( 𝘨𝘪𝘧: 𝘫𝘰𝘩𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘮 )

"𝗜 𝗖𝗔𝗡'𝗧 𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗘𝗩𝗘 𝗪𝗘'𝗥𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗔 𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔 𝗖𝗔𝗧."

Jolene Gilmore had been grumbling all the way over to Babette's house, obviously discontent with being pulled away from valuable training time. A red floral dress hugged her dark skin, wrapping her arms around herself against the autumn breeze as she had forgotten to take a jacket.

Rory, who was more appropriately dressed for the weather in her usual wide-leg jeans and denim jacket, poked her side with a pout. "Come on, their cat died. Have a bit of sympathy."

"Please," Jolene scoffed amused. "I saw you trying to hold your laugh as they rolled the body into the lamp." The blue-eyed girl pressed her lips together, proving Jolene right once again as she pushed the laughter down. "See? Deep down, you agree with me."

"It's still sad though." Rory argued.

"Sad for them, maybe." Jolene grumbled beneath her breath, causing her (technically) niece to gape increduously.

"Christ, Jo, a bit of compassio—" Rory stopped in her tracks with a mixture of shock and confusion that slowly melted into an amused grin as her gaze stopped in three specific individuals in the distance. "At least it looks like your friends have a bit more of compassion than you."

Confused, Jolene glanced at her before following Rory's line of vision, her lips parting in disbelief before rubbing her eyes tiredly. Leaving Rory behind, Jolene stalked over to an unassuming trio as her hands waved in the air manically. "What the f— what are you guys doing?"

Johnny, Kim and Nathalie turned around to face her, confused by her tone of voice. "What are you on abo— wait, why aren't you dressed in black?"

Her upper lip twitched in frustration as Jolene narrowed her dark eyes. "Because it's a wake for a cat." 

And that's when the trio's faces fell in realisation, because while everyone else entering the house was wearing casual clothing, they were dressed in full black formal wear — Johnny even had his sister do his tie for him. Johnny swivelled to Kim with wide eyes. "You said it was for a girl named Kat!"

"W-well—" she spluttered, lips painted a bright red that juxtaposed the darkness of her clothes. "I wasn't paying full attention, okay? I was painting my nails!"

Nathalie shook her head, tutting as she glanced at the watch strapped around her pale wrist. "Is it too late to go home?"

"I'm not going in alone!" Jolene protested, shuddering slightly at the thought. "Small town folk love small talk." 

As the group glared at Kim, she pursed her lips. "Well, so what? We're the best dressed there — as it should be. We're the iconic foursome of Chilton. We turn heads wherever we go."

Johnny winced at her wording. "Preferably, don't say foursome. It gives the, uhm, wrong idea."

Kim narrowed her gaze at him, before flicking his ear. "You wish."

Rolling her eyes at her friends, Jolene walked ahead, pretending she wasn't associated with them as they obviously stood out against the rest of the town, clambering up the stairs to the house. 

Of course, at the entrance she didn't expect to see Grayson St James struggling with many bags in his hands, which made Jolene Gilmore halt (she never halts). Ever since they met two weeks ago, he had stuck himself in her brain, embedding into it like a thorn. It was a new feeling for Jolene — before, she had only felt attraction or lust for boys, which faded after a few days. But this was new, this was curiosity, which was a much more dangerous game. 

Shaking her head, she thought that perhaps, if she spoke to him again, she'd discover something about him that would make that curiosity die away.

"Hey, need a hand?"

Grayson raised his head in surprise — Jolene noticed he didn't have any flour in his hair anymore. In fact, he was dressed in a blue buttoned up shirt with the sleeves pushed to his forearms — though she shoved that thought to the back of her mind. 

"Oh, uhm," Grayson paused, about to deny her offer, when one of the bags nearly fell out of his grasp before Jolene caught it swiftly. His cheeks peppered in a rosy dust. "Is it that obvious?"

Shrugging amused, Jolene grabbed a few bags and entered the house behind him. "You know, a simple thank you would suffice."

A beat of silence passed. "Thank you," he admitted, setting the bags onto a table in the centre of the living room — it happened to be food made for the guests. "Did my mom send you?"

"Are you kidding?" Jolene scoffed amused, setting her hands on her hips "I'm pretty sure she's intimidated by me."

"Well, can you blame her?" he retorted, getting comfortable as he brushed his hair away from his face. "You are a little scary."

His gaze made her shift her weight, suddenly made aware of how she acted. "Well, I have to be."

Grayson's eyes stopped on her, pausing as he observed her with a slight smile. "I didn't say it was a bad thing."

Surprised and with her breath trapped between her rosy painted lips, Jolene's dark eyes instinctively met his, and then found herself unable to look away. She cursed him in her mind, clearing her throat as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks. I know many people think that I'm rude or harsh."

Feeling slightly awkward, Grayson wiped his hands on his jeans. "There's worse things to be. Like . . . you could be at a cat's wake all dressed in black."

Following his gaze, a blush peppered Jolene's cheeks as she realised he was referring to her friends  — specifically Kim and Johnny, who were stood bickering in a corner like a married couple. "Oh yeah, proper weird. Wonder who they know . . ."

"I still can't believe you." Johnny's grumbling voice carried over as his arms were crossed over his chest with a discontented frown. 

Kim sighed loudly, clamping her purse-sized mirror before pursing her lips at him. "If you're going to bitch in my ear the entire time, you can go find your sister. I'll stick with a friend who actually appreciates me, and accepts my mistakes."

Ignoring her dig at him, Johnny shrugged, suddenly amused. "Well, good look with that — seems like Jolene is a little busy at the moment."

"Wha—" Kim began, eyes darting across the room before finding her dearest friend pulled in a deep conversation with a stranger. And not any stranger — an attractive teenage boy. "Is Jolene Gilmore actually talking to a boy? Oh, he's quite attractive too."

Johnny sent her a disapproving glance, ignoring the clench of his heart at her disinterest. "Really? You're showing interest in a boy Jolene's flirting with? Don't stoop so low."

Hurt flashed on Kim's face before she masked it. "Please — Jolene entertains a boy for seconds before she's back to thinking about her tournament." a few seconds passed before Johnny conceeded, agreeing to that point. "Besides, I would never stoop that low. Surely you know that."

Picking up on the vulnerability in her voice, Johnny glanced at her. "I know. You're a great friend to Jolene." a blush peppered her cheeks before he added "Apart from that, you set heart eyes on any breathing being." 

Gaping, Kim flicked his ear annoyed. One second he was making her blush, the next second he made her want to commit murder.

Kimberley had never really known her way around Johnny. It was always changing.

And many changes were yet to come. 

blimey it's been so long! sorry abvout that but here's an update