"Hey Jack, nice boxers!" She's laughing her head off, and he can't help but smile. Something about her just puts him that little bit at ease.
'So she is living next door. She's living right next door to me, and her room is just across the gap from mine, if I ever needed to I could always jump across from her room to mine, and back again.' He can't put his finger on it but something about the whole thing makes him really happy. She's quieted the anger that was running wild in his head. He's laughing with her, mostly out of embarrassment but also because after being so close to tears it's the only thing he can do. So he laughs letting the feeling fill him.
There has to be some truth to laughter being the best medicine for you humans. Just look at him. He's gone from feeling like the world can just go to hell to smiling like there's no tomorrow. Not a care in the world. Look at him standing there shamelessly. In fact he's even feeling pretty cocky. Now that she's seen him they're on equal footing again.
"Why thank you. You enjoying the view?" His smile widens as she laughs again. 'She has the cutest laugh.'
"It's not bad, maybe if you closed the curtains it could be better." She's teasing him and he can hear it in her voice, still light with traces of laughter.
"Okay, wow. You wound me, Princess. Note to self; she doesn't like guys who look like male models." She smiles at this and he has to smile back.
"I never said I don't like guys like that. In fact I have nothing against male models, or guys who look like they could be male models. I was only asking if you close your curtains when you get undressed." She sticks her tongue out at him, and he swears he could kiss her right here and now. He's almost completely forgotten about why he was pacing his room, and about David, and his dad, and how angry he had been moments ago. She seemed to have melted all of that away.
"Och, my ego. Well since you hurt me right down in here," he puts his hand on his heart "can you at least tell me your real name, or do I have to beg ?"
He smirks at her, meeting her eyes. He holds her gaze a moment longer before looking away.
"First of all, I don't think I did any permanent damage, and in my professional opinion your bruised ego will recover pretty soon. I think you'll live, but we'll only know for sure in the morning." She's still smiling as she says this, allowing Jack to think that overall he's still doing okay.
"And secondly?" He asks still not believing that she hasn't given into him charm, and slightly taken back by her came back.
"Secondly....I far as I remember I did tell you my name, but I wouldn't mind to see you beg to hear me say it again." She's smirking right back at him. Little does he know that she's convinced that she has the upper hand. Having years of experience from the books and movies she's absorbed into her mind she's feeling well equipped to fire back anything he sends her way. On top of that she's finding that she's sort of enjoying it. 'Maybe it wouldn't be terrible to be friends with him.'
Jack however is getting a little flustered. This doesn't happen to him. Girls don't answer like this. Usually girls just fall for the old flash a smile, a bit of small talk, and flirting. He hasn't really spoken to many girls, and he's quickly learning that he doesn't seem to be as smooth as he thinks he is. This doesn't stop him though.
'I'm going to enjoy getting to know her.' Something inside him is pulling him towards her, and he's thinking about things he's never thought before. 'I have to find a way to get close to her. I have to be her friend, the person she can go to. She has to know that I'll be there for her when she needs me. I'll be that person for her. Whatever she needs.'
He looks at her again, trying to take in every detail about her. "Well I'm going to find out tomorrow in class anyway. If you remember we have Math together and last time I checked, which was basically yesterday, you can't exactly drop it. So you're kinda stuck with me."
"Damn, and I had such high hopes I could just not do Math anymore. Looks like you're the one that's stuck with me then. You cool with that?" She calls across the gap.
"Princess, you can get stuck with me any day, and I'd be cool with it," She has no idea how true that is right now. Seeing her smile is worth all the confusion she's making him feel.
"Careful what you wish for. You might have more than just Math with me."
"Well we'll have to see about that tomorrow, now won't we Princess," He sees her blush as he carries on calling her princess, "It's not like I'll mind seeing you around."
"We'll have to see," her voice is soft as she says this and she looks down so he can barely see that her cheeks have gone red reminding him of the colour of that awesome bra he saw her wearing. Iona refuses to meet his eyes again. She's not used to blushing. Then again she's never let herself sit and talk to a shirtless boy long enough for him to say something that could make her blush. The whole experience is very new to her, and that's all she's planning to chalk it up to; a new experience that she doesn't have to go through again after tonight.
"Besides, someone has to keep you safe from all the big mean horny boys that roam the hall's of your new school."
"It's your school too, you know. So you mean you mean the ones like you, right?" she looks up challenging his statement. Still trying to recover from the dark flush on her cheeks, and unable to actually look at him. Thinking that if she ignores it it'll go away.
'Idiot! Why would you say that? What is wrong with you?' He tries hard to look like his brain isn't having an argument with his mouth. "Okay, once again; och."
They both start laughing again. "I'll have you know that I am a saint."
She just looks up and shakes her head, "You sound pretty sure of yourself. I mean, in your words there are big mean horny boys all over that school. You're a boy, you go to that same school...and you were the one to bring it up. I'm just saying." She throws her hands up fanning false innocents, "Unless of course you want to tell me something."
"Actually there is something."
"And what would that be?"
"That you're wrong. Maybe not a complete saint, but I can't lie to you, Princess. I'm just the friendly, amazing good looking boy next door that you have Math with. The same incredible guy who happens to be your neighbor and new best friend."
"Well, you're mostly right there. Only thing is I'm not too sure that you're my new best friend."
"That the only thing you're not sure about?" he asks, not expecting her to have agreed with him when he said that he's an amazingly good looking guy.
She looks thoughtful for a moment before answering, "Yip, that's about the only thing I'm not convinced about. Well that and maybe that you're the nice boy next door. I did see you get detention before the day even started."
He doesn't pay any attention to that last part, he can't deny it anyway, so he tries to test his luck instead, "So you agree that I'm amazingly good looking?"
"Yeah. You might be surprised to hear this, so brace yourself now," her light tone keeps him relaxed, "I am a girl. I also know when a guy is good looking and when he's not."
He's a little taken back. Confused about what just happened, and the fact that it seems to have work? He eventually manages to string a few words together, "Well...if you say so."
"See, I told you your ego would recover. Looks like we won't even have to wait until morning to see that you'll make a full recovery." She smiles at him again not knowing what else to say.
"So tell me, Princess," he takes his chance to try to get her talking more, "Tell me about yourself. What do you hate?"
"Don't people normally ask what the other person likes?"
"Well I thought we already established that I'm not like other people."
"Did we? Did we really?" She tilts her head and raises her eyebrows questioning him, but she can't hold a serious face and giggles again. Her eyes then wonder to the clock on her bedside table. "Oh shoot it's already after ten."
"Ten? It's not late at all."
She swings her legs down to her bedroom floor and gets up. "Maybe not for you, but some of us need a good few hours of sleep."
"Well I guess I have to let you get to sleep then." Once again he's taken back at how great she looks, and how beautiful her smile is. "So night sweetheart, sweet dreams. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Jack." She calls back as she closes her curtains again. She makes sure that she gets changed on the other side of the room, far away from the window. She turns the light off and climbs into bed falling asleep pretty quickly.
Jack however is still thinking about her as he's trying to fall asleep. 'She's messing with my head, and confusing me like no-one else. I need to get to know her. Tomorrow is going to be... interesting.'
His thought keep circling around her memory as sleep starts to wash over him, and for once he's actually looking forward to school in the morning.