Deja: *The chapter will continuously skip from day to day.*
"I can't believe you!" Bridget yelled storming into the house. I sat on the couch with Jayden helping him with his homework.
"What happened?" I asked trying not to laugh at how red she was.
"You told Zach I was cheating on him!"
"So, big whoop. It's wrong to cheat on people. I did the right thing."
"Do you know how many followers I'm gonna loose?!"
"If you dated him for the followers, you don't deserve him."
"He's going to write a diss song on me!"
"Not all singers are going to pull a Taylor Swift..." I rolled my eyes and threw Jayden and I's empty pizza box away.
"THE SHADE!" Jayden yelled at my Taylor Swift comment. I laughed a little. "Plus, cheating on someone is pretty rude."
"Oh, what would you know about cheating?" Bridget rolled her eyes.
"I've been cheated on before."
"What?"
"Yeah," Jayden said. "But that's in the past now."
"You have to give me all the details on this."
"How about no?" Bridget rolled her eyes and stormed upstairs while texting one of her little minions.
"That was probably the best conversation I've ever had with her," Jayden said as soon as we heard Bridget slam her door shut. I laughed and continued to help him with his homework.
"I still don't know how to do this slope thing. So, if it's a dashed line, it's equal to and then the opposite for solid lines?"
"No, uh here." I grabbed a piece of paper and drew a mini football field. "In football, as soon as the ball is out it's out, right?"
"Yeah," He said. "You can't play the ball if it's out."
"Okay, so the sides of the football field is solid meaning, out equals out. No questions asked. So, if it's a solid line it's..."
"Greater than or equal to/less than or equal to." I nodded.
"In soccer though, if a ball goes out of bounds, you can play the ball until the ref blows the whistle." Jayden nodded. "Therefore, the soccer field gets dashed lines. So, out equals maybe out, maybe in. So, if it's a dashed line it's..."
"Greater than or less than." I nodded. Hashbrown sat quietly next to Jayden's legs and watched us do our homework.
"You got it."
"So, if it's a solid line, it's greater than or equal to and if it's a dashed line, it's greater than or less than. That's great! I can just think of a football field now and I'll have it down!"
"Yup!" He smiled brightly and kissed my nose.
"Now, I need help with biology homework," He said. I smiled.
"I still have to do my homework, remember?"
"Yeah," He said.
The doorbell rang and I got up to get it.
"Did anyone order a pizza?" There was a pizza delivery guy holding a large pizza.
"Um... Jayden did you order more pizza?" I asked.
"No," He said focused on his homework.
"I'm sorry, we didn't order a pizza."
"Actually, the person who ordered the pizza said to deliver it to this house. He actually stopped by at the pizza place and paid for it before I got sent to deliver it."
"He?"
"Yeah, here. I need to go finish my deliveries." He handed me the pizza and left.
"Who ordered the pizza?" Jayden asked.
"I don't know."
I opened the pizza box to see what type it was.
"Pineapple pizza, you're favorite. I'm sorry for being a sour pineapple the other day. You were right and I hope you forgive me." It read on a note that was taped to the pizza box lid.
"Who's it from?"
"I think I know who it is, but I'm not sure."
"Cool," Jayden said. I set the pizza on the counter in the kitchen. I grabbed the sticky note and ran upstairs to place it in my memory box. I ran back downstairs and saw Jayden still focused on his homework.
I sat down next to him and continued to explain things to him that he didn't understand.
...
I woke up and felt a pair of arms around me and Hashbrown's fur rubbing against my ankle. It was 2 in the morning and Jayden was knocked out beside me on the couch. All of his homework was finished and I must've fallen asleep in the process of helping him with his homework.
"Jayden," I whispered lightly shaking his shoulder.
"5 more minutes mom," he said in his sleep.
"Jayden, you have to go home."
"I don't wanna go to school." I giggled a little.
"Jayden," I said. "Wake up."
I continued to shake his shoulder. He woke up and looked up at me.
"What time is it?" He asked.
"It's 2 in the morning. You should get going now."
"Can I just sleep over?" He asked. "I don't wanna drive home, I'm lazy."
"I'll drive." He sat up.
"No," He said beginning to pack his stuff. I frowned and he laughed before kissing my forehead.
