Blythe Tatum expected her freshman year at university to be nerve-wracking, though nothing out of the ordinary. The beginning of her school year starts off as averagely as possible, though Blythe soon finds herself caught up in an unexpected and ine...
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I massage my throbbing temples. My head has been pounding since I blacked out the night before, the pain refusing to fade. Even after downing six Advil pills throughout the day in an attempt to ease the tension, my headache has yet to cease.
"Where is he?" Ben questions. I glance up from the tabletop I'd been mindlessly staring at, just the sound of Ben's voice worsening the hammering in my mind. "I thought you said he was going to meet us here?"
Feeling irritable, I want to snap at my friends. I feel as if they have been interrogating me for the last five minutes, nonstop asking why Jacob has yet to meet us. Ivy shoots me a pointed stare, which I aptly ignore. I don't know why my friends are so quick to judge Jacob; I don't know why they are both so eager to prove he is no good for me.
"He's coming," I assure them, avoiding their gazes by checking the time on my phone. "He's running late because of practice. He'll be here."
"Practice?" Ivy snorts. The look on her face suggests that she finds this excuse to be ridiculous. "It's Saturday. I didn't know Redwood took football so seriously."
"Football is important to Jacob," I am quick to defend my boyfriend, growing more irate by the minute. "Just the same as the paper is important to you. Nobody here judges you for constantly being glued to your laptop."
Ivy's expression slackens at my dig, eyes flaming with unspoken anger. Ben reacts to my rudeness as well, raising his eyebrows as he peers at me through the lenses of his thick glasses in shock. I can tell my friends are surprised by my brash behavior. Though I regret being bitter, I don't apologize for snapping. Maybe my mood would be a little less sour if this damn headache would go away.
"At least I had the decency to show up on time," Ivy mumbles to herself. I disregard her jab, refusing to give into her attempt at picking a fight. Ivy isn't one to take shit from others. I'm not one to start an argument.
"Pretty cool the coffee was half off today," Ben says, trying his best to ease the rising tension between the three of us and divert the conversation from an oncoming quarrel. "I mean, I would—"
"Sorry I'm late." Ben is cut short by the sound of a breathless voice. I perk up at the sight of Jacob as he approaches our table, jogging to quicken his pace. His cheeks are flushed, physical proof of a grueling and long practice on the field. "I tried to get here on time. Coach kept us a little longer than expected."
"You're here now," I say, offering Jacob a hint of a smile to reassure him that his tardiness is okay so he knows not to be too troubled. "That's all that matters."
I can tell by Ivy's pinched expression that she is desperately holding her tongue so as not to say something she may regret. I wish she wasn't so quick to judge, though I am grateful she doesn't nag my boyfriend over his lack of punctuality. I'm hoping he'll be able to make a decent impression on my friends; at least enough so as to get them off of my back for a while. Hopefully, my friends will learn that they can trust Jacob and find that he has no ill intentions; maybe they will be able to see how genuinely happy he has made me once this brief gathering is over.
