January 20th, 2009

I poked at my whiteboard with the marker, unamused as the thing sat before me. I didn’t want it, but I had no choice at all. I wasn’t allowed to talk, since it was so bad for my throat at that moment.

I hadn’t ever gotten strep throat before, so I never knew that it was as horrible as it was. I thought that it would have been a little worse than a regular sore throat, but I was definitely wrong about that.

“Well, this is a sight to see,” Aimee smirked when she was suddenly in my doorway, her eyebrows raised as she smirked down at me.

I continued to just lie there, not able to say a word to her at all because my throat hurt so much. I clutched onto my whiteboard, scribbling something down for her to read.

“Watch your mouth, Jordan,” Aimee continued smugly now, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of Jesse. “Or should I say your whiteboard?”

I felt like throwing the thing at her, but I knew that wouldn’t have gotten me anywhere at all. Knowing her, she probably would have caught it anyway…

Just wait for me, I’m going to school, I wrote on the whiteboard, starting to get out of bed before Aimee charged forward and pushed me back down. I looked at her as if she was insane, but she gave me a look that my mother would have.

“No, you’re not going to school,” she said, shaking her head once she removed her hands from my shoulders. “You have strep throat, Jordan. Not only is it contagious, but it’s disgusting. The healthiest thing for you to do is to stay in bed and sleep.”

I glared up at her, quickly writing on my bored, But I don’t want to miss anything important!

She rolled her eyes at me, as if I was the stupidest person on the entire planet. I laid there, waiting for her to say something to me, because I knew something was coming.

“The girls and I will get all of the work that you miss, I promise,” she told me, but that still wasn’t good enough for me. “If you go to school like this, Jordan, you’re just going to be sent back home anyway. Don’t put any more stress on your body.”

I sighed, knowing there was no way she was going to let me out of bed. No matter how much I kicked or screamed, there was no way I was going to get out of that house.

So when Aimee finally left to go to school, I didn’t even try to get up. I had never been a morning person, but for some reason when I was sick, I just wanted to get out of bed and do things. I didn’t think I would ever understand why.

I didn’t even know why I was sick. I hadn’t even done anything to get myself sick! I never would understand how I always just got sick randomly, for absolutely no reason at all…

Luckily, I fell asleep for the next few hours. I woke up an hour before school was supposed to end, and I couldn’t help but wish that I was at school. I was already bored and I had only been awake for five seconds.

I was glad that my mother was home, because it meant I wouldn’t have had to make my own food. That did not sound like a fun thing to do when you were sick…

When I heard a knock on the front door, I thought of nothing at all. My mother would have answered the door, so there wasn’t anything I had to worry about… I could have just gone back to sleep.

But when I heard a knock on my bedroom door a minute later, I almost rolled right out of bed. I looked over at the clock to now see school had been out for a little while, but I didn’t think that it was possible for any of my friends to be here this quickly, especially when I was as sick as I was. They wouldn’t have wanted to get sick, too…

I could tell whoever was at the door to come in, so I only sat there and waited to see what they would do. I didn’t want to get up, because I was sure I’d just fall over, so all I could really do was wait.

Finally, the door opened without me having to do anything. But when I saw who it was, my eyes went wide, and I would have screamed if my throat allowed me to.

Jesse Jacobsen was standing in my doorway, a smirk right on his face as he stared back at me. I looked down at my whiteboard and then back up at him, wondering if I should have written some profanity at him. I knew there was no use in doing so, since it wouldn’t have made him go away anyway.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” Jesse said for me when he saw that I was reaching for my marker. “Well, when I didn’t see you after school, I thought that you had already gotten picked up. But then I saw that redheaded friend of yours, and she said that you were sick. So I decided to stop by to see if you were alright.”

I was going to kill Aimee one day. How she was attracted to this boy in the slightest was completely beyond me. He wasn’t ugly, but his attitude just made everything about him so unattractive.

I have strep throat, I scribbled, erasing the board after he had seen what I had written. I wanted to go to school, but no one would let me.

Jesse rolled his eyes. “Of course no one let you go to school. You would have just gotten everyone else sick, not to mention you’d get even sicker yourself.”

Like you care, I wrote down now, really not in the mood to deal with him. He couldn’t even give me a break when I was sick in bed? And there I went, thinking that I was going to be free of him for a little while…

“Well, I don’t want other people getting sick,” the cocky boy smirked, crossing his arms over his chest now.

Was I a horrible person for hoping that he would get sick from just being in the room with me? I really thought that he would have deserved getting strep throat after everything he had ever done to me.

I think I’m fine enough to go to school, I wrote stubbornly, even though I knew that I was in no way well enough to actually go to school. I definitely would have gotten other people sick if I did. I didn’t want to miss anything important in school. I haven’t missed a day of school since last year, but I wasn’t even sick so that doesn’t count.

Jesse’s eyebrows furrowed at me in confusion, and I bit down on my tongue. I really wished I hadn’t showed him that…

“Why would a studious girl like you not go to school unless she was sick?” he asked, and I knew he was trying to tease me even though he was really curious. “I mean, you tried to go to school with strep throat. I don’t think anything can stop you.”