"Are you tired?" I asked.
"No, I'm good."
"Sure?"
"Yeah." I walked him out to his car.
"Call me when you get home," I said.
"I'll be sure to." He kissed my forehead and said goodbye before getting into his car and driving off.
I walked back into the house.
"Hashbrown," I said. He didn't wake up, so I carried him upstairs and put him to bed.
...
I woke up to the sound of knocking on my door. I looked over and saw it was 5:25. I groaned. They couldn't wait to knock on my door until my alarm went off at 5:30? I got up and opened the door.
"Hi, Deja," My dad said smiling. I rolled my eyes and tried to shut the door. He stopped it with his arm as I flopped back onto my bed.
"Why are you waking me up before my alarm clock?"
"Oh, I wouldn't be awake right now if the doorbell didn't ring multiple times this morning," He said. "And it's actually your fault why we're both awake."
"How? I didn't ring the doorbell..." He held out a bouquet of roses.
"Someone decided to ring the doorbell, run away and leave this." He handed the roses to me. "They're for you."
"Who are they from?" I asked looking for a name on the little index card my name was written on.
"I don't know, but it looks like you have a little secret admirer."
"No, I don't."
"It's probably just Jayden."
"Jayden doesn't get up this early for anything."
"I don't know who it could be. But by the looks of it, this person really wants you to notice them."
"Well, jokes on them, I hate roses." I threw the bouquet of roses on my desk.
"It's a gift, Deja and I think you should treat it with respect."
"What if it's a bomb or some stalking gadget and someone tracking us so they can kill-"
"Deja..." My dad laughed. "You need to stop watching movies with Jayden. They're messing with your head."
"Me and Jayden don't even watch movies like that," I said. "We watch Teen Titans Go and Romantic Comedies."
My dad laughed and shook his head. "Get ready for school."
"Alright." He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.
...
"I'm so tired," Jayden said as soon as I opened the car door.
"I can drive if you want me to," I said. He rolled his eyes.
"No."
"Why not?!"
"You already know why."
"No, I don't."
"I swear we discussed this yesterday when I picked you up. And the day before that and all the other days I picked you up or gave you a ride in my car."
I sat back in my seat with my arms folded across my chest.
"I don't get it though if we're going to get married like you always talk about, why can't I practice driving the car we're going to share?!"
"Because we're not married, therefore this car is mine."
"Ours."
"Mine." I rolled my eyes. "How has your morning been?"
"Well, an anonymous being left roses for me in front of my front door and my boyfriend won't let me drive his car."
"Someone left roses in front of your house?" He asked looking over at me.
"Yeah, jokes on them though, I don't even like roses."
"I know," He said.
"But they were honestly really pretty and I kind of think the roses were from the same person who magically delivered the pizza to our house..." I noticed that his body was oddly getting tense and his knuckles were turning white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. "...last night. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He looked angry.
"Are you sure?"
"Deja, I said I'm fine!" I was shocked. We had gotten into arguments before, but he's never really raised his voice at me out of nowhere. "Sorry... I didn't mean to raise my voice like that..."
"Are you really okay?" I asked.
"No," He said. He pulled into the school parking lot and turned the engine off. "I'm not okay."
"What's up?" I asked.
"I don't like that people are sending you flowers and pizza. It makes me feel like I'm not a good enough guy for you."
"But you're the perfect guy for you me."
"Well, it doesn't seem like it when there's another guy who's making you happy anonymously."
"Look, the roses and the pizza don't mean anything to me."
"Then why did you put the note from the pizza last night into your memory box?"
"I didn't-"
"Don't lie to me, Deja. You ran upstairs with the note and a bright smile. Why would you run upstairs with a bright smile and the note if you were just going to throw it away?"
"Okay, I put it in my memory box, but it's only because the note was super cute."
"See! That makes me feel even worse."
"Jayden, look at me. You are perfect. You don't have to buy me things and surprise me with grand gestures. I love you because of the small things you do. The small things matter the most to me."
"I can't help but be jealous though," He said with a frown.
"You shouldn't be jealous. Whoever this anonymous person is should be jealous because I have you and that's all that matters."
I gave him a kiss on the cheek which made him smile. His eyes made a little sparkle. We weren't talking, but I knew what he was thinking which is why I love him so much. We don't have to be moving out mouths to be talking. We understand each other with one look.
