Author's notes
:
* * * * * * * * * *
TL;DR
A little bit of rambling from my side. Scroll down a page or two for the story continuation. I tend to be a bit long-winded in my rambling, in case you hadn't noticed yet.
* * * * * * * * * *
If you've read the previous chapter, you might have wondered how the hell I managed to write a ghost into the story. Honestly, I don't know. I never planned to, but it just simply appeared – yes, I know that's a bad pun.
I once wrote a story about a man discovering a ghost in his house and ended up befriending her, but I never finished that one. Apparently it wasn't good enough to finish, but if you're – just like me – a discovering writer, you tend to use all kinds of good plotlines in the stories that
are
good enough to finish. Thus, without me knowing at the time, I wrote a ghost into my story. Imagine my own surprise after reading back my own work.
"How the hell did I manage to get a ghost into this story? Did I just derail my own plotline?"
I was having serious concerns about her appearance, although she did feel like she didn't came out of the blue. Reading back my own work I noticed a few remarks in earlier chapters about Vincent having the feeling of being watched and having the feeling that he was not alone in the room. So apparently my subconsciousness had already incorporated her into the story without giving off the feeling that she would actually make an appearance.
The one thing you – and I, back when I wrote it – might be concerned about is: Will it distract from the relationship between Vincent and Jenny, which is pretty much the main plotline? It turns out it doesn't. The ghost does not become a parallel plotline to the one with the relationship of Jenny and Vincent. And that makes me happy because it means, unlike the other story, this time the ghost actually fits the story and the characters.
Charissa will reappear in some of the next chapters, but this chapter is dedicated to Vincent getting closure on the turmoil of his feelings and the mindreading. That means he has to deal with the issue of having a relationship with Jenny among other things. It was fun to write, which is reflected by the humor – and I hope that produced at least a slight smile out of you! Attempts at humor which are not fun always make me cringe, so I hope that I managed to succeed in making you smile. Please let me know if it worked.
* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 4.1 – Assuring Jenny
* * * * * * * * * *
When he went downstairs to the kitchen, he saw Nicole coming home after her workout. She always did a bit of jogging every morning and when she came in, Vincent had just finished pouring orange juice into his glass.
"Want some?" he asked her while showing her the filled glass.
"Yeah ... sure."
She usually wasn't out of breath as she did it to keep in shape and wasn't trying to better herself. But today she had trouble breathing as if she had pushed herself to a limit she hadn't approached in a while. She was standing in the kitchen with her hands on her knees, her head hung downwards and her hair blocked every view of her face.
Vincent saw a few drops of sweat falling down on the floor while he was pouring her a glass of orange juice.
"Pushed yourself a bit more than usual, haven't you?"
She didn't answer and the glass he had held in front of her eventually got heavy enough to make him set it on the table.
"Your juice's on the table, okay?"
"Mm. Thanks."
He was getting ready for college and had already dressed up to go out, which was a little bit awkward with Charissa still in his bedroom, while Nicole was still breathing hard in her sweatpants she went out with. So when the doorbell rang, he put down his nearly-empty glass and headed for the front door.
"Hey there!"
A tall, blonde girl was standing in his doorway. She actually was slightly taller than him as well, although not much more than a few centimeters, but for a girl she was considered quite tall. The girl was named Jenny and she and Vincent knew each other for a while now.
Ever since they kind of hung out with each other and because they lived in the same direction, they often went home together. Lately Jenny also had been picking him up at home since she had a car and a license and despite him having a license, he didn't own a car. So it made things easier for him when she came to pick him up and drop him off if they both had class to attend.
"Hey Jen," he said. "I'm almost done, just a sec, okay?"
"Sure."
She looked past him to see Nicole, who had entered the living room from the kitchen and was looking through the opened door to see the visitor. Jenny put up a hand in a waving gesture and Nicole nodded as a recognition. Jenny thought she acted a little cold today.
"See ya!" he said before he stepped out of the house and shut the door behind him. He didn't even look back.
Jenny stepped aside and holding her bag with both arms, she led him to the car in front of them while chatting with him. She always felt like he was kind of making her comfortable and even now she felt like she was walking with a childhood friend she had known for years. Technically they
were
kind of childhood friends, although that usually meant knowing each other longer than they did. They only knew each other for roughly five years.
