One Of The Guys

Chapter 19

*******Jake POV******
I have no idea what the hell Alex said to make Taylor so pissed off. All I know is, he's gonna get it from me and Garrett. Garrett. He seems good for her. And I'm glad. I see Garrett in the hall before my next class and he looks pissed.

"I'm gonna kill Alex." He says, walking up to me.

"That's my job. Taylor is my best friend. And I promise you, if you ever hurt her, you will be digging your own grave." I say, giving him a death stare. He looks at me wide eyed and slowly nods.

"Good. Now you can help me kill him." I say.

"Okay." He replies, his voice a little shaky.

Guys aren't supposed to show their feelings, but right now, I don't give a fuck. And he knows it. He now knows how much Taylor means to me.

"How will we get him?" I ask.

"Well, first we have to ask Taylor what happened." He replies. I nod. Why didn't I think of that?

"See you at lunch." I say, walking into my next class. I see him nod before he disappears around the corner. I sit through class, Taylor next to me. I barely even pay attention. All I can think about is Taylor and Garrett. And how he's crashing our weekend plans.

"You okay?" Taylor whispers, touching my arm. I nod. She looks unconvinced, but goes back to writing down notes that I'll have to copy down later. Our weekend. That's our time together. A voice says in my head. But you do live with her. I argue back. Geez, why is it so confusing?

It's her first boyfriend. I just yelled at Ales for not being happy for her and now I'm having mixed feelings. That's basically how the rest of the day goes. Me, slogging through class. By practice, I still can't focus on anything else.

"2 laps, Jake. You gotta pay attention." Coach yells. I nod and get started on my laps. Taylor comes and joins me because she's captain and I guess she feels the need to.

"Jake, what the hell is wrong with you?" She says.

"Nothing." I reply, and look away.

"That is not nothing. You've been acting like this all day. Get your shit together." She yells. And we complete the rest of the laps in silence.

Coach gives me a look when we get back. It says 'get your ass back over here and start explaining'.

"I-" I start, when I get to coach. He hold up a hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I know that Taylor has a date with Garrett. And that's probably what's on your mind. But you gotta stop thinking about it. Push it to the back of your mind when it comes to football." He says sternly.

"Okay?" He asks. I nod.

"Good. Get back out there and put your game face on." He says, his voice softer now. I hustle back out and don't look at Taylor. But I can feel her staring at me. I don't talk to her for the rest of practice. Even when we go through plays. I'm focused just on football. After practice, I hustle into the locker room and get changed.

"Dude, are you okay?" Zach asks.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just..." I say, trailing off.

"I know. Taylor. Garrett. I know you like her as more than a sister. The entire school knows that the whole 'girlfriend act' is not just for show." Zach says, keeping his voice low.

"No way. She's like my sister. I don't like her in that way. I just don't want her to spend all her time with Garrett and just forget about me." I say, realizing why I was so upset.

"Ah. Jealousy. But dude, Taylor loves you. She'd never forget about you." Zach says.

"I don't know. I think she really likes Garrett." I say, looking at my feet.

"You know what I think? I think that you two both love each other as way more than friends. But you don't know it. You think that your morning show is just that, a show. But deep down, you know it's more. And I think that both of you are beyond stupid for not realizing it." Zach says, staring me in the eye, not wavering at all.

"You better figure this shit out before its too late." Zach says, before leaving me in the locker room all alone. Zach doesn't know what he's talking about. Not at all. I sit here for what must am have been an hour thinking about what Zach said. Taylor walks in looking relieved when she sees me.

"Thank God. I was so worried. I didn't know where you were and-" She starts.

"Taylor. I'm fine. Let's just go." I say, cutting her off. At first she looks surprised, then she nods and turns on her heel to leave.

"Garrett is a great guy. I hope you know that before you go thinking he's a dick." She says, leaving. Everyone is leaving me here.