Heartbreak

Chapter 4

I woke up. It was about two weeks after the rejection. I still felt horrible, but at least a little bit better. My heart would never be repaired. Would never be satisfied. I now had somewhat of a grudge. Though it wasn't really my fault that he had a girlfriend. Plus, I could see why. He was a handsome kid with good humor.

I was walking to school. Every step that I took had special meaning to me as I thought of what had happened before. I sighed at the mere thought. Well, time to push past it and move on. I saw Jaycob walking on the other side of the street by himself. Strange. I guess his girlfriend couldn't make it. Maybe she's sick.

As I walked to school, everything seemed pretty normal. But I wouldn't be ready for what would happen.

I reached the school and entered.

I walked over to the seventh-graders. David was looking at me very happily. Well, someone's happy. "Damn, David, you look happy! What happened? Did Janae become your Valentine or something?" He shook his head. "Nah. I wish though," he said, laughing. "Though something great did happen. "What?" I asked curiously, tilting my head. "So you know Jaycob, right?" he asked. "Nah bro, I totally don't know him," I said. After a brief moment of silence, I said, "Continue." He nodded. "Okay, so, take this with a grain of salt, because this is a rumor, but... rumor has it that Jaycob broke up with his girlfriend!"

I froze. My eyes widened. My heart felt warm, and it felt like it was starting to rebuild. Woah. I shouldn't really feel so happy about a breakup. But then again, this is my crush. Not like I was waiting for them to break up or anything though. "Really?" I asked after a long moment. He shrugged. "Maybe. Just take it with a grain of salt. Plus, Jaycob looked kind of down earlier. Didn't you notice?" I felt kind of weird. How could I not notice that? Damn it, this is Jaycob we're talking about here! Is there anything that I wouldn't want to know about him? "No, I guess I didn't," I said sheepishly. The bell rang.

Before I knew it, it was recess. Everyone was talking about the breakup, it seemed. And I wondered if it was real. Maybe it is if everyone's talking about it. David approached me as I stared at the sky. "Yo, Emma, Jaycob's girlfriend dropped out of the art club!" Oh. Damn. She probably quit because they broke up. I don't wanna seem happy though, as that would give off a weird vibe. "Okay," I calmly responded.

But deep inside, I felt warm. Very happy. I felt sort of guilty at the same time though. I mean, it's sort of like being happy if I broke up with Caleb for the first time. That was a very sad time for me, I thought. I pushed those thoughts out of my head. I really don't wanna remember that. But this is great! Oh, and we have art club today! I have an idea!

I approached Maryam. "Hey, Maryam, kind of an emergency, but do you have, like, a piece of paper?" Maryam smiled. "Of course, Emma!" I smiled back. Maryam's such a nice friend. Like a ray of sunshine, I thought. It's kind of contagious! I felt even happier now.

She gave me the paper. "Thank you so much," I said to her. "You're welcome," she said, leaving to go talk to Brianna, I guessed. I stuck the sticky note on my lunchbox. Somewhat of a surface. Well, it's better than nothing. What should I write? I asked myself.

Then the words came to me naturally as I wrote with the pencil.

"Dear Jaycob, I heard that you broke up with your girlfriend. I'm very sorry for you, and I hope that you feel better. If you want, I could ask Mrs. Hall for me to sit at your table and I could try to cheer you up. What do you think?"

Then there was a blank space at the bottom half of the sticky note for him to write.

Luckily, the art club had come by fast. We were on the line. "Okay, everyone in the art club, please step out of the line. Okay, you guys can go. Have a good day!" Mr. Fatouros said. Ooh, I definitely will, I thought to myself.

Looking back, Jaycob was holding the door. Oh, nice, I'll get there before him! When I arrived at the art club, I was the first one there. Nice. Now just time to leave my note. I left the note on the table. As soon as I did, everyone came. Ooh, nearly got caught there! I rushed to my seat. I don't think anyone noticed, luckily.

I peeked at Jaycob. He was intrigued when he saw the note. Oh my gosh, he's checking it! He looked shocked. His eyes widened, and he shed a tear. I saw him writing on the paper. Too bad that I can't see what he's reading. That would be like the lip reading equivalent. I don't have that type of talent.

Then I saw him put the paper on our table. I reached over to grab it. I looked at his response, fear building up inside of me quickly. I felt like butterflies were in my stomach.

"Sure. I need someone to cheer me up anyway."

I was full of happiness. I tried to stop myself from jumping up with joy. "Aay, I'm out," I said to Genesis. "What?" she asked, confused. I took shades from my pocket and put them on. "I'm out." I felt really cool for some reason. Damn, I must have looked so weird in front of him. Well, it's fine, I'm just overthinking things as always!

As I looked at Jaycob, he looked at me. I couldn't read his gaze. Somewhat hostile, but mixed with forlorn feelings but also somewhat excited.

I guess we'll see.