Jessica is seething in the passenger seat as I drive us to school the next morning. Her arms are crossed over her chest, and I can feel the anger radiating off of her in waves. I want to say something, but I don't know what. I also would probably just make things worse for myself, so I decide to stay quiet.
I have this burning fear in the pit of my stomach that she'll manipulate the situation and tell our parents that I had a guy over in my bedroom. As if she has any room to talk. She's had more guys in her room than I've had in my entire lifetime. I'm not worried about my dad punishing me, because he knows the kind of person I am, but my stepmom, Karen, thinks I'm just a goody-two-shoes who isn't as innocent as I seem.
Once we arrive, I haven't even put the car in park when Jessica is getting out of the car. She slams the door pretty hard, and I sigh. I park the car, switch the engine off, and lock up before heading towards the building. I look around the parking lot, and I see Jack, my heart skipping a beat. When he sees me, he smiles and waves.
I can't help but smile and wave back, too.
"Are you, like, friends with him now?" Jen appears suddenly, causing me to jump. I glare at her, and she gives a timid smile.
"We're not anything, Jen," I reply, and she scoffs. She joins me towards the school.
"Are you really that blind? Look at him," we look back at Jack, who's leaning against his truck, watching her, and I walk towards the school. He's smiling, but I can't really make out his eyes.
"I think he likes you," she laughs, and I feel my cheeks burn.
"What? Don't be crazy," I wave her statement off, but my stomach is alive with butterflies.
"What, you think the hottest guy in school couldn't like you?" She asks with an eyebrow raised. I don't say anything, hoping this conversation ends soon; I can feel my face burning. Jen laughs, pulling her long, dark brown hair over her shoulder.
"Well, if you're not gonna make a play for him, I think I might," we push through the doors into the school and head towards our lockers.
"Might have to beat Jessica there first," I say, gesturing to Jessica standing at the end of the hall as she and her groupies glare daggers at me. Jen follows my gaze and rolls her eyes.
"Whatever. She gets whoever she wants. I'm sure she can let this one go." I can't help but laugh, and Jen looks at me, confused. I fill her in on what happened last night, and she smacks my arm.
"You have his phone number?" She starts to reach for my phone in my hand, but I hold it out of her reach.
"I didn't put it in my phone," she gaped at me.
"You mean to tell me that the hottest guy we've ever seen gave you his phone number and you haven't put it in your phone?" I shrug, and she groans in frustration at my ignorance. "Well, could you give me his number since you're not going to use it?"
"I don't know, Jen. I don't think he'd appreciate me giving his number out to anyone," she frowns and sighs.
"Alright. Guess I'll just have to earn it then," Jen looks back towards the parking lot as Jack walks in. I follow her gaze, and he smiles at me as he walks past. I follow him down the hall, and his smile disappears when he sees Jessica smirking at the end of the hall.
He tries to walk past her, but she's quick to latch on. I roll my eyes and turn back to my locker, changing some things out just as the bell rings.
"I'll talk to you later," Jen says, giving me a hug. I nod, and she heads to class, and I do the same.
~•~
Lunch rolls around, and Jen's busy looking around the lunchroom for her new crush.
"I wonder where he's at," she says, her lunch untouched. I turn a page in my book, taking a chip out of a bag and eating it. It's 10 minutes into our lunch period, and Jen's been focused on finding Jack. I don't answer, speed reading through my book. Just a few more pages, and then I can get the next book in the series. I had begged the librarian to order it, and it took some convincing, but she did, and she let me know the other day that it was ready for me.
"Aren't you wondering where he is?" Jen asks, but I'm too focused on my book. She hits me, knocking me out of my reading rhythm.
"What?" She sighs.
"Where is Jack?" I look around and shrug.
"I don't know, I'm not his mom." She rolls her eyes, and I go back to reading. I flip to the last page and quickly read it. I sigh, feeling slightly hollow now that the book is finished, but excited that I already have the new book readily available. I close the book and pack up my things.
"Where are you going?" I wiggle the book in my hand.
"Finished. Gotta go get the next one," Jen groans, and I laugh softly.
"Loser!" She calls after me as I leave the table. I walk quickly towards the library, knowing I only have another 15 minutes to get the book and start it. I push through the library doors and place my book in the return pile. I head to the librarian's office, and when she sees me, she sighs, but smiles.
"Ready for the next installment?" I grin and nod. She laughs and gets up, grabbing a book off her desk. I follow her to the checkout counter, and she scans my student ID card before scanning the book.
"Enjoy, honey." I smile.
"Thanks, Mrs. McPeters." I take the book from her and head to the bean bag chairs, where I plop down in one and begin to read my new book.
It isn't, but a few minutes later, when a bean bag chair is suddenly dropped beside me, and someone sits down in it. I look over and feel my eyes widen slightly, and my heart skips a beat as Jack smiles at me, a book in his hands.
"Hey there," he says. My cheeks burn.
"Hey," I look at the book in his hands and am surprised he's reading the first book of the fantasy series I'm currently reading. "I didn't figure you'd like fantasy books." He chuckles softly and looks at his book cover, Lions and Dragons book 1.
"Well, you're on book four, so it has to be good," I nod.
"Yeah, it's one of my favorite book series. I'm sure you'll like it," Jack smiles at me, his blue eyes bright.
