Categories > Celebrities > 30 Seconds to Mars > Finding Jared
FINDING JARED
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shannon and Skyla woke up the next morning and ate some cereal. Shannon kept bumping into Skyla the whole time they were getting ready for the day.
"Sorry," he grumbled the first time they bumped into each other. Skyla smiled smugly at him.
The second time they bumped into each other, Shannon grabbed her waist and repositioned her so that she was standing across from him on the other side of the bed. "Just stand there, okay?" he said.
"Alright," she said. Within five minutes her and Shannon were bumping into each other again.
"Sorry," she said. She looked at Shannon.
He smiled. Skyla had been through a lot in the past few hours; he felt like he owed her something.
"Come on," Shannon told her as he grabbed her hand. He led her toward the bed. "I want to teach you how to play blackjack," he told her with a grin.
"What?" she asked him, dumbfounded.
"You know, blackjack. You hit until you get 21, or you have the number closest to 21," Shannon said. He gave her a grin.
Skyla felt a wave of unease wash over her. "Really? I always thought blackjack was stupid."
Shannon laughed. "You'll find it helpful. Now come on!" He dragged her toward the bed.
Skyla sat down on one side and Shannon sat down on the other. He pulled out a deck of cards and set them between him and Skyla. "Cut the deck," he told her.
"What?" she asked him uncertainly. She stared at the deck of cards.
"I said, cut the deck." Shannon eyed her over the rim of his glass of water. "I'm walking you through the steps of blackjack; trust me, this will help a lot."
Skyla did as she was told and cut the deck. Shannon then expertly shuffled the deck.
"Wow," Skyla said. "I can't do half that stuff."
Shannon let out a low chuckle and began dealing the cards. "Okay; are you ready?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said.
"Okay, let's start." Shannon finished dealing the cards and set the deck aside. He looked at his hand. "I have a 10 showing, and you have a 5 showing. What are you going to do?" Shannon asked her.
Skyla looked at her bottom card - it was a jack. Her instincts told her to hit, but her gut told her to fold.
"I'm gonna fold," she said.
"Good idea," he told her. He flipped over his top card - it was a queen. He took the cards and reshuffled them. He dealt again; his card that was showing was another 10. Skyla's card was an ace.
"Again, I have a ten showing. And you have an ace, which counts as an eleven or a one. Are you gonna hit or stay?" Shannon asked her.
Skyla looked at her bottom card - a four - and thought about it. She already had either a 5 or a 15; if she hit, she could get something a bit higher.
"Hit," she told Shannon. He flipped her a card over - it was another ace. "Well," Shannon told her, "that's twelve right there."
Skyla looked at her bottom card again. "Hit."
Shannon flipped over a six. "That's eight showing," he told her.
"Hit," she giggled. Shannon laughed along with her.
"Okay," he told her. He flipped over her next card; it was a seven. "Now what are you going to do?" he asked her.
"I'm going to stay," she told him. Shannon flipped over a seven; Skyla flipped over a four.
"Well, you win," he smiled. She grinned at him, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
Within five minutes they were laying on the bed, passionately kissing. Skyla put her arms around Shannon's neck as he put his hands on her waist. They laughed as they snuggled together under the covers. Shannon pushed Skyla's hair back before kissing her again; he put it behind her left ear.
Skyla was less nervous now than she was the first time. She relaxed as Shannon kissed her neck; he slid her shirt off as he traced circles on her side with his hands. As he kissed her even harder, she wrapped her legs around his bare waist and he pulled her close to him. Their pants came off as their desire for each other burned more. Shannon trailed his fingers from her inner thighs up to her stomach; Skyla shuddered and continued kissing him. Shannon's phone went off as he was kissing her; he ignored his phone until he couldn't ignore it anymore.
"I don't know who that is, but I do not want to talk to them!" Shannon said angrily.
He picked up his phone and made a face. Apparently, the caller was someone he really didn't want to talk to; he answered it on the fifth ring. "Hello?" he asked angrily.
"Shannon!" Jared said on the other end. "Listen, we might be leaving earlier than we thought," he said.
