The Kind One

Jocelyn Jameson Eighteen College Freshman Ravenwood (for now)

[jocelynjameson]

[taylorflick-blog]

“It’s always nice when you get what you want. What’d you ask for?”

[jocelynjameson]

“Most of the time. Snow! Totally childish, but we can’t have a December without it.”

[penn-choi]

“You were wishing pretty hard… There goes the dream of getting a tan in January though.”

[jocelynjameson]

“Sh. People might start blaming me for this. The power of thought can be.. misunderstood. Can’t I borrow your at home tanning bed? I mean, you do have one like every other Rosewood guy, right?”

[jocelynjameson]

"It looks like a certain jolly fat man heard my wish..”

[jocelynjameson]

NYE 2015;

[hopeinthedarkness-blog]

I’m gonna give you a lesson… It’s gonna be free, the first one’s always free.

All right, this is how girls like to be kissed.

[penn-choi]

While he felt bad for scaring her, he swiped a hand over his mouth to try and hide his chuckle. “Neither. I think you’ve earned the right to be jumpy. And, well, the swearing like a four year old thing is kinda cute so…” Raising one shoulder in a shrug, not directly saying his mom had told him who the gift was from even though she obviously had, Penn looked around at the people passing them in the street in an attempt to remain casual, “I could probably do that… But I do feel a little bad that I didn’t get you anything. So, here’s my plan…” he paused, then laughed, “Actually I don’t have a plan, but I thought I’d come and thank you for the gift and see if you needed a ride home or maybe wanted to hang out or something, I don’t know.”

[jocelynjameson]

“Kinda cute? You’re kinda full of it.” Jocelyn had honestly expected the visit sooner or later, and couldn’t really play it off any other way. So she went with the growing smirk that had her turning away once again. Twice in under a minute. A new personal record. “You didn’t have to, I actually sort of saw it and had to. You know when you get that ‘skip this and you’ll forever regret it’ well it was one of those moments.” The truth was, she’d felt the urge to, and with little taking up her time, she hadn’t exactly been in the place to deny something to do. Hearing his offer, she nodded. “Sure, why not.” Her attempt at overly casual fell flat, her intention, mocking the coolness of those that had just passed them. “I’d like that. Both the ride and the hanging out. So long as we junk food is involved. I feel like feasting on Funions.”

[penn-choi]

Penn hoped Jocelyn was working the closing shift, otherwise he’d feel like an idiot for lurking around outside the book store. He wasn’t sure where else to look for her though, so he leaned against the side of his car to wait– and was pleasantly surprised when it turned out he was right. “Sneaking over on Christmas and leaving me a present… You know, I never would’ve expected Santa’s cover to be one Jocelyn Jameson.”

[jocelynjameson]

“Holy -- fishsticks.” She exclaimed, her hand resting over her chest while taking a chance to gather herself. One foot outside the door and already she was close to making a joke of her night. “I don’t know if I should be more embarrassed about being frightened or the fact that you know I swear like a four year old.” Jocelyn broke into a wide smile as her cheeks began to burn with color.  “She sold me out, huh? I thought we were tighter than that.. We’ll see if I push her brownies as hard in the future.” She walked up to his car and leaned against the side. “Mind keeping that truth to yourself? I don’t really like attention.”

[jocelynjameson]

ootd: 12/27/15

[a-aronstone]

“Just a riddle?…Alright. I’m in. Shoot.”

[jocelynjameson]

“I didn’t come up with these, so any and all complaints should be saved for a later time.” She laughed and pulled out the card. “’A smooth dance, a ball sport, a place to stay, an Asian country, and a girl's name. What's her name?’” With a wrinkle of her nose she looked from the card to Freddie after checking the answer. “Now I see why most people have skipped off.”

[penn-choi]

“It sounds better when you say it,” he laughed softly as he tried to stop thinking at a hundred miles an hour. One kiss under the mistletoe didn’t have to mean the end of the world. Sure, it had pulled certain thoughts to the front of his mind where he could no longer ignore them, but they could continue on exactly the same as they’d been before… if only for Jocelyn’s sake. He didn’t know if the kiss had meant anything to her, but if it had, he didn’t want to be the guy to screw her over. “That would suck. Imagine not being able to wear novelty sweaters for half the year… Not a world I’d like to live in.” Penn caught the wink, and looked back at Jocelyn for confirmation that he hadn’t been imagining it. Her reaction gave him his answer, and he found himself cursing under his breath because god was she being adorable.

[jocelynjameson]

“I’d disagree with you, but you’d only argue, so this is me stating otherwise and you can’t say a word.” Maybe it was the right time, to go with something that had been been there.. who knew how long. Penn was a nice guy, one of the best, and there hadn’t been a moment they spent together were things felt strained or uncomfortable. It wasn’t something she could say about many. Instead of questioning him or anything close to the sort, Jocelyn moved back over towards the check out. “Clearly. I’m liking that one. Just one of.. how many was it, thirty? I expect to see a couple more before you zip back off to your fancy ivy league school.” With the couple out of the store, but still within view of the window, Jocelyn waved and had to turn away as the woman held up an a-ok sign. Someone apparently had a gift for tact. “I have a drawer full of candy if you’re hungry. They say shopping takes a lot of you, so keep up that energy.”

[penn-choi]

“Yeah, hally hoppidays. I mean–” Penn scrunched his face up at his blunder, having been convinced he’d become a lot smoother than that. He tried his damn hardest to be a good guy, and letting Jocelyn kiss him… that seemed like the opposite considering he had a girlfriend, but he couldn’t deny that he’d thought about it before that moment. It wasn’t even a conscious thing, just a feeling in the back of his mind when they were in the same room, the knowledge that he greatly enjoyed her company, that there was a sense of natural flirting to their exchanges; which until that point he’d told himself was innocent and just part of their friendship. “So you really want it to snow, huh? Still got a few days, you might get your wish.”

