Scared to love

Jake's POV

"Put Mister Snuggles in the middle", Matthew says when he sees the bear. "Why you need a cuddle buddy?", Chloë snorts. "No I want to make sure that if I fall to the wrong side, I don't fall too far", he responds. She hands him the bear and he puts it in the middle of the backseat. "Let's get going then", I say before getting in the car. The others also get in so that we can start driving home. I ask Dakota for his address so that we can get him home and Chloë puts it in the GPS. I start the car and off we go. We do take a stop at the first gas station we see to get gas as well as snacks and drinks that will hopefully last us until the next break. "You guys good?", Chloë asks after we've been driving for a while now. "Besides the fact I have this huge hangover, can't complain", Dakota sighs. "Yeah same, I regret drinking so much", Matthew joins. "Don't get behind the wheel later if you're still like that", I say. "I can barely open my eyes right now, you'd be stupid to let me drive", Dakota shares with us. "Guess it'll be the two of us who drive then angel", I say while putting my hand on her leg and squeezing it. She smiles and nods while putting her hand on mine.

After driving for a few hours, we take a stretch and lunch break. The guys still look horrible yet they look a bit better than this morning. "Would you mind driving for a while?", I ask Chloë when we're returning to the car. "No I don't mind", she responds. We switch spots in the car but the guys stay in the same spots. We're almost home after a very long and somewhat boring drive. Both Matthew and Dakota slept for more than half of the ride, while Chloë and I switched twice since lunch so she's driving again. "Dakota we should be at your house in about 10 minutes", I warn him. "Great, thanks a lot you guys. I'm sorry I didn't drive by the way, but if we ever go somewhere with the car again, I'll make sure I'm driving", he says. We pull up to his house not long after that and I get out too so I can help him with his luggage. "Thanks man", he thanks me, "see you soon guys!" "See you soon", we yell back at him. Chloë waits to leave until we see him enter his house, just in case. When he entered, she starts the car again and drives us home.

It's already pretty late in the evening so none of us bother to unpack, we just put our suitcases next to the front door and go to our rooms. I fall on my bed after I took off all my clothes. I'll have to remember to put on a shirt when I get out of my room in the morning since I don't want Matthew see the 'art' Chloë left on my chest. My mind goes back to last night and I can't help but smile. I'm glad that she thought I did good yet I had no idea what I was doing. I wonder what this now actually means for our friendship but before I can think too much of it, I fall asleep. I wake up because of my alarm the next morning and I almost go out without a shirt on but I remember just in time to put one on. I leave my room and see Chloë walking back and forth. "Good morning", she smiles when she notices me. "Good morning to you too", I smile back at her.

"Guys I lost my toothbrush!", Matthew panics. "Dude for the love of God, you didn't even open your suitcase", Chloë remarks while rolling with her eyes. "Oh right I forgot about that", Matthew dryly states. "Is there any chance we have something to eat in the house?", I ask them. "There are some pastries on the kitchen table. Your angel went out to get some", Matthew says while pointing at the table. "She isn't mine you know", I say at his last statement. "Not yet", he mutters under his breath just loud enough for me to hear. He runs away from me before I can do or say anything to that. I swear I shouldn't have said anything to them about her. If she'll find out it's most likely going to be their fault, that is if Dakota is going to be the same about this like Matthew. "You should eat something Jake", Chloë says from the kitchen. I walk towards her and smile. "What happened to 'darling', I liked that", I tease her. "Well then, you should eat something darling", she teases me back. I feel my cheeks getting warmer and she lets out a small giggle before walking away. While I'm eating my breakfast, I watch her unpack her suitcase. While I'm watching her, Matthew gets back from the bathroom and grins at me. "Don't start drooling now", he jokes.