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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʙʏ ʜᴏᴏᴋ ᴏʀ ʙʏ ᴄʀᴏᴏᴋ ꒱


❝ GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE ❞

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Juliet jumped as she felt a gust of air woosh pass her face which was followed by another person occupying the chair next to her. "What's up, Ocean Eyes?" Jack asked cheerfully.

The redhead rolled her eyes at him. "Can't you sit in a chair like a normal person?" she asked the boy, as he'd turned the seat around so that the back was pressed against the table and his long legs straddled either side.

"It's more fun this way," he answered with a teasing wink. "Anyway, where are your friends? Don't you usually hang out with them after school?"

"Well yeah, but Cory's got Mono, Shawn's working at his uncle's and I usually only hang out with Topanga during school so now I'm studying. Or was," she added with some annoyance.

"It's a good thing I'm an enjoyable distraction then," he hurried on without allowing the girl to make a comment. "Since Hunter and Matthews are busy d'you want to come over again?"

Juliet tilted her head at the blond boy. "You know you can hang out with Cory, Shawn and me, right?"

Jack's blue eyes darted away from hers and to the table in front of him. "Thanks for the offer, Ocean Eyes, but I don't think Hunter likes me much. I don't want to cause tension between the two of you."

"Shawn's just being a jerk," the redhead offered. "I dunno why he's like that but he doesn't really have a right to be. You really should hang out with us sometime, it'd be fun. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm free this weekend except for some chores around the apartment."

"Great!" the boy said happily. "We can help my mom garden."

"Garden? I thought you hated bugs?"

"I do," he confirmed. "But you're okay with them and I do like being outside. There's lots of work to be done now that spring is here. Besides, I could be your butler."

Juliet grinned. "Now there's something I'd like to see. You'd get me anything I asked for?"

"Yup, though some items may take several days to arrive," he said. "And before I forget— you know you don't have to dress up for this, right? Or any time you come to visit? I don't want you to feel like you have to become someone you're not just to fit in," the boy added more seriously.

The redhead reached out and gently squeezed his hand, causing both of them to turn slightly pink. "Thanks, Jack. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Yep. I'll let you get back to that exciting studying," he said with a smile, and he reached out to tug her long, red hair teasingly.

The gesture was so similar to the one Shawn had done over the years that it made her heart ache at the once-familiar action. Juliet ignored the feeling and smiled brightly at the boy. "Can't wait!"

🌎🌎🌎

When she arrived at Jack's family's mansion on Saturday, James-the-butler led her straight to the gardens instead of calling the boy down. Juliet had followed the blond's advice and wore her older jeans with a comfortable t-shirt and her long hair was in its traditional twin braids.

The older man cleared his throat. "Mrs. Montacute, your assistant has arrived." There was a lighthearted note in the man's voice. The blonde woman looked up and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear as she smiled up at the girl. 

"Juliet, I'm so glad you could make it. Jack's just hidden inside since I came across a centipede but he'll be back out in a bit."

Juliet laughed as she imagined the tall boy breakneck sprinting back to the safety of inside. "Hello Mrs.— uh, Dalya," she said, changing her greeting as she remembered the woman's request to call her by her first name. "What can I do?"

"I've already prepared the soil so why don't you start digging holes for the new flowers over there?" the blonde asked. She gestured with her trowel towards a bare patch of dirt not too far away.

"Sure thing M— uh, Dalya," she said and headed over to the indicated place. After pulling on gardening gloves and finding a hand-held shovel, she went to dig the hole but paused. "Uh, how big do they need to be?"

"The smaller plants should have a hole about six to twelve inches deep. The larger plants should be about twice the diameter of the pot and two times as deep," Dalya answered easily.

"Alright, will do. This definitely doesn't sound like a 'Jack job,'" the redhead joked.

The older woman gave her an amused look before she glanced back up towards the mansion, though she couldn't see anything useful due to the tall bushes surrounding their workspace. Still, almost as if she'd sensed him, Jack appeared, carrying a tray of water and some sandwiches. "Hey, Ocean Eyes, you're here! When did you arrive?"

"Not too long ago," Juliet answered. "I heard you got scared by a centipede," she teased him.

The boy shuddered. "Way too many legs. Anyway, here, mom." He handed the blonde a glass of water.

"Thanks, Jackie. Go on, be with your friend," Dalya told him as she took the glass from her son.

The boy nodded in agreement before he headed over to the redhead and knelt next to her on the warm stones that framed the large section of dirt. The girl gave him a 'really?' look. "You're gonna garden like that? After you told me not to dress up?"

Jack was wearing his usual well-put-together outfit of khaki slacks and nicely-pressed, wrinkle-free light green button down shirt. He had the sleeves folded up to his elbows and the bottom untucked, but it was still too nice for gardening. "No, Ocean Eyes. You're gonna garden. I'm keeping you entertained."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The afternoon turned out to be quite fun, with the redhead telling the blond many stories about the hijinks that she, Shawn and Cory had gotten into throughout her childhood. In turn, she asked Jack about the things he'd done, which the boy had claimed weren't as interesting as her stories— she deigned to disagree since he'd been to ten countries before he was even nine.

As the shadows lengthened and after Juliet had taken a break, she turned to the boy. "You aren't gonna garden at all?" she pressed.

