***JAKE'S POV***
There she was. There was Alex, she was leaving the school all alone like she always did. I wish that I would have had the chance to talk to her, but I just couldn't approach her. Not after so long.
We have been in the same class since I came back to school, but originally I would never have even met her here. I was four years older than her and had started school here while she was still in high school. I came on a soccer scholarship and made it to the national team in my second year. That was the first of the breaks that I took from school. I kept playing for prestigious teams, but I didn't go pro right away. Instead, I just kept doing what I could to make a name for myself before I went back to finish my studies.
Well, that was my plan anyway. That is, until I ended my soccer career in one fateful game. I can still remember the headlines from back then. 'UP AND COMING SOCCER SUPER STAR, RYAN JACOB SCHAFER RUINS CHANCES AT GLORY WITH INJURY.' My knee was clipped by an opponent when I went to make a winning shot. I made the goal, but my knee was destroyed.
Now, instead of having a future as a professional player, I was stuck being a nobody. I didn't mind my life as a nobody though. I got to go back home and be with my family. I got to live a type of life that I never would have had if it weren't for my knee being injured. And, of course, I never would have met her.
The problem is, she didn't know who I was. My so-called 'rugged good looks' seemed to do nothing for her. My dark brown hair, blue eyes, and my six foot three frame with an athletic build from years of training didn't catch her eye in the slightest. I had even been in at least a dozen classes with her over the last couple of years.
We both seemed to be interested in the same profession at the very least. And based on the assignments that she turns in and the things she says during our classes, we have a lot of other things in common too.
My only problem was that I knew that she didn't like people all that much. She tended to be closed off and ignore people whenever she could. And because of that, she was just so unapproachable and, therefore, so mysterious.
Sometimes, I thought that I was nothing but a creep. I had started to have a crush on her from the moment that I saw her. I would catch myself looking at her and wanting to ask her out so badly. However, she had denied every single guy that had ever tried. Most of the time, she acted like she didn't even know what it was that they wanted from her.
I was going to ask her out sometime, I was even going to keep asking her out until she agreed to go with me. The problem was, I had very little time left to actually ask her. The semester was almost over. She and I were both going to graduate soon. I was running out of time with each passing minute.
I decided to just go home and work on the assignments that I had for this week. I needed to make sure that I didn't miss anything at all on them. My grades were not the greatest and I didn't want to jeopardize the chances of her and I graduating together. Hell, maybe I could ask her out at graduation. She would be a lot calmer then, right?
The next day, at lunch, I happened to see that she was talking to some people. I saw that she was actively trying to talk to some people. That was something that she never did. And these girls that she was talking to were the worst of the worst. They were shallow and self-centered.
I didn't know why she was talking to them, or why she was trying to get them to let her sit with them, but I was going to use this to my advantage. Just as I heard her get frustrated and start to leave, I called out to her.
"Hey. You can sit with me if you want." My voice sounded soft and friendly. I was trying to convey that I was not out to be mean in any way at all. But it didn't work.
"Sorry, but I am done being the butt of other people's jokes or the receiving end of their stupidity. So, thanks, but no thanks." That hurt. She hadn't even looked at me. She didn't even see who it was who was offering her a seat. Why would she do that?
Whatever. I didn't have time for this. I needed to just get things done and over with. I had that assignment for my Lit class. And Quill told me to head to the library to get a certain book for it. I had never been a fan of the types of stories that were being taught in that class. I mean, who wanted stories of love and romance with such childish themes to them? Love was passionate, sexy, and beautiful. It was not filled with fluff and magic like fairy tales said they were. That was why Quill told me to look for this book with some more mature themes in it. I wanted to check it out at the very least.
I went straight to the library after lunch. I needed to get to work right away. Not to mention, it would give me a chance to hide away after that embarrassment in the mess hall. I didn't want to see anyone after that.
Alright. Where is that book now? Hmm. I know that it has to be right around here. It seems like it would be pretty easy to find, in theory anyway. But this is a lot harder than it seems. I was looking around and around, but I was having a lot of trouble. I didn't even know what the book looked like. That was stupid of me. I could have looked it up first, but I didn't. I was so stupid.
"Ahh, there it is." I finally saw the title of the book that I was looking for. "I am glad that no one else got to it first."
Just as I pulled the book off the shelf, the one next to it fell to the floor. It was not very decorated, and it landed with the pages open so I couldn't see what it was called. I couldn't just leave it there though, I had to put it back. Stooping down, I set aside the fairy tale book that I was looking for and grabbed the book that was just sitting there, waiting for me. And that was when things started to go very, very wrong.