Promises (Jack Gilinsky)

Chapter 18

Jack's POV:

After fifth period, Charlotte and I walk to lunch together. We don't say anything, we just walk. When we get to the cafeteria, I realize I'm not all that hungry. Charlotte must not be either, because she just grabs a bag of chips. I get one too, along with some fries.

We decide to go outside for lunch so that we can have privacy while we talk. We go out and sit in the grass. For the first few minutes, neither of us say anything. But, I finally decide to speak up.

"So, what's going on between us?" I say. Charlotte had her head down and she won't look at me.

She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know." She says quietly. She really doesn't want to talk about this.

"Listen, I know you don't want to talk about it, but we have to. We can't avoid this."

"I know." She says, barley audible. I almost feel bad for making her do this, but we're going to have to eventually.

"Charlotte, I really do like you. I dont know how long I've had these feelings for you, but I really do like you. I know you told me not to fall for you, but I did, and I'm sorry."

"Jack," she says, finally looking at me. "Do you remember why I told you not to fall for me?" I nod. "Well, none of that has changed. I still don't know that I want a relationship." I nod, looking down at my lap. I guess we really won't be together. "But, there is one problem."

"What?" I ask very confused.

"I still feel the same way about you. Ever since that weird moment we had when you walked me home that one day, I've known we had some sort of connection. But, I didn't think you felt it, so I ignored it. But I don't think I can ignore it anymore."

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know."

There are only two things we can do. We can stay friends, or we can date. I prefer the latter, but I don't know what Charlotte wants to do. It's kind of awkward, but I know I have to say this.

"Charlotte, we either stay friends or we date. Those are our choices. I need to know what you want."

"Well what do you want to do."

I take a deep breath, getting ready for what is going to happen when I say this. "Charlotte, everybody's been saying that I like you or that I was going to fall for you. But I've told them all that they were wrong, when this whole time, I was wrong. I really do like you Charlotte and I want to date you. But, if you don't want to, then we're staying friends. It's that simple."

I look at her, waiting for her response. She looks at her lap again. I see a tear slip down her cheek and I automatically panic. Did I make her cry? Did I say something wrong? More tears start slipping down her face and she starts to sniffle. She leans into me as I pull her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Charlotte. I didn't mean to make you cry." To be honest, I didn't know what exactly was making her cry, but I felt like it was my fault.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Jack." She says into my chest as I hold her even tighter. "It's just that..." She drifts off, not wanting to tell me what's wrong. I pull away from her and put my hands on her shoulder, looking straight into her eyes.

"Charlotte, what's wrong?" I say as gently as I can.

"I'm just scared, Jack."

"Why are you scared?"

"I just don't want to get hurt. And I just don't think that I'm able to commit and be the girl you deserve. You deserve a girl who knows what to do when you're upset, who knows how to act when you're mad, a girl who can give you her all. That girl isn't me."

I can't believe what she just said. She thinks that I deserve better than her, when to me, it's the other way around.

"Charlotte, you couldn't be more wrong. I don't deserve to be with you. You are an amazing girl and there are so many guys that are better than me. But, you chose me and I chose you. You don't have to be scared about anything. I promise that I will never hurt you. I care about you too much." She nods at me and hugs me again. I hug her back, wrapping my arms tightly around her waist.

When she pulls away, she stands up and I do too. "So what are we then?" She asks.

I think for a minute and finally, I get down on one knee and take her hands in mine. "Charlotte Williamson, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?" She laughs slightly and wipes a few stray tears off of her face.

"Yes Jack, I will." I stand up and hug her again. The smile on my face is huge, I can feel her smile on my shoulder.

When we pull away we walk back inside. I take her hand as we are walking, and she blushes. It's the little things like this that I find absolutely adorable. I'm proud that I get to be Charlotte's first boyfriend. She trusts me enough to let me do this, and I can't blow it.

We walk inside and sit down with all the guys. They all stare at us, wondering what happened. By this point we stopped holding hands so it was less obvious. Based on the smiles on their faces, I could tell that only Jack and Mahogany knew.

Eventually, Sam speaks up. "Okay, what is going on and why were guys outside for so long?"

"I got this." Jack says, standing up. "Attention boys, but our friends Jack Gilinsky and Charlotte Williamson are now officially dating." He has a huge, cheesy smile on his face.

Right when he says this, Cameron screams. "I KNEW IT!" I can't help but laugh at him. Then, Nash joins in.

"YOU LIED! YOU SAID THIS WOULDNT HAPPEN AND IT DID!" Nash screams laughing. Everybody's cracking up by now. You would think that everyone in the cafeteria would be staring at us, but they aren't. They're used to this kind of behavior from our group.

"Jack and Charlotte, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Taylor sings. I usually would get annoyed at Taylor for doing stuff like this, but I can't help but laugh and be happy. I look over at Charlotte, and she's doing that adorable laugh of hers.

I can't believe that I get to call her mine.