Jake

Chapter 1

Jake. That was the name of the guy who broke my heart for the first time. Just saying his name brings back memories and tears. I will never forget him.

It all started in ninth grade. He was the new guy who came in the middle of the year. It was love at first sight for me. I wasn't the most popular, or the brightest in our grade, but he was. He hung out with the most popular guys and got the best grades. He was also very cute and friendly. He seemed perfect in every way imaginable.

One day at lunch, one of his friends sat with me. It was very strange, for none of them ever talked to me. He acted friendly and normal, as if he always hung out with me.

"Hey, Ashley," he said as he sat down.

"Hi, Cameron," I replied nervously, unsure of why he wanted to talk to me.

Cameron smiled and said, "You know Jake, right? Doesn't he take Chemistry, and Algebra with you?"

"Yes, he's my new lab partner. Why?" I asked.

"He wanted me to ask you what you think of him," Cameron explained.

I was surprised, but I replied anyway, "He's nice, I guess."

"He also wanted me to ask if you had a boyfriend and if you were doing anything this weekend," Cameron asked, his big smile growing.

Shocked, yet hopeful, I replied, "I don't have a boyfriend, and I'm going to the football game on Friday, but I don't have any plans for Saturday, yet."

I was so gullible; I thought that Jake wanted to go on a one-on-one date with me, but I was wrong.

"He was wondering if you would like to go to the movies with him and his girlfriend. He hasn't seen her in a while and wants her to meet some of his new friends," he explained. The word 'friends' hurt me. He only thought of me as a friend!

Realizing this, I was instantly disappointed, but decided to go, anyway. I answered, "Oh, yeah, I would love to go. Tell him that I will meet him at the theater at 2:00. They can pick whatever movie they want to see."

Cameron turned around and gave Jake, who was sitting at his usual table with his friends behind us, a thumbs-up. I gave him a shaky smile. After that, Cameron got up and went to give Jake a high-five. I left and decided to go to my locker to get the books I needed for my next class; my best friend wasn't there that day, so I felt like I had nowhere else to go.

Nothing really exiting happened for the rest of the week. My best friend was sick with the Flu and Cameron and Jake didn't say much to me after that day at lunch. Before I knew it, the weekend came. I saw Jake's friends at the game, but Jake wasn't there. When I went to the concession stand, Cameron told me about how exited Jake had been saying he was all week to go to the movies.

Saturday morning, I slept late and somehow forgot about going to the movies, until I noticed the note I put on my memo board:

Movies Saturday with Jake!!!

I checked my clock on my bedside table to see if I was late. My clock already read: 1:30pm

I still didn't know what I was going to wear! I was also worried about feeling awkward with my biggest crush and his girlfriend. On top of that, just being somewhere with Jake gave me nervous thoughts. What if I do or say something embarrassing? What if he will only ever like me as a friend? I thought. These thoughts buzzed around in my head as I raided my closet for something to wear.

I ended up wearing a hot pink t-shirt, my white jeans, and my black converse high tops. I didn't get there until 2:15, but when I did, I noticed Jake arguing with a skinny blonde girl wearing super skinny jeans and a sparkly gold top.