Song for this chapter: Vulnerable - Selena Gomez
"Higher!" I yell making Nate roll his eyes.
"I got it the first time."
"Then why didn't you do it the first time?" I yell again making him roll his eyes.
Nate and another guy - whose name I don't know - are putting up a poster. Around me dozens of people are walking around nervous, carrying all kinds of boxes. The Valentine's Day Dance is tomorrow and right now, preparations are underway. We're decorating the gym, because apparently, the dance will be here. Just like the previous ones. There are a lot of tables and chairs; some guys are installing the lights and some girls are inflating the balloons.
"Too much pink." Kelly says making a disgusted face.
"I know, right?" Alex mumbles. "It's like a unicorn vomited all over the place." he continues making the same face as Kelly.
"Oh, my God!" I hear Ashley say when she walks into the gym. "It looks perfect!" she squeaks clapping her hands.
I look at Kelly and we both start laughing.
"Hey, unicorns!" Nate yells catching our attention. "How is it now?" he asks pointing at the poster.
"Finally! Was about time!" I say making him roll his eyes.
"So..." Kelly says with a smile. "Do you guy have any dates?" she raises her eyebrows. "Except you." she looks at Alex.
"Yeah." Nate jumps his shoulders and Kelly and I look at him shocked.
"Wait." I frown. "Am I the only one who doesn't have a date? I thought we were all going together..."
"Well, Alex and Sophie are going together, I'm going with Matt and apparently Nate has a date too... it's not that surprising."
"So I'm going at a dance for the first time and I'm going alone too?"
"I thought you were going with Warren." Nate frowns.
"No." I frown. "I don't want to go anywhere with him."
"I thought you guys made up..." Alex says this time, frowning.
"We didn't. Just because he's trying to make up for something, doesn't mean I will forgive him just like that." I say before I turn around because someone called me.
"Can we talk?" Kyle asks, being only a few steps away from me.
I nod and nervously I follow him away from my friends. When we stop, he looks at me, analyzing every single move I make, which only makes things worse.
"Do you want to go to the dance with me?"
I feel like someone just hit me in the back of my head. Kyle? Is asking me to go to a dance with him? On Valentine's Day? Is the world ending?
"Us? Together? At the Valentine's Day Dance? Why?" I ask raising my eyebrows.
"I like you. You're... unique." he says making me frown.
"And I'm just supposed to believe you?"
"What do you have to lose?" he asks getting closer.
"My time." I say taking a step back.
"So it's a no?" he yells after me, when I turn around and leave.
"8 o'clock. Don't be late." I turn around to tell him then I continue walking back to my friends.
"What was that?" Kelly asks raising an eyebrow.
"He asked me to the dance." I jump my shoulders.
"What?" they all yell at the same time.
*
"I will fall."
"No, you won't." Kelly puffs looking at me.
"I can't walk on these. Not while I'm wearing a long dress." I say making her roll her eyes.
"You'll be just fine."
"Can I please get my sneakers? The dress is long. No one will see anything."
Kelly rolls her eyes and punches my hand. I look again in the mirror and I sigh. I have a bad feeling.
I flinch when Kelly gives me my clutch. We look again in the mirror then we leave my room and walk down stairs where Liz is waiting for us with a big smile. I involuntarily look at Jake who's leaning on the kitchen island. His black suit makes him look better than ever.
Our eyes meet and my heart skips a beat and I almost fall down the stairs.
"I told you I will fall." I tell Kelly when she looks at me a little worried. "I'm fine." I assure Liz when I get to her.
"You look amazing. Red is definitely your color." she says while hugging me.
I don't know if "amazing" is the exact word I would use, but Kelly spent a lot of time doing my hair and make-up. Even if the make-up is natural and the hair is pretty much the same, except some curls, Kelly did a pretty good job. And Liz is right. Red is my color. At least that's what Kelly and Sophie said when we went shopping. The dress is simple, long and with some tiny lace-braces.
"Let me take a picture of you." Liz says and looks at Jake and tells him to come take a picture with us.
Jake comes next to me and puts his hand on my waist. We look at Liz and after she takes our picture, Jake takes a few steps back but I stop him.
"Wait." I take the disposable from my clutch and I hand it to Liz. "Take one more."
"Smile!"
Right after the picture is taken, a car stops in front of the house and honks. Kelly opens the door and claps her hands excited.
"They're here."
She gets out the door, leaving me behind laughing at her excitement.
"Take care." Liz shouts behind me and I turn around and smile her.
"You're not coming?" I ask Jake when I see him standing on the porch with his hands in his pockets.
"I have to go pick up Ashley." he says and I nod.
"I'll see you there." I say and he answers with a smile.
*
The gym looks exactly the way we left it a few hours ago. Dozens of couples are dancing in the middle of the room and some other people ar sitting at the tables drinking.
"We did a pretty good job." Kelly says making me laugh.
Kelly drags Matthew to the dance floor and he follows her sighing.
The entire night I sat at the table with Kyle - who didn't say a single word - and I danced a couple of times with my friends. This was pretty much my entire romantic evening.
"My feet hurt." Kelly whines when she sits down.
"Wonder why." I laugh.
"Why do you want me to do? I'm having fun." she jumps her shoulders.
"Kyle?"
I turn around when I hear the familiar voice talking and I feel my heart skipping a beat.
"Can we have a word?" he says looking at him tense.
Kyle gets up and without any other commentaries, walks by Jake and leaves the room.
"Something doesn't smell right." Matthew mumbles to Kelly.
Without thinking twice I get up and I follow the guys.
"Maybe I actually like her. Did you think about that?" it's the first thing I hear when I get close to them.
Jake seems angry, while Kyle doesn't seem to give a damn a bought that.
