When Sophie Met Jack

[Jack Trove]

Jack didn't think he'd ever gone through an entire lunch period without eating. In fact, he couldn't even remember ever being so... not hungry. Not like this. Jack felt... Jack felt sick.
He had to go and meet Mal in Cardsdale today, and Jack would be a fool to try and deny that that was exactly what was making him feel this way. Dread. Fear. Guilt. Where all these d**n emotions had come from, anyway? Jack had been much happier once he'd come to back to Orchid; once he hadn't had to think so much about what things were like at home; and once he'd had Olivia...
But Mal still had found a way in.
Home and Orchid Hill shouldn't mix. Olivia and Jack's break-up were proof of that. He just kept thinking... maybe... if he hadn't pulled away... maybe... maybe if he hadn't found about her stupid tricks-
No.
No good thinking in 'what if's. This was the situation he was left in, and he had to deal with it; no matter how crap it was.
No matter how much he miss-
NO!
The bell rang, thank God, and Jack turned on his heel, marching out of the Dining Hall, relieved at the excuse to start doing something again, instead of having to sit with his friends and watch Lee and Maddie make puppy dog eyes at each other. He ignored Jude, shouting something after him, something about homework. Right. Because that really mattered right-
"Oof!"
Jack had rounded the corner, and collided with someone, knocking them backwards and onto the ground. Jack stumbled, a little winded, then regaining his balance, swerved on the spot to see a blonde girl lying on the ground before him.
Oh, for God's...
"Sorry," Jack said gruffly, extending a hand and pulling her roughly to her feet. "I didn't see you ther- " Jack froze; and suddenly, his cheeks burned like he'd been slapped. Cold shock coursed through him as a sparkling pair of blue eyes surveyed him...
There was only one appropriate reaction to a pair of eyes like that.
Wow.

[Jack Trove]

Her haughtiness amused him; and he made no secret of it. His lips curled upwards, into a teasing smile, and leaned on the wall, giving her room to pass, suddenly very relaxed. This was something he knew well; the art of talking to, and charming a pretty girl. A beautiful girl. It was something to concentrate on...
... it wasn't Mal or Olivia.
"I am," Jack laughed. "Sorry. Although, you know, you should probably apologize to me, too. You banged into me too."

[Jack Trove]

Jack laughed at her grin- never had a smile looked so out of place on an angel's face. "Poor and defenseless? Doubt it, somehow," he said.
This girl... she reminded him irresistibly of Olivia. Both girls were gorgeous- and both girls knew it, and abused it, much to the misfortune of any unwitting boys to wander in their paths. But Jack knew Olivia...
... so he knew this girl, in a way.
And so he was coming in with a better knowledge- something a wise man should say- the knowledge that if he didn't want to fall to hard and too fast, he'd have to keep hold of his brain.
And take hers instead.
But maybe he was thinking too far ahead; maybe thinking too much in terms of Olivia. After all, these girls shared beauty, but she still wasn't Olivia.
And that was- he admitted it- a bit of a relief.
"I'm Jack," he said, extending a hand.

[Jack Trove]

"Not anymore I'm not," he said casually.
Sophie.
He liked it. It was simple; but pretty, and something about it seemed to suit her. She was tall, graceful, yet surprisingly delicate; and her hair fell in silver locks. There was something immaculate about her; her skin was a light ivory, and looked like it'd never been dirty in its life. And combined with her hair, she gave the impression of sparkling- of moonlight. She seemed to shine despite the dull light of the hall.
Jack's eyes traced the contours of her slender shape, before quickly looking up and meeting her eyes with a wicked smile.
"Unless you've got somewhere to be?"

[Jack Trove]

"What do you say we find some nothing to do together?"
The light pressure of her finger was perfectly timed; the perfect hint; the perfect tempt; the perfect touch. Could he possibly hope to compete with this? At first glance, he'd known she was good... but he'd underestimated her.
The adrenaline was already pumping.
He couldn't lose control of himself.
So he caught her roving hand, and their fingers interlocked.
"Lead the way."

[Jack Trove]

Did she just call me pretty?!
Go with it, Jack.
So he tightened his grip on her hand, enjoying the soft, unfamiliar pressure of her palm against his.
“I guess you’ll have to find out for yourself.”
A challenge. Let’s see if she could meet it.

