Undetermined

Chapter 11

"Where are we going?" I question.

I hear a dramatic sigh and look over at Jake to see his eyes suddenly become gymnasts, doing flips and rolls within his sockets.
"Alright, drama queen." I mutter to myself, smirking as he shoots me a glare.

"For the seventh time, I'm not telling you." He huffs.
I open my mouth to shoot an insult but Jake sees this and switches on the radio, turning the volume up letting the music drown my words out.

This time, I roll my eyes before letting my head fall against the cold window. I stare outside emotionlessly as the trees and the asphalt blues into one, the sky's clearness doing nothing to clear the thoughts buzzing in my head.
"You're good at doing that." Jake mutters after switching the music off.

I turn to look at him, pulling my legs up in the seat after sliding my shoes off twisting my body around. I huddle myself into a ball and rest my chin on my knees, studying Jakes side profile- I assure you in a less stalkerish and creepy way.
"What?" I ask curiously.

He sighs and his blue eyes study me just as carefully before he focuses his attention on the road again.
"Hiding what you feel. The perfect blank face. You'd be good at poker y'know." He says with a slight up-tilt to his lips but I catch the twinkle of confusion and curiosity in his eyes.

I pause for a second and think about what he said. Was I really? Was I really good at hiding my emotions?

Because that's not what Noah told me.

I shrug then glance towards the front before making any attempt at responding to that comment.
"Good." I simply say as I stare at the blurring view once more with a blank face.

I hear him sigh again and wonder what he thought of me.
Was I some kind of freak in his eyes?
Maybe he felt sorry for me being the school's loner and wants to be my friend now.
Maybe one of his popular friends dared him to talk to the school loner.
Maybe he's manipulative and is becoming friends with me to make me care about him just so he has the ability to break me.

I glance at him again and let myself frown.
He wouldn't...
Would he?

The car then previously filled my comfortable silence, turns slightly tense.
I take a deep breath and look at him.
"Sorry." I mutter, "just new to this whole friends thing."

He frowns but it eases as he judges my sincerity. A smile appears on his face.
"Don't worry, I get it." He says simply before drumming his fingers against the wheel and averting his eyes to the road once more.

I lift a brow and feel myself fill with disbelief.
Yeah sure Mr Popular.
A small smirk stretches on my face.

"We're here." Jake announces. I look out of the window to see a small cafe with a sign reading:
Lilo's Coffee Break.

It was a cute little coffee shop, I thought as Jake let me in.
"Jakey! Come in, come in."
I look towards the voice I heard and find a short old woman carrying a pot full of coffee in her hands.
She shoves the pot on a nearby counter and wipes her hands on the little white apron she had tied around her waist

A twinkle of fondness shines in her warm chestnut eyes as she pushes a lock of chocolate hair behind her ear.
She swiftly pulls Jake in for a hug and squeezes him tightly as she firmly pats him on the back a few times.

I awkwardly shuffle my feet and watch the interaction with curious eyes.

The woman finally pulls away and turns to look at me with equally curious eyes.
"Hello there. And who may you be, my dear." She asks in a soft and welcoming voice.

I give her a little smile
"Hi, I'm McKayla."

She grins and swiftly pulls me in for a hug.
Before I can even hug back or pull away, she's already released me.
"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," her eyes flit to Jakes and she lifts a brow suggestively, "I'm Lilo, come, take a seat the both of you."

I smile awkwardly as Jake's ears take on a pink hue but follow Lilo quietly to a secluded area nearer the back of the bustling shop with two chairs.

I take the seat opposite Jake's and retrieve a little laminated menu.
"And what would you like today?" Lilo asks as she digs in her apron pocket and retrieves a little notepad.

"I would like a cappuccino please, if that's alright" I ask with a polite smile on my face.

Lilo nods and scribbles it down.
"Absolutely no problem darling, what about Mr Broody?" She asks with something akin to a smirk on her face as her eyes bore into his.

I scoff and feel my eyebrows raise up in shock.
"Him? Broody? No chance."

Jake rolls his eyes at Lilo and hides his face behind his menu after failing to meet my eyes.
Lilo's thin lips part in shock.
"He's always brooding that one, but I love him like my own nonetheless." She says with fondness thick in her voice.

I find myself chuckling before it even registers in my mind.
"He's the happiest person I have ever met in my life. Sometimes his energetic personality gets on my nerves." I say with disbelief evident in my voice.

Lilo's eyes darken in sympathy as she looks at Jake.
"Looks can be deceiving, dear." She monotonously says, "I'll get your usual Jakey."
She flashes me one last smile before shoving the notepad in her apron and heading towards the counter.

I frown and look at Jake who still seems to be studying the menu with great focus and interest.
"Pretty sure you've memorised that menu by now." I say in a light tone.

He bites his bottom lip and takes a deep breath before looking up at me.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have too." He says slowly.

I smile at him and glance at Lilo who looks like she's becoming a bit frazzled with the long line of customers waiting in front of the counter.
"Lilo's super nice." I say with a wistful look on my face.

Jake suddenly smiles nostalgically and nods in seriousness.
"Yeah, she's great. She's like a grandmother to me."

I nod and look at him for a second, wondering if I should ask if everything was okay.
I decide to stop being a coward and talk to him, after all, he has forced me to be his friend now so I may as well do a better job of it.
"So Mr Broody, everything alright?" I tease as his eyes stay downcast, staring at the table.

He shrugs nonchalantly but I catch how stiff his body looks.
Thoughts race around in my head, I never considered Jake's life and what he's really like before.
I never considered the fact that Jake could be hurting.
"Lilo calls me that because I'm 'moody' every time I come here." He says vaguely.

He finally looks up at me and I see a distant look in his eyes.
"Why's that?" I ask, "You're so happy all of the time, it's hard to imagine you so.. down." I say in honesty.

His eyes dart around the shop and the customers before falling on Lilo's small frame rushing around to meet every customers demands.
"I come here when I get upset or angry. I come here because I know Lilo will cheer me up."

I purse my lips and let our conversation come to a pause for a second as I think about the whole reason he brought me here.
Answers.

I needed answers to the millions of questions running around in my head.

So I take a deep breath and stare into his all knowing blue eyes before opening my mouth, questions ready to dart out sitting at the edge of my tongue.