*only in the {MOONLIGHT} | Jenny/Annaleigh

[jesseboyce]

^{“Italy, and the spring and first love
all together should suffice to make
the gloomiest person happy.”}

---->
So far, the highly anticipated Italy trip had been little more than a disaster. Case and point: day one, total failure.

It had started off okay. He woke up a little late, and felt a little clouded over by jet lag still, but all in all he was in a good mood. He'd somehow gotten stuck sharing a room with “hot” jock-type Lucas Bryant. It wasn't as bad as Jesse'd originally thought, as he groaned when their names were read off the list. So far, Luke had pretty much ignored him entirely. It was better than being teased or picked on, like he'd originally suspected.

The group had met up for the quick continental breakfast in the hotel lobby, where he'd gotten a glimpse of fresh-faced Annaleigh. Her looks said she might not have slept quite as peacefully as him, for she'd stumbled down to breakfast without makeup on yet and her hair all in a mess. Sure enough, the girls had quickly giggled their way out of the lobby before he'd gotten more than a couple words with her, and they'd all headed upstairs to do their faces up properly. He'd shook his head, thinking it a silly notion girls had of painting their faces up anyway. What was the point of dressing up to be someone you really weren't? He was pretty sure that's what Halloween had been invented for.

Then they'd toured some art museum. It was interesting enough, but he'd had to chase Annaleigh along with her girly friends and never found any quiet time to just sit down and talk amongst all their babbles and gossip.

The afternoon boat ride down the river was when he finally picked up hope that the day might be something of the trip he'd dreamed about. The seats were arranged in rows, with an aisle down the middle. On each side of the aisle, there were just two seats in the row. Do the math. He finally got a chance to sit alone with just Annaleigh around.

It had been going perfect. They were talking quietly, as she squealed out occasionally about one of the sites they floated past. It was kind of romantic in a not so sappy kind of way, though Jesse tried to act all macho and unemotional about all the things she got excited about. He was even thinking about getting up the nerve to put his arm around her, when her friends came up and squeezed into the seat behind them with some other boring girl from school.

Instantly, all plans shattered. They started teasing the couple, Jesse and Annaleigh, about each other and Jesse went all red in the face. He blustered around trying to come up with some comment, but before he could Annaleigh brushed them off and reminded them that Jesse was just a good friend. She gave him a quick hug and then smiled at him. We're just good friends, right Jesse? She'd been blushing when she asked the innocent question, but Jesse took it to be how she really felt.

He glared at her friends and stomped off to the back of the boat, not wanting to deal with their annoying girl behaviors anymore. Women. Such a complete waste of time. He knew he'd never figure them out. Just when he thought he had Annaleigh figured out, some strange turn of events happened.

Then, just to make matters worse, the suave sexy Lucas Bryant scooted over across the aisle and sat down in the now-empty seat next to Annaleigh. He grinned a toothy grin at the girls and started flirting with them. At least, from where Jesse sat, that's what it sure looked like. The girls all suddenly started laughing and smiling and fixing up their hair. The thing girls always did when hot guys came around.

Jesse fumed when he saw Annaleigh talking to him. Luke even put his hand on her shoulder while he was talking to her, probably telling her another joke because he soon had her and the other girls laughing again.

Needless to say, Jesse turned the other way and glared at the scenery for the rest of the trip. As soon as they'd gotten back to the hotel, he bustled up to his room and slammed the door. Luke had come up soon after, and gave Jesse the usual friendly but dismissive greeting. Luke didn't seem to have any idea that Annaleigh was his girl. But why should he? Jesse hadn't really laid any claim to her yet. He just had hoped this trip would clear things up, which didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

Luke had taken a shower and changed clothes and then headed out to wander around with a couple of the other guys. Jesse was left all alone, reading and enjoying his peace, when a knock sounded on the door. He walked over and opened it, but all he found was an envelope on the floor, with his name on it.

Jesse,
I think we've gotten this trip off on the wrong foot. I feel like I've barely spent any time with you, and we need to change that right now! Meet me at the cafe on the corner at 7:00 for dinner.
♥ Annaleigh

Jesse sighed, and read the note again. He glanced over at the clock. He had an hour to get ready. He decided he might as well go to dinner, even though he was still kind of peeved at her. She was still his friend, even if nothing more, and he knew it wasn't really her fault if she just wasn't into him in that way.

Nonetheless, he picked out his best shirt and slacks, complete with a tie. He showered, brushed his hair into some sort of neat mess, and put on the clothes he'd picked out. He still had 15 minutes to spare, so he went down to the hotel lobby and was lucky enough to find that the front desk sold flowers. He bought three pink carnations and had them tied up with a ribbon, and then sat off for the cafe on the corner.

He arrived first, and, as per the sign directed, seated himself. He selected a table outdoors, in the corner. They had a musician playing quietly, but he was far enough away that he could still carry on a conversion. The weather was nice, and the moon was just starting to appear even though it was daylight. He sat the carnations on the table in front of her seat, and began the nervous task of waiting.

