She's Just A Skater Girl

'You two seem to get on pretty well.'

Jake flopped down on the bench next to me, panting heavily.

"I can't believe we've been skating for 3 hours straight." he huffed, folding his arms into himself to block out the chilliness of the night.

"I can." I wheezed contently. "That's why I can't feel my legs." Jake laughed slightly, but it came out as more of a half-hearted giggle. "Hey, what time is it?" Jake dug around in his jacket pocket, presumably for a phone. A second later, he pulled out a white iPhone.

"10.21pm." he answered casually. Even though I was staying out on purpose, my heart rate spiked involuntarily. "We should both probably be getting home by now." Jake added, shaking his head. My shoulders slumped. If only I could stay here all night without running the inevitable risk of getting killed by my mom in the morning...

"Yeah." I replied, still not moving. Jake shuffled his feet awkwardly.

"So..um. Do you want me to walk you home or something?" he asked unsurely. I can't help it... I thought as rounds of girlish giggling escaped my mouth. Jake looked slightly offended, but also slightly embarrassed. "Okay then..." I managed to get my laughing under control before I ended up looking like a complete freak.

"Sorry! I just....it's not really like you to do that." I explained awkwardly.

"Really?"

"Really. As far as I'm concerned - or I was concerned - you're the sexist jerk." Jake laughed dryly.

"That's Eva's fault I guess. I've had a hard time trusting girls ever since." I rolled my eyes a bit. Doesn't he realise that not all girls are selfish monsters who only care about themselves? Sure, there were quite a few who were that  type - but most girls weren't like that.

"Not all girls are like Eva, you know." I reprimanded. Jake cocked his head to one side, looking like an inquisitive puppy.

"Yeah, I think I just found that out." Unlike the others, this statement didn't want to make me burst out in laughter. Actually...it was kind of sweet, to be honest - although I had to say, a month ago, I couldn't ever imagine calling Jake a nice word at all. Things had certainly changed.

"Anyway, you still want me to walk you home?" Jake offered again. For some reason, I had the strong urge to say yes. Trent would probably be waiting on the doorstep for me, ready to spout lines of apologies, which would end up flat out being ignored again. Mom and Dad had probably already gone to bed since they were supposed to be driving me to Heathrow Airport tomorrow morning to meet Mason and Lee.

"I guess that's okay." I answered, trying to sound casual. Jake stood up, and offered his hand to me. For a moment, I stared at Jake's outstretched hand. It was slightly larger than mine, with calloused-looking tips, most likely obtained from years of skateboarding.

Still, this was uncharted territory. Holding a boy's hand, I meant - even if he was just trying to help me up. The last time I had ever held a boy's hand was when Trent and I were little and Mom wanted us to do one of those oh so corny family photo shoots. Tentatively, I placed my hand lightly in Jake's. Immediately, he grasped it firmly, and levered me up to a standing position.

Awkwardly, I smiled in place of a vocal 'thanks.' At the moment I felt so confused that I probably would've ended up speaking gibberish if I'd actually dared to open my mouth. My only survival tactic here was to pretend that tonight was somehow in an alternate universe - a dream or something. Even though it sounded pretty weird, it certainly was working for me at the moment. I could be all 'friendly' with Jake now, then back on Monday, go back to hating his guts. I mean, that's the way it should be, right?

"Hey, are you alright?" Jake asked, scanning my face, which probably looked like a mix between being completely lost and being completely constipated (my ingenious thinking face, obviously). It was then that I realised that we had already left Pole Hill and the grassy area behind and right now we were turning onto the street that was a few minutes away from my house.