dakota's pov +

jack and i never managed to have our tutoring session on monday.

he never texted me or came to me at school, and i guess i didn't have the courage to go to him either after what happened at his house the other day.

it's literally been three days since we last spoke and to be honest, it's been complete torture.

after getting out of kelsey's car, her, jonah and i walked down the parking lot to get to the school doors whilst talking about our weekend.

just as jonah explained his very detailed text messages with connor, i noticed jack up ahead messing around with his friends by sam's car.

he laughed with them, holding johnson in a headlock until he glanced up and noticed me walking by.

his laughter gradually faded and i couldn't quite make out his expression right now. he wasn't smiling or scolding me, he just stared.

all i want to do is know what he is thinking, but since that's obviously impossible, i looked away eventually and ignoring what just happened.

"um, what was that?" kelsey pulled back my arm as we continued walking up to the doors.

"what was what?" i questioned.

"that look between you and jack" she added.

"what look? what did i miss?" jonah quickly asked.

i pulled open the school doors as i tried finding the right words to say.

"things are awkward between him and i at the moment" i answered them.

kelsey frowned, "why?".

"we were at his house the other day for tutoring, but we played this video game first and we were messing around, practically wrestling each other,".

"holy shit" jonah excitedly interrupted.

"and then he landed on top of me. you guys know very well what i would have done if i had the courage too, but i didn't and neither did jack. so he just apologised and rushed me out the house".

"no, what the fuck?" jonah complained as we stopped at kelsey's locker. "why didn't you make a move?".

"because what if he didn't want me to? that would have been much more awkward than our situation right now" i replied.

"but from what you told us about the other night when jack took you to that hilltop, he seems pretty keen on you to me" kelsey told.

jonah nodded, "agreed".

i sighed at their optimism and leant against the lockers behind me. if they knew how much anxiety runs through my head every second, then maybe they'd understand.

"thanks guys, but with the way jack is acting right now, it's pretty unlikely that that's true".

my eyes drifted further down the hallway where i spotted liam standing by his locker, trying to collect his books.

"and yet another person who i'm not on speaking terms with right now" i announced. "i need to talk to him, so i'll meet you in english".

i left my friends' side and headed towards liam. he saw me coming his way, so he promptly shut his locker and started walking away yet i tried my best to catch up.

"liam," i spoke up behind him, but he put the headphones around his neck over his ears and carried on walking.

i pulled on his arm to hold him back and he huffed as i took him to the side. he finally removed his headphones again and waited for me to speak.

"stop being mad at me, okay. i don't like it" i told, pouting my lips but he just folded his arms.

wow, he must be really angry because he usually always falls for my pouty face.

"okay, fine. i'm sorry for snapping at you that day, i know that you had good intentions and you were just being a friend".

"yeah, i did have good intentions" he agreed. "i care about you, dakota so yes, i will be protective if you're crushing on one of hudson high's popular pigs".

i furrowed my brows at his reference to the jack and his friends.

"jack is not a—...you know what? it doesn't matter" i told myself to relax and brushed it off. "so, am i forgiven? because i miss you".

i lightly poked his side and he finally couldn't help but chuckle at the pout on my face.

he flung his arm over my shoulder, "yes, kota. i forgive you".

"don't call me that" i corrected as we began walking side by side.

liam threw his head back, "for the last time, kota sounds cute".

"for the last time, kota sounds stupid" i glared up at his taller height, but he just laughed at my words and briefly rested his head on mine.

i took my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was almost time for my first class, and i was nowhere near the room.

"shit, i'm gonna be late for english" i told, stopping our walk and standing before him. "so, are we all good? you and me?".

liam nodded with a smile, "yes, we're good".

"great. okay, i'll talk to you later" i gave him a quick hug. "bye".

i barely gave him anytime to respond and hurried off in the other direction before i was officially stuck with my third detention of the year.

+

hours after school, i sat in front of my tv, mindlessly flicking through channels to find what to watch.

i finally settled to a reality show about real housewives until my phone buzzed beside me with a text. it was from an unsaved number, so i unlocked my phone to read it more clearly:

dakota, it's your father. how are you? i miss you very much. i just wanted to check up on you and your mother, and also nathan. it would be great to hear from you. i love you.

i read the text about another three times. i can't deal with this right now, i can't deal with it all over again.

so, i locked my phone and continued watching the reality show. i started biting on my nails as i could feel a lump growing inside my throat.

at that moment, the doorbell rang but i was so invested in my thoughts that i just ignored it and waited for nate to answer.

"are you deaf? did you not hear the doorbell?" nate complained, popping his head through the living room.

although, i ignored him until he opened the door and loudly groaned.

"dakota, it's for you!" he called out and i frowned, then stood up to go and see what he was talking about.

i opened the door further and was quite surprised at who i saw standing before me.

"jack?" i practically questioned.

he stood with one hand in his pants' pocket and the other holding a drink, as he nervously looked at me.

"hey, can i, uh, come in?" he hesitantly asked. rocking back and forth on his feet.

"yeah, sure" i stepped aside, giving him space to enter.

i shut the door behind him and we remained in the hallway.

"so, what's up?" i asked.

"i just came here to apologise" he started. "i didn't mean to ignore you over the past few days, but i just hate this. you know, us not speaking".

i couldn't help but light up a little at his words. i didn't think that he would care if we were speaking or not.

i always just assume that he sees me as some girl who tutors him, but he always manages to find a way to prove me wrong.

i suppressed my smile at his words and tried to keep as calm as possible.

"you do?" i inquired.

he nodded, "with whatever happened the other day, i just want to put the awkwardness behind us and move on".

"yeah. me too" i softly smiled at him and he did the same, biting down on his bottom lip.

"oh and i have this for you" jack handed me the drink that he was holding. "the best milkshakes in town, remember?".

"of course" i grinned, looking down at the drink in my hand.

i can't believe that he remembered. i mean, i know that it's just a milkshake and it's not much, but to me, small details like this are always the most important and valuable.

"so, do you forgive me?" jack wondered, holding his hands together. "i did wait in line for almost ten minutes for that milkshake".

i chuckled, "i was never angry with you in the first place".

"because you can't live without me, right?" he cockily raised his eyebrow.

"sure, you're practically the air that i breathe" i exaggerated.

he pointed his finger at me, "that'll be true one day. you wait".

sarcastically, i nodded my head to agree before our laughter eventually died down. i tucked my hair behind my ear, wondering how to put my next words.

"so, are you busy right now? because maybe we could hang out for a while?" i asked him.

his lips curved into a smile, "yeah, sure".

-

jack is a cutie

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