Rather be in Love With You ((Brant))

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine hummed happily as she walked down the long, empty corridor. The firelight from the torches danced off the wall as she rounded the corner up the stairs. Her feet were slightly sore, but were used to the long late night runs around the castle. It was part of prefect duty to make sure students weren’t out past curfew. Jasmine hadn’t caught anybody yet, but she was happy not too. She wasn’t the best when it came to discipline, afraid that people might start to hate her. Treading up the stairs, she was careful not to get her foot caught in the trick steps. Her mind was only circling around two things; Brantley and Vanessa and Jeremiah’s wedding. Everything was just beginning to fall back into place. After that night she left Brantley in February after he had kissed her, which followed by her avoiding him. All of it had caused the anger to awaken in Brantley, a flaw finally coming to the surface. When he had his outburst in the common room he started to avoid her. It was only just earlier that they had finally talked it over and were now together. Stopping Jasmine thought about the word that echoed in her mind. Were they really finally a couple now? Shrugging it off to the back of her mind, she than thought about dress colors for the bridesmaids for Nessa’s wedding. Jasmine would wear anything that her best friend wanted, but she drew the line at any ugly caracole colors. Maybe a deep, royal purple would be good? Or maybe even a dark blue?

Going over all the possibilities of colors in her mind Jasmine slowly went up the steps that led into the girl’s dorm room. Once she had reached the sixth year, everyone was already asleep. There was even one girl who’s still clung onto a book that rested on her stomach. Smiling, Jasmine quietly made her way to her bed, knelling down on the ground. Taking out her favorite pair of pajamas she began to get changed. Taking her arms out of the coats sleeves, she peeled the white blouse off replacing it with a sleeveless, pink shirt. Tugging on the long white pants Jasmine folded the uniform up nicely setting it on top of the trunk for the next day. “'Cause when there's you, I feel whole. And there's no better feeling in the world but without you I'm alone. And I'd rather be in love with you,” Jasmine sang quietly to herself as she headed back down the stairs humming happily. She had always loved that song, but never really understood the feeling until now. Jasmine hadn’t seen Brantley since lunch that afternoon. They didn’t have all the same classes together, and she was busy with prefect duties and friend wedding issues. He understood that. Well, at least she hoped. It wasn’t like Jasmine was avoiding him. No where near it.

Quietly sneaking in the room, Jasmine closed to the slowly behind her. She heard hear the snores from some of the boys wondering how anyone could sleep in this room. Scanning each bed, Jasmine made sure that no one was awake before heading over toward Brantley’s bed. There was a huge grin on her face as she saw him sleeping under the covers. Oh. He was going to be ecstatic when she woke him up. Jumping on him Jasmine winced slightly hearing the springs of the bed squeak. Quickly pressing her index finger to his lips, she just simply grinned down at him. “Shhh…Wouldn’t want to wake anybody up now,” Jasmine whispered nodding her head as she looked from left to right. All the guys were sound asleep in their bed. Well, there were only a few beds that were unattended, but that was none of her concern now. Scooting down the bed so Brantley could sit up, Jasmine sat on her knees on both sides of Brantley, a twinkle in her hazel eyes.

[Brantley Chapman R7]

Brantley had problems getting to sleep each night. His mind was cluttered with homework assignments, with notes, with things he needed to remember about his disorder, and with Jasmine thoughts. The last thought didn’t bother Brantley at all, in fact he would rather like to fall asleep with Jasmine on his mind – but his mind was just too full of things for him to really fall asleep with just her on his mind. Tonight had been no different. He took his medication that his mother had sent over through Ellie’s owl and then crawled into the bed hoping that perhaps he’d get to sleep at a decent hour. No such luck. He had been lying in bed for an hour before he decided that maybe he should close his eyes. So, he did. He lay in bed, his hands linked and underneath his head, his eyes closed; and counting sheep. That was when he felt something or someone jump on him. Brantley’s eyes popped open and he immediately felt a finger being pressed to his lips. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but when they did he saw Jasmine sitting on his bed. He groaned and leaned further back into his pillow. Jasmine in his bed was not something he needed. “You should have thought about that before you jumped in here.” He replied to her comment about not wanting to wake anybody up. Brantley looked down at her before reaching over and grabbing her arm. He pulled her down beside him, so she could rest her head on his chest. With a sigh, he played with her hair as the silence danced around them. Well, a kind of silence. The other guys were still asleep in their beds, after all.

“Is there a reason why you jumped me, Jasmine? Or am I really just that sexy?” Brantley’s voice was a whisper, but that didn’t mean the smile couldn’t be heard in it. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, torn between being happy to see her because he hadn’t since lunch or upset because she was breaking about fifty school rules by just. He couldn’t be upset with her for too long, this was Jasmine and although he had been fairly upset with her for months prior – he was on medication now, so it should all be okay. And if it isn’t? If it isn’t… then… he’d deal with it and make it all okay. There was nothing more in this world that Brantley wanted than to make sure that he never hurt Jasmine ever again; emotionally or physically. As he held Jasmine in his arms, and the silence enveloped them, he felt like everything would be just fine. Even with all the problems that had popped up in front of them and that would inevitably do it again, he knew that they would come off it just fine. Perhaps that was a naïve thought, perhaps it was a thought that Brantley was making more into a being in the same room as him at this hour, much less the same bed wish, but whatever it was – he felt it was true for the moment. “How are Vanessa’s wedding plans coming along? Do they have a date set, yet?”


