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It's November. The overall mood in Kingsman Bounty is a chilly one. The withering branches fall prey to the threat of being abandoned by the leaves that have been latching on for dear life for the past couple of months. The wind still bustles through and everything remains quite similar as the fall season continues to unravel itself in the small town.

The congruity of the weather seems to be the only thing that had remained consistent in this story. Whether it was good or bad, things happened to change. Oh, did things change between Kinsey and Jade.

The two were almost inseparable as the end of their project marked a new beginning. The beginning of indisputable acceptance for their developing friendship. Of course, a "friendship" that involved a multitude of make-out sessions and flirting every once in a while, but neither girl has been willing to expand upon the atypical nature of their relationship to one another.

Once, ever so long ago, seeing each other as a hallmark of their forced partnership, they've now become like two peas in a pod. They find themselves unable to detach from each other after what initially "forced" them together became history.

They could have gone their separate ways and continued along with their lives as if one another never existed, leaving behind the blissful and intimate memories they've shared.

But that's most definitely not the case.

You see, Kinsey Scott is currently sitting on a squeaky ass wooden bench in the middle of an empty park in the buttfuck middle of nowhere with her heart beating out of her chest, glancing around with lustrous eyes at the cheap party decorations that litter the small pavilion space. Butterscotch yellow and midnight black party streamers intertwine around the thick-squared wooden columns holding up the deep maroon pavilion roof. Ironically enough, Kinsey found out that the brunette had an actual favorite color besides black and it was yellow, of all colors.

Half blown up balloons Kinsey was too lazy to blow up to full capacity, pathetically cling onto thin strips of masking tape by their tied ends. The balloons hanging from the pillars, flowing carelessly as the faint wind continuously passes through.

This is it.

This is all Kinsey could come up with within a short amount of time. She's never done any shit like this before and at this moment, she's quaking internally at the lack of skill she has for going out of her way and doing something meaningful for someone else.

What demon possessed me into believing that this was a good idea? I don't do shit for people.

Initially, Kinsey was astonished that the thought could even pass her mind, but it did. The idea to do something for Jade's birthday dawned upon her once learning that Jade actually had a birthday just a couple of days ago. It was odd that birthdays weren't a topic of discussion in between their make-out sessions.

Besides that, the news of Jade's birthday came from a pretty reliable source, the one, and the only Melanie Hill who managed to scream, "Jade, did you tell her about your birthday this weekend?" when Kinsey dropped Jade home the other day.

The sudden burst caused Melanie, who had just shut the door of her car, to end up in a makeshift headlock by her younger sibling who already made it up the driveway. In the compromised position, Jade hauled her sister away, basically dragging the older brunette along the sidewalk until they both reached the front door. Jade hurriedly unlocked the front door with her key and shoved Melanie in and didn't bother to even spare a glance at the blonde sat in her car with a soft frown on her face and her head tilted at Jade's strange behavior regarding her birthday.

Kinsey still doesn't know how that incident evoked the idea to throw the brunette a sorry excuse for a birthday party, but Kinsey decided not to further question it, knowing she would be able of talking herself out of this in point 2 seconds.

The reality is, Kinsey wanted to do something that could make Jade happy. Of course, she'll never know what truly makes the brunette happy but she knows that she could at least try.

She knows how cheesy that sounds but there's just something that stirs in the depths of her deep and dark soul when she sees the annoyingly stubborn brunette smile at her. It's like flashing a flashlight down a deep, endless tunnel. It's hardly enough to light it all up, but it's just enough to see that there is something else besides pure darkness in there.

Kinsey chuckles mockingly at the thought, finding it too fucking comedic that she can be falling this hard. It's insulting how fucking weak this girl makes me... and she doesn't even know it.

The blonde sits alone at the wooden picnic table, tight-lipped with her back settling up against the thick edge of the dry, decaying wood table. Her legs stretch out wide open as she faces away from the table towards the empty parking lot of the unofficially abandoned park. She shuts her eyes momentarily to take in the tranquility of nature as her dark denim skinny jeans protect her from the chill of the increasing winds.

How pathetic.

Kinsey heftily sighs before opening her eyes again. If you would have told Kinsey Scott two months ago that she would be spending her Sunday evening alone at this park, under a pavilion, pathetically waiting to surprise a girl, who happens to be one of the few people her age whom she tolerates, she would have thought you were on crack.

The blonde takes another glance around, catching a glimpse of the medium-sized box of half pineapple-half cheese pizza, a large two-liter orange soda, and two huge bags of chips sitting on the picnic table in all its fatty glory. There's also an Oreo cheesecake that her mother insisted on making once finding out about her plans. Originally, Kinsey didn't plan on parading around her little surprise for Jade, but a little birdie whose name starts with a "T" and so happens to be related to Kinsey was the one who ultimately exposed her plans to her mother.

