Thursday, September 8, 2005

I'm here with another update! I'm surprised I wrote this so fast! Yeah, the update was slow, but I wrote most of this quite awhile ago. I just needed to add in a few minor things. It's not the most interesting part of the story because it's part of the falling action (Oh no, English class terminology!), but you finally get to find out what Jake has been keeping a secret all this time. I hope it doesn't sound too cheesy!

I included half of the final paragraph of chapter eight, just in case some of you forgot what happened (let's hope you didn't!). Also, I went a bit overboard on the "…" in the middle of the chapter… (there I go again!) Anyways, here's Chapter Nine!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hamtaro, any of the Hamtaro characters, or anything connected to the show. I only own Jake, the character I made up. Anything in this story that is similar to something already in existence is purely coincidental and unintentional.

Chapter 9: Jake's Secret

Noel fell to the ground, landing in a puddle of melted ice cream, and Hillary, still looking at the sky, tripped over him. She landed right on top of her friend, in a rather "awkward" position. The two of them looked into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, until Hillary slowly extended her hand toward Noel's face. Noel felt Hillary caress his cheek softly, and thought that she was going to kiss him. He closed his eyes, and waited. He waited, waited, and waited some more. Maybe it would have been smarter for him to make the first move. Noel finally opened his eyes to find Hillary scooping the ice cream off his face and licking it off her fingers; grinning in ecstasy. Noel sighed in disappointment, causing Hillary, who was still on top of him, to give her attention to him. (A/N: Yayfulness! You're psychic! A one-shot will be coming your way ASAP! You deserve it!)

Hillary, realizing the position they were in, quickly jumped to her feet. "Ohmigosh Noel I'm so sorry! I… I…" She offered her hand to Noel, to help him up. "Here!" Noel simply eyed the ice cream covered hand. Even he didn't want to hold Hillary's hand when it was sticky like that. "Oh, sorry!" Hillary held out her other hand, which Noel gladly accepted, and she pulled him to his feet. Hillary laughed nervously, a little embarrassed at what happened. "I really don't know what came over me. I never knew that ice cream would make me so… so…"

"Crazy?" Noel suggested.

"Hey!" Hillary said with a smirk, playfully punching Noel in the arm. "Come on, I'm not that crazy!"

"Well…"

Hillary looked at Noel matter-of-factly. "At least I'm not the one with ice cream on my face."

Noel rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't be so sure of myself if I were you," he said, pointing to the corner of Hillary's mouth. This caused Hillary to stick out her tongue, attempting to lick it off herself. Noel laughed, "Okay, I know you love ice cream, Hillary, but…"

Hillary's eyes widened when she heard those last few words. Her heart sank, while worry and discomfort immediately filled her mind.

Noel put his hand on Hillary's shoulder. "Um… did I say something wrong?" He asked, his voice full of concern.

Hillary hesitated, unsure of what she should say, or whether Noel was the right person to be telling this to. "He's just a friend. You can tell him, he'll know what to say," Hillary told herself. She took a deep breath."It's… Jake." Hillary looked at Noel, and knew he was listening intently, waiting for her to go on. "Well, things haven't been the best between us these past few weeks. And I know, we've only been together for like, a month and a half, but…" Hillary trailed off. "Maybe it'd be best to keep what Jake said a secret…"

"He's not ready to commit?" Noel asked curiously.

"Actually he said he loved me," Hillary replied, clasping her hand over her mouth as soon as the words left her mouth. "So much for that idea… I really have to start thinking before I open my big mouth," Hillary thought. But to her surprise, Noel didn't look hurt at all. In fact, he looked almost… amused.

"And you believed him? Please Hillary; tell me you didn't actually believe him."

"Well, actually…"

Noel sighed. "Look Hillary, I'm not saying you're not loveable or anything, but it hasn't even been two months yet! Do you really think Jake meant what he said?" This is what Hillary really admired in Noel: he was down-to-earth and had common sense. He could always find a loophole, no matter what the situation was. As much as Hillary wanted to believe Jake, she just couldn't.

"I… I guess not."

"You shouldn't be wasting your time with guys like Jake. He doesn't deserve to be with you. He's not worth your suffering and tears. You need to be with someone thoughtful, caring, and kind. Someone who'll put all your needs before his. Someone who will go to the ends of the Earth just to be with you. Someone who will do anything and everything for you…" Noel gazed into Hillary's eyes, secretly thinking, "Someone like me."

Hillary's heart was racing. What Noel just said was so… deep. It made her realize that she did deserve more from her boyfriend. But where would she be able to find a guy like that? Maybe the answer was closer than she thought… Hillary had a sudden urge to wrap her arms around Noel and embrace him in a passionate kiss; but Jake's voice popped into her head. Actually, Jake was running right towards her, calling out "Hillary! Hillary!"

Hillary instinctively backed away from Noel. It's not like they were doing anything, but it just seemed like the most appropriate thing to do.

