"The Sketcher." (A Jacksepticeye Story.)

I Care

"GO OUT THERE AND SHOW THE WORLD WHO'S BOSS!"
- Sean William McLoughlin

Chapter Five

The world seemed to stop for a moment. All Amber could notice was the pounding in her chest. Amber and Jack locked eyes for a couple minutes, not saying anything to each other. Amber cleared her throat and fidgeted with the pencil in her hands. She looked away, feeling her face heat up.

"Um...no? Okay..maybe. It depends on your reaction. I'm sorry." Amber apologized quickly.

   When she heard him chuckle, she turned back to him. Jack held the paper up and smiled, pleased.

"Why should you be sorry!? This is awesome! One, because it's of me and two, because your an amazing artist."

   His comment caught her off guard. Nobody has called her an Artist before. She liked it. She really liked it. She started grinning, clasping her hands together tightly.

"I really like your smile too." Jack whispered, raising his eyebrows and flashing her his own smile.

   Amber's face turned bright red as she looked away and cleared her throat. Jack handed her back the paper, laying on the floor and posing with his hand on his hips and one resting his head. Amber looked at him in confusion, trying not to laugh.

"Paint me like one of your French girls." Jack said in a high pitched voice.

   Amber couldn't hold back the laughter as she giggled. She covered her mouth to quiet the noise. Jack let out a laugh and stood up, dusting his pants off.
By now, students had piled into the halls and classrooms. Amber collected her things, shoving the sketch back into her sketchbook. Composing herself, she quietly said goodbye and walked off to class. Jack watched her leave, smiling to himself again.
School seemed to drag on for forever. Teachers lectured, lockers slammed, and bells were rung. When last period rolled around, Amber sighed in relief. Her mind was in another place, a place where Jack was.
She couldn't help it, she was falling for him. She knew better though, she knew how these things would end. Jack was the jock, the popular guy who everyone wanted to be. He didn't think twice about a girl like Amber, she  didn't stand a chance.
The bell rang unexpectantly, making Amber startled again. She walked out alone and through the wave of students in her way. Amber has been here for a couple weeks now, but nobody seemed to notice her. Nobody but..Jack. She felt herself smiling.

"Hey! Amber!" A voice called out to her.

   She turned to look, hoping it was Jack. It wasn't, it was Luke and his rally of friends. Amber internally groaned and gave them a single wave. Outside, she could hear thunder rumbling.
It had been a cloudy day, surrounded with gray skies and strong gusts of wind. As the group walked to meet her, she began to hear the rain start. Luke smiled at her, the others seeming to want to be anywhere else but here.

"How are you liking school so far?" He asked, running a hand through his blonde hair.

   Luke was the typical football jock. Platinum short blonde hair, straight white teeth, beautiful blue eyes, high cheekbones, and that sweetheart charm. Amber didn't fall for it, but she knew everyone else was.
A girl had her arm around his waist, kissing his cheek. Amber could see her cheerleading uniform peeking out from the jacket she was wearing.
Amber responded with a shrug of her shoulders and started walking away. She didn't like these people, she didn't like the feeling they gave her. They caught up with her easily before walking outside with her. She could hear the girl complaining about getting wet as the raindrops sprinkled above them.

"Wait up! I don't see what Jack sees in someone like you but, I'm going to try."

   A few chuckled behind her, making Amber clutch her sketchbook. She turned around, deciding to be nice. The girl that was on Luke stepped closer to Amber.

"Why do you always carry that around?" The girl asked, her hand reaching out to take it.

   Amber moved it away quickly, wrapping her arms around it. The girl gave Luke a devilish smile and quickly grabbed it. Luke chuckled as he watched Amber tug it back forcefully into her grip. Luke nonchalantly stuck his foot out and caused Amber to trip and lose her grip on the notebook.

"Damn! Don't need to be all protective. It's just a stupid notebook." Luke said.

   Amber sneered and tried to grab for it again, but the girl was already searching through it. Amber felt anger boiling in her veins as she struggled to snatch her drawings back.
The girl giggled and picked up the folded and wrinkled sketch of Jack she had shoved into the pages. Amber shook her head, shoving Luke away and grabbing for it.
Luke plucked it from the girl's grip and examined it. He burst out laughing, holding it up high for everyone to see. Amber's heart sunk as he started crumpling it in his hands.

"Looks like Amber has a little crush." Luke said loudly, causing a few more heads to turn to their attention.

   Amber hastily grabbed her sketchbook back and backed away. She could feel tears coming, but forced them not to spill. Luke continued to crush the paper until it was a ball. The girl beside him laughed and pulled her hood over her head.

"Look, you seem like a nice girl..I guess. My
boy Jack though, can do better than this." Luke stated.

   Amber watched him throw the drawing down in a puddle forming by their feet. She watched them leave her, continuing their laughing and joking around as they made it to the parking lot. She looked up, seeing Jack walk out the door. What a coincidence.
His eyes met with hers and a smile lit up his face. It slowly changed into worry when he saw Amber sharply turn away from him.
He started walking towards her when she quickly walked out of his sight. Her hands were balled in fists and her sleeves raised to wipe away tears that had failed to remain invisible.
Jack jogged over to where Amber standing, looking down. He spotted the crumpled ball of paper and bent down to pick it up. The paper was now water damaged and soggy as he smoothed it out.
Pieces of it ripped with his touch. He saw the sketch of himself, now ruined and ripped from water damage. He looked over to where his friends were as they motioned for him to come to them. Once he saw Luke nod and laugh, Jack knew they were responsible for Amber's tears. Sighing, he turned away from the group and went towards his own car.
He pushed his damp hair out of his eyes and went to his car. He placed the drawing carefully on his dash, shaking his head. Jack started his car and headed out. He couldn't help but feel slightly responsible.
He knew his friends were complete jerks to anyone outside of their friend group. It wasn't fair. He looked at the tattered drawing, biting his bottom lip. Why did they have to be so mean to someone they don't give the chance to get to know?
He started up his car, watching the rain race down his windshield in droplets. He pulled out of the school, eyes flickering to see if he could catch Amber. When he couldn't find her, he pulled into the street and down his road.

He had to make this right.