No Idea [closed]

He clicked the TV off to create a new silence in the room before tossing the remote lazily onto the other side of his couch, turning his attention down to the instrument on his lap. His violin had been sitting out by his bedside for too long, haven't had being touched since before his spring break. Since then, life had been nothing but drama and homework and drama and headaches and more drama. He couldn't stop thinking back to those several nights, wondering if anything had really come of it - and where the girl he'd shared them with had disappeared too. To add to that, he'd also heard rumors that Beata's queen had been hanging around the offices lately, practically demanding a new dorm room as soon as possible. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. also, that topic isn't done yet, so - you know...

Holding back a sigh, Jason drew up his instrument and played a long, steady note, before letting the wooden piece fall back down so he could adjust the strings, sitting back with his feet kicked up on the coffee table and tuning the violin with half-a-mind. He should've tried to talk to her a while ago - or something, he thought, to the Winter. Verona had to be some sort of lost cause and he honestly wondered if she would ever speak to him again. Even if she wanted too, he wouldn't be sure of what to say. But her - Evelyn, he was left even more clueless. You would've thought after seven straight days of getting "close", everything would've sorted itself out. Of course, things were never that simple.

The Autumn had to pause to pull a few pills out of his pocket, taking them down quickly with a small bottle of water and continuing on with his fine tuning. He'd been having migraines ever since they'd come back from Montana.

What a coincidence.

There was that face she'd been wanting to see most, or maybe the one she wanted to avoid at all costs. Honestly, she wasn't sure. Her feelings seemed to shift and change every five minutes. Why does this have to be so confusing? It went from guilty to ecstatic to unsure to guilty again. One moment Evelyn might feel butterflies in her stomach thinking about him, other times she felt like burying her head in her pillow and blotting him from her mind. Why can't any of this be easy?

What were they? How did she feel? How did he feel? All the questions she avoided during their trip came rushing back at her the moment she found herself back in her own dorm. Reality couldn't touch her back at Glacier, but the moment they left that park it caught up to complicate her life again ― possibly just out of sheer spite.

But now here she was, standing in the doorway, with nothing behind her and that idiot boy in front of her. Was she supposed to hug him? Kiss him? Wave and smile? Slip back into the hallway and hope he didn't notice? Evelyn took one deep breath, ignored the fluttering in her chest, and spoke. You got this.

"Um... H-h-h-hi."

He'd just finish another long, waning note, frowning at the off-key and pulling it back down, tweaking the strings a little. If the Winter had wanted to flee then, she would've gone completely unnoticed by the boy, as he was trying to keep himself distracted with his instrument and, for the most part, it was working. In that small string of silence though, he'd heard a familiar voice stutter out a greeting. There was a small part of him that tried to convince him it was nothing and to ignore it, but he and his own curiosity new better than that at this point.

The Autumn caught her eye, shooting her a small smile and sitting up. "Hey, Snowflake." While he seemed cool and collected on the outside, her presence had caught him off guard, and all those questions he'd been trying to ignore had come racing back. What should he say to her? She'd had to have had the same things on her mind as him, right? He had no clue how she couldn't. Should he just jump right into the issue or pretend like it was nothing? Jace had dealt with a lot of different situations in his life, but this was sure as Hell something else.

... Fuck it. He'd wing it. What's the worst that could happen? "Where you've been hiding?" He asked, a light and teasing tone to his voice as he brought his feet off the table and set his violin there, inviting her to sit next to him.

All the bravery and self-confidence it took to say those two simple words all drained out of her the moment he caught her eye. She gaped at him for a moment, her mind suddenly blank. Was it too late to sneak back out the door? "H-h-h-hiding?" she repeated, looking somewhere between 'petrified' and 'befuddled.' After a moment of terror-stricken silence, she out an uneasy laugh and lifted a hand to the back of her head. "Oh... y-yeah... I... uh..." Her voice trailed off into nothing. A joke. Make a joke, idiot. "I-I w-w-wasn't h-hiding, heh... y-y... um... I, well... n-nevermind..."

Evelyn suddenly became very interested in the patch of wall over Jace's head. You fucking moron. Hiding. That was exactly what she'd been doing, but Evelyn got the feeling that wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Um..." Her heart was beating like a drum as she desperately searched for another subject. "Is t-t-that your v-violin?" She bit the inside of her cheek to hold back her grimace. No, it's his trombone. What kind of question is that?

