The unspoken Rule

by June Whitfield

  "Jake."

  "If you're here to tell me off, then I'm ready for it." I was shocked by his harsh words.

  "Actually no." I began. "I'm here to ask you something." I told him softly.

  He looked at me then, his blue ones locking with my brown ones.

  I took a deep breath, afraid of his answer. "Do you… do you like me?"

  Chapter 9: Tickle-Me-Elmo

  Jake's POV

  I had been sitting on my bed, staring out the window when she came into my room. I was shocked she willingly wanted to see me.

  She sat beside me, and gave me a serious look, while saying my name.

  "If you're hear to tell me off, then I'm ready for it." I told her rudely.

  "Actually, I'm here to ask you a question." She replied without missing a beat.

  She took a deep breath. "Do you… do you like me?"

  And then I found it hard to breathe. I drew in a big gulp of air, feeling the need for oxygen.

  What made her think that I did like her? Was I that obvious?

  Or was she just guessing?

  Do I tell her the truth? Or do I lie, to make sure things aren't awkward between us?

  What the heck. Things would always be awkward around us.

  My heart wanted me to tell her. But my brain thought of that as illogical. Stupid. Ill thought out.

  What if I did tell her I liked her, and she didn't like me back? I wasn't used to girls not having the same feelings as I did.

  I decided I'd tell her the truth. The truth will set me free, right? I was already on bad terms with her now, I didn't want to make it worse.

  "Yes." I whispered, meeting her chocolate orbs.

  And making me feel relieved, she smiled. The biggest, toothiest, most gorgeous smile in the whole wide world. Her flash of white would've made angels cry, it was so beautiful.

  She grabbed my hand and squeezed it, never breaking our gaze. "I like you too."

  And then I couldn't help myself. I grabbed her around the shoulders and embraced her, as if I wasn't going to see her ever again. She laughed, the sound of it music to my ears. I liked making her giggle, it was my goal in life to make her grin and chuckle.

  "Air." She gasped, and I pulled away. I studied her face, wanting to memorize it. I tucked a piece of her soft hair behind her ear.

  "Jake," She breathed, bringing reality back into the picture. "What about Laura?"

  Laura. I had forgotten about my little sister. Maria's best friend.

  Maria was talking about how we both knew that Laura would definitely disapprove if we went out. It was a tacit law.

  "We must keep it a secret. Otherwise, she'd have our heads. She'd hate us too, if she found out we were keeping something from her." I told her.

  She nodded solemnly. "This must be strictly underground. Even at school."

  I agreed. If news spread we were dating at school, it would surely reach Laura's ears.

  But I didn't care. I was now dating the most perfect girl in school. She had an amazing personality, and was beautiful inside and out. I loved her for who she was.

  Maria's POV

  Was that love I saw in his eyes? If it was, then I wanted to see that emotion more often from him. The blue waters of his eyes were glittering, clear, and deeper than ever.

  He gently pushed me back on his bed, him hovering above me.

  "I'm gonna getcha!" He cried. His fingers tickled my sides, sending tears into my eyes. I was extremely sensitive around my middle.

  I giggled uncontrollably. "Please stop!" I gasped through my laughs. This only made him tickle me more. I felt like a Tickle-me-Elmo.

  He was grinning crazily, seeming to be fueled by my laughter. He finally stopped, and I breathed in fresh air. He plopped down beside me, his arm wrapping around my waist. He pulled me close to him, his cologne overriding my senses.

  "You smell good, Maria." He mused.

  "You do too." He smiled in my hair.

  I quickly jumped off his bed, like a ninja.

  "Maria," He started. "What are you-"

  "Laura!" I hissed. Horror crossed his features. How long had I been in his room? I glanced at myself in his mirror. My hair was an absolute mess. How would I explain that to her?

  "Brush?" I asked him. He quickly crossed his room to grab a comb from one of his drawers. I quickly ran it through my locks, satisfied I looked alright.

  "Sorry, gotta go." He gave me a small hug and kissed my cheek.

  I quietly opened his door and shut it behind me. I walked to Laura's room down the hall, knocking on her door.

  "Come in." She answered. I pushed open her door, seeing Laura sprawled on her bed reading magazines.

  "Hey." I told her.

  "You make him feel better?"

  I chose my words gingerly. "Yeah, I think so."

  She smiled slightly. "Sweet, now I won't have Mr. Grouchy as a brother anymore."

  "Yep."

  "Any reason why he was so moody?"

  Uh..."He said he was depressed Cynthia broke up with him." Thank you, brilliant mind.

  "I see, typical Jake."

  "Yeah." I voiced. I think I had a new respect for Jake Miller, my best friend's brother.

