Thanks to stormdog11, amiinii and Islanda for reviewing.
I've been able to get this chapter up quick quickly and I hopefully will get the next one up soon. Please review and I don't mind if you have any critisism, it will help me improve the story.
Chapter 18
Jessica and Ryan walked to the Baker's house after the basketball trials, to work on their biology project. Jessica was beginning to enjoy Ryan's company more, as she got to know him better, when they met to do their project. She had realised not to judge a book by its cover, as Ryan may have come across as self centred and arrogant, but in fact once you got to know him, he was actually caring and looked out for others and wasn't self centred, although he may still have been a little full of himself.
"How much longer do you think it will take us to do this project then?" Ryan asked Jessica as they walked up the stairs towards her room.
Jessica thought about it for a few seconds, "Hmm, we are probably about nearly half way through now".
"Well my house is finished being decorated now so next time you can come to mine if you want, since we've always been at yours?" Ryan suggested.
"Yeah that sounds good to me," Jessica smiled.
"You could stay for dinner if you wanted, since your mom is making me dinner tonight," Ryan offered.
"Yeah that would good," Jessica smiled. She walked over towards her cabinet below her window where her biology books were sitting, when Sarah caught her eye outside. She was talking to Ethan at the end of the path towards their house.
Sarah had walked home with Ethan after he had offered to walk her home after the basketball trials.
"Thanks for walking me home," Sarah smiled.
"Oh its fine," Ethan replied, "Do you want to meet up Thursday? I really want to get to know you better,"
"Yeah that would be great," Sarah replied.
"Well I'll see you Thursday then," Ethan said as he left and Sarah walked into her house.
"Or tomorrow at school," Sarah shouted before she shut the door behind her.
"Oh Sarah your home just in time, the pizza is just out the oven," Kate smiled, "You couldn't do me a favour and run upstairs and get Jake, Mike, Mark, Henry, Jessica and Ryan. Nigel and Kyle are already down here and Kim is at Carly's house doing her project".
"Yeah that's fine," Sarah said as she ran up the stairs to go get everyone.
Everyone sat round the table and began to tuck into the pizza.
"Kim must be disappointed she's missing dinner tonight, Ryan her crush is here," Mike whispered to Jake.
"Ha to right she will be," Jake replied.
"So how did your trials go then Jake?" Tom asked.
"Ok I think," Jake replied.
"He did really good Mr Baker," Ryan added.
"Call me Tom, I take it you'll get in the team again then?" Tom asked Ryan.
"Hopefully but there was quite a few people trying out this year, Jake since he wasn't in the team last year after quitting, then there was Elliot and Ethan and there was a few others who also tried," Ryan replied.
"Ryan you will defiantly be in, you were by far the strongest player on the team last year," Jake said.
"You looked really good today as well at the trails," Jessica added.
"Ah thanks," Ryan smiled.
"Sarah tried for the team as well dad," Jake said.
"You did? I thought it was boys only," Tom said looking surprised.
"Yeah but thanks to Elliot the coach let me trial, because the rules are if there is no girls team then girls can play in the boys team. Elliot seemed to know all this so he kept questioning the coach why I wasn't allowed to trial until he let me".
Jessica stopped eating her food as she heard Elliot's name being mentioned. She was surprised that Elliot seemed so keen on Sarah being in the team as it appeared from what Sarah was saying that Elliot had battled to get her a trial.
"That's real good Sarah, I hope you showed him what a good player you were," Tom said.
"She did really well dad," Jake said praising Sarah.
"Yeah she was better than some of the boys," Ryan added.
"That's my girl," Tom beamed with pride.
Tom had always loved watching his kids do well and achieving and having twelve kids meant they had quite a lot of awards, although it may only be a fifth of the amount of the Murtaugh's. Nevertheless Tom was still a very proud parent.
"How is the biology project going?" Kate asked moving the conversation on.
"Pretty well," Jessica said biting into her pizza.
"We've made some pretty good progress so far," Ryan said.
After dinner Jessica and Ryan continued with their biology project. Every time the met for study they seemed to do less studying and more talking. They only had a week and a half left to finish their project now.
"So will you be coming to watch any of our basketball games this year then?" Ryan asked as he picked up one of the books spread across the floor and opened it.
"Maybe," Jessica replied.
"You should come," Ryan smiled, as they continued to study.
Ryan really felt as if he was beginning to understand everything in the project and the stuff that they had done in class now that Jessica had explained it all. The project had so far been a success and Mrs Brown was right that it would help those that were struggling in the class a bit.
"Jess, ever since we have started this project everything had made so much more sense to me, like you explain everything so much easier than Mrs Brown so that I can understand it".
"Oh its fine, I'm just glad that you're getting it now," Jessica replied.
"But see when this projects finished will you still be able to help me with anything I'm struggling with? Biology really isn't me strongest subject," Ryan asked.
"Yeah sure I will," Jessica smiled. She was pleased at the fact that she had helped Ryan so much and that he finally beginning to understand it all, "I'm sure my sister Kim could help you too".
"I would rather it was you, I enjoying being in your company, and no offence but your sister Kim seems a little strange, she's always just like smiling at me but she never speaks to me".
