Chapter 6:
The line wasn't as long and as I wished it was. Ryan and Shane stood in front of Jacob and me. I could have sworn I started trembling and it was probably the reason Jacob laid his hand on my shoulder.
"Are you okay?" I couldn't tell him no, then he would have yet another thing to tease me about.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." It was a big lie but I was pretty sure he bought it, although he didn't let go of my shoulder. The contact made me calm down slightly but when it was our turn to go through the haunted house. Shane and Ryan went in first and I thought of my happy place and forced myself to go in. Jacob was slightly behind me. I was still scared and I didn't want him to see. I was tempted to close my eyes but then it would make it hard to walk.
"You still alright?" I thought I had stopped trembling but I hadn't.
"Oh yeah, just peachy." There were flashing lights, making it hard to see, distorting everything in sight. I locked in on Shane and Ryan, memorizing what they were wearing and how the lights made their hair shine. That way I would never get lost.
Mirrors were strategically placed, making you second guess which way to go. I hated every second it of, without question. Creepy laughter made me bump right into Shane's back and think a set of curse words that were internally on repeat. I felt like I was walking into a black hole with no return. My heart was pounding in my chest, making it hard to concentrate on walking forward. We walked forward into a red mist and Shane and Ryan disappeared.
All the sudden, there was a crash and the face of a clown was all I could see. It dangled out like a jack in the box. White pale skin, demon black eyes and neon orange hair. That was all it took to make me paralyzed with fear. I backed up into something hard and screamed when hands tightened on my shoulders.
"It's okay." The voice said but I couldn't look behind me. I ran, frantically looking for a way out. There was no obvious door, just hallway after hallway. Then I spotted a glowing red sign with EXIT, in bold letters. I threw myself outside, instantly thankful that it was sunny and nothing like the inside of the haunted house.
"Kelsey!" Jacob shouted my name, running out behind me. "Why didn't you just say you didn't want to go in?"
"Seriously?" My blood boiled, it was all his fault. "I didn't want to give you anything else to tease me about. I could just picture it, Kelsey's afraid of the dark, Kelsey's afraid of clowns, Kelsey's a crybaby. I would never hear the end of it." I cried, tears streaming down my face.
"Is that really what you think?" I didn't pay any attention to the hurt look on his face.
"Yes!" I shouted. He came closer and I hit his chest repeatedly. "Get off of me Jake!"
"Kelsey, I never meant to hurt you." He whispered, his arms wrapped around me. "Believe me."
"Why do you do it then? If not to hurt me, then what?" I cried into him, returning the hug.
"I..." He stuttered. "I don't know. It's who I am, I joke around. I didn't know it bothered you." My heart rate slowed as we stood there in each other's arms. "I like it when you call me Jake." He said and I was so glad he couldn't see my blushing face.
"Is everything okay?" I wasn't sure when Ryan and Shane had come out. I wiped my cheeks with the sleeves of my sweater before turning around. Jacob looked to me for an answer.
"Yeah, everything's fine." I mumbled and I tried to lighten the mood. "What should we do next?" No one could seem to come up with an answer. The three guys shrugged and I wasn't about to make them ride in the spinning tea cups, although it would have been funny. So we walked around, hoping to see something of interest.
"Here's something I'll be good at." Ryan said confidently, looking over at the strong man challenge. Shane and Jacob looked to one another, seeming to know something I didn't. "Loser buys the pizza." The three boys shook hands making it a deal.
Jacob looked to me with a smirk on his face. "I'm going to win you a prize." Sometimes I thought he was too smooth for his own good.
Ryan lifted the mallet up over his head and stood so his feet were shoulder width apart. "I got this." He swung and the dile made it halfway up before falling back down. "That was just my practice round, let me try again." Shane and Jacob quickly agreed. Ryan swung again and did worse than the previous try.
"Alright, my turn." Shane pushed Ryan out of the way and swung the mallet without hesitating. The dile went three quarters of the way up. He high fived Jacob and handed him the mallet.
"Wish me luck doll face." Jacob winked. I carefully watched him position himself, biting my lip slightly to keep myself from smiling.
"Go Jake!" Shane yelled, hooting like Jacob was a piece of meat.
Jacob swung and before I realized what happened, I heard the dinging noise. The dile made it all the way up to the top. He did a celebratory fist bump to the air and spun around to face me.
"What would you like?" He asked and I gulped. Uh oh... I hated making decisions on the spot.
"I um..." I looked at my choices, my eyes automatically finding a little plush elephant. "The little grey elephant?" I pointed, hating that it came out as a question and not a statement.
"For you princess." He handed it to me and winked. I held the teddy bear Blake gave me in one arm and the elephant Jake gave me in the other.
"I can't believe I lost my own bet." Ryan sulked, ruining our moment. Then I walked over to where Ryan and Shane were standing.
"Then you shouldn't make a bet you know you can't win." Shane and Jacob began laughing while Ryan stood there staring at them.
