Love To Hate You | 𝙹𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝙷𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚜 ❈

Twenty

I didn't know how to face Jack, and to be quite honest, I didn't want to. Not after the dream i'd woken up from this morning. We had one day left of the school week until the weekend, which meant I'd have to see him this morning, and for most of the day. And, worst of all, he'd told me last night that he was coming to pick me up before school this morning so we could both get takeaway coffee.

I was panicking. I didn't know how to act or what to wear or how to speak to him all of a sudden. I'd overnight grown a new kind of attraction for the boy, and it was causing me to spiral.

Lying on my bed, I stared at the ceiling with a blank expression for a good twenty minutes, wasting time that should have been spent getting ready for school, which only caused me to panic even more. I wanted to look good, I had to look good, but I didn't know what the hell to wear. What did Jack even like? Was he into the girly type? Did he prefer tomboys? I didn't know what the hell to do!

I settled on a basic summer dress, since it was always warm in the classrooms, paired with my fleece lined denim jacket and a pair of heeled boots, that I'd worn to school once before. I left my hair down and natural, which had caused me more anxiety than I was willing to admit, but I didn't have enough time to do it.

Jack pulled up to my house moments later, and I grabbed my backpack, slinging it over my shoulder before rushing out of the house, not wanting to speak to anyone, my mother included.

I jumped into the passenger side of Jack's trucks, keeping my eyes down and my hands on my lap, scared that if I moved or breathed or even looked at him, that I'd think about my dream and suddenly want it to happen in real life.

Jack was looking at me like I had just told him the sky wasn't blue, and with his eyes burning into my head, I turned slowly to face him.

"W-what?" I stammered, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

He looked me up and down, taking in every inch of my outfit of choice. "You look different."

"Well," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "If you'd given me more time to get ready I might have been able to do my hair and not look like such a mess!"

Jack's eyes were side as he stared at me, startled by my sudden outburst.

I looked towards my hands again, ashamed. "Sorry."

"Bad dream or something?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

I snapped my gaze to him, frowning. "No! Why would you even ask that?"

"Woah, woah, Lyla," he reasoned, grabbing both of my cheeks in his much larger hands. He squished me, so my lips were all mushed. I frowned deeper. "Relax, baby."

I pushed his hands away, groaning. "Don't call me that."

"Don't call you what?" He asked, squinting. He was lost, just yesterday I didn't have a problem with the use of his pet names for me. Now, suddenly I did? What changed?

"You know what," I mumbled, turning away from the boy.

"Lyla," he teased in a sing song voice. Jack reached out for me, grabbing my chin between his fingers and turning me to face him. "My baby, my pretty girl, what's wrong sweetheart?"

Oh no.

He was so close to me I could feel his breath on my lips and his skin was making my own tingle and my cheeks were burning a horrid shade of deep red. I wanted to come up with a lie, but I couldn't think of one quick enough, and besides, I couldn't lie to Jack, not now, not when he was looking at me like that.

"I had a dream about you," I mumbled, my eyes looking anywhere but him.

Jack put his car in drive, beginning the trek to school. "A dream about me?" He asked, cocking his head. "So, it was a bad dream, then?"