Hard To Get

Friendship

-Damien-

I leaned against the wall near the bus stop, wondering idly if Jacob would let me pick him up for school so he didn't have to ride the beat-up metal contraptions. Andrew was next to me, his arms crossed.

"You said $50 for a date," I said suddenly, "But what if I get him to go out with me?"

Andrew laughed, "Sure. Let's bet $100. I need money anyway."

"That's funny," I wiggled my eyebrows at him, "Since I'll be the one getting $100."

"We'll see," Andrew replied.

Another bus stopped on the curb, students filing off. When I saw Jacob, I shoved Andrew, "Bye."

"Later, man. Good luck," Andrew winked at me before walking away, hands in his pockets.

Jacob smiled faintly as he approached, though I noticed he looked pretty tired. He had his backpack slung over one shoulder, the sleeves of his oversized black hoodie causing his hands to disappear.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked, taking his backpack from him.

"I can get it," he muttered. "I'm fine. I'm not dying."

"I mean, at least that bruise on your jaw is going away," I chuckled, shouldering his backpack.

He sighed softly, "You don't have to carry my bag for me. I can carry it."

I shrugged, smiling faintly, "Hey, Jacob, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he replied, frowning slightly, "What's up?"

I looked him straight in the eyes, plastering on the charm. I needed that $100. "Will you go on a date with me?"

He seemed to miss a step, his face flushed. "Wh-what?"

"Will you go on a date with me?" I repeated, "We could go get dinner, or go to a movie."

I could see his walls go up just then. His face went completely blank, his body was tense, and he looked straight at me, speaking as though from a script, "Thank you for asking me, but I have a lot going on right now. I need to focus on school."

"Okay, I understand," I replied calmly. This wasn't over though, I'd get Jacob Anderson to date me somehow. I wasn't one to give up so easily. "Well do you want to go out as friends then sometime?"

He blinked at me in surprise, and I smiled faintly. He obviously didn't expect that. Finally, he smiled back at me, "Okay. Okay, yeah, sure."

While I was confident that I could get him to go on a date with me, it was a little daunting that he had said no.

He stopped outside of one of the classrooms, "Well, this is my class."

"We still have like 30 minutes before class starts," I pointed out.

"Yeah," he bobbed his head, "But I have to talk to the teacher really quick. Thanks for walking me."

I grudgingly handed over his backpack. He smiled and waved at me before disappearing into the classroom.

***

Later, in class, I began to come up with a plan to get him to go on a date with me. First, I would hang out with him for a bit. Maybe spend a few days doing just that. Then, I'd plan a date and ask him again. If that didn't work, I would continue to do this over and over until he said yes.

Or until I gave up, but that was highly unlikely.

School was boring, as usual. Mason was still suspended, probably because of the vandalism to my locker. Andrew laughed when I told him that I had been rejected, and said over and over again that he was going to win the bet. Even still, I was still pretty confident.