Breaking the Heartbreaker

February 1, 2006

"You fucker!" I yelled at Alex after he threw flour in my face. I was supposed to help him with his baking. He wants to impress some girl because she's like this master baker or some shit, and he thought he could make her cookies, or a cake when he can't even cook to save his life.

He laughed at me until I smashed an egg on his face. "Oh you think you're real clever now, don't you?"

I giggled and nodded my head. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to the ground of my kitchen, which was littered with a bunch of baking goods. I glared up at him as he laughed like an idiot and I grabbed his leg and pulled him down with him. "As a matter of fact, I do," I said as I stuck my tongue out at him.

He laughed at me and kicked me lightly with one of his converse clad feet. "I think I like this more than actual baking."

I chuckled slightly. "We haven't even started baking! We got into a flour fight, and then somehow everything else got involved," I said as he nodded his head.

"That's right. You shouldn't have flicked flour in my face," he said with a grin.

I punched him in the shoulder. "I wouldn't have if you didn't cover my nose in butter," I said as I gestured towards my nose. "So," I looked at him in question, "when is your date with this baker chick?"

He smirked at me. "There isn't one,"

"So," I looked around my kitchen, "we messed up my kitchen not bakingfor nothing?"

"Au contraire my dear," I looked at him in question. "This was not for nothing. For I am on a mission for one Jack Barakat," he said with a grin.

"If the mission was to completely trash my kitchen, you've completely succeeded."

He shook his head at me. "Brooke, you completely underestimate me. This was just a small bump in the road of a very ingenious plan."

I looked at him in confusion. "So what exactly are you supposed to find out?" He looked at me knowingly and I sighed, "You were supposed to find out if I'm dating anybody, aren't you?" He nodded his head and I laughed. I stood up and helped up Alex, who was still on the floor. "Well you can successfully report that I am not dating anyone."

He grinned at me, "Oh good. Seeing him obsess over that would be-"

I interrupted him by flicking more flour in his face. He looked at me in confusion. "But I do have a date coming up in," I looked at the clock on my microwave, "an hour. So," I started as I was walking Alex to my front door, "you have to go."

Alex sighed and stopped at my door. "Well this is just a great big ball of suck," he said to me as he was putting his hoodie back on.

"Why?"

He looked at me like I was completely stupid. "Did you forget what he said to you?"

I sighed. "Of course I didn't," I started, "but it's just studying. I'm doing terrible in English, so I got a tutor," I shrugged. "No big deal."

Alex scoffed. "Like fuck it's not a big deal."

I laughed at him. "It's not. Unless I turn into a lesbian within the next few hours," he shook his head, and stepped outside, "which I don't foresee happening, he has nothing to worry about," I ruffled his hair and to this he swatted my hands away, "and neither do you, best friend."

&&

"So, King Hamlet was killed how?"

I sighed and slumped down in my chair at my dining room table. "He drowned in the river?"

Krista, the girl who was tutoring me sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "No that was Ophelia, Prince Hamlet's love interest," she said as she closed her Hamlet book. "King hamlet was poisoned by his brother," she started gathering her things and looked at me, "Do you just wanna pick this up tomorrow?"

I laughed and nodded. "Obviously Shakespearean literature isn't my forte."

She laughed too and stood up. "Yeah, he's pretty complex," she said as she put on her Something Corporate jacket.

I looked at it for a second and it all just clicked. "Hey weren't you at Jack Barakat's party a few months ago?"

She looked confused as she continued getting her stuff together. "Yeah I was," she got everything together and just looked at me. "Weren't you Jack's girlfriend?" I nodded. "How's that going? You know, after what happened?"

"We kind of broke up afterwards," I said with a sigh as I walked her to my front door.

She looked at me apologetically. "I'm sorry. I hope it all works out for you two. You guys were really cute together," she said with a sweet smile.

"Thank you, that means a lot," I said as I hugged her. "If you ever wanna hang out outside of Hamlet, you know where to find me,"

"For sure. Bye!" She said as she walked out to her car.

I closed the door with a smile and walked upstairs towards my bedroom as I heard my phone going off.

"Slightly bruised and broken
From our head on collision
I've never seen this side of you
Another tragic case"

"Hello?"

"Hey,"

As soon as I heard that voice, my breathing stopped. I hadn't heard his voice since he talked to me in the park a few weeks ago. "Um, what's up?"

"Look out your window," Jack said with what I assumed to be a smile.

I walked towards my window with a confused look until I looked out and saw Jack standing on my lawn with a smile. I closed my phone and leaned out my window. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you!" He yelled up at me.

"But why? Aren't you still mad?"

I saw him look at me, and I gestured for him to come on up. I don't know how he did it, but he somehow ended up on the roof right by my window. When he got to the window, he kind of tripped and fell face-first into my trash can. I stifled laughter as I helped him up so I wouldn't make too much noise.

"Honey, are you okay?" I heard my mom yell from across the house.

I looked at Jack and we shared a look as we started giggling. "Yeah, mom! I just tripped!" I yelled back at her while trying not to laugh more.

"Okay honey. Be careful!" She yelled back, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing this time.

Jack looked at me while I was laughing and just smiled. After my laughing fit, I say down on the opposite side of my bed, and he sat in front of me. "So you wanted to know if I was mad at you," he started. I nodded and waited for him to continue, "Honestly, I got over being mad when I saw you that day in the park."

Now I was confused. If he wasn't mad why did he wait so long to talk to me again? "But-" I started, but he sighed, so I let him continue.

"The reason why I waited so long to talk to you again, was because I was still figuring a lot of things out. How I feel about you will, and always will be a definite. That won't ever change, no matter what," he took a breath and started playing with a loose thread on my bed spread. "But I just don't know how I'm going to trust you after what happened," he looked at me as if to gauge my reaction and I just raised my eyebrow at him.

"I know you're gonna have a tough time trusting me too, but my feelings were real since the beginning," he says with a bit of malice as he glares at me, "I was and am not playing games with you. Everything was real on my end. But you," he says as he stands up and paces around my bedroom. "you were playing games with me since the beginning. And that's really fucked up," he pauses and stares at my brown eyes filling up with tears.

"But there is no possible way I can love without you. Not after I've known what it's like to have you," he sighs and walks toward me to wipe my tears. "So if you're willing, maybe we can be friends as I learn to trust you again."

I sniffle and wipe the remaining tears that are still coming out. "I can do that," I say with a watery voice.

He smiles and takes my hand to pull me up next to him. "Good," he says as he wraps his lanky arms around me and pulls me into him. "Because I probably would've forced you to be my friend if you refused," he looks down at me and grins.

I have to force myself not to kiss him right then and there because he just looks so damn cute. "You're an idiot."

He lets me go and looks down at me with that stupid little grin of his. "But I'm your idiot."