Always Been You (19 page)

“He does not sniff my hair,” I said.

“If you know a better reason why his nose is always near the vicinity of your head, please let me know,” said Alesha.

“If I had a boy who looked like that who is sweet enough to care about me…” Lydia let out a sigh and pretended to faint as she clutched her chest. “It must be great to be dating him.”

“Actually, they’re not,” said Alesha.

“I thought they’re going out?” said Yumi, looking confused.

“They’re still just friends from what I heard,” said Alesha.

“How come you always know everything before we do?” complained Lydia.

“Because she’s the one with the brains,” said Yumi, glancing over Lydia’s shoulder. “Hey, is that Dylan Lee hitting on Grace Park?”

“Ooh, they would make such a cute couple,” Lydia gushed.

“Let’s go see if it’s true,” said Alesha.

Once they were out of range, the girls and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

“Can you tell me what possessed Matt to invite them?” asked Katie.

“Because they’re fun and they’ve never said anything bad about us before,” said Amy.

“Also, anyone that hates Amber, Hannah, and their group of friends is good with me,” I added.

“Me too,” said Nikki. “But even if they are a bit annoying, I still have to agree with them.”

“Can you please stop bugging me about my love life?” I said, irritated.

“What love life? You don’t have one since you guys haven’t done anything yet,” snapped Amy.

“Yeah, Chow,” smirked Katie. “Get on with it before one of the girls in school decides to.”

“And even some of the guys,” added Nikki.

“Like who?” demanded Katie.

“Adam Baker,” she blurted out.

“No way!” gasped Amy, turning her head to look at Aaron talking to Matt. “How do you know?”

“I overheard him one day on what he’d like to do to Jacob,” she explained. “It took everything I had not to burst out laughing and embarrass the poor guy.”

“I never would have expected him,” Katie said in disbelief.

“Me either,” said Amy. “Jen, you’re good friends with Adam. Did you know?”

“Yes,” I whispered, forcing everyone to stare at me.

“And you didn’t say anything?” asked Katie.

“It’s not my right to go and spread rumours about Adam like that,” I answered her. “He still feels a little insecure about himself and the whole situation.”

“Then how did you find out?” asked Nikki.

“We were studying at his house when he openly admitted his crush on Jacob,” I explained. “I wasn’t sure why he was sharing something so personal with me until he told me he’s noticed how I’ve kept things for Jacob and thought I’d be the best person to discuss this with. I’ve kept Adam’s secret since last year, so I don’t want any of you leaking any of this to anyone. I know I can trust all of you, and that’s why I told you. He needs all the support from his friends.”

“Hey, Jacob’s close with Adam too so he must know, right?” asked Amy.

“Maybe he doesn’t,” said Nikki.

“Actually he does,” I said.

Katie spat out her water. “What? How did he find out?”

“Adam and I were talking about Jacob one day when he accidentally overheard us,” I replied. “You wouldn’t believe how surprised we were when Jacob walked into my room.”

“Didn’t you know he was coming over?” asked Nikki.

“My parents always let him into our house without telling me,” I said, shooting Amy a look which caused her to smirk and clamp her mouth shut. “Anyway, Jacob thought Adam was having some problems with school and offered to help. But before I could make an excuse for him, Adam told Jacob.”

“What did Jacob do?” asked Katie.

“That’s what surprised me the most,” I said with a smile. “I thought Jacob would close up. Instead, he accepted Adam for who he was and told Adam he was flattered, but he didn’t like him in that way so Adam wouldn’t get the wrong idea. He even offered to be Adam’s friend. Since Adam knew what Jacob had said wasn’t to purposely hurt him, he became so appreciative of it, he even admitted to us that he always thought Jacob was a stuck-up snob.”

“Wow!” said Katie. “I never knew Jacob was so sincere and understanding.”

“Trust me. There’s really more to him than good looks.”

“You really are lucky he chose you, Jenna,” said Nikki.

“No wonder why girls can’t help but fall for him,” added Katie. “But even though I’d love to keep continuing with this conversation, I’d rather try and convince Matt to light a fire before we freeze to death.”

