Knock Knock... Don't Invite Me In

Chapter 2: Wilted flowers

I tried to ignore the tug over my left shoulder but couldn't. While Mrs. Jones wrote a formula on the board, I glanced over my shoulder and, sure enough, a pair of dark brown eyes were fixated just on me. I quickly turned back to face the front of the class and hid a smile. It was only period four out of six and this is how it had been all day. It may sound creepy but the way he stared was just so... flattering. It made me feel important. I don't know what it was about him, but I felt like I had known him for years, like we had been best friends in a past life or in a dream. I felt something soft hit my back and quickly turned to see Jake smiling and pointing towards a crumpled paper under my chair. I grabbed it and read,

"Got any plans for lunch? New Kid probs, I don't have any friends."

I hid yet another smile and picked up my pencil to write a response when the class got silent. I looked up to see Mrs. Jones staring straight at me.

"Would you like to share your note with the class, Miss Lee?" She asked, walking towards me. My face turned hot as fire and I panicked.

"I.. um."

"I would." I heard a familiar voice say from behind me. "It's one of the most secret letters Romeo wrote to Juliet before she killed herself. In this little letter," he said, snatching the paper from my desk as he paraded it around the room, "Romeo proclaims his love for, well, for you Mrs. Jones! I guess Juliet just couldn't handle the idea that her true loved wanted a much older woman." My mouth dropped in shock as the other students stifled laughs. "A much older woman, might I add." Mrs. Jones lip quivered in anger.

"Well, new kid, I do believe that earns you a trip to poor Juliet's house, the office. Go." Jake strutted back to his seat, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked out while shooting a wink towards Mrs. Jones, earning a few high fives on the way out.

When the bell rang for lunch, I wasn't expecting to be greeted by a grinning Jake. In fact, I expected him to be sitting in the principal's office getting scolded or even sent home, not grinning like a child outside the classroom.

" Hey Juliet, ready for lunch?" I laughed and nodded.

"That was quite a show you put on back there. Um thanks for saving me, but I'm pretty sure you already made an enemy of our calculus teacher and its only your first day. Good luck passing that class."

"Oh, whatever. That lady was such a bore, I needed an excuse to get out of there before I internally exploded." I giggled. The rest of the way to the cafeteria, we causally talked about ourselves and families.

"So what made you move here?" I asked as I led Jake to an empty table in the back.

"Uh, just some personal problems." I took that as a hint that he didn't want to talk about it so I began eating my food.

"So, Miss Lee, tell me about yourself. What makes Karoline tick?" He asked, shoving a spoonful of meat into his mouth.

"Um, there isn't much to me." I said shyly, playing with my food.

"Now, I know that's not true. Tell me the basics, Karoline. Take me, for example. I'm a literature fanatic, as you would say, I watch marathons of old shows for fun. Little House on the Prairie being my favorite, no judgment. and I'm extremely good looking, but that speaks for itself." He said with a wink. I smiled shyly.

"Oh Little House on the Prairie? Such a manly show." I commented, laughing.

"Hey hey hey, I said no judgment!" he said, waving his hands in the air in surrender.

"Umm... I'm a big fan of Stephen King, I am the loner with her nose in a book, I like taking walks, and love anything about nature. Oh and I am shy, but that speaks for itself."

"You're not a loner anymore, like it or not, I'm here to stay." He said with a wink and I covered my smile. "See! There you go, I finally lifted a brick off the great wall of Karoline." I laughed and began eating. I felt his eyes on me, but I stared straight at my food. "I like you Karoline, you intrigue me. I cannot wait to get to know you better." This time, I couldn't hide my smile.

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As the weeks went by, I opened up little by little to Jake. I was falling for him... how could I not? Every day for the past three weeks, he has walked with me to every class, given that we have every class together, we discuss Stephen King as I zoom through the novels, and he never fails to make me laugh. He is everything I am not. It may be because this is the most attention I have ever gotten from anyone, much less a boy, in my life. It felt good to feel important, and I was instantly attracted to the feeling. This may sound crazy, but I truly am falling for him, and I think he's falling for me too. Unfortunately, I won't see him today. Stupid Saturday. I actually look forward to school now just to see that stunning smile. Just as I got out of bed, I heard a knock on the door.

"Karoline, get the door!" Ugh. I sulked to the door and opened it to see a boy and woman I didn't know.

"Um, hi." I said, holding the door slightly open. The boy, with blonde hair and blue eyes, looked about my age. I assumed the woman was his mom.

"Hi! Oh, it is just so nice to meet you! We just moved in next door and wanted to introduce ourselves!" She said, a little too enthusiastically, "My name is Jenny Klose, and this is my son Caleb!" I forced a smile.

" Um, my name is Karoline and I live here with my mom but she's a little busy right now." I reached out to shake their hands when I noticed movement over their shoulders. I looked to see Jake standing there, with flowers in his hand and a scowl on his face. "Jake??" I called and he started to walk towards us. "Jenny, Caleb, this is my-"

"Boyfriend. I'm her boyfriend, Jake. Who are you?" he was staring straight at Caleb, and he looked pissed.

"They just moved in next door." I said, tugging him towards me. We continued to talk about the town and the neighborhood a while longer before we said goodbye and I stepped outside, closing the door behind me. "Jake, what are you-"

"Seriously Karoline? I come over to surprise you with flowers and you're here with another boy?" I stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Jake, I don't even know-"

"Don't even try making excuses, I totally saw how you were looking at him and I don't like it."

"I just met him! I wasn't looking at him in any way!"

He rolled his eyes. "Gosh, are all girls the same? Why does this ALWAYS happen to me."

"You've had a girlfriend before me? How come I didn't know about this?" I asked, I could basically feel literal steam coming out of my ears.

"You know what Karoline, whatever." he said, throwing the flowers on the floor and stomping away. As I slowly reached down to pick up the flowers, a tear silently slid into my agape mouth.

I had never seen that side of Jake before, and I was scared.