Perfectly Mismatched

Chapter One - The Rumors

Layla and Jake had been friends since their freshman year, which was not long. They were a third of the way through sophomore year, when the rumors started. 

LAYLA'S POV 

Everyone was saying that Jake was in love with her, or that he was going to ask her out; a lot of people thought they were already dating. He was a football player and the sport was his entire life. She was a cheerleader, who really didn't care much about the game at all. They hadn't talked at all during the summer between freshman and sophomore year, but when they returned in the fall, they acted as if they hadn't spent any time apart. If anything, it seemed like they spent every second of every day together, they were closer than ever. They had lunch together occasionally, they goofed off before football games, they were always getting in trouble in class for talking. Everyone said they'd make the cutest couple, actually, people said they were the cutest couple....even though they weren't a couple at all. 

One day, Alicia, Jake's ex-girlfriend, approached Layla in class and asked, "so, what's with you and Jake?" 

Layla looked up at her, confused. Layla knew that Alicia was Jake's ex-girlfriend, but she'd also heard that they didn't date for long and Alicia broke up with him...so why was she asking about Jake now? "Nothing" Layla responded while she continued to work. 

"So...you're not like, dating him?" asked Alicia. 

Layla scoffed, "No, why would you think that?" 

Alicia looked at Layla confused, "Just something I heard..." 

"Well, we're not dating" Layla said matter of factly. 

"He's a really bad kisser..." muttered Alicia. 

Layla ignored this comment and continued her work. She didn't understand why Alicia was talking to her to begin with, but she didn't care what Alicia or anyone else thought; she wasn't dating Jake. 

Layla had no idea why people always thought they were together; to her it was just a great friendship. She'd never even considered dating him...he wasn't really her type. She usually went for the curly haired, musicians or singers, not the super dark haired, jocks, like Jake. She and Jake spent a lot of time together. If he had to finish or make up a test during lunch, she would bring him something because he would do the same for her. They always messed with each other, he would mess up her hair and she would bump him playfully. They laughed a lot when they were together, it's exactly how it should've been. She had other guy friends, but she didn't talk to them like she talked to Jake. He was different, special, he was her best friend. 

When all the rumors started, Layla didn't think much of it, in fact, she just denied them. However, it did make her think: What if I was dating Jake? She thought about their first hug, the first time they talked, and the way they act around each other. It made her realize, maybe he did like her. He was always really protective of her, whenever they were walking anywhere, even down the hall, he'd put his arm around her shoulders and pull her in close to shield her from other people. If they were anywhere where anything could fall on her or hit her, he made sure he could save her if he needed to, and he told her that repeatedly; in fact, he'd say things like, "If that tree were to fall suddenly, I'd be able to save you, don't worry." She realized, no other guy did that. Most guys would playfully hit her or make fun of her. But Jake was the male lead in every story she told. Whenever one of her friends would ask where she was, everyone else would say, "Probably with Jake." That's when, she first started to see herself possibly dating him. She didn't want to ruin anything between them, so she didn't say anything to him about it. She hadn't realized that things would escalate so quickly with her friends believing they were together. At this point, they wanted it to happen so badly, they believed it had, despite her protests. 

She hadn't realized, that she loved him. She never wanted him to leave, and she never wanted anyone to take his place.