He was almost offered to offer her a drink, if he actually had one anyways, since it was apparently so befitting of her - and she looked liked she needed one. She looked so panicked already and Jace had hardly said two words to her. That's what gave her lie away, he thought, laughing quietly to himself and looking down to the floor. If she didn't look like a bundle of nerves standing in a doorway of needles, he might've believed her, maybe. "I was just messing with you." The young man said, shrugging and trying to hide his disappointment.

Was that how it was going to be between them, he wondered. With their night with the cafe and the entire vacation, and now this awkward air about them, it was like two giant leaps forward and one shitty tumble back - or that's how things seemed anyways. The thought of that was... scary. Pretty damn frightening actually, although he didn't completely understand why.

Jason's eyes flicked up again once she noted his instrument. "Yeah," He mused with a small smile, glancing back at her. "I've been neglecting the poor thing. And my gift too." Put the later off much longer and he wouldn't hear the end of it.

Right. Just messing with her. She knew that. Kind of. Not for the first time, she had to reflect on how confusing those easy smiles were. He shrugged. Did he not have the same worries? No doubts? Was she the only one confused here? Maybe I'm just going crazy. That devil-may-care attitude he had―or at least pretended he had―made her envious. Life would be a lot less complicated if she could just shrug and smile and roll with the punches. Maybe that's what she liked in him; he couldn't have been more different from her if he tried.

Evelyn fiddled with her fingers, settling her gaze on the instrument in his lap. "Gift?" she repeated. God, I sound so stupid. "Oh. Uh. R-right. I, uh... I d-don't t-t-think I've ev-ever s-seen you... use your... g-gift. Y-y'know, exc-except f-for t-that one t-t-time." Where they fought a yeti in Nepal. And then got shot at by a raving Engilshman. It was funny how those memories seemed almost normal now.

Jason seemed almost surprised, blinking and giving her a curious look. "You have?" He tried to think back when he might've used his gift in front of her - or anyone, for that matter. The only people who'd really seen him use it were normally either his family or their teachers. His power wasn't exactly the most practical thing. That one time... When he'd realized what she was talking about, his hand had found the small place on his stomach, where a faded, rugged scar from that bullet from so long ago hid under his shirt. 'Gotta love raving Englishmen.

"Oh, that was nothing." Did his gift even work that time? He didn't think so. Jace remembered how he ended up playing as loud as he could, trying to be a distraction more than anything else. His eyes brightened up a bit as hook the instrument up in his hands, tucking the violin under his chin as he lean lazily against the arm of the couch. "I'll give you a real taste of it." The blond winked at her, holding the bow to the strings.

The first few notes were slow and steady, as he picked out the right rhythm to play at. The soft light appeared first around his finger tips, faint and barely noticeable, unless someone had been watching closely. It soon spread, enveloping him all around with eerie wisps - and doing the same to her as well. At first, they might've seem strange, maybe even a bit frightening - but with them brought strong feelings of comfort and protection, leaving one feeling almost untouchable. It left them easy and in that moment Jason realized he could sense her fleeting anxiety, uncertainty - everything that all but confirmed where they stood; and, if his gift was working right, she'd should've been able to pick on everything he'd felt as well.

When he finished playing, he set the violin down on the table again and shot Evelyn a wistful smile, the effects of his gift lingering for just a bit longer.

Evelyn felt herself deflate even further. Was there anything he remembered? Even their trip to Nepal... she'd hardly spoken the entire trip, preferring to stay out of the way to sulk and take in the scenery. Maybe it didn't even have anything to do with her gift, though. She entertained the thought in an attempt to cheer herself back up. He did say that he'd been going on lots of missions lately... maybe stuff like that just became "normal" to you, like every other odd thing in this secret world became normal to you.

Nothing. She wondered if he was saying that because it was true or because he really couldn't remember. True, she didn't really remember his frantic playing in the snow to actually have any... effect, but you'd think that someone would try to go all-out when you're being charged at by the abominable snowman.

