The Deal

Chapter 4

Dedicated to @27rosepetals for her support on this story - thank you so much!

Samantha rode her bike to Starbucks next to Jake's, but not an awkward or anxious silence. More like a purposeful, Jake-just-wants-his-coffee-from-Starbucks silence.

Samantha was beginning to realize that he was actually pretty approachable if you got the guts to do so. He's super chill, he just doesn't look it. And he will hold a conversation if you initiate it, but will never speak first.

Honestly, he's the kind of friend some people would love to have.

But Samantha needed slightly more than friendship, and soon. In the next eight days. So she could become a Queen. So she could rule High School the same way she'd ruled Middle School.

This was a test that Angela, Makayla and Lucy thought was impossible to pass. Well too bad. Because Samantha planned on passing it.

Somehow it didn't feel awkward at all when she and Jake parked their bikes and walked inside Starbucks together, completely silently. Jake's behavior would be generally considered awkward and weird, but he just radiated these super calm vibes that made it impossible to feel anything but totally chill around him.

"Hello, how can I help you today?"

"We'd like -" Samantha looked over at Jake. Actually, she didn't know what he'd like. Probably just standard coffee.

He didn't offer any answers.

Oh, that'ts right, she had to ask to get him to talk. "What do you want?"

Jake shrugged. "Just standard coffee."

"Okay, for both of us. But I'd like sugar," Samantha said with a laugh. She pulled her wallet out of her back pocket and waited for the amount they owed.

~~~

It was the absolute most silent situation in which Samantha had ever drank coffee with someone, but again, it wasn't awkward at all. He was just a quiet person.

Still, Samantha was not a quiet person and desperately needed to talk. So she said, "Um, what's your favorite movie?"

"I like Star Wars," Jake said, and left it at that.

"Do you have a favorite Star Wars movie?" Samantha actually had no idea what she was talking about. She'd actually never seen Star Wars.

"Revenge of the Sith."

"That's my favorite too." She really hoped it was a good movie.

She waited a few minutes and then asked, "What's your favorite ice cream flavor?"

"I don't eat ice cream."

"Oh. Okay. I see."

It was almost fun to talk to him, to try to work around the mysterious web built around him. While he's not the kind of person people would normally tag as "fun," Samantha figured it was just because they hadn't spoken to him yet.

"Well, I'm... running out of icebreaker questions," Samantha admitted. "What's your favorite book?"

"Harry Potter."

Now Samantha had read Harry Potter. "Oh, that's cool, I like it too. Which one?"

"Half-Blood Prince."

"I like that one too. I wasn't expecting it to be Snape."

"I always knew it," Jake said, and Samantha nodded before realizing that Jake had just said something to her that wasn't an answer to a question.

He'd just responded in the conversation.

She was getting somewhere!

Very soon, because of the amount of silence, both coffees were gone and in the trash can. "Well, I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow," Samantha said with a smile and a wave.

Jake waved back - no smile, but that was to be expected - and hopped on his bike, pedalling off into the direction that Samantha assumed led to his house.

Then Samantha blinked a few times and remembered the deal with he Queens.

Oh. Right.

The kiss.

Well, either way, she'd gotten a good start, but in the future she couldn't let herself forget. It was just... way too easy to forget around him. He was interesting.

Samantha, for some unexplainable reason, found herself dying to tell Leah all about their conversation, and maybe squeal over it a little - though she had no idea why.

Comments and votes are all very much appreciated. If you like the story let me know, and if you have any constructive criticism I'd love to hear it - I won't be offended! Have a nice day!