The Deal

Chapter 9

Jake knew he was different, and honestly, he couldn't care less.

Yes, he fasted for lent year round, changing each ash Wednesday. He played tennis, and had actually been very good in seventh grade before he moved to Florida and stopped participating in anything. Now he played with his also very good older sister that nobody knew he had, all while keeping up the A+ grades that nobody knew he had.

That is, nobody but Samantha.

Samantha was... different. Not in the same way Jake was. Jake kept everything to himself, and while it made him give off mysterious vibes that he wasn't sure about, it also made it easy to observe things. Like the fact that she has a friend named Leah who really really really wants her to go by Sammi.

And he was also pretty sure the person at the cash register at Starbucks thought they were buying four hot choclates instead of two coffees.

But Samantha was different in her own way. Like the fact that she was absolutely not scared at all to walk up to him and introduce herself, even though that was generally something one simply does not do. And then the next day she asked to take him to Starbucks. It was like she was really reaching out, trying to be his friend.

Ever since he'd moved to Greenwood, four years prior, that was something no one had tried to do.

But Jake cursed himself every time he spoke to her, because he was sure it was coming out timid and weird, like a person who hadn't had any social interaction with non-family members in four years - which was actually true. He cursed himself every time he watched her blonde ponytail swing as she hurried off to class.

Because she was the first person to try to be his friend in four years, and just to completely ruin it, he had to go and develop a crush on her.

Why did she have to be pretty?

Why couldn't somebody get the guts to introduce themselves that didn't have a wide, happy smile, silky blonde hair, and a genuine desire to get to know him? Or better yet, could it just be a guy so he wouldn't have this problem?

A chance at genuine friendship in this cursed town, and he had to totally ruin it for himself and fall for her. Stupid. Completely stupid.

But unfortunately, he couldn't just wave a magic wand and make himself not have feelings for her. So he went on what was increasingly feeling to him like dates with her, talking to her and re-figuring out how to socialize with other human beings.

So he settled for making sure that stubborn girl would always get her money back for anything she bought him (even ten dollar coffees), and that she would laugh when they hung out, and that would be just fine.

These last two are admittedly short, but that is because I needed to switch POV, and this chapter was necessary to bring us to the chapter I really want to do. Vote if you enjoyed it - or cross your arms until I bring you the next chapter because this one wasn't very exciting. Have a good day!