School Days - Chapter 6
Amy is just living her life, getting by with little of any of consequence happening. That all changes when Jake moves to town...
Amy's mouth gaped open for a couple more seconds before she managed to splutter, "Jake! What are you doing?"
He laughed. "Isn't that obvious? I'm giving you a lift to school."
"But... What... How... Where..."
Jake laughed again, and Amy once again found herself thinking how much smiling suited him. Now she knew him better, she could see the difference in his eyes when he truly laughed.
"Well, it seems like I'm going to be busy if you ever get around to finishing any of finishing any of those questions," he teased her gently. "Get in the car." He pushed the door open and slid across the other side to allow her entrance.
As Amy scrambled in - it being a good couple of feet higher off the ground than she was used to in a car - she couldn't help but think that Jake seemed a lot happier and less shy than the whole of last week. She wondered what had happened to cause the change. This was a Jake she could see being an actor.
Once settled in, Amy looked around nervously. The interior was plush leather with enough leg room that even her uncle Chris (who was a good 6'6) would have had plenty of leg room. The car had started moving as soon as she had slammed the door behind her and they were now gliding down the road, soon passing the bus that Amy had missed.
The silence filled the car.
Amy glanced nervously across to Jake, and caught his eye as he did exactly the same. They both blushed, and Amy giggled nervously. What was up with her? This was Jake - they didn't do awkward silences. Well, not before Friday anyway. Maybe that nearly-asked question had changed their dynamic in some near imperceptible way that caused this new awkwardness.
Jake cleared his throat at the same time Amy opened her mouth to ask where he had been for the past two days. He nodded for her to continue as she blushed again.
"Mmm, I was just wondering" she started, suddenly shy to ask what she had intended to. She quickly changed tack. "I was just wondering what you were doing at my bus stop. In a car."
"Oh, you were so not going to ask that," he replied, grinning at her.
She held her head up defiantly, determined to regain her composure. She didn't want to turn into one of those girls that turned red every time a guy they liked even looked at them. "Maybe not, but I did ask, so what's the answer?" she replied, at little more sharply than was necessary.
Jake's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Wouldn't you like to know," he said as he settled back into his seat.
Amy was about to retort when she realized it would be useless. "You're not going to tell me unless I tell you what I was going to ask, are you?"
"Nope." He grinned again.
"Fine then," she said, turning and resolutely staring out of the window. She could almost feel Jake's shock at her actions and struggled to stop a laugh from escaping her lips.
"Amy?" he asked.
She ignored him and pulled out her book once again instead.
"Amy?" he tried again a few minutes later. She still ignored him.
At this, Jake seemed to grow incredibly exasperated. He leaned forward and whispered something in the driver's ear.
This was the first time Amy really notice him. Now, she studied him from the corner of her eyes, trying to make sure that Jake thought she was still concentrating on her book. At first she had just assumed that he was Jake's dad, but she now saw that there was no way the two were related. The driver was huge and blonde, with quite sharp features from what she could see. Nothing like Jake whatsoever.
This piqued her interest. Who was this man, driving them to school? She was about to relent in her silence so she could find out when the car veered off the main road down a little lane.
Amy's head shot up now. "What are you doing?" she said, an edge of panic evident in her voice.
"Here's fine," said Jake, ignoring her question. The driver slowed the vehicle to a halt, turned the engine off and got out, going to lean against the bonnet of the car.
Amy was beginning to feel the beginnings of fear. Though she trusted Jake, she had realized recently that she barely knew him. She didn't think Jake would do anything to hurt her, but they were in the middle of nowhere with - she could see now that he was stood up - a rather huge man whom she didn't know in the slightest.
All Amy could think of was her cousin. Laura was a few years older than Amy and last summer had been walking home one late one night when a friend's step father had pulled over and offered her a lift. Having known him for a couple of years she didn't think twice about accepting - he'd always seemed perfectly nice. It was only when he'd pulled into a lane that she knew led in the opposite direction that she began to worry. Soon after, he pulled over the car and locked all the doors.
Laura had only been saved from awful things by a lucky chance. A farmer on his way home stopped to investigate the screams coming from the car.
"Jake," she nearly whispered, a slight quiver in her voice. "What's going on? What are we doing here? Why have we stopped? Who's that man?" Questions tumbled out of her as these memories rushed through her head.
"Amy, don't worry. You're perfectly safe. Just relax." He used an incredibly calming voice but some amount of concern was evident in his eyes. This coupled with her affection for him and the memory of the easy conversation they had shared actually did help to relax her, even if only slightly.
