well this oneshot is based on me

ocs- me and jake (aka crush)

┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

Christmas had always been my favorite time of the year—the lights, the cozy jumpers, and the endless supply of hot chocolate. But this year? This year had a complication.

Jake.

The boy with the bronzed curly hair, braces that somehow made his smile even more adorable, and eyes that could make me forget how to do basic math. Which, unfortunately, was exactly what I needed to be doing right now.

"Ivy, snap out of it," Eliot hissed, nudging me hard enough to make my pencil roll off the desk.

"What?" I blinked, realizing I'd been doodling hearts in the corner of my math sheet.

"You're thinking about that Year 9 again, aren't you?" he said, a knowing smirk plastered on his face.

"No, I'm not!" I protested, cheeks flushing.

"Yeah, you are," he teased, leaning in closer. "You've got that dreamy look in your eyes. Just admit it already."

"Shut up," I muttered, burying my face in my hands.

Eliot laughed, clearly enjoying my misery. "Well, what are you going to do about it? You gonna confess your undying love? Write a note? Oh, I know—sneak some mistletoe into his locker."

"Stop," I groaned, but the truth was, I didn't know what to do. Jake was... different. I couldn't tell if it was a fleeting crush or something real.

"He's so cute," I whispered under my breath, more to myself than to Eliot.

"You know what you need to figure out?" Eliot said, leaning back in his chair. "Whether he's into you, too. Find out if it's real, Ivy."

"Find out how?" I asked, exasperated.

"I don't know," Eliot said with a shrug. "Maybe ask him to help you with something? Or, better yet, ask him out."

I groaned again, flopping dramatically onto my desk. "Eliot, it's not that simple!"

"It is if you stop overthinking," he said. "Just... do something. Don't wait for Santa to tell you."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the small smile that crept onto my face. Santa, if you're listening, a little Christmas magic wouldn't hurt right now.

Eliot smirked, leaning back in his chair like he had all the answers in the world. "Well, I'm not you, obviously. I've had, like, a hundred girlfriends."

"Yeah, yeah, we get it," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "You're Mr. Popular."

"Hey, I'm just saying," he said with a shrug, clearly enjoying himself. "If you want to get Jake's attention, take some notes from the expert."

"Expert in what? Annoying people?" I shot back, narrowing my eyes.

Eliot held his hands up in mock surrender. "Ouch. You wound me, Ivy. But seriously, why not just talk to him? You make it way harder than it has to be."

I glared at him. "That's because it is hard! You're not the one risking total humiliation if he doesn't like you back."

He raised an eyebrow. "What's the worst that could happen? He says no? Big deal."

I stared at him, my expression deadpan. "For someone who claims to be an expert, you sure don't understand the concept of feelings, Eliot."

Eliot laughed. "Oh, I understand feelings, alright. I just don't get why you're acting like this is some life-or-death situation. It's just Jake."

"Exactly! It's Jake!" I said, my voice rising. "The boy with the perfect curls and the cutest smile and—ugh, why am I even talking to you about this?"

"Because you know I'm right," Eliot said smugly. "And because deep down, you want my advice."

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "Fine. What do I do, love guru?"

Eliot grinned. "Glad you asked. Step one: stop looking at him like a lost puppy. Step two: be confident. Step three: just find a reason to talk to him. Something casual. Keep it chill."

"Chill? That's your great advice?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it works for me," he said with a shrug. "And I've had, like I said, a hundred girlfriends."

I took a slow, deliberate sip from my water bottle, staring at Eliot with as much indifference as I could muster. "I'm not taking your advice," I said flatly.

"Your loss," he said, leaning back with an exaggerated shrug. "Don't come crying to me when you blow it with Jake."

I ignored him, turning my attention back to my math workbook—or at least pretending to. The truth was, I wasn't about to let Eliot's smug advice be the only plan I had.

After the bell rang, signalling the end of maths, I made a beeline for Sophie, who was sitting under the big oak tree outside. She was flipping through a notebook, her red curls falling over her shoulder as the wind tugged at them.

"Sophie," I said, plopping down beside her on the bench. "I need your help."

"With what?" she asked, glancing up.

"A crush," I admitted, lowering my voice like it was some big secret.

Sophie blinked, her pen freezing mid-sentence. "A crush? Ivy, you know I haven't had one in, like, two years. Unless we're counting my undying love for geography."

I groaned. "Sophie, I'm serious!"

She chuckled, closing her notebook and giving me her full attention. "Alright, alright. What's the situation?"