But because she felt like that, she also noticed how he seemed a bit off this morning. He looked a bit distracted, as if his thoughts weren't there with her. So when she started the car and crossed the first street, she asked him.
"So, what's bothering you?"
He seemed a little startled, she noticed from the corner of her eye.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you seem a little off today," she explained. "Like there's something bothering you. Trouble with your sister?"
He kept quiet for a few seconds before he replied: "Mm, sort of. But I can't really pinpoint what it is. But how did you notice?"
She snickered. "You kind of give off a vibe saying that you're worried about something. And you seem to forget that you're an open book for me, after all the time we spend together."
"Ha!" he exclaimed. "You're such a loving girlfriend."
"Oh?" she teased him. "So all of a sudden you considered me your girlfriend? Where did that come from?"
But while she said that, she felt her heart skip a beat. In the past weeks she had been thinking about him more often than one would expect from friends. And she had come to realize that she might have more of a personal interest in him than just being friends. A relationship as a girlfriend-boyfriend really seemed worth trying for, but she didn't know how he felt about her being more than just friends. So when he suddenly spoke the word, she felt flustered. And she really hoped he didn't notice the blush on her cheek. If she had mustered up the courage to look at him, she would've realized that he was blushing as well – albeit not as much as she did.
"Well, you're always around me," he said while looking straight forward. "Would it be so incomprehensible to consider us a couple? Most friends don't spend so much time together unless they're dating."
Oh my God, he really thinks we have a chance on dating. How do they call this kind of stuff? Casual Romance?
But when she looked sideways, he had a smirk on his face and her joyful smile faltered.
"Gotcha."
"Oh, you son-of-a-bitch," she threw at him and released her right hand to jab at him.
Now that was
really
uncalled for, you asshole.
She steered away and nearly hit a car.
"Whoa! Whoa! Careful, Jenny!"
"That's what you get for teasing your lover," she said while sticking out her tongue at him. "Now you can read my mind, but I really thought you were making the decision to make me your girlfriend."
"Yeah ... I'm sorry," he apologized and sighed. "But really, I can't just simply stop teasing you. We've gone a long way of casual teasing to suddenly let it drop. But I agree, I could've teased you with some less touchy subject."
For crying out loud
, she thought.
Don't make it so much more than it is. If you really think you should avoid the touchy subject, you shouldn't be here with the touchy subject.
He laughed out loud. "You're calling
yourself
the 'touchy subject'? Seriously, that's just too funny."
She pouted, reached for his right hand and put it on her right breast. Then she looked at him and smirked.
"See? Touchy subject."
"You're too much for me, girl," he laughed, but couldn't resist in feeling her breast up for a little bit. "Still, nice perky breast, though."
"If you make me your girlfriend you can see them without all the wrapping." Her eyes gleamed and she winked when she said those words. She put her right arm also on the clutch – his clutch, not the car's – and gave it a soft stroke. "Or you can use it as wrapping yourself."
This time he didn't have a good response ready.
* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 4.2 – The girlfriend
* * * * * * * * * *
After school they went back together and this time they went to Jenny's place. He hadn't been there too often because Jenny usually came to pick
him
up at his place. And since she was also friends with Nicole, it made sense for her to drop by there instead of the other way around.
This time he had a purpose for going this way. She had declared that she liked him as more than a friend and he had replied that he had needed time. That was already a little while ago and things continued like they did before; he was happy it hadn't become an awkward relationship, but that was more Jenny's virtue than his. She always seemed to steer a conversation the proper way, no matter how awkward it had turned.
They had been dancing around the initial question though, every now and then taking a jab at the other, joking and baiting each other, but the question still remained unanswered. And they both felt that it needed an answer before their friendship would take a dent.
So when they entered the house and closed the door behind them, the first thing he did was take her into his arms and kiss passionately. Jenny was too surprised to kiss back, but when she regained her composure, she still didn't kiss him back. Instead, she pushed him away.
"W-what is wrong?" he asked, wondering why she would push him away.
She frowned. "What is wrong with you, you mean? Coming all of a sudden to kiss me. What brought that up?"