She took a number of deep breaths, focusing on calming herself. After a few seconds she nodded that she would be okay. "Sorry about that," she said. "Bad memories."
"I won't ask then," replied Jake.
"Good idea," stated Amy, forcing a small smile. "So, what are we doing here? Why did you tell that guy to stop?"
"Pierce," started Jake, "the driver," he clarified when Amy looked confused. "Pierce works for my father and, since I didn't want to talk to you on the bus, offered to give us both a lift in to school today."
"Okay," said Amy slowly. "That doesn't really even begin to explain everything though."
Jake sighed. "It's kinda a long story, and complicated. I really don't think we have time considering that we have to be at school in like 15 minutes."
Amy's eyes flicked to the clock on the dashboard, noticing that Pierce had just answered his mobile as she did so. She hadn't realized they had been driving for that long.
"But there's one thing I'd like to ask you before we set off again, if that's ok?" Jake continued.
Amy's heart stammered a little, and her mind couldn't help but return to Friday. She hoped she was finally going to get to find out what Jake wanted to ask her.
"Amy" he began, "I was wondering..."
At just that second the driver's door was yanked open and Pierce jumped in. Amy almost screamed in exasperation.
"Sorry, you're father needs me to pick him up soon - his plans have changed. We're going to have to get going." Pierce stated in a very matter-of-fact voice. Amy was surprised to realize that Pierce was American.
Jake's facial expression at the repeated interruption showed that he was just as exasperated as Amy as the poor timing.
"Fine," he almost fumed. "Get a move on then."
Pierce nodded and utilized a nearby gate to swing the car around and back onto the main road.
Catching Jake's eye, Amy gave him a small encouraging smile. He returned it, but the emotion didn't reach his eyes. They said nothing for the remainder of the journey, but it was a comfortable silence unlike the one before their conversation.
Amy couldn't wait to get to school and fill Ella and Tina in on the events of this morning. Pierce finished the journey in record time, pulling away almost the instant they had closed their doors, Amy offering a hurried thanks. As they separated to go to their separate registration, Amy couldn't help but wonder if Jake would ever get to finish that sentence.
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Sorry, but I promise Jake's going to get to finish his question in the next chapter or two. I hope so anyway...I hate that all these interruptions keep getting in the way as well!
He laughed. "Isn't that obvious? I'm giving you a lift to school."
"But... What... How... Where..."
Jake laughed again, and Amy once again found herself thinking how much smiling suited him. Now she knew him better, she could see the difference in his eyes when he truly laughed.
"Well, it seems like I'm going to be busy if you ever get around to finishing any of finishing any of those questions," he teased her gently. "Get in the car." He pushed the door open and slid across the other side to allow her entrance.
As Amy scrambled in - it being a good couple of feet higher off the ground than she was used to in a car - she couldn't help but think that Jake seemed a lot happier and less shy than the whole of last week. She wondered what had happened to cause the change. This was a Jake she could see being an actor.
Once settled in, Amy looked around nervously. The interior was plush leather with enough leg room that even her uncle Chris (who was a good 6'6) would have had plenty of leg room. The car had started moving as soon as she had slammed the door behind her and they were now gliding down the road, soon passing the bus that Amy had missed.
The silence filled the car.
Amy glanced nervously across to Jake, and caught his eye as he did exactly the same. They both blushed, and Amy giggled nervously. What was up with her? This was Jake - they didn't do awkward silences. Well, not before Friday anyway. Maybe that nearly-asked question had changed their dynamic in some near imperceptible way that caused this new awkwardness.
Jake cleared his throat at the same time Amy opened her mouth to ask where he had been for the past two days. He nodded for her to continue as she blushed again.
"Mmm, I was just wondering" she started, suddenly shy to ask what she had intended to. She quickly changed tack. "I was just wondering what you were doing at my bus stop. In a car."
"Oh, you were so not going to ask that," he replied, grinning at her.
She held her head up defiantly, determined to regain her composure. She didn't want to turn into one of those girls that turned red every time a guy they liked even looked at them. "Maybe not, but I did ask, so what's the answer?" she replied, at little more sharply than was necessary.
Jake's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Wouldn't you like to know," he said as he settled back into his seat.
Amy was about to retort when she realized it would be useless. "You're not going to tell me unless I tell you what I was going to ask, are you?"
"Nope." He grinned again.
