The rest of the school was worst. Somehow, the whole class found about Jennifer's confession and teased her about it the whole day. Along with Adrian who would glare at her every time their eyes met. Adrian hate it. All of it. Him acting cold, girls teasing Jennifer because he turned her down, boys calling her names whenever she passed by. He made it a point to pay them all back, with interest, the humiliation they had made Jennifer go through but when the time was right. Not now.
The whole way home, Jennifer kept reminding herself, "Just because we appreciate each other's company and he treats me nicely doesn't mean he likes me… he already has somebody he loves, leave him alone." She cried silently as the thought of him ruining her cookies replayed in her mind.
"I got ahead of myself and ruined my day.." she said as she leaned her head on the bus window sighing. All through the journey random moments of happiness kept popping up in her mind, moment when Adrian and Jennifer were close and happy. The time when he stayed at her house, when he got drunk, when he helped her with Winston. All those memories were so joyful.
"Thank you." She said to the bus driver as she got off.
"The least I could do is cheer up! 'Banbury Cross' here I come!" she said walking up in the direction of her favorite bookstore close to her home. Banbury cross was a bookstore, privately set up for the rich kids in town. It had all the books, all volumes and all editions. From comics to novels, everything was available. Jennifer loved spending time there. It was a sanctuary to her troubled mind. Though she hadn't visited it in a long time. The reason again being Adrian, he brought peace to her equivalent to the bookstore.
*Ding*
The bell hung on the top of the door rang as she entered the store. "Welcome." A worker in the storage room greeted her as she made her way to her favorite aisle. The aisle of fiction and romance. Jennifer walked down the aisle looking scanning the books looking for the new edition of 'The pernicious altruism.'
"Aish, where is it .." she stopped in her tracks as she spotted a bowl of half eaten instant noodles on the table right next to her spot on the couch. "Ugh… I thought I'd be the only one here since I came early. Someone else is here? No one ever comes here this early…" she sat down on her spot on the couch right next to a big shelf. She gasped loudly as she could tell someone sat on her spot on the couch as it was warm.
She moved around the spot in anger, "Who dares to sit on Jennifer's seat!" she looked behind the couch at the chalkboard. "Did they not see my sign?"
"This chalkboard clearly states 'This is Jennifer Williams' seat. If you sit here, you get a hairy butt!" Jennifer wrote this a year ago in big bold pink chalk with arrows pointing to her seat. She turned around and dropped her bag on the floor, "That's some nerve they have." She said sternly folding her arms. "Oh right! The book." She walked quickly to the aisle, she scanned each row until she finally spotted it.
"Why does it have to be so far up?" Jennifer got on her tippy toes and stretched her arm to reach it. It was at the tip of her hand when she just got it to fall down. "Yes! I got-"
*Snatch*
"Hey, I got that f-" Jennifer's eyes widened as she saw him. Adrian Rains! In a comic book store?!?!? "No way!" she thought. "He is the last person I wanna see today. I don't want to see anyone from school today…." Adrian too was shocked to see Jennifer and before saying anything he started to walk away.
"Hey, I got that first." Jennifer fast walked to him, holding his arm, to which he shoved her off. It hurt him to act so roughly with Jennifer, but he had to do it. "I didn't see it in your hands." His cold voice and smug attitude was new to Jennifer. She was used to a sweet and affectionate Adrian. It hurts.
"That's because- It was far too up…" she said with a sigh. Rolling his eyes, Adrian handed her the book, "Here." Jennifer felt that there was something off about him. He wasn't himself. Jennifer had seen him angry, she had seen him worried, annoyed, bored. Almost every emotion but this was no emotion or mood. Adriane was hiding something.
"What?"
"Here. You said you wanted it. Take it." Adrian couldn't hold on to his stupid act anymore. He decided to walk away. "Oh." Jennifer took the book and watched him walk into the distance. She noticed that Adrian's steps were hurried. "What was that about? Well, at least I got it now." Jennifer happily walked to the couch.
She decided to get a few more books to read after this one, Adrian and Jennifer just happened to be in the same aisle. Again. "Hmm.." Adrian scanned the books until he finally picked one, Me and my demons. Jennifer scoffed looking at the choice he picked.
He noticed and glared at her, "Don't read that. It's boring." Jennifer said before he was about to leave the aisle. He paused for a few seconds before putting the book back and choosing another one, "The curse of love." Was his second choice. Jennifer folded her arms and shook her head, "Is he new to this place or what? He has such a weird taste…."
"Don't read that either, already read all the sequels. Such a waste of time." She said, fidgeting with a few books in her arms. "Okay.." Adrian put the book back in anger, causing an echo across the store. "Then..." he walked to her only for her to back up onto a shelf. "Then which one should I read?" He said, lifting his eyebrow.