Yep, this is all pretty pathetic.

The white frosting coating the small rotund cake is expertly done with no bubbles in sight. The dessert consisting of straight sugar and crazy amounts of calories sits atop a fancily-designed porcelain plate (her mother's style, of course). Kinsey stares at the cake with the most pitiful glare, thankful that there is no one occupying the park this late on a Sunday.

The sun is almost at its setting point, enough to introduce the night but not enough to cement that it is indeed night time.

Kinsey huffs, glancing at her wrist to see that she has no watch on. Yeah, I'm losing it. What if she doesn't fucking like it? This is pretty fucking corny. I should've never done this shit.

The insecurity one would have never expected to come from Kinsey Scott starts to blatantly show itself at this moment.

The regret starts to cement into her brain until a flash of unnecessarily bright LED lights flushes her retinas. The same lights that initially brought her gay panic a couple of months ago, ironically bring her even more gay panic as her stomach starts doing that butterfly shit again. She straightens up in her seat and leans forward to verify that it is, indeed, that big ugly green Jeep.

She spots the clueless brunette through the non-tinted windows and can't help but feel as if her heart is about to explode out of her chest. She maintains her laid-back position on the bench with her elbows resting on the table, as her heart rate refuses to give her the luxury of actually being relaxed.

As her right leg starts bouncing in anticipation like a dog wagging its tail, Kinsey spots the uncomfortably jovial grin growing on Melanie's face as she stares ahead directly at Kinsey. Kinsey sheepishly smiles back politely. She would normally scrunch her face in full disgust at the overwhelming enthusiasm exuding off of Melanie, but she chooses not to piss off the person whose doing her a favor. Why does she always look happy and shit?

Luckily, Kinsey got Melanie on board with this whole surprise ordeal. It wasn't too difficult since the older sibling was automatically down for it after Kinsey hesitantly explained it to her over the phone.

Kinsey peels her eyes away from Melanie to focus on what matters. The most attractive chick she's ever laid her eyes on confusedly steps out of the car, hauling one strap of her backpack over her shoulder.
She straightens up her entire body as she slams the door shut behind her. Her skeptical, wary eyes dart all around the park causing her forehead to scrunch up a little. The expression on her face is one that isn't too impressed as the scene does seem to look like something out of a disturbing Lifetime movie.

The tall, towering trees create a small forest-like atmosphere, blocking most of the Sun. The playground a few feet beside the pavilion being quite small with only the simple equipment to mark it as a playground: merry-go-round, tetter-totter, and a metal slide with its yellow paint chipping off.

Classic.

But the sketchy surroundings become second-thought once the brunette spots those god-damned gleaming blue eyes, her own squinted eyes turn into straight saucers as a result. Her plump cheeks rise, overall enlivening the essence of her face as she increases her pacing away from Melanie's car without any attempt at saying bye to her sister who went through all the trouble of getting her out of the house in the first place.

Jade's strides are unsteady but quick as disbelief consumes her being. Her legs feel numb but also light. No... fucking... way? This bitch.

As she shakily stalks up the sidewalk leading to the pavilion, she can't take her eyes off the blonde modestly sitting with her legs still wide open and her arms spread out, presenting all the preparations that surround her as if she wasn't second-guessing herself a few moments ago.

Jade's eyes momentarily flicker up at the bright yellow mingled with the black all around the pavilion. She quickly takes in the scene before directing her focus back on the blonde leering at her proudly. Her hand quickly wraps itself over her mouth as she tries to hide the smile threatening to creep onto her face.

Kinsey snidely chuckles at her attempt of hiding her expression.

Jade drops her hand but can't help the light laugh that escapes her mouth. One arm hangs at her side while her other hand holds onto the strap of her backpack slung over her shoulder.

"So, this is what we've come to, huh?" Jade comments, raising a brow and tilting her head to the side, examining the gradually descend of the blonde into pure embarrassment as faint pink starts developing in her freckled cheeks. The natural blush accentuates the array of freckles decorating Kinsey's under-eyes.

Their eyes meet again and Kinsey absorbs all the intensity Jade's gaze has to offer. Those hazel portals into the brunette's soul consume Kinsey whole, extracting the blonde from a world where she could never possibly be moved by such a simple thing.

Kinsey eventually finds herself too lost in the sauce so she decides to naturally glance over to the side for a second as if there is anything as interesting as the girl standing before her in this old, rundown park.

Kinsey breaths out before drawing her gaze back up to Jade, "Unfortunately," she snides in response to Jade's earlier statement before rolling her eyes in feigned annoyance as she starts to rub the palms of her hands together. When did I ever start doing this shit? Kinsey doesn't seem to recall having all these nervous tendencies.

