He's The Man

Chapter 46

-He's the Man-

~Leilas POV~

I am sprawled across the floor, pajamas still on, hair unbrushed, a bowl of cheeto puffs at my side and bored. I fast foreword the Notebook, searching for the part where Ali and Noah argue and he tells her how much he loves her and blah, blah, blah.

I jump when I hear the front door open and then slam close; mom shouldn't be home until later? Slowly I sit up and steal a peek at the intruders.

"Lay?"

Ramona calls. My eyes land on a perfect Jordan who wonders in behind her and I silently curse Ramona under my breath before snatching my blanket off of the couch and pulling it over my head. Damn it, Ramona! Thanks for the warning.

"I'm indecent!" I shout at them, pressing myself into the couch, already knowing what's coming next.

I hear Jordan's chuckle and then I see him smiling down at me as Ramona fights me for my blanket and gazes at me impassively. "What are you doing?" She laughs.

I shoot her a scowl before standing up and hopelessly trying to smooth down my tangled hair. "Nothing of interest. What are you guys doing here?" I smile at Jordan although I am thoroughly embarrassed. "I thought you couldn't come today?"

He offers me a shy smile and shrugs. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can speak Ramona answers for him.

"Poster-child here had a fight with his ban of idiots, whole school witnessed it." She pops a cheeto puff in her mouth and flops down on the sofa, taking the remote from me she presses play and is immediately absorbed in The Notebook.

He glares at her and then turns to me, his face softening instantly. "You and your friends had an argument?" I frown.

Jordan shrugs again and offers me his hand. "Let's go talk."

Eagerly, I take his hand and follow him. He leads us outside and we sit on the stone steps of my patio.

"Beautiful day." He murmurs, running a hand through his hair. I nod, not knowing what to say, but also feeling like I don't have to say anything either. Our hands are still intertwined and I scoot closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I ask, breaking the silence.

"I have a lot I need to talk to you about." I look up at Jordan, my stomach dropping and I'm immediately overtaken by nerves.

"What about?"

"Just...everything. I feel like you barely know me."

I frown, not liking where he's going with this. "I do know you, Jordan."

"Oh, yeah?" He asks, his tone sharp. "What do you know about me? That I'm on the lacrosse team? I'm popular? I have a little sister named Kendall? That my friends are assholes?"

I pull my hand away from him and have to suppress a gasp. "Stop it!" I demand, feeling as though he's just slapped me.

"It's true, Leila! Ask your neighbor, a stranger in the supermarket; what you know about me is a matter of public record."

I stand up and glare at him. "Well, I'm glad you think so highly of yourself." I snap, before turning and stomping my way to the door.

"Leila." He stands up too. He makes my name sound like a plea, I look at him, my face no doubtably flushed from anger. "I need you to listen to me right now."

"I need you to stop being a jerk right now."

He gestures toward the patio chairs, urging me to sit down. I glare at him for a second before taking a seat. He sits opposite me and runs a hand through his hair again, I'm guessing he's nervous. Stubbornly, I stay quiet, waiting for him to speak first. "Do you remember that night at the park, the first time you told me about Sea-your brother?" He struggles to say Sean's name, and I bite the inside of my cheek, nodding nervously.

"Well...I did know about him, before you told me yourself. We played on the lacrosse team together." I continue to stare at him, silently, I force my face to remain impassive while he goes on.

"Sean and Jacob, they use to harass me. I was weak back then, terrible at lacrosse and they knew it." His eyes glaze over and I can tell he's lost in the memory. "But, I was in love." I gaze down at my hands, not sure I want to hear this anymore. "I was in love with Valerie. My first serious girlfriend and...the first person I gave my heart to. She was my world."

"You don't need to tell me this." I whisper.

"I do." He says with so much finality. "Because she broke my heart." He meets my stare and holds it, I can see the raw emotion in his eyes and I want to go to him, hold him, but I'm glued to my chair.

"She cheated on me with-with Sean." I immediately start shaking my head. "Sean wouldn't do that-" I cut in.

"But, he did, Leila. For three months they snuck around and when I found out, Sean simply shrugged and told me that 'Maybe if I didn't suck at lacrosse and wasn't such a loser, I could've held onto my girlfriend.' "

Jordan's voice is dark and though I don't want to believe his words, part of me already knows they're true. Sean would've walked on water for me if he could, but to everyone else he could be a real ass, a typical teenage boy who thought the world belonged to him. I suddenly feel sick, I now understand Jordan, completely. Is this why he's like this now? A player? A jerk, popular, and careless? Because of my brother?

"I hated him...and for a long time I hated you too." I stare at him confused and he sighs, "Association." I nod slowly, not knowing what to make of this.

"But, that's changed now. I don't hate you. I think you're amazing and I would do practically anything if it meant you'd even just smile." Jordan takes me hand in his which I quickly pull away to wipe the tears in my eyes. He momentarily looks wounded, but quickly covers his hurt with a sigh. "I'm not good for you, Leila. I've done a lot of terrible things and I don't deserve you."

I suddenly feel angry. What brought all of this on? My confession about what happened to Sean? All of this drama? Sorry Mr. Perfect, but all of this fucked upness is apart of the Leila Grizzel package deal!

"We all have a past, Jordan." I snap, using anger to camouflage the pain. "It's your choice to wear it on your sleeves. I don't care about what you've done, I don't want to care about who broke your heart and I don't care about Valerie and what she did with Sean!" He tries to interject so I quickly go on. "I care about you. You, Jordan...and if that's not enough for you, then I'm sorry."

I watch Jordan's conflicted face with a glare. Slowly, he shakes his head and looks as if he wants to say more. "You have no idea." He mumbles, looking beyond frustrated. "Then tell me." I state. He shakes his head again and gets up from his chair. A panic rises within me, I don't want him to go.

He leans down and places a kiss on my forehead, he has a look of utter defeat on his face and it pulls on my heart strings.

"I think maybe you should talk to Ramona." He whispers before opening and closing the back gate.

And then he's gone.