The Summer of Serendipity

Chapter 8

Jackson's Perspective

I don't want to be here. Being here was not on my agenda for the summer. There are just so many other places, better places, that I could be right now.

My plan for the summer was simple. I was going to visit my hometown in Portugal, check in on some friends, and then spend the rest of the summer traveling around Europe. I was going to visit everywhere and have the time of my life before coming back to the United States for college.

I have no idea why I decided to come here instead. For as long as I can remember I've been visiting my grandparent's house in San Diego for the summer. Maybe I made the choice to come here instead because I didn't want to stop the tradition? Maybe because I wanted to spend some time with my family before heading to school? I don't really know what made me change all of my plans for the summer and come here.

The day I graduated I packed my bags and caught the first flight Portgual. I wanted to start my summer adventure. Yet for some reason the second I got the call from my mom telling me I should come out to San Diego, I changed all my plans and headed there as soon as possible.

Am I regretting my decision? I'd be lying if I said I didn't. I mean I've already been in a fight, and it's not even a week into the summer yet. I guess I can thank my grandparent's oh-so-lovely neighbor, my mom's precious little lindo.

It has only been four days since I got here, five since I left Portugal, and Maliah Arias is already making me regret my decisions. The plan was to have fun and party every night, hook up with some hot girls, and completely forget about everything, yet somehow I've already missed two parties and gotten into a fight with Maliah's boyfriend. It definitely hasn't been the perfect start to the summer. Luckily I still have two months to make it right.

Seeing Maliah at the park this morning was something I had not expected. Considering her wrist is sprained, I would have thought she we be taking it easy or something. Yet when I pulled up to the park to get a workout out in this morning, there she was, shivering her ass off. I have to admit, the way my presence just absolutely pisses her off is entertaining. She's so easy to get a reaction out of, and I find much pleasure in driving her mad.

She also knows how to push my buttons. Her constant rejection of any kind of help, her stubbornness, her stupid comments make me go insane. I don't think she even realizes how much she makes me hate her sometimes. She always finds a way to piss me off, which is why I will never like Maliah Alias.

Once I pull into the driveway of my house and turn off my car, Maliah jumps out of the car, not even bothering to say thank you as she rushes back to her house. The car ride home was painful silent and awkward, yet I knew my mom would have killed me if I had just left her stranded at the park.

When I walk into the house, I'm greeted by silence. I check my texts to see if my mom texted me, and I find two. One text is from my mom, while the other is from Jae, one of my best friends to a group chat with the two of us plus Alonzo, my other best friend.

I open the one from my mom first and read that she's currently out shopping with my grandparents for the next few hours. I open Jae's next and find him asking what everyone is doing, and how he's really bored.

I send a quick text telling them to come over, then head upstairs to take a quick shower. Once I'm done I head into my room and quickly change. I hear my doorbell ring and am about to head downstairs when out of the corner of my eye I notice something. Maliah opened her curtains. When she closed her curtains last night out of anger from our conversation last night, I assumed she would have them closed for the rest of the summer just so she wouldn't have to see me. In fact, I was surprised she acknowledged me and was somewhat talking to me at the park-

"Bro, what are you doing? We rang the doorbell like five times and you didn't answer," Jae says as he barges into my room, Alonzo following behind him.

"My bad, I say quickly, pulling my attention away from the window. Unfortunately, I'm too slow, as both their attention are drawn to the window.

"Doing a little spying on the neighbor now are we?" Alonzo smirks. I turn to look back at the window and find that Maliah is now in her room. She must not notice the three of us staring, as she continues her tasks without a care in the world.

"She wasn't in there when I was looking," I try to explain, doing my best to defend myself from the accusations.

"So you admit you were staring?" Jae points out.

"No that's not-"

"Dude that's kind of weird," Alonzo says.

"I don't blame him though. I wouldn't mind hitting that if you know what I mean," Jae grins as he watches Maliah.

"You're disgusting," I sigh, pulling my blinds shut.

"Oh please. You've practically fucked half the girls in this area and you don't even live here," he says, trying to steal another glance through my blinds but I pull them back down before he can.

"That's a lie. And besides, you do realize she has a boyfriend," I point out.

"Ya, she's dating Trevor Nicholls, right?" Alonzo asks.

"Ya, I think that's his name. How do you know him?"

"Bros practically a celebrity at our high school. He was on the football team and carried the team to the state championships before he graduated. He was also super popular with all the girls. All the girls were so sad when he left, but luckily that meant more chicks for the rest of us. Then like a month ago a rumor started going around that he and Maliah were dating. It was all everyone talked about," Alonzo explains.

Damn, I hadn't realized this guy was so popular around here. I wonder if anyone realizes how much of an asshole he is.

"I wonder if all the ladies will miss me now that I've graduated. Alonzo, you'll have to keep me updated. Now that you're a senior you practically rule the school," Jae announces, completely changing the topic. As the two of them chatter, I still can't seem to get fucking Trevor out of my mind. It annoys me how Maliah is refusing to tell anyone what really happened. It seems like I'm the only other person besides her and Trevor who knows what really happened.

"DAMN," Jae yells, drawing my attention to where he has pulled up the blind a bit and is peering through the gap. I'm about to yell at him when suddenly I see what he's staring at.

Maliah is standing there in nothing but her bra and underwear, staring at herself in the mirror contently. I drag my eyes over her enticing curves and figure. As much as I hate her, she's still a woman. A very beautiful-

"You guys are fucking perverts," Alonzo sighs, shutting the blinds so we can no longer see her. I'm snapped out of my trance, immediately disgusted by myself for thinking anything I was just thinking.

"And you're fucking lame," Jae snaps back.

"Whatever guys. Let's do something tonight. Are there any parties happening tonight? I desperately need to get drunk," I admit, changing the topic quickly.

"This one guy I know is throwing one at his house. His parents are hella rich, so his parties are always lit," Jae says as he scrolls through his phone, pulling up the information.

"Sounds fun."

My mission for later tonight, get drunk, hook up with some girl, and get any thoughts about Maliah out of my head.

Our first chapter in Jackson's perspective! What did you guys think? I hope you enjoyed it! Any predictions for the next chapter? What do you think will happen at the party? This story hasn't been getting a lot of views, and lately I've been really busy with school, so it might be a few weeks before I get another chapter out. I promise I won't leave you guys hanging and will try my best to get a new chapter out sometime soon!