Always Been You (11 page)

“Helping you along,” he smirked.

“No Ja—”

“What’s up?” asked Devon.

“Nikki needs to talk to you,” said Jacob.

“Oh.” Devon’ eyes flicked to Nikki. “I need to talk to you too.”

Giving Devon an inarticulate sound of an agreement, Nikki then inconspicuously gave Jacob a hard kick in the shin before following Devon out into the hall.

“You do know that could’ve backfired right?” I asked accusingly.

“It got them talking didn’t it?” he smirked.

“And you said you wouldn’t cheat,” I muttered.

“Jenna, where are you?”
my mom yelled from the top of the stairs.

“Damn, she remembered,” I sighed at Jacob. “Hey, make sure you tell me what I’ve missed between those two while I’m gone.”

“Sure and good luck with…
Daniel
,” he teased.

“Shut it you,” I said and headed up the stairs.

Despite their assertions, how could my parents think Daniel Summer could possibly be construed as being eligible, or even be considered single for me to date? True, he smiled politely when we were introduced, except I quickly found out that he was such a pompous jerk. There was no way under any circumstances I could possibly be coerced into dating him, even if he was the last man on earth. Furthermore, I cared even less about how rich his family fortune was, or how it would benefit me if I became his girl. So instead of standing here listening to his pompous remarks, I lamely pretended someone was calling my name and hastily went back down to the basement to join my friends.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked Jacob.

“I’m not sure,” he replied. “I can’t really see with everyone’s heads in the way.”

“Why don’t you just stand on the couch?”

“Gee, I never thought about that,” he mumbled.

Quickly supporting each other as we climbed onto the couch, we then craned our necks in the direction of the hallway, and a second later, broke out in laughter, wiping the tears from our eyes.

“Way to go, Dev!” yelled Jacob.

Nikki and Devon quickly sprang apart from their kiss once they heard Jacob’s bellow and looked astonished to find themselves at the centre of attention. Blushing to the roots of their hair as raucous cheering and yelling reverberated around the room, they then quickly left the hall and wordlessly joined me and Jacob on the couch.

“I take it you’re happy at the outcome with Devon Johnson then?” I said to Nikki.

“What do you think?” she said sarcastically.

“I thought maybe you were trying to teach him CPR,” I grinned.

“You’re a real laugh riot today, Jenna,” she muttered.

I let out a loose laugh, but then quickly clamped my mouth shut. Daniel was coming down the stairs with a huge smile on his face.

“Hide me,” I hissed, grabbing onto Jacob’s arm.

“Why?” he asked, watching me cowering lower behind him.

“Because Daniel’s driving me nuts,” I said. “I think he’s infatuated with me since he just asked me a moment ago if I got hurt falling from heaven.”

“So you ended up attracting another cheesy guy, huh?”

“Shut it, Bennett! Oh, crap, I think he saw me.”

“Of course he saw you. It’s not hard to miss you when you’re acting weird.”

“Not funny.”

“So what does a guy like me have to do to get to the front of the queue?” he laughed.

“Stall him so I can get away,” I pleaded.

“Don’t you want to find out what other lame lines he has for you?”

“You do that and I’m never helping you out if girls feel like hounding you again.”

“Blackmailer,” he glowered. “Fine, I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thanks.”

While Jacob distracted Daniel by standing in his path, I quickly cut through the kitchen, intending to head upstairs, and ended up running into Katie in the hall.

“Where are you going?” she asked me.

“I’m trying to seek refuge from a pigheaded ass named Daniel Summer,” I said.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” she said, grabbing onto my arm. “It’s one minute to midnight and you’re not going to miss it!”

“You just want to see if Jacob kisses me.”

“Yes, I do. Now let’s go.”

“Will you sto—oh, alright then. But you better make sure Daniel doesn’t see me.”

Pandemonium was the only word to describe what we had walked into. Horns were blowing, people were yelling, and tassels and streamers were being tossed in the air. I was happy to be amidst the hugs and cheers from friends coming up to greet us, but then became dismayed to see Daniel still craning his neck around in search for me. Since I didn’t want to be seen, I gave Matt a quick hug as he kissed me on the cheek, twisted underneath his arm, and dashed towards the door. I only took one step when I was intercepted by another set of arms.