Shannon sighed. Skyla was laying beside him, listening in on the conversation; she was anxious to hear what Jared had to say next.
"We gotta leave soon, like three p.m." Jared told him. "It's already eight a.m., so we need to go ahead and get ready."
"Okay, yeah, we'll go ahead and get ready," Shannon said. He hung up.
"So?" Skyla asked him as she caressed his face. She stroked his jawline and kissed his cheek.
"We need to get ready to leave," Shannon said. He didn't move; he just laid beside her. When she began rubbing his chest, he turned to look at her. "Do you know how hard it is to be civil with a brother who likes the same girl you do?" he asked her.
It took Skyla a minute to realize he was talking about her. She blushed a deep crimson. She didn't know what it was like to fall in love with a friend and she probably wouldn't. She had no choice but to say no.
"No, I honestly don't," she said. "I'm sorry–"
"Don't apologize; it's mostly my fault," Shannon sighed. "And I know Jared can't help himself, but he shouldn't flirt with you while I'm in the room."
Skyla didn't like Shannon being so possessive of her. She loved Jared, but for Shannon to harbor such hatred toward his own brother, and for such a reason... she had to talk to Jared.
"I'll be back," she told Shannon. She hastily put her clothes on and left.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Shannon called after her.
"I'll be back, just trust me!" Skyla told him. She headed toward the elevators and pressed the button to go down; the elevator on the far right opened.
Shannon headed back into his hotel room; he thought over everything he had said to Skyla. He groaned; he just told her how Jared and him both felt about her and she was now running to him. Great. He laid on his bed, sulking; he felt like he was the worst person in the entire world right now.
Skyla stood outside Jared's hotel room door and knocked. She waited for him to come to the door with an impatient tapping of her toes on the floor. Her toe-tapping came to a sudden stop as Jared threw the door open.
"Can you stop it with the toe-tapping, please?!" he asked her. He stood back and let her walk in.
"Sorry, I'm nervous," she told him. It wasn't a total lie; she was scared, nervous, worried, and excited all at once.
"Why are you nervous? If anyone should be nervous, it should be... well yeah you have all the perfect right to be nervous," Jared told her.
"I'm nervous because of what Shannon told me. I almost smacked him because he got so possessive of me!" she cried.
Jared realized she was serious - and what was this about Shannon being possessive? "What are you talking about?" he asked her.
"Shannon asked me if I had any idea what it was like when my brother liked the same girl as me and since I didn't, I had no choice but to tell him 'no'. Then when I tried to apologize, he said for me not to because it's mostly his fault anyways because even though you can't help yourself, you shouldn't flirt with me while he's in the room. Then I got all upset because he was suddenly so possessive of me and I shouldn't be telling you this because you'd get even madder at him than you already are!" Skyla said all of this in one breath; Jared was impressed, but was busy absorbing the information Skyla had just told him. What?!
"So Shannon told you all of this?" Jared asked her.
"Yeah..." she admitted, turning a bright shade of magenta.
Jared turned and punched a whole in the wall. His sudden action caused Skyla to jump a foot in the air. She turned to leave, but Jared grabbed her wrist.
"Don't leave. Stay," he asked her.
The sudden command caused her to look Jared in the eyes: his bright ice-blue eyes met her jade-green ones and they held the gaze for a few seconds. Skyla caught her breath; Jared walked over and kissed her.
It was like electricity had flowed out of Jared into Skyla as their lips met. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. At his touch, Skyla felt like she had ten thousand volts of electricity flowing through her. They pulled apart as suddenly as they began kissing.
"Please stay," Jared begged of her. It was obvious that everything that had happened to him in the past few weeks had taken a tremendous toll on him - and adding this huge argument with his own brother on top of everything, Skyla was surprised he hadn't went crazy already.
"Okay. I will." As she agreed, Jared dropped her wrist. She hugged him hard.
"I know you've been through a lot," she told him, "but I'm behind you."
