Last chapter, guys!

(I may have accidently updated the same chapter twice.. but here is the actual one)

Enjoy :)

The two girls stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for their dates to arrive. Joy had picked both of their outfits, to Mara's dismay. She was dressed in a long top, that went in at the waist with a loose belt and white leggings, on her feet, white ballerina flats. Her hair had been curled and her fringe swept to the side. A silver necklace hung from her neck, an assortment of encrusted keys dangling from it.

Joy, not knowing whether to keep it simple or to go all out, had chosen a sparkly black top, long grey cardigan and black, ripped skinny jeans. She's straightened her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail, finishing it off with a small bow head band and shin length flat boots.

Unsurprisingly, both girls had butterflies in their stomachs. Although, Mara felt that the metaphor was completely inappropriate in this situation. It was more like two starved beasts, wrestling inside her, fighting to get out.

Jerome had been instructed to meet Ethan at the top of the path near the school and show him back to Anubis.

After what felt like hours, the boys appeared through the door. Mara felt her heart in her throat as she saw Jerome. She didn't know what made her more nervous; the fact that he was about to tell her or how he would go about it. And, of course, there was the small thing of having to tell him she was Mya. No big deal…

"So, shall we go?" Jerome started since Ethan looked too nervous to say anything, let alone to Joy directly.

He wore a white shirt, top button left undone; black jeans, not too skinny but far from baggy and black and white plimsoll like shoes. His dirty blonde hair ha been combed forward so that his fringe covered his forehead, although he kept trying to move it out of his eyes. Ethan, the same except his shirt was grey and he was wearing a jacket.

Both girl nodded and joined their respective dates, Joy and Ethan out of the door first. Mara watched them talk nervously, a smile on her face.

She suddenly became hyper-aware of Jerome next to her. Their arms were touching as they walked, his body heat radiating onto her.

"You look beautiful," he said, suddenly, slipping is hands into his trouser pockets and smiling shyly down at her. This was a new side of Jerome that she hadn't seen. But she liked it.

Mara's eyes widened at the compliment. She bit down on her lip. "Y-you too. No, I mean… not beautiful but, uh, you look-" she stuttered. Obviously, the shyness was contagious.

"It's Ok, Jaffray," he stopped her, the smile evident in his voice. "I know what you mean."

She sighed, relaxing her shoulder's a little. "They're cute together." She said, looking to Joy and Ethan who had somehow managed to slip their hands together as they walked on.

Jerome agreed, "Poor guy, he's too jittery. He needs to calm down."

"I thought he was going to throw up when you walked in."

He chuckled, flicking his hair out of his eyes again. "Yeah, well not everyone can have a natural cool."

"Like you?" Mara raised an eyebrow.

"Especially me." He smirked.

LINE BREAK

Upon entering the restaurant, Mara noticed that it was fancy; an unfamiliar environment. Jerome, of course, had held the door open for her, letting her go first.

Mara blushed.

Having been ahead of the other two, Joy and Ethan picked a small booth nearer the back of the restaurant to sit and slid into one side, leaving the other for Jerome and Mara. Once seated, both couples conferred about what to order.

The waitress left to get their orders and Mara decided to start a conversation.

"So, Ethan. Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself." She said, politely. "the rest of us know each other quite well."

His dark eyes flitted to each of them in turn, nervously. "Um, I'm kind of new here. I only started at this school last term, my dad got a new job so we decided to move." He paused, not knowing what to say but Joy smiled at him encouragingly. "I don't really have any hobbies but I guess I'm kind of a film geek."

"What a coincidence." Jerome cut in. "So is Joy!"

"Guilty." Joy smiled, blushing lightly. "Who's your favourite director?"

The two became immersed in a nerdy conversation about science-fiction films and Steven Spielberg, leaving Jerome and Mara sitting in an awkward silence.

"Jaffray," he started, turning to her. "Entertain me."

Mara laughed at the naturalness of his voice which was one of the things she admired about him. "And how do you suppose I do that?"

He thought for a bit before answering. "Tell me about a book you've read recently."

Although Mara thought it was a strange request, she continued, choosing the book she had finished the night before. "Have you ever read 'The Outsiders' by S.E. Hinton?"

Jerome shook his head and she carried on to explain the overall plot of the book.

"It's about gangs and violence. The narrator is a fourteen year old called Ponyboy-"

He cut her off. "Ponyboy? I-is that his real name?"

"Yeah, I think his dad was kind of wacky. His brother is called Sodapop."

"Wow, that's a…nice name."

