he was about to walk out, and she knew that she wanted to stop him. "Xavier, wait-" she blurted, the words coming out of her mouth from pure longing.

He faced her again, a tormented look in his eye. She was trying to catch her breath from the tension, and the only sound in the room was her soft panting.

She swallowed thickly before parting her trembling lips once again to speak. "Do you want to kiss me?"

The words flowed form her mouth as if she were possessed by somebody bold, as if she were floating outside of herself, looking down at the interaction from above.

Xavier stayed put, but he took a deep inhale, pondering her question for a moment. Finally, he decided to ask, "Do you want me to kiss you?"

"Don't do that." Jaymes fought a smile, letting herself slump against the wall, her limps feeling weak from nerves. She let the bag of cofee grounds slide into a basket of unused napkins that was behind her on a lower shelf, freeing up her hands.

"Do what?" He started to cross the room, making his way over to her again. The weight in the air grew heavy, and Jaymes felt like somebody was pushing against her chest as he inched closer.

"Answer my question with another question." Jaymes shook her head softly at him, though the motion was not to tell him to stop.

"Alright, fine." His voice was quiet as he finally stood in front of her once again, just as close as before.

A smirk danced on his lips and he slowly raised one of his arms until his forearm rested on the wall behind Jaymes' head, trapping her in place. "But you still have to answer."

"I want you...to want to kiss me." Jaymes breathed, voice almost inaudible, eyes already locked in on his lips. "I want you to want to kiss me so bad that you can't take it any longer and you just-"

The feeling of his lips being pressed roughly against hers shut Jaymes up immediately. She slid her hands down his arms as their lips fit together like they were made to do so.

Jaymes felt all the air leave her body, and she couldn't believe it - he was really kissing her, and the entire world around her seemed to fade into obscurity.

She tasted him on her tongue, and she knew right then and there that she was now addicted to the feeling. She never wanted the kiss to end, but her lungs betrayed her as they ached for air, and she had to pull away.

The air hit her wet lips, the sensation cold as she tried to regain her breath. The two teens stayed in place, neither one wanting to move away while also not knowing what to do next.

"Hello?" A familiar voice called out from back in the coffee shop. "Jaymes? Xavier? Where are you guys?"

Xavier moved away from Jaymes, who found herself shivering from the disappearance of the body heat once shared. He stepped out of the storage closet, and Jaymes followed shortly after, stopping to grab the coffee grounds before she left. When she came out of the room, she found Ms. Thornhill standing in the center of the cafe, looking around for the two students.

"Hey, Ms. Thornhill." Jaymes croaked, her voice sounding like she hadn't spoken in days.

"Come on you two." The red-haired teacher pit her hands on her hips and gave them a disapproving look. "Don't tell me you were slacking off and hiding in the back."

"We were serving customers." Jaymes said. "I was just getting more coffee grounds." She held out the unopened bag of ingredients.

"And I was getting a mop." Xavier added.

Ms. Thornhill eyed them suspiciously. "Whatever, it doesn't matter." She waved off her concern. "The Dedication Ceremony is starting now and Enid is demanding that you go and take pictures, Jaymes."

"Oh, right." Jaymes nearly facepalmed herself for forgetting. "I've got to get my camera from the bus."

"I'll walk with you." Ms. Thornhill suggested. "And Xavier, finish up whatever you're doing and be at the town center in ten minutes or less."

"You got it." He muttered, stepping out from behind the counter with his mop, returning to the mess that he had originally planned to clean.

"Let's go, Jaymes." Ms. Thornhill placed her hand on Jaymes' arm to help lead her out of the shop.

Jaymes tried to focus on the task at hand, on getting her camera and taking photos at the ceremony, but she couldn't help but to be distracted by the tingling left on her lips.

•••

hey guys.

i am discontinuing this book. i just dont really have any motivation to write it anymore, plsu i already have a wednesday fanfic that i enjoy much more. sorry if there was anybody that was enjoying this story. there's a possibility that i could start it up again in the future, but it's a really slim chance.

lots of love, catie