Chapter 2

"Hey man, where did you go during recess? The birds got at your sandwich and everyone watched them fly away with it!" Henry wailed in both confusion and interest, patting Jake's shoulder to get his attention.
"Ah.. sorry guys. I went for a little walk." Jake chuckled a bit and scratched the back of his neck in innocence.
His friends kept rambling on. But he couldn't help but think about the beautiful girl he embraced and listened to as her tears fell with grace. Her little pouts and pleads got help. He wanted to be there for her. He didn't even know her name.

Another day arose. Jake couldn't get the girl out of his head. The way her hair blew perfectly against the winds currents. How little nose had a slight hint of red as her eyes wondered to the flowers. For recess he checked the garden but she was nowhere to be found. He let out a despaired sigh as he took a seat where the girl was the day prior. He let his mind trail to remember what had occurred. Never did Jake ever think he'd be glad he's embracing someone a few inch difference in height; his blush was easily covered as she wept into the scruff of his neck. Her little palms trembled on his chest, and he prayed she couldn't notice his rapid heartbeat. Her little sniffles made him more concerned than embarrassed though.
This was a girl he had just met. He didn't know her name or anything about her. Yet, something yearned inside of him to know more...

"You're here again...?" Jake's trail of thought was quickly brushed away as the tunes of a familiar voice rang through his ears. His head lifted and shifted towards where it came from, his eyes plastered on the familiar girl he spent the last rest and wake thinking about.
"Ah.. y-yeah. I-I wanted to know how you were doing." Jake was a stuttering mess. He turned himself into an oven before he could even realize it. She giggled slightly, brushing a strand of her white hair from her face.
"I'm glad you're here. I wondered if I was ever going to get to talk to you again. We never got to introduce ourselves." Her pure smile was worth thousands of dollars. But Jake knew that smile wasn't really what she meant it to portray.
"I-I'm Jake, born on August 2nd, 2004, I'm a single child and I have one dog, I love singi—" he was quickly interrupted by a slight chuckle. He realized he over-spoke and bit his lip, hitting himself mentally.
"Well, Jake. I'm Daisy, born in September 25th, president of the Gardening Club. (3) I have one older brother (4) and I dance." She pulled her skirt from behind and took a seat next to Jake on the grass. Jake calmed down as he processed the information she was providing to him. Daisy, that was her name.
"Your name suits your interests! Gardening, and dance. E-elegant, like a daisy, you know?" Jake laughs to himself, hoping his minor compliment will uplift her spirits. She gave a painful smile and glared towards the white daisies that were planted in the garden.
"Honestly, I'm not much of a passionate person. My parents force me to dance. I've been a dancer since I could walk... I can't even count how many competitions I've been in. You'd think I was in Dance Mom's with how many stories I could tell," her thumbs fidgeted together as she looked up to the cloudy sky, "I've forgotten a lot of my childhood since I was so busy studying and dancing. It caused me to end up forgetting most of my experiences in those subjects, too. Now I'm just... me, I guess." She put out a slight shrug, as her head shifted to face Jake, who was looking directly at her. He didn't want to say anything wrong, so he just kept his mouth shut.
"Sorry if it seems like I'm pushing that on you. I've never really spoken about myself this much to others before." Daisy gave a little smirk as she rolled her eyes, laughing it off slightly.
"N-No! It's totally fine, Daisy! I'm listening so much I forgot to reply!! You can say whatever you'd like!" Jake's hands rose to protest against her claim, reassuring her.
"In that case... are you okay if I tell you a little story? It's been on my mind lately." A simple nod was all he could give in response to her. She broke the lock between their eyes as they began to trail to the breezy sky once more.
"My parents are extremely strict. Dancing, studying, whatever else it may be... they want me to be their perfect daughter. That's how it's always been." Daisy's hands grazed against her skirt as she adjusted her hands to posture herself to lay her back on the ground.
"It's been getting worse lately now that I turned 13 last month. My older brother... disobeyed my parents. It's about time he goes to college, but he wants to pursue a career in music with his bandmates. My parents were furious with him." Her hands had clasped around her neck as she began cloud gazing.
"I guess since he was a fail they're pushing me even more to be their perfect daughter. I have a passion for music too, you know. My brother taught me to play the acoustic guitar when I was younger. My parents found out, though. I haven't touched a guitar since." Jake took hint of the visible pain in her eyes, eyebrows furrowed. Silence fell through them, almost like Daisy was awaiting a reply from him. Her eyes were focused on the clouds that strode the sky, but Jake's were plastered right into hers. He blinked a few times before correlating his thoughts. She was going through a lot, and Jake knew he had become one of the only people she expressed these emotions to. He was an important part of her life, as she was to his.

After that day, Jake and Daisy occasionally spent their recess time at the garden. What Daisy didn't know was that Jake began to start going daily, but some days Daisy wouldn't appear. Jake observed that Daisy only comes to the garden from Tuesday to Thursday and some occasional Fridays when she's not tutoring 6th graders. Even if she's not there, it's a very relaxing place for Jake to relieve his stress. Jake found himself starting to frequently visit the garden outside of recess, sometimes before school and even during his free periods. The smell of the fallen oak leaves and fresh cut grass puts him at ease.
"Jake? What're you doing here?"
"D-Daisy?! What are you doing here?!"
"I could ask you the same thing," she giggled at his sudden outburst, "I didn't expect to see you here. It's not recess."
"Oh, haha! Yeah! I just admire the garden so much I figured I'd come relax here a bit!" His rambling caused a small little smirk to graze upon Daisy's lips.
"Same here. I have a dance competition in a few hours and my parents want me home soon."
"...and you don't want to go?" Jake's once tense-body began to sink as he took note of Daisy's need for an ear.
"Nope. But it makes my parents satisfied. If I win, that is." She shrugged, putting her hands on the straps of her baby blue backpack, "I came here to read a bit and listen to the birds. Get rid of as much tensity as I could before it rises again." She chuckled, raising her eyebrows.
"You read?" Jake rose an eyebrow in return. He doesn't read himself, but he'll do anything to hear all about her interests.
"Yeah. I brought my favorite book with me: The Giver. It's pretty basic, but it's an amazing book. Have you read it?"
"Uh... I think so! I think we read that last year for English class?" Jake scratched his neck in uncertainty.
"That was To Kill a Mockingbird, silly. But I guess this story is just as entertaining. You should definitely give it a read."
"I-I will. I'll pick it up from the library on my way out. What's it about?"
"Well.. it's a very controlled society. A boy who wants to break free from society's expectations and be who he wants to be." Daisy gave a slight grin, looking at the book and placing her fingertips against the cover. Jake stared deeply at her, his expression turning into a serious form of empathy.
"Like you?"
"Like me."

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(3) My third headcanon/theory. Daisy was the president of her middle schools Gardening Club before moving to class president her freshman year of high school. I'd assume Elliot was co-president or something along the lines of that, but because Daisy ran and became head girl, he took over the Gardening Club in high school. This also ties into my Daisy x Elliot obsession lol

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