FicWad

I have fully recovered from the nearly-drowning incident by the time the weekend rolls around. Jacob is coming to pick me up so we can go to the movies. It is not a date.

Ever since I started hanging out with Jacob again Mindy has been on my case. For some reason she has convinced herself I am in love with Jacob and is concerned about us "getting close". I swear, I don't know where the woman gets her ideas from because I so totally don't even think of Jacob that way (despite his hotness) and have told her many times we are just good friends.

Plus there's also the tiny fact that I am still in love with Gerard. Now that he keeps popping up anytime I am in danger he has been on my mind a lot. I had been trying not to think about him because it hurt too much, but it seems I just can't get away from him.

I have to constantly keep reminding myself being with Gerard was dangerous and that Mikey was trying to kill me. Those thoughts are keeping me going.

"When is he coming over?" asks Mindy, from the kitchen.

"He should be here any minute," I reply.

It's weird but despite Mindy's constant questioning about Jacob she hasn't expressed the desire to meet him. I get the feeling that she doesn't want to meet him. Anytime she knows he's about to show she makes excuses and leaves. Or maybe it's just me and my imagination?

One thing I know I'm not imagining is Jacob's odd behavior these days. I totally know he's hiding something from me. The fact that he's now nearly as big as a house has not gone amiss. Also his appetite has grown, it's like he's eating for four now, but he never gets fat. I totally hate him.

I wish he had confided in me the other day. I hate secrets. When I know someone is keeping a secret I just have to find out what it is. I think it's the Sherlock Holmes in me. Or maybe I'm just plain nosy?

"He's here!" I yell, as I spot Jacob's car pulling up outside. When I get no reply I go looking for Mindy in the kitchen.

"Mindy?" I call. The kitchen is empty. "Mindy?" I yell. Still no reply.

"Where did you go?" I mutter to myself as I pull on my jacket. I make a mental note to interrogate her when I get back. I need to get to the bottom of everybody's odd behavior.

"Hey, Stella." Jacob greets me cheerfully when I slip in beside him.

"Hey," I say, feeling slightly distracted.

"What's up?" he asks, immediately concerned.

"I'm fine," I say. I don't want to share my concerns about Mindy with him, not when it could be all in my head.

"Are you sure?" he presses.

"I'm fine, I swear," I insist. "Relax."

"Okay, but I just wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened the other day."

I sigh loudly. This has got to be about the millionth time he has apologized-even though it wasn't even his fault. Okay, so maybe he suggested it, but how was he to know I'm a crappy swimmer? Plus, he only wanted me to have fun, which I did, sort of.

"You have got to stop doing that, Jake," I say.

He looks at me sadly. "I really am sorry, Stella. It was my fault. I should have known better."

"Jacob," I say, in what I hope is a threatening tone. "If you say sorry one more time, I'm gonna scream."

"Okay, okay. Sorry," he smiles.

"You did it again!" I pinch him on the arm.

"What are you doing?" he asks, confused.

"Erm, hello? Pinching you." I pinch him again extra hard, well, not that hard-I don't want to hurt him.

"Really? I thought you were tickling me," he says, with a chuckle.

"Hey! Are you questioning my strength?" I demand.

"Erm, no?" He pretends to look nervous. "Wouldn't want to do that, would we?"

"Are you mocking me?" I ask, suspiciously.

"No," he says innocently. "You're way too smart for that."

Now I know he is mocking me but I let it pass. "What are we going to watch anyway?" I ask him instead.

"Anything you want," he replies. "Just no chick flicks."

"I hate chick flicks. Give me a zombie movie any day," I say as he parks the car.

"You're my kinda girl, Stella," he laughs as we head inside.

I laugh but I suddenly feel awkward. I am well aware Jacob is in love with me, I remember fully the day he confessed how he felt about me. Trust me, I was super shocked. I had no idea he was harbouring those kinds of feelings for me, but I was with Gerard at the time so......

"Stella?" he says, interrupting my thoughts. "What are you thinking?"

"What? Nu-nothing," I stammer. "Just about the movie." He smiles at me and I can't help noticing what a nice, warm smile he has.

"I'll just get the tickets," he says. His arm gently brushes against mine. I try to ignore the tingling sensation that spreads inside me.

"Okay," I say, feeling weird all of a sudden. What is wrong with me?

"Hey, you, over there!" I hear some boys shouting from behind me. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

I turn around quickly to see who they are talking to. It turns out they are talking to me. There are three of them in total. I guess they are around my age but seem older, maybe it's because they are smoking a suspicious looking cigarette and look like they haven't bathed in a few weeks.

I decide to ignore them. They, on the other hand, have other ideas. "Hey, sugar. Don't turn away. Come over here." It sounds more like an order then anything else.