((Sorry it's so short, he wasn't really speaking to me.))

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine frowned slightly at Brantley, sitting further down on her knees. All he did was groan, and complained about her being there. “What? You aren’t happy to see me?” she asked pouting while crossing her arms over her chest. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to be with him at that moment. First off, she was breaking at least a dozen school rules, and secondly he needed some sleep. “If you want me to leave, then I can…” Jasmine stopped suddenly as Brantley tugged on her arm for her to lie next to him. Pulling the covers aside she snuggled into them feeling a chill rush from her head, to her toes. Resting her head on his chest, Jasmine closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath of his scent. It smelled of fresh cinnamon which was just like a piece of heaven to her. Nuzzling her nose into his shirt, she smiled taking into another deep breath. “You know you smell like cinnamon?” she whispered softly resting her chin on his chest while glancing up at him. She could see his crystal eyes even in the dark. This was going to make it hard for her to want to leave. His smell, his eyes, everything about Brantley made Jasmine always wanting to be with him. Maybe it was because she felt guilty of avoiding him all those months, but she knew she loved him. Her eyes darted from left to right making sure all the boys were still asleep. Jasmine froze her body stiffening as she saw someone turn over on their side. Laughing into Brantley’s chest, Jasmine closed her eyes enjoying the silence.

She was close to drifting off into sleep when Brantley’s voice pulled her back. Her chin rested back onto his chest, her eyebrow arching. Did he just seriously ask that? “I jumped you because I’d rather be right here in your arms than sleeping alone,” she answered his first question her eyes gleaming with happiness. “Oh, yes, you’re so sexy, that I just can’t keep myself away from you.” Poking his chest rather hard she than nudged his side gently rolling her eyes. Smiling, Jasmine left hand reached up to his face, her fingers outlining his every feature. “But, you are rather handsome.” Gently dropping a kiss on the side of his mouth she rested her head back down on his chest. Her right arm rested on Brantley’s triceps, her other hand gently against his smooth skin. “I take it that you don’t like me sneaking into the dorm room just to be with you. I’ll have to think of a clever idea if I get caught. Maybe something like…” Looking at Brantley for some help she just sighed. “I’m horrible with coming up with excuses. So I’ll just have to be extra careful.” Knowing Brantley, he would probably come up with something better than just that she slept walked into his room. Jasmine was not going to get caught. Nope.

Nodding her head, Jasmine closed her eyes again, the cinnamon sweet smell lingering in the air. “No plans, just dress ideas. I strictly told Nessa that I am not going to wear some ugly, or too out there dress that will make me look hideous…” Jasmine shivered thinking about wearing something that had layers of lace on it, or even fuzzy outlining. Her fingers continued to gently brushing his skin stopping as her hand just lay still across his stomach. There was silence between them, Jasmine listening to the snores of the guys around them. Nudging him gently to make sure he didn’t fall asleep, Jasmine smiled. “We can either play the hundred question game, asking each other useless questions about ourselves, or I can hum you to sleep since I don’t want you too exhausted tommrow.”

[Brantley Chapman R7]

“Of course, I’m happy to see you. My dorm mates, I’m not so sure will be as ecstatic as I am, though.” He replied with a small smile on his face. As she started to say she could leave if he wanted her to, Brantley pulled her down beside him before sighing and mumbling into her hair; “No, you can stay.” He was forcing the thoughts of what people would think if they saw her in his bed out of his mind. Although he shoved the thoughts away, his mind was still thinking up excuses at a dangerous speed. The best one he could come up with would be he had an episode and Jasmine had helped him into the dorm. Of course, there was still her actually being in his bed to explain. He’d worry about that when the time came. Brantley grinned at Jasmine’s mentioning her smelt of cinnamon, “It’s my shampoo, and my trunk. My mum and Ellie have a thing for cinnamon candles, and they wrapped one up in my trunk for some unknown reason. So, now all of my clothes smell like cinnamon. If you like it, though, I’m not complaining.” He pulled her a little closer to him, as one of his dorm mates snored and rolled over in their sleep. Jasmine stifled her laughter into his chest, and Brantley merely smiled into the darkness; being able to hold in any laughter he had by a mere grin. It had always been something he took advantage of, controlling his emotions. But recent events proved him to be wrong in that area. He couldn’t control all of his emotions. He could hardly control anything anymore. Oh, well, at this precise moment in time the only thing that mattered was that he had Jasmine in his arms; even though he was near certain she starting to fall asleep on him.

