The Tales Of Crowboy The Incredible: Of Ink and Power

Chapter Forty-Seven

       "So.... tonight? Nachos? I think it would be a pretty fun date night." Jake said, cornering me into the edge of the hallway, where the corridor took a sharp turn. People mostly just stood there to smoke, but right now, I was being forced against the wall, Jakes's body pressing against me. 

       After the rest of Mentor Angleben's lecture on Pintrest Witches, I tried to chase after Owen, but he unfortunately he was a sneaky little fucker. But he used some sort of cloaking spell to get away, and it was dumb as shit. I lost sight of him, took some sort of wrong turn, and ran straight into Jake instead. 

        "I think that would be......fun?" I said and pressed the pendant that Owen gave to me against my palm. It looked normal, enough, but knowing Owen, there was definitely something really fucking weird. Maybe it sent me into hell in a giant bubble. Or maybe it was a magic kill switch. Who knows? Well, Owen does, but he doesn't fucking count. 

       "You don't need to look so nervous. It'll be great. I've been going to this place for years, and it's really quiet and small so you probably won't get overstimulated, and after we can just walk around the marketplace. And then, you can go home. That sounds like such a fun night, don't you think?" Jake looked so hopeful, which was so weird. But kind of cute. Maybe he was right. This date might end up being fun. 

        "That sounds..... awesome. You're right. Sorry, I've just been kind of jumpy today." I unhooked my necklace and put the charm onto the chain, careful not the mess with anything. I looked back up at Jake, trying to be as seductive as possible. Oh, that was an impulsive thing. Jake looked down at my lips and shifted his body so no one looking at us could tell who I was. 

         "I knew you would come around." He took my hand, and did the little thing where you rub circles with your thumb on the other person which can either go really well or be uncomfortable. Well, in case you were wondering, when Jake did it, it was great. He leaned in closely, pausing a quick second. A smile tinged his lips, and I could feel it as he pressed his mouth against mine softly. Jake let out a small breath of air after pulling away, and I kept smiling. 

        "So, does all of this feel weird? You know, 'cause I'm a dude?" I teased playfully. It may have ruined the mood, but it was something important that I had to remind him of.  He hesitated but then smiled again, but this time wider. He had dimples, which I had never noticed before. I wanted to hold them in my fingers. 

        "Not really. You're a pretty dude if anything. The dude bit we can leave out if we have to, but I'm all okay with it. Is it...... is it okay if I kiss you again?" I nodded, and he leaned in one more time. I don't know how long we stood there. It was like a fucking Heartstopper moment, but honestly, I wasn't angry. It was the first kiss in a while where I felt something. Even with Zain, it felt weird, but this felt genuine. True and sweet and like I could spend the rest of my life like this. Oh fuck. Zain. I forgot about them. 

        Zain doesn't talk to me anymore, which is understandable. I don't know where they stand. I don't know where I stand with them. I know that I don't like to be around them all of the time, which I'm pretty sure is a big red flag to break up with them. Or ghost them. Or to just..... stop whatever the fuck is going on between us. 

       I pushed Jake away, and he pouted slightly. Dammit, he looked so pretty when he pouted. God fuck. Why were all the boys so pretty?

        "I'm dating someone. Or, I don't know. It's..... complicated. They killed my friend and their family tried to kill me and I don't know what to say to them. It's a situationship. But, I want to go on this date with you." I said. 

          "Do you like me? Because I really like you, and I think I have for a while now, but I don't know if you like me or not or if you just want to have a pretty boy to kiss." There was a joking tone in his voice, but I think that deep down Jake did care about whether I liked him or not. Fuck. 

      "I don't know...." I said, and Jake's face tightened more. Double fuck, this was like the conversation I had with Zain. To be fair, that night did end with Abaddon coming out and that was pretty cool. "But I do know that I want to try something out with you. Whatever it may be." That was a lie. I wanted a boyfriend, and not a person who just kinda of kisses me sometimes, even if that would be really cool. "And I'm going to end..... whatever things are happening between that person and me tonight. Or soon. As soon as I can. Not because of you, but just because it isn't worth being tied down to someone who can barely even text me back." That was fair. It was fair to me to put what I wanted into thoughts and semi-into words and to make Jake aware of that. 

        "Alright. That sounds good. I want to kiss you one more time, but I think that hall monitor is going to come out soon, so I have to make it quick." Jake said. He was kind of taking this like a champ, but that was kind of weird. 

          "Or, you know, we can go to the bathroom and be a little late to class," I said and tugged on his jacket. I liked being in control. Jake thought he was the one taking the wheel, but I was working the pedals. 

     "Well, if we do go to the bathroom, we can't smoke." Oh. That was weird. I stared at Jake with confused eyes. 

       "If anything happens between us, at all, I want you to stop smoking. It'll confuse things and then we'll just get high every time we're together and it'll get messy. That's how it always goes. So, I would prefer it if you stop. All-together. If you have anything on you, could you please give it to me right now?" What the actual fuck?

     "I- No. If I'm going to stop smoking because of you, then you're going to stop smoking too. Don't be dumb, dude. That's fucking dumb. Besides, every time we do get together we get high anyway. I promise I'm not going to like, cheat on you because I'm high. That's dumb shit, and you can only get that fucked up on like edibles or something.  But I'm down to stop if you are."

     Jake sighed and moved out of the way, giving me an open passage to turn and run to class. The cold air that Jake had blocked out mixed in with the now-dying sexual tension. 

     "I.... would be cool with that. I guess. We can talk about it more on the date tonight." SHIT. I forgot about that. The freezing panic of realizing that I needed to break up with Zain within the next 6 hours and then go on a date with Jake settled into my spin. 

     "Right. Tonight. Got it. Can't wait." I said and forced a smile. "WAIT! Do you think we can do it tomorrow? I have..... thing's to do." 

      Jake turned around and smirked. "Sure, Felix," He laughed. "Whatever you say."