▲ Chapter 30 || A Night Gone Unexpectedly Right. Right? ▲
"Oh my god, Elle. I can't believe what I just did," I groan. "Crap. How on earth will I face Blake tomorrow?"
"Dude. Why the hell would you call him? At 9pm - While you're on a freaking date, you idiot!" Elle comforts me. Note the sarcasm.
"I don't know. It was an in-the-moment decision. I was feeling inspired," I grumble, scooping some vanilla ice cream out of the tub. I whimper and eat the ice cream.
You're probably very confused as to why I'm withering away in my bedroom with a tub of ice cream in my arms. Well, where do I begin?
It all started on my night-out with Jack...
The doorbell rings and I jump up from my bed. "I'll get it!" I call out to my parents before jogging downstairs hurriedly.
Tonight was the night of my date with Jack. I was quite excited, though a little unsure. It still didn't feel right going out with Jack anymore, but I didn't want to cancel on him just because I changed my mind about the date. It was only one date - I could survive. Besides, although it is highly unlikely, I might develop feelings for Jack after this date.
Okay, so maybe I'm just making excuses for my poorly-made decision.
I swing the door open and smile when I see Jack standing nervously before me. He was wearing casual clothes and his hair was swept back with a lot of gel; more than necessary, but I don't mind. He's so adorable.
"Hey!" I smile, giving him a quick hug.
"Hey, Bronte!" he returns the smile, "You look beautiful. As always."
I smile bashfully in response, "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself."
He smiles in response before scratching the back of his head, "Shall we go now?"
"We shall," I grin, before calling over my shoulder, "Bye mom! Bye dad!" I call, hoping that my parents don't try and interfere with our date.
"Wait!" I hear a voice shout, muffled by the living room door. The sound of footsteps padding across the floor grows louder and I inwardly groan.
I turn to Jack, "Run."
He laughs at me like I was joking, "It's okay."
"If you don't run, we'll miss the entire movie and probably won't leave for another 4 hours, no kidding."
"I want to take a photo!" My mom cheers when she arrived at us. I look back at Jack and give him a pointed look. He laughs and stands beside me for the photos.
100 photos later, Jack and I finally manage to escape mom's grasp, unharmed.
We walk over to Jack's car and he opens the door for me, "Me lady," He speaks in a posh voice, holding his arm out and slightly bowing.
I laugh at him and slide into the car.
Jack slides into the driver's seat and twists the key. The car roars to life, and then we were off, driving through the dimly lit streets of Worthington.
"You excited to see Jurassic World?" I ask conversation-wise.
"Yeah, definitely," Jack nods, "All my friends have been raging about it, so I'm excited to see what the big deal is about."
"Yeah. I love those kinds of movies," I comment, "You know? Like a mix of action, fantasy and thriller."
Hunger Games, Maze Runner, Divergent and World War Z give me life.
"Mm, I wouldn't have pegged you as that type of girl," Jack hums in thought, "I don't know why, but I thought you'd be one for romance."
"I love romance books, but I'm not a fan of romance movies."
"I'm a fan of neither," he chuckles, "Hey, are you going to prom?"
"Oh God, I haven't even thought about it," I reply with a sigh. Our senior prom was in almost a week. Everyone has been raving about it and discussing who will be prom king and queen. Blake told me he won't be running for prom king because he's far too cool for that stuff.
"Yeah, my friends managed to convince me," Jack responds with a small laugh. He steers his car into a parking space and we fall into thick silence when the engine turns off.
I clear my throat to break the silence and Jack turns to me, "Shall we go?" I grin.
"Oh, yes. Right," he nods, hopping out of the car.
I walk beside him to the cinema, and once we've purchased our tickets, we head into theater 8.
We continue with small conversation until the movie begins. The cinema lights dim and I glance in Jack's direction with an excited smile. Jack smiles in response and his hand intertwines with mine. I stiffen at his mildly intimate action, and avert my gaze to the cinema screen.
This didn't feel right, and I've come to the conclusion that I like Jack, but only as a friend.
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"I had fun," I smile as we exit the cinema.
"Same," Jack responds, "You make it really easy."
