Teenage Diaries

Shade

A/N before the chapter because I am seriously so so so so so happy. TD is #5 in Hot Works in Humor and its all thanks to you guys out there! So a massive shoutout to all the silent/non-silent readers! Without you this book would have still have been on my computer, gathering dust! I love you all so much, thanks for all the support!
Now enough with my blabbering, enjoy!
___________________________

That night after my fight with Jake, I barely slept, and it wasn't a mystery as to why I looked like a raccoon with horrible dark circles and pale face the next morning. It seemed as if even my hair had guessed my mood because today it chose not to be tamed by me, and after fifteen minutes of struggling with it, I finally put it up in a messy bun in exasperation. And no, I don't mean those perfect Tumblr messy buns that are deliberately made messy. This one was the one that any normal girl would make at home in the confines of her own room, praying no one would see her. I called Tanya to pick me up.
"Wow, you look like trash, did a truck hit you in the morning?" Tanya grimaced as she took in my appearance. I gave her a weary look and sat back, not exactly in a mood to talk. She got the message and quietly drove till we reached school. We separated our ways and I headed my props class as usual. School was in a festive mood thanks to the ongoing campaigning, but it didn't affect me, because I felt about as alive as a thousand year old mummy rotting in some pyramid. And I wasn't even surrounded by gold and precious stones, I had to settle for glittery banners and enthusiastic campaigners. A few of them hovered around, and I took some candy from one of them, popping one in my mouth as I headed to the props room. I hadn't caught sight of Jake yet, and I intended to keep it that way, I didn't think I'd be able to look at him without breaking down.
"Hey!" I said to both Andrew and Ryan. Ryan looked sleepy and he stifled a yawn as he smiled at me.
Andrew and I got talking about stuff. Ryan shuffled some desks and chairs till he lay down, dozing off. When it was lunch break I didn't feel like getting out of the class so I requested Andrew to buy some chocolate bar when he went out. He gladly said he would. Ryan was still sleeping, and I thought about how I never saw him in the cafeteria during lunch. Did he ever eat? In answer to my question, he groaned, waking up, looking around.
"You still here?" He looked at me, grabbing his bag. He fished out a lunch bag from it.
"Yeah, don't feel like heading out today." I said and he nodded. He offered me a piece of sandwich which I gladly took, eating.
"Hey Ryan!" I heard him enter and I couldn't help but feel a wave of cold wave go over me. I didn't look up but I knew it was Jake standing at the doorway.
Why was he here?
He paused, clearly having noticed me. I looked at Ryan who looked at me awkwardly. He cleared his throat and got up.
"Jake..." He started but Jake cut him off.
"I'll just come back later." He said quietly.
"Stop!" I surprised myself by saying. I looked at him. He looked bad. His eyes were ringed with dark circles similar to mine. His clothes were wrinkled and hair was messy.
"Why?" He said quietly, but I shuddered from the coldness it emitted.
"Um...  I'm going to go..." Ryan dashed out of the room.
"Jake," I said, moving closer to him. He stood at the doorway, in a stance of flight, not saying a word.
"I-I'm sorry," I managed to say after some hesitation.
"Really?" He smiled, but the smile had no warmth.
"Yeah, I-" I started to say but he cut me off.
"Listen, I got the message loud and clear. I'm sorry for being such a nosy person. I won't do it again." He said emotionlessly.
"But Jake! Hear me out!" I cried. He raised an eyebrow.
"I did not mean any of it! It was the anger and the built up frustration talking! I love it when you try to help me, idiot. It makes me feel special." I lowered my voice, feeling a tear slide down my cheek and drop from my chin. He inched closer.
"Really?" He repeated, and I could almost feel a little warmth slipping into his words.
"Really." I nodded, looking up at him, placing a hand on his cheek. The minute I did so, his eyes turned stone cold again.
"But you sure didn't sound like you meant it yesterday Angela. Please tell me if what I did really bothered you or not." He said quietly. I took a deep breath in.
"Jake, please don't be mad." I choked, looking up at me.
"I don't want us to fight." I said.
"Do you think I want to?" He asked, and his eyes softened.
"Angela, what you said yesterday really hurt me." He said softly.
"Hear me out," he said when I opened my mouth to say something.
"But what hurt me the most was the fact that you said it all like you meant it. Don't deny it, I know you did, if not all of it."
I looked down and that was all the confirmation he needed.
"I'm sorry too." He put his forehead against mine.
I stared up in shock.
"But-" I started.
"You had mentioned this tons of times before but I never really thought you were serious." He looked at me. Emotion filled his eyes and inside I was overjoyed that he was breaking that cool barrier and trying to sort things out.
"No, no, I was wrong. I'll be honest, it bugged me sometimes because I felt that you always found out about things the minute they happened, and jumped in to help me, but I never appreciated the fact that you were helping me when I couldn't help myself. I took you for granted Jake, and I never realised that till we fought yesterday. I'm really sorry." I said, placing my palms on his chest and leaning into him.
"Shhhh..." He said soothingly, wrapping an arm around my waist, while using the other to gently wipe the tears off my face.
"You and I were both wrong in some aspects, but as long as we're together it doesn't matter. I love you, you know that right?" He said softly, kissing my forehead gently.
"No more fights?" I looked at him.
"No more fights." He promised, smiling the smile that had made me fall for him first, and now all over again.
I placed my lips on his and kissed him, and he kissed me back, while I savoured the feeling of his lips on mine, hoping to freeze this moment.
He broke away first, breathing heavily, flashing a grin.
"Well, that was our first fight as a couple." He grinned. I chuckled.
"But you still have to tell me, how do you find out about things so fast?" I looked up at him.
"It's a big mystery!" I saw the sly look on his face and exclaimed.
"Well," he raised his eyebrows and the one of the corners of his mouth upturned.
"There are perks of being the most popular guy at school. I find out about things faster than anybody else, it's part of the popular guy package." He said nonchalantly and I giggled.
"There you go boasting about your popularity, aren't I lucky that my boyfriend has such good sources?" I poked a finger into his cheek. He smiled, and backed away, calling out for Ryan.
Ryan entered seconds later, looking at us with alarm.
"Are you guys-" he looked across at both of us and we nodded.
"Yeah, we're cool," I smiled and he heaved a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank god! You have no idea how awkward it has been for me with Jake showing up now and again-" he shut up immediately when Jake gave him a cautious look.
I stared them in confusion till Jake shrugged it off, telling me it was nothing and Ryan muttered something about how unimportant it was.
Despite not being fully convinced, I let the matter go, glad that Jake and I were talking again.
Although the fight had barely lasted a day, it had taken a toll on me.
I secretly hoped we never broke up, that day would be the death of me. I slipped an arm around his waist and hugged him, finally shooing him off to class. Ryan immediately flopped down on a chair and resumed tapping away on his phone.
I smiled and sat down too, thinking about the eventful day tomorrow, the day of the play would be.
I forgot that I hadn't voted and ran outside to the nearest voting poll, signed my name on to some random campaigners sheet, a person who didn't have a lot of votes. My vote might not make a difference but atleast I would be able to make the guy feel a little bit happy that there were a few people on his side.
The day hadn't been so bad after all.
But the way things had been going lately, tomorrow would be anything but a straight road.

~misswhateverr