"Mhmm," Jade hums, knowing she's bullshitting. She proceeds to half-smile fondly as she takes a seat next to the blonde, placing her backpack down alongside the food on the table. "I'm starting to believe you're obsessed with me."

"It's seriously not that big of a d-"

The rest of Kinsey's words end up mumbled as she finds Jade's lips on hers. The brunette has her forefinger and thumb settled around Kinsey's chin to hold the blonde in place as she takes the unexpected lead this time.

Jade slowly takes a seat on the bench as she goes in.

A heat rises from the depths of Kinsey's stomach as Jade's scent consumes one of her five senses. The scent isn't anything specific, but it's a scent that only belongs to Jade. It's a mixture of everything right, everything sweet, everything intoxicatingly addictive.

Despite Jade attempting to take control, Kinsey can feel her lack of expertise in leading. She feels the hesitation in the brunette as she fails to involve her tongue. So, Kinsey pushes past her initial shock to lean more into the kiss, swiping her tongue delicately over Jade's bottom lip, getting a quick taste of vanilla?

She switched it up today.

The blonde proceeds to grab her favorite spot, behind Jade's neck to keep Jade stable as she shows the girl how to fucking kiss.

Jade melts into the touch, pulling her leg up on the seat as she turns her body to face Kinsey as the blonde's direction instructs her to do so. Jade feels Kinsey's tongue fill her mouth and the brunette almost shivers at the familiar sensation. Her eyes remain shut simultaneously.

In contrast, Kinsey decides to keep her eyes wide open for every second of this transaction. She wants to see everything from Jade's slight squirms to her stifled breathing as she loses herself to Kinsey's control.

"Open your eyes," Kinsey urges mid-breath.

Jade takes in the words and goes for it. Fuck it.

She cautiously lifts her eyelids to reveal the natural brightness of her eyes. Kinsey involuntarily smiles into the kiss once meeting Jade's eyes. The blonde didn't expect the sudden wave of chills that just rippled down her body. How the fuck is she so attractive?

"That's more like it," Kinsey mutters deeply, going back to the kiss but instead keeping intense eye contact with Jade the entire time.

Jade surprises herself. She didn't expect to feel so comfortable with this. She expected the panic to come back and devour her immediately like that last time. But, that's not happening. Instead of panic, there is comfort. She feels safe... with Kinsey.

The kiss slowly winds down as Kinsey releases the back of Jade's neck to delicately settle her index finger beneath Jade's chin to lightly pull away. Jade follows Kinsey as the blonde tightens her lips.

"Someone's a little needy," Kinsey snickers whilst licking the remnants of the vanilla chapstick off her lips.

Jade blushes, being fully aware of what she did. She would have a snide comment to follow-up but she can't be sarcastic and blush at the same time. Her cheeks uncontrollably rise despite fighting the sheepish smile growing on her face.

Kinsey seems to be satisfied as she lounges back against the table with a smirk.

"Thanks... I guess," Jade pipes up, lightly nudging Kinsey's shoulder with her own.

"For the kiss? That was just light work," Kinsey brags still lounging comfortably.

Jade sends her a resting bitch face at her ignorance.

"Oh, right," Kinsey immediately responds, realizing that Jade is referring to the whole surprise thing.

Jade rolls her eyes and proceeds to mimic Kinsey's lounged out position.

The two girls sit next to one another in a zenful silence with the wind sweeping through the open-space pavilion. The wind not being strong enough to tumble everything over, but just enough to make the girls feel as if they're one with nature.

With the past couple of months being so hectic and busy, neither girl has had any time to slow down like this.

Jade has been spending more time on her classes, finding herself concerned about creating a strong enough transcript for college applications next year. The idea of leaving behind her family, specifically her mother and father, being her greatest motivation. As her mother and she continue not to speak, it doesn't look like there is anything left in their relationship.

On the other hand, Kinsey has been going through the annoyingly strenuous college application process with writing endless essays and acting like she did more in school than just play football and skip class. Kinsey has also been worried about nationals coming up soon, knowing that Alabama's going to be sending another scout to the game.

To sum it up, both girls have been pre-occupied with their own lives but somehow that didn't stop them from finding one another again.

"Well... Happy Birthday, kitten," Kinsey adds, not sparing Jade a glance as the words fall out of her mouth.

Jade rolls her eyes and chortles, looking down at her intertwined fingers placed in her lap. "I'll let that one pass," she warns warmly, trying to ignore the butterflies brewing in her stomach.

"You better. I deserve it. You know hard it was to get those balloons up there? I'm pretty athletic but unfortunately, I lack in the flexibility department," Kinsey huffs slouching back, dropping her head back and taking the opportunity to shut her eyes for a moment, finally feeling the fatigue and adrenaline start to wear off from her earlier anticipation.

