It's Okay, It's Love

Unexpected words

I was lying in my bed and I was thinking about what happened today. All three guys didn’t leave my mind. It was nice seeing Luke again after such a long time, but he kind of ruined everything with his kiss in the end. Even though Jake was on a date with Mindy he still cared to pull me away from a guy that forced himself on me. He probably did that as a friend, but I just can’t stop thinking about it. I keep having those expectations.

To clear my mind I decided to meditate. I hoisted myself from the bed and stood in the middle of my room. I pushed a pile of clothes to the side with my foot and sat down on the ground crossing my legs. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head, but Jake’s face kept popping up in my mind.

As I was trying not to think about my unreal future with Jake, my phone rang. I let out a small groan and stood up. I picked up my phone from my night stand next to my bed and looked at the caller ID. It put a smile on my face.

“Hello?” I said as I answered the phone.

“Oh, good, you’re not asleep,” Jake said relieved. “I wanted to call you long ago, but I didn’t know when would be a good time.”

“There’s never a bad time for you,” I joked.

“I wanted to ask you about today,” he said and hesitated a little bit. “Why were those guys kissing you?”

I kept quiet for a second because I thought about it myself. “Actually I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. I wasn’t sure why they kissed me. Well, Luke was probably just trying his moves on me, but I didn’t know about Henry. I couldn’t find a reason in my head that would explain why Henry kissed me then. Was that his way of protecting me from someone who was kissing me? Why would he even be protecting me? Did he just want to show off? He did say that Luke should learn how to kiss, although in my opinion Luke was a great kisser. And why was he so mad earlier? It’s not like he’s my boyfriend or my father for me to ask his permission to go on a date. Oh gosh, did he like me? Nah, we only met a day ago, he couldn’t have liked me already… right? I mean, I do like Jake, but I should move on. I decided to find a boyfriend better than Jake, was Henry the guy? He’s a ladies’ man, I’m probably just thinking too much. Right now I’m just happy that Jake called me because he was concerned for me. If only Jake saw me as a girl instead of a friend…

***

It was chemistry class and we were supposed to do a laboratory work today. As I got to class I saw that Tom was sitting in my place next to Jake.

"Good morning," I greeted the both of them as I put down my backpack on the table in front of Tom. "Can you move? This is my seat," I said looking at Tom. Tom got a little bit flustered, but stayed in his seat.

"Actually, I'm going to do this job with him," Jake said interrupting my, starting to form, glare towards Tom. As I heard his words my head swished to him.

"What do you mean? We have been doing these things together all the time. Why don't you want to do it with me anymore?" I asked him needing an explanation.

"I'll tell you later, but right now I'm doing this with Tom," he said with a sorry look in his eyes.

I was astounded; I didn’t know what to say. I just picked up my backpack from the table and took it to the empty seat it in the back. I put down my backpack on the ground and slumped in the seat. My mood was ruined and I just sat there grumpy, prepared to get a bad grade from chemistry. The bell rung and Henry walked in. He was walking towards the back of the class and when he saw me sitting there he was a little bit surprised. He looked at Jake and back at me with a questioning look on his face. He sat down next to me and said, "Hi." I looked at him and also greeted him.

When chemistry class ended, in which Henry was surprisingly good at, I ran up to Jake and put my hand on his shoulder.

Jake slightly flinched then turned to me. “What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t hang out with you anymore,” Jake said. "Yesterday, when we talked on the phone for a really long time, Mindy was also calling me and she couldn't get through, so when we finally finished talking and she called me she got really mad and told me not to hang out with you anymore," Jake uttered looking sorry.

"So just like that you’re going to abandon your best friend for your new girlfriend?" I asked him not believing his words.

“I’m not abandoning you, I just won't hang out with you for a while. Until Mindy is okay with us hanging out."

"Oh, come on, Jake, bros before hoes!" I exclaimed trying to prove something.

"That's the problem, Vic. You're not a dude, you’re a girl," Jake said and threw his hands in the air. He looked frustrated and I was starting to become desperate.

“Jake,” I said softly. “Can’t you just lie to Mindy? Do you really have to end our friendship?”

“You know I can’t lie,” Jake said and looked in my eyes. That’s true, he couldn’t lie. Even if it was about the smallest thing, he would still confess in the end out of guilt. “And I’m not trying to end our friendship, please just understand,” he continued. I couldn’t understand. Did he already love her that much to listen to every little thing she told him to do? They started dating two weeks ago and he’s already prepared to throw away his friends for her?

As I stood there thinking about the old days I spent with Jake, the sadness of losing my best friend to some girl turned into anger from betrayal. “Fine,” I said and walked past him with tears welling in my eyes. I heard him shout a weak “Vic”, but it wasn’t sincere. I rushed to the girls’ bathroom not seeing clearly from the tears.

“Victoria? What’s wrong?” I heard a worried voice that belonged to the guy that recently came into my life. Henry. He grabbed my arm, not letting me go.

“Let go,” I said quietly with my head down trying to hide my face. I was embarrassed. I was in school, crying because of a boy. How pathetic was that.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Henry didn’t step down tightly grabbing my arm. I guess he understood that I was utterly embarrassed so he pulled me into a hug hiding my face into his chest. He started caressing my back and I felt that it’s okay to cry. I cried silent tears for a few seconds, Henry soothing me. When I stopped crying I pulled away wiping my face with my hands. I didn’t want to be there right now. I didn’t want to be in school. I didn’t care anymore about the remaining classes and I didn’t care about what Jake would think when he saw that I wasn’t in class. He would probably understand that it’s because of him and I would look pathetic, but I didn’t care anymore.

“Can you get my backpack?” I asked Henry quietly with my head still down.

“Uh, yeah sure, I’ll go get it,” he said and ran off towards the classroom where I left my bag. I turned towards the girls’ bathroom, my main destination. When I got there and looked into a mirror I looked sad. My eyes were red and my nose was running. I blew out my nose and washed my face with water. I looked less of a mess. I stepped out of the bathroom and saw Henry leaning against the wall holding my backpack. It was probably clear to him that with a face like that I would go to the bathroom.

“Thanks,” I said taking my backpack from his hands and going towards the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Henry asked following me. I noticed that he also had his backpack with him.

“Outside,” I told him. I took my coat from the cloakroom, Henry doing the same. As I stepped outside the chilly wind bit my nose and cheeks, but I could think more clearly. I was planning on going to the nearby park, but when I didn’t hear footsteps behind me I stopped and turned to Henry, who was standing there and looking at me.

“Coming with?” I asked him with a small smile. He smiled at me, put his backpack on and ran towards me.