Fragile // Sequel to Torn

3. |

// Jakob's point of view //

I sit at the studio with no one else around, just recording what I have of a new song I've written. My mind is a complete mess right now. My feelings for Ashley have only brought me comfort. I know I need to get over Ethan and if this is the only way, I'm willing to do it. Transitioning from liking Ethan to liking a girl isn't as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe if I just force myself, I can do this. I need to do this.

"Oh hi, Jake." Chris walks in and I quickly shut the laptop and take off my headphones.

"Uh, I was just leaving." I mutter, not wanting another confrontation about my love life from him.

"Oh."

I stand up and walk out of the booth, giving Chris a quick smile as I walk past.

"I'll see you at home," he tells me. "I'm making dinner."

I nod and walk out of the door, closing it softly behind me. Should I go home or go somewhere else? I did the shopping a few days ago so that doesn't need to be done. Honestly, we're so in control of everything it's like I'm just waiting for something to go wrong. I'm almost at my car when I hear my phone go off. I pull it out of my laptop bag and see the caller ID is Ashley.

"Hey." I greet, opening the passenger side door and dropping my stuff on the seat.

"Hey, I was just wondering if you were busy right now..." She trails off.

"No, I'm free."

"Ethan's acting weird and I don't want to bother him any more. Do you want to come over?" Ashley asks. I sort of just want to go home and make sure Ethan's okay. Then I remember what I'm supposed to be doing: getting over him.

"I'll be there in ten."

I pull up in Ashley's driveway right when I said I would. After checking my hair, I get out of the car and walk up to the front door. Just as I'm about to ring the doorbell, she opens the door. I let my eyes trail down from her beautiful eyes, down her body to her white converse. My thoughts are cut off when she grabs my arm and pulls me inside.

An hour later, we have built a fort and are laying in it, doing absolutely nothing. Ashley is on her phone and so am I, but my screen is blank. I just look at her, forcing myself to keep my focus. I definitely like her; I just have to like her more than Ethan. This isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I love the way her eyes crinkle when she laughs and the way her eyes are so intense yet so soft at the same time. The way she wriggles her toes when she's trying to concentrate and the way she closes her eyes when she's trying not to laugh is getting me too. I could definitely settle for her.

•••

I walk into the house to see Ethan on the couch. He's just laying there, watching TV. His eyes don't even move to look at me so I walk past, dropping my phone and bag down on the kitchen bench. My stomach doesn't flutter like usual. I feel nothing. I continue up to my room where I throw my stuff down on the bed. Then I collapse and close my eyes for a second, sprawled out on the bed. Apparently I close my eyes for more than a second because I fall asleep.

I wake up to Ethan storming into my room. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the light but he's holding my phone.

"You have five calls and three texts from Ashley." He almost spits, throwing my phone down on my bed.

"What the hell is going on!?" I ask, snapping. He's been acting weird lately and I need to know what's going on. 

"What the hell is going on between you and Ashley!?" Ethan shouts, copying my tone.

"Nothing! Ash and I just hung out once!" I defend myself. Why don't I want him to know? This is messing me up.

"Oh so now you're calling her Ash?" He throws his hands down in disbelief, turning around. He's about to walk out when he turns around again. "Keep your fucking hands off of her."

Then he leaves.

// Ethan's point of view //

I don't know why I'm feeling so protective; I'm just mad whenever I think about them together and it's driving me insane. Ashley has been a big part of me getting over Kade and I can't stand the fact of her being with Jakob. I can hear Chris and Jakob talking across the hallway but I don't know what they're saying. Then I hear footsteps and roll over, pretending I'm asleep. My door opens and someone walks in.

"I know you're awake," they say. It's Chris. "We're going out. All of us."

"Where?" I groan, deciding not to keep up my act.

"Out."

"I don't want to." I decide, rolling back over again. Chris obviously doesn't see this as an option though.

"Look, I care about you but if you wont tell me what's going on, I'm not going to listen. Get up now or start talking."

Chris' tough love is always good. Even though I have no clue what's going on inside my head, he drags me out of it and I slide out of bed. He leaves the room while I get changed and then I meet him and Jakob out in the lounge room. I pretend like nothing is going on and smile at Jakob as we walk out to the car.

Chris drives. He pulls up outside the cinema and it doesn't take a genius to work out what we're going to do. We walk inside and Chris buys our tickets by himself, leaving Jakob and I alone. Surprisingly, it isn't that awkward and we actually engage in a small conversation about movie posters.

"Yeah, I totally agree. That looks so cool." He finishes just as Chris walks over. He hands us each a ticket and leads the way through the lobby.

We're just finishing getting our popcorn when a few fans walk up to us. We have a small conversation but then I check the time and see we have to go. Quickly, we snap a few photos and race off to our movie.

Chris sits next to me with Jakob on the other side of him. There aren't many other people in the theatre and when the lights dim, I can relax.