Jade smirks conservatively, still looking down at her intertwined fingers in her lap.

Be ladylike.

The way her hands lay in her lap start to remind her of how her mother always instructed her to place her hands whenever Melanie and she were dragged along to her pompous company dinners. Those dull, suffocating company dinners with all those snobby ass people.

Jade shakes the incessant memories of her mother telling her to act ladylike by placing her hands in her fucking lap. The thought makes Jade's skin crawl with a cringe, forcing her to quickly unravel her hands, placing her palms down at her sides on the bench. The movement is so swift and natural that Kinsey doesn't even notice. While Jade's actions look routine, her fingers grip tensely at the edge of the wooden bench with her knuckles turning white.

It's insane how a simple action could trigger the brunette so instantaneously, but that's what years of verbal abuse and judgment from one's mother can do to a girl.

Jade tries to get her mind off the thought by glancing over to see how close her right hand is to Kinsey's, who also had her hand placed down against the bench in the same way. Their hands merely an inch apart. Jade huffs at her absurd, but innate want to take a hold of the blonde's hand.

The brunette lowly snickers at her pathetic thought, dismissing it altogether.

"Seriously," Jade starts, disrupting the comfortable silence to express, "no one has ever done shit like this for me. It's either you might actually have a heart in there or I just seem that pathetic to you," Jade quips, smirking up at Kinsey to catch a glimmer of those entrancing blue eyes.

"Bingo! You were just pathetic," Kinsey admits in a monotone delivery. "I kind of felt bad for you." Kinsey ends with a subtle wink.

"Oh, shut the fuck up."

Kinsey rolls her eyes in fake annoyance with her heart bursting as Jade's fiery eyes follow hers.

The blonde looks off to the side for a brief second before feeling her entire body stiffen up in reaction to Jade's feeble arms suddenly surrounding her upper body. Kinsey's eyes widen as her arms are locked into place by the brunette's sudden embrace.

Kinsey's entire body breaks out into an all-encompassing blush, a heat-wave extending from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Before the blonde can further dwell on it, the pressure is gone and her arms are free to go. Her eyes immediately wander over to her left to see Jade timidly look off to the side as if she didn't just drive-by hug the shit out of her.

_________

"Pass the Doritos," Jade commands whilst munching on the bag of kettle chips in her hand. The brunette's left cheek stores a bunch of chips she had already stuffed in her mouth, making her resemble a chipmunk even more than she already did on a daily basis.

Kinsey strips her attention away from her phone to catch a glimpse of the puffy-cheeked girl. She rolls her eyes, placing her phone down onto the table. "Say 'please'," Kinsey coos, while glancing at the bag of Doritos sat beside her phone.

"No," Jade unhesitatingly quips, making a sudden move to lunge forward and grab the chips for herself.

Unfortunately, she forgets that Kinsey has the reflexes of a Venus flytrap. Within a tenth of a second, the bag is in Kinsey's grasp being held up high enough that if Jade wants to get it she will end up sitting on Kinsey's lap.

"Say, 'Kinsey is the hottest girl I've ever laid my eyes on'."

"I'm most definitely not saying that," Jade ensures, raising her brow at Kinsey.

Once Jade makes eye contact with Kinsey, she knows she's in. Her eye contact is enough to distract Kinsey so that she can get close enough to snatch the bag from the blonde's grip without having to sacrifice her dignity.

Jade happily opens the red bag to consume the fresh smell of artificial seasoning and corn chips. Kinsey side-eyes the orgasmic expression on Jade's face as the brunette dwells in the forbidden scent. The brunette can't help herself after growing up in a house where junk food was a rarity.

How does a bag get her to feel that way better than I can?

Suddenly, Kinsey defeatedly sticks her hand into the open bag of Doritos in Jade's hand and successfully pulls out a couple of chips. Kinsey takes a bite, mockingly eyeing down Jade in the process.

She unconsciously pouts in the process of chewing on the salty goodness crunching all around in her mouth. Jade smiles, sneaking a peek at the blonde's profile, concentrating on how innocent Kinsey seems to look when she is eating.

"Take a fucking picture, why don't ya?" Kinsey mutters, rolling her eyes as she continues chewing.

"Shut up, it's the only time you actually look innocent. You should be glad I'm looking. Anyways, why would I need a picture when I could enjoy the view right now?" Jade combats, tilting her head with a huge doopy smirk on her face, ultimately striking a wink at the blonde.

Kinsey doesn't move. Her face seems to look like a Zoom meeting gone wrong as her stunned expression remains frozen. She takes a brief moment to process how quickly Jade got her.

