The Perfect Girl

Natalie. Natalie Foreman.

Her name rushed through my mind before I looked back up at Jake. He was such a wreck. His hair, his eyes, his face was so distressed. Instead of making some huge scene, I smiled at him and reached to pat his arm. He looked at me alarmed, shocked even. He shoved my hand off, and I snapped it back startled by his sudden movements. My eyes returned to his blue crystal orbs before I got it.

I promised I’d help him find his perfect girl…I never said I’d help him actually get her…right?

It was time to get back to the way it was before this little…plan. Because now, he had Natalie and I had myself. I wouldn’t let myself go crazy just because he wasn’t mine. He was never mine. I just wanted him to be. And now that he has his ‘perfect girl’, I have no chance. Absolutely none, so what was the point in having a crush on him anyway? I had to brush this little crush off and start anew.

“So you do have some kind of taste. Good to know. Well, have fun pursuing her, man,” I chuckled before grabbing all materials and leaving.

On my way out of the wooden janitor door, Jake’s large hand gripped my wrist. He pulled me backwards. I stumbled and hit my back against the yellow mopping cart. I gasped as I tried to gain my footing again. Jake looked at me, oddly. Blinked and arched an eyebrow.

“What do you mean ‘have fun pursuing her’?” He spat, his harsh, blue eyes glaring coldly back to my confused pair of brown.

What was up with the attitude? I mean, he could’ve just said something instead of bruising my back. I brushed myself off and looked up at him funny. Did he not understand that we’d found her? That was the end to our little game. It was enough, right?

“I mean, we found your chick. Deal over,” The words came out in thick, hate covered words.

“We haven’t gotten her yet, Adams,” He growled and I narrowed my eyes on him.

“I never agreed to help you get her, Rivers,” I grumbled and pushed him with my right arm. He shoved back.

The tension was building up. We weren’t going to have a brawl, were we? But if we were, I can’t say I’d be ready for it. Not only was Jake stronger and more built, he wasn’t nearly as sore as I was from the fight from yesterday. He had hurt his nose, I got hurt everywhere else. At the moment, he could crush me under his fist and we all knew it, especially since he was nearly twice my size. I wasn’t ready. In middle school, boys were weak. They hadn’t even hit puberty yet, much less have enough muscle to punch a girl twice their size down.

In middle school, I had been known as average sized. At least in sixth grade. And after that, I wasn’t tall but I was strong. And my arms were proportional to the rest of my scrawny body. Eighth grade is when my arms started showing muscle, maybe even too much muscle, because now they bulge. For a guy, it might be an accomplishment to have huge arms. But my arms weren’t just huge, they were enormous. My biceps were toned and my triceps were toned. My forearms were toned and the rest of me was lanky. I didn’t have thunder thighs or large calves. My stomach was flat and so was my chest. I was a board. But my arms, dear God, my arms; my arms were horrendous. I had the arms of a body builder on my five foot two self. I was unproportional and rather deformed.

“Adams, getting her is part of finding her. You didn’t even find her, I did,” Jake mumbled and I stepped back and rolled my eyes.

What was his point? So I couldn’t take a short cut out of this whole…ordeal? I glanced back up at him and took his gaze as the answer. No. I couldn’t. He wouldn’t let me. I sighed in quick defeat as I opened my mouth to agree.

It was then that Will’s voice scattered the tension, “Hey you guys! If you’re leaving me to do the work alone I’m going to be seriously pissed!”

I chuckled a fake laugh, grabbed my supplies and walked out, hitting Jake’s shoulder with my own. “I’m coming!”

I sauntered outside where I met Will grabbing trash with a bag half full. For an hour, that was all we did. We’d pick up trash, throw it away and start picking trash up again. Silence had filled the air and none of us spoke. Whenever Jake passed me, I’d start the other way. Avoiding him was the only way I could avoid talking about Natalie. And talking about Natalie Foreman was not at the top of my wish list. Looking at her was at the bottom. And liking her was definitely nowhere in the near future. I could almost feel the jealousy bubble inside of me. I’ve been wishing he’d see me as a girl for more than five years and she comes, flaunts herself about for one day and Jake’s already busted up in love.