I looked away from him, staring down at my whiteboard as I tried to think of an excuse. I knew the real reason for me not going to school, but I didn’t want Jesse Jacobsen knowing…

It… was because of Dallas, I scribbled, knowing I was going to regret this later. It hurt too much to get out of bed for a while, so I missed a few days of school. It’s not a big deal.

Jesse didn’t smirk like I expected him to, and this surprised me greatly. I thought he would laugh and grin like always, but there was a serious expression on his face when I looked up at him.

What? I wrote, even though I was snapping at him in my mind.

He took a step toward my bed, causing me to move back just a little. I really didn’t trust the boy who stood before me, but I had good reason. I really knew nothing about Jesse Jacobsen, even though I had known him for over a year.

“Maybe this will make you feel better,” he whispered, leaning down closer to me.

When he pressed his lips to mine, I nearly fell over. I wasn’t expecting this from him at all, even though it hadn’t been the first time he had kissed me by surprise before. But it wasn’t like he had ever kissed me with my consent before either…

Even though this wasn’t the first time he had ever kissed me, but it didn’t mean it was any less shocking than it had been the first time. It might have been even worse this time because of how sick I was!

I pushed him away from me, wiping at my mouth after he was away from me. I couldn’t help but make a face as I did so.

“You idiot,” I rasped, not even caring about my voice and ignoring the pain I felt in my throat. “Now you’re going to get strep throat!”

Jesse shrugged. “It was worth it.”

I was fuming now, about to bash my whiteboard over his head. I might have cared about hurting Aimee, but I definitely didn’t care about hurting Jesse Jacobsen.

“I should go now, Emery,” Jesse sighed, and I thought I was going to literally explode. “I don’t want to get any sicker, now do I?”

There was absolutely no point in him coming over to my house, and yet he did so anyway. I didn’t think I would ever understand the mind of Jesse Jacobsen, but that was definitely a good thing.

J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J~J

Jesse’s P.O.V.

When I didn’t see her in her usual spot after school, I was almost worried. My mind immediately went to Hunter, but he hadn’t even asked me about her since I had told him her name…

So I assumed that her brother was actually early in picking her up that day. It was no big deal at all… So what if I didn’t see her for the day? It wasn’t like it was going to kill me…

Right?

“Jesse!” a very familiar yet irritating voice suddenly said from behind me, and I turned to see Jordan’s redheaded friend, Aimee or whatever, smiling flirtatiously at me. “I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Well, since you’re school is an all-girls school, I’m pretty sure that’s common sense…

I really didn’t understand why I didn’t like this girl very much. She hadn’t done anything wrong to me before, and yet I just found her irritating. Maybe it was because she was Jordan’s best friend and she was the one interested in me. She reminded me of Erica a little too much.

“Yeah, I was just… uh… I was bored so I decided to look for Jordan to harass her a little,” I excused, sounding like a complete idiot as I tried to think of something to say to her. “I can’t seem to find her though.”

Aimee giggled, and it almost made me cringe. “Jordan didn’t come to school today. She’s really sick.”

I wanted to jump into action, but I knew I couldn’t do anything for her. Just how sick was Jordan? It wasn’t anything life threatening, was it?

“Sorry, Aimee, but I’ve got to go,” I quickly said, nodding at the redhead as I took a step away from her. “I’ll see you around?”

She looked overjoyed, and I wanted nothing more than to just run away. “You definitely will!”

When I turned around, I could feel her eyes on my back. It almost made my skin crawl. This was the wrong girl…

I should have just went home, but I wasn’t about to go anywhere else until I found out what was wrong with Jordan and how bad it was.

Even though I had my permit, my mom was using the car so I still had to walk to and from school. I was just glad I didn’t have to walk whenever she sent me to go shop for groceries, especially when it was dark out. I wasn’t scared of the dark or anything, but I knew what was out there at night, and it wasn’t pretty. It was an advantage and a disadvantage of being in a gang.

When I knocked on her front door once I finally got to her house, I was honestly really nervous. I didn’t know who was home at all. Her brother definitely wouldn’t have let me in, and I highly doubted her father would either…

So when her mother opened the door, I let out a breath. It just made it a little bit easier for me…

“Jesse Jacobsen?” her mother asked, her eyebrows furrowing at me in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

I couldn’t think of a good enough answer. I couldn’t just lie and say that I was friends with Jordan, because she knew the relationship that the two of us had. Friends were definitely the last thing we were.

I wanted to say that the reason why I was there was because I was in love with her daughter, but that probably wasn’t the smartest thing I could have done.

Realization seemed to dawn on Jordan’s mother’s face, and I thought it was time for me to run. If she knew that I loved Jordan, everything would have been over.

“You really like Jordan, don’t you, Jesse?” she asked, a smile on her face as she glanced toward the stairs.

I stared down at my shoes, mumbling a yes.

Jordan’s mother nodded. “Come on inside. Jordan’s in her room.”

