A/N: Okay, I know a lot of you guys want Jake and Bella together, but please hang in there with me. Especially those who want Edward to come back. So, I'm hoping this chapter will get some more fans of Jake and Kelsie. Here it goes:
Chapter 8 (Jake's POV)(The night before the date)
"Are you okay with doubling up tomorrow for dinner and a movie?" Bella asked me, hanging up the phone.
"With you or Kelsie?"
"You'd be with Kelsie."
"Oh," I murmured. "Sure."
She walked into the kitchen, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Who was that guy she was on the phone with? I didn't want to go out with her roommate. I had come all this way to see her. But, then again, I knew there was a possibility that she had moved on.
Bella came back a bit later, carrying a blanket and two pillows. "Are you sure this is okay? I can sleep out here."
"Don't worry about it, Bells. Anywhere is better than that motel." She smiled and walked away. I laid down and closed my eyes.
About two hours later, I jerked awake when I heard a noise. Sitting up, I looked around. There was a faint light coming from the kitchen. My curiosity got the best of me and I walked into the kitchen. Kelsie had her back turned to me and, using the refrigerator light, she was pouring herself a glass of milk. I cleared my throat and she jerked around, spilling a bit of milk on the floor.
"Oh, sorry," she exclaimed, putting the milk away and grabbing a rag off of the counter. "I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's okay," I replied, grabbing another rag and helping her.
"Thanks," she said, washing the rags out and hanging them on the side of the sink.
"Do you always get up late for a glass of milk?"
"No," she replied, quietly laughing. "There are just some nights where I can't sleep." She walked over to a cabinet and grabbed a box of cookies. Offering me one, she continued, "Nights like this, I usually just read myself back to sleep. But my cravings got the better of me."
I laughed with her and we walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "I can't believe you came all this way to see Bella."
"Well, I really love her."
"I can tell. You're lucky. She is, too. It must be nice, being in love, I mean."
"Haven't you ever been in love?" I asked. I could hear the sorrow in her voice, even though I couldn't see her. For some reason, I just wanted to hug her and help her.
"No. I mean, I've told boys I loved them, but none of them would ever go from Washington to Maine to see me." We were silent for a long time. The only sounds were the crunching of the cookies. "Well, I'm going back to bed. I'm sorry I woke you up. You should get some sleep. Bella's an early riser and she said you were going to go to the motel to get your stuff."
"Yeah. And don't worry about it. I don't mind waking up and talking to people." Then, unable to stop myself for some reason, I said, "If you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm here."
She laughed quietly again. "Thanks, Jake."
She walked out of the room and I closed my eyes. For some reason, despite the fact that I loved Bella, I felt an instant connection with Kelsie.
THE NEXT EVENING
Kelsie stepped out of her room and I felt my mouth drop. She looked beautiful. Bella did, too, but Kelsie took me by complete surprise.
"What?" Kelsie asked as she noticed me staring at her. I think I even saw her blush a little bit. "Does it look really bad or something?"
"No," I said, finally finding my voice. "You look...amazing."
Kelsie giggled and made her way to the living room where her purse was. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. That is, until the doorbell rang. Bella answered it and a minute later, a tall, brown haired boy came in the room. Seeing the way him and Bella looked at each other made me want to punch him. She didn't even notice that Kelsie and I were standing next to her until Kelsie nudged her in the shoulder.
"Oh...um...Criss, this is my roommate Kelsie and my best friend, Jake," Bella said.
After introductions and a very quiet car ride, we went into the restaurant that Criss had chosen. I sat next to Kelsie, while Bella sat next to Criss.
"I hope this isn't awkward for you," Kelsie murmured. She was looking down at her hands. I looked at her and she finally raised her eyes to mine.
"I'm fine if you are." She smiled at me and gave a slight laugh, making me laugh, too.
We talked throughout dinner and I learned a lot about her. She wanted to be a nurse and she loved reading romance novels. I told her about how I fixed up cars.
"Wow," she laughed. "Do you think you can fix mine? The crappy thing is always breaking down."
"Sure. What's wrong with it?"
"What isn't wrong with that thing? We don't call it the Screaming Metal Death Trap for nothing."
We both laughed and I completely lost track of the time.
"Hey guys?" Kelsie said, looking away from me. "What time does the movie start?"
"Oh...7:30." Criss looked down at his watch. "Crap," he muttered. "It's 8:15."
"Well, that's alright. There's a really nice park that we could go to for a while," she said, smiling up at me.
"Okay," we all replied. I waited for Kelsie to slide out of her seat and I offered her my arm. She smiled at me and took it.
Criss drove to the park, but Kelsie didn't have the greatest sense of directions, so it took us a while to get there.
Kelsie's POV
We finally arrived at the park. Jake and I, hand in hand, began walking away from Jake and Bella. To be honest, I really like Jake. But Bella was my best friend, and I couldn't stop thinking about how much she had loved him.
"Are you okay?" Jake asked, looking at me. I just smiled and nodded. He was so cute and I couldn't help but lose my train of thought when he looked into my eyes.
"Jake, thanks for tonight. I know you like Bella, but I hope you at least had a little bit of fun."
"Kelsie," he said. I looked up and met his eyes. "It's true, I do have feelings for Bella. I always will. She knows things about me that no one else will ever understand. But I do care about you."
"You do?" I asked. I couldn't say anything else.
"Do you want to try...um...going out for a while?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied. I was so happy. I mean, I didn't want to hurt Bella, but I did like Jake. For the first time in a really long time, I actually believed a guy like me for who I was. I thought that maybe I had finally found a guy that I could eventually love. Jake hugged me and we continued walking.
When we got back to our starting spot and I saw Criss and Bella sitting together, I looked up at Jake, afraid of what I would see. But he gave me a smile that silenced any of my pessimistic thoughts. I knew Bella and I would be up all night, talking.
A/N: Okay, I really hope that chapter was okay. I just wanted people to get a better idea of what was going on between Jake and Kelsie. I really hope you guys liked it. Please review and let me know. All I care about is making the readers of my story happy. :)
