Till The End

Chapter 7.

Jake

When I get home, I find Aelia and Austin in the kitchen, having breakfast. I was planning to sleep late today, but Dylan forced me to go for a run with him. He literally pulled me out of bed. I already knew what it was about; he just wanted to get all the information about my date with Aelia. He always has to know everything. He asked a million questions, to which he got no answers. He only has to know the most important part: Aelia is my girlfriend now.

"You know that Mia will kill you, right? I can't wait for the moment you tell her. This is going to be fun. For me." He laughs before sitting next to Aelia.

"Thanks for the support."

He was pissed about the fact that I went to Chez Luis' and did not bring anything for him, but I'm going to make it up to him later.

"Morning, Sunshine." I say before placing a kiss on Aelia's lips.

"What the hell?" Austin stares at us from the other side of the table, astonished, his hand frozen midway to his mouth. "What-when-what the hell was that?" he stutters.

"A kiss. Something people do sometimes when they are dating." I say as I walk towards the bathroom.

"Dating?" I hear him shout and Aelia laugh just before I close the door.

When I get out of the bathroom, I hear her laugh, and I freeze for a second. Mia is here. I will have to tell her that I'm dating her best friend soon. She is definitely going to be pissed, but that has nothing to do with her. She will have to accept it, whether she likes it or not. When I enter the living room, where everyone is, they all turn to look at me. Dylan grins mockingly, Austin smiles when he sees Dylan's reaction, and Aelia looks a little scared.

"Hey bighead," I say as I gently push Mia's head back.

"As of now, call me champion," she says, showing me her gold medals.

We all sit in the living room eating chocolates Mia brought while she tells us about her trip and the competition for a while before she stands up to go to her room. Aelia follows her and nods to me before climbing the stairs, telling me to come with them.

"Good luck, man. I'm happy I've known you." Dylan laughs as I stand up. Pissing me off is his favorite activity.

"Shut the fuck up, Dee." I say, slapping the back of his head when I walk past him.

While climbing the stairs, I try to think of ways to break it to her. If it were up to me, I would not make such a big deal out of it; she could find it out all by herself, but it is important to Aelia. I lean against Mia's desk when I enter her room. Aelia is sitting on her bed, facing me, looking nervous.

"What?" Mia asks when she notices me.

"What do you mean, what?" I frown at her and say, "I can't come into your room now."

"Elly was about to tell me something important, so can you please give us some privacy, unless you have something urgent?"

"Actually, Mia, it's better if he is present when I tell you this."

"Why?" Now she looks curious.

Aelia and I look at each other for a while before I add, "We're dating."

"You're what?"

"She's my girlfriend."

She laughs, surprising both Aelia and me. "It's a joke, right?" When she sees the seriousness on our faces, she continues, "Have you lost your damn mind? What the hell do you mean you guys are dating?" she shouts.

We are all silent for a moment, giving her a minute to process what we just told her. Whether she likes it or not, she'll have to accept it anyway.

She frowns before adding, "She is not one of these girls you 'have fun' with Jake. I don't care what you do or with whom, but you are not doing that with my best friend."

"It's not like that!" Why does everyone think that I'm playing with her?

"You said it yourself, Jake. You don't have girlfriends. Relationships are not for you." Shit, I did say that.

"That was before. I was not interested in anyone back then. It's serious between us. C'mon, Mia, do you really think I could do that to Aelia?" Why is Aelia looking at me like that? "Wait, you don't think that I'm just playing with you, do you?" She doesn't answer my question, but the look on her face says it all; she thinks I could be using her. Fuck.

"Serious, you say? Does that mean marriage and all that?" Mia asks, bringing my attention back to her.

"Mia, we have been dating for less than twenty-four hours. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Not serious then."

Is she serious right now?

"It is as serious as a relationship can be. Yes, I've never had any serious relationships before, but that's because none of these girls I was seeing made me want to be in a relationship, and I would like to clarify that they always knew what they were getting into and were in for it. I've never played with anyone, and I'm not planning to start now, especially not with you, Aelia. I want to be with you. I want to be in a relationship with you because I really like you."

This must have convinced Mia—thank God—because she stops scowling. She just stares at me for a while, thinking. I still have to talk about this with Aelia later, though.

"If you hurt her, I will cut off your balls!"

"Mia!"

"Watch your mouth." I reply, walking towards Aelia. "I'm heading to work now; I have to replace the hours from yesterday. See you tonight." I kiss her before I leave.

"Ugh! I think I will never get used to that." I hear Mia say when I leave the room.