Free Fractured Fairy Tales by Catherine Stovall

JJ’s last chance to secretly seduce him. But boys like Jack didn’t hook up with boys like JJ. He was too sensible for that, smart enough to know any guy who couldn’t openly date him probably wasn’t worth the hassle, even if he was hotter than the surface of the sun.
    That’s why he needed Jessica. If he could win her approval, Jack was sure to follow. There wasn’t a girl in the world he couldn’t eventually charm, Jessica included.
    “Why?” Jessica asked, crossing her own arms. Was that a flash of ink on her pale skin? He’d have to ask her about that, later.
    “There’s only so much pom-pom talk I can take,” JJ replied. “You guys would add a bit of…colour…to the proceedings. Figuratively speaking, of course,” he said, taking in her head-to-toe black outfit.
    “You’re hilarious,” she said, rolling her glittering eyes. “Is this some sort of set up? Popular kid invites a bunch of misfits to his party, so the other equally attractive and morally bankrupt popular kids can play a cruel trick on them?”
    “Wow, that’s a lot of words,” JJ breathed, head spinning. “Firstly, none of the other kids are as attractive as I am. Morally bankrupt…well, I’ll let that one slide. Look, I know that I come across as a bit of a…”
    “Dick,” Jessica added with a grin.
    “Right,” he agreed. “But you were wearing an A Day to Remember tee shirt last week. I saw Jack in a Glassjaw shirt a few days ago. Fucking Glassjaw, in a town like this? You’re my kind of people.”
    She kept her expression blank, but he could see the shock in her eyes. Shock, and curiosity. That was his favourite combination, he could work with that. He only realised he’d called Jack by name a second after he’d finished speaking, but if Jessica noticed, she didn’t mention it.
    “And what if you’re not our kind of person, JJ Keswick?” She asked, her petal pink lips caught in a revealing little smile.
    “Come find out.”
     
      
     
    JJ had never actually set foot in the Daveyson Music Store. Jack worked there most afternoons and every weekend from what he could tell, which was the reason JJ hadn’t gone inside. He’d felt a pang of guilt every time he ordered a CD online instead of supporting the local shop, but he couldn’t just stroll in there and turn on the charm. Not on Jack.
    It was a small store, the smallest on Main Street, but it was by far the coolest. As far as he knew, the store was owned by Jack’s dad, although he’d never seen an older man working there. He’d only been “researching” Jack for a few hours a day over the summer though, so he might have just missed Mr. Daveyson. Or, been so distracted by the sight of his son that he just didn’t notice anyone else.
    He set up camp at the coffee shop across the street, sitting by the window and pretending he wasn’t glancing across at the music store every few minutes. Jack was sitting at the counter, flicking through a magazine and nodding along to the beat of whatever he was listening to. He seemed completely relaxed, his shoulders hunched and his hair in his eyes. He was so still, seemingly at peace with the fact he was working on a Friday afternoon.
    Jessica was walking along the street, guitar case slung over her shoulder. She’d added blue streaks to her hair, JJ noticed, smiling to himself. The flashes of pale skin through her torn jeans were almost as dazzling as the smile she aimed at Jack as she stepped into the shop.
    She put her guitar down and leapt on to the counter, her heavy boots banging against the already scuffed wood as she swung her legs over the counter top. Jack’s answering smile was exasperated but fond.
    Jack had lit up in her presence; it was visible even across the street. His eyes were brighter, his smile wider as they spoke. He even pushed his hair away from his face, like he didn’t have to hide anything from her.
    JJ couldn’t read lips, but it looked like Jessica was trying to talk Jack into