W-When did she ever start flirting back? That's supposed to be my weird, creepy thing. Wow... but when she does it, it's kinda... hot.

Kinsey didn't even have a chance of breaking down the chips in her mouth down before swallowing the ragged pieces down her trachea. The fragments of chips scrape down her throat, leaving her a coughing mess as a result. Her face starts to redden with each passing millisecond as she simultaneously chokes and blushes.

"W-," Kinsey coughs, getting the last piece of the chip down her throat, "When did you get so good at making me uncomfortable?" Kinsey inquires, lightly rubbing the back of her neck with her hand, ever so nervously.

"I guess this is what happens after spending too much time with you... ugh," Jade grunts, "maybe it's time to stop I stop hanging with you, we're getting too close," Jade suggests, sneaking a slight smirk.

Kinsey catches on, side-eyeing the brunette's exaggeration. With that, Kinsey scoots in closer to Jade, leaving the brunette with barely enough time to react. She gets so close that Kinsey can literally feel the increase of Jade's breathing breeze over her lips as their vehement energies start to tease each other. "Now this is close," Kinsey whispers lowly, sending a chilling breath across Jade's lips and drawing her eyes up to observe every inch of the beauty in front of her.

Jade's eyes shut momentarily as her legs suddenly feel the need to shift a little. Her confidence dissipates within seconds and she's about ready to give in, until her phone sounds. Her eyes burst open in an instant as if a spell has worn off. She sighs, motioning towards her vibrating phone buzzing away in the back pocket of her jeans.

Once seeing the contact, the brunette immediately shifts in her composure and clicks the side of the phone to silence it. She tilts her head and brings her hand up to slide a piece of her hair behind her left ear.

She places the phone, face down, onto the table and looks up at Kinsey with a half-smile. The height of her brows not being as high as before and the rise of her cheekbones not as prominent either.

Kinsey winks and leans in, believing it is probably Melanie, but Jade purposeless dodges, moving her head over.

Kinsey huffs, hating when that happens. She drops her head slightly as she wallows in her brief disappointment. The blonde eventually grows a pair and raises her head, "Is everything good?"

"I'm not that easy," Jade states, sending Kinsey a pitiful smile. To that, Kinsey rolls her eyes. "A little peck could have been nice," Kinsey mutters under her breath.

Jade faintly hears the objection but softly laughs it off as another one of Kinsey's mini-tantrums.

"Anyways, speaking of close, how's the family been holding up after the big news?" Jade inquires before stuffing her hand back into the bag of chips to pop another chip into her mouth.

"What news?" Kinsey replies, squinting hard.

"The news that their loved one is a raging homosexual," Jade further elaborates, mid-chew.

"You don't want to know," Kinsey heftily sighs, scooting back to her original position, giving Jade a bit more room on the bench.

"Try me?"

"Well... for starters," Kinsey pauses to instinctively touch up her already fucked up bun, "my mom tried having the talk again as if I need another one specifically tailored for gay sex...," Kinsey huffs once again in genuine distress, "I'm still scarred by the first talk we had." The blonde viscerally shivers as the memory of her mother sitting on the edge of her bed talking about sex runs through her mind.

"Yikes," Jade agrees, feeling uncomfortable at the thought despite never once getting any sort of talk from her mother, let alone her father. Surprisingly Melanie didn't even try to force it upon her either, which the brunette is wholeheartedly thankful for.

"What makes it even worse is she keeps asking about you, as if I know that much shit about you. It's like she thinks we're in some sort of fucking relationship."

Heat builds up in Jade's cheeks as the almost dream-like thought she's had millions of times with Kinsey and her being a unit passes her mind. "Oh, fuck n-no," Jade weakly condemns, having her voice let her down by cracking all of a sudden.

Kinsey sends the brunette a sharp side-eye at how quick her rejection is, "Ay, you don't have to sound too against that shit. I'd say I'm quite the fucking catch," Kinsey assures, placing her hand on her chest.

"Please. The only thing I could catch in relation to you would be an STD."

Even Jade is shocked at how fast she came up with that one.

"And this is where I insert a huge 'fuck you'"Kinsey defends by gifting Jade a solid middle finger.

"Well deserved," Jade nods cordially, accepting what was fitting for such a response. That joke was pretty fucked up.

They both laugh it off.

"I like you when you're like this," Kinsey concludes sentimentally.

"Like what? You barely even know me," Jade protests, lazily smiling. 

"Then let me get to know you," Kinsey suggests.

Jade hesitates in her words, with her mouth opening and closing as she tries to find the right words to say. How in the hell do I start this? I've never had to tell people about myself. "Well," she pauses taking a look past Kinsey to see a bird in one of the trees chirping away.

Could you shut the fuck up for a sec, I'm trying to figure out how to connect with another human being over here.

