Girls vs. Boys

Girls vs. Boys (24) - Library

I didn’t look up from my textbook. He was right, but I wasn’t about to let him know that he was. Jesse Jacobsen was smug enough.

“I don’t like studying,” Jesse shrugged, and I still didn’t look up at him. “I never really do it anyway. I’m only here to get a book for my sister, but since I saw you… I think I’ll stay for a little while.”

I knew I wasn’t going to get anymore studying in that day, so I groaned as I closed my textbook and turned to look at Jesse. He wasn’t about to go away, no matter what I did or said. And since Austin wasn’t there yet, I was just going to have to deal with it.

“My brother’s going to be here to pick me up any minute,” I smiled sweetly, even though I really just wanted to hit him over the head with my textbook. “So there really isn’t any point in staying here, really. Just go get your sister’s book.”

Jesse’s smirk only widened. “Maybe I should stay here to make sure you don’t get kidnapped.”

Before I could say anything to him, something caught my eye. My eyebrows furrowed at him as I reached forward and gripped his shirt sleeve. “What happened to your shirt? It looks like you’ve been shot at or something.”

Jesse’s eyes widened for a moment before they went back to their normal size. He moved away from me a little, looking over to see the rip in his shirt. It seriously looked like a bullet had grazed his shirt or something.

“I gotta go,” he suddenly said, surprising me greatly as he got up from his seat. I sat there in complete confusion, just watching him leave and not moving until I knew he was gone.

This had probably been the shortest time I had ever spent with Jesse Jacobsen. It was weird to think that nothing happened between us when we were together, even if we were in a library. He had stormed out so quickly that it was obvious that he had been hiding something.

I blinked, not moving until my phone vibrated. I looked down to see it was a text from Austin, telling me that he was waiting for me in the parking lot to take me home.

When I got into the car, Austin didn’t greet me like he usually did. He said nothing to me, so I said nothing as well.

At first, it was silent in the car. This wasn’t normal, so I knew that there was something he was hiding from me. I swallowed before asking, “Is there something you want to tell me, Austin?”

“Two things, actually,” Austin blurted, looking very uncomfortable as he gripped the steering wheel even tighter. “I’m not really sure which one you want to hear first. They’re both not the greatest news.”

“Just… tell me what you think is the… least worst,” I nodded, ready for whatever he was about to throw at me.

“Emily and I broke up,” Austin shrugged, and I stared at him in surprise. They had been dating for nearly a year! “You’ll probably hear about it from her tomorrow.”

I just stared at him for a moment. It would have been a year in only a few months. But if this wasn’t even the worst news, what was?

“What’s the even worse news?” I voiced my thoughts now, not sure if I wanted the answer to this question.

“Dallas called,” he informed me now, a serious look on his face. I bit the inside of my lip, saying nothing to him. “He wanted to know how you were. I told him you were… doing better.”

“I’m not depressed anymore, Austin,” I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest and staring out the window.

My brother sighed. “I never thought you were depressed.”