Don't Make This Easy, I Want You to Mean It

‘Jasey Rae, get your cute butt over here and sit with me.’
I examined my text, trying to find some spark of recognition when I looked at the digits it came from. I had no idea just whose number this was. I looked up from my phone, checking the room for anyone else on their phone. I was currently in Spanish class with Jack and everyone seemed to be at least pretending to care what our teacher, Mrs Loita, had to say. I couldn’t even see anyone holding their phone, never mind actually using it. Jack and I, as usual, had seated ourselves at the back of the classroom in the hopes of going utterly unnoticed by our teachers.
‘Jase, I’m lonely.’
The same number. I scowled at my phone, trying to think of anyone I had given my actual number to in the last couple of weeks. I was prone to giving boys either fake numbers or the numbers of someone I didn’t like, just so that they would leave me alone. Most of them took the hint when they realised what I’d done, but it had caused more than a couple of confrontations in the hallways. I bit my lip, frustrated by the fact I had no money loaded on to my phone and couldn’t text whoever this person was back. It was beginning to get creepy.
‘Hols! Stop this and get over here!’
Well, at least the narrowed down the list. In the entire school, maybe two people knew my first name. Outside school was a different matter, and I was really hoping it wasn’t some random person my parents had tried to set me up with. They were the only people who ever actively called me by my given name. I looked around again, hoping to see someone at least putting their phone away, but to no avail.
“Where are you hiding, you freak? In a fucking plant pot?” I grumbled, still looking at my phone and waiting for another message to come through.
“Who are you talking to?” Jack whispered, leaning over the aisle and blowing his ‘I’m taking notes’ façade. It hadn’t been a strong one, considering he was tapping his pencil on the table rather than putting it to his paper, but it was still a façade he’d tried his best to keep up.
‘When are you going to give it up? You’re giving me such a rush…’
“This absolute freak is texting me. It’s seriously beginning to scare me,” I replied in the same hushed tone. I handed him my phone, allowing him to check the texts I’d been receiving, while still trying to keep it out of view of our teacher. I didn’t want it confiscating, despite how useless it was as anything other than a clock right now. He snorted suddenly. “What?”
“New message,” he said, trying hard to suppress his laughter and handing the phone back to me.
‘Come on, Holly. Would you turn me on?’
“Jesus Christ,” I groaned, staring at my new message. What the fuck kind of text was that? “Give me your phone,” I ordered, putting my hand out for Jack to pass over his phone.
“No need, sweetheart, I’m right behind you,” a voice whispered in my ear, making me squeak loudly and jump in my seat. The almost silent classroom seemed to echo the sound I’d made, making everyone turn in their seats to look at me.
“Mr Gaskarth! What are you doing in my classroom?” Mrs Loita shrieked, utterly outraged at Alex’s unexpected (and previously unannounced) presence.
“I came to get Jasey for Mrs Mars. It’s about her next period,” Alex responded, standing up straight and holding out a slip of paper I hadn’t noticed before. I heard Jack snickering next to me at Alex’s comment and rolled my eyes, slapping him lightly around the head.
“Grow up, Barakat.” Jack didn’t respond, merely clamping his mouth shut and trying to suppress further laughter.
“Very well. Jasey, collect your things and go with Mr Gaskarth. You’re excused.” I grabbed my bag quickly, throwing it over my shoulder and sticking my tongue out at Jack, who had suddenly begun to look annoyed at the fact I was now abandoning him in one of his least favourite lessons. Alex held his arm out for me and I grinned as I looped my arm through his, allowing him to pull me from the room.
“Oh, my God. Is Jasey Rae fucking Alex Gaskarth now?” I heard a girl shriek as I left the room, arm in arm with Alex.