"F-for starters, I've never celebrated a birthday before, so... congrats on being the first to give me my own 'getting older ceremony'" Jade starts, grinning at the blonde.

Take it slow.

"You're kidding right?" Kinsey draws one brow up at Jade, contesting her statement.

"Ay, don't judge. When your grandmother was a devout Jehovah's Witness, you're not celebrating shit."

Kinsey chuckles before naturally questioning, "Was?"

"Yeah... she died a few years back. W-we weren't that close but she gave me more attention than either of my parents did my entire life so I appreciated her for that, I guess." Jade nods solemnly, realizing how shitty of a reality her statement was.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Kinsey utters softly as she drops her head to look down at the gold necklace hanging around her neck, simplistically holding the inscription of her first name. She takes hold of the small piece of gold in between her fingers as if the touch will soothe the sudden remembrance of her own fallen angel.

"I'm assuming I'm not alone in lost loved ones, huh?" Jade inquires, paying particular attention to how Kinsey is eyeing her necklace.

"Yeah, she passed a couple of months ago... brain cancer," Kinsey responds staccato, feeling a bitterness every-time the same words roll off of her tongue.

She likes to keep it short and sweet whenever talking about her Nana. Using more words would mean the more time she would dwell on her first-ever heartbreak.

Jade scoots in closer, gently placing her hand on Kinsey's thigh. Despite her awkward composure, Jade tries her best to lend a comforting hand as Kinsey looks visibly distraught.

Kinsey refuses to cry regardless of the heated sensation building in her nose. She tightens every muscle in her body and locks her jaw to prevent herself from falling into her "weak" state. After a couple of unnervingly long seconds, she's finally able to look up, sure that no tears will be shed.

Jade can sense the rigidity in Kinsey's thighs as her hand still lays there.

Another round of wind rolls through the pavilion, sending Jade into a fit of chills rippling down her arms. As a result, the brunette physically shivers.

Kinsey snickers at how casually Jade tries to mask it. "Who told you to wear a tank top in November?"

"I'm sorry that I-I didn't know that I was b-being brought outside to an abandoned park," Jade tries to get out as the chilliness of the atmosphere continues to get to her. The brunette can feel her teeth start to chatter as well.

With no retort, Kinsey motions to remove her gray pullover hoodie. The thick piece of clothing slips easily off her back and over her head, making her bun even messier than before. Jade watches her motions with bewilderment.

The jacket reveals Kinsey's cuffed white t-shirt. The shirt is a little more tight-fitting than what Kinsey usually wore and that most definitely caught Jade's attention. The brunette catches a solid glimpse of the blonde's faint rippling biceps. Does she just down protein shakes all day? What the actual fuck?

"Here," Kinsey's abrasive tone snaps Jade back into reality.

Jade blinks rapidly as the jacket ends up right before her face. She hesitantly grips onto the bundled up clothing while looking Kinsey in the eyes. "Thanks."

Jade slips the hoodie over her head, not caring about the state of her hair as she takes in Kinsey's scent. A scent that seems to hit different every single time.

"Wait-What's that smell?" Jade's nostrils flare as she takes in the scent completely to assure her realization. That's not Kinsey's smell.

"What?" Kinsey tentatively eyes the girl who has her jacket on.

"You smell different," Jade sniffles once again into the thick cloak of cotton.

"What the fuck do you mean?" Kinsey chuckles, mockingly squinting her brows at Jade.

"You smell different. Is this," she takes in another big whiff, "lavender?"

Now it's Jade's turn to squint. She narrows her eyes at the blonde to her right, inaudibly communicating her confusion.

"You've been keeping track of what I smell like? You know that's a dangerous game," Kinsey admits, highly self-aware that most of the time she smells like horseshit, especially after practice.

"Shut up, you actually smell nice for once. Now that's the best compliment you'll be getting from me for a while, so enjoy it," Jade scoffs giving up on her tangent to comfortably snuggle herself into Kinsey's sweater, pouting slightly in the process. She really smells good. When did she decide to switch it up?

Kinsey watches in fascination as Jade bundles up in her sweater, finding comfort in it before digging her hand back into the bag of chips. The sight is kind of nice for Kinsey. She never thought that she could feel fulfilled by seeing someone happy. Usually, she would find more contorted satisfaction in seeing the opposite, but with Jade it was different.

As Jade drowns in the over-sized jacket, Kinsey suddenly decides to yawn, exaggeratedly raising both arms in the process. As her yawn comes to an end, one of her arms ends up around Jade's shoulder.

Jade disgustingly side-eyes the blonde as Kinsey's left arm settles down on the table behind Jade's back. Far enough to not touch the brunette but close enough for Jade to loudly scoff and roll her eyes.

