The Space Between Us

seven <3

I reached for my favorite pair of jeans and pulled them up to my waist. They're an olive green color and they pair perfectly with my black and green alien tee.

After I finish dressing myself I wake Alden and make my way downstairs to pack my lunch.

I grab a bag of white cheddar pop corn, an orange, some peanuts, and the sandwich I prepared last night.

I check the time on the oven and it reads 6:52 a.m. I'm sure Samaria's outside waiting for me.

I shove my lunch into my book bag and sling it over my shoulder. While making my way to Samarias' parked car I realize, Jake and I are fake dating.

Shit.

I hop into her car and let out a disheveled sigh. She quickly realizes somethings wrong.

"What's up Babes?" She asks concerned.

"Nothing I'm just nervous about the whole Jake thing." I state.

"Don't worry Astra, I'm gonna drop you off behind the school. You'll hop into the car with him and make your grand entrance." She replies with a kind smile plastered on her face.

"Okay." I reply.

"Don't be anxious Babes, It'll be fine. You guys are just gonna hold hands and then he'll drop you off at the Chem doors and kiss you. That's it."

She sounds so sure that this is going to work. I told you, Samaria is super pessimistic.

We pull around the back of the school and I see Jake standing by his car. Samaria puts the car in park and shoots me a smile.

"It'll be fine Attie. Take a deep breath."

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth. My nerves are through the roof right now.

I reach for the handle of the car door, grab my book bag, and exit gracefully.

As I make my way to Jakes car I realize he's more anxious than I am. He gives me a big hug and opens the car door for me. I enter and situate myself while I wait for him to enter on the other side.

He sits down in the drivers seat and turns to me.

"You ready for this Astra?" He asks.

"More ready than I'll ever be." I reply.

He slowly backs out of the spot he's parked in and makes his way towards the front of the school. He pulls into a parking space near the entrance and puts the car back into park.

He stares at me with a look of worry in his eyes.

"This is going to work Jake. Don't worry. No matter what happens I swear to keep your secret." I say trying to ease the ball of nervousness in his stomach.

He smiles at me and grabs my hand.

"I owe you one Astra." He states.

"You sure do. Now, let's get this done."

We make our way up to the front doors of the school hand in hand.

Everyone's eyes are on us, switching from our faces back down to our hands. I could've sworn there was something on my face.

Jake tries to make little conversation which causes my attention to drift from them to him. He cracks a couple of jokes causing a giggle to escape from my lips. I stop him at my locker to switch out some books.

It's time.

We walk to the Chemistry door and stop. He reaches his hand to cup my cheek and gently places his pink lips on mine. He holds them there for a few seconds before pulling away and brushing my hair behind my ear.

"See you later." He says with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Bye Jake." I return the smile and make my way to my seat.

Caelums face looks filled with grief and confusion. He looks at me with bewilderment and then looks back at the door.

"What, do I have something on my face?" I ask teasingly.

"Did.. No, you just." He stutters

"Just what?" I ask like I have no clue what he's talking about.

"Nothing." He replies coldly.

"Alright then." I say in return.

Did I just make Caelum Madden Jealous?

No, there's no way. He's probably just shocked that I pulled the new kid.

I mean you and I both know I didn't, but I like that he thinks I did.

I'm just going to ride out the rest of the day in hopes that everything goes smoothly.

Until lunch, that is.

********
Lunch Time

I made my way through the halls to the cafeteria. I haven't sat in here since first semester. Samaria and I usually just eat in her car because I hate being around tons of people.

I walk over to a table in the middle of the cafeteria as instructed by Samaria and Jake.

I sit down and place my lunch down on the table in-front of me.

Shortly after I get settled at the table Samaria joins me.

"Hey babes! I heard everything went well this morning!" She winks at me.

"Yeah it went great actually. Our friend is a good kisser." I joke.

"Oh no." Samarias' gaze leaves me and moves to something behind me.

I turn around.

Staring down at me is the one and only Caelum.

"We need to talk Peach." He states with irritation laced in his tone.

"If it's not about Chemistry, then it's not a needed conversation." I hiss.

"Oh it's about Chemistry alright." He scoffs.

I shoot him an annoyed glance and guess who walks up right after.

Jake.

"Excuse me? Do we have a problem?" Jake questions to Samaria and I.

"No we don't, just sit." Samaria replies.

"Actually we do." Caelum speaks up.

Jakes eyes shoot towards Caelums' hard gaze.

"And what might that be?" Jake questions.

"Pack it up kid. Why do you think it's okay to walk around with her like she's just a notch on your belt. Do you even know anything about her?" Caelum questions.

"I'm sure I know a lot more about her than you do." Jake shoots back.

I look at Samaria for advice and she just shrugs at me and continues to watch the argument in-front of us. I can feel every set of eyes in this cafeteria burn into my skin.

I hate the cafeteria.

Caelum bites his tongue and turns towards me.

"I'll see you in class." He huffs out at me.

Jake turns towards me and sits down.

What the actual fuck just happened?

We sit in silence for a few moments before Samaria cuts the quiet.

"So, that went well!" She says inadvertently.

"Yeah, sure did." I reply.

I couldn't help but feel bad. Why was he so upset? What did he have to say?

I'm kind of glad that Jake cut him off, I don't think I would've liked what he had to say next.

I guess I'll never know.

********
a/n

WOOT MF WOOT!!! Next pov will be caelums i think ;) i'm so excited for the next chapter :)