by Jack Parker
"You kissed Jake."
Isaac's words nearly made Hannah's blood run cold. There was a definite smirk on Isaac's face. Maybe the kid really did know something, however offensive it was that Jake would tell Hannah's younger brother stuff like that. It almost made her mad at Jake all over again, right after she'd gotten over all of those girls climbing all over him the night before. When had she gotten over that? She didn't know, but it made the new anger sound better, at least to her.
"That means you like him, right?" Isaac prodded carefully. "You wouldn't kiss someone that you weren't interested in. Would you?"
Within seconds, Hannah was at the refrigerator, searching for food and buying herself some time to think of an appropriate response. "How long has this yogurt been in here?"
"You live here, and it's not gone yet, so it must be relatively fresh."
Hannah's back straightened. That was Jake's voice. How much of the conversation with Isaac had he heard? Was it a setup? Had the guys partnered up to make her admit her feelings? Was she just being paranoid?
"Hey, Jake," Isaac greeted, sounding perfectly normal. "What's up?"
Closing the refrigerator door slowly and turning toward the guys cautiously, Hannah risked a glance at Jake. He was looking back at her, having taken the seat at the table where she'd been sitting. Since there was a hint of a smile on Jake's face, Hannah smiled back at him, forcing herself to be friendly despite the awkwardness.
"Nothing much, man," Jake replied to Isaac, picking up Hannah's juice glass. He studied the leftover contents for a second and looked at Hannah with a smirk. "Want to get me a refill, Ayers?"
The usage of her last name made Hannah's brow furrow. She couldn't even process what he was talking about. She hadn't heard him say that before; it was quite weird. "Not particularly," she replied, sounding bemused even to herself. "Want to get it yourself?"
"Don't use her glass," Isaac warned. "Unless you want the plague."
Jake laughed, his green eyes lighting up in that sexy way that Hannah so admired. "Hannah's got the plague?" Jake saying her first name let Hannah relax again, and she meandered over to the table, sitting on the other side of Isaac. "How's that working for you?"
"It's not that great," Hannah replied, sniffling.
Suddenly, Jake looked surprised. "You're really sick?" he demanded. "Like, literally ill?"
Isaac looked amused. "She is indeed. That's why I said not to drink after her."
Hannah was excruciatingly aware of Jake staring at her, but she didn't dare look up at him. Instead, she studied her fingernails, hoping it looked like she was legitimately concerned with her cuticles. It probably didn't, but she was on a roll with pretending, so she could just imagine that it did.
"Huh." Jake sighed audibly, and Hannah stole a glance at him; he was looking right at her, and her cheeks inexplicably heated up. She'd blame it on the fever. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something, Hannah." He glanced at Isaac. "In private."
Isaac fidgeted. "You better go somewhere else. I'll be too tempted to listen in if you talk in here."
"Of course," Jake commented agreeably, obviously amused. Hannah flinched when his eyes landed on hers again, all because she wasn't sure if he had overheard any of her conversation with Isaac, which was just ridiculous. "Your room?"
Swallowing, Hannah stood and forced a smile, not sure what to expect. "Sure."
All the way to the staircase, up it, down the hall, and into her room, Hannah's mind was racing with nervous thoughts. What if Jake had overheard her talking with Isaac, hence his amusement at the comment about listening in, and because of Isaac's suspicions, he was going to tell her that they should spend less time together? It would shatter Hannah. Unless, of course, Jake had overheard and was going to put the moves on Hannah…
That was a very fleeting thought. Hannah couldn't even pretend to be stupid enough to believe that that was a probable possibility.
Hannah watched as Jake looked around her bedroom. She fidgeted with her weight, passing it from one foot to the next. Why was she so nervous? As far as she knew, she really didn't have a reason to be. Maybe Jake hadn't overheard anything but he still deep down suspected that she had feelings for him—why, he'd have to after she'd so stupidly kissed him, right?
Oh, how awkward…
"So."
Hannah snapped her head up and looked at Jake. She figured that her nervousness was apparent, so she sat down on her bed to mask it. "Yeah?"
"I got you sick, huh?"