Inwardly, I cringed at the thought that Daniel had finally gotten to me. But when I spun around to tell him off, a pair of lips engulfed my mouth. I was so shocked at who was kissing me, I literally forgot to breathe.

“Happy New Year, Jenna,” whispered Jacob.

Before I could even blink, Jacob then gave me an impish grin, suddenly stepped back, and left me with my mouth gaping open.

To say I was stunned was an understatement as I watched him disappear into the crowd and collapsed against the wall. When it hit me a second later that there was also a deathly silence accompanying me throughout the room, I then roamed my eyes and wasn’t sure if Jacob kissing me was a good thing or not. At least it did stop Daniel. He was looking at me like his heart had shattered into a million pieces. But when I glanced around to everyone else, I began to feel nervous under their multitude of expressions etched onto their faces.

Whereas most people looked stunned and surprised, Amy, Matt, Nikki, Devon, and Alex looked extremely happy, Katie had a tiny smile on her face as if saying “Ha! I told you so!”, and Jacob? I was too scared to look in his direction. So rather than staying in a room that made me feel uncomfortable, I decided to get some air.

When I started up the stairs, I was then faced with my mom, who had also witnessed Jacob giving me a kiss. Her eyes were so wide, and she was standing so still, she looked like she was mixed up at being shocked and wanting to burst into tears. But before she could get a chance to question me, I brushed passed her, continued up the stairs, and headed out the front door.

It was freezing outside and I was shivering, but I wasn’t ready to go back in and face everyone. I was just too confused. Since I wasn’t sure which way I should go as I looked up and down the block, I then sank down to the cold steps and let the coldness of the snowflakes sparkling against the moonlight fall softly onto my face. However, just as my eyes set upon the silhouette of my neighbour’s house across the street, a moment later the door opened behind me, and without moving my head, I already knew who it was.

“I figured you probably needed your jacket,” said Jacob, taking a seat next to me.

I turned my head to face him, smiled gratefully, and took my coat from his hands.

“I guess I should apologise for what I did,” he muttered, as I slipped it on. “I wasn’t trying to cause any trouble for you. I just didn’t expect to have that sort of reaction from everyone just because I chose to give a friend a kiss.”

“People just have a funny way of dealing with things,” I sighed.

“Will you be okay?” he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “By the way, the sweater I got you looks good on you.”

“Ashley thought so too,” he grinned. “But with all the things going on during the last few weeks, I never got the chance to give you your gift.”

“You didn’t really have to get me anything,” I said.

“I know, but I want to. I have it with me if you want to see it.”

”Um…sure.”

He hesitantly reached into his pocket and pulled out a slender velvet box. I couldn’t stop the gasp that left my mouth as I opened up the gift. A silver dragonfly pendant was staring back at me, hanging on a delicate, silver chain.

“D…do you like it?” he asked apprehensively.

“Do I like it?” I breathed. “It’s beautiful, Jacob, but I don’t know if I can accept it.”

“I want you to have it,” he said, pushing the gift back into my hands. “Jenna, I got this for you since it’s my way of saying thanks for helping me all these years. Please take it. It’s just a gift from one friend to another.”

“Then thank you for the gift,” I said.

“There is one thing though,” he grinned, as he took the necklace from my hands and placed it around my neck.

“Anything.”

He raised a suggestive eyebrow at me. “Anything?”

“Within reason of course,” I sighed.

“I don’t mind if you wear it, but is it okay if you keep who you got the necklace from a secret?” he laughed. “I don’t want anyone to know I gave this to you in case they start bugging the both of us about it.”

“Of course.”

“Now let’s head back in and join your party before we freeze to death.”

 
Chapter 8

Valentine’s!