  Chapter 10: Scenes and Sparks

  Maria's POV

  The next day at school I was insanely happy. Almost slap happy. There was nothing wrong with the world. I had a boyfriend now, unofficially because of its secrecy, but still. I felt like skipping through a field of flowers.

  I skipped up to my locker, humming while I grabbed my textbooks.

  La la la la...

  "Hey you."

  I ignored the voice disturbing my moment.

  "You with the hideous face." The voice insisted.

  I stopped humming altogether, and whirled around, my eyes slits.

  Cynthia stood before me, her arms crossed over her chest. She was tapping her foot and snapping her gum impatiently.

  "I got a problem with you." She continued.

  I cocked my head to the side, wondering what she was going on about. Her over-glossed lips upturned into a smirk.

  "Oh do you now?"

  "Yeah," She told me, coming intimidatingly close to me. "I know Jake's taking a liking for you. No matter how gross that is, he's confused. He really likes me."

  And now I could see why Cynthia was wanted by every man in our school. Not. Sure she may seem like she has looks, considering you could see too much of her skin in her revealing clothing, but she was a fake, I decided. She narrowed her blue eyes at me with distaste.

  "Oh?" I inquired, feigning concern.

  "Yes, he's just confused. He'll be crawling back to me later today, I guarantee you."

  "Alright."

  Shock flashed across Cynthia's face. She must've been surprised that I didn't really care what she was saying.

  She huffed, flipping her golden hair over her shoulder for good measure and stalked away. I shook my head to myself at the scene I had just taken part of. Cynthia was something, that was for sure.

  I went through the rest of my day like normal. I wasn't giddy like I was earlier, but still in a pretty good mood. At least, I was until lunch time.

  I went through the lunch line, grabbing a sandwich and a cookie. I scanned the room for my usual table buddies. I spotted them a few feet away. I grabbed an empty seat, greeting my friends.

  Kate nodded her head towards a scene a few tables away. "Look at that." She said with disgust. I swiveled my head towards the indicated direction, my sandwich halfway up to my mouth.

  Jake was seated at a table, with someone in his lap. Oh wait, that's not someone, it's a something. Cynthia.

  She had her arms wrapped around her shoulders, a huge smile on her face. Jake was gazing up at her with what I could only assume was awe. My turkey sandwich fell from my hands, landing with what to me sounded like a loud thud. I clenched my jaw, wishing I had trusted my intuition. Jake had played me, which is what I was afraid would happen.

  He ha
d his arm around her middle, smiling. She leaned into him, giving him a playful peck on the lips. She then turned her head towards me, picking me out of the swarm of students. She smirked at me, mouthing, See?

  I couldn't take this anymore. Not this drama. I couldn't take the secrecy, (it had only been 1 day, for crying out loud!) Cynthia, or Jake and his reputation for girls.

  I stood up, my sudden movement sending my chair dragging across the tiled floor. The people at my table looked at me confused. I stared at the now couple a moment longer, and then exited the cafeteria.

  I had safely made it inside my bathroom stall when the beginning of my tears fell. I leaned against the door, crying as I slid down it until I was sitting.

  Why me?

  I did absolutely nothing to deserve this.

  Didn't they say karma was horrible? Well, I had to agree with them. Karma was at its worst when it bit you without reason.

  I should have trusted my instincts! Then none of this would've happened. Not the confrontation from Cynthia, or the humiliating scene with Jake and her.

  How could I have been so foolish as to believe Jake? Like he would honestly fall in love with a geek like me.

  He was a play boy. Honest and true. He dumped girls like they were yesterday's trash. No sorry's, no nothing. Just a 'see you never!' and that's it. I think he did it for competition. To see how many girls he could ruin before high school ended.

  Now my heart had been torn out numerous times, and I couldn't stand it anymore. My heart wasn't a play thing.

  This was it. Jake was no more.

  I didn't want to talk to him anymore.

  I didn't want to talk about him anymore.

  I didn't want to see him anymore.

  I didn't want to think of him anymore.

  And I wouldn't. I swear I wouldn't.

  I would have nothing to do with Jake anymore.

  Jake's POV

  I had just taken a big juicy bite out of my taco when Cynthia waltzed up to me. She huffed her chest out, and gave me a dazzling smile.

  "Hey Jakey," She drawled.

  I lifted an eyebrow, wondering why she was still talking to me as if we were dating.

  "Oh Jakey," By this point, I had put my taco down and she crawled into my lap even with my protests, "I realized how wrong I was by breaking up with you. I can't live without you. I love you."

  She wrapped a dainty arm around my shoulder, pulling herself close to me. At this, practically everyone in the cafeteria was staring.

  "Cynthia," I began.

  "Yes darling?"