"Okay guys enough, it's Kelsey's turn to pick what we do." Jacob sobered up from his laughing fit.
"I thought we were going to get pizza though." Ryan and Shane both complained.
"Well we can do that after we do Kelsey's ride." Jacob turned and looked at me. "What do you want to do? Pick anything." Couldn't he tell I didn't like being out on the spot? I looked around, my eyes landing on a particular ride.
"Ride the ferris wheel." I said in a low voice.
"That ride takes forever, we won't be able to get pizza." The boys complained like I knew they would.
"If she wants to go on the ferris wheel, we're going on the ferris wheel." Jake told the boys and came closer to me.
"We're getting a seat together." He whispered only so I could hear and I gulped, feeling my cheeks heat up. Somehow I knew he would want to sit with me.
"Fine with me, stud muffin." Was all I said and I instantly regretted it.
"I'm a stud muffin, so you think I'm hot." He stood in front of me smirking. I didn't know what to do, I was probably a dark shade of red and shaking like a leaf. All I could think to do was explain myself.
"You call me princess and doll face that's what I called you." I muttered, folding my arms across my chest, not taking my eyes off of the floor.
"Keep telling yourself that." He winked again and to break the tension I began walking towards the ferris wheel.
The line was long when we arrived, it looped twice so I knew we'd be standing in the line for a good 20 minutes before getting to the front. Ryan and Shane couldn't get the pizza of their minds, they must have bickered the entire time. Jacob on the other hand became quiet the minute we stepped in line. It was a pleasant surprise. I was avoiding the moment when he brought up the "stud muffin" incident.
"Are you still upset because of what happened in the haunted house?" He asked and I looked into his eyes. He still looked worried. Even though I was glad we weren't talking about the "stud muffin" incident, I couldn't help but wonder why the haunted house was still on his mind. All I wanted to do was make the smirk come back on his face so I decided to play with him a little bit. It was also a form of payback for all the times he teased me.
"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not." I said looking at him but he could see right through me. I bit my lip and looked down so he couldn't see the look in my face. He stepped in front of me and put his finger under my chin, tilting it up before leaning down to my height.
"You really should stop biting your lip." He said as he took his thumb and pulled my bottom lip out of my mouth.
"Why should I?" I looks up at him and saw the same playfulness I was probably wearing.
"It drives me crazy." He spoke with such seriousness that made butterflies dance in my stomach. I drive him crazy? I looked down and tried to find ways to change the subject but failed.
"Well I can't just stop doing something that I've done for years." It was the definition of a bad habit, one that I couldn't break instantaneously.
"We'll see about that." With that he stood beside me and the line began moving again.
When we got to the front of the line we were quickly seated and secured in our seats. I probably had a giant smile on my face, I couldn't remember the last time I'd been on a Ferris wheel. It reminded me of the iconic moment in the notebook, where the romance between Allie and Noah started. My feet were lifted off the ground and I looked down as Jacob and I got higher and higher.
"So I was thinking-" Oh boy. He started. "You're good at chemistry right?" Yet another question that was out of the blue.
"Um... yes?" I nodded, unsure of his standards of good.
"Alright so you're good at chemistry and I'm not. We should put that to good use." I nodded, slightly confused to what he was getting at. "Tutor me?"
"You want me to tutor you?" I asked. "In chemistry?"
"Yes, I thought I made that pretty clear." He told me bluntly. "My mom is starting to worry about my grades and I'm afraid the boarding school threat is going to be more than just a threat." Jacob leaving? It should have made me happy but instead I got a sad feeling in the pit of my stomach. "So will you?"
"Um... sure." I agreed, hesitating slightly.
"Good." He smirked, almost like he knew I was going to agree.
"Good..." I muttered, letting the conversation die.
We were almost at the top and I looked back over the edge, taking in my surroundings. Then all the sudden the ferris wheel jolted and came to a stop. I felt like I could have fallen over the end and I quickly grabbed onto Jacob's hand, instantly realizing my mistake. I let go as quick as I grabbed on.
"Sorry..."
"No don't apologize, if you want to hold my hand princess, feel free." He joked and I bit my lip as I blushed. "Again, what did I tell you earlier about biting your lip?"
I thought back and gulped. "That I shouldn't do it?"
"No after that..."
He's going to make me say it. "It drives you crazy..." I whispered.
"What was that?" He asked, putting a hand to his ear.
"It drives you crazy."
"That's right doll face." Jacob winked.
We wasted away the night doing silly things like going to the petting zoo and eating our weight in pizza. By the time the sunset we sat down and watched the fireworks off the pier. I almost forgot it was supposed to be Blake and I's day. Jacob and I said goodbye at the gate and I began walking towards the car, Blake was already there waiting for me. A frown automatically came to my face, it was supposed to be our day.
"Why so glum chum?" Blake asked wrapping an arm around my shoulder. I was surprised he couldn't figure it out.
"It's nothing." I tried to put it behind us, but he pushed.