She perked up when he did and watched, half in slight confusion, half in curiosity, as he tucked the violin under his chin and held the bow to the strings. A taste? Alright, I'll bite...

It was a deep, reverberating melody, slow at first, before it began to lilt and lift. At first she thought she was imagining it, but when she blinked and looked closer, there wasn't any denying it. Tendrils of golden light began to wrap around him, threading under his arms and circling around his hands, and when Evelyn looked down, she saw that it'd begun to surround her too. She might have panicked or freaked out, but instead, she felt a resounding calm and understanding wash over her. It was as if every little knot and kink in her mind unraveled and everything became that much clearer.

Evelyn still had no idea what she felt, but things seemed a lot less complicated now. As the song faded into silence, she looked up and met his eyes, returned the smile, and stepped forward out from the doorway. Another step, cautiously, slowly, another, and then she practically fell forward, leaning on the couch's arm as she bent to kiss him.

'cause idefk what i'm doing anymore derailing thread time choochoo all aboard

"Well, was it worth it?"

Of course, the first words that ran through his head in that moment weren't even his own - but they didn't have to be. He'd heard them well enough, over and over again ever since the two of them had returned to the school. The Autumn hated to put too much thought into it, but it couldn't be helped. He'd done the stupid thing - the unconventional. He already had the "perfect" girl for him; someone who was gorgeous, popular, enthusiastic, flirty, outgoing. It only made sense for him to fall for this woman, but he simply didn't. He supposed he should've felt ashamed, remembering the harsh distance newly created between them in the dorms. He'd seen her crying. He'd done that. She'd fallen for him and he'd never even noticed. Maybe she never noticed herself, heart broken all the same. Was it really that worth it?

His gaze didn't waver as she took those first few hesitant steps away from the doorway. Jason did remember some things. He remembered bumping into Evelyn's fish tank that first day many of Beata's newer students arrived for the year, finding her dagger on the bench after an incident with Montare - and returning it afterwords, sitting beside her when she laid in the infirmary. He could recall how he'd run after her through the halls with tears in her eyes, and he'd ended up on the floor. They were all vague by then, but they were remembered. She'd changed a lot since then, he figured, but he had to have too.

The young man wasn't sure what he was expecting out of the Winter, he just knew what he wanted, reaching an arm out for her as she stumbled over the couch. Jace quickly took to her cheek, cupping it gently in his hand as his lips met hers. With half-a-mind, he noticed how quickly his heart had picked up, how sweet her kiss tasted then, and how whatever bit of shame or regret he had to have had didn't seem to matter then what-so-ever. Even if he couldn't understand it, she had such an enticing effect over him, and if it meant that he'd get the chance to savor moments like these - then maybe it was worth it.

"Eve..." He muttered, finding himself grinning the moment he pulled away for air. "You're pretty brave today." Someone could always walk by and see them. But it wasn't like he cared or was complaining. Maybe he should play for her more often?

The kiss was a sweet and short thing, but Evelyn wished it could've lasted forever. She pulled away with a blush. "Are y-y-you making f-fun of me?" she asked, only half-teasing. She supposed she had been brave, to speak up, to come to him. Or crazy. Or reckless. "Brave" felt too complimentary for her. If she had ever been anything, it wasn't brave. Evelyn decided to go with it anyways, with a goofy little smile to match his own. He'd always had a cute smile. Confusing, but cute.

Bravery. Recklessness. Insanity. Stupidity. Which one was it, that made her say what she said next? It had started off subtle. Maybe she'd felt this way since after that day in the courtyard, when she'd left her dagger on a bench. Maybe before that. All she knew that she felt something now. Bravery. Recklessness. Insanity. Stupidity. Butterflies. Giddiness. A certain something welling up in her chest. A racing heart. A queasiness in her stomach. Stupidity. Recklessness. Insanity. Bravery? Evelyn meant to blurt it out. To just get the words out of her before all her bravery and recklessness and insanity faded. Instead it came out in a stammering rush.

"I―..." She stopped, looking flustered. It was just three words. Three. She could manage that. Just three. "I... w-w-well... um... I-I-I..." Three. Three words. "Y-you... um... I... I-I l-l-l... um..."

Evelyn straightened up, standing stiff as a board. "N-n-nevermind!"

