One Of The Guys

Chapter 3

"OKAY!! That's enough. Now that Taylor and Jake have explained their love life, Garrett, please go on with your story." Mr. Carrier says.

"Umm. Okay. I'm Garrett Fields. I play football. And I moved here from California.(They live in New York.) And I now know that Taylor and Jake are best friends and that Jake has to approve of Taylor's boyfriends!!" Garrett says, mocking Jake.

"I wouldn't date him anyways. Everyone knows that Jake doesn't approve of any guy in the entire universe." I laugh and Jake glares at me.

"Okay. Now that we're done fooling around, let's get started with class." Mr. Carrier says. Right after he finishes, the bell rings. We all get up and leave the class.

"Look, I'm sorry about that. I just...don't know when to keep my mouth shut." Garrett says, coming up to me.

"Forget about it, it's totally fine. Anyone would think that we were dating if they didn't know us." I say.

"Ok. Nice jersey. Is it Jake's number or something?" He asks.

"It's mine." I say.

"Do you get water for them or are you the manager?" Garrett asks, acting oblivious.

"I am the quarterback and the captain of the varsity football team." I say, getting fed up.

"Seriously? I thought you were a cheerleader." He says, smiling like a fool. I shove him and he stumbles backwards. I have a small frame. I'm average hight. I'm pretty skinny, but I have muscle.

"Taylor. Why the hell did you do that?" Jake asks, walking up to me.

"He called me a fucking cheerleader. Or said I looked like one. And he couldn't believe that I'm the quarterback and captain." I say, gritting my teeth. Jake glares at him. Garrett starts to walk towards me.

"You're just a girl. I bet you were kidding. You really are a cheerleader, aren't you?" Garrett says when he reaches us. I lunge towards him and pull my fist out. Jake grabs me and drags me away from him.

"Jake, what the hell?" I yell at him. Garrett is laughing at me.

"You sexist bastard!" I yell at him.

"Calm down, tiger." Jake says.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have people mocking you and saying that you look like a cheerleader." I say.

"No, but I do have every girl falling head over heals for me. And asking me out. I hate it, and they don't realize that I don't like them. They think that I'm like Zach and will sleep with them. But that's not true. And it pisses me off." Jake says.

"I didn't know that." I say, stunned.

"Yeah. Cause I never told you." Jake says, grinning. He's still holding into my arm, but he's loosened his grip now that we're away from Garrett. We start walking towards the gym, our next class. We are silent until we get to the locker rooms.

"I'll see you in there, tiger." Jake says, then he jogs off to catch up with Zach. I walk into the locker room and all the girls are staring at me.

"So. Are you and Jake a thing now?" The head cheerleader, Cassidy, asks.

"Um. No. We never have been. He's my best friend." I say.

"Oh. Well that's too bad, because I know you like him as a bit more than friends. And he's gonna say yes when I ask him out." Cassidy says, grinning like she's won a million bucks.

"For the last time, Jake and I are just friends. Go ahead and ask him out, but he won't say yes." I say. Then I walk out and into the gym. I spot Jake and Zach and I walk over to them.

"Hey guys." I say. Jake puts his arm around me and Zach says hi. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cassidy walking over to me and Jake.

"Hey Jake." She says, standing right next to him. He moves away. I stifle a laugh.

"So. I was wondering, do you wanna go to a movie or something this Friday?" She asks, batting her eyes.

"No thanks. I'm hanging out with Taylor. Jake says, staring at me. I smile.

"Oh. Well maybe next weekend." Cassidy says hopefully.

"Sorry. My weekends are reserved for Taylor. They always have been." Jake says, his eyes dancing with laughter.

"Whatever." Cassidy says before stalking away.

"I warned her." I say, laughing. Then I explain to him what happened in the locker room.

Him and Zach both laugh. Before I know it, gym is over. The day goes by in a blur. Before I know it, I'm heading to the field for practice. We do cardio all practice. Garrett just kept staring at me the entire time, like he couldn't believe I was actually telling the truth. Soon enough, practice is over. I walk out of the locker room after taking a shower and spot Jake. He's my ride so I jog over to him.

"Ready?" He asks. I nod and get in his truck. When it's started, we pull out and start driving to my house.

"Taylor?" He asks.

"Yeah?" I say, raising my eyebrows.

"Can I spend the night? Stuff at home is kind of....." He says, trailing off.

"Of course." I say. He stays over all the time. My mom doesn't mind. His dad gets drunk all the time. And is a bit abusive. So Jake stays with me a lot. The rest of the way is silent.

He drops me off. Then goes home to get some clothes and stuff for tomorrow. My mom is on a business trip, as usual. And my dad, well, he disappeared not long after Mike died. So we have the house to ourselves. I make 2 PB&J sandwiches, then eat them both. I'm washing the dishes when I hear a knock at the door. I frown, knowing that it can't be Jake cause he'd walk on in.

I walk open the door to find that Garrett standing on my porch with his hands in his pockets.