Pieces of Love

Chapter 20

Jacob

"Damn it!" I cursed, running my hands through my hair for what felt like the hundredth time. During History class, the look of hurt that Emma showed on her face after I basically treated her like trash was stuck permanently in my mind no matter how hard I tried to forget about it. Guilt was eating me up from the inside. Out of habit I acquired from the past two days, I whipped my phone out from my pocket and stared at the texts that Emma sent to me last night.

She misses talking to me? Warmth like never before erupted from the pit of my stomach but her second text brought me back to reality. She's mad at me... She's mad at me..."Stupid Isaac! Stupid me!" I hissed, throwing a kick to the coffee table and just ended up with a sore toe.

What did Isaac have that I did not? What did Emma see in him that she didn't see in me? Jealousy was coursing through my veins but deep inside I felt insecure.

"Chill dude. You just got to tell her. She will understand. She always does," Dylan said in alarm, as Nicholas nodded his head vigorously. I just looked appalled at the mere mention of trying to tell Emma my feelings. The last thing I would want to do is make things awkward between us when I find out that she doesn't return my feelings.

"There is no way I'll tell her. She cannot find out about this. I'm just going to keep this to myself until I finally move on," I said with a hint of sadness in my voice. Just imagining Emma with another boy was torture, and I clenched my fists until my fingernails were digging into my skin and my palms screamed in protest. Dylan, always the sharpest of all three of us, immediately noticed my actions and said, "Don't do this Jacob. We can see that this is killing you. You need to get rid of the burden."

It was a mark of our friendship that both of them didn't tease me about my crush. Oh who am I kidding, they teased me to death when I first told them, till I threatened to throw them out of my house. This coming from Nicholas was expected, but coming from Dylan, the more sensible one, just showed me how great my friends are. Sarcasm intended.

Coming back to what Dylan said, it did make sense. A part of my brain wanted to follow with my original idea of moving on, but Dylan's idea ignited a spark in me. An image appeared in my mind; an image of Emma and I becoming a thing, and a hazy grin made home on my face. But reality came crashing down and I realised that telling Emma will be no easy feat. I rolled my shoulders in unease, and a whole flutter of butterflies settled in my stomach.

Noticing that I was in my own world, Nicholas snapped his fingers in front of my face, and my eyes focused on my two friends who were making themselves at home on my living room couch. "Are you done here yet? Last time I checked, nobody invites a friend over just to discuss his girl problems, especially if that friend of his lives on the other side of town," Nicholas said in exasperation, but I could tell he was only joking.

"Yeah, you guys can go now," I waved a hand in dismissal, earning a glare from Nicholas. "I came rushing here because you claimed it was an 'emergency', and yet this barely took fifteen minutes!" he said in mock irritation. Dylan smacked him on the back of his head and he winced, muttering 'child abuse', before stepping out of my house.

"You are already fifteen!" Dylan exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he followed Nicholas. I walked them out, thanking them for putting their time aside to come here. Nicholas had a violent coughing fit on the spot and I made a stone face at his antics. Grabbing Nicholas by the ear, Dylan dragged him down the road before waving goodbye to me. I chuckled silently to myself as I watched them leave. Although I would never say it to their faces, I love their company.

Walking back inside my house, I became consumed in my own thoughts. My heartbeat skyrocketed just at the thought of telling Emma my feelings. Man, I am so whipped. Like a cloud on a sunny day, Isaac's face then entered my mind. Of course, it was obvious that he liked her. And he had beaten me by asking her out. My jaw clenched at the thought and I had the urge to throw something. But my subconscious told me that doing that wouldn't help me get Emma whatsoever, so I went up to my room and lay on my bed, staring at the plain ceiling.

If I couldn't take Emma on what could possibly be her first date, then I would take her with me to the school dance happening on the fourteenth of February. I just hope Isaac won't beat me to it.