Clare inhaled sharply before letting her breath out. The pen in her hand moved swiftly across the blank notebook paper, scrawling down each thought that came to mind. Lately everything had been so jumbled together that she didn’t know what she was thinking. It was like writers block, but seemingly worse for her. She didn’t know how to deal with it this time around.
She was on her second page when the pen stopped. Glancing over the paper, she smiled and moved out of her chair. She made her way downstairs and searched for her spare notebook she kept around the house. Forgetting where she left it, she began a mini scavenger hunt.

xjakemartin:

Jake had thought about architectural design before, but really, that was more of Imogen’s thing than his.She was amazing at seeing the bigger picture, at designing the buildings. All Jake would be good for us putting it together. “I’m not that great of an artist Clare, I’m more of a hands on guy.” He wished he could figure it out, Jake would love nothing more than to go away with Clare to university. That way, it didn’t matter what they did. It would be like their New York trip, they could be themselves without having to worry about who saw them. “You say you don’t, but I know you Clarebear. You’re ambitious, you’re driven. I know whatever you do, you’ll be incredible at it, because that’s just the kind of girl you are. Its the girl I fell in love with, and I’ll support you with whatever you do.” Jake meant every word, he loved Clare, regardless of whatever her plans were. It didn’t matter what she did, or what became of the two of them, as long as her future included him by her side, he could care less how they get there. 

“And you could be the one building from it,” Clare stated, somewhat cluelessly. Architects had the motivation that he did as well. However, that was his future, not hers. Whatever his intentions were, it’d be okay as long as they were together. Moving a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked up at him, chewing on her lip as Jake’s words echoed throughout her mind. A large smile formed across her face that she couldn’t stop. “Why’d you have to be so sweet? Every day I find something else that makes me love you even more.” Clare laughed, putting her hands over her red cheeks. She put one hand over his, meeting his gaze. “You know I mean it when I say I’ll always be right there with you, too. No matter what.” Leaning in, she lightly pressed her lips to his, lingering in the moment before pulling away.

xjakemartin:

Jake nodded, following Clare’s orders exactly. She needed him to get the chicken from the oven, and although she could probably do it on her own, Jake was much stronger than her. “I’m that someone strong?” he teased, flexing a bit before reaching into the oven and pulling out the pan of chicken. It smelled even more heavenly now that it was right underneath his nose and he couldn’t wait to dig in. “You’ve really outdone yourself here, love. Our parents are gone, you’ve cooked for me. Don’t tell me there’s some sort of anniversary of ours that I’ve forgotten about.” Jake made a face as he put the chicken onto the table and took his seat across from her. He couldn’t think of any special date of theirs, and it wasn’t like him to just forget things like that. It seemed as though she was just doing something nice for him, and it was incredibly sweet of her. Once his plate was fixed and full of food, he looked to her, reaching across the table to give her hand a small squeeze and smiled. “Okay, are we going to stare at the food all night, or can I eat now?”

Clare marveled at Jake’s flexed muscles and laughed. “Oh you’re definitely strong,” she replied jokingly. “I thought, with all that work you’ve been doing, that it’d be nice to make you one of your favourites.” Smiling up at him, she grabbed their drinks and added, “Plus, I was hoping to get you out of your room so I could spend time with you.” Following him and taking her place at the dinner table, she slowly made her plate like his but with smaller portions. Lost in her thoughts, she blushed when she caught herself staring at him before hearing him speak. “You can most certainly eat now. You look like you’re starving.” Taking hold of her fork and knife, Clare cut a piece of chicken and tasted it along with the macaroni salad. The flavours pleased her palate. Glancing up at Jake, she bit her lip nervously, hoping that she wasn’t the only one enjoying the meal. “So,” she asked, “what do you think? Does it taste okay? It’s not too dry?”

xjakemartin:

Jake’s thumb brushed across her cheek, loving how flustered he seemed to be able to make her and kissed her forehead. This dinner seemed really important to her, and so if she wanted him to go upstairs, he would go, just for her. With a small nod, he jetted off towards his bedroom, opting to change into something more presentable for the dinner she was preparing for the two of them. It didn’t take long, and in about fifteen minutes, he was back downstairs, just in time to catch Clare setting the table for the two of them. “Everything smells wonderful Clarebear. Are you don’t need any help?”

