Catching Feelings

You Again

"Emma! Wait up!" Jake calls on Monday after school and I let out a groan.

"Really?" I mutter as I carry on walking.

"Emma! Please...I really need to talk to you," he calls.

"What?" I snap as I stop and turn to face him.

"Oh... uh.. hi," he mumbles.

"I have way better things to do with my time than to stand here and listen to you mumble like an idiot so if you have something to say you have a minute to say it," I tell him and he opens his mouth before closing it again.

"I'm really sorry," he eventually tells me.

"You are?" I ask, getting suspicious.

"Yes I really am. What Suzanne and I did was way out of line and I'm ashamed that I had any part in it. I'm serious, I'm really and truly sorry."

"Look, I appreciate the fact that you came to apologise but it doesn't make up for anything."

"I know and I didn't expect it to. I just really wanted you to know how I felt about it."

He looks at me and sends me a nervous smile. I don't say anything so we fall into an awkward silence. A few times he looks like he wants to say something but at the last minute he decides against saying anything and just looks at me.

"I told myself I wouldn't ask this but I have to know, why did you do it Jake?" I ask and I'm met by a long silence so I decide to try again.

"Do you hate me or something? I mean what have I ever done to you?" 

"I don't hate you Emma and you really haven't done anything to me at all. I'm just an incredibly stupid teenage boy who let himself be manipulated by a pretty girl and I know that's no excuse but I really have nothing else I could tell you."

"You're kidding me right? I can't believe that you're such an idiot!"

"I guess I deserve that."

"You deserve a lot more than that. I'm really considering getting Cody's hockey stick and beating you up myself."

"I guess I'd deserve that too but please don't do it."

"I will never understand people like you and Suzanne."

"Trust me, you wouldn't want to. But anyway... if it's any consolation Suzanne's plan totally backfired. She's probably 100 times more humiliated than you are since everything she said about you was lies but what you said about her was the truth."

"Really?"

"Yeah... and people agree with you too so she's basically a joke right now."

"Stop being a suck-up."

"I guess I thought I'd give it a shot."

"Jake, I have another question."

"Okay. Shoot."

"Was everything you ever said to me a lie?"

"Yes. I hate musicals and ballets. They put me to sleep. My dad's a mechanic so there was no way he'd get me free tickets for shows. The Nutcracker was the only ballet I knew so I just got lucky I guess. I love tomatoes... when I was small I could eat them whole. And lastly...I am a peeping tom," he tells me with a grin but I just glare at him.

"I guess my joke didn't distract you from everything else I said?"

"Of course it didn't. Look... your minute was up about 5 minutes ago and I do appreciate the fact that you had the guts to come apologize to me and stuff but I am still pissed at you so if there's nothing else you want to say I'd like to go to ballet now. Barb will kill me if I'm late."