"NO WAY! I am not dating Aaron, the former bad boy, because you told me to. Forget about it. So far, I've been listening to your stupid ideas, but this is where I draw the line," I said. I was suddenly feeling courageous.
"You are going to do what I say, Jane, or I will make your life living hell," Jake said with gritted teeth.
"That's not fair!" I exclaimed. "I hardly know him. Why are you dragging me into your business? It's not like we are friends!" I cried.
"We don't need to be friends. You are her sister, so you got all the inside information on her. So now you get to be my wingman," he smirked. "Also the tool to drive away my competition, aka my brother," he added.
Lucky me, I thought. "You are an idiot," I mumbled.
"What did you call me?" he said, anger flashing in his eyes.
"Nothing! I said nothing!" I said quickly.
He didn't press me any farther. "I'll be watching you. I better see you going out on a date with Aaron this weekend," he said and walked away.
I just stood there dumbfounded. What the hell is happening to me? Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe going out with Aaron would be a good thing. Even though I wasn't doing it out of my own free will, this could still turn out to be a great date. Maybe Aaron is an amazing guy, and we'll become a couple, then one day we'll get married and produce more bad boys and pollute society.
Gross, what the hell am I thinking? I am losing my mind.
But either way, I could use Aaron as a shield against Jake. If he likes me, he will protect me from him, right?
I made up my mind. I will text Aaron and set up a date with him. If nothing else, it'll at least satisfy Jake for now.
I send Aaron a quick text later on. My phone buzzed within 15 minutes, indicating I received his reply.
Glad you finally texted me. Did you like the flowers I sent you :)? His text said.
Yes, they are nice, I replied.
Does that mean you changed your mind about going out with me? he asked.
Maybe ;), I replied.
Great, how about a movie and dinner on Friday? he texted.
I thought about it. It wasn't like I had boys lined up to ask me out on dates, so my Friday was completely free.
Friday sounds fine, I said.
Perfect, I'll pick you up at 8, he texted back.
Whether it was for the fact that I was a complete loser and had no life, I found myself looking forward to our date. My first date with a boy. A hot guy, no less. I shouldn't feel forced and enjoy it. Screw Jake and Liliana. This was my time to shine. It'll be like killing three birds in one stone. I get to go out Friday night, make Liliana jealous, and get Jake off of my back. Maybe I'll ask Aaron to threaten Jake, so he doesn't bully me anymore. This could turn out to be the best thing that had ever happen to me.
I was sitting outside of the cafeteria the next day, minding my own business and eating my sandwich peacefully, when Liliana decided to come at me like a bulldozer.
"Jane, you stupid whore!" Liliana screamed at me.
"That's not a very nice thing to call your little sister, Lili. You must be hangry. Here, have a bite of my sandwich and calm your tits," I said and offered her my sandwich.
"Screw your sandwich!" she said and slapped the sandwich off of my hand.
"Hey!" I screamed and looked down. Does the 5 seconds rule apply to a whole sandwich? Can I still save it? I decided against trying and glared at her. "What'd you do that for?" I asked.
"Why did Jake just tell me that you and Aaron are going out now? I specifically told you not to!" she whined.
"First of all, we are going on our first date on Friday, so we aren't officially dating yet, and second, it's none of your business," I said nonchalantly.
"I hate you, you ugly bitch!" Liliana cried.
"Thanks, you aren't exactly the model sister yourself. Bye, Felicia," I said and waved my hands.
She stormed off.
"YOU OWE ME A SANDWICH!" I called after her, but she was already gone. I don't know what I did to deserve a sister like her.
Well, now I'll have to go hungry all day. I saw Jake standing by his locker flirting with Mandy Smith. So much for being in love with Liliana. What an insolent fuckboy. He looked at me, and our eyes met. I looked away quickly and proceeded to open my locker to get my textbooks out. As soon as I closed the door, I almost had a heart attack as Jake was standing right there, only a few inches away from my face. Personal space, please!
"Hey Janey," he smirked.
"Look, I said I'll go out with Aaron, okay? So stop crowding me," I said.