Tensing, Hannah swallowed. "How do you figure that?"
Jake shrugged and sat down at Hannah's desk chair. "The rumor is that you got pissed at me for talking to Mercedes and left. Leaving meant you walked in the cold, and that made you sick. A equals B equals C. A equals C."
"Um, what?" Hannah's forehead wrinkled in blatant confusion. "Was that a math problem?"
Laughing lightly, Jake shook his head gently. "Really, Hannah."
"What?" Hannah asked, feeling defensive. "Don't talk down to me, Jake. I don't understand. So explain it to me."
Jake was silent for several moments, and it drove Hannah insane. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, but she had a terrible feeling about it. There was a real rumor out there that she was mad at Mercedes? How much drama could that start? Hannah didn't even want to think about how ugly things could get at school if someone was trying to start a fight over Jake between Mercedes and Hannah.
Jake tipped his head, brow furrowed. "Did you get mad at Mollie's party? Mad at all?"
Tipping her head back at him, Hannah thought about it. "Yes." Jake looked surprised at the ease with which she admitted it. "I got pissed that Mercedes snapped at me. But I'm over it."
"Oh."
"But I didn't get mad at you," Hannah continued, only slightly bending the truth. She had been a little pissy that he hadn't knocked the girls away from him, but he didn't have a reason to do that. Her anger wasn't justified. "Who told you that I was mad at Mercedes?"
"I didn't say you were mad at her," Jake replied. He shrugged. "It was really just me wondering if I'd done something wrong to make you leave. If I did, now's your chance to tell me, so we can hash it out."
Hannah stared at him. Could she really just confess everything that she was feeling like that? Wouldn't Jake run if he knew that she was crazy about him? Or was he trying to get her to admit her feelings so that he could admit his? Hannah frowned at all the thoughts swirling through her head; she was just too confused to say anything. Anything she said could ruin everything.
"I don't know why everyone's so concerned about it all," Hannah said finally. Her hands fidgeted with her comforter. "I got bored at the party and left. It's that simple. I wish people would stop trying to make it into something it's not."
Though she couldn't be entirely positive, Hannah was relatively sure that she heard relief pass through a sigh from Jake. She listened carefully to his voice, analyzing his tone for relief. "Yeah, sorry." He offered her a smile. "I bet it's frustrating. But I was curious. I knew you'd tell me."
Was he guilt-tripping her? Trying to make her feel guilty for not telling him how she really felt? Hannah nibbled on her lower lip; she really was getting paranoid. Jake had no way of knowing anything that she was thinking.
Well, aside from the part where she'd kissed him.
Oh, and there was that part with everyone around her suggesting that she liked Jake. If Isaac and the girls were suspicious, it was entirely feasible that Jake might also be onto something.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
Hannah's head snapped up at Jake, her eyebrows knitted together. "Sleeping? Enjoying the last few days before school starts again?" She shrugged. "What are you doing?"
Jake grinned cheekily. "Having a movie marathon with you."
"With me?"
Hannah's heart stopped beating for a second as Jake nodded his dark head at her. A movie marathon? What the hell was that about?
Jake stretched his arms outward
nonchalantly. "You get too much sleep as it is," he went on, seemingly oblivious to Hannah's stare. "And if you're sick, you can't really do all that much. So allow me to entertain you with movies."
Shrugging, Hannah answered, "I'll allow."
"Good." Jake paused and was silent for a moment. "Pretty sure I hear our moms. Dinner time. Yeah?"
"Yeah." Even Hannah could hear the faintness of her voice, and she knew that was the reason that Jake gave her a funny look. She cleared her throat and put on a smile, answering stronger, "I'm starving."
A moment later, Hannah was following Jake back downstairs, unsure of how she was feeling or how she should be feeling. All of her worry that Jake was going to confront her about her feelings was for nothing, and now she had a semi-date to look forward to with him. It was almost funny how things turned out.
Almost funny but not quite, since Hannah had a sickening feeling in her stomach that she just couldn't explain.
