2As if that beach encounter hadn't been lovely enough – I saw Jacob again just two days later.
Stella had come over and awoken me from peaceful slumber, much like Jesse had; however, I had caught up with the time zone and was a bit more pleasant when I greeted her. She just grinned at me brightly (very suspicious I tell you…) and told me to get dressed. She didn't even tell me where we were going or what we were doing until I was seated in the passenger seat of her car, yawning.
"I was thinking Chinese food, Guitar Hero, and movies." She glanced at me briefly before turning her eyes back to the road. She was still grinning. I was weary as I nodded slowly.
"Sounds good to me, but isn't it a little early for Chinese food? They don't open until eleven and it's only nine." I flicked my gaze to the aqua colored digits on the clock. '9:17' they read.
"I know it's early. I just needed to get out early. We can go chill at Timmy Ho's for a bit and get breakfast. They've got great iced coffee."
I should have known right then and there that something was up. I had never seen Stella drink iced coffee in all the time I knew her and I hated coffee – iced or not. The problem was that I was tired still and clearly my brain didn't process her words because of that. We pulled into Tim Horton's, a few lots down from the Chinese restaurant where we'd be picking up lunch, and Stella parked quickly and practically ran off inside. I was only two steps from the car when she was pulling the door of the coffee shop open and entering.
Heaving a sigh, I walked sluggishly to catch up and yanked open the glass door like it was the most laborious thing in the world. Cool air rushed in around me and I shuddered from the sudden change in temperature. Granted it wasn't drastic. It was hot outside, but not sweat-the-minute-you-step-out sort of hot, and the inside of Tim Horton's was cool, but not cold. Still, it was a change and it was sudden.
I opened the inner glass door and properly entered the shop, glancing around for Stella. I found her leaning at the counter and chatting to the cashier who just so happened to be a certain tall, dark haired twin. Mark. He glanced to me and smiled. I smiled back and walked forward, but my eyes drifted to the customer sitting at the corner table near the register and the smile dimmed. There sat the light haired twin, Jacob. I groaned inwardly.
He had been looking indifferent, but when he caught my eye he grinned and waved me over. I sighed and fixed my smile back in place before walking over and standing near him. "Hey."
"Hey! Haven't seen you in a while, huh?" He asked jokingly. I laughed lightly and nodded.
"Yeah, it's been ages." I replied just as sarcastic. He motioned for me to take a seat. My gaze darted to Stella who was grinning at me from the counter. She turned away upon seeing me look to her for help and I could have sworn my jaw dropped clear to the floor. She just ignored my plea for help! That little bitch! I bet she did it on purpose. Brought me to Timmy Ho's I mean.
Reluctantly, I sat down next to Jacob, glad I had somehow managed to keep smiling a little bit. Jacob grinned back at me in the goofy manner that he usually used and lounged in his chair comfortably. Meanwhile I felt absurdly awkward in my own Formica wood-wanna-be seat. I unconsciously felt myself sucking in my stomach and pulling my shoulders back to sit up properly. I probably looked highly uncomfortable – I know I felt it. Jacob didn't seem to notice though. He just kept smiling.
"So what brings you here today?" He asked, glancing to Stella at the counter and then back to me.
"We were going to get Chinese food and movies to do a Chinese food, Guitar Hero, and movie day, but for God knows what reason, Stella woke me up at nine am and the Chinese place doesn't open until eleven. So we ended up here." I shrugged and fiddled with the zipper of my grey sweatshirt nervously.
"She probably wanted to visit Mark. You know they used to be pretty tight – Stella, Mark, and Adrian." I nodded. I did know that. They used to be good friends and they still were friends, but from what I could tell they had grown apart considerably – for them at least. "Oh, were you going to get anything? I didn't mean to stop you."
I looked at him in confusion and then gathered that he was asking if I had intended to order anything. I shook my head. "Nah."
"Ok." He gave me a weird look – probably for having given such a short and unexplained answer. I half-smiled and looked away, fiddling even more with my zipper now.
"You look good." I froze momentarily and then looked up to see Jacob looking out the window. I raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" I could be so very eloquent at times.
He turned back to me and laughed. "I said you look good. Healthy, happy. You smile a lot more than I remember."
"Oh…"
"Well, I guess you probably smiled a lot before too. I didn't see you that often the last two years of high school so I wouldn't really know, huh?"
"I… no. I didn't smile very much before. Well, not in Junior year anyway. Senior year was better, but I was still chock full of scowls during school hours." I joked, laughing at my own angsty self.
Jacob laughed. "Who could blame you for scowling in school though? It's school after all." I nodded in agreement. "Now, you're smiling a lot though?" I nodded again. "What's made you so happy? School? A boy?"
I did a laugh-shrug-shake-head sort of move. "I don't really know. School is boring. I recently broke up with my boyfriend as I told you the other day. I just… feel happier. I guess it's the fact that I'm going somewhere in life and that I've got friends who are always there for me – and I know that now. Before I used to doubt it."