"I know, thanks. You are going to be great," he said and patted me on the head.
"Good then, we are cool. So why are you here?" I asked.
"I heard you are a math geek," he said casually.
"I am good at math, that is true," I said and looked at him quizzically. I am hardly a geek, jerk.
"Great, here is my math homework. Get it done by Monday," Jake said and shoved a paper in my locker.
"What the fu....no way! I am not doing any more favor for you, asshole," I said angrily. This is getting out of hand now. "Besides, you are a senior, and I am a junior which means you have the advanced math class. So how would I possibly know how to do this?"
"Because you are smart, Janey. I don't think I don't know you were in the math club last year and won an award in a math competition. So that means you can figure this shit out," he sneered.
Huh? How did he know that? I never talked to Jake before.
"Regardless of whether I can do this or not, I am still not doing it! So, take this back and go away, jerk!" I said and tried to shove the paper in his jacket. But, instead, he grabbed my hand and stared at me intently.
"Listen here, geek, I am already annoyed that you are not trying hard enough to help me get Liliana. So don't piss me off," he said.
Okay, I've been trying to act tough and stand up to him, but he is very intimidating. "Look, Jake. I don't condone cheating. So, how about I help you with it on Friday? Your brother and I are going on a date anyway, so I can come over after and do it together?" I asked hopefully. I didn't want to spend any extra time with Jake, but I didn't want to be his slave who does his work for him either.
He looked like he was deep in thought as if to consider my offer.
"Alright, I'll let you help me, but you are doing most of the work," he declared.
I sighed.
Friday night came, and my heart thumped against my chest. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew I couldn't let my guard down. It was Aaron Morris, after all. I don't remember him much from high school. He was older and unapproachable. Not to mention from a completely different social circle. I remembered seeing him on rallies and hallways sometimes. Girls always surrounded him. What's with girls always flocking around the bad boy types? What's so great about being treated like shit? I'll never understand. I decided to dress up a little. I dug out a summer dress I never wore and put it on. It was a white sleeveless short summer dress with blue flowers on the skirt. Very girly. I straightened my hair with a hot iron, so it didn't look coarse and crazy. It took me an hour to get it done. This is why I don't dress up. I looked in the mirror and felt a little more confident about ourdate. Liliana was right. I don't look half bad when I dr
We walked into the house, and I instantly regretted coming here. It was quiet now as there was no party going on this time. The place seemed much larger than I remembered. "Where are your parents?" I asked and looked around nervously. "They are out of town on a business trip. They are hardly ever home, so it's always just the two of us," Aaron said grimly. So that's why Jake was able to throw those wild parties. They had no adult supervision. A sudden realization hit me and made me more nervous. I'm about to be home alone with two teenage boys. Ones with a bad reputation, not to mention I was completely defenseless. What the hell was I thinking? I can be so stupid sometimes. "Oh, don't look so scared. We don't bite," Aaron smirked. "Scared? Who's scared? Not me...haha..." I stammered. "Um, where's Jake?" I needed to get this over with, so I can get the hell out of here. "JAKE!" Aaron yelled, almost busting my eardrums.