As Mara told the story of the hardship of life and the rivalry between the 'socials' and the 'greasers', Jerome watched her with interest. He watched her eyebrows dance and her lips turn upwards when she was on a humorous bit of the story. They way her eyes watered slightly nearer the end, the saddest part.

"And, it ends there." she concluded, finally looking up at him.

"Sounds emotional." He cleared his throat, looking away from her. "I'll read it when we get back."

Mara raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Uh, yeah. Why so surprised?"

"Sorry, I just never had you down as much of a reader.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Jaffray. " he winked at her.

Their orders came before she could respond. The red-headed waitress set them down on the table, wishing them a good meal.

Mara , taking a bit of her quiche, snuck a glance at Jerome only to find him already looking at her. She smiled a small smile before looking back at her food, her cheeks burning. Her thoughts were clouded with him and what was coming.

"Joy, what's wrong with your face?" Jerome exclaimed, a weird look on his face,

She rolled her eyes, stopping her fork midway between her mouth and her plate. "Not gonna work, Jerome. I've heard this one before.

"No, seriously."

Mara looked and saw what he was talking about. Joy's cheeks had turned red and her forearms had broken out in a rash. "Joy, what did you order?"

"The seafood special," she muttered, having realised what Jerome was saying and brought her hands up to cover her face.

Mara thought before she found out what it was. "Aren't you allergic to prawns?"

"Oh god!" she sighed, frustrated.

Ethan stood. "Don't worry. I'll take you to the A&E." he offered, smiling down at her.

"Really? Would you?" Joy asked, not wanting to trouble him.

He helped her up. "Yeah, of course."

As they were leaving, Joy sent Mara a look of dismay to which she just laughed, knowing that, by the morning, it would've been forgotten about.

"And then there were two." Jerome remarked, leaning back in his seat.

Mara, looking out of the window, saw that it was already dark and predicted that 10 O' clock wasn't far away. "We… should get going back to the house." She suggested.

He agreed and they both got up to leave, not stopping to pay since Ethan already had.

Mara's teeth were chattering and she was shivering just slightly when they got outside. But it wasn't from the cold. It was nerves. And anticipation.

LINE BREAK

They arrived back at Anubis with ten minutes to spare, Jerome held the door open for her yet again. Mara guessed that nearly everyone had gone to bed since it was relatively quiet.

"So..."

Jerome leaned back on his heels. "So…"

There was a moments silence before both of them broke out into laughter. They quietened down after realizing that they were the only ones making noise.

Mara braced herself for what was coming, the two beasts in her stomach making a comeback.

But, it never came.

"Goodnight, Jaffray." Jerome almost whispered as he strolled away, back to his room. Mara stood there, her feet not wanting to move. The violent feeling inside had gone and was replaced with disappointment. An empty pit of heart wrenching disappointment.

Once she had dragged herself upstairs, she collapsed on her bed. Patricia was asleep and Joy was still in the hospital so she was as alone as she'd get. Staring up at the ceiling, Mara didn't know how to feel. She couldn't bring herself to cry but she felt as though she was going to.

Her laptop pinged in the silence, making Mara jump slightly. She sat up, sighing and checked her email. She froze.

It was Jerome. She opened it with a shaking hand.

Dear Mya,

I Love You.

Her jaw became slack as she stared at the bright screen in complete and utter shock. She felt jittery and her hands were shaking. She was shell shocked.

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Somehow, Mara swung off of the bed and crept to the door. She pressed her ear against it lightly but couldn't hear anything. Straightening up, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Jerome stood there, leaning against the door frame. His blue eyes weren't icy anymore and they didn't have that hint of mischief that they always did. They were sincere.

Mara couldn't contain herself. She jumped forward, catching him by surprise. Although he was caught off guard, Jerome kissed Mara back with twice as much emotion that she was giving. It was sweet, slow and everything Mara could've hoped for.

"How did you know?" Mara asked when they broke apart, arms still around his neck.

Jerome smirked. The mischievous glint in his eyes was back. "You underestimate me, Jaffray."

She smiled, resting her head on his chest and letting out a deep breath. "I love you, Jerome." She whispered.

His breath hitched in his throat and he felt like he was going to cry, although he would never admit that to anyone. "I love you to, Mara,"

Ta da! It's over! How'd you like the ending. I'm pretty satisfied with it. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who's ever read, reviewed, favourited or put this story on alert because it really means a lot. Thanks and thanks again!

P.S. I really would recommend 'The Outsiders' to anyone who's looking for a good book to read! I finished it the other day. A book has never made me cry but this one brought me to the closest that I've ever gotten.

Peace.

~Insanity ;)