Clare set a pair of plates down across from each other and a napkin on the left side of each one. Hearing Jake come in, she looked up as she slowly placed a fork and knife neatly on one napkin. “You know what?” She responded, “I need someone strong to take the chicken out from the oven. Could you do that for me please?” She glanced at him with pleading eyes, thinking that it would persuade him to. Putting the other fork and knife down, she smiled at him and went into the kitchen, waiting for him to follow.

xjakemartin:

As Clare told Jake her plans for their dinner, he felt his stomach grumbling in approval, he was absolutely starving after spending a day catching up on his school work. He caught Clare’s gaze and grinned at her, his green eyes twinkling in amusement as he leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “I’m sorry that I’ve ruined your surprise. I mean, I’m still surprised, if that helps. And I can feign a look of complete shock in a few hours when everything is all ready.” Jake watched as Clare got to work on his food, impressed by her determination; he couldn’t remember a girlfriend ever cooking for him, though he also couldn’t remember ever living with any of his girlfriends either. Being Clare Edwards’ boyfriend seemed to have its perks. When she mentioned dessert, Jake tugged on her hand, pulling her back into his arms and wrapped his own around her waist, a smirk playing on his features. “I’d much rather just have you for dessert,” he told her, his voice low and husky. 

“Oh, me?” Clare asked, her face flushed pink. He knew just how to make her do that twenty-four-seven. Although she would never admit it, Clare thought about the things he said quite often. Playfully shaking her head, she bit her lip for a moment and kissed the boy’s cheek before wiggling out from his arms. The chicken was almost done and she hadn’t made a dent in the salad. Changing the subject, she asked Jake to go upstairs so she could finish up the rest of dinner.  ”I only need about fifteen minutes,” she said, looking back at him.

xjakemartin:

Jake was in his room, finishing up his calculus homework when he heard Clare going through the cabinets downstairs. Seeing as their parents were out of town, once again, it only had to be her, and he was quite curious to see what she was up to. It was very rare that she had cooked, but perhaps she was trying something out. He put away his homework, opting to finish it up for later and pulled on a shirt, not wanting to scare Clare with his lack of clothing and wandered downstairs, the smell of her cooking immediately filling his nostrils. “Hmm, smells wonderful,” he noted, picking up on the light smell of chicken through the air. He was surprised and flattered that she was cooking for him, it had been some time since they had a chance to be alone lately, and it was sweet that she wanted to do something nice for him. “What are you making, love?” Jake asked as his arms wrapped around Clare’s waist and he pressed an innocent kiss to her cheek.

Clare shivered at the boy’s touch and smiled when he kissed her. Her attempt at being quiet had most definitely failed. “Barbeque chicken and hopefully macaroni salad and cole slaw,” she replied, meeting Jake’s gaze for a brief moment. Looking at his eyes often amused her; and she could spend her time doing so if she hadn’t remembered that there was a boiling pot in front of her. Turning her attention back to the pot, she poured the noodles in and began stirring. “You know, this was supposed to be a surprise for you. I noticed that you’ve been busy up there and since no one else but us is here, I thought about making you something nice.” Clare told him, moving the pot off the burner. She drained the hot liquid and set the pot down, facing Jake again and entangling her fingers with his, playfully smiling. “I’m not telling you what’s for dessert though. That shall remain a secret.”

Clare rummaged through the kitchen with a recipe in her hand, pulling seasonings and pans out from everywhere. She tried her best to keep the noise down, not wanting to disturb Jake with whatever he was doing. He’d been fairly busy the past few days and she wanted to do something nice for him. This dinner was going to be a surprise as long as she kept quiet. Taking out the last ingredient, she moved over to the counter-space to prepare the meal. 

After Clare had arrived at home from church with her family, she decided to spend the rest of the day watching a movie marathon on television. Occupying the living room, she set up a blanket with a few pillows, and turned on the television. “I’m missing something,” she said aloud as she looked over the cozy space. Refreshments. You can’t watch movies without refreshments, Clare. She told herself. Nodding her head, she moved into the kitchen and began searching for popcorn and cola. 

I guess so. Who hasn’t seen The Sound of Music? :P

When I hear something outside of my window that creeps me out,

Because it’s obviously some monster that’s coming to take my soul.