Chapter 17

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'Ok. Ok. You got this. You got this,' I told to myself in my head sitting in physics waiting for Asher. It's FINALLY sixth period and I was freaking out already.

'Just ask him and everything will be oka-' but the moment I saw Asher walk through that door with jeans on, Spears, and a red t-shirt, I wish I COULD wear....I was out.

He waved at me saying, "Hey Dee." My brain completely stopped working.

'Wait! What am I suppose to be doing??" I thought hysterically.

"Oh, hey Asher," I said swallowing after.

"What's up?"

'Movies! Say the movies is up!! It's cute and will get the ball rolling!' I thought happily.

"Oh nothing, just...already dreading this class," I rolled my eyes as he placed his book and binder on the table and sat beside me smiling.

'Wait, no!!'

"Aw man already? Let me be the optimist and say I hope this class goes by great," he told me with a small nod and a grin.

'It'll be great if you ask to hang out with me,' I had to think.

"Me too," I smiled. Asher opened up his binder while I looked ahead of me, my leg throbbing up and down while I bit the corner of my lip, indecisive and nervous.

'How am I suppose to ask Asher out??' I kept thinking. 'He's going to clearly reject me!! Going out to Taco Bell was a joke! He just wanted to be nice-'

"Dawn?" He got my attention back. I smiled at him quickly.

"Yeah?" He chuckled as if he knew I must've been daydreaming...

Or clearly just out of there.

"I had fun the other day at Taco Bell," he said opening his physics book, with a grin. I blushed as something inside me was warming up.

In the good way.

"Really?" I felt the warmth go to my cheeks. He nodded.

"Hmhuh." I looked away as I knew...this was the perfect moment-

"Me too..." I eased out looking at him quickly. Then I just heard myself say TOO fast, "I was actually wondering if you'd want to go to the movies with me this Saturday-" he looked at me which made me blush even harder. "I mean...if you're busy or something or you don't want to, I TOTALLY understand..." I covered my mouth looking down at my physics book. I still felt he was looking at me.

After a dramatic long pause, he finally answered a simply,

"Sure." I looked at him.

"Really??" I asked more surprised. He nodded chuckling.

"Haha yeah. I was actually about to ask you, but you asking....there's just something more special about it, you know?" He asked me. I smiled at him slowly as that's kind of what Jake was saying earlier.

Guys like girls with confidence.

He chuckled looking away. "Nah maybe not. But yes. I'll be happy to accompany you at the movies this Saturday Dee," he smiled back at me. I giggled unable to stop involuntary blushing,

"Haha, great," I shook my right shoulder. We kind of stared at each other for a bit and I couldn't help but laugh looking back at the book and as I did the teacher said as the tardy bell rang,

"Alright class, let's review what we did yesterday." Asher and I looked at each other at the same time,

"Let's see what happens today," he winked at me with the pencil I gave him yesterday. I pulled out the pack of gum.

"Wanna piece?" I asked him with a playful smile.

~

"Haha! I didn't know you had secret fear of UPS truck drivers," I laughed at Asher as the bell rang to go to our next class. He nodded with a shrug surprised himself.

"I know, but ever since that day, I was just terrified I guess." I kept laughing gathering my stuff. "I'm officially traumatized."

We both walked out of class and we moved over and faced each other before we went our separate ways, as I leaned on the locker holding my binder as he stood tall and straight, his binder at his side.

"Text me what movie you want to see and I'll reply back," Asher informed me. I nodded.

"Alright. I hope to pick something you'll be interested in too. I don't want you to fall asleep or anything," I chuckled with a shrug. He smiled, his cool light brown eyes coming off as an hazel staring at back my dark chocolate ones.

"Don't worry, as long as I'm with you I'm always entertained," he commented. My knees wanted to melt, and I just wanted to wash away like a river, but I had to hold myself together, and to let go of that extra feeling, I smiled looking at the ground chuckling.

"Hahaa, whatever," that's all I could say. He smiled.

"It's true!" I laughed for real, which made him. "Haha! I'll see you later Dee," Asher reached for a hug. I quickly got on my tip toes and hugged him around his neck.

"Bye." We hugged for maybe 3.5 seconds and we departed and I waved as I left. "I'll text you tonight." I told him.

"If you beat me to it," he winked. I nearly panicked and I had to turn around to keep from freaking out and I was so excited to tell Lotte everything that just happened....

Maybe even Jake too.

I surprisingly didn't see Celeste coming down the hall with the other fakes or even Jake, which made me kind of happy, instead, I saw Lotte walking with Kevin laughing, holding his arm. I waved at her as I glanced at Kevin, who secretly gave me a thumbs up and a wink. I chuckled as he must've asked her on a date.

"Hey Lotte; Kev! What's happenin'?" I asked them with my hands on my hip. They both kept laughing.

"Nothing much," Kevin let out a chuckle.

"Hey girl! Oh, how was last period?" She dragged happily. I really laughed.

"Haha! I gotta save it for last period. You won't believe what I DID," I emphasized 'I'. Lotte gasped.

"What!? No!, I gotta know now!" She exclaimed.

"Nope," I shook my head walking to English once again. "You gotta waait."

"Ugh!" She fake groan. I laughed walking away as her and Kevin went to class.

I made it to English and I still didn't see Celeste outside the door with Jake or any trace of her and shrugged not minding it.

Mr. Will was writing something on his board when I walked in and I figured I'd say something.

"Hey Mr. Will," I waved with a genuine smile. He glanced at me then his board then me again.

"Oh, hello Dawn. How are you?" I walked in front of his desk.

"Fine. How is your day?" I asked back. He sighed.