I choose to walk away, towards a group of people. Thankfully the morons don't follow me. They have spotted a gaggle of teenage girls and are hounding them instead.

I am relieved when Jacob re-appears a few minutes later and escorts me inside the dark theatre. I really feel safe when he is around.

I end up really enjoying the movie. I don't think it actually has a plot-stuff just happens to blow up. A lot. I think Jacob enjoys it as well, though I can't really tell as he is so good at keeping his emotions to himself.

We chat about the movie as we head back towards the car. It is dark now, the only light comes courtesy of street lamps. I can't help noticing how handsome Jacob looks at night. Actually, he always looks good......Okay, why am I thinking these thoughts?

"Hey!" Someone yells from behind us, and I freeze. I recognize that voice.

Jacob and I turn around and sure enough, it's the same morons who were shouting at me earlier on. They walk towards us at an alarming rate. The tallest of them (the leader, I presume) has a smirk on his face which makes me more then a little uncomfortable.

I feel Jacob's body tense and he immediately stands before me like a shield. "What do you want?" he says, in a not-too friendly voice.

"To talk to the chick," replies Tall Guy. "If you don't mind." He doesn't look like he gives a damn whether Jacob minds or not.

"As a matter of fact I do mind," Jacob says dangerously.

I look at Jacob. His body is tense and his normally warm eyes are hostile. His hands are clenched at his eyes, and for a minute I don't recognize him as the Jake I love. In a totally friendly manner, of course.

"I don't give a shit, man," says Tall Guy.

He then makes the mistake of shoving Jacob in the chest. I can see the guy has shoved Jacob hard, but it has absolutely no effect on Jacob at all. In fact, Jacob stares at him like he is crazy.

"Dude, that's annoying," he says in an amazingly calm voice.

"Oh yeah," cries Tall Guy. I think he is a little embarrassed in front on his friends. "Eat this!"

He goes to punch Jacob in the face, but Jacob catches his fist in mid-punch, holds it in the air and examines it with mild interest.

"Okay, man," he says. "Now you're beginning to get on my nerves."

I just stare at him with my mouth open. Thankfully he has his back to me and can't see. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood today," he tells them. "So I'm not going to do anything."

"Fuck you!" pits Tall Guy, who I'm beginning to think has a death wish.

"Watch your mouth," says Jacob softly.

"Fuck you!" yells Tall Guy again. I can't believe how stupid he is.

"Dude," I say. "Chill out, man."

"Shut the fuck up, whore," he spits.

This turns out to be an extremely bad idea as the next thing I know he is lying flat out on the ground. "Jacob!" I yell. "You knocked him out!"

The other boys take off leaving their friend unconscious on the floor. I look up and see Jacob is shaking. I assume it is with anger because I've seen he totally has a bad temper.

"Are you okay, Jake?" I say nervously.

He doesn't reply. "Jacob?" I approach him tentatively and place a hand on his back. "Let's get out of here, shall we?"

He nods curtly and we walk in silence towards his car. "Look Jake, a full moon," I say pointing towards the night sky. The moon is half hidden by a silvery cloud but I can tell it's full. "Isn't it pretty?"

He grunts and keeps moving. I try another tack. "So, what did you think of that movie, huh?"

He shrugs and rips the door open, slamming it shut after he's seated. After that, I decide to leave him alone. It's best if he cools down by himself.

The drive is a silent one. I stare out the window. We are driving past the forest. The trees look imposing and threatening at night and I'm glad I am safe inside. You never know what sort of creatures might be waiting for you out there.

I close my eyes. Gerard's face pops into my head as soon as I do which is sort of irritating as I'm trying to forget him. I sigh and open them again. Jacob is staring straight ahead with a sort of scowl on his handsome face. I can't believe he's still upset at what that guy said.

"Jacob?" I say softly. "Why are you still mad?"

He takes a deep breath. "I don't like the way he spoke to you," he says quietly.

"Come on, Jake," I say. "That guy was was just a jerk. You shouldn't let people like that affect you." My words totally surprise me. I mean, I know I'm being mature and everything right now, but I would have totally done the same thing Jake did. Heck, I'd have battered him with a baseball bat if I'd had one. Not that I'm about to tell Jake all this.

"I know," he sighs. "I just lost it."

I pat his arm sympathetically. "Let's just forget it."

The car shudders suddenly. "You have got to be kidding me," growls Jacob. He thumps the wheel in frustration.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

The car replies by coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road. "I cannot believe this," says Jacob.

"What's the problem?" I say.

"We're out of gas," he replies and turns to me.

"So?" I say. "What are we going to do now?"

"We're going to have to walk back," he replies and gets out.

I sigh. It looks like it's going to be a long night.....

Poor Stella. Things are only going to get more confusing in the coming chapters...