Lately, my mom has been acting a bit odder than normal. Ever since New Year’s, she’s been beside herself with joy. Whenever I saw her, she always had a constant spring to her step and would either be humming happily, or smiling to herself as she pinched my cheek. She was so ecstatic about the kiss, I was even positively sure she was already planning my wedding to Jacob. It also didn’t help that whenever the girls came over, they always kept agreeing with everything she said. They even gave her ideas, like bringing over wedding magazines so they could decide on what kind of dress I should get. The guys were just as excited about what had happened. The only ones who weren’t were Jacob and me.

Something definitely has changed between us. I could feel it when we’re together, and sometimes I even caught him staring at me a few times when he thinks I’m not looking. He always has this peculiar dazed expression on his face. But instead of looking happy, he actually looked like he was battling with his thoughts.

Half the time he didn’t know what to say to me while the other half was spent talking about mundane things. He would comment about things like the weather, talk about a smudge he found on the school’s walls, or agreeing to whatever anyone was saying. He was acting so quiet and reserved, I began thinking maybe his kiss hadn’t been a friendly gesture after all. Except whenever I tried to ask him about it, someone always interfered.

Every time his name left my lips, a friend, a teacher, or even his coach, would suddenly appear, wanting to talk to us. It was so irritating with so many interruptions that the only other option I had was to just watch Jacob from afar.

By the end of the second week, I was fairly certain his kiss meant nothing more. None of his actions had been new. That’s why when Valentine’s rolled around, I figured it would just be like any other normal day. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find a huge bear holding a long white cardboard box at the bottom of my locker.

With my backpack making an audible thump on the floor and my heart thudding loudly in my chest, I slowly took a seat beside Amy, and with trembling fingers I nervously fumbled with the lid. I barely heard the loud gasp coming from Amy beside me when I got it open. Inside the slender box were a dozen beautiful roses. The delicate petals were a soft cream which darkened to a pink colour at the tips. The stems were free from thorns.

“Maybe Katie put Aaron’s gift for you in your locker as an apology for not taking you out tonight,” said Amy. “But just to make sure, why don’t we check out the envelope that came with it?”

Ignoring her grunt of disapproval as I snatched it right from Amy’s hands, I leaned back against the locker next to mine and stared apprehensively at the envelope bearing my name. After tracing my fingers over the letters a few times, I slowly lifted the flap, thinking I was going to pull out a card, and was surprised to pull out a letter written in an elegant script.

Jenna,

I wanted to get you something more special, but I wasn’t quite sure if it would be appropriate right now and found these roses instead. Trust me when I tell you I had searched around forever, looking for the perfect flower. I almost gave up hope until I wandered into this one particular store I’ve never seen before. As you may have noticed, while the color of this rose is really unique and very rare, it was fate I accidentally stumbled upon them.

I think I must’ve stood there admiring them for hours, wondering if they were the right choice. Once the lady at the flower shop explained exactly what the rose symbolised, I became so excited I couldn’t believe my luck. Right then I knew this is how I truly felt and that they belonged to you. When the time is right, I’d like to tell you one day what she told me. But for now, you deserve them just for being you.

Having the privilege and the honour on knowing the person you truly are, I know you’re smiling right now as you read this letter, and I hope I have made your day.

A friend

I had to inhale deeply to calm my nerves. It was hard for me to believe someone had gone through the trouble, just to give me the most gorgeous roses I have ever seen.

“What’s up?” asked Matt.

“Jen got a gift from Jacob,” Amy pronounced over my shoulder, prying the letter from my hands.

“You said it yourself that it might be from Aaron,” I interrupted loudly, snatching it back only for Matt to steal it from me instead.

“What’s this about Aaron?” asked Katie, appearing behind me.

“Did you put any roses from him in Jen’s locker?” Amy asked her.

“Not if he told me that he was waiting until this Saturday,” said Katie. “Why?”

“What’s Aaron planning for Saturday?” I asked her.

“I wish I could tell you, but he only just said that he’s planning something special for you,” she sighed at me.

“Maybe Aaron’s setting up a romantic dinner, so he could talk to Jen about taking their relationship further than just friendship,” grinned Amy.

“That’s probably it, but I still think Jacob’s better for Jenna,” said Katie. “Why are you asking if I put some roses in Jenna’s locker for him anyway?”