Aaron POV
I stared at the two of them across the room. Jane and Jake were talking, whispering secrets to each other and laughing as if they had known each other for years. I wanted to scream, to demand that Jane was mine, but I kept my mouth shut.
I couldn't believe it. Only a few weeks ago, Jane was dating me.
But now here she was, standing in the middle of the room with Jake. I felt a pang of jealousy as I watched them, and I knew I had to do something. I refused to lose Jane, not to him. I didn't care what they said and how much Jane said she liked Jake. I saw her first, and she was mine.
I cleared my throat, interrupting their moment. Jane's eyes widened in, but she smiled at me. "Hey, Aaron, you are back home."
"I got back early. What are you two up to?" I asked, trying to play it cool.
"Jane and I are just hanging out, planning for dinner next weekend," Jake said.
"What dinner?" I asked.
"Mom and Dad will be home, so I am going to introduce Jane to them," Jake said.
Oh, you got to be kidding me.
"Don't you think you are moving a little too fast, Jake? You never introduced a girl to our parents before," I said with a tight jaw.
"I never had a real girlfriend before," Jake said.
"What do you mean, Jake? You never had a real girlfriend before?" Jane asked. She was already looking at him like he was her prince charming.
Give me a break...
Jake smiled sheepishly. "Nope, I never did. That's why I'm so happy with you, Jane! You are the first real one."
He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. It was too much for me. Jealousy overwhelmed me and I could feel my heart racing in my chest. I wanted to say something else, but all that came out of my mouth was an awkward "Oh".
I quickly excused myself and went upstairs, leaving them alone in the living room once again. As soon as I reached my bedroom, I lay down on the bed in disbelief. How did this happen? All of a sudden, it seemed like Jake had everything that I ever wanted: a beautiful girlfriend who he felt comfortable enough introducing to our family.
My heart nearly sunk into my feet as I heard a familiar voice call from outside of my window, "Aaron!" Seriously? Not this again! Taking a deep breath and steeling myself, I shuffled to the window and peered down. Sure enough, there was Bella Davis, waving her hand like an overgrown toddler in desperate need for attention. Yup. Here we go again...
"Bella? What do you want?" I barked.
"Aaron, can you come down?" she shouted.
"No, thank you," I said and proceeded to close the window but stopped as she shouted at me again.
"Wait!" she squealed.
She pulled a brown paper bag out of her pocket and held it up for me to see. "I found this in the bushes in front of your window." Her pale green eyes widened. "I think it's for you!"
"I don't think so," I said.
"Then why is it in your bushes?" she asked.
"Probably because you put it there, Bella," I replied.
Bella paused, unable to think of what else to say as I was probably right. Bella had been stalking me for years, so I was used to her doing stuff like this.
"Um...that's not true, Aaron. I just found it, I swear!" she said.
"Ah...ha...sure, Bella. You just happened to look inside my Bush, right?" I said sarcastically.
"Yeah, I mean..."
I shut the window before she had the chance to come up with another lame excuse. Her behavior was getting out of hand!
I lay back down on my bed, feeling irritated and angry. I just couldn't understand why Bella couldn't take a hint and leave me alone.
As I lay back down on my bed, I couldn't help but wonder what was inside that brown paper bag. Maybe it was just trash, but I couldn't help but wonder.
Against my better judgment, I got up and walked over to the window. I opened it up and looked down at Bella, who was still waiting for me.
"Fine, toss it up!" I yelled down to her.
Without hesitation, she lobbed the small bag up to me. I caught it with ease and quickly closed the window. I sat back down on my bed and inspected the contents of the bag. Inside, I found a small black box with a note attached to it. The note read:
"Aaron, I know you don't like me, but can we please be friends?"
I groaned inwardly and got up from my bed, making my way downstairs. I went outside to find Bella standing there, smiling awkwardly at me.
"I'm sorry if I disturbed you, Aaron," she said softly.
I sighed and rubbed my temples. "What do you want, Bella?"
"I just wanted to talk," she said.
"I told you, Bella. I don't want to go out with you," I said.
"But we can be best friends!" she chirped.
"You and I both know that's what you want, Bella. So why bother?" I asked.
Bella's face fell. "I just don't get why not. Do you have a girlfriend?"
I thought about Jane and how she could've been my girlfriend, but Jake stole her from me. "No, but that doesn't mean I am obligated to be your boyfriend."
"Just have one dinner with me. That's all I ask," Bella pouted.
I sighed. "Okay, fine. One dinner."
Her face lit up. "Great! See you tonight at eight!" she said and bounced her way back to her house.
I groaned again and headed inside. This was the last thing I needed right now.