Jake's POV
Emma and I are sitting at a table eating lunch together, just goofing off and enjoying each others company. I'm really glad I was there to stop those jocks from touching her. I don't know why, but ever since I first saw her I've just wanted to protect her, to be near her. There's just something about her that draws me in, and I love it. When I looked into her eyes for the first time I was starstruck, how could anyone want to harm this beautiful angel in front of me? When she touched my arm I felt a spark, is this what love at first sight feels like? I've never bothered with any of the girls at school, don't get me wrong I've had my fair share of them flirting with me, it just never felt right. But with Emma it's different, she's sweet,funny,absolutely adorable when she blushes. And don't even get me started on her beautiful accent. This girl is perfect in every way, and she seems to really like me.
"So you moved here from Cairnholm with your family?" I ask her curiously, remembering what she had told me a little bit ago. She sure does have a big family, eleven foster siblings and their house mother Miss Peregrine.
"Yes, with Miss Peregrine our housemother"she explains, a small smile on her face.
"Wow that's amazing"I say impressed. I don't think I could handle being in her shoes, in a house full of young kids all day, everyday. I don't have any brothers or sisters, and my parents are gone for long periods of time, all the time. In fact they just left yesterday for a trip to Vegas and won't be back for three damn weeks. I'm almost 17 years old, I can take care of myself, but that doesn't mean I want to be alone for so long. She smiles at me for a few seconds before taking a bite out of her apple.
"So how are you liking America so far?" I ask her curiously after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"It's definitely nothing like Cairnholm, but it's definitely beginning to grow on me"she says amusedly, giving me a small smile that I gladly return. I love seeing her smile, I definitely want to get to know her better, and maybe one day ask her out.
"So Emma, Who is this?" I hear a guy with a British accent ask from behind us. I turn around in my seat and see two boys with brown hair and a girl with red hair watching us curiously.
'Ah these must be Victor,Enoch, and Olive. Emma mentioned they are our age' I realize as I look back and forth at each of them.
"Oh this is Jake! Jake these are a few of my foster siblings that I was telling you about, Victor,Enoch, and Olive" she explains excitedly with a smile on her face. I grin at her for a moment before refocusing on the three teens.
"Well hello Jake! I'm Victor" the tallest, and probably the oldest one says as he holds his hand out for me to shake.
"Nice to meet you" I say as I shake his hand. He lets go of my hand and the girl begins to speak.
"Hi I'm Olive" she says with a smile on her face. I give her a small grin and shake her hand. Olive is beautiful, but definitely not as beautiful as the angel sitting next to me.
"What are you doing with Emma?!" the boy with the darker brown hair demands, glaring at me.
"Enoch don't be rude!" Olive says, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.
'Well...at least 2 out of 3 like me' I think to myself.
"Emma get away from him!" Enoch orders, ignoring Olive's protests as he grabs Emma's arm.
"Enoch let go of me!" Emma protests as he roughly pulls her out of her seat.
"Hey man she said let her go" I say protectively, standing up from my seat.
"This is for your own good! I'm not letting you get hurt again!" he growls, ignoring me. He pulls on her wrist even harder and I hear a small pop.
"Ouch you're hurting me!" Emma cries out, wincing in pain.
'Oh hell no! That's it!' I think angrily.
"Let her go" I growl as I grab his wrist and twist it, causing him to release Emma's wrist, and flip him onto his back. The room goes silent and all I can do is glare down at the boy that was hurting my new friend.
"Emma are you alright?" I ask her concerned as I gently cup her now red wrist.
"I-I think so" she whimpers. My heart practically breaks as I see tears slide down her cheeks.
"I think it's dislocated" I say to her, remembering the popping sound.
"It hurts Jake" her voice cracks.
"I-I didn't mean to" Enoch tries to defend himself from his spot on the floor, he's now sitting up.
"Well you did. You're the one that hurt her, not me" I growl at him, wrapping an arm around Emma's shoulders. She lays her head against my shoulder and I look down at her concerned. I look back at Victor and Olive and see them looking down at Enoch, anger and disappointment in their eyes.
"I'm gonna take her to the nurse" I tell them quietly. They nod in understanding and I grab my backpack. I slug it over my free shoulder and then I grab Emma's.
"C'mon Em" I say gently, leading her out of the cafeteria. We walk in silence for a few minutes before Emma speaks up.
"Thanks for standing up for me Jake...again" she says gratefully.
"You're welcome Emma, there was no need for him to behave like that" I say understandingly, gently rubbing her shoulder.
"Enoch's..complicated" she says quietly.