"Make what easy?"
"Well, you weren't awkward," he clarifies, before chuckling, "Not like me. I'm terrible with making conversation. You're quite easy to talk to."
"Thanks, but you're giving me too much credit. You're the one whose easy to talk to. Have a little faith in yourself."
He smiles back at me timidly, "Well, thank you, anyway, for making tonight fun."
"I definitely wouldn't want to make it boring," I chuckle, "Besides, I like you. You're fun to be around."
He's silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, before he chuckles, "No wonder Blake likes you."
I feel myself stiffen up at his comment. Bringing Blake up tonight made me feel a little awkward to say the least. "I assume you mean as a friend? Believe me, he hated me at first," I sigh, "It wasn't until around the third week that he finally could tolerate me."
"Huh," Jack responds, raising his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yep." I nod. We walk outside the cinema in silence, before Jack finally speaks up.
"I really, really like you Bronte," Jack states. I feel my stomach churn. Holy shiznick! I really hope he's not going to do what I think he's going to do. "You're so great and I'd love for us to continue dating," he adds with a small smile, "But... I don't think that feeling is requited." He sighs to himself before continuing. "I always knew that you liked Blake, it was quite obvious, actually. I guess I just thought that maybe there was a chance between us if I had a date with you, but I don't think that's the case." His eyes cast downwards, before he glances back up at me with a strained expression.
I feel a surge of different emotions run through me, sadness, guilt, happiness and relief. I felt bad for Jack and for leading him on like that. I didn't want to hurt him.
Though at the same time, I felt like jumping up in the air and thanking the heavens the moment those words left his mouth. Thank you Jack and your understanding nature!
"I'm sorry," I sigh, "You're a great guy and you're very fun to hang out with, but like you said, I still have feelings for Blake. I'm very sorry for leading you on."
"It's okay," he replies, his voice small, "And you weren't leading me on, Bronte. It was a single date," he chuckles lightly, "Besides, I sort of pushed you into doing it, anyway."
"Well, I'm still glad I went. It was fun, and nice getting to know you," I assure him.
He seems to brighten up at my comment and a smile stretches across his face. "I'm glad. I wish you luck with Blake. You guys will be good together."
I blow out my cheeks in a sigh, "Yeah, well with the direction we're heading in at the moment, I don't think we'll be getting together anytime soon."
Jack's silent for a moment, before he speaks up, "Can I give you some advice?" he offers, and I nod my head. "I don't really know Blake, but I do know that he isn't the type to just express his emotions. I think you should just go for it. Telling him how you feel and see how it goes."
I smile, "Elle said the exact same thing. I'm just a little hesitant."
"Don't be. He'll be the one missing out if he rejects you," Jack tells me. "You might as well admit your feelings now, than let him move on and eventually find a new girl."
I smile at him thankfully, a newfound determination growing within me.
And this was where everything went downhill.
With Elle's little pep talk, and Jack's encouragement, I felt inspired and determined to confess to Blake right then and right there.
Probably wasn't a good idea.
"You wait here. I'll go get the car," Jack tells me, disappearing into the dark street to retrieve the car.
My determination doesn't dissipate as I watch his retreating figure. I fish out my phone and dial in Blake's number. After a few rings, he answers.
"Hey Bront. Are you okay? Do you need me to pick you up? Wait. Did Jack try anything on you?" Question after question tumbles out of his mouth, though I don't answer them.
"I like you. A lot." I admit. Adrenaline was coursing through me now, and my heart was pounding. I was going to do this and I won't look back, "I always have, but I've never told you because I was afraid of what you'd think and I didn't want to ruin our friendship." Breathe. "You probably don't like me back and I probably made things awkward between us, but that's okay. I just can't hide it anymore. I really like you," I chatter on. Words were shooting out of my mouth so fast that I wouldn't be surprised if he hadn't caught a word I said.
There's a long pause on the line as I wait for his response, long enough for realisation to dawn of me. Holy crap. I just admitted to liking Blake.
Crap crap crap crap!
"Yeah," I hum, "So that's that. Goodbye!"
"Wai-"
But I had already hung up.
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