Before I could answer, Mia walked up, her ever-present grin plastered across her face. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked, plopping down on the other side of me.

"Nothing," I said quickly, but Sophie wasn't about to let me off the hook.

"Ivy has a crush," she said, smirking.

"Mia does not need to know that!" I hissed, glaring at Sophie.

Mia's eyes lit up. "Oh, this is good. Who is it? Tell me everything."

I sighed, realizing I wasn't getting out of this. "It's Jake. Year 9 Jake. The one with the—"

"The one with the cute hair and braces?" Mia interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Sophie said, nodding. "But Ivy here has no clue what to do about it."

"Great. I'm surrounded by helpful people," I muttered, burying my face in my hands.

"Relax," Mia said, patting my shoulder. "Between Sophie's rational advice and my charm, we'll come up with a plan."

Mia tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, since you don't have any breaks or lunch with him, why don't you just ask some Year 9s about him? You know, casually. Get the inside scoop."

I frowned. "Ask Year 9s? What am I supposed to say? 'Hi, I'm Ivy, and I'm stalking Jake—tell me everything about him?' Yeah, that's not creepy at all."

Sophie laughed, tossing her curls over her shoulder as the wind picked up. "You don't have to make it weird. Just ask normal questions. Like, who his friends are, what he's into, if he's, you know... single."

Mia grinned. "Exactly! Just slip it into conversation. Be sneaky about it."

I raised an eyebrow. "You two are really overestimating my ability to casually talk to Year 9s without looking like a total weirdo."

"Then don't overthink it," Sophie said, shrugging. "Maybe it's not about being casual. Just be honest. If you want to know something, ask. People usually appreciate that more than you think."

Mia nodded, leaning in conspiratorially. "And if that doesn't work, you can always resort to bribery. Everyone loves chocolate."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me. "You two are impossible. But fine, I'll think about it. Not promising anything, though."

Mia nudged me with her elbow. "Come on, Ivy. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Let's not find out," I muttered under my breath, but deep down, I knew they were right. If I wanted to figure out where I stood with Jake, I'd have to do something. Even if it meant awkward conversations with Year 9s.Santa, tell me this will be worth it.

Just as I was about to cave to Mia's relentless enthusiasm, Anne strolled over, her signature oversized hoodie flapping in the wind. She plopped down on the grass next to us, earbuds still dangling around her neck. "What's the hot gossip?" she asked, looking between us.

"Ivy's got a crush," Mia blurted out before I could even blink.

"Of course she does," Anne said casually, smirking. "Who's the lucky one?"

"Jake," Sophie supplied, grinning.

Anne raised an eyebrow. "Year 9 Jake? The one with the curls and braces?"

"Yes, that Jake," I mumbled, already regretting that this was now public knowledge.

Anne chuckled, leaning back on her elbows. "So what's the problem? Just go talk to him."

"Oh, great advice," I said, glaring. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Anne rolled her eyes. "I'm serious, though. It's not as hard as you're making it out to be. When I wanted to ask out my girlfriend, I just walked up to her and said, 'Hey, you're cute. Want to go out sometime?' Boom. Done."

"Of course it was that easy for you," I muttered.

Anne shrugged. "What can I say? Confidence works. Plus, she already liked me back. Kind of a win-win."

Mia gasped dramatically. "Anne! Not everyone can be as effortlessly charming as you."

"Exactly!" I added, pointing at her. "Some of us have to deal with things like nerves and, you know, the fear of rejection."

Anne sat up and gave me a look, equal parts amused and serious. "Look, Ivy, I get it. It's scary. But the longer you wait, the more you're going to overthink it. And overthinking kills any chance you've got."

"Easy for you to say," I muttered. "You didn't have to stalk Year 9s for intel on your girlfriend."

Anne laughed. "Okay, fair. But hey, you've got a team here. Between Sophie's subtlety, Mia's chocolate bribery plan, and my killer confidence, you're set."

"Ivy," Sophie said, patting my shoulder, "just think of it like this: the worst-case scenario is you learn more about him and move on if it doesn't work. The best case? You're dating a cute guy by Christmas."

"And who wouldn't want that?" Mia chimed in with a grin.

I sighed, the weight of their combined encouragement pressing on me. "Alright, fine. I'll ask around. But no promises on actually talking to him."

Anne winked. "One step at a time, Ivy. One step at a time."

┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°

BTW the friends aint OC'S they're real and alot of it is fake since i dont even know his name but the friends are real will update it when we actually talk