“Yes, and it’s the fucking bomb, bitch!” I called over my shoulder as I allowed the door to shut behind me. I heard loud laughter coming through the door, mainly from Jack, as well as a small chuckle from Alex next to me. I smiled up at Alex innocently, pretending I had no idea what was so funny about what I had said. “What?” I asked, batting my eyelids to add to the effect. He shook his head, letting go of my arm and wrapping his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug and leaning his chin on top of my head. I’d never felt particularly small in comparison to other guys I’d met, but Alex seemed to have outgrown everyone in school except Jack, easily and comfortably pulling me in so I was level with his chest.
“That was the funniest thing I’ve heard all day,” he told me quietly. I laughed into his chest, wrapping my own arms around his waist and breathing in his scent.
“Well, it makes up for the fact I haven’t earned any gossip this week. You’ve monopolised the market, so I figured I’d get in on the action a little bit.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Alex laughed. “I really hope the rumours of you and I fucking will tide you over for the next few weeks. I mean, our gossip is hot enough on its own, can you imagine how everyone is going to react to us together?”
“Oh, god. I’ve made a terrible mistake, this is going to be an absolute bitch fest. How many girls do you think will want to physically harm me before the end of the day?”
“Roughly half of the female population. The rest will drown out the thoughts with happy feelings.” I giggled at his response, fighting the urge to nuzzle myself deeper into his chest. “How many guys will be on my back about how good you are in bed by the end of the day?”
“Roughly three quarters of the male population. The other quarter already know.” I paused, groaning lightly at my own words. “Holy fuck, I get around.”
“Damn straight. But you’re my girl now.” My heart pounded harder in my chest, and I was more than sure Alex could feel it through the contact we had. Those simple words seemed to have such an effect on me that I couldn’t describe it. I knew Jack said it to me constantly, and I was fully aware that it was probably meant in the same way when Alex said it. But when those words left his lips, I felt butterflies in my stomach. His words had such a queer effect on me and my emotions were sent haywire just looking at him. Nobody had ever had such an effect on my feelings, especially not by just looking at me.
“Oh, really?” I let out finally, aware I’d been silent for a little too long, wrapped up in my thoughts.
“Yes. And I’ll look after you better than Jack ever could.”
“Jack looked after me perfectly fine, thank you.”
“Yeah, but he also let you sleep with all those nasty men. I’ll only let you sleep with the good ones, promise,” he said, kissing the top of my head and finally letting go of me, backing out of the embrace. I readjusted the bag on my shoulder, trying to avoid looking at him until I could control the blush rising in my cheeks.
“And how many do you have on your list of good guys so far?”
“Well, I don’t know about my good guy list, but the only person I have on my list of people allowed to sleep with you is me,” he joked. I looked up at him, laughing lightly at his words. What an absolute cheese ball. “But you don’t wanna sleep with me; I’m awful at sticking around in the morning.” I watched the smile fall from his face, any trace of the light-hearted, joking boy disappeared. I bit my lip, looking up at him and catching what I could only imagine was sadness in his eyes. I reached my hand up to his face, tracing my fingers along his jawline.
“I’m a big girl, Alex,” I breathed softly. “I can look after myself. Trust me.”
“Jasey, you’re adorable. You’re absolutely the cutest girl I’ve ever met in my entire life. You act so naïve and yet everyone knows you’re not. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have you pegged as one of those good little girls who never takes a step wrong, but I can see the fierce person behind it all who isn’t afraid to break a couple of rules. You know what my reputation is, and you know it’s not far from the truth. I couldn’t do to you what I do to everyone else, but I don’t know how to stick around in the morning, it’s never been my initial reaction before.”
“You make it sound like you want to stick around,” I sighed, lowering my hand from his cheek and letting it drop to my side. Alex blinked at me a couple of times, seeming to be torn in what to say next. It didn’t last long and I saw his usual grin creep back onto his face as he grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers.
“Come on. We’ve been out here forever. Mrs Mars wants to talk to you about your English class.” I grinned back at him as he pulled me away from the doorway and down the hall toward Mrs Mars’ office. I knocked quickly on her office door, still grinning widely. Alex’s hand left my own as she called for me to come in and I resisted the urge to grab it back.