I looked up at her in awe, not believing she was actually letting me into her home. I was glad that Austin wasn’t there, because I was sure I would have gotten my ass kicked if he was…

I knocked on Jordan’s door instead of barging in like I usually did, since I didn’t even know what kind of condition she was in. All I knew was that she was sick, but I didn’t know how sick she was.

When she didn’t answer, I thought about just walking inside. I always could have just left and then harassed her some other day. That would have been easier…

Not wanting to go a day without seeing her, I barged in anyway. If she was changing, that was fine by me. Honestly, I was kind of hoping that she was changing, but it’s not like I’d ever admit that to anyone…

I forced a smirk on my face as I looked over at the beautiful girl in her bed, even though she looked so sick that she almost looked like death. I just had to keep the enemy act up and pretend like I didn’t care that she looked like she was dying…

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here,” I told her when I eyed the whiteboard and marker beside her on her bed. “Well, when I didn’t see you after school, I thought that you had already gotten picked up. But then I saw that redheaded friend of yours, and she said that you were sick. So I decided to stop by to see if you were alright.”

She did not look happy about that, but it wasn’t like I was expecting her to. She was probably very angry at Aimee right then…

I have strep throat, she scribbled on her whiteboard. I wanted to go to school, but no one would let me.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her. She really wanted to go to school looking like that? I knew she was really into school and everything, but I didn’t know it was to this extent…

“Of course no one let you go to school,” I sighed, shaking my head at the girl who lay before me in her bed. “You would have just gotten everyone else sick, not to mention you’d get even sicker yourself.”

Like you care, she wrote now, and I knew she wanted to hit me with the whiteboard as hard as she possibly could have. If she even had the strength to…

“Well, I don’t want other people getting sick,” I excused as I crossed my arms over my chest. I really just didn’t want her getting any sicker than she already was…

She looked like she could have killed me, but I couldn’t help but find it adorable. Even when she wanted to kill me all I wanted to do was kiss her…

I think I’m fine enough to go to school, she scribbled stubbornly, but I didn’t think that she even believed it herself. Unless she hadn’t looked at herself all day, she was definitely lying. I didn’t want to miss anything important in school. I haven’t missed a day of school since last year, but I wasn’t even sick so that doesn’t count.

I couldn’t help but furrow my eyebrows at her, wondering why she would have stayed home when she was as adamant about going to school as sick as she was.

“Why would a studious girl like you not go to school unless she was sick?” I had to ask, determined to get the answer from her no matter what I had to do. “I mean, you tried to go to school with strep throat. I don’t think anything can stop you.”

She wouldn’t look at me, so I knew that the answer was something that made her upset. I should have stopped, but I wanted to know. I wanted to know what was making her so upset so I could stop it.

It… was because of Dallas, she wrote, and I stood there and waited for her to continue. It hurt too much to get out of bed for a while, so I missed a few days of school. It’s not a big deal.

I couldn’t even force myself to smirk at her like I usually did. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was still hurting that asshole, but I wasn’t about to ask her. I didn’t want her thinking about him anymore.

What? she wrote now, obviously noticing that I wasn’t smirking now.

I couldn’t help but take a step toward her, just wanting to be closer to her. I wanted to comfort her, but I knew she wouldn’t let me. She wouldn’t let me go anywhere near her. I was surprised she hadn’t kicked me out of her room already,

“Maybe this will make you feel better,” I swallowed, leaning my face closer to hers.

Ididn’t even know what I was doing when I kissed her. I didn’t even mean to do it. She didn’t push me right away, because I knew she was in shock, so I savored the lips that I wasn’t ever going to be able to kiss again. I wasn’t going to miss out on this amazing opportunity.

When she finally pushed me away from her, I couldn’t help but feel horrible. I wanted to kiss her even more, even though she was sick. But all she did was wipe at her mouth with the back of her hand, completely disgusted by what I had just done.

“You idiot,” she rasped, and I was surprised that she had spoken. Had I pissed her off that much? “Now you’re going to get strep throat!”

I shrugged, and I honestly didn’t care. I still got to kiss her. “It was worth it.”

She looked like she could have taken my head off with her whiteboard, so I knew it was time for me to go.

“I should go now, Emery,” I smirked, and her grip on her whiteboard tightened even more. “I don’t want to get any sicker, now do I?”

And so I left, knowing that I left her with something she wasn’t ever going to forget. I wasn’t ever going to forget it either, especially since I was probably going to get strep throat…

Maybe I should have thought that through a little more. But whatever… at least I got to kiss her.

When my phone rang seconds after I had left her house, I knew who it was. My mom never called me after school anymore because she knew I always stayed out late, and it was the same for Camilla. My friends would never call me because they knew I couldn’t hang out with them. So there was only one other person that it could have been, and one person only.

“Hey, Hunter,” I greeted after I had flipped my phone open and pressed it to my ear. “I’m on my way.”

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It's Jordan's birthday today! :D

Jordan was born on May 3rd, 1993. :) She'd be nineteen today!

Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! :)