Perfectly Mismatched

Chapter Four - Creeped Out

MASON'S POV

Mason was trying so hard to get close to Layla...trying too hard. To him, he was making progress quite quickly to make up for the time he lost by being afraid to talk to her. He was afraid to talk to her for a few reasons. First, because he had a crush on her. Second, she always had an edgy look and vibe: dyed hair, the piercings, and the dark eyeliner. Third, he and everyone else knew, that you shouldn't piss her off or mess with her, because she could do some serious damage if she really wanted to. She wasn't the kind of girl to go picking fights or just beat people up, but if you really pissed her off or crossed a line too far, you were a goner. She could handle her own fights, and never needed anyone to save her or watch out for her. That being said, the mystery as to why Jake was so protective of her, still holds. He was almost overly protective of her, and nobody could quite figure out why. 

LAYLA'S POV

Layla longed for Jake's protective arm to rest around her shoulders. She begged for his joking and teasing. She waited for him to take her phone from her, but he never did. Instead, Layla spent her time trying to steer clear of Mason whenever possible. He was beginning to scare her, and she wished even more that Jake was around. She knew that since Jake was quarterback none of the other football players would mess with what was "his." Jake didn't exactly have a claim on Layla, but everyone acted as if he did. Everyone in the sophomore class pretty much knew that Jake and Layla were close. They knew that Jake would do anything to protect her, and they knew that she would do anything to help him out. Neither of them needed each other's help, but they liked having it. Without Jake, Layla was completely lost and with Mason, Layla was completely creeped out. 

Layla talked to her best friend, Kelsey. Kelsey always knew what to do, plus she had a slightly devious side to her, much like Layla. One day they were messaging on facebook while Layla was also messaging Mason. Layla was weirded out by the fact that Mason kept sending her hearts, and smiley faces. 

Kelsey said to experiment, "Ask him if he'll do something for you." 

Layla typed, "Will you do me a favor?" and hit send to Mason's chat. 

Almost instantly he responded with, "YES ANYTHING." 

Layla quickly closed the chat and sent a picture of the conversation to Kelsey. 

Kelsey laughed saying, "This boy is trying too damn hard." 

Layla responded frantically with, "I know and it's freaking me out!" 

Kelsey asked, "Well did you ask him to do anything for you?"

 Layla scoffed as she said, "Hell no! I don't want anything from him, he's creepy as shit!" 

They both laughed at how hard Mason was trying, then they moved to talking about Jake. 

JAKE'S POV 

Jake wished he could talk to Layla; she always knew what to say. He wanted to talk to her because he was used to talking to her every day. He wanted to talk to her because he wanted to know how things were going with Mason. If he had known that Mason was creeping Layla out, he would've told him to tone it down. He would step back into her life and he wouldn't let anything make her feel uncomfortable. He would be happier knowing that he could protect her and make her laugh. He missed playing with her hair, and her phone, or messing with her during class. He missed her hugs, and having someones shoulders to rest his arm on. He missed randomly throwing his jacket over her head and picking her up, pretending to kidnap her. He missed the way her eyes would roll whenever he tried to talk sports with her. 

Jake just missed Layla, and deep down, he knew that she missed him too.