Noel gave Hillary a supportive smile. "I'll leave you two alone. But remember what I said, okay?" Hillary nodded as Noel walked away. She then walked up to Jake, who was taking a breather just a few feet away from where she was before.

"Hey Jake," Hillary said softly, looking down at her shoes.

Jake put his hands on Hillary's shoulder's causing her to look him right in the eye. "Listen Hillary, I've been thinking… I kind of dropped a bomb on you back at my place. And I really don't want you to be feeling any pressure to say something back to me or anything. It was actually kind of an impulsive decision, and… maybe my feelings aren't quite that strong… yet. Don't get me wrong, I still really care about you and all…"

"Come on, say it!" Hillary thought.

"… But… I just don't… love you…" Jake finished.

"You're… taking it back?" Hillary asked, taking a deep breath as she awaited Jake's answer.

"Err… kinda... Well, yeah."

Hillary let out a sigh of relief and threw her arms around Jake. "You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that!"

Jake laughed softly as he and Hillary parted. "This wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting."

"Well, I really like you Jake, but there was no way I would feel… like that so soon… It hasn't even been two months yet!" Hillary said, looking Jake in the eye.

"I understand completely! That's why I ran all the way here to tell you!"

"Wait… how did you know I'd be here?"

Jake grinned. "We may have only been together for a little while, but that was enough time for me to figure out that you have a weakness for ice cream. Even if you don't always show it!" Jake paused as the ice cream truck drove past the two of them, the captivating music still playing, drawing in more customers. "So, I guess this means we're cool now, right?"

Hillary frowned slightly. "Actually, you're not off the hook yet." Jake's eyes widened at this statement. He seemed to have no idea what Hillary was referring to. "As you could probably tell, the past few weeks haven't been the best between us. I really appreciate everything you do for me, Jake, but sometime it feels as if you're not putting forth enough effort."

"Err… effort?" Jake was really confused now.

"Well, when we're together… It seems like your mind is somewhere else. Come on Jake, please be honest with me. I won't get mad at you, I promise. Now tell me, what are you hiding from me?"

"Oh man, was it really that obvious? I really didn't want you to find out, but I guess that's one of the reasons why I had to take back… well, you know…" Jake began sweating a bit, growing continuously more uncomfortable. "Okay, well… I guess I would have had to tell you this sooner or later…" Hillary prepared herself for the worst. Jake took Hillary's hands, but this time it was his turn to stare at his feet. "Hillary, I… I got accepted into Oxford University."

Hillary sighed, relieved at what she heard. "That's awesome Jake! Congratulations! Why were you hiding such great news from me?"

Jake nearly had tears in his eyes now. "Hillary, Oxford is in England. That means we wouldn't be able to see each other for most of the year." Hillary's expression suddenly became dead serious. "I didn't want to leave you behind Hillary. Believe me, these past few weeks I've been spending most of my free time researching local schools, and sending out applications. But I've had no luck whatsoever."

"I feel so bad Jake! I accused you of being unfaithful and being a bad boyfriend! And all this time you were just trying to find a way to make our relationship last!" Hillary was clutching Jake's hand very tightly now.

"No Hillary, don't feel bad. I should have told you sooner. I just didn't want to complicate things."

A tear fell down Hillary's cheek as she remembered Noel's words. "Someone who will go to the ends of the Earth just to be with you. Someone who will do anything and everything for you…" This was exactly what Jake had been doing all along, she just took awhile to realize it.

"We're gonna find a way to make this work. We have to," Hillary said, looking Jake straight in the eyes. Then, she did the first thing that came to mind: she pulled Jake towards her and kissed him passionately. There was no way she was going to lose him now; not after everything they had been through. Just hours ago, Hillary would have done anything to get away from Jake, but now, all she wanted to do was be with him. Just him, and her. Together.

Well, there's chapter nine! I hope you all liked my latest chapter! Yeah, it wasn't incredibly exciting but I think it's better than… chapter three! (That was my worst chapter, in my opinion). PLUS you finally got to find out Jake's secret! He's going to University out of the country! (You get to choose what country they live in! Japan, U.S., Canada, whatever.) I bet you all didn't expect that! But... is he telling the truth? Hmmm... Anyways, I didn't add the hamsters into this chapter because I thought it might ruin the tone. Next chapter will be shorter, but mostly hamsters!

Now that school has started, I'm really busy with homework and extra curricular activities so I probably won't get a chance to update for awhile. But whenever I get a chance, I'll try to write! Expect an update in maybe… 2 weeks!

Also, I just want to give a BIG thank you to all my amazing reviewers! I'm glad you all enjoyed my humor! All your comments mean so much to me, and help me to write faster!

P.S. (Let's hope this isn't breaking the rules!) Yayfulness, let me know what you want your one-shot to be about… Tell me the genre, main characters, anything like that. I'll write almost anything. However, I probably won't write it until after I write my next chapter.

Well, that's all for now! R&R please!

Sparkleshine101