[jocelynjameson]

“Hally hoppidays.” Jocelyn repeated the blunder, which was of course questioned for a moment. It would’ve been too easy to second guess it, that doing so meant something more. Old Jocelyn, the forced into the backseat, always taking what was given to her, girl, would’ve. Change was nice. However, no matter how hard a person tried to be something they weren’t, in her case, overly casual, the idea of him disliking it did prickle at her mind. Boys and kissing never did mix all that well in her life. “Badly.” She nodded. “I can’t remember a year we didn’t have snow on Christmas, or in December at all. If this keeps up we may be sunning in January next year.” Her gaze shifted to the older couple as they walked by, the older woman glancing to them both just long enough to wink. Well if the blunder hadn’t been enough to force a blush, that was. 

[penn-choi]

“I could live with the future being Candyland, sure. Did you just…” He pulled his phone out of his pocket when it chimed, and gave Jocelyn a thumbs up and a grin. It seemed so foreign to him, the idea that not everyone had a bustling, vibrant Christmas like his family. He knew what his mom would say about it, so he added, “Well, you guys are always welcome to drop in if you want. The Orville residence is basically an open house during the holidays because my mom can’t cook for less than a hundred people at once, so… More the merrier.” He hummed, almost making a comment about global warming, but was cut short by an elderly couple across the store pointing up excitedly from over Jocelyn’s shoulder. It took a moment after he looked away from them to finally realised what they were hinting at, and without much thought he leaned in to touch a careful kiss to Jocelyn’s cheek. “Uh… Mistletoe,” he offered as an explanation, looking up to make sure it actually was there and he hadn’t just been played by a couple of oldies.

[jocelynjameson]

“Are you more of a Lollypop Woods or Cupcake Commons sort of guy? I was always partial to Gummy Hills.” Though appreciative of the offer, Jocelyn knew better than to bring it up to her mother. She had never been the type to go out after things had changed. “Maybe. Yeah. That’d be nice.” She smiled. “If not, you can always come find me staring longingly into the distance. Hoping for a few flakes to fall. Asking myself, can it be Christmas with snowfall?” Lost in the song, Jocelyn missed the couple and Penn’s reaction completely, and thought nothing of their space until the quick kiss of her cheek. “I know you’re super smart, but -- I don’t think you did that right.” There was no denying the urge to kiss him had been present for a while, and with the couple finally glancing her way and the crutch of a holiday tradition, Jocelyn stole a kiss and let a soft stroke of her thumb sooth over his cheek. “Happy holidays.”

[penn-choi]

“You joke now, but it’ll probably happen one day.” Tucking the gift card into his pocket, he chuckled and started to wander down the aisle, glancing over books but not really paying attention to them, “As long as I don’t forget the wrapping paper I think It’ll be fine. My mom’s super chill so I’m not going to get blasted off the family tree or anything for being a little late. What about you, how are your preparations coming along? Got family visiting or anything?”

[jocelynjameson]

“Can we not think that way? I want happy and rainbows. The future is going to basically be Candyland.” Taking out her phone, she shot his a quick text ‘don’t forget the wrapping paper’ and went back to restraining her smile. “Phew. Being the reason you got Sirius’d would kinda hurt. Too much regret for the holiday season.” Jocelyn shook her head. “Not this year. It’s just my mom and I. My nana wasn’t feeling the cool weather and my dad's parents gave us the gift of being busy this year.” After leaning against the entryway to the next room, she swayed to the music playing. “Though it won’t feel like Christmas without the snow.”

[poppy-montenegro]

“Okay, sure. Sounds like a fair deal. So what’s the riddle?”

[jocelynjameson]

“Right, who doesn’t like free? Take all the time you need to crack it, but no phones. I had one girl Google and then get mad that I said no. ‘Many have heard me, but nobody has seen me, and I will not speak back until spoken to. What am I?’” 

[penn-choi]

“I don’t think it’s contagious, so you’re safe. No need to break out the hazmat suit.” He’d been so focused on solving the riddle that he’d forgotten there was a reason behind it, so he was confused for a second when she handed him the gift voucher, then smirked, “I can’t make any promises, but I guess I could try. Oh, my mom sent me out on an emergency mission to buy wrapping paper. Saw you in the window as I was walking past so I thought I’d come in and say hi. So… hi.”

[jocelynjameson]

“Bummer. I heard they were in vogue this winter..” She sighed, acting as if fashion and what was hot or not mattered. It didn’t. That had always been Harper’s deal. “Is she going to mind the detour? I can’t be upsetting the lady who gives us all a reason to fight at the bake sales. Hi back. Walk and talk? I have to at least pretend to be busy.” She teased, making a show of the nearly empty store.  

[penn-choi]

“I have this horrible condition where I over think things. It’s not all that helpful when it comes to riddles.” He shook his arms out in preparation for the riddle, then leaned against a book shelf as he thought it over for a few moments, “Heard but not seen, and won’t speak unless spoken to… Okay, okay, alright. I’ve got two potential answers here. Siri, or an echo.”

[jocelynjameson]

"It isn’t contagious or anything, is it? I can’t really do with another character quirk. I’m at my limits.” Stacking a few random titles, Jocelyn waited for the answer. Turning, without giving it away, she smiled and walked over to the counter. “Penn Orville, it’s my pleasure to reward you with a fifty dollar gift card. Try not to spend it all on comics.” She smiled. “So aside from using your brilliant brain for loot, what’re you doing out?”