Title: Six Hours and Five Days
Author: Giselle
Category: Jake and Hamilton
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I owned Young Americans would I be writing fanfic? No, I'd be writing EPISODES!
Summary: Response to Paula's 03/23/2002 Challenge posted at my website, written below.
* It's the end of sophomore year.
* Jake is attending Rawley Boys Academy.
* Hamilton dumps Jake for another girl that attends Rawley Girls. His new girlfriend is going to another school for her junior year so he decides to go with her.
* Jake is very depressed so she decides go back to New York(he's already gone). On her way back she gets into a serious accident and the hospital calls Hamilton's house. His parents go to the hospital and Jake tells them the entire story.
* Kate takes Jake into their home to take care of her while she recovers.
* Jake enrolls in Rawley Girls, but when she leaves to go live in the dorms Dean Fleming and Kate ask her to stay in their house. They love her as if she was their own daughter.
* Cut to senior year. Bella is attending Rawley Girls on scholarship. You can put all the characters you want.
* Hamilton comes back to spend senior year at Rawley. You choose if he comes alone or with his new girlfriend.
* Jake becomes this perfect, beautiful girl whom everybody loves in the school. There's a lot of guys in love with her, etc.
* Ham doesn't know that Jake lives in his house, so the first encounter must be something interesting.
* He's going to try to take her back, but remember that he betrayed her so...
* All the gang helps him.
* Must end in a happy way.
* Ham lives in his house, not in the dorms, that way they must see each other a lot. All classes are co-ed.
* Jake's the only girl on the crew team.
* If you can, use some songs of Coldplay.
* Jake's dad can make an appearance(Her father doesn't want her, he wants her money or something like that) and turn Jake's world upside down again. Her mother comes to help her with that. A lot of support from the Flemings and the gang.
* Kate can help Hamilton to get Jake back.
* If you want to add some other situations, feel free to do so.
~Part One~
"I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of school!" Jake Pratt said, while walking down the hall to her respective dorm room. "What's more unbelievable," she continued, pulling Hamilton Fleming, resident sophomore class loner, into her room and shutting the door behind both of them, "is that I've been able to pull this off the entire year without getting caught." Smiling she leaned in towards him, placing a soft kiss on his lips. Pulling back from him and opening her eyes again she looked up at him. "What's wrong Hamilton? You've been acting weird for the last week and I'm really starting to think it's me."
The tension that had been running between them was nothing but noticeable over the passed few days and it was taking all Jake had in her to keep from blowing things out of proportion for the way Hamilton had been acting towards her. It appeared as small, subtle things at first; a phone call canceling plans, extra homework needing attention. Now it seemed Hamilton was using any excuse he could just to get away from her.
"Jake, we need to talk." Hamilton looked down, sticking his hands inside of the pockets of his blue shorts.
"We need...to talk..." Walking towards her window Jake looked out across the school grounds. It had only been a year ago that she'd rode into New Rawley, ready to take on one of her craziest schemes yet - becoming a guy and attending an all-boys boarding school. Now she was almost second-guessing her choice of staying, because of the one reason that kept her there in the first place. "You know what kind of conversations start with 'we need to talk' Hamilton?" she asked without turning around. "The same ones that almost always end with goodbye."
Hamilton winced at her cold words, knowing he probably full well deserved them.
"Please tell me I'm wrong," she stated quietly, turning back around to face him.
The only thing he could do was look anywhere but at her. Something inside told him she'd see right through his wall if he let her look into his eyes. So he stood there, saying nothing.
"Is it problems at home?" Jake asked, refusing to believe what she could feel was happening until she heard it coming from his own voice. "If you're having trouble with school or anything you can talk to me Hamilton."
Slowly letting his eyes drift upward he looked at her. How did he know she wouldn't let any of it slide? How did he know she'd be the perfect friend?
Jake stumbled slightly when she caught his gaze. It was so clear she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before now. "You're in love with someone else."
"Jake..."
