jacob
by Orley Fenelon
PROLOGUE
From when she first laid eyes on his ugly, cringey as fuck face, Emma Enright was in love with Jacob Sartorius.
She couldn't tell anyone, not even her closest friends were privy to her secret. They all mocked Jacob, they all laughed at his fucking cringey and repulsive videos. Even she pretended as if he was the fuckboyish, egotistical, no-talent fetus that her friends knew him as; she had to, if she was to reveal her admiration for Jacob she would be disgraced from her entire social group. If she told anyone of her feelings for Jacob, she would regret it until the day she died.
So, she kept her secret. She pretended, she lied, she continued the display of false hatred. Every night she dreamed about him, only to wake up the next day and hear the people she held dearest mock and insult him.
But, every time she stared at his ugly-ass face, her love for him grew stronger.
CHAPTER I
Emma awoke to the brisk, cold air of a Brisbane winter morning, her eyes begged to go back to sleep but the torturous 9:00am start of school pushed her out of bed and into the shower. As the hot water hit her back, she began to sing.
'You can wear my...' she tried as hard as she could to be quiet, she couldn't let her family know.
'sweaaatshirt'
'What?' asked her mother through the door
'Uh, n-nothing, mum.' Emma replied nervously
Her heart was beating at a lightning pace. The only other time someone had come this close to discovering her affection for Jacob was when Pepa nearly saw her secret photo album on her phone.
'Oh god that was close.' She mumbled as she reached for a towel.
As she buttoned the final button on her school shirt, she heard her brother's voice coming from the living room.
'Emma, we're gonna be late!' yelled her brother. 'Hurry the fuck up!'
'Hey! Watch your language!' her mother disapproved
Emma sighed and reached for her phone. The lock screen showed a post notifications and her face lit up with joy as she swiped and looked at the annoying, cringey face of the love of her life.
'Jacob…'
Her first class was torturously boring. The teacher seemed to go on forever about the Qing dynasties, as if it would ever be relevant. During the few, brief minutes she wasn't talking, Orley, Tenzin and Pepa occupied themselves with laughing at Jacob Sartorius on Pepa's phone.
'Haha! Hey, Emma, it's Jaco McSaggytits!' Tenzin gasped between bursts of laughter
'Ha, yeah!' Emma found it harder than usual to force a laugh today, as if her heart was starting to lose the energy to maintain this façade
By lunch, the mocking of Jacob was still as strong as ever. Orley, Tenzin and Pepa were, this time, joined by a host of other students, laughing hysterically as they stood huddled around Pepa's iPhone. Emma couldn't take it anymore, she quietly turned away and marched towards the canteen, tears welling up in her eyes.
Emma sat alone, eating her lamb kebab, which, by this point, had turned into a mess of mystery-meat and dubious cheese sauce. In a way, the sad excuse for a kebab reminded her of Jacob, but she knew her love for him had no bounds. As Emma sat on the lonely bench, she could hear her friends yelling about Jacob's cringeyness. Unless you count Jacob Sartorius, she didn't believe in a God, but in this moment she prayed for the end of lunchtime to arrive soon.
'EUGH! LOOK AT HIS BRACES!'
Emma stood up, put her increasingly unappetising kebab in the garbage bin and started to walk to the stairs.
'Emma, lunchtime's not over yet, we have Maths next.'
She kept walking.
'Emma?'
She said nothing.
3 hours later.
Emma stared at her iPhone, discreetly hidden under her pale-blue hard-plastic desk. The clock read 2:49. One more minute.
Everyone was looking at their clocks, waiting desperately for the Teacher to dismiss them, excitedly awaiting the approaching weekend. The day hadn't gone well for Emma, and all she wanted at this point was to go home, to seclude herself.
'Alright, have a good weekend. See you on Monday' said the teacher, to the now applauding class
As the class shuffled around, grabbing their books, Pepa walked over to Emma.
'Are you, like, okay?'
'Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, just a little tired.' Emma's eyes darted around the room
'Well, what was with you leaving early at lunch?' Pepa insisted
'Nothing!' The class turned their heads and looked at Emma, silence filled the room.
She looked around the class, 20 students looking at her as tears welled up in her eyes. Emma grabbed her book off the table and stormed quietly out of the classroom. Pepa stood right where she was, looking at Emma with an expression of worry and confusion.
'What was-' Orley asked
'I… don't quite know.' Pepa replied
Emma walked down the street, wiping tears from her eyes, her backpack slung over her shoulder.
When she got home, her parents were still at work and her brother was busy annihilating pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto. She retreated to her room. She was empty, silent, all the days of denying her love for Jacob had taken their toll, and today, that toll revealed itself.
Emma pulled out her phone. There was a text message from Pepa. She almost put her phone down again, but after hesitating for a moment, she swiped the screen to reveal it;
EMMA, I'M WORRIED. CALL ME.
She put her phone down, but as her hand moved away from the table, she heard her phone buzz and an Instagram notification pop up.
JACOBSARTORIUS SENT YOU A DIRECT MESSAGE REQUEST
Emma slammed the phone back down onto the table in shock. She couldn't believe her eyes. Her hands were shaking as she timidly picked up her iPhone and tapped on the Instagram icon. Sure enough, in her Inbox was a direct message request from Jacob Sartorius.
She hesitated. Could it really be Jacob?
HEY, I'M JACOB. YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW ME HAHA.
Emma was shocked. Her face was purple with disbelief.
'No fucking way.' Emma mumbled under her breath as she tapped the Accept button and began typing.
ARE YOU REALLY JACOB? LIKE, SERIOUSLY?
She anxiously awaited a reply, the 'read' marker only intensifying her excitement.
YEP LOL.
Emma quickly bashed out a reply.
BULLSHIT. YOU'RE JUST ORLEY TRYING TO FUCK WITH ME.
She instantly regretted that reply. Was I too harsh? She thought?
LOL I'M JACOB. I CAN PROVE IT.
Emma saw a video appear from Jacob. He was sitting his bedroom, sat on the side of his bed.
'I'm Jacob, alright.' He said with a grin.
Now, she knew it really was Jacob, but the confirmation only increased her confusion. Why did he message her? How did he even find her account?
These questions went unanswered as Emma and Jacob talked for hours. They shared secrets, they discovered each other. She felt a connection, and it seemed that he did too. Emma felt more in love with Jacob every time he typed something.
It was past 1AM by the time they said goodbye.
I WON'T FORGET YOU, EMMA. I'LL TEXT YOU TOMORROW ;)
With tearful smile, Emma echoed his goodbye. She laid her phone down on her bed and placed her head on her soft pillow. As she lay in the dark, she felt a feeling of hope, and of love.
'I love you, Jacob Sartorius.'
(end of chapter one - chapter two coming soon!)
THANKS FOR READING! The story isn't finished, and, don't worry, it's not gonna be just another gross piece of Jacob Sartorius smut. The finished book is going to involve mystery and character development and all that other serious book shit. Byeeee!