He looked at me with such a serious expression at first, but then he smiled and nodded. "Ok. Sounds good for now at least." We shared a chuckle. "You really just broke up with your boyfriend though? And it was really just because he wasn't your type? He didn't cheat or anything? I'll hurt him – kill him even – if you want if he did cheat," He offered jokingly.
"Heh, no. It's ok. He didn't cheat. He just didn't end up being my type in the end – I mean it."
"Oh, well… that's ok then."
"Since when would you hurt or kill a guy for cheating on me anyway? I thought you'd be more the type to high five him and ask him why he dated me to begin with."
"What? Why would you think that?" He looked genuinely hurt by my words and I raised an eyebrow at him. He seemed to notice my confusion because he cleared his throat and put on a smile. "I mean… I do wonder why anyone would date you, but I don't condone cheating. I've had it done to me twice. I did it once myself… it just never ends well. Stupid… so stupid. I'd never do it again."
"Oh… Hayley, right?" I asked, referring to the time he cheated. "You really liked her, huh? That definitely was a stupid move on your part. You two were so cute together."
"Hmph. Yeah…" He stared out the window and shrugged.
"Aw, are you still broken up about it?" I cooed. He looked at me incredulously.
"It's been almost two years now and to be honest… I wasn't that upset to begin with. Not about our break up anyway. I mean sure I was upset. Sure I was bothered. What worried me more about the whole situation was the way I ruined my own image though. After cheating I had to have portrayed a terrible image. Didn't you think I was an asshole?"
"I've always thought you were an asshole." I joked, smirking at him.
He laughed and shook his head, but then looked serious again. "I mean it though… didn't you think I must have been an awful guy to cheat on her?"
"Well, yeah… briefly. I mean I always thought you were a jerk, but I never thought you were like that. I lost a lot of faith in you. Then, I thought that maybe you had a reason or you did it unintentionally… or you really regretted it. I didn't know the story and I didn't have the right to ask you so… I just settled for being on the fence about the whole thing."
Jacob furrowed his brow briefly and then relaxed and nodded with a sigh. "You had the right to ask you know. I mean… If you had asked me I would have told you."
"Why?"
"Because… I've known you for forever. I mean we may not talk much, but I still consider you a friend."
"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously. I know I teased you a lot – still do – but I do that to all my friends. I guess I never made it clear to you before that it was all in fun and not me really trying to be an ass." He chuckled, but it was hollow and rather sad sounding.
"Oh… yeah, would have been nice to know that eight years ago." I rolled my eyes.
"Heh, probably." He smiled at me – one of his trademark lopsided grins, but it wasn't a confident or happy one. It was sort of soft and sad and bothered. I tilted my head at him questioningly to which he mimicked me.
"What's the matter?"
"Huh? Nothing." He shook his head and frowned at me.
"Liar."
"I don't like being called a liar."
"Then don't lie."
He straightened and sent me a look that was somewhere being questioning and glaring. I shrugged in a 'what? Just being truthful.' manner. "I'm not a liar and nothing's the matter."
"Fine." I looked away out the window.
Jacob sighed. "Cassie…" I glanced back over to see him looking positively dejected. "Do you hate me?"
"No… what's with asking that all of a sudden?" I questioned, quite concerned with the outburst.
"It's just that you always seem upset with me or like you don't want to talk to me or see me." He shrugged. "I told you I think of you as a friend, but I… I don't think you think of me as a friend."
"I do." That might have been a bit of a lie. I didn't really view him as a friend. I viewed him as a crush. Totally different. Sort of.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure Jacob."
He nodded slowly. "Then let's hang out together."
"What?"
"Starting tomorrow we're going to hang out every day for at least the time span of a movie. We're going to become proper friends. Alright?"
"Er… sure?"
"You don't sound sure." He countered, sounding a little annoyed and hurt.
"It's just a weird… um… proposition?"
Jacob laughed and shook his head lazily. "Too bad…. Come on, what do you say, really?"
"Alright, let's be friends." I snickered and held out a hand for him to shake which he took.
So now I was friends with Jacob Anders… and I'd be spending a part of every day with him…
Fantastic.
A/N: Er... -uses Jedi mind powers- this is not short and crappy... really. Sorry about that. I've been ridiculously busy. I had final projects, then exams, then I had to pack my whole London life up to go home for the summer, then when I got back I was kidnapped by my sister and then I got a job and now I work 40 hours a week and my friends are trying to catch up with me and... yeah anyway I just don't have a lot of time to write, but I have new chapters of Mail-Order Romance, The Dark Side of Wonder, and The Useless Sacrifice mostly written up. They just need a little more work and I should be able to put them on here. I also have a one-shot nearly finished... so there are some updates for anyone who maybe reads the rest of my stuff too or is thinking about reading the rest of it. I'm sorry again! Also I'd like to thank those who have reviewed, it really inspires me to continue my stories knowing people like them so thank you!