"Just don't Hamilton," she told him, doing her best to stay calm.
"I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm going to another school next year."
Taking in a deep breath she released all the tension that had been building inside of her. "So this isn't about another girl. You were just afraid to tell me about the transfer." She couldn't believe the amount of relief that began to wash over her. Spending practically the entire week wondering what was wrong had obviously been playing tricks with her mind, and she was glad that was finally out.
"I..." Hamilton stared back towards the wall on his left. Anywhere but towards where Jake was standing at that moment.
"This..." Jake was falling over her words. She had been right all along. "That's exactly what this is about, isn't it? You're transferring schools so you can be with someone else. So you can get away from me, from the rumors, from the insults."
"Jake, I can't..."
"Get out," she said, crossing her arms and tightening her jaw.
Hamilton held in the grimace he felt. He deserved everything she could possibly throw at him right now and he knew it. Nodding his head he turned back around, pulling the door open and leaving with a soft click. How could he ever forgive himself for what he'd just done to his best friend?
. . .
"I can't believe I've spent the last year at that school just so I could be close to him," Jake told her friend, Bella Banks, as she took the cup of coffee that Bella held out to her. "It's like everything I've done, all of the crap I've had to go through suddenly comes down to the fact that he's gone and I'm here alone."
"Did he say why?" Bella asked, sitting down in the window seat just opposite her and pulling her legs up to rest her chin on. "I mean, this is Hamilton we're talking about."
"He didn't say anything Bella," Jake replied, taking a sip of her drink and resting her head back. "He didn't even have the guts to voice it himself. All he could do was look away and I knew it was true. He left right after lunch. Didn't even say goodbye, just left."
Bella looked at her friend, watching as she closed her tear-stained eyes. "I'm so sorry Jake. You don't deserve this...any of it."
Jake couldn't help the scoff that fell from her lips, "Maybe this is my penance for what I did. For not being happy with my life the way it was."
"You can't honestly think that Jake," Bella replied, reaching over and taking her friend's hand.
"Can't I? I mean, with all of the lying I've done can you honestly say I don't deserve this?" Jake asked, failing miserably to hold back her tears.
Leaning over Bella looked her friend in the eyes, "Yes, I can. You are one of the best friends I've ever had. Better than I could have ever imagined, especially you being a stuck-up Rawley snob," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood a little. "If anything I think you deserve better than what you've been given. Better than Hamilton, better than being stuck in boarding schools year after year, and better than being ignored by a mother that has no idea what she's been missing by not being around for you." Reaching over she pulled the broken girl in front of her into a long, warm hug. "Most of all you deserve to be happy."
"Thank you," Jake whispered to her friend. After a few moments she pulled back, smiling and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Anyway, I just wanted to stop in and say goodbye before I headed back home," Jake told her, standing up.
"Wait, you're leaving Rawley?" Bella asked worried that her friend wouldn't come back.
Jake smiled, trying to reassure her. "For the summer at least. I really need to get away from here for a little while, you know, think in my own surroundings."
"So you're coming back for the fall semester though?" The last year had proven to have its ups and downs for the two of them, but she couldn't imagine loosing Jake as a friend.
"I'm not sure yet. That's something I know I've got to figure out when I get home," she stated, pulling on her leather jacket. "I'll call you though and keep you updated. I promise I won't just disappear on you."
Bella walked with her to the front of the gas station, following her outside. "You'd better not, or I'll be hunting you down." Wrapping her arms around her friend she hugged her tightly, "I'm going to miss you so much!"
"Not nearly as much as I'm going to miss you," Jake said, hugging her back while she attempted to keep herself from crying again.
"I doubt that," Bella stated, chuckling.
"I guess I'll call you when I get to my house," Jake stated, pulling her helmet on and hopping onto her motorcycle.
Waving to her friend Bella watched as she kick started the engine of her bike, "Sounds like a plan."
Looking back at the gas station once more Jake brought her bike onto the quiet streets of New Rawley, ready for the first time in years to finally go home.