The next day at school, I saw Jake harassing Liliana by her locker, and my heart filled with joy. Ah, he is finally taking the initiative and bugging her directly and not using me as a wing woman. Thank the Lord. He had her pushed against the locker. He was about 6 foot 2, so he towered over her as he hovered over her face staring into her eyes. His lips twisted into a sickly smirk. Liliana saw me passing by and mouthed, 'help me,' but I kept walking. It serves her right for being a bitch to me Jake followed her eyes and saw me. He released her right away and started to walk in my direction. The fuck...why. "Janey, wait up!" he yelled, but there's no way I'm stopping. Jake caught up to me in the hallway as I was walking to my class. He ran up behind me and yanked my ponytail. I yelped and almost fell backward, but he caught me. "What the hell is your problem?" I snarled. After seeing him way too many times, inside and outside of the sc
"Nice going, Janey," Jake snarled at me. We met up in the basement after school, much to my dismay. "This is all your fault, buddy. YOU pushed me!" I protested. "Whatever," he waved his hands in dismissal. "Let's just get this over with, so I can go home," he said gruffly. "Yeap, let's...why don't you start by moving those boxes over there, and I'll sweep the floor," I offered. Jake didn't argue anymore. He went over to the corner and started to move stuff around. I picked up the broom and started sweeping. Jake sneezed a few times as the room was dusty. His eyes were slowly turning red. Dust allergy? I guess my sweeping skill was rusty because I was doing a terrible job. All I did was move the dirt around and made the room dustier. We worked together quietly for the first half-hour. I was surprised he didn't attack me with smart-ass remarks or call me nasty names for this long. It must be a new record for him. "Would y
"Ouch! Why did you hit me? Is this how you thank me for helping you?" Jake frowned. "Well, helping me doesn't involve feeling me up, asshole!" I cried. "But thanks...." I added. He really did help me. I was feeling much calmer and started to breathe normally again. I guess it was all in my head. "Can't believe you had a panic attack over this. We've only been stuck for like 20 minutes. Such a nerd," Jake shook his head. I just ignored him and looked at my phone. I only need one bar to send a text, so I started to walk around, trying to catch a signal. "Any luck?" he asked. "I don't know.....wait...I think I got something!" I said excitedly. I decided to text Aaron. He has a car, and he shows that he cares about me sometimes. Help! I am trapped in the school basement with Satan! I typed it and hit send. The text came back with a message failed signal. Fuck... "Wait, Jake. You are taller! Hold the phone high over
"So Aaron and I are going to be in the team against your team," I said. "Are you sure you want to do that? Because you are definitely going to lose against Jake Morris, the laser tag champion," Jake declared. "Scared yet?" he smirked. "You are wrong! You are the one that should be scared, Morris. prepare to feel my wrath!" I cried and started to stretch my legs. The bad boy is going down tonight! I may be plain, unpopular, and invisible among social circles, but I was invincible when it comes to video games and laser tag. So Jake is in for a treat. The person in charge of the game divided the players into two teams. I purposely went against Jake's team because I promised him death. "Are you sure you don't want to play with me instead of against me? I don't want to make you cry," he smirked. Oh please... "Pfft...just worry about saving your own buttocks, good sir," I dismissed him. Jake stared at me with an amused look o
He pressed his lips on mine and kissed me softly. It wasn't anything like what they show in the movies or how they described in romance novels. I didn't hear any fireworks go off, or my heart didn't jump out of my rib cage and run away. It was short, and it was sweet. His lips felt soft and warm, and he was a good kisser. I mean, I guess he was. I wouldn't know since I had no one else to compare it to. He gazed into my eyes with those gorgeous green eyes, and I felt like I was going to melt. Why did he have to be so handsome? "I am glad I got to be your first kiss, Jane Brown," he said and smiled. "I totally sucked, didn't I?" I asked. I just had to know the truth. "No, of course not. I love your lips," he said quietly. "These?" I gasped and pointed at my lips. "You don't think they are way too big for my face? I've always felt awkward about them," I said sadly. "Are you kidding? They are gorgeous!" Aaron exclaimed. My heart di
I saw Jake hanging out outside of the cafeteria. He was leaned over on a pillar, smoking a cigarette. I had to give him props for his boldness because if an administrator caught him smoking, he would be in serious trouble. I couldn't help but be curious about how he felt about his 'break up' with Liliana, so I approached him. He didn't look too devastated from my position. "Hey," I said quietly. Jake looked up and smirked. "Hey Janey, you are talking to me first? That's weird," he said. He reached out and touched my arm. I stared at his hand in shock but didn't swat it away. "First time for everything, I guess," I replied. "What's up?" he asked. He tugged me toward him and pulled me closer. "So...you and Liliana are over, huh?" I asked, going straight to the point. "Yup. She turned out to be too fake for me. I couldn't deal with her bitchy attitude," he shrugged. You and I both, buddy, I thought. "I could've told you th