"No it's not. Did something happen with that Jacob guy? If he did something I'll-" I couldn't let him go on any further. I wasn't sure why he automatically jumped to that conclusion.
"No, Jacob didn't do anything, actually he was surprisingly nice most of the time and he was there for me when you ditched me." I said with a sting to it.
"Kelse, munchkin I..."
"You did, you ditched me for some random guy." His expression hardened. "I don't get it, I don't see you for months and then on our day you decide to go off with Oliver, who by the way I didn't think you talked to. So yeah I'm a little upset and a little mad."
"He's not just some random guy." Blake muttered under his breath.
"Then who is he? I'd really like to know who you chose to spend your birthday with over me." I said before thinking, maybe I didn't want to know.
"You really want to know?" He leaned against the door, sighing and I nodded. "I wanted to spend my birthday with not only you but with my boyfriend." I did a double take, wondering if I heard it right. "Yeah you heard me right."
"You're gay?" It was shocking because he mentioned anything about liking guys, he always had girlfriends, never a boyfriend. I thought we shared everything, I thought we were closer than that. Somehow that made the angriest, the fact that he didn't tell me. "Are you mad?"
"Yes, but not for the reasons you think." I pointed, almost shouting, I had to take a deep breath. "I just I can't believe you didn't tell me." Walking away was the only thing I could do. Tears slipped down my cheeks and I quickly wiped them away.
"Where are you going?!" He yelled.
"I'll get a ride home with Jacob." I knew he stopped trying when I heard the car start up and drive away. Which caused me to cry even more. It was pure coincidence that I saw Jacob walking towards his car alone, so I ran up to him, dropping my stuffed animals and hugged him while I cried. I felt like I was stupid for being so sensitive and for crying in front of a boy I barely knew.
"I'm happy and all that you're hugging me, but why are your crying princess?" I used to hate being called princess but coming so sweetly out of his mouth, I loved it.
"I-he-" I couldn't get the words out and I felt his grasp tighten. He began rubbing my back, comfortingly and running his hand through my hair.
"It's okay princess, you don't have to tell me." I thought if he hugged me any tighter I wouldn't have been able to breath, but at the same time I wanted to feel closer to him.
"Let go so I can get your stuff and I'll give you a piggy back ride to my car." He whispered in my ear and I did as asked, looking down so he couldn't see my face. He picked up my things and stood up right which confused me. My short legs would not be able to jump two feet up onto his back. I was taken aback when he grabbed me by the waist and pulled be too him.
"Look at me." I didn't want to look at him, I looked ugly when I cried. But he didn't take no for an answer, so he put a finger under my chin and lifted my head up so I was looking into his eyes.
"It'll be okay doll face." He reassured me. His eyes held the same hurt my did why though?
"Okay, thank you." He kissed my forehead which surprised me and then he hugged me really tightly for a quick second before letting go.
"Ready for that piggy back ride?" I couldn't believe he was serious.
"Yes!" With that he bent down and lifted me onto his back. He had a stuffed animal in each hand and still managed to wrap his arms around my legs to keep me from falling. I put my head in the crock of his neck, smelling his Axe cologne. He hadn't started walking yet but I heard and felt him chuckling and was curious to why he was.
"Why are you laughing?" I removed my head from his neck so I could speak.
"Oh nothing, we are almost at the car." He said and I couldn't see his smile but I could feel him smiling which made me feel somewhat better.
He started walking and with each step I bounced. Thinking I would fall I wrapped my arms and legs around him tighter. We weren't that far from the car and when I looked up, he stopped.
"Why did you stop?" I whined. I didn't want to prolong the agony, I wanted to go home.
"You moved." Was he really stopping because I moved my head from the crock of his neck?
"Big baby." I whispered so he couldn't hear me.
"Yes I am." Of course he heard that. I needed to work on my whispering skills or just keeping my mouth shut. I laid my head back down, making him happy and soon he was at the car. Part of me didn't want to let go but the awkwardness overpowered my heart. I tried getting down but he held on, keeping me stuck on his back.
"Let me down." I wanted to go home and curl up in my bed. I was done with the night.
"Nope, until you say thank you, you don't get down." I would never have thought he was into good manners but being polite was my specialty.
"Thank you." I muttered, hoping he would let me down so I could get in the car.
"You're welcome princess." With that I was finally released and I got into the passenger seat of the car. He handed me my stuffed animals and I held the elephant to me. I closed the door as he was walked around the other side to get in the driver seat. I locked the doors, trying to lighten the mood.
"You're so childish." He teased, unlocking the car with the they keys, which wasn't a solution I had thought of. I pouted at him.
"And you're no fun." I folded my arms across his chest.
"Do you feel better now?" He asked, starting the car.
"Yeah, thanks Jake." I smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Jacob took my hand in his and squeezed it lightly.
"Good." He winked and drove us home, with the on quietly. The second my head hit my pillow I fell asleep.