Zach: *The night before*
"I need you to deliver this pizza to this address," I said giving the pizza guy Deja's address.
"What if the person isn't home?" He asked.
"She's home, trust me."
"Are you like asking out a girl or something?" He asked.
"Let's just say I'm earning her forgiveness."
"Whatever dude..." He just rolled his eyes and drove away in his pizza delivery car. I smiled and watched him drive away before calling an Uber to pick me up so I could go home.
...
"Where were you?" Jack asked as soon as I walked through the front door.
"Nowhere," I said.
I walked into my room and immediately got on my laptop to look for places that opened before 5 for flower pickups. I couldn't find any, so I put on a sweater and walked to the nearest flower shop. I picked up a bouquet of roses and brought them back to the house.
"Who are those for?" Daniel asked. All of the guys stared at me.
"No one," I said taking them to my room. I looked for something to put the roses in. I ended up stealing one of David's flower pots from the backyard and using it. I set the roses next to my bed on the nightstand.
I walked back out to the front.
"Seriously, Zach. Who are those for?" Jonah asked.
"You've been sneaking around and you won't tell us what you're up to," Corbyn said. "It's almost like you're hiding a girl from us."
"Are you trying to get back with Bridget?" Jack asked.
"No, Bridget and I are over and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't have time for her in my life anymore. She had her chance and she used my love to ruin my friendship with Deja," I said.
"Wait, are you trying to get Deja to forgive you?" Jonah asked.
"It's going to take a while and I know it, but it's not bad to try." They all looked at me.
"You do realize Deja doesn't want anything to do with you, right?" Corbyn asked.
"Like I said, it's not bad to try. And I'm confident that she'll forgive me," I said. "And maybe, just maybe, she'll be my girlfriend."
They all stopped what they were doing and just stared at me.
"What?" I asked looking around.
"Stand up," Daniel said. I stood up still confused about what was going on. "Jayden is like twice your size."
"He also loves Deja with every fiber of his being," Jonah said.
"And Deja loves him with all of her heart," Jack said.
"And if they love each other like that, nothing can tear them apart but themselves," Corbyn said.
"So like, no offense, but you don't stand a chance buddy," Jonah said.
"Well, thanks for the moral support guys," I said sarcastically.
"We're just preparing you. You know, just in case..."
I rolled my eyes and grabbed my phone. I walked into my room and lied down on my bed thinking about what they said.
They were right. How could I ever let myself believe that I stood a chance against Jayden? I mean, after all, he did treat Deja a lot better than I should've.
...
I woke up to the sound of my alarm and looked over at the roses on my nightstand. I got up and pulled on a pair of sweats on and a hoodie. I quickly wrote Deja's name on a small Index card and placed it in the bouquet of flowers. I quietly snuck out of my room and walked to Deja's house.
I set the bouquet of flowers on the welcome doormat. I looked up at the golden Christmas lights shining brightly through Deja's window. I contemplated on taking the flowers back and leaving. But looking up at the golden Christmas lights made me remember that what I did to Deja was horrible and that she deserved a lot better. I rung the doorbell a few times and ran to their neighbor's house and hid behind the fence.
I watched as light poured out from the front door. Deja's dad looked around quietly before picking up the bouquet of roses and reading the Index card. He just smiled and closed the door. I snuck to the front of Deja's house and watched quietly as Deja's dad walked in with the bouquet of flowers. Deja took the flowers from him and smiled.
I felt like a total creep watching from the window. I left and jogged back home.
...
I opened the front door and saw Jack sitting on the couch in the living room.
"I've been waiting for you," He said. It was dark and the only light was from the lamp.
"Don't do that, you creep," I said thinking about how I was being a total creep just a second ago.
"What are you doing?" He asked. "And don't lie to me."
"I'm trying to get Deja to forgive me. So, I delivered a pizza to her house last night and I dropped off roses at her house this morning," I confessed.
"That's what she meant by the pizza on her story last night," Jack said.
"She posted about me on her story last night?"
"Not you, the pizza."
"Right..."
"Look, I'll help you."
"What?"
"I'll help you earn her forgiveness back."
"You will?!"
