Ella and Lottie

Jacob

Chapter 2

Ella

The bell echoed in the corridor signalising the end of the school day. I waved Megan goodbye and rushed to my locker to collect my stuff. Once my jacket was halfway around my shoulders I heard the sound of shuffling. So I picked up my stuff, shrugged my jacket on, and looked up. And bumped right into a tall, hard, wall of flesh. I stumbled backwards into my locker. There HE stood blocking my way. All the rest of my class had fled, the cowards. I steeled myself. Jacob was in the year below yet he still managed to intimidate the hell out of most of my classmates. A false sickly sweet smile cut through my face like a knife. "Hello, Jacob," I spat at him, venom dripping out of every syllable.

"Afternoon," Jacob smirked, his icy blue eyes boring into me. His arms were on either side of me caging me in. He sniggered unfeelingly to his own little joke. His demeanour was so cold, that I was surprised it hadn't frozen anything other than his ice heart. His icy blue eyes and cool attitude, always caring about appearances were so different from Lottie's fiery hair and warm welcoming attitude, never caring what people thought of her just doing what she thought was right. The searching, scanning, squinting eyes kept trying to read my soul. I couldn't handle his strangely hungry gaze any longer, I averted my eyes and tried to slip past him.

"And where do you think you're going?" Jacob's voice was so silly, that he practically sang. "I need to talk to you." His serious expression mocked me. He grabbed me by my forearms as I tried to leave again. Oh, what was with him? This boy would follow me down to hell to torment me. I twisted my arms trying to remember the self-defence course we did a few years ago. But it was fruitless and only worked if you only had one hand captured. So I settled on glaring up at his stupid smirking face in defiance.

"Letmego!" my words stumbled into one another as I wriggled to try and get free, "I'm NOT in the mood for this today!" I growled as I stopped wriggling. My glasses had slide down my face and I longed to push them up my nose. My bag slung carelessly on my shoulders before, now slid off them. I lurched to reach for it as he let go of my shoulders suddenly, but Jacob had other ideas, he got the messenger bag before me and slung it around his broad shoulders impossibly high up and out of my reach. He turned to face me as he began to stroll down the corridor.

"Come on I'll walk you home," he glanced over his shoulder and phrased the order like he was doing me a favour. Grudgingly, I stomped after him. "Soooooo," he said as I, panting, caught up with him, "About what I wanted to talk about." He turned to face me and said the words he said each week, the words I wished not to hear.

"There's this party this weekend and I was hoping..." his eyes for once weren't searching and sneering at me, they looked honest. Like he was seriously in love with me. I scoffed at the thought.

"No, Jacob, how many times do I have to tell you NO!" I yelled. He is so annoying. He does this every week like clockwork. At least once a week he shows up at my locker and finds a way to walk home with me then asks me out. Well to hell with him. Except. The way he looked at me today reminded me of the first time way back when. So earnest, so young.

"Hey, Ella" Jacob's infectious smile flooded my view. He had been so friendly recently and I was grateful for that in a time that was looking fairly friendless at the moment. It was the end of school 9 months ago yet my memory was as clear as day. "Mind, if I walk home with you?" Jacob asked, his voice lowering slightly at the end indicating his shyness. "I live nearby so it would be no trouble for me and I long for some company," he explained beaming at me, so kind, so friendly, so considerate. I pondered it, he had been one of my best friends recently and today I wished for more company than my thoughts.