[Jack Trove]

He laughed. So, she'd accepted it. And something told him that she might just meet it. There was something about the confidence with which she carried herself... something about that sing-song note in her voice. She was enticing; so supremely, elegantly playful. He'd never really seen anyone pull that off before...
... except perhaps Olivia.
But with Olivia; it'd was always obvious. She was clear in her intentions; a flirt from the start, and she shone through with it.
Sophie, on the other hand, was spectacularly subtle.
"Well, what about you?" he asked her, as he followed her bouncing footsteps. "Is that beauty all just a mask?"

[Jack Trove]

Jack raised his eyebrows. "All about fun, is it?"
She was playing a game, wasn't she? He was acutely aware that she saw him as a little toy. She was the cat, and he was the mouse; something she was toying with before she pounced. It made him all the more alert, and all the more careful.
He'd have to be as malleable as he could.
"That's why there's an element of surprise, then, because it makes things fun," he decided. "You're playing a game. I bet you're leading me on a wild goose chase."

[Jack Trove]

... how did you even begin to reply to that?
Jack caught his breath, and tried to absorb what she'd just said. Because it confused him. He'd never expected her to reply like that. He'd expected her to just say something playful- she had said it playfully... but it wasn't...
There was something else there.
Jack just couldn't put his finger on it.
So, slightly disappointed in himself, Jack was forced to come up with this mediocre reply-
"It's a good thing it's just a game, then, isn't it?"

[Jack Trove]

"Run."
Maybe it was inbred; a genetic trait- something that Jack, for once, had to thank his father for.
Maybe it was self-taught; built in over the years and years of training.
Or maybe it was just both.
But Jack had a natural talent for letting instinct kick in, and command him.
One look at Sophie told him this much: she could run. Her legs were long, and toned, telling him that she did some sort of sport, most likely some form of dancing, and she was light on her feet too. She walked with grace, poise; yet with power- confidence. Jack looked at her, and he could just tell Sophie could run with grace, speed and stamina.
But the real question was: could she keep up?
And Jack's instinct told him that there wasn't time for them to find out. Now, they were in a chase, and now, the adrenaline had been kicked into overdrive- hurtling round his body at 100 miles per hour.
There wasn't time to race.
So Jack made a split second decision. His arms closed around Sophie, hoisted her off the ground, and began to run flat out through the halls, leaving the teacher coughing in a cloud of dust.

[Jack Trove]

Whoever they'd left behind was long gone the second he took his third turning, but Jack found he couldn't stop running; couldn't stop tearing through the corridors, past the classrooms, past the windows; couldn't stop moving, swerving, ducking past every obstacle, every person who stepped in his path.
He couldn't help it.
After everything that'd happened with Olivia...
He needed this.
And Sophie's whisper in his ear was only encouragement.
Finally, fourteen corridors and five flights of stairs later Jack arrived, panting, outside an empty classroom. Kicking the door open, Jack entered, and closed it behind him, and took Sophie gently down, and set her on one of the desks.
"Sorry about that," he laughed. "Bit of an invasion of your personal space, that."

[Jack Trove]

Well, if she insisted...
Grinning, Jack hoisted himself up onto the desk beside her, slipping his arm around her waist casually.
"Appreciate the permission," he laughed, his head lolling slightly to rest against hers.
Exhaustion had barely begun to catch up on him. Jack relaxed against Sophie, letting his heart rate return to normal...
... except, being so close to her... it was doing anything but.

[Jack Trove]

This was perfect.
She was perfect.
A smile crossed Jack's lips as he imagined the look on Mal's face when Sophie walked in behind him. It would be brilliant- priceless- just as good as the look Olivia would've gotten- maybe better, purely because she was French.
Mal had always love the French.
She was exotic. Like a peacock, bright and beautiful, Sophie would stand out easily. Mal would be green. He'd be angry.
Jack would've done that.
And his heart pounded with the hope of everything Sophie could bring him.
"That's easy," he said, a little breathlessly. "You meet the family."

[Jack Trove]

Jack had to laugh.
"No. Not yet. But later, yes," he smiled at her. "My brother's in town, and he asked me to meet up with him after school today; and to bring a date. So... you game?"
It was pointless to even ask. This was Sophie.
Sophie. He'd only just met her, and already... she meant something. There was more to the name now than ever before.
This could be... great.
More than great.
Effing amazing, if they played they cards right.
A mere look from Sophie, and Mal would be putty. Jealous putty. Mad putty. Shocked putty.
But putty, all the same.