The girls quickly got up from the grass and headed towards the fire pit Matt’s dad had built. Since the sky was sort of clear, and I was still warm in Jacob’s sweater, I lagged behind, ambling slowly, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Leo constellation.

A while back, I had found that I actually enjoyed star gazing. Whenever I felt like taking a break and escaping from the real world, on a warm clear night I would venture out into my backyard, lie on the grass and gaze up at the constellations. I found it very soothing and relaxing while it cleared my head from stressful things.

Finally finding Polaris in the multitude of shimmering stars, I then began moving west, searching for Regulus, the star that was at the base of the question mark, when my eyes were caught by a star streaking through the velvet sky.

“Have you found Leo yet?” asked Jacob.

“Not yet,” I said. “I think there still might be too many clouds in the way.”

“How about one day I just drive you some place away from the pollution of the city so you can spot Leo easily, and maybe also find all the other ones you want to see,” he said.

“Deal,” I grinned at him.

“Now wanna tell me why Lydia Scott smelt you?” he grinned back.

“She wasn’t sniffing me, but your sweater,” I replied. “Apparently she likes how you smell.”

“Why?”

“How would I know?”

“Because girls always gossip and you’re my inside connection to what they talk about.”

“And like I said before, I’m not going to tell you.”

“Spoilsport. So what do I smell like?”

“According to her, you smell heavenly.”

“And how would she know what heaven smells like?”

“Why don’t you ask her if you’re so curious?”

“I’d rather grab a seat by the fire before all the good spots are taken.”

Giving me a grin, Jacob then quickly grabbed my hand and ushered me through the huge crowd desperately gathering around the roaring fire as the brisk wind began to blow.

 
Chapter 13

An Uncomfortable Position

On Thursday afternoon, I was about to head to the library downtown when Jacob asked if I wanted to use his library to work on my history paper instead. Since we both had the same assignment that was due on next Tuesday, I figured his place was probably quieter anyway and agreed. However, just as soon as we entered into his house, Jacob abruptly came to a halt in the foyer, and I ended up bumping into his back.

“Oh, sorry, Jenna,” he said absentmindedly.

Curious as to why he was distracted, I quickly placed my backpack on the floor and peered over his shoulder. Jacob had received an envelope from the University of BC.

Judging by the thickness of it, I knew he got accepted, but Jacob didn’t look so sure. Even though he maintains a 4.0 average, he still ran a hand nervously through his hair, worried about what the outcome might be.

“Jenna, you open this for me,” he said, sounding agitated.

“Only if you agree to read what it says,” I said.

Once I saw him nod his head, I then took the envelope from his hands, broke open the seal, and gave everything back to him.

Silently, I watched as he pursed his lips and began to read. Muttering something incoherent under his breath, his roaming eyes then stopped halfway down the letter, and he broke into a wide grin. A moment later, I was being swung around in the middle of the hall.

“Jenna!” he screamed. “I got—”

“A…hem, am I interrupting something?”

The sudden voice of his sister made Jacob lose his footing, and we both went crashing to the floor, getting tangled in a mess of limbs.

“You know if it was mom, I’m sure she’d be happy with this outcome,” Ashley giggled. “She might even suggest you two take it upstairs. Too bad she’s not home.”

“Would you just help us get out of this mess?” Jacob scowled at her.

“What caused all this excitement anyway?” she grinned, pulling us up from the floor.

“All my hard work finally paid off,” said Jacob, thrusting the letter in her face. “Look! I’ve been accepted to UBC!”

“Congratulations,” she said. “Mom and dad are going to be really happy, especially dad. And knowing mom’s going to want to celebrate, Jenna, you have to come too. After all, you did technically help him.”

“That’s right, Jenna,” grinned Jacob. “If it wasn’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“You really don’t give yourself enough credit, Jacob,” I said. “You’re grades are far better than mine.”

“Would you stop thinking about the C you got in gym?” he sighed.

“It’s not my fault I suck at sports,” I grumbled.

“It doesn’t matter whose grades are better,” Ashley interrupted. “Jenna, you’re still coming with us, so make sure you keep Saturday open.”

“But didn’t you just come back to visit because it’s it your mom’s birthday this weekend?” I asked her.

