Disclaimer:

Me: "Unfortunately, I do not own Twilight or the characters, but maybe I will someday."

SM: "No you won't, I will always own Twilight!"

Me: "Oh well, I guess she's right."

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dream lightning

purpleVampire22

MrsFKJV2012

RougeReaper

Chapter 22

(Haley's POV)

I stalked out to his car, thinking of all of the ways to brutally murder him. It didn't seem likely that any of my ideas would work, seeing as he would overpower me in any physical confrontations.

He stood, smirking at me, on my front lawn. It was ridiculous what that smirk did to me. It made me want to smile along with him, even at my own expense.

"Would you like to explain what that was in there?" I asked, gesturing to my house.

"Nope," he said, grinning wider and walking to the passenger side of the car, opening the door as he did so.

"If you think I'm getting in that car without some sort of an explanation, then you've lost your mind," I growled, arms crossing midsentence. I glared at him with unspoken fury and waited for an account of why he would do something like that to me. Seriously, did he enjoy aggravating me?

"No, I haven't lost my mind. I just know that you will get in the car without me using any force whatsoever."

"And why is that?" I asked, concerned. There was a glint in his eyes that told me to be afraid. Very afraid.

"Because you don't want to have to go back into your house to explain why you aren't going on a date with me and why, I might add, you were going on a date in the first place when it was supposed to be two friends going to the movies together." The smug smile on his face made me want to punch him. He was ruthless, but, I had to admit, made a good point. The last thing I wanted to do was go into my house and tell my mother all about the "date," as Jake had so eloquently put it. My mother would never believe that it wasn't a date, because as of a few days ago, she had believed I was head over heels in love with him. Things would not go over well if I walked back into the house. I needed to stay out as long as possible.

I sighed, and walked over to the door Jake had opened for me. I got inside and before he could shut it, I pointed the most venomous glare that I had ever had towards him. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to phase him in the least. He closed my door and ran to the driver's side. He started the car and pulled out of my driveway.

I sat silently, fuming over the situation. What had I gotten myself into?

"So, do you know what you want to see?" He asked, looking over at me for longer than necessary. After a few seconds, he had still not looked back at the road.

"Would you please keep your eyes on the road?" I asked, panic creeping into my voice. The last thing I needed was for us to crash into a sign, or a building.

"Sorry," he said, looking sheepish and redirecting his eyes to the road.

"Um, I really don't care what we see as long as it isn't a romantic movie," I said, wrinkling my nose in repugnance. I despised romantic movies. Seriously, why would someone want to see a movie like that? You sit in a theater and hear the couples in the audience talking and making out. Really, couldn't they just get a room?

"You won't hear any complaints from me," Jake said, laughing.

The rest of the ride to the theater was spent in a comfortable silence, each of us thinking about various things. I mainly focused on the road ahead or the never-ending view of trees that we passed.

Eventually, we made it to the theater in what seemed like a long time. I wasn't sure, but it almost felt like Jake had taken longer than necessary to get to the movies.

Jake got out of his side of the car and before I could open my door, he had opened it, smiling down at me, eyes soft.

I slowly unfolded myself from the car and stood, noticing for the first time how tall he was. He was the size of a large man, or a small giant.

We walked to the ticket counter and got in line. For some reason people were staring at us. Some looked at us with fear while others just... glared. Why would anyone glare at us? We hadn't done anything wrong.

"So, do you know of anything you want to see?" Jake asked, leaning down to ask in a semblance of a private conversation.

"Um," I started, unsure.

"What would you think about that one," he asked, pointing to an action movie I vaguely remembered my friends talking about. They had mentioned that it had been good.

"Sure," I agreed nonchalantly.

We waited in line until we made it to the ticket counter.

Jake told the clerk what we wanted to see and took out the cash to pay for both of our tickets. I started to protest, but he had already handed the clerk the money and had grabbed our tickets, all the while grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the line.

"Jake," I said in a warning tone. I had told him that I didn't want him paying for my ticket.

