Who: Adrian and Jill What: facing each other now that they are in the right bodies When: now Where: their favorite tree in the prison yard Warnings: Language maybe.
Jill kind of wanted to run out of the prison and straight to Eric's place at Katherine's. It was unlikely she'd make it to the gate, but she had promised to give Katherine an explanation about Moroi when things were all back to normal. It's not like she would totally be using this as a way to avoid seeing Adrian face to face. Not in the least. Jill run away from the things that had been said and done when she let her guard down? That would be ridiculous.
Which is why she leaned against the wall near the prison door contemplating how fast she would have to sprint to make it to the gate. Could she use the snow to her advantage and create a diversion? Would it be worth Rose finding her and carrying her back over her shoulder? Probably not. Ugh she was just so mortified. Adrian was saying it didn't matter, and she didn't know what that even meant.
It didn't matter because they literally weren't themselves at the time? It didn't matter because Jill had gotten caught up in the power and lack of filter and just let it go? It didn't matter because he didn't take it seriously because she would always be little Jill? Even though a lot of time had passed since she got that nickname. Years had passed, and they all had gone through so many changes. Sometimes she wished she could still little Jill in the mirror, but that girl was long gone.
What hadn't gone was the crush. It only blossomed deeper. She couldn't even blame it solely on the bond. It had been there, harvesting and expanding, twisting and turning until she was so used to swallowing it down that she surprised herself the night in the wilderness. It had been easy to let go as Eric. As Jill? She wanted to hide behind her hair and hope it would go away. Because she had a really good feeling that Adrian didn't feel even slightly the way she did. He was protective because he saved her. They were friends. But she wasn't his usual type of girl, and well he'd made more than one age joke about Dimitri and Rose to make her think that age was a factor to him.
She was twisting herself in knots, and that wasn't going to help seeing him. Because of course they had to face each other. The prison was big, but they couldn't keep avoiding each other. That was just stupid. Running her fingers through her hair, she bit down on her bottom lip before pushing the door open. Walking outside, she stuffed her hands in the pocket of her coat and walked toward the tree. She knew he was there. Even if she hadn't been able to smell the cloves, she could always find him. That was part of being on this side of the bond.
"Hey," she said, as she stopped near him. "Did you get any rest?"