“Jasey, you’ve been moved up to Mr. Vanner’s class, thanks to a certain young man.” She looked up from the stack of paper she’d been examining to look over at Alex. “You’ll be on his register as of next period, but you’ll have to hand him this slip when you see him. It explains everything. Now, both of you get back to wherever it is you came from.” I didn’t have to be told twice, grabbing the slip she offered me and rushing from the room, thanking her as I left. I knew the tone in her voice meant she was more willing to take this back from me than she was to give it, so I knew not to push her. She’d only been here since the beginning of the last academic year, and everybody already knew how uptight she was. Alex shut the door behind us and I quickly jumped on him, squealing with excitement.
“Oh my God, Alex! Thank you!” I gushed. He wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me slightly, chuckling at my reaction. “This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. Thank you.”
“Well, I knew how much you enjoyed English; I couldn’t let an asshole like Warren make you miss it anymore. Besides, it was worth the strings I had to pull to get you in class with me.” I squealed again at the mention of having class with him for the rest of the year, ignoring the voice in the back of my mind asking just what strings he had been referring to.
“You’re the most incredible person I have ever met in my entire life,” I told him, beginning to untangle myself from him. I felt him hesitate slightly as he let go of my waist, but backed off from me a moment later.
“Well, I do try,” he smirked. “It’s always nice to know when I’ve succeeded.”
“Seriously, Alex, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Despite the voice in my head telling me not to, I leaned onto my tip toes and placed a small kiss on his cheek. My heart fluttered as I backed away, watching his smirk turn into a soft, content smile. I barely knew Alex, but out of all the things he’d said and done, and I found myself believing the truth behind his smile more than anything he had said to me. He seemed genuinely happy at my reaction and the small kiss I’d given him.
“You’re welcome,” he nodded. “There’s something about you that just makes me want to see you get everything you’ve ever wanted.” He paused again, dropping the small smile. “Come on, we’d better get to Vanner’s classroom. You’ll need to be on time if he’s going to forgive you for transferring over so late.” I laughed at his remark, feeling his fingers lace with my own and Alex begin to pull me down the corridor toward the English classrooms. Aside from my stomach flipping when his skin came into contact with my own, I barely acknowledged the move. It seemed so natural to me now, almost automatically done. In the three days since Alex and I had officially met, there’d only been one where he hadn’t been holding my hand for as much time as he could muster. While a small corner of my mind constantly reminded me to be on my guard around him, I couldn’t see where his badass reputation came from, he seemed like an absolute sweetheart to me. I knew most of the words that fell from his lips were perfectly timed and designed to string me along, but I couldn’t help falling for them hook, line and sinker.
The bell rang out to signal the end of class as we turned the corner onto the English corridor and moved toward Mr Vanner’s classroom. Alex’s hand was still tightly holding my own and I could feel eyes turning to stare at me as floods of kids came rushing out of every doorway. We continued to push our way to our destination, though it wasn’t difficult for us to manoeuvre. The sea of bodies seemed to part before us, the majority of people turning to each other and whispering to each other about the infamous Jasey finally coming into contact with Alex Gaskarth. I could almost hear their remarks. I knew it would either be questioning how long it was going to last before Alex broke my heart, or before I got bored and left him for somebody else. All it was to them was another piece of gossip, and I was glad to give it. I stopped for a moment, pulling on Alex’s hand so he stopped too, and leaning up to whisper in his ear.
“I think we’re starting a lot of rumours here, Alex.” A small smile played on the corner of his lips as he looked briefly around us at the whispering going on. I saw a mischievous glint in his eye as he moved his mouth to my ear to whisper to me also.
“Then let’s give them something a little better to talk about.” He pulled his lips from my ear and I began to ask him what he meant, when his hands placed themselves firmly on my hips and his lips pressed themselves to mine. I automatically reached up and put my hands to his face, pushing myself into the kiss. My mind became clear of all thoughts, focussing its energy on keeping my breathing going and stopping my heart from beating free of my chest.