“Will! Jake!”

I looked up as a honk came after the voice. Natalie and Rylie, one of the pretty girls at school, were waiting in Natalie’s Mustang with the radio on full blast.

Will glanced at me and shrugged. He walked over to the car and I turned around to see Jake take off his gloves, tie the hardly full bag and throw it out before putting the trash grabber up. Turning back around, Will walked over with a smug smile on his face.

“Uh, Kylie can you cover for us? There’s a party,” Will said, almost as if it explained everything.

Taking off my gloves, I scoffed,”I have better things to do than do all your work, Foreman.”

“Do you? No offense, but I kind of saw you as the nice type. You know, get good grades, study, never leave the house,” He smirked. Any kind of like that existed in my body for him, disintegrated. Offense was taken.

I took the other glove off and looked back up at Will, “Do I really come off that way?”

He chuckled as he took off his own gloves and handed them to me, “Yes, you do. So, here. It’s just an hour, you’ll live. I’ll make it up tomorrow.”

I took the gloves, looked down with an angry smile, my jaw tight. I tied the bag up and threw the gloves down along with the trash grabber. As I dropped the bag and pulled my arm back, someone grabbed my wrist before I could punch. Ripping my arm back, I turned around angrily at Jake.

“Calm down, Adams. Don’t get in any more trouble,” He murmured and looked up at Will.

“What? So I can get all the work while you and Will go get piss drunk?” I yelled and shoved at him.

“Shut up, Kylie. I’m not leaving,” He snapped, and turned to Will. “You go, man. I can’t go tonight. Maybe O’Conners on Friday.”

Will nodded and turned and left. He hopped into the back and soon they were gone.

“Let’s go to the library. We’re done here,” He mumbled and left.

Standing there, I felt like an idiot. Why did I trust Will? Why did I yell at Jake? I stomped my foot down, made a short fuss and picked everything up. Walking back to the janitor’s closet, I passed the library where I saw Jake pushing a cart of books towards one of the aisles. I considered ditching him with all the work and heading home but then decided against it since he had stayed with me instead of leaving with Will. After I put everything back in its rightful place, I headed towards the library. Opening the doors, I called his name and went to where he’d responded.

“We only have this cart. I’ve done most of it,” He said and handed me one of the books.

I glanced at it before walking around looking for the spot. Sticking it back in place, I returned to see Jake lounging in the library chairs with his phone in his hands. I sauntered over and place myself on the seat beside him. He only glanced at me before returning his attention back toward his phone.

I could see from where I was sitting that he was texting Will. Something about how he wish he could’ve gone to the party. But he hadn’t, he’d stayed at the school with me, finishing our services. Guilt rushed through my veins for a moment and decided it would be best if I showed him my gratitude. We were on a truce after all, right? But how would I do that? How could I, Kylie Adams, be nice and show gratitude to Jake Rivers? It seemed impossible. So instead of thinking it further, I did the simplest gesture in showing my thankfulness. I thanked him.

“Thanks…Jake,” I mumbled and suddenly his head snapped up, causing me to jump.

“What did you just say?” He gasped and I raised an eyebrow.

“Thanks?” I murmured and looked at him strangely.

“No, the second part!”

I eyed him for a second and said slowly, “Jake?”

“Holy hell.”

I sat there and looked at him for a minute before finally asking, “What’s the big deal?”

He then turned towards me as if I were crazy. “You never call me Jake.”

“I was trying to be nice!” I defended and he gently shoved me.

Instinctively, I shoved back, cracking a smile in the process.

“Are you sure you’re Kylie Adams?” He scoffed exasperated and I nodded slowly.

“In the flesh, Rivers,” I smirked and stood up. “Now, if you’d hurry. We have some spying to do.”

I grabbed his arm and tugged him up as he questioned, “Spying?”

“Enough questions, Rivers. We have a girl to charm.”