Pieces of Love

Chapter 15

Emma

I woke up to Jacob shaking me awake, a bright grin on his face. "Come on Em! Today will probably be the best day of your life yet!" he exclaimed. I groaned and pressed the pillow into my face, successfully blocking out the morning light. All of yesterday's events came rushing back but they were almost immediately taken over by the immeasurable happiness of going to the Harry Potter studio.

I peeled the pillow off my face and blinked at Jacob, who was fully dressed. This amazing friend of mine raked his eyes over me, concern etched in every inch of his face, obviously looking for any signs of injury from yesterday night. My face melted into a grateful smile and I leapt out of bed, a first may I add, and launched myself into Jacob's arms, taking him by surprise.

"Thank you," I said softly, in barely a whisper. I tightened the hold around his torso and his woodsy scent enveloped me. His hands stroked my hair and he pulled away, chuckling.

"We don't want to be late, do we?" Jacob asked, his eyes twinkling. And with that, I skipped down to breakfast, a stupid grin spreading all over my face.

I took care to dress in my best clothes today. Being a jeans type of girl, I took out my best pair of jeans: light blue skinny jeans and paired it with a black sweater with the words 'professional fangirl' sewn onto it in white letters. I added a white beanie to make the attire more complete and put on brown ankle boots. Leaving my hair as it is in its wavy state, I climbed back down the stairs to the first floor.

"Come on, Jake," I said as I walked into the kitchen where Rosa and Jacob were sitting, discussing quite heatedly, both of their eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. Jacob snapped his head up to meet my gaze and my cheeks surprisingly flamed red, thinking about him and me sleeping together in bed. As if Jacob had the same thought as me, he went pink in the face and averted my stare.

"What are you guys talking about?" I asked curiously as I took a seat next to Jacob, very well aware of the lack of space between us. Rosa took a sip of her coffee and looked at the both of us guiltily.

"I'm very sorry, but I can't take you guys today to the studio tour. There is a last minute emergency at my workplace so I have to work extra hours today. Don't worry, I'll still be able to bring you guys around the city for the next few days if everything goes smoothly," she explained. Jacob looked at me warily, as if I might have a meltdown at any moment.

"It's alright Rosa. We can take the Underground there. We'll manage," I reassured her. Truthfully, taking the Underground seemed pretty simple seeing as my dad had brought me all around the world ever since I was barely seven. "Are you sure?" Jacob asked, concern etched in his eyes. I nodded my head in reply. I mean, how hard could it be?

***

Oh how wrong I was. Of course, we weren't lost. It was the fact that we were not prepared for the numbers. For what felt like the hundredth time that morning, I found myself squashed against Jacob's chest as an endless stream of people swarmed into the train. His hot breath fanned across my exposed neck and I sucked in a breath. His fingertips brushed against my own and he intertwined his fingers against mine, giving a little squeeze.

He was definitely acting weird today. Ever since yesterday night, Jacob have been finding ways to touch me, during breakfast when he would brush his leg against mine, during the short walk to the station when he would try to hold my hand, in the train where he would press me against him, claiming that he didn't want me to bump into other people. But what really confused me was the frantic beating of his heart that I felt. He seemed pretty confident doing these actions, yet I was pretty sure he was nervous. How did that make sense?

Once we reached our destination, I was practically jumping with excitement. Even Jacob let his fanboy tendencies show, judging by the goofy grin on his face. All I need is for the cast of Harry Potter to show up, and then this might probably be marked down as the best day of my life. Who needs a husband when you can have Harry Potter?

For the rest of the tour, I was holding on to Jacob's hands as we walked around the exhibits. As we neared the end of the tour, we took a seat, facing the lighted up Hogwarts castle model. I sighed, perfectly content with where I am. Snuggling myself against Jacob, I rested my head on his broad shoulder as his arms went around my waist, pulling me even closer.

I honestly don't know what we are now. What I know is that we are definitely more than friends, but yet we are not a couple. I know that whatever feelings Jacob has for me is purely platonic. Honestly, all of this is guesswork. Although I may excel in school, I have no clue when it comes to relationships. But one thing I won't deny, I enjoyed whatever was between Jacob and I.

I stared wistfully at the souvenirs on display as Jacob and I prepared to exit the studio. My mum only gave me just enough money to pay for my tickets, not for any merchandise. Jacob, however, was a different story. His eyes raked my body before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to buy anything?" I nodded my head vigorously.

"Yes. There is no way I'm going to let you spend your money on me," I said firmly, though my eyes kept sweeping over to the charm bracelet displayed in a glass case.

"Alright then, if you say so. You can look around while I see if there's anything worth buying," Jacob relented, and then went off in the direction of the wand cases. After twenty minutes, the both of us left the studio; Jacob with a paper bag in his hand. I pestered him over and over to tell me what he bought, and he eventually showed me a copy of Professor McGonagall's wand.

On the way back to Rosa's house, it started to drizzle, splattering the train windows with a light sheen of water, making the view outside look blurry. We didn't have to worry about the rain until we reached our station, where a five minute walk was needed to reach home. Rosa was still at her workplace and since we didn't bring umbrellas, we had no choice but to run in the rain. Jacob took off his olive green bomber jacket and handed it to me wordlessly, which made me protest indignantly.

"There is no way I'm taking that jacket!" I point-blank refused, no matter how warm and inviting the jacket looked. Jacob sighed, and pulled me into his side, leaving zero amount of space between us.

"What...what are you doing?" I stuttered, my cheeks flaming red from the close contact. "Since you are too stubborn, I guess I'll just have to stick to the second option," he vaguely explained, before pulling the jacket over both our heads, letting it shield us from the rain. His body emitted warmth and I was more than willing to lean further into his side.

Jacob's fingers dug into my waist as we carefully made our way back to the warmth of Rosa's house. Once we were in the vicinity of her living room, we plopped down onto the sofa, limbs aching from the long day outside. Somehow Jacob's hand found mine, and he squeezed it gently, and then proceeded to rub indistinguishable patterns on the back of my hand. I was perfectly content with where I am right now, and even the distraction of Rosa a few hours later could not burst my happy little bubble.