"Please tell me you didn't just do that?"

"Do what?" Kinsey combats, jutting her chin out at the brunette's accusation. Kinsey knows damn well what she just did. Kinsey pops out a fat smile once seeing the meme-worthy disgust still present on Jade's face.

Jade sighs and reaches back to grasp onto Kinsey's fingers hovering beside her shoulder. Once she pulls on the fingers, Kinsey's arm falls into place more naturally, completely encasing Jade's shoulders.

Kinsey makes sure to act as if her heart isn't exploding over and over as Jade leans into her embrace. The fruity smell of whatever shampoo Jade uses causes Kinsey to fall into a trance of intoxication as the girl basically cuddles into her. The cold she felt after giving her jacket away, completely dissolving with the acquisition of Jade's warmth.

"We're gross," Jade flagrantly states, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the amount of affection they're giving one another. Jade can't even remember the last time she hugged someone, willingly.

"At least no one is here to witness it," Kinsey assures by taking a glance around before looking down at Jade whose leaned into her chest at the moment.

"Too bad. I'm starting to think I might be into voyeurism," Jade nonchalantly rolls off her tongue, nodding.

"Please, you haven't even had sex."

"How do you know?"

"You told me."

"I could have lied,"

"You suck at lying."

"Touché,"

They both fall quiet before the comedic silence jolts them into more laughter. Jade drunkenly smiles through each chuckle, looking up at Kinsey in the process just to catch the rare view of the blonde's genuine laughter. Jade can't help but melt when she spots the faint wrinkles at the side of the blonde's eyes with her perfectly crooked smile on full display.

As their laughter dies down, Jade snuggles further into Kinsey finding it oddly comforting to be in this position. This affection thing isn't too bad.

"What did you think of me the first time you saw me?" Jade suddenly questions.

"Why do you want to know all of a sudden?"

"Just cause."

That is enough of an answer for Kinsey. She shrugs her shoulders before dwelling on the question for rarely a second. "Honestly, I thought you were some fake hard-ass bitch that was too spoiled for her own good."

"Wow, take your time, please. You thought all of that within seeing me for a few seconds," Jade rolls her eyes.

"I'll admit, I thought you were kind of cute, too," Kinsey says in the most detached tone as if that would prevent her from sounding like she's totally whipped for the girl cuddled up beside her.

"Aw, does Kinsey have a crush?" Jade mocks while making a duck face.

"And what if I do?" Kinsey cements as she quirks a strong brow in Jade's direction.

"Then, I can't say that I mind," Jade replies, falling into the distraction that is Kinsey for the millionth time now. It's so annoying how this flirting shit has become second-nature since being around Kinsey for only a couple of months. She feels like every moment she's with Kinsey turns her into someone else and she's not sure if that's necessarily a good or bad thing.

Kinsey captures Jade's gaze but doesn't utter a word. She realizes that they're doing that thing again where they just stare at each other in silence but the blonde can't help it as she mentally prepares for what she wants to say.

She must be thinking, Jade predicts, feeling slightly uneasy as Kinsey's unsettling gaze towers over her.

"I think," Kinsey pauses, setting her lips into a hard line before drawing them open again, "I think, I like you." The statement comes out so clumsily and unsure, holding a bouldering level of density that forces Jade's entire body to tense up as if a blizzard had just passed through.

Her heart stops pumping, her lungs stop expanding, and unfortunately, her brain stops functioning. While the rest of her body fails her, Jade is still capable of lifting herself away from the warmth and safety of Kinsey's body into an upright position.

"No, you don't," Jade interjects with a slightly discomposed smile at the blonde. It's a smile mixed with a tablespoon of confusion and a cup of sadness and pity.

"Yes, I do," Kinsey reasserts in more confidence. She likes Jade and she's known for a while now. She's not about to deny that, especially when her heart collapses every time this chick appears anywhere. "I like you."

"Trust me, you don't." Jade drops her smile, taking in the reality of the moment. I'm not worth it. The dullness of her expression and the straight pity in her eyes makes Kinsey's stomach churn.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kinsey grits, not knowing what to feel. She isn't blindingly angry but she isn't feeling too hot either.

Jade coils into herself, finding that quaint little space in her mind that she runs off to when she suddenly feels small. The overfamiliar need to evade starts to drive Jade as unaddressed insecurities lead her to believe that she is incapable of being liked by another human being.

You see, there has always been this double-edged sword with Jade. She's been so fucked in the head. Every relationship she's had with every human she's come into contact with in her seventeen years of life have failed.

Virtually having no friends and parents who wouldn't bother to give her the time of day, has left Jade with loneliness so deep-rooted that she has started to believe she deserves it.

For so long, she's found comfort in being away from people.