Chapter 16
Tempting, Traumatizing Thoughts
Jake scowled at his cell phone. "Really? Really, Tisha?" he asked himself aloud. Dissatisfied with getting Hannah's friend's voicemail for the second time in a row, he called Tisha again, just daring her not to answer. Who cared if it was eight-thirty in the morning during Christmas vacation? He needed to talk to her!
"What?" Tisha answered sleepily.
Smirking, Jake replied brightly, "Good morning, sunshine. How are you on this beautiful morning?"
"Tired. What do you want?"
The timer on the oven started beeping frantically, so Jake made a few quick strides to the kitchen. "Oh shit," he muttered, momentarily forgetting that Tisha was on the line. Smoke filtered out of the oven when he opened the door. Somehow, Jake had managed to catch a few tater tots on fire, though the directions had seemed easy enough. All he'd had to do was remove the frozen tater tots from the bag, place them on a pan in the oven, and cook them for a certain time.
He'd done so. But he'd created a fiasco.
"Ja-ake?"
"Sorry, I burned the tater tots," Jake said into this phone, as if that should explain everything to Tisha. "Look, Hannah's coming over soon to chill with me, and I attempted to rent those movies you guys said were her favorites. Something about ten guys in ten days or whatever and so-and-so's wedding… I couldn't find them. They were both already rented, so I've got a dilemma."
Pot holder in hand, Jake jerked the pan of tater tots out of the oven and set it on the stove top. He used the pot holder to wave away the smoke, pleased to see that only a few of the tater tots were inedible. Smirking a cocky smirk, Jake mentally congratulated himself on a task well done and then noted Tisha's silence.
"Tisha?"
"Jake, you're too cute!" Tisha exclaimed, every trace of sleepiness gone from her voice. "Honestly, you and Hannah are just adorable together." Jake paled. Uh-oh. "Such a precious couple!"
"Um, Tisha…you do remember that I'm only doing this to make her get her memory back and leave me the hell alone, right?"
"If telling yourself that helps you deal with your sudden turn of emotions, Jake, then so be it." Jake scowled at Tisha's playfulness, wanting to strangle her. "Anyway… Did you have any other movies in mind?"
Jake sighed. "That's why I'm calling you. So you can help me."
"Oh, right." Tisha seemed thoughtful for a moment. "Gone With the Wind."
"Are you kidding me?" Jake demanded, groaning. "That's like twelve hours long! I can't do that!"
"Four hours long," Tisha corrected. "Four hours for you and Hannah to cuddle and snuggle." There was a definite giggle from her side of the line, which almost made Jake want to throw up—though he wasn't sure if the feeling was from nerves or disgust, which disgusted him because there should be no nervousness when dealing with Hannah. "Tell me your suggestions, maestro."
Jake smirked again. "Oh, I don't know… Gladiator? 300? Troy?"
"Hot guys would be a great way to go, yeah," Tisha replied, though Jake thought she was just humoring him. "She's a girl, Jake. It should not be hard for you to pick a movie to watch with a girl you've known for your entire life."
Objectively speaking, Tisha was correct. Add in the bias of Jake and Hannah hating each other and there were complications.
"You're not helping at all," Jake muttered grumpily. "Dang, Tisha, I thought you'd come through for me."
Tisha sighed. "You could always tell her to pick the movie. Then you're completely in the clear."
Suddenly, Jake was questioning his sanity. That idea should have come to him a long time ago. But for the sake of argument… "What if that doesn't work with her? She likes to be difficult."
"Then pick whatever you want to watch. If she tells you to pick, that means for you to pick. End of story."
A few moments later, Jake hung up the phone and examined the tater tots on the stove. He really felt like he was going all out for this encounter with Hannah, though in reality he wasn't sacrificing that much. After all, he would reap benefits from eating, and sometimes a movie day could do a person a world of good. The part where Hannah would be present should have been the horrible factor, but Jake found himself not minding.
Multiple personality disorder. He was certain he suffered from it more and more each and every day.
Thoughtfully, Jake moved to his living room, going to the shelf that held a collection of varying DVD's. On the left side were his mother's favorites—lots of chick-flicks—and on the right side were his own favorites—lots of male-picks—and in the middle were the classics that both he and his mother enjoyed—movies that bordered on being male-picks but must have had good-looking stars in them to sway his mother's opinion. Definitely, there must be something there that would entice Hannah.