Jared smiled at her. He was suddenly aware of his feelings for Skyla, and Skyla was suddenly aware of what she had just done.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Shannon and Skyla woke up the next morning and ate some cereal. Shannon kept bumping into Skyla the whole time they were getting ready for the day.
"Sorry," he grumbled the first time they bumped into each other. Skyla smiled smugly at him.
The second time they bumped into each other, Shannon grabbed her waist and repositioned her so that she was standing across from him on the other side of the bed. "Just stand there, okay?" he said.
"Alright," she said. Within five minutes her and Shannon were bumping into each other again.
"Sorry," she said. She looked at Shannon.
He smiled. Skyla had been through a lot in the past few hours; he felt like he owed her something.
"Come on," Shannon told her as he grabbed her hand. He led her toward the bed. "I want to teach you how to play blackjack," he told her with a grin.
"What?" she asked him, dumbfounded.
"You know, blackjack. You hit until you get 21, or you have the number closest to 21," Shannon said. He gave her a grin.
Skyla felt a wave of unease wash over her. "Really? I always thought blackjack was stupid."
Shannon laughed. "You'll find it helpful. Now come on!" He dragged her toward the bed.
Skyla sat down on one side and Shannon sat down on the other. He pulled out a deck of cards and set them between him and Skyla. "Cut the deck," he told her.
"What?" she asked him uncertainly. She stared at the deck of cards.
"I said, cut the deck." Shannon eyed her over the rim of his glass of water. "I'm walking you through the steps of blackjack; trust me, this will help a lot."
Skyla did as she was told and cut the deck. Shannon then expertly shuffled the deck.
"Wow," Skyla said. "I can't do half that stuff."
Shannon let out a low chuckle and began dealing the cards. "Okay; are you ready?" he asked her.
"Yes," she said.
"Okay, let's start." Shannon finished dealing the cards and set the deck aside. He looked at his hand. "I have a 10 showing, and you have a 5 showing. What are you going to do?" Shannon asked her.
Skyla looked at her bottom card - it was a jack. Her instincts told her to hit, but her gut told her to fold.
"I'm gonna fold," she said.
"Good idea," he told her. He flipped over his top card - it was a queen. He took the cards and reshuffled them. He dealt again; his card that was showing was another 10. Skyla's card was an ace.
"Again, I have a ten showing. And you have an ace, which counts as an eleven or a one. Are you gonna hit or stay?" Shannon asked her.
Skyla looked at her bottom card - a four - and thought about it. She already had either a 5 or a 15; if she hit, she could get something a bit higher.
"Hit," she told Shannon. He flipped her a card over - it was another ace. "Well," Shannon told her, "that's twelve right there."
Skyla looked at her bottom card again. "Hit."
Shannon flipped over a six. "That's eight showing," he told her.
"Hit," she giggled. Shannon laughed along with her.
"Okay," he told her. He flipped over her next card; it was a seven. "Now what are you going to do?" he asked her.
"I'm going to stay," she told him. Shannon flipped over a seven; Skyla flipped over a four.
"Well, you win," he smiled. She grinned at him, and gave him a small kiss on the cheek.
Within five minutes they were laying on the bed, passionately kissing. Skyla put her arms around Shannon's neck as he put his hands on her waist. They laughed as they snuggled together under the covers. Shannon pushed Skyla's hair back before kissing her again; he put it behind her left ear.
Skyla was less nervous now than she was the first time. She relaxed as Shannon kissed her neck; he slid her shirt off as he traced circles on her side with his hands. As he kissed her even harder, she wrapped her legs around his bare waist and he pulled her close to him. Their pants came off as their desire for each other burned more. Shannon trailed his fingers from her inner thighs up to her stomach; Skyla shuddered and continued kissing him. Shannon's phone went off as he was kissing her; he ignored his phone until he couldn't ignore it anymore.
"I don't know who that is, but I do not want to talk to them!" Shannon said angrily.
He picked up his phone and made a face. Apparently, the caller was someone he really didn't want to talk to; he answered it on the fifth ring. "Hello?" he asked angrily.
"Shannon!" Jared said on the other end. "Listen, we might be leaving earlier than we thought," he said.
