A/N: Behind Leo and Amanda, Harriswenson (Jake and Rory, it's their last names) is my favorite Willow Falls couple. Their story is just so wholesome, I love it! We didn't actually get to see how they fell for each other, so I figured I'd fill that in. It's my duty as a fanfic author, after all ;D - Enjoy!
First chapter is set concurrent with Finally, when Jake sees Rory's "elephant ear" for the first time. Any dialogue BEFORE the asterisked (*) paragraph is NOT mine; it belongs to Wendy Mass. Not tryna plagiarize here XD
PoV: JAKE
"How did it happen?" I ask. Seriously, this girl never ceases to amaze me with her seemingly constant injuries. I've actually found myself excited to come in on set every day just to see what new ones she's acquired. I know how awful that sounds—which is why I haven't told anybody. But something about this girl is different. She's a breath of fresh air.
"Allergic reaction to a gold earring," she mutters. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that.
"You're kidding!" A shake of her head tells me she's not kidding. My next words are out my mouth before my brain can fully process the reason I'm saying them. "Well, look on the bright side—"
But she cuts me off before I can finish. "Don't say now no one will notice my face. Or my legs, whichever."
Despite her stalling, I continue. "I wasn't going to. I was just gonna say that on the bright side, your boyfriend's a lucky guy—he never has to buy you gold jewelry!" The hair and makeup team behind me offer polite chuckles, and I see Madison's eyes flash towards me for a split second before they return to their usual irritated position in her head. Meanwhile, Injury Girl is looking at me like I've just suggested we reform the Soviet Union.
"C'mon," her friend says, guiding her gently out of the trailer. "We're going to be late." Not two seconds after the door closes behind them, I watch Madison grab her knit cap back off the hook, swing open the door, and throw it directly at the two girls.
"Just take it," she bites, closing the door forcefully. The hair and makeup ladies tell us not to stay in here too long, and then they leave too. In the silence that follows, Madison takes to looking at me again, this time like she's trying to figure me out.
* "What?"
"Were you fishing?" She asks. I'm momentarily stunned not to hear the usual rudeness in her tone. She almost sounds…curious.
"Fishing? What does that mean?"
"What you said to the girl, before she left. You're a good actor, Jake, but even I saw right through that one."
Regret is starting to fill me up slowly. This is why we think before we speak! "That still doesn't answer my question. What do you mean by fishing?"
"You were trying to see if Little Miss Cuts and Bruises has a boyfriend!" Madison exclaims this as if it is the most obvious thing on the planet. My intentions suddenly catch up with my actions, and part of me is rightfully shocked. Is that what I was doing? The smirk on Madison's face says it all. "You were, weren't you."
I try to be a better actor this time. "So? It doesn't matter."
She snorts. "Of course not. You could do so much better than someone from this tiny town of Nowheresville."
Madison and I have had enough conversations about "us" to agree that there really isn't an "us" at all. We're more suited for pretending to be in a relationship for the sake of the public than actually being in one. The promise ring wasn't even her idea. Still, I'd like to think there's someone out there who I wouldn't have to just pretend to be with. Someone who could actually make me happy, who could be happy with me. And being raised in Hollywood, I think my chances of finding something real like that are way higher in a small town like Willow Falls.
Injury Girl flits through my mind again.
So, to Madison's comment, I just shake my head. "I'm not so sure anymore."
A/N: And so it begins…