“Yes, but didn’t Jacob tell you that she also invited you to come?” asked Ashley.

“No, he didn’t,” I said. “Besides, I really don’t want to intrude.”

Ashley pulled me closer. “Would it convince you if I told you our mom already thinks of you as part of the family?” she whispered to me. “And I’m sure you also know how persistent she gets at not taking no for an answer.”

“I figured that’s where Jacob probably got that idea from,” I whispered back.

Both ignoring Jacob’s inquiring look as we shared a laugh, Ashley then gave me a conspiratorial wink, let go of her hold on my shoulder, and headed up the stairs.

“Oh, Jacob? You should show Jenna. I’m sure she’ll like what you did.”

“What is she—?”

“Let’s get started on our paper,” he said and pulled me down the hall.

Since the temperature was still warm outside, Jacob and I opted to go out onto the patio to work on our essays. However, after an hour of watching him scribbling away at his paper as he perused through one of the reference materials we were using, I gazed down at my blank paper and sighed. A humongous book about the Cold War was also sitting open on my lap, but my brain hadn’t digested a single word. Even with the tranquil waves lapping against the shore, and the scattered clouds floating slowly in the sky by the calm breeze, I knew there was no way I could concentrate on my work. My head was still running through all the possibilities about what Ashley had said. Rather than trying to make another attempt at my paper, I threw down my pen and decided to ask Jacob what Ashley had meant.

“What was your sister talking about?” I said. “You know, about showing me something?”

He hesitated for a bit then let out a sigh. “She wants me to show you my room.”

“And?” I left the question hanging in the air, but rather than answering, Jacob sighed again, closed his book and rose to his feet. “You’re seriously going to show me?”

“How else are we going to finish this paper then?”

Twitching my lips, I bit back a retort wanting to escape my mouth and followed him back into the house. I guess Jacob wasn’t that eager. Once we reached the top of the stairs, he then quickly ran in front of me and shut his bedroom door.

“I changed my mind,” he said.

“Why?”

“Because it’s messy.”

“Jacob, I’ve already seen your room when it was messy.”

He wouldn’t budge.

“Please?” I asked, giving him a wide-eyed puppy dog look.

“You are evil,” he said.

“Like I told you before, I learned from the best,” I grinned.

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he muttered and slowly opened his door.

“I don’t know why you wanted to hide your room from me. Besides the pile of clothes on the floor by your closet, everything still appears the same,” I said. “I see you have the picture from Halloween out on display.”

“Ashley saw it and asked why I had a photo of the Spice Girls in my room.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I just told her to look closer at it. When she did, I then told her it was part of our Halloween costume. She easily recognized Matt, but I was harder to convince. She became doubtful, even after I had pointed out which one was me. She just couldn’t believe I was really under all that makeup and wearing a wig. When I told her to look closer, she then got convinced once she saw the body wasn’t curvy enough, my hairy legs of course, and the implants peeking out of the dress.”

“Aren’t you glad I didn’t make you shave your legs?” I smirked.

“Yes, but now I have a sister who pokes fun by asking me for makeup tips.”

“Oh, poor Jacob,” I said in mock seriousness. “He can’t handle the idea of having a sister bugging him about something as little as makeup.”

He folded his arms. “Go ahead and have a good laugh why don’t you.”

“Okay, I will.”

I dissolved into a fit of giggles when something else caught my eye. Jacob must have known what I saw. He quickly went over, stood in front of the bookshelf near his bed, and blocked my way. I sighed heavily as I walked right up to him, then feinted to the right and jagged to the left. When I finally drew in a sharp intake of breath, he knew I had seen what he was hiding from me and slowly cowered away.

The crystal frame was beautiful. It was made of sterling silver and had a branch of Swarovski crystal blossoms around the edge. But the thing that shocked me was a picture of me inside the frame.

My hair was loose and I was wearing my favourite light blue summer dress. It had thin straps to hold it to my upper body and the bottom ended a few inches above my knees. I was sitting on the beach, looking out at the sunset. It was during the time we all had gone down to English Bay this past summer to watch the firework competition that’s held here every year.