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The blue light of your phone illuminated your face in the dark stillness of your room. You tried not to wake up your roommate with your snorts and chuckles as you scrolled through your feed. Sometimes you could hear the slam of a door down the hall or heavy feet and loud laughter in the dorm halls as people came back from frat parties, where there was surely an abundance of underage drinking. The memes you were looking at were pretty basic compared to your usual humor, but what else did you have to do at 2 AM on a Friday? You came across one captioned ‘I always think I look friendly and approachable when I really look like this’ with a picture of a scowling Kanye. It reminded you of your friend Jotaro. Since he didn’t have any social media, you had to screenshot it in order to send it to him. He was probably asleep, unlike your nocturnal self, so he would see it in the morning and probably reply with ‘lol.’ You sent it along with a short text that just said ‘you,’ and went back to scrolling as you rotated between apps.
___
The two of you met last semester in statistics. The tall, stoic man decided to sit next to you on the first day, on the very end of the row, but you didn’t think much of it. Rather, you couldn’t think much because it was an 8 AM class. Before the professor showed up, you heard small giggles and whispers behind you from a group of girls. Turning around slightly, you saw they were staring at the back of his head and smiling. Internally rolling your eyes you turned back around, making fleeting eye contact with the dark man beside you. You couldn’t blame the girls, he was rather good looking. He had raven hair under his cap, olive skin, chiseled features, stunning blue eyes, and he smelled faintly of cigarette smoke. However, you weren’t the type to fall head over heels for someone at first sight.
You sat through the first day of class, which was mainly just going through the syllabus. You had to practically tape your eyelids open as the professor droned on. Math was not your strong suit, so this class would probably be the bane of your existence, along with anatomy. The professor signaled the end of class and you sighed as you packed your bags, registering the small group of girls descending to your row as they giggled among one another, fixing their hair and checking each other over.
The high, soft voice of one girl, presumably the most courageous of the few, reached your ears as you shut your laptop, putting it into your backpack. “Hey, we’re making a study group,” she said gesturing to the girls behind her, “and we were wondering if you-“
“No.” The man said with a deep timbre. His voice surprised you, but what surprised you most was his response.
“What?” The girl said incredulously. “I didn’t even finish-“
“I did. I said no, so fuck off,” he said a warning tone.
This was getting really awkward, really fast. You felt bad for the girls, who essentially just had their dreams of the perfect bad boy boyfriend dashed to pieces. You hurriedly finished packing up, throwing your backpack over your shoulder, and escaping through the opposite side of the row before things could escalate. Throwing the doors to the lecture hall open, you breathed in the fresh, crisp morning air, which was a stark contrast to the stuffy building. You had a short break before your next class, so you sat down on a weathered wooden bench next to a towering tree. You watched a loud stream of students exit the lecture hall for a second before pulling out your phone. The peaceful atmosphere of the campus enveloped you moments before it was broken by a deep voice.
“So damn annoying,” the deep, rumbling voice grumbled next to you. You jumped, seeing the same tall, dark man from statistics leaning against a tree. It took you a while to register that he was talking to you and not to himself.
“Those girls?” you asked.
The man grunted in confirmation, eyeing you from under his unusual cap, arms crossed over his chest.
“Y-yeah,” you stuttered, secretly wondering why this mysterious, rude teen was trying to make small talk with you. “I could hear them talk during class. It’s a big pet peeve of mine.”
The man eyed you with an unreadable expression, it felt like he was analyzing you under his harsh stare. You stirred uncomfortably in the silence, trying to find something to talk about.
You cleared your throat. “I hate math, too… well, I mean it hates me. No matter how hard I try, I just can’t remember all the equations and stuff. So, I hate when people talk during class… it really distracts me.”
He just stared at you in silence, distant and unreadable. Maybe you were annoying him, too. With that thought, you rose from the bench and smoothed down your shirt.
“Well… it was nice talking to you. I gotta go, so-“
“Study with me.”
His voice caught you off guard, let alone his words. You turned around, once again trapped by his intense glare.
“Sorry?” you asked in surprise.
“You heard me,” he said, producing a ripped piece of notebook paper. “My number, take it,” he grunted.
“Oh… thanks!” you replied, taking the paper from him and wondering when he wrote down his number. You scanned the scribbled numbers. You looked back up, seeing the back of his dark jacket retreating from your presence.
“Hey, wait!” you exclaimed. He stopped and turned, his cerulean eyes glaring at you questioningly.
“What?” he snapped.
“I-I didn’t get your name…”
The black-clad figure muttered under his breath, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes. “Jotaro,” he responded, this time softer.
You quickly told him yours before waving goodbye, briskly walking to your next class. After you slid into your seat in the nick of time, you added ‘Jotaro Statistics’ to your contacts and sending a short message to him. ‘hey this is (y/n)!! :-)’
The pair of you started with just study sessions in the campus library. He was much better at statistics than you were and supplied you with ways to memorize equations or step-by-step problems. The more time you spent with Jotaro, the more you got to know his true personality. Under the crass, intimidating shell was a heart of gold. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, you saw small glimpses of it here and there. Like when you impersonated your droning professor and he had to cover his mouth to hide his smile. Or when you leaned back too far on the legs of your chair and he caught you with near super-human speed, calling you a dumbass and telling you ‘not to do stupid shit’ before setting you upright again. Or during midterms when you were experiencing a crash after drinking your coffee with extra espresso, and he let you lean against his shoulder to take a short nap, saying he ‘didn’t want you to drool on the table.’ When he heard your laugh, you would miss the soft smiles hidden under his cap.