"Fine then," she said, turning and resolutely staring out of the window. She could almost feel Jake's shock at her actions and struggled to stop a laugh from escaping her lips.
"Amy?" he asked.
She ignored him and pulled out her book once again instead.
"Amy?" he tried again a few minutes later. She still ignored him.
At this, Jake seemed to grow incredibly exasperated. He leaned forward and whispered something in the driver's ear.
This was the first time Amy really notice him. Now, she studied him from the corner of her eyes, trying to make sure that Jake thought she was still concentrating on her book. At first she had just assumed that he was Jake's dad, but she now saw that there was no way the two were related. The driver was huge and blonde, with quite sharp features from what she could see. Nothing like Jake whatsoever.
This piqued her interest. Who was this man, driving them to school? She was about to relent in her silence so she could find out when the car veered off the main road down a little lane.
Amy's head shot up now. "What are you doing?" she said, an edge of panic evident in her voice.
"Here's fine," said Jake, ignoring her question. The driver slowed the vehicle to a halt, turned the engine off and got out, going to lean against the bonnet of the car.
Amy was beginning to feel the beginnings of fear. Though she trusted Jake, she had realized recently that she barely knew him. She didn't think Jake would do anything to hurt her, but they were in the middle of nowhere with - she could see now that he was stood up - a rather huge man whom she didn't know in the slightest.
All Amy could think of was her cousin. Laura was a few years older than Amy and last summer had been walking home one late one night when a friend's step father had pulled over and offered her a lift. Having known him for a couple of years she didn't think twice about accepting - he'd always seemed perfectly nice. It was only when he'd pulled into a lane that she knew led in the opposite direction that she began to worry. Soon after, he pulled over the car and locked all the doors.
Laura had only been saved from awful things by a lucky chance. A farmer on his way home stopped to investigate the screams coming from the car.
"Jake," she nearly whispered, a slight quiver in her voice. "What's going on? What are we doing here? Why have we stopped? Who's that man?" Questions tumbled out of her as these memories rushed through her head.
"Amy, don't worry. You're perfectly safe. Just relax." He used an incredibly calming voice but some amount of concern was evident in his eyes. This coupled with her affection for him and the memory of the easy conversation they had shared actually did help to relax her, even if only slightly.
She took a number of deep breaths, focusing on calming herself. After a few seconds she nodded that she would be okay. "Sorry about that," she said. "Bad memories."
"I won't ask then," replied Jake.
"Good idea," stated Amy, forcing a small smile. "So, what are we doing here? Why did you tell that guy to stop?"
"Pierce," started Jake, "the driver," he clarified when Amy looked confused. "Pierce works for my father and, since I didn't want to talk to you on the bus, offered to give us both a lift in to school today."
"Okay," said Amy slowly. "That doesn't really even begin to explain everything though."
Jake sighed. "It's kinda a long story, and complicated. I really don't think we have time considering that we have to be at school in like 15 minutes."
Amy's eyes flicked to the clock on the dashboard, noticing that Pierce had just answered his mobile as she did so. She hadn't realized they had been driving for that long.
"But there's one thing I'd like to ask you before we set off again, if that's ok?" Jake continued.
Amy's heart stammered a little, and her mind couldn't help but return to Friday. She hoped she was finally going to get to find out what Jake wanted to ask her.
"Amy" he began, "I was wondering..."
At just that second the driver's door was yanked open and Pierce jumped in. Amy almost screamed in exasperation.
"Sorry, you're father needs me to pick him up soon - his plans have changed. We're going to have to get going." Pierce stated in a very matter-of-fact voice. Amy was surprised to realize that Pierce was American.
Jake's facial expression at the repeated interruption showed that he was just as exasperated as Amy as the poor timing.
"Fine," he almost fumed. "Get a move on then."
Pierce nodded and utilized a nearby gate to swing the car around and back onto the main road.
Catching Jake's eye, Amy gave him a small encouraging smile. He returned it, but the emotion didn't reach his eyes. They said nothing for the remainder of the journey, but it was a comfortable silence unlike the one before their conversation.
Amy couldn't wait to get to school and fill Ella and Tina in on the events of this morning. Pierce finished the journey in record time, pulling away almost the instant they had closed their doors, Amy offering a hurried thanks. As they separated to go to their separate registration, Amy couldn't help but wonder if Jake would ever get to finish that sentence.
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Sorry, but I promise Jake's going to get to finish his question in the next chapter or two. I hope so anyway...I hate that all these interruptions keep getting in the way as well!
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