"You don't give a damn about her. You give a damn about me caring about her." Jake yells getting closer to him. "You'll stay away from her... Or you'll kill you myself." he says between his teeth.
"Come on. She doesn't want that. I bet she wants me in her life. I bet she wants me in her pants as well... she won't have to wait. Who knows... maybe tonight is her lucky night..." he grins.
I flinch when Jake starts hitting Kyle until he falls to the ground.
"Stop!" I yell when he still continues hitting him.
I grab his hand and I try to pull him away when he doesn't listen to me. I look at Kyle laying on the floor, bloody and unconscious.
"Let's go." I say dragging him to the school's exit. "What the fuck was that?" I yell at him when we're outside.
"I couldn't help it." he pulls his hand through his hair.
"You couldn't help not hitting him until he's unconscious? Why would you do that?"
"Because he's fucking with you... He's fucking using you!" he yells angry.
"And you're not?" I cover him.
He sighs and looks at me worried.
"I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry." he comes closer.
"So am I." I mumble looking away from him.
"Can we leave?" he asks and I raise my eyebrows. "Can we go somewhere... just the two of us? Please?"
I look him in the eyes and all I can see is desperation. Maybe because he knocked out Kyle right in front of me and he feels guilty; maybe because he's worried about me because of Kyle; or maybe there's another reason only he knows.
"Why would I do that? I just watched you knock out a guy right in front of me..."
He hasn't given me any reason to trust him. Even if a part of me wants to be with him, I know it would be a really bad idea.
"You're right. I just knocked him out because he wanted to get into your pants... but I'm the bad guy."
"I can take care of myself!" I yell covering him again.
All he does is look at me frowned. He's right. Sort of. I hate to admit it... but he just defended me in front of Kyle. I didn't need him to do that, nor did I ask him to do that... but he did it.
"I'm hungry." I mumble.
I start walking to the parking lot and I turn around when I see he's not following me.
"Are you coming?"
*
"Are you sure you don't want to go inside?" he asks when he gets the food out of the bags.
"Look at us. Do you really want to walk in there like this?" I ask raising an eyebrow.
"It's McDonald's! No one cares." he laughs. "Are you ok?"
"I think so." I say after I jump my shoulders. "I didn't get to thank you... for defending me in front of Kyle. You didn't have to do that."
"Of course I did. I love you. I would do anything for you." he smiles.
We start eating and Jake opens the radio to make the atmosphere a little less awkward. After a few minutes Jake opens the door and goes around the car, only to open my door a few seconds later.
"What are you doing?" I frown giving him my hand when he asks for it and getting out of the car.
"If I remember correctly, you didn't exactly have a proper dance tonight."
He turns the radio up then takes my hand and pulls me a little farther away from the car.
"Would you like to dance?" he holds out his hand again and I give mine to him. Again.
"Why are we like this?" I ask with my head on his shoulder.
"How?"
"Complicated." I pull away so I can look at him. "We fight. We break up. We kiss. We fight again. You knock out some guy for me... you're nice then you break me, then you're nice again... I can't keep up." I sigh.
"I love you." he says with the same desperation he had a few minutes ago.
"I know. But it doesn't change the fact that you also hurt me." I take a few steps back interrupting the dance. "What are we doing?"
"I love you." he repeats.
"I heard you the first time, Jake..."
"No. You didn't." he comes closer. "I love you. I love you like I never thought I can love someone. I love you so much it scares me. I love you so much that I can't even understand how it's possible..." he grabs my face with his hands. "I love you with every single ounce of my body. It hurts when you're mad at me and it hurts when you're hurting... and I'm happy when you're happy. You make me happy so easy... you can do that just by looking at me. I'm scared... maybe that's why I'm such a dick... I'm scared that one day you'll realize I'm not good enough for you. I'm scared that one day, I will wake up and you'll be gone... I don't want you gone. I don't want to live with you gone. Not when I already had you."
I've never seen him so honest and vulnerable. He looks at me and I can feel the love he cares for me. He looks at me and I want to love him more... I want to show him that he does diserve me, that he really is good enough for me. I want to show him that I'm scared too... that I'm scared this isn't real... that I'll wake up one morning, in my room, home in Italy... and nothing ever happened. I'm scared that one day he won't love me anymore. I'm scared that he won't be around... I'm scared even now, when he's away for a few hours... I'm scared not to be with him. Because he makes me happy and safe and loved. How could I ever tell him that? How can I show him that?
"Do you believe me when I tell you you're the most important and scary thing in the world for me?" I grab his face too. "That no one else made me feel the way you do... that no one can ever make me want love them the way you do... You are enough. I don't care what you think... I know you are enough..." I stick my forehead to his and I listen to him breathe for a second. "I'm scared too... I'm scared that you won't love me tomorrow. I'm scared that you won't be here tomorrow; that this is just a dream..." I pull back so I can look at him. "I love you, like I never thought I can love someone. I didn't know I can love someone this hard. I didn't know I want to love someone this much..."
"I love you." he whispers. "I'm sorry... so sorry."
"I love you too." I look at him and I smile relieved. "It's ok. It will be ok from now, right?" I say and he nods.
"I promise you... it will be everything you need, want, and deserve."
"Pinky promise?" I ask smile showing him my pinky.
"Are you serious?" he laughs too.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" I ask raising an eyebrow.
He grabs my pinky and with a sigh he says: "I promise to love, and cherish you for the rest of my life. And I also promise to never hurt you. Ever again."
"I promise to love and cherish you for the rest of my life. And I promise to never hurt you again. For the rest of my life." I repeat after him smiling.
"So... does this mean we're married?" he says and I start laughing. "I love you."
"I love you too."