Shannon sighed. Skyla was laying beside him, listening in on the conversation; she was anxious to hear what Jared had to say next.
"We gotta leave soon, like three p.m." Jared told him. "It's already eight a.m., so we need to go ahead and get ready."
"Okay, yeah, we'll go ahead and get ready," Shannon said. He hung up.
"So?" Skyla asked him as she caressed his face. She stroked his jawline and kissed his cheek.
"We need to get ready to leave," Shannon said. He didn't move; he just laid beside her. When she began rubbing his chest, he turned to look at her. "Do you know how hard it is to be civil with a brother who likes the same girl you do?" he asked her.
It took Skyla a minute to realize he was talking about her. She blushed a deep crimson. She didn't know what it was like to fall in love with a friend and she probably wouldn't. She had no choice but to say no.
"No, I honestly don't," she said. "I'm sorry–"
"Don't apologize; it's mostly my fault," Shannon sighed. "And I know Jared can't help himself, but he shouldn't flirt with you while I'm in the room."
Skyla didn't like Shannon being so possessive of her. She loved Jared, but for Shannon to harbor such hatred toward his own brother, and for such a reason... she had to talk to Jared.
"I'll be back," she told Shannon. She hastily put her clothes on and left.
"Wait! Where are you going?" Shannon called after her.
"I'll be back, just trust me!" Skyla told him. She headed toward the elevators and pressed the button to go down; the elevator on the far right opened.
Shannon headed back into his hotel room; he thought over everything he had said to Skyla. He groaned; he just told her how Jared and him both felt about her and she was now running to him. Great. He laid on his bed, sulking; he felt like he was the worst person in the entire world right now.
Skyla stood outside Jared's hotel room door and knocked. She waited for him to come to the door with an impatient tapping of her toes on the floor. Her toe-tapping came to a sudden stop as Jared threw the door open.
"Can you stop it with the toe-tapping, please?!" he asked her. He stood back and let her walk in.
"Sorry, I'm nervous," she told him. It wasn't a total lie; she was scared, nervous, worried, and excited all at once.
"Why are you nervous? If anyone should be nervous, it should be... well yeah you have all the perfect right to be nervous," Jared told her.
"I'm nervous because of what Shannon told me. I almost smacked him because he got so possessive of me!" she cried.
Jared realized she was serious - and what was this about Shannon being possessive? "What are you talking about?" he asked her.
"Shannon asked me if I had any idea what it was like when my brother liked the same girl as me and since I didn't, I had no choice but to tell him 'no'. Then when I tried to apologize, he said for me not to because it's mostly his fault anyways because even though you can't help yourself, you shouldn't flirt with me while he's in the room. Then I got all upset because he was suddenly so possessive of me and I shouldn't be telling you this because you'd get even madder at him than you already are!" Skyla said all of this in one breath; Jared was impressed, but was busy absorbing the information Skyla had just told him. What?!
"So Shannon told you all of this?" Jared asked her.
"Yeah..." she admitted, turning a bright shade of magenta.
Jared turned and punched a whole in the wall. His sudden action caused Skyla to jump a foot in the air. She turned to leave, but Jared grabbed her wrist.
"Don't leave. Stay," he asked her.
The sudden command caused her to look Jared in the eyes: his bright ice-blue eyes met her jade-green ones and they held the gaze for a few seconds. Skyla caught her breath; Jared walked over and kissed her.
It was like electricity had flowed out of Jared into Skyla as their lips met. He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. At his touch, Skyla felt like she had ten thousand volts of electricity flowing through her. They pulled apart as suddenly as they began kissing.
"Please stay," Jared begged of her. It was obvious that everything that had happened to him in the past few weeks had taken a tremendous toll on him - and adding this huge argument with his own brother on top of everything, Skyla was surprised he hadn't went crazy already.
"Okay. I will." As she agreed, Jared dropped her wrist. She hugged him hard.
"I know you've been through a lot," she told him, "but I'm behind you."
Jared smiled at her. He was suddenly aware of his feelings for Skyla, and Skyla was suddenly aware of what she had just done.
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