Pleasure

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Are you seriously leaving?" He asks as I put my own clothes on angrily.

"Obviously." I snap, wanting to go off. Is this why he's so nonchalant about everything? Why does he even have her number? She should be blocked and in the past.

"Hey," he reaches for my arm but I immediately jerk it away.

"Don't touch me." I glare up at him with threatening eyes, although that's all I can do because he's so tall and strong. His face becomes hard as he clenches his jaw.

"You're not even going to let me explain?" He grunts.

I stop what I'm doing and look at him. "There shouldn't even be a story, Jacob. There's always a story, God I'm so tired of it."

Hurt strikes the surface of his face. I can tell I've offended him, I'm just too angry to care about it right now. He pokes his chest out as his expression hardens.

"Then go," he mumbles and swats the air. "Fucking leave, I don't care. I'm so sick of you running away from your problems!"

"I run away from my problems?! So now this is about me?" I stomp towards him in anger. He stands his ground as I peer up at him. "Why do you even have her number? You act like you're okay with what she's trying to do."

"You're paranoid." He murmurs darkly. I laugh bitterly and walk away.

"And you're an asshole." I state, simply. I get my things and leave without saying another word.

Next Day

I'm walking down the hall with Natalie when Courtney comes with her group of regular followers. She smirks devilishly when she sees me. I already feel angry enough to punch her in the face. The thought of her reminds me of what happened between Jacob and I last night. It's like she's ruining our relationship without even touching it. She's working her magic without even trying and I'm letting her. I feel stupid for it, but at the same time I feel angry.

I cut to my locker with Natalie and start putting in my combination.

"Sewer rats, approaching now." Natalie mumbles. I laugh to myself, but don't look at her.

"Hey Aria." Courtney greets, sounding falsely excited. I sigh and roll my eyes before looking at her.

"What do you want today?" I groan, feeling fed up with her.

"Just wondering if Jacob told you about last night? It could've been a misunderstanding." She says, smiling and twirling her blonde hair. I feel anger boil inside of me. My breathing becomes unstable as I imagine going full animal-style on her.

"Let's go, she's not worth the time." Natalie states and pulls at my arm, urging me to leave.

"Who are you again?" Courtney snaps sarcastically. Her friends laugh and Natalie grunts, pulling into herself a bit more.

"Don't talk to her like that," I intervene, stepping in between her and Natalie.

"What are you going to do?" Courtney threatens, stepping closer to me. I was never the one to involve myself in violence, but this bitch needs to get punched one good time.

"Courtney." A deep voice grunts, cutting our attention. We look to see Jacob standing tall with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Get lost." He says, raising an eyebrow in superiority.

"I won't go anywhere until you tell your girlfriend the truth." She smirks, stepping towards Jacob. He moves to the side and walks to me. He throws his arm around my shoulder and looks down at Courtney.

The truth? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

"Get. Lost." He repeats, with a harsher tone. "You're fucking delusional, I'm tired of it. Leave them alone, leave me alone, and go find something better to do with your time."

I have to admit, I like the way Jacob's telling Courtney off. I think about what he said last night, about us having each other and Courtney having nobody. She seems incredibly bitter at this moment and I love how everyone is witnessing it. It's not just me this time.

"Tick tock, Jake." She smirks, regaining her bitter confidence. "Tick. Tock." She takes her friends and leaves without saying another word.

Jacob turns to Natalie and I and sighs. "You okay?"

"Way to stick it to her." Natalie laughs cheerfully. Natalie turns to me and adds, "Thanks for sticking up for me, Aria."

"You're welcome." I smile. She gives Jacob and I a look before pushing her mouth to the side.

"I'll meet up with you later." She waves and starts off. I turn and look up to Jacob, feeling unable to speak.

"You alright?" He questions, looking at me up and down. I nod and bite my lip, pushing hair behind my ear.

"I'm sorry," I thought I apologized in my mind but I guess it slipped out without my consent. He scrunches his eyebrows for a moment.

"I told you to ignore her."

"It's hard to do when she's always coming at me. You dated such a bitch, how did you even deal with her?" I ask. He shrugs and pokes his lip out for a second, not speaking on the past.

"Why does she always say you're hiding something?" I inquire. Jacob sighs and runs a hand through his hair, looking past me down the hall. He clenches his jaw and looks down at me.

"There's ... things you don't know yet." He finally says after long spurs of silence.

"Things like what, Jacob?" I ask, stepping closer to him.

"Aria," he warns lowly.

"Why do you do this? Stop being so secretive and mysterious and just tell me what it is you're hiding." I want to stay calm, but he makes me so angry. Every time I feel like I get to know him, another secret comes along to throw me for a loop.

"I can't do this with you here." Jacob says, pulling his face closer to mine. "We'll talk about it later."

I shake my head, feeling dismissive. "No, don't worry about it Jacob." I finish grabbing things out of my locker and head to class, leaving him standing in the hallway alone.