"Tiring. But your stories seem to be keeping me awake. They're on my desk there. You had a very few grammar mistakes, but I feel if you look in a thesaurus, you'll find better word choices," he mentioned with an iffy face. I wasn't mad when he recommended that nor was I upset, because in a way, he wanted me to go back and look at it for corrections. Not discrimination.

I mean, Mr. Will was the author of three New York Best Sellers and a major in communications and literature. If he says I need to go do that, I needed to do it. Even if he said New York City was located in California...

I'd believe him.

"Oh, thanks Mr. Will. I'll change it right away," I nodded glancing at the paper. He nodded at me.

"No problem and please don't take it personally. I really want you to win this contest as I feel you're going places one day," he told me. "But without totally cheating." That just lifted my spirits.

"Haha! I understand Mr. Will. If anything, we're just...bending the rules," I shrugged. He laughed at me.

"Haha right." I turned around and headed for my seat and already sitting there was Jake Lander, reading Bubble Gun and Cigarettes, but when I sat my stuff down, he quickly acknowledged me.

"Kit-Kat, you made it," he said as if I'd skip. I looked at him with narrow eyes.

"You know good and well Jake, I don't skip unlike you," I commented. He laughed pathetically.

"Yeah right, but I haven't skipped for the past three days. You should be congratulating me," he smiled at me with cool eyes. I laughed not looking at him getting out my journal.

"Ha, ha, ha. As if," I rolled my eyes. He laughed for real as the tardy bell rang.

"Alright class, let's continue our lesson on essays since I know more than half of you didn't even start your own," Mr. Will shaped his eyebrows at us. Half the class laughed as if it was true while I was happy to get out a piece of paper to write a new story for the Writer's Block Contest, but Jake pitch my arm and I jumped looking at him as he leaned close to me.

"Well....tell me about last period," he gestured. "All about Asher." I smiled unable to forget.

"OMG Jake, it was amazing," I first started. "Oh, oh, oh, and I TOTALLY asked him to the movies and he AGREED!" I grabbed Jake's arm show bf by excitement by shaking it. He laughed with his head back.

"Hahaha! See? I told you, you could do it," Jake nodded at me. I nodded back in my seat hopping up and down violently.

"I know! And get this!" I turned back to him. "He said it doesn't matter what the movie we see. Just as long as he's with me!! Ohmygosh!" I had to do it. Jake laughed.

"Well I'm happy for you Kit-Kat," he leaned toward me and settle back in his seat. I smiled at him playfully squinting my eyes.

"Whatever Jake, but honestly, I couldn't have done it without your courage," I told him. He smiled a me a little uplifted. "Kidding. I'm just trying to be nice," I told him. He gasped as I belly laughed.

"What??"

"Kidding, kidding!" I backed myself up.

"Dawn, Jake, have you finished your essays?" He asked us. Honestly I haven't even started mine, but Jake said,

"Oh, I have it. I just need thhhheee-" he tried to remember what the ending paragraph's official name was, so I whispered through a cough,

"Concession and rebut-"

"Concession and rebuttal!" He said quickly, with a sarcastic thumbs up and a nod. "I'm almost finished." Mr. Will must've been surprised and he looked at me and I nodded for confirmation.

"Yeah it's true Mr. Will. I helped him to it." He nodded with a fake frown into a cheesy smile.

"I'm impressed... Finish it by this class period Jake if you can. I'm kind of apprehensive to see what you came up with," Mr. Will requested.

"Can do," Jake agreed.

Jake, after reading a little bit of Bubble Gum and Cigarettes, began closing his book with a tiny, tiny, ripped piece of paper as a bookmark and set his book on the side of his desk and actually took out the essay papers from his super thin binder.

I stared at him kind of astonished.

"Wow....You look...productive," I whispered over to him. He shuffled in his seat as if he was uncomfortable.

"I...just don't want to fail," he looked at me and back at his work.

"I understand you. I understand you. And I just want to have a successful movie date with Asher," I looked at my paper and back at him quickly. "Oh, that reminds me," I got him to look at me after a long pause. He smiled coolly with a raised eyebrow to show me symbolically he was listening. "Mall. Today. After school. Don't forget," I pointed at him after every sentence. "So this is your chance to help me buy some clothes to look cute for Asher," I whispered to him. He chuckled.

"But...you already look cute Kit-Kat," he complimented so calmly. I looked at him with wide eyes trying to tell if he was saying that to actually be nice or just fool around with me considering he called me by that stripper name and not my REAL name...but he always calls me that...

"So what!" I whispered yelled as my only defense. "Asher is a senior. I'm only a junior. I have to get all the extra brownie points I can for MY sake," I informed him. He laughed as I kind of smiled as he showed his left dimple, but Mr. Will finally broke our conversation.

"Dawn, Jake... Are you working?" He asked us again.

"Sorry," I said through my teeth. Obeying him was different compared to Mrs. Leminburger.

"You're fine," Mr. Will accepted. I glanced at Jake and he looked at his work as I took out my phone and texted him,

1:15am
'You just better be at the mall RIGHT after school.' -me

I heard his phone go off and he checked it as I looked at him and he glanced at me smiling letting out an amused breath and he replied,

1:16am
'Don't worry Kit-Kat, I'll be there;)' -Jake

When I read the message I huffed my breath angrily and he had to laugh, but only for like one second to not disrupt Mr. Will.

1:16am
'No. EmojisX(' -me

1:17am
'I know;)' -Jake

I looked at him as he continued to smile and I honestly had to by his, but I tried to hide it.

"Just be there," I narrowed my eyes at him. He nodded once.

"I won't fail you Kit-Kat," he whispered back. And something by how he said it made me want to believe him, but Jake Lander is here to help me....

Not to befriend me.

~