[annaleighchadwick]

Though the trip certainly hadn't been what she expected, Annaleigh wouldn't say it had been necessarily bad. Because it hadn't. She was in Italy with her best friends and Jesse - the skies were blue, the locals had a certain affinity for girls like her and often pinched her cheeks, which she thought was both awkward and sweet, and she'd eaten gelato the second she stepped off the plane. She was rooming with her best friend Kylie, one of the few people that supported her affliction for the redheaded boy that just happened to be in the room next to them. When they landed in Italy, it was around one in the morning, though it still felt like seven o'clock to the kids, so they found a shabby little cafe that was still open and all had ice cream there before returning to their hotel. Annaleigh sat across from Jesse, talking about what they might do the next day, who they were rooming with, and how sweet the ice cream was compared to back home. Though Annaleigh had still been somewhat unsure about how much she cared, there was something about the way he looked in the dim lighting of the cafe that made her throw away those inhibitions. She was going to be with him by the flight home, despite what it may take. And he had no idea. There was something very charming about it all.

The next morning, they had breakfast at the hotel. Annaleigh was so sleepy, she forgot to put on makeup, and then avoided seeing Jesse, afraid that he might think differently of her without the mascara and eyeliner, foundation and the like. Her hair was a curly, frizzy mess, and she didn't feel like fixing it at six in the morning, so she found it easier to just grab her food and leave. After that, they visited an art museum, where she got caught up with her friends and hardly had a chance to talk to Jesse. He simply followed them around like a sad little puppy dog, only seeming to lighten up when Annaleigh managed to break away from her group and keep him company. Which got her to thinking about why he didn't have any friends, wondering if she could nudge him into hanging out with some of the other guys that were on the trip. Surely they all weren't heartless jocks that were just here to get some action with foreign girls, right? Well, it was possible enough.

The afternoon boat ride placed them together again, Annaleigh feeling slightly nervous at the realization that seats came in pairs of two. Jesse placed himself next to her of course, which she knew would seem suspicious - and she liked having him next to her, really, she did, but it made her worry that someone would find them out. And they did. Oh, the awkwardness of youth. It's not that she wanted to brush him off, but what could she do? If she admitted she liked him or stumbled around like Jesse was now, she'd never hear the end of it. Extremely upset by her friends' reaction, knowing it would keep them apart until she learned not to care about what other people thought, she denied them their fun regardless. 'We're just friends, guys.' She'd said. She regretted those words now, sitting on the hotel bed, reading her stupid magazine, but she couldn't seem to imagine the situation playing out in any other way. Jesse stormed off and left her alone for the rest of the night, only making the situation worse. At that point, Lucas Bryant decided to capitalize on the moment and take this chance to make another move on Annaleigh. Jesse had no clue, but he'd been bothering her for awhile now, an ongoing attempt to get Annaleigh to interest herself in him. She wouldn't, of course. He annoyed her; he was stuck-up and selfish. But he never seemed to see that. Since her friends adored the guy, she simply decided to put up with him and hope he found one of them just as pretty. Which was quite likely - what was special about her, anyway? She was just as bad as Lucas, if not worse - out of her peripheral vision, she spotted Jesse sitting in the back of the boat, glaring out at the world around him, all alone. She should have been sitting next to him.

Kylie seemed oblivious to her inner struggle, skipping around the hotel room while she watched a program on MTV, seeming suddenly interested in the door. Annaleigh, absorbed in her magazine article, didn't notice much more than that until her friend spoke up. Someone's got a secret admirerrrr... She smiled, holding up the piece of paper, scrawled messily in black ink. "Oh, does somebody like you?"Annaleigh smiled back at her friend, looking away from her reading only momentarily, largely unconcerned. No, silly, it's you! Kylie chuckled, tossing the note at Annaleigh's feet before flopping back on the bed. Annaleigh gave her a look before grabbing the note, skimming over it, not sure whether to trust the contents.

Annlaleigh,

Meet me at the cafe on the corner at 7:00 for dinner. Please forgive me for time that I've wasted. - Jesse

That last line sounded strangely familiar, but Annaleigh ignored it, instead questioning Kylie, who would only shrug as if she had no idea what it was about. Deciding that she better go despite her sneaking suspicion that something was up, Annaleigh picked herself up from the bed, heading off to the bathroom to fix her makeup and hair, changing out of her jeans and t-shirt, into a dress and sandals. She knew it wasn't a big deal, and she tried not to look too fancy ... But she felt nervous, and it was impossible to keep her cool in such conditions. Annaleigh ended up trying to figure out what he meant by those words, whether there was a romantic tilt to them, whether this meant he was going to give her another chance. Sure, they seemed kind of cheesy, but at the same time ... So familiar.

Deeply curious and insecure, Annaleigh walked down to the cafe, trying to immerse herself in her surroundings instead of the bundle of nerves in her stomach. The air was balmy and clear, the afternoon slowly turning to evening, and the moon was beginning to appear in the sky. She stood out in a crowd, one of the few pale, blondes in a sea of dark-skinned and haired locals. Very obviously a tourist. Though she assumed Jesse would stand out more. Which was either an accurate guess or a sad display of how much he meant to her, because he was the first person she saw when she rounded the corner. Smiling nervously, she approached the table, sitting herself down beside him. "Uh, hey." She said, setting her bag down beside her, idly wondering if the flowers were for her, though they must have been. "I, uh, got your letter ... What's all this about?" She muttered anxiously, running her fingers through her hair.

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WORDS 1211 ... I don't know why. xD
TAGGED Jesseeeeeee
NOTES This is so awkward. x3
OUTFIT she's so prettyyyy (:
LYRICS say anything!
CREDITKENNATRONIC @ caution 2.0

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