If not, Jake had already decided that they were going for Gladiator.
"Jake?"
His mother's voice came from the kitchen, and Jake felt blood rush to his cheeks. Quickly, he made himself calm down; there was no way his mother could prove that he hadn't been cooking for himself. Screw the fact that he'd always said that he'd rather eat dirt than cook for himself; there was a first time for everything.
"Yeah, Mom?" Jake replied, making his way to the kitchen.
Diane was standing near the refrigerator, sipping from a bottle of water that she'd apparently just removed from the refrigerator. Her eyes scanned over her son momentarily. "You're not out with the guys?"
Carefully, Jake shook his head slowly. "Nah. I'm hanging out here today."
"By yourself?"
Jake shrugged. He couldn't lie to his mom; she could always see right through his lies. "I don't know."
"Uh-huh…" Diane drank from her bottle again, appearing thoughtful, which made Jake nervous. Nervous again? He'd never felt nervous so many times in one day before in his entire life. "Going to hang out with Isaac and Hannah?"
"Maybe."
There was almost a smirk forming on her face. "You and Hannah seem to be hanging out quite a lot recently."
Aha. The nervousness was proven justified; Jake had somehow known his mother was onto him about his sudden Hannah fixation. "Not really," he answered, trying to be nonchalant. "She just always seems to show up wherever I go."
There was no missing the way Diane rolled her eyes. "If you say so, Jake."
The tone of her voice was enough to make Jake even edgier; it was the tone she always used when she suspected that Jake was lying about something but couldn't figure out what there was to lie about—like the time he'd denied the fact that he actually enjoyed one of her favorite films.
Jake stole a glance at the clock. Hannah would be arriving within the next thirty minutes; somehow he hadn't considered that his mom would be home. "What are you doing today?"
Diane smiled faintly, almost sarcastically but sort of tiredly. "Working. I'm leaving in a minute." She finished her bottle of water and tossed it into the trashcan. "Afterwards, we're eating at Patricia's, and then she and I are watching Steel Magnolias." Jake wrinkled his nos
e at the women's tradition. Diane grinned back at him. "You should join us, Jake."
Scoffing, Jake asked dryly, "Does Julia Roberts still die at the end?"
"Yes," Diane answered snappishly, frowning. "And, yes, it still breaks my heart."
Jake rolled his eyes, ignoring the swat Diane aimed at his arm as she headed for the living room. Jake lingered in the doorway, watching her while she pulled on her coat and shoes. He sighed softly, wishing she didn't have to work so much.
"Bye, Jake," Diane called, opening the door. "Be good, and please don't burn down the house while I'm gone. Just go get fast food or something."
Amused, Jake gave a little laugh, imagining his mother's horrified face if he really did burn the house down while trying to make dinner. It wasn't something that took too much imagination to picture, honestly.
Then Jake found himself looking around the living room; he paced around slowly, assuring that the vicinity was tidy. He wasn't a neat freak or anything like that, but his nerves were forcing him to make sure that everything was perfect. In the back of his mind, he was still worrying about the movie choice, which seemed like such an insignificant thing to the front of his mind—where the weird multiple personality disorder wasn't as infectious.
Maybe he really should look into some kind of therapy.
A few moments later, Jake was back in the kitchen, rechecking his tater tots. They were still there, still fairly edible. Looking into the refrigerator, Jake made sure that there was plenty of ketchup and many drink choices for Hannah. Not that she was picky about much that went into her mouth, but Jake couldn't stifle the desire to make sure that everything would be to her liking.
What the hell was his problem?
To the best of Jake's knowledge, he'd never been so finicky about meeting up with a girl. Never had he ever been so nervous, and never would he ever over-think something as simple as a movie marathon in his own home. How many times had he gotten together with his friends to play hours of video games, obsess for hours over ESPN, or watch hours of Star Wars or Rocky or James Bond? The times could not even begun to be counted on ten hands, Jake was sure of that; this was not a big deal!