At least, he thought so until she replied to his question with a raise of her eyebrows. Brantley grinned and shook his head slightly, as much as he could shake it with it being on a pillow. “You really are something, you know that? You would think that with you being a prefect, you’d resist the urge to climb into my bed no mater how much you would rather not sleep alone.” He gave her a teasing smile even though she probably couldn’t see it. He let out a short snort of laughter when she poked his chest and replied to his being sexy comment. She then lifted her hand and traced the features of his face while calling him handsome. He smiled again as she kissed the side of his mouth, not saying anything at all. When she said something about him not liking her sneaking into his dorm in the middle of the night, Brantley shook his head again; “I’ve already got an excuse, but you being in my bed will be a bit harder to explain. It’s not that I don’t enjoy the sneak attack, it’s that I’m not looking forward to a detention or expulsion or whatever they’ll deal us if they find you in here.” Brantley let his eyes close as they lay in silence for awhile. There was just something so soothing about having Jasmine in his arms, he felt he probably could fall asleep if he allowed himself to.

“No lace, then? Well, there goes my hopes of teasing you about the ugly dress Vanessa was going to make you wear,” Brantley let out a chuckle as he wrapped his left arm around Jasmine so he was embracing her. There was more silence between them and Brantley was letting his eyes fall shut and beginning to drift off into sleep until Jasmine nudged him and said something. He moaned and shifted so he could look at her. Now on his side he kissed the tip of her nose, “I won’t be too exhausted. I only have three classes tomorrow,” he smiled sleepily.

[Jasmine Anderson]

Jasmine smiled as she nudged Brantley’s chest with the side of her cheek as she spoke into her hair. She could feel the warmth of his breath against her scalp, which caused a shiver to run down her spine. He had seemed to be doing that a lot lately to Jasmine. With every gentle touch it caused her stomach to either tighten in a tight knot, or send goose bumps along her pale skin. “I think they are quite cheerful that I am here right now. See how they all started to snore even more as I came into the room?” Jasmine grinned at her comment, chewing on the side of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. “How on earth do you sleep through the night?” she asked glancing back over at all the attended beds. Out of every bed she saw there was at least one boy snoring. Yes. Some of the girls snored in her dorm room, but it wasn’t as bad as this. It sounded like a bunch of giants. When Brantley explained about where the smell came from she just smiled closing her eyes as she took another deep breath of shirt. “I love it. Now, every time I smell cinnamon, I will think of you.” Digging her nose into his chest, she took another deep breath to prove her point. “Sorry,” she laughed quietly resting the side of her cheek back down on his chest. “You can just plug my nose if I keep smelling you like that again.” Grinning Jasmine kept out the part that it smelled like heaven. Her own Brantley Chapman kind of heaven. “Melina and Ellie might have put scented candles in your trunk to make sure it didn’t begin to stink. Boys are so messy and dirty sometimes, but not you. No, you’re very clean.” It felt so weird to call Brantley’s mom by her first name, but she had insisted on it.

Yawning as Brantley replied to her jumping on him, she rubbed her eyes, trying any possible way to keep awaked. “What exactly do you mean something? Is it a good something, or bad something?” she asked wondering what he meant by that first sentence. She was even confusing herself lately. Jasmine normally wouldn’t even think twice about breaking school rules, but there was something about Brantley that made her so confident. She loved feeling that once in a while. “I was lonely…” she began flipping over so she was lying on her stomach, her arms resting on both his chest and right arm. “And I couldn’t wait to see you tomorrow. You would have done the same…maybe.” Jasmine rested her head in her arms, her eyes closing slowly as she thought of the situation. Brantley probably wouldn’t go up to her dorm, and only would if she was sick or had been avoiding him lately. Jasmine would never avoid Brantley again. It was far too hard to stay away from him, and now that he was taking his medication, things were going to be better. “I wouldn’t let you get detention or expelled. Trust me.” That was the last thing Jasmine wanted to do to Brantley, or even herself. “This is your last chance to get rid of me for the night,” she began turning back over on her side and resting her chin on the crook of his neck. Jasmine wanted to make it harder for him to say no so she could stay.

Glaring playfully at Brantley as he said he would tease her for the hideous dress Nessa would probably make her wear, Jasmine didn’t say a word. There was a small pout on her as she turned away from him when he wrapped his arms around her. “I wouldn’t even leave the dressing room if she made me wear something so ugly…” she responded quietly before turning back around to face him. Tugging on the covers she pulled them over her shoulder, she scooted closer to Brantley. When he turned over on his side to face her she just grinned as he seemed to want to stay up. “Well, I have four classes tomorrow, but I don’t require a lot of sleep.” Nodding her head as she closed her eyes, Jasmine fell silent for a moment. “If we are going to ask each other pointless questions, then I’m going to start off with a serious one…” Jasmine trailed off wondering if it would be a good idea to bring up this certain topic. “How’s…..Melina doing?” she asked quickly brushing his arm with her fingertips, drawling little shapes into his skin.