"Just humor me, okay?" he asked. I shook my head, but relented, knowing that I would get the money back to him somehow.

He also insisted on paying for the food, saying that with all of the food he would be purchasing, that he would not split the bill. He made sure to emphasize the word NOT.

I could understand why he didn't want me to buy the food. I wouldn't argue with him on that one. He ended up getting three large popcorns, five boxes of assorted candies, and two large slurpies. I, on the otherhand, got a small popcorn and a water to drink. Jake seemed concerned that I got so little to eat, but I shrugged it off. If he thought I was going to eat as much as him, he was crazy. He got enough food to feed an entire construction crew.

We entered the theater and there was barely anybody inside. Usually before a movie started, people were talking and enjoying themselves, but I counted and came up with a grand total of six people. The good thing about the miniscule amount of people was that we got to sit in my favorite spot: in the middle with the rail in front of us.

There were a few minutes left before the movie started so we sat in another companionable silence. It was strange that we had barely talked since earlier which made me wonder why he was doing this. Had the guys bet him to go out with me? Was this torture for him? The latter didn't seem likely, seeing as how he had tried to kiss me and had practically begged me to come with him.

"So," I prompted, not really sure what to say.

"What do you like to do other than cliff diving?" I asked. I needed to know something about him. It was strange knowing nothing about a guy I had previously thought I was in love with.

"Um," he seemed to hesitate, a mask constructing before my very eyes.

"Please, just tell me. You always do that," I said.

"Do what?"

"You always..." I trailed off, unsure of how to phrase my answer.

"Hide yourself from everyone who isn't one of the guys. You never open up to anyone and keep your real self away from anyone who wants to know more about you. Just let me past that wall that you've had ever since you started hanging out with Sam." Seeing a reproachful look in his eyes, I clarified.

"I'm not blaming Sam, I'm just stating the facts."

"Well, I like fixing cars, hanging out with friends, swimming," he listed. It made me smile. It was nice to finally know something about him.

"You?" He asked.

"I like to read, ride my bike, hang out with some close friends, and, like you, I love swimming," I said.

He laughed. It sounded like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to know?" He asked warily, the shield back and the momentary sense of euphoria gone.

"Why did you want me to go to the movies with you so badly?" I asked, still unsure.

He smiled a breathtaking smile and laughed again.

"There's something about you that lets me open up, that lets me be the real me. It's not easy for me to open up to anyone so when I find someone who's easy to talk to I try anything in my power to get close to them," he said, but I could tell that he was lost in some alternate train of thought.

"So, who else can you open up to?" I asked, trying to sound like I didn't care, but the way he was talking made me think that it was another girl and that thought made me... angry. I had no right to be angry. It wasn't like I was in a relationship with him.

"The guys. They understand," was his short reply.

I was about to question him about exactly what they understood when the lights dimmed and the previews started. Instead of watching them, I could feel Jake's gaze on me, making me feel self-conscious.

Soon, the movie started and I had to admit it was pretty good. Unfortunately, one of the main characters died early on which made me upset. I loved movies and got into them. It made me feel like I was in a whole different world, one where anything could happen.

I abruptly realized that a tear had rolled down my cheek. It was ridiculous, it was just a movie, but the way the person had died made me remember... It was just too painful to think about.

Jake looked at me with worried eyes and put his arm around my shoulder. Instead of leaning away, I snuggled into his warmth. I didn't have the strength to pull away.

I was perfectly content in his arms, but before long, his phone vibrated in his pocket. I sat up and Jake glared at his pocket as he took out his phone, seeming more furious than I had ever seen him before. He opened the phone and listened to whoever was on the other line.

After a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed, closing his phone. He gestured towards the doors that led to the lobby and I followed him.

"I have to go," he said, voice tight, constrained.

"Okay, I understand," I said, motioning towards the door for him to leave. He looked at me for a moment and then took off at a jog.

He didn't see the silent tears that fell once he left.

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