Fighting the Stars - A Jack Harries Fanficton

Chapter 4

I’m almost positive that everything a girl tells you is a lie. “Oh, I hardly wear make-up.” Lie. Girls cake it on not because we don’t feel beautiful but because it’s what we’re taught to do. “I love wearing skinny jeans and nice shirts.” Lie. You know what girls love to have on their bodies? Sweatpants, nice and warm sweatpants. And here’s the biggest one of them all. “I’m fine.” That’s not just a lie, that’s bullshit. A girl is never ‘fine’, despite the smile and facade she wears.

Girls are liars. We don’t mean to do it, honestly. We just tend to think that it’s better for us in the end.

But deep down we know that’s a lie, too.

I like to think of myself as a professional liar. I was practically raised lying to everyone who ever questioned me. And when something is so engraved into your mind, so habitual, it’s hard to prevent it. Even when it causes so much pain.

I met Jack at the local cinema. I didn’t even know what movie we were going to see, and frankly, I didn’t care. I just needed something to take my mind away from all of this.

“No boyfriend tonight?” he asked after he bought our tickets, much to my objection.

“He went home to visit his family.” I told him. 

“I see,” he said, his tone devilish. “Snacks?”

“Oh, no thanks.” I said.

“You sure?”

“Yeah,” 

“Well I’ll get a popcorn anyways, we can share.” he said. I rolled my eyes playfully as we walked over to the snack stand line, which only had two other people in it besides us.

When Jack had made his purchase we found our showing room and chose seats in the middle.

“You know this isn’t a date, right?” I asked him. I needed to be sure that we were on the same page.

“Oh, of course.” he said, being cheeky. He sipped his beverage.

“Good,” I said, sitting back in my seat. I watched him from the corner of my eye.

“You didn’t tell me that your boyfriend happened to be James Hadsbury.” said Jack, glancing over at me.

“Didn’t think it was a necessary fact.” I stated.

“His parents practically own a quarter of London!” he exclaimed.

“So,”

“So! His family is one of the richest in the country!” he pointed out, almost a hint of infatuation in his voice.

“Exactly,” I didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“What?”

“Nothing,” I said, trying to cover up what I had let slip out. “Nothing,”

“What do you mean, ‘exactly’?” he asked, having picked up my mis-spoken word.

“Nothing,” I repeated myself.

“Are you only dating him for his money?” he asked, a light bulb sparking in his mind.

“No!” I half-lied. That wasn’t the case, at first. At first it was love, lust even. But as time went on, things started to fall apart. That’s exactly what our relationship came to be about - the other’s financial status. I couldn’t break up with him because, well, my father would be extremely displeased. His plan is for us to get married and drown in one another’s wealth. I decided that facing James was far less intimidating than the wrath of my father.

“You little gold-digger!” he teased, poking my arm.

I swatted him away. “It’s not like that! I love him, I really do!”

See, this is what I mean. Girls are just a bunch of dirty liars.

I wasn’t in love with James anymore, although a piece of me still yearned for him. I hadn’t been in love with James for a long time. I was in love with not being on my own, with having someone there at the end of the day. My heart was not broken over him, it was breaking from the things I had wanted from him. And I didn’t want them anymore.

Now that’s the truth.

“How long have you been after his money?” asked Jack, ignoring my objections. He waggled his eyebrows.

“I’m not after his money.” I stated. “I have enough myself,”

“You can never have too much money.” he said.

“Whatever,” I said. Jack looked at me with such a dumbfounded expression, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. 

When we had both regained control over our giggles, Jack said, “So, how long have you two been together?”

“Over a year.” I told him.

“Quite awhile then,” he said.

And it feels like an eternity. 

The lights finally dimmed and the previews started playing. This was when I realized that Jack and I were the only ones in the theater. Of course.

“It’s starting!” hissed Jack cheekily in my ear. It made me giggle again. I was almost giddy, something I haven’t been in a long time.

I still had no clue at all why I was even here. This isn’t like me - well - the new me anyways. I’m not one to go out on a limb like this. I met Jack yesterday, and here we are, seeing a film together. I don’t even know him! He could be an axe murderer for all I know. But there was something about him. Something drawing me to him. It’s not exactly physical attraction, or lust, or even his personality. No, it’s something far more complex than that. I just wish I knew what it was.

I looked over at Jack to see him failing miserably at throwing a piece of popcorn in the air and catching it in his mouth. The piece rolled down his shirt and onto the floor. He simply smiled at me when I saw his poor attempts. I had to laugh again.

Before I could stop him, he flicked a piece of popcorn at me, hitting me square in the forehead.

“Hey!” I yelled. I picked the piece off my lap and chucked it back at him.

This escalated quickly.

Before I knew it we were in a complete popcorn fight - no - war. Kernels were flying every which and way. The entire floor was a mess of food.

The cinema usher chose that exact moment to peek into the theater. Needless to say, we were thrown out. Oops.

We stood outside the building laughing like the pair of idiots we are. We hardly even got to see much of the film. But, surprisingly, I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I had just been kicked out of a public place for something as silly as a popcorn fight. I was having fun.

“Well, now what?” I asked when my laughter had finally subsided.

Jack pondered for a moment. Then he turned around and eyed the building across the street. His eyes lit up with excitement.

“Let’s go dancing.”

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Thanks so much for reading!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter with a bit more Jack ;)

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-Alyssa