  "I'm not-"

  But she had her lips on mine, smothering my thought. But even with her kiss, most guys would die for it, I felt nothing. No spark, no rush. Nothing.

  I put my arm slightly around her, to get her off of me.

  "Cynthia, get off me."

  Her head was still turned away from me, in a specific spot. I followed her gaze and saw who she was looking at. Maria. She was standing stock still, and then I watched her face contort from pain and she hurried away.

  Cynthia looked at me. "We'll have to do this again, Jake." She said loudly, still acting in front of everyone.

  "No, Cynthia we won't."

  "Excuse me?"

  "You heard me. Get away from me. I was glad you broke up with me. We're never getting back together again. Dating you was the worst waste of my time ever." I told her forcefully.

  She scoffed, looking surprised.

  "Wipe that look off your face, Cynthia. You had it coming." I told her.

  The students in the room chorused into ooohhhs.I ran away from her, tired of her and her ways.

  She stamped her foot behind me. "Jake Miller! You will not have the last word! You will regret this!" She yelled back to me.

  I ignored her and trotted through the hallway I thought I had seen Maria go through. The corridor ended in the girl's bathroom.

  I chose a wall near it, and sank to my knees.

  Maria would never forgive me for that scene, and I knew it. I would still apologize to her, even if after that we never looked at each other again. I cared about Maria. I really did.

  I actually cared for Maria. Not like all the other girls I had dated. Maria was special. I would never hurt her purposely. I wanted to keep her happy, and protect her from harm. I would do everything in my power to do so.

  But in this instance, I had let her feel emotional pain. And I hoped she would forgive me. For, it was not my fault, but Cynthia's.

  Maria eventually emerged from the restroom. Mascara was running down her face and her eyes were red and puffy. I quickly stood up and rushed to her side. She continued walking with me at her side.

  "Maria, let me explain." I looked at her for approval to continue. She didn't answer. "Cynthia, she came up to me, and put on this whole show about how she misses me."

  I cleared my throat. "I don't have feelings for Cynthia. The only feeling I have towards her is hatred. She was trying to real me back in Maria. It wasn't my fault, please believe me. I'm so sorry you had to see that, it was all fake. Please Maria, please forgive me."

  I paused to look at her. She had her arms crossed over her chest, but she was looking me in the eye, which was a good sign.

  "Please Maria, say something."

  "I accept your story, but I'm done with the drama."

  Oh, she forgave me! Oh wait …what? She believed my story but was tired of the drama?

  I lifted my eyebrows.

  "If we continue this," She waved her hand between us, "Then the drama ends right now. I'm done with this crap. I feel like you've trodden over my heart too many times. Can you imagine how I feel right now?"

  She looked up at me with these glistening eyes. They were moist with unshed tears, and her voice almost cracked. She must've felt unloved, undeserving, and worthless. Which wasn't true.

  She was loved, by me. She deserved to have someone in her life, someone good to her. And she was worth something to me. She was worth everything to me. She was the most valuable thing in my life.

  I looked around us to make sure no one was around. "Maria, I know we've only been dating for a day, but I love you. I love you more than you can ever know. You're the most valuable thing in my life. You're the icing to my cake, the syrup to my pancakes, and the sunshine on a cloudy day. You have the prettiest eyes in the entire world. They're always gleaming and always please me. Your smile is breath-taking. When you smile, it's like the heavens open up and angels begin to sing. You're drop dead gorgeous when you're smiling and laughing at something I say. And I mean it."

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her close to me.

  She looked up at me, her eyes hopeful. "Please forgive me," I murmured.

  "I forgive you." She whispered. And so I leaned down and planted my lips on hers. And then it seemed like the Fourth of July happened. It seemed like our lips were made for each other, locking perfectly. Hers were warm and soft, making me enjoy it even more. She deepened the kiss for a moment, and then we pulled away, needing air.

  She smiled, her cheeks red. "I'm glad it was you." She murmured.

  "What?"

  She clarified. "My first kiss."

  And I was glad I was her first kiss too. I gently pulled her into me by the waist. "Then I'll be your second, too."

  And sparks flew again.

  Chapter 11: Stars and Fury

  A few weeks later

  Maria's POV

  "And he goes to this ball, right? And he has a date and she's hot."

  I rolled my eyes.

  Jake resumed. "Living up to his brotherly position, he had to go and make fun of his sister at the dance. Little did he know that there was a Cinderella there, dancing with his sister. Her eyes, were like twinkling lights. So bright and beautiful under the ballroom. So he gives her his best smile and winks at her."

  "And she doesn't know what to think of this wink. She was confused as to why he did it."

  "Ah," Jake repositioned himself on the grass. "But he di
d it because he was starstruck. Her beauty, it fazed him. His date at the dance was incomparable to the lady hanging out with his sister."