It's easier to push people away than running the risk of actually being happy.

I don't deserve her.

Who was she fooling? To think that she could bury all this shit and act like it didn't affect her. Happiness was temporary and to give herself that false hope is not something she can handle right now.

"There's someone else, right?" Kinsey pipes amidst the change in atmosphere. Simultaneously, the clouds start to barr the Sun and the wind blowing earlier has now pacified to a faint breeze.

"You're kidding, right?" Jade snaps her wide eyes at the blonde.

"If not, then who's Zoé?" Kinsey reasons with a tang of bitterness to her words.

"That isn't any of your business," Jade snaps. The thought of Zoé instantly setting her off after having the red-head call her numerous times today trying to wish her a happy birthday. She takes in a well-needed breath as she observes the increasing annoyance building on Kinsey's face. "I-I just don't want to talk about any of this right now,"

"Why do you keep saying that every time you get confronted about real shit."

Kinsey meets silence as Jade stands powerless to the reality of her statement. The brunette bats her eyes before looking off to the side, looking at anything besides the blonde that is exposing her fucked habits.

"Huh... fucking say something!" The voice booms resoundingly amidst the dead silence of the park. Not only the pure intensity of Kinsey's voice but also the words, pierce through Jade's eardrums making her heart skip a beat in panic.

Kinsey finds shock in how loud that came out too. The corners of her mouth relax a bit while her brows remain solid in their pointedness, looking in the direction of the girl that didn't want to face her.

Of course, the blonde isn't aware of how scary she looks in this instant but Jade is and the brunette can already feel her palms start to sweat.

You can't keep doing this. Grow up. You need to fix this. You need to fix you.

Jade slowly turns herself in Kinsey's direction with her head down. She finds that what she's about to say is going to leave her cripplingly vulnerable but at this point... fuck it.

Jade draws her eyes up to the electric blue emitting from Kinsey's eyes as if lightning bolts were going off in those orbs.

The brunette parts her lips and revs up her vocal cords.

But the obnoxious buzz comes from her phone again. The phone, now sat by her thigh on the wooden bench, vibrates. Her eyes immediately draw down, highly sensitive to every sound and motion at the moment.

Kinsey's eyes also draw downwards, interested in who could be pulling Jade's attention away from her.

The blonde's jaw gradually drops open as she takes in what shows up on the front of Jade's phone. Not too long after her reaction, a breath-taking gasp expels from the depths of Jade's gut as the brunette also takes in what shows up on her phone. The brunette wraps her mouth with one hand and holds her stomach with the other as every part of her body feels like it'll dissipate into mush.

What the girls see is a message from Zoé. A text consisting of a singular image followed by a message.

An image of a half-naked, seemingly unconscious Jade splayed out across a bed. Her eyes shut as if she were sleeping as her matching black bra and panties are fully visible. There are very few, faint red marks all down her arms as she lay in an awkward position on her back.

The message below reads: I miss us. Happy Birthday, babe.

Jade has nothing to say as she takes in the image she never knew existed. The amount of rage isn't enough to bypass the familiar feeling of helplessness and inferiority she had become accustomed to when she was in Zoé's grasp. She still has me.

Her body stands incapacitated by the number of emotions running through her veins. Her eyes remain fixated on the image in a cold stare as the inanimate object displaying her at her most fragile remains lit up. The phone lies between her and Kinsey's thighs, neither soul daring to touch it or comment at its contents.

After an excruciatingly brutal minute of tense silence, the screen fades out and the blonde ferociously snaps her eyes up at Jade, almost blinding at the amount of red she sees.

"I'm going to kill her," Kinsey grits, feeling every bone and muscle in her body inflame simultaneously. The blonde forms a solid grip around the edge of the wooden bench, oddly mimicking the way she usually sits on the sidelines, enraged, after being ejected from the game for getting into an altercation with an opposing player.

"Who's gonna let you?" Jade murmurs defeatedly with little to no spirit left in her tone.

"Who's gonna stop me?"

_________

So... we're getting a bit intense out here. Yeah, this story gets a little twisted so I hope y'all are willing to keep following this fucked up tirade.

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What do you think time has done to Kinsey and Jade's relationship? How do you think they've grown?

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How did you feel about Kinsey's confession and Jade's reaction? What are your genuine thoughts about this entire scene?

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What are your suspicions about Jade and Zoé's past after this chapter?

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Anything else you wanna get off your chest about this chapter? I know I've been gone for a hot minute but school is insane but I plan on getting my shit together so don't worry, babes. I hope y'all won't give up on me. I really hope I made up for my absence with this one. Don't forget to comment, vote and give me a follow if you'd like. I really love y'all and that is why I continue to work on updates. Hope y'all are all safe and I love you! See you in the next chapter! ❤️