"If it's your favorite, I'm sure I will." I find myself, again, staring at him and feeling time slow down. His eyes are warm and kind, soft and inviting, and so very difficult to look away from. It feels wrong for me to look away, but I force myself to. I didn't want him to think I was some kind of weirdo. I give him a quick smile and turn to my book, cheeks burning and stomach alive with butterflies.
It's silent, and it isn't a heavy or awkward silence. More like... there's an elephant in the room. Like there's something he and I both know, but aren't talking about.
Suddenly, the bell rings, throwing me out of my thoughts, and I realize that I hadn't read any more than when I started. I pack the book in my bag and stand up, Jack following suit. I didn't realize how tall he was until he was standing right next to me. I look up at him, and he smiles. I catch a glimpse of his hand moving towards me before he stuffs it in his pocket.
"Walk with me to history?" He asks.
"Okay." He smiles and walks with me out of the library towards Mrs. Hawkins' room.
"Oh, I wanted to ask," Jack says, stopping us a few feet away from the classroom. I look up at him expectantly. "I wanted to get together for the project. I just want to make sure I do the PowerPoint correctly." My face burns.
"Oh, um, okay," I reply, not really sure on what to say. Jack grins, his eyes lighting up.
"If it's all the same to you," he says, bending down slightly to speak in my ear. "I'd rather come to your house." His breath is hot against my ear, and I'm thankful he can't see my goosebumps due to my sweater. I swallow hard, and he pulls back, his face very close to mine. He's so close I can see flecks of gold in his ocean blue eyes.
"O-okay." He smiles and stands up straight before put his hand out to lead the way to the classroom. I quickly head into the classroom and take my seat, my heart racing and cheeks pounding. Jack calmly takes his seat beside me and focuses his attention on the board as the bell rings.
For the rest of the period, I couldn't help but find myself glancing at Jack every so often. He was attentive to the lecture, jotting down notes, and answering Mrs. Hawkins' questions when she asked. He seemed to be a really smart guy. So why did he want to get together just to do a PowerPoint?
My mind jumps to the worst-case: he's using me to get to Jessica. But that made no sense. He didn't need me to get to her when she was already all over him. The hopeless romantic in me jumps to that maybe he was trying to get with me. But the realistic part of me throws that out the window.
Why would he want to be with me when he could have Jessica? She's been in countless relationships, and me? I haven't even been in one. I haven't even had my first kiss yet, and at 17, Jessica was constantly reminding me of that. She would always say that I'd still be a virgin in my 50's.
I know she's wrong, but a small part of me can't help but think she might be right. I'm boring, and all I do is read and study and do homework. Guys don't want that. They want someone who isn't afraid to take chances and to live a little and to try new things. But my fear of failure and of being cast aside keeps me from ever trying.
The bell suddenly rings, throwing me out of my thoughts. I pack my things up, and when I turn to leave, Jack is waiting by the door.
"Ready?" He asks, and I glance over my shoulder to see if he was talking to someone behind me. He laughs.
"I'm talking to you, Riley," my face burns, and I swallow hard as I rub the goosebumps away.
"Oh." He smiles at me as I pass him into the hallway.
"Where's your next class?" He asks.
"Algebra," I wrinkle my nose, causing him to laugh again.
"Ah, the dreadful algebra," he chuckles. "I can walk you there; it's right across from my next class." I look up at him, surprised.
"Why would you do that?" He looks at me, bewildered. As if me asking was an outlandish question.
"Why wouldn't I?" He replies, eyes smiling, but confused. I play with the strap on my backpack.
"Well, I don't think Jessica would like it very much," I say softly, hoping he wouldn't hear me, but he nods.
"I agree, but I don't really care about what she likes." My eyes widen with surprise as I look up at him.
"Wait, seriously?" He chuckles and pulls me off to the side. His eyes are serious but warm.
"Yes. I want to be friends with someone like you, not someone who has ulterior motives," he says. "And like I said last night, she isn't really my type." I search his eyes, feeling the crowd fading as I feel myself being encompassed in his warmth.
"O-oh." Is all I manage to say as he smiles, hand reaching up and brushing some hair out of my eyes.
"I'll see you after school." He winks at me before walking into the classroom nearby. I take a deep breath and head to class, body buzzing from his simple gesture.
The rest of the day is a blur, and my heart keeps skipping a beat when I think about Jack and his straightforward (and probably meaningless) gesture in the hallway after history. It didn't mean anything, right? I did have some hair in my face, but I could have moved it. So why did he?
The final bell rings and I head out of class and towards my locker. I spin my combination and exchange some things when Jen shows up.
"So, I'm going to ask Jack out on a date," I look at her, surprised.
"Oh? You're usually not this straightforward," I'm even more surprised by the blush that settles on her face.
"I feel like he's a straightforward kinda guy," I nod in agreement. "Oh, there he is." She walks behind me, and I watch her as she approaches Jack. They're too far away for me to hear their conversation, but from their body language, Jack has turned her down. I can see her stiffen, but she relaxes as he seems to explain himself. For a second, his eyes dart to me, and then he's grinning, and Jen is nodding excitedly.
What was going on? If Jen ever got turned down, she'd complain about it for the next month. But this seemed to be a good let down? Wonder what he said to her. They say goodbye, and he's walking towards the parking lot, and she's bounding her way to me, grinning.
"What happened?" I ask.
"He said he wasn't interested, but that he had a friend who might be." I raise an eyebrow at her skeptically. She quickly hugs me before leaving for volleyball practice. I sigh and finish my exchange before grabbing my keys and heading towards my car.