One Of The Guys

Chapter 6

"Are you okay?" I ask after about five minutes of silence. Jake turns to look at me.

"What if he takes you away? What if he leaves again and takes you with him?" Jake asks, his voice barely a whisper.

"I'd never leave you. I would never go with him. I fucking hate him." I say, looking right at Jake.

"He could petition in court." Jake says, looking down. My breathe catches in my throat. It's true. He could do that.

"I'd stay anyways. I couldn't leave you or Mike." I say. Jake starts the car and starts driving.

"Jake, listen to me. I will never leave you. Even if he petitions in court, I won't leave. I'll find someway to stay. Plus, I told him to stay away and he knows I meant it." I say.

Jake glances at me and says, "Thank God. I can't loose you too, Tay." I smile slightly and punch his arm.

"Are you ready for tonight's game?" I ask him. We have football games every Friday night, then the boys come over to my house and we hang out in my basement.

"Am I? I'm way past ready." Jake says, grinning. I'm glad he's feeling less upset. He should know that I would never leave him. Jake stops his truck, when we get to the school.

We get out and immediately he puts his arm around me. I smile. I guess that he's a bit possessive. Especially since I have never had a boyfriend, probably due to the fact that Jake and I act like we're dating. But I don't really mind. The only permanent guy I need in my life is Jake.

"Hey guys." John says. I say hi back. And fist bump all the guys.

"Did you guys have one of your sleepovers?" Zach asks.

"Yep. We painted our nails, did each others hair, and talked about how hot all of you guys are." I say in a super high pitched voice. That causes them all to laugh.

"You guys actually have sleepovers?" Asks Jack, a freshman.

"Yes." We both say. "But you're a guy and she's a ....." He says, trailing off.

"Way to point out the obvious." I say. And Jack turns beet red. The bell rings, saving me from having to explain that we're just friends. With Jake's arm still around my shoulder, I walk inside.

"Can I come over again?" He whispers to me.

"Everyone is after the game." I say.

"Yeah, but can I stay over again?" He asks.

"Of course. You don't even have to ask. My weekends are reserved for you, you know that." I say. He nods, looking relieved.

"Bye, Tay." He says when he reaches my locker.

"Bye." I say back. No special show this morning, I don't think either of us are in the mood. Not after what happened with my dad.

Jake and I have every single class together. It is awesome and even though the teachers look mad when we mess around, I'm pretty sure they love it. I head off to first period. For the first time in awhile, Jake and I are silent. The team looks at us nervously.

"We aren't in a fight.We're just tired. " I whisper to Noah. He nods, then smirks because he knows Jake and I had a sleepover last night. I roll my eyes.

The bell rings, sending us off to gym. Once again, the day flies by, and soon it's lunch. I stopped at my locker to get money, and I feel someone hugging me from behind. I turn around and there's Jake.

I smile and say, "You know, we should become a couple. We sure act like one." By the tone of my voice, he can tell I'm joking.

"I know right. That way newbies would be less confused." He says with a smile. I get my money and we head off to lunch.I sit down in my usual seat, but Jake is still standing.

"Jake-" I say, but stop short when I see Garrett in his seat. All conversation stops and Garrett slowly turns around.

"H-Hey." He stutters when he sees Jake glaring at him.

"That's my seat. I always sit by Tay." Jake says.

"Okay, dude. I didn't mean to, uh, make you mad. But since you're overprotective of her, I'll move." Garrett says, gathering his stuff. Jake punches at Garrett, hard, but I stick my hand in the way, catching his fist. I glare at Garrett until he walks away.

"Jake." I say, my tone serious.

"Yeah?" He says, looking down, probably embarrassed. "Unnecessary. He would've moved without the punch." I say.

"I know it he deserved it after yesterday." Jake smiles. We resume our lunch and the guys act like nothing happened, but Jake and I stay silent.

The rest of the day blurs by. After school, when I'm walking towards the field, Garrett comes up to me.

"Why are you guys so close?" He asks. Random much?

"Because we are." I say, glaring at him.

"Uh huh. Suuure. I think that something happened to you and him." He says, looking ahead.

"Nope. We've always been close. That's that." I say, getting annoyed.

"Okay, okay. Wait." He says.

"What?" I ask, sighing.

"Your last name is Green, right?" He asks. I nod.

"Are you related to Mike Green? The kid that got killed last year." He asks. Jake walks up in time to hear him ask about Mike. Jake just looks at me, shocked.

"No. I heard about it. I know we have the same last name, but we're not related. That name is common." I say, lying.

"Ok. I was just wondering." He says, then he walks away. Jake looks at me, puts his arm around me, then drags me to the football field. He knows I'm nervous about what he said.

"He doesn't know. And he won't find out." He says, trying to comfort me. I nod and release the breath I've been holding.

"Just focus on the game. Focus on how we're gonna beat Chesterfield's ass." Jake says.

"You got it." I reply laughing, trying to shake off what just happened. It's game time not feel-sorry-for-yourself time.