And then she whirled around on one heel and turned her back to him, crossing her arms.

Jason's thumb brushed against her cheek, caressing her gently and laughing quietly under his breath when she pulled away from him, seeing her face flush with color. "No," He said with a small crooked grin. "Of course not." The blond felt compelled to answer even if she was only teasing. It was just... different was all, or she was being different. As far as he could remember, he'd always been the one to run into her, or try to carry the conversation - and sure as Hell, in the times that it happened, he was the one to make the first move. She'd broken all three of those patterns in moments, whether she meant to or not. It was kinda nice seeing her like this.

It couldn't have been perfect though, he supposed, ignoring the stinging in his head and forcing himself to look up at her as she tried to stammer a sentence out - but it clearly wasn't working out as well as she would've liked and Jace found himself rather confused. It was evident on his face as she suddenly stiffened, spinning away from him and throwing away whatever she'd been trying to get at. At first, he didn't know what to say, throwing his gaze to the window and awkwardly rubbing his temple - waiting for the rest of that aspirin to do it's job.

It wasn't as if her thoughts were the only ones cleared up though, for the most part, anyways. Taking in a deep breath, he sat up straight and glanced back at her. He supposed he could try and make this an easy question for her, even if it was slightly difficult to ask. "Alright." He muttered, running a few fingers through his hair. "Now... You are my girlfriend, aren't you?" He chewed at his cheek, wondering why the question left him so anxious. After everything, there was no way she could've said no, right? But then again, she was always kind of a mystery...

She cast a glance over her shoulder, her eyes wide and her lips pursed. "I-I... w-well..." Evelyn turned her eyes back ahead, toward the open door. A fresh storm of butterflies took to the air inside her stomach. "Y-y-yeah..." She swallowed her nervousness and looked back at him with a small, mousy smile, one that bordered on badly concealed panic. "I've n-n-never had a... b-b-b..." The word caught in her throat. "B-b-b-bo.... b-boy... I'veneverbeeninar-r-relations-shipbefore," she admitted with a sigh, finally able to get the words out. The Winter turned to face him again, fiddling her fingers and shuffling her feet.

An uncomfortable feeling hit his stomach as Evelyn glanced his way with wide eyes that seemed practically frightened, following her gaze back to the door out of the room. For a sinking moment, he thought she might just make a run for it, and he started to scold himself internally - how he should've just kept his mouth shut, or it was the wrong time and place. When she finally said yes, it'd taken him a moment to catch on, looking back up at her with a slightly surprised expression.

Any look of worry that had been on Jason's face before disappeared, relief and a warm grin quickly taking it's place. He's gotten the message she was trying to give before she even finished himself, leaving him with a few moments to try and think on what to say to her exactly. "Never?" The Autumn repeated, raising an eyebrow; then shrugging a little, as if it wasn't a big deal. He'd honestly figured as much with how shy she was, among a few other things. "Well," Jace pulled himself off of the cushions, standing up and walking to the end of the couch, leaning against the arm and glancing across to her. "There's not much to it. Think of it as free cake pops. Having someone to text when you can't sleep. Or if someone messes with you, I'll take care of them - or we could get back at them together." He smiled a bit crookedly, holding a hand out to her. "And you know, other things too..."

Still blushing fiercely, Evelyn found her smile widening as he spoke. Cake pops and texts and playing bodyguard... that didn't sound so hard. Maybe this wouldn't turn out to be so complicated after all. The memory of those feelings that washed over her when he had played the violin still lingered. How hard could it be, really? Especially after everything they had done together... at times Jace still felt half a stranger to her, but somehow, in that naive head of hers, she got the feeling that things would finally begin to look up for her.

She eyed his outstretched hand and uncertainly took it. "W-what kind of o-other t-t-things...?"

The blond held her hand warmly in his, squeezing her palm a little and glancing back up at her, happy to see her smile growing as well. He wondered she knew how cute she really was, shuffling around with her flushed face and hiding behind her bangs. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen her this shy looking in a long, long time...

"Hmm... The long days after school together or watching movies..." Jason mused, bringing her hand up closer to him. "You'll have a date to the festival and the winter formal." He leaned over ever-so-slightly, brushing his lips against her slender fingers. "Whatever you wanna do, really."