"I don't want any unnecessary run-ins with bugs. It's been too quiet on that front today. I don't trust that they've all disappeared because I'm out here."

With a grin, the girl stood and grabbed the blond's wrist to tug on it gently. "C'mon, Jackie. I'll teach you how to dig a hole for plants, just once," she tried to give him a pleading, puppy-dog-eye look, but all the boy did was laugh.

"You need to work on that face," he said between chuckles. "You look ridiculous."

The redhead pouted for real. "Thanks a lot, genius."

"You know that's not an insult when it's actually true, right?" the boy asked with a smirk as he allowed the girl to pull him up.

"Whatever," Juliet answered for the umpteenth time. She continued to tug the blond over to where she'd been working. "C'mon, if we find any bugs I'll stomp on them."

Jack sighed. "Fine, since you're not gonna let this go."

They resumed their positions from earlier and Juliet went to grab the shovel, but Jack had the same idea and their hands bumped into each other. The pair to turn slightly pink and laughed awkwardly. 

"You go first," the boy said as he pulled his hand away.

"No, you," Juliet said, copying his actions. They each made a move to pick up the tool but their hands collided together again. The repeated action caused the redhead glance up at the blond and they smiled bashfully at each other.

"I guess great minds think alike, Ocean Eyes," Jack admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"I guess so," she agreed quietly, somewhat startled at how nice Jack looked in this light. His floppy blond hair framed his face and reached down to just above his ears. His blue eyes seemed bluer than they usually were as they looked down at her in faint amusement, and a smile was tugging at his— well, she knew his lips were soft as she'd kissed him before, at the party earlier in the year. Juliet wondered what it would be like to kiss him again, especially without the pressure of knowing everyone was waiting for them. The red-haired girl shook her head to clear her thoughts. Where had they come from, anyway? she thought. You like Shawn, remember?

Jerking her gaze away from Jack's, she grabbed the shovel and was quickly able to plant the last pot. Dalya came over to the pair and brushed her gloved hands off before she put them on her hips. "Well, it looks like you've certainly found yourself a hard worker, Jackie," she complimented the redhead. "I hadn't expected you to work so diligently, Juliet."

The girl placed the tool on the ground and dusted off her own hands. "Thanks, uh, Dalya. Hard work is a part of who I am I think."

Jack placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "She's one of the smartest girls in our class, mom," he added proudly. "She works very hard to achieve the grades she does."

Juliet blushed brightly and tucked some of her vibrant hair behind her ear with embarrassment. "Well, I wouldn't say that—" she began.

"It's a good thing you didn't have to," the blond boy cut across her with a smile. "I did and it's true."

Juliet ducked her head at his praise as Dalya mirrored her son's expression. "I'm sure your mother is quite proud of you."

The comment made the girl slump. "I dunno. It's not like she has the time to tell me."

The blonde-haired woman's expression grew pensive. "And your father— does he help you study?"

The girl shook her head and mumbled: "he left when I was a baby."

Dalya opened her mouth to ask another question but Jack interrupted her, "that's enough, mom. Juliet doesn't like to talk about her parents very much so there's no need to go probing for information."

His mother's expression softened. "I'm sorry, dear, I had no idea. I'll be sure to remember that. Why don't you two get cleaned up and Juliet can have dinner with us before she heads home?"

"Great idea, mom. Thanks," the boy nodded in agreement. "C'mon, Ocean Eyes." 

🌎🌎🌎

After the red-haired girl left the Montacute's home, Jack knocked softly on the door to his mother's study. "Hey, mom. Can I ask you a question?"

The blonde-haired woman looked up from the paperwork spread out before her. "Of course, Jackie. What did you want to know?"

The boy frowned as he tried to figure out how to best word his question before he spoke: "um, why were you so. . . interested in Juliet's parentage?"

Dalya's expression grew thoughtful as she considered her answer. "Well, how much do you know about Daly Capelwood?"

"I know she works at a diner in town and takes as many shifts as she can to help pay the bills," the boy started, "and that she doesn't have a lot of time for her daughter and she'd been an up-and-coming actress on Broadway before Juliet was born."

"Hmmm," Dalya said. "And has Juliet ever mentioned anything about her father?"

"Not much," Jack shrugged. "Just that he left before she'd ever had a proper one. I don't think she knows a lot about him."

"Well, I know you've paid particular attention to her eyes, given your nickname for her," the older woman said slowly. "Have they reminded you of anyone elses?"

"Uh, her mom's?"

"Daly Capelwood only shares her daughter's red hair," the blonde corrected him, "and therefore she would have gotten her eyes from her father. They're unmistakable once you put two and two together. He's. . . one of your father's. . . colleagues."

Jack thought of all of the adult men who had come to his father's parties over the years. Emyr had many partners and only a person who'd met the same people many times could remember the details of each face. Then, a dark-haired man with ocean-blue eyes came to the front of his memory and the boy's eyes widened. "No," he breathed in shock.

Dalya gave a solemn nod. "It's an educated guess and I have no real proof, but you must agree that the eyes are a perfect match and Capelwood isn't a common last name." She gave him a wry smile. "Of all the people you should grow close with, it's the daughter of someone who is. . . at odds with your father." 

[written dec. 2020]
[edited may 2022]