"Yeah," Jack said. "But if you want her to be yours, you're all on your own. I'm not going to mess with Deja's feelings."
"Deal."
"I know her locker combination. If we get to the school early enough, we can put stuff in her locker."
"I'm down. We have to go now though, Deja's getting ready for school."
"How do you know?" He asked.
"I dropped off the roses and saw her through the window."
"And you called me the creep," Jack said rolling his eyes.
...
We grabbed all of Deja's favorite things and stuffed them in her locker along with a teddy bear holding a basketball. We left right as students started to get to the school.
"Thanks," I said.
"Anytime," Jack said smiling. I gave him a bro hug as we called an Uber to get back home.
Deja: *At school*
I walked with Jayden into the school. The whole school was still talking about me being 'pregnant' and Bridget cheating on Zach with Lucas. They were also talking about Peyton being back and saying that Jayden was caught staring at her. I didn't say anything to Jayden about what people were saying about him and Peyton. It didn't really bother me.
Jayden and I walked to my locker first as usual. He was talking about how he wanted to manage the girls' basketball team so that if I made the team, he'd be around me and we could still hang out even when I'm busy with basketball. He was also talking about Halloween and what he wanted to go trick or treating as this year. I laughed at the thought of Jayden in a little kids costume. I could laugh that he still goes trick or treating as a group with Tony and Chris, but I do it too. Free candy is free candy.
I tried opening my locker and it seemed jammed.
"Here, let me try," Jayden said putting in my locker combo. He gave it a few tries before finally getting it open.
He looked at me.
"What?" I asked. He slammed my locker closed and walked off angrily.
"Wait, Jayden!" I yelled running after him. I caught up with him. "What happened?"
"Don't talk to me until you figure it out." He walked away and I stood there in complete puzzlement.
I walked back to my locker and opened it to see what he was so angry with.
My locker was decorated with cute notes and a whole bunch of my favorite candies and bags of chips. There were even flowers and a cute teddy bear holding a basketball. I smiled and read one of the notes.
You're perfect and you deserve better.
I realized that Jayden was angry because of the grand gestures anonymous people were leaving for me. These gestures were making him feel less than his real worth.
I put my stuff away. I grabbed all of the candy and the teddy bear and gave it all to Chloe.
"What is this?" She asked.
"Take it. I don't wanna see that stuff." She just nodded confusedly as I ran towards Jayden's locker.
"Jayden," I said standing next to his locker. "I don't care about all the stuff in the locker."
"Really? Or did you just save it all and put it in your memory box," He said slamming his locker and walking off.
He was angry with me and it made me feel really bad.
...
I walked out of third period and saw that Jayden wasn't standing there waiting for me to walk out so he could smile a cheesy smile and say 'hey'.
I walked to my locker and put my stuff away before walking to the cafeteria. I didn't see Jayden anywhere. I went straight to Kyle and sat with him.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Jayden's mad at me," I said.
"For what?"
"Someone keeps sending me anonymous stuff and it makes Jayden jealous."
"It's a guy thing," He said. I just sighed and saw Jayden walk in with Tony and Chris. He looked over at me and made eye contact before looking away.
...
I knocked on the front door of the Why Don't We house.
"Oh, hey, Deja!" Corbyn said when he opened the door. "Come in."
"Is Jack here?"
"I'm here!" Jack yelled. I walked over and saw him. "What's wrong?"
"How'd you know?" I asked running up to him and hugging him.
"I just do," He said. We sat down in the living room.
"Jayden is angry with me because someone keeps living cute anonymous things for me and it makes him jealous and makes him feel like he's not doing enough for me," I explained. Jack looked at Zach who was listening to our conversation.
"What?" Jack asked looking back and forth between Zach and me.
"Jack, do you know something?"
"W-what? NO..."
"You're a bad liar," I said. He looked over at Zach. "Zach, are you the one leaving me anonymous notes?"
He nodded.
"Why?!" I stood up.
"I want you to forgive me," He said.
"Zach, what you did was super cute and super sweet. I truly appreciate what you're doing, but you could've just apologized like a normal person!"
"I wanted to show you that I still care and that I'm still super sorry. I love you, Deja!"
I just walked out of the house.
"Deja," He said. I turned and looked at him. "Do you love me?"
"No."