"You don't need to explain. But on a lighter note, at least 2 of your foster siblings like me" I say cheerily, trying to cheer her up. She let's out a small giggle and I grin at her, happy that I made her feel a little better. We finally make it to the nurses office and I have her sit in one of the chairs.
"I'll be right back" I whisper to her as I put her bag down next to her.
"Okay" she says quietly, holding her wrist. I take one last look at her before walking across the room to the secretary's desk.
"Excuse me Miss Finch, my friend Emma Bloom needs to see the nurse. I think her wrist is dislocated" I say to the woman. Her eyes widen and she immediately calls the nurse. I walk back over to Emma and crouch down in front of her. She looks down at me and watches as I gently hold her wrist in my left hand and softly stroke it with my right hand's fingers. She puts her free hand on the back of my neck and once again I feel a spark. I look up into her eyes and I see pain,gratefulness, and something else swimming around in her eyes. She opens her mouth to say something but before she can get a word out, the nurse enters the room. I release her wrist and stand up. Mrs. Dust, the nurse, leads us into her office and has Emma sit on the small bed that you normally see in a doctor's office. I stand next to her and gently stroke her uninjured wrist.
"Alright dear I'm going to have to pop it back into place, this will hurt" Mrs. Dust warns Emma gently. Emma turns her head to look at me and I see that she's very frightened.
"I'm right here with you, it'll be okay I promise" I say soothingly. Without another word Mrs. Dust pops Emma's wrist back in place and Emma let's out a small cry of pain. I reach up and gently wipe away the tears that slip out of her eyes.
"Shhh it's ok. Look at me, just look at me Emma" I say soothingly as Mrs. Dust begins wrapping up Emma's wrist. Emma sniffles and I gently wrap my arm around her, hugging her close to me. She snuggles closer to me and I instinctively kiss the top of her head. It takes me two seconds to realize what I just did, and I feel my cheeks heat up.
'Please don't freak out,please don't freak out' I silently prey. Instead of freaking out like I thought she would, Emma just snuggles closer to me.
"Alright miss Bloom, you're all set. Keep your wrist wrapped up for a few weeks and it should heal in no time" Mrs. Dust says kindly, giving us a small smile.
"Thank you" Emma murmurs into my neck.
"I'll take care of her" I tell Mrs. Dust as I help Emma get off of the bed.
"C'mon Emma let's go" I say softly, leading her out of the nurses office. I grab Emma's bag from the floor beside the chairs and sling it over my shoulder with my bag.
"Do you want me to take you home?" I ask her gently.
"Yes please" she says quietly. I nod and wrap my arm around her shoulders. I lead her outside and towards my car. I open the door for her and she slides into the car. I put her bag down by her feet and put mine in the backseat. I walk around the car and get in on the drivers side. I start the car and begin pulling out of the school parking lot. Emma gives me the directions to her house and soon we're in her driveway. Turns out she lives only 10 minutes from my house.
"Thanks for the ride Jake, I appreciate everything you've done for me today" she says gratefully as I turn off the engine.
"Anytime Emma, you don't need to thank me I'm just glad I can help" I say grinning at her. She looks forward at the house for a few seconds before turning to look at me.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?" she asks me hopefully.
"I'd love to" I say happily. She smiles widely at me and we get out of my car. We walk up the steps and Emma opens the door. I stand in the doorway nervously not knowing if I should just follow her inside. She turns back to look at me and gives me a small smile before gesturing with her head for me to follow her. I give her a small smile and close the door and follow her deeper into the old fashioned house. We enter the kitchen where a woman In her mid-thirties or early forties, is standing in front of a stove preparing something. The woman turns around and smiles at Emma. I notice that she has black hair and grey eyes, and she's wearing a dark blue outfit that looks very formal.
"Hello Emma you're home early" she says kindly. She notices me and I see a little confusion in her eyes.
"Oh! And who is this?" she asks, looking at me curiously.
"Oh this is Jake...my new friend" Emma explains, a light blush forming on her cheeks.
"Well then, any friend of Emma's is welcome here. Miss Peregrine, delighted to meet you" Miss Peregrine says kindly with a smile on her face. She holds out her hand to me and I shake it, smiling politely at her.
"It's very nice to meet you ma'am, Emma's told me so much about you" I say politely as I release her hand.
"Oh please Jake, I must insist that you call me Miss Peregrine. Being called ma'am makes me feel old" she laughs amusedly. Suddenly we hear several pairs of footsteps enter the room behind us. I turn around and see several children looking at me curiously.
"Jake these are the rest of my Foster siblings, everyone this is Jake" Emma says, smiling at me sweetly.