You two slowly became friends. And when you found that he lived on campus as well, he would invite you over on weekends to play video games or just to hang out. After finals, which had taken the energy out of both of you, you gave him a Christmas present that doubled as a thank you gift for helping you with statistics. It was an adorable stuffed dolphin, earning grumbles from the stoic student as he accepted it. He also, surprisingly, got you a present as well. It was a silver necklace with a small star charm.
When you found out you were taking the same chemistry class next semester, you tried in vain to ignore the way your heart skipped a beat.
___
You were surprised when you saw a message on your screen only moments after you send Jotaro the meme.
From: ocean man
Why are you awake
You guess you weren’t the only nocturnal creature on campus.
just one of those nights ig, wbu?
It took a little longer for him to respond, but just before you thought he fell back asleep, you got a message again.
Same here :/
The little emote made you smile as you imagined his frown. You try to suppress the feeling of butterflies as he sends another text.
What are you doing?
Your thumbs tap across your screen as you send your reply.
thinking about going for a midnight drive
To where?
nowhere, just cruise around and listen to music
Your eyes strained as you watched the little speech bubble disappear and reappear.
Can I come with?
You swore you could feel your heart skyrocket into your throat. Your palms grew cold and clammy as you stared at the message. Why did four simple words give you such a reaction? Even if you did like him, never in a million years would he think of you as anything more than a friend. Jotaro was way out of your league.
sure, meet me by my car. u can stay in your pjs :^)
Hopping off your bed, you silently searched for your keys before sliding on your slippers and slipping out the door, making sure it didn’t slam as you closed it. You descended the stairs down to the residential parking lot. It was bathed in the artificial light of streetlamps, to which a multitude of moths fluttered. You leaned against the driver’s side door, staring past the sickly glow of the lamps to the stars above. You got so lost in your own imagination you didn’t notice the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Hey,” said the deep voice that broke you from your thoughts. You jumped slightly and saw Jotaro standing with his hands in his pockets. He wore a lavender crew neck shirt and black plaid pajama bottoms and slippers. His hair was slightly messy, and outside of his large coat you could see how clearly define his muscles were, sending your heart into a frenzy. His expression seemed softer than usual as he studied you. He realized you were still wearing the necklace he got you for Christmas.
“O-oh, hey! Sorry, I guess I was lost in thought…” you stuttered. You pressed the button on your keys to unlock the door as Jotaro walked to the passenger side. After you both got in, you turned on the ignition as Jotaro adjusted the seat to fit his long legs.
“Do you have a music preference?” you asked.
"No, play whatever you want.”
“Cool! I have a driving playlist, it’s mostly chill so hopefully you won’t mind it too much.” Putting the playlist on shuffle, you pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the not-so-busy streets. As you left the campus, the street signs and neon lights flooded the night as you passed them. You hummed to the music as you relaxed into the car seat, lost in the feeling of just going. You rested your hand on the gear shift, tapping your finger to the quiet beat of the music. Out of the corner of your eye, you spared some glances toward Jotaro. His head was rested against the window, a faraway look in his eye as he watched the scenery pass by. It was far different from his usual glare, scowl, or intimidating visage. He looked peaceful. The passing downtown lights adorned his skin like a Van Gogh painting, reflected even in his charcoal hair.
As you became more comfortable, you transitioned from humming to whatever song was playing to softly singing as you mindlessly drove, only fixed on what was ahead instead of what was behind.
If you wanna be the one
Don't act sad and wait
And waste my day
I'm not that way
You rolled to a stop at a stoplight, which was odd as no one was on the streets this time of night. As you quietly sung along to the song, feeling the rumble of the car’s engine, you felt something warm cover your hand that rested on the gear shift. Looking down, you saw Jotaro’s much bigger hand laid on top of your own. Your heartbeat spiked as you looked toward the man in the passenger seat, but he was still looking out of the window, his face only illuminated by the red of the stoplight.
Is it casual?
Or are you tryna spend your life with me?
I don't mean to pressure you
But I want a man to stand and fight for me
Calming down your heart and realizing that this was, indeed, happening to you right now, you slowly lifted your hand off the gear shift and turned it over to lace your fingers between Jotaro’s. His hand was rough yet soft, large and gentle as his fingers enveloped your hand. His head quickly turned, looking down at his hand, which was now holding yours, and up to you. His eyes were wide, you thought maybe they even looked vulnerable. His thumb traced your hand and you realized just how close his face was to yours. His eyes traced the features of your face, down to your lips, before locking eyes with you again. The tension in the air was palpable, and you prayed to God Jotaro couldn’t feel your hand shaking in his. The light had turned green long ago, but neither of you paid it any mind.
“Jotaro… I-“ you said shakily.
“Just shut up and kiss me.”
It was more of a desperate plea than a demand.
Your face inched forward as if you were pulled in by Jotaro’s gravity. You could feel warm breath escape his parted lips. His other hand came up to cup your face, his thumb stroking your cheek. Your eyes fluttered shut as you finally closed the distance between the two of you. You felt a warmth so intense bloom within you, you could have been on fire. Jotaro let out an eager hum as he felt your lips against his. His lips were softer and gentler than you expected, treating you as if you were so delicate that one wrong move and you would flee like a startled deer. As his lips danced with yours, you brought your hand up to caress Jotaro’s that was resting on your face, slowly gliding down and feeling the goosebumps along his strong arm.
Jotaro’s ministrations grew more frantic and eager as if he were making up for lost time. Your hand moved to his hair, playing with his jet-black locks as you kissed him back, melting into his embrace. He broke the kiss, only to plant soft kisses to your cheek, down to your neck. You whined as you felt Jotaro’s lips brush the skin of your neck, his fingers ghosting down to your collarbone. He slowly withdrew with a shaking breath, his face flushed, and his hair ruffled. You both studied each other like you were trying to mentally capture the scene, hoping it would never end.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the first day of class,” he whispered against your lips.