Jessica giggled as she knew Kim was like that because she had a crush on Ryan, but she didn't want to tell Ryan that though because Kim would kill her if she told him.
"What you laughing at?" Ryan asked, wandering if it was him she was laughing at.
"Oh nothing," Jessica replied, "Just the comment you made about Kim, it just made me giggle"
Ryan glanced over at the clock and noticed it was quarter to nine, "I better get going I've got a few things I need to do at home," Ryan said as he stood up and out his hoodie on, "You still coming to mine straight after school tomorrow though?"
"Yeah I'm still coming," Jessica replied as they walked down the stairs.
"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Ryan said as he put in his shoes.
"Yeah you will," Jessica smiled.
"Oh and tell your mom thanks for dinner it was real fine," Ryan said.
"I will," Jessica said as she opened to door up for Ryan, "Bye".
Jessica headed back up to her room to do her maths homework she had.
"Is that Ryan gone?" Jake asked as he bumped into Jessica at the top of the stairs.
"Yeah he just left," Jessica replied before she headed towards her room and Jake headed towards Sarah's room.
Jake knocked on Sarah's door and waited for her to say come in as she said she'd be a few seconds as she was getting changed. Jake still knew Sarah wasn't being herself since they had been at the lake and although she was in a much better mood than the first few days back here, he could still tell she was hiding something. All Jake wanted was to be there for Sarah.
"Come in," Sarah shouted after she got changed into her comfiest tracksuit.
Jake walked into Sarah's room and sat on her computer chair, "So I seen you were speaking to Ethan today".
"Yeah," Sarah said waiting for Jake to get to his point.
"So are you seeing him again anytime soon?" Jake asked.
"Yeah I'm meeting him after school on Thursday," Sarah replied.
"Thursday? Dude it's Mike's birthday on Thursday!" Jake said.
"Oh yeah I forgot about that," Sarah said looking a little disappointed.
"We're all suppose to be having a family meal to celebrate Mike's birthday then on Saturday Mike's having a few of his friends round," Jake said, surprised that Sarah could actually forget Mike's Birthday.
"Well I guess I'll have to cancel on Ethan then," Sarah sighed.
"Or you could ask mom if he could come round for Mike's birthday meal, then mom and dad could meet him," Jake suggested.
"I've only been on one date with him and it's not like he's my boyfriend Jake. I don't feel I'm at the meeting the parents stage yet," Sarah replied. She didn't know Ethan that well herself the last thing she needed was for her family trying to get to know him.
"Good to see you moving on though Sarah," Jake smiled, "You seem a lot happier now".
"Thanks Jake," Sarah replied, "I know it is good I'm moving on, and I'm moving on first, Elliot's still not found anyone," Sarah wanted to know if Jake knew anything about Jessica and Elliot because after all Jake was Elliot's best friend so there was a good chance he's have told Jake. At the same time though she knew because Elliot knew Jake and her were so close he might have not told him knowing that Jake might have said something to her.
"Yeah that's good you've moved on first. Elliot doesn't even seem interested in anyone at school, considering he had been getting quite a lot of attention from the girls," Jake replied honestly as he didn't know anything about Jessica and Elliot, although he may have had his suspicions while at the lake.
Sarah still wasn't sure for certain if Jake was being genuine and that he didn't know, but if she was to find out that he did know she would be so hurt by him because she trusted him the most out of everyone she knew. Although there was Mike and she still did trust him, she could still speak to Jake about more things just because they were the same age.
Sarah had always thought about telling Jake what she had seen at the lake but as much as she was hurt and upset by Elliot she didn't want to ruin his and Jake's friendship. She had already felt responsible for their recent falling out because when she started to go out with Elliot, him and Jake seemed to grow apart and then when Elliot cheated on Sarah with Sophie, Jake stopped speaking to Elliot.
Now that they were friends again Sarah didn't want to ruin it and take Jake's best friend away from him again. She knew Jake would be so annoyed at Elliot, and she knew how hard it was for him to forgive him for what he did to her but Jake really just wanted his old friend again. She didn't want to come in the way of their friendship again.
Even though Sarah was hurt by Elliot part of her had begun to forget what she seen. She felt their friendship was very very slowly rebuilding, but at the same time part of her couldn't stand Elliot for what he had done to her and how he could continue to lie to her.
"By the way you know how you were wondering if there was something going on between Jessica and Elliot," Jake said.
"Yeah,"
"Well I asked Elliot if he liked Jessica as more of a friend and he said no. To be honest I believe him, I don't think he's in any sort of secret relationship with Jessica".
Sarah had totally forgotten she had asked Jake and Mike to see if they could find anything out.
"I spoke to Kim but she didn't seem to know anything or at least didn't let on that she knew anything," Sarah said.
"Sarah if I was you I wouldn't worry about anything between Elliot and Jessica because I really do think that they are just good friends," Jake said. Sarah was beginning to think that maybe they are just friends but still she couldn't get the image of them kissing at the lake out her head. She knew maybe that that could have been a one off and might not never have happened again and that they really were just good friends.
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