Taking her time after the bell had gone, Effy slowly walked out of her final class of the day and much to her surprise Jake was outside waiting for her. It was a very nice and pleasant surprise given the long day that she had and just seeing Jake made Effy feel just that little bit better. She hadn't seen him much in the day as Effy had been caught up with school work and making sure that Peyton was okay, so this was the first time that she had seen Jake after he had dropped her off back home after their date. Effy looked at Jake who was standing maybe three meters away from her and she sighed, he was the most beautiful boy she knew and that smile of his just made her knees weak. There was no denying the fact that Jake was very handsome, with his strong features and chiseled good looks but it wasn't his looks that drew Effy in, although they did help as Jake was very nice to look at. When it came to Jake, Effy was drawn into his warmth of his personality, in particular his kind and easygoing manner. Smiling at Jake, Effy began walking over to him taking purposely slow steps until she was standing right in front of Jake and Effy looked him in the eye for a few seconds before Jake leaned down and kissed her. A kiss that was so natural, like they had been greeting each other like that for a lifetime instead of it being new.
"Hi." Effy quietly murmured after the two broke apart, trying her best as to sound as coherent as possible, which was pretty difficult because the amount of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. God she was in real trouble as Effy's feelings for Jake were definitely not going to go away anytime soon, they just seemed to get stronger.
"Hi back." Jake replied with his perfect smile before he motioned to Effy's backpack that was draped over her right shoulder. "Here, let me take your bag."
"Why thank you Mr. Jagelski, it's nice to see that chivalry isn't dead in this day and age." Effy said as she took her backpack off her shoulder and handed it over to Jake who feigned struggling to hold the backpack up and Effy laughed. Her bag wasn't light a lot of the time considering she generally carried a lot of crap in her backpack.
"No problem, what's another ten pounds?" Jake quipped before Effy noted that he was looking around for something which he apparently couldn't see. "So, no skateboard today?"
"Afraid not, one of the wheels fell off and I haven't gotten round to fixing it and so I'm doing the whole car pooling thing with Nathan for the next few days until Psycho Dan finally gives me my car back. Dan is still pretending to do the parenting thing to punish me for his car and to not look incompetent in front of my mother after the whole I never wanted a daughter thing. Deb is still working on him but I am assured that I will have my car back by the end of the week. But it's cool, Nathan and I are doing the whole reconnecting thing and so far we've only had a few minor arguments." Effy replied with a casual shrug of her shoulders.
"Then can I give you a ride?"
"That would be very much appreciated and maybe you would want to hang out at my place for a while? We could do our trig homework or we could not, instead we could watch a film or find something else to do. I may even provide food, it may not be the nice fancy picnic that we had last night but I can order in or take a huge risk and attempt to make us something edible although you know that anything I make you eat at your own risk Jake." Effy casually suggested with a small smile, she really wanted to spend more time with Jake and try to figure all of this out. Try and make this thing between them work, Effy didn't do relationships, she had never previously had one so she wasn't really sure how they worked. Effy was scared of screwing this up but she was also willing to try her damn hardest to make this thing with her and Jake work, despite not really knowing where they stood. Relationships had so many different labels these days especially when you were in high school and it all just confused Effy.
"I thought you didn't want me coming over in case of me running into your dad? You said something along the lines of you worried that your dad would eat me or something along those lines." Jake questioned and Effy pursed her lips.
"I know I said something along those lines but Dan won't be home for hours, there's been a boom in business at the dealership and don't worry Deb won't be around either, she's running Lucas' mom's café for a while so my parents won't be home. Nathan is less predictable but he's probably doing something with Haley or will be working out so you will be safe. But even if one of my deranged family members do turn, which they won't trust me, I will protect you from the evils of the Scott family. Even save you if I must…" Effy replied and she watched as a broad grin appeared on Jake's face.
"My own personal hero, huh? So what exactly does that entail? Other than rescuing me from your supposedly evil family." Jake asked.
"Slaying dragons that come in the form of homework and mean teachers, rescuing you from yonder tower when you've been studying for too long and riding a white steed or in my case a skateboard. I'm Princess Charming, although I am no princess and I'm certainly not charming but my quirks and adorable face makes up for it in plenty." Effy explained and she watched Jake quietly chuckle before motioning for Effy to follow him and so the two of them walked over to his car and engaged in light casual conversation during the whole drive to the Scott house and when they arrived, they found the house empty just like Effy expected.
"Have you redecorated recently? Place looks different from when I was last here…" Jake questioned in a very dry manner and Effy just rolled her eyes, he thought he was being funny about making a joke about the interior because she didn't want him in the house because Effy was scared that Dan would eat him ever since their last encounter which was only two days ago.
"Very funny Jake, hilarious but I would suggest leaving the wisecracks to me, I am after all the funny one out of the two of us." Effy quipped as she took Jake's hand and led him into the living room before taking their bags off of his shoulder and dumping them on the floor before poking Jake in the chest for good measure. With a wicked smile on her face, Effy went and sat herself down on the sofa down and motioned for Jake to come over and join her. Effy watched as Jake looked at her with a bemused expression on his face before he eventually came over and joined Effy on the sofa.
"Why do I get the feeling that we're not going to do our trig homework and you had ulterior motive for bring me here?" Jake questioned in a teasing manner
"Well that would be correct as I did my trig homework today during 5th period when I had Spanish." Effy coyly admitted as she shifted herself on the couch so that she was facing Jake.
"Elizabeth Rose Scott are you trying to seduce me?"
"No… Of course not, but would it be a bad thing if I was?" Effy coolly replied with an innocent smile, the one she used when she was playing the role of the living and doting daughter. At first Effy didn't realize that Jake had moved closer until she felt a soft and familiar hand covering her own and once she did, Effy herself started to move ever so slightly so there wasn't much space between her and Jake. Being so close to him Effy took in Jake's face and all his details tracing his features softly with her fingers before she finally settled on pressing light kisses down his jaw line.
"Sorry to interrupt!"
"Oh my god Dan!" Effy shrieked leaping off Jake as quick as she could, the moment that she caught sight of her dad, he wasn't supposed to be here. Dan was supposed to be at work for at least another four hours. Effy had never wanted to die of embarrassment more until now. "Dan what are you doing here?"
"Well this is my house Elizabeth, I paid for it so I can come and go as I please." Dan stated with a smug grin on his face and Effy just rolled her eyes. Her father was the most annoying man that she had ever encountered in her life.
"That's not what I meant Dan and you know it, so why are you home? I wasn't expecting you to slither back in for a while yet?" Effy questioned and she watched as her father glanced over to Jake before turning his attention over to her with his annoying self assured smirk on his face. Effy had never punched her father in the face so much until this moment. How she had put up with this man for sixteen years without losing her mind was beyond Effy's comprehension. Although with each passing day, Dan was testing her patience and slowly chipping away at her sanity.
"Clearly."
"Real funny." Effy retorted.
"It you must know Lizzy, I left some important paperwork here so I came back to get them so they could be filed away properly at the dealership." Dan explained and Effy sighed in annoyance, over a dozen times had she told her father not to call her Lizzy anymore and yet Dan still did it. Effy couldn't be bothered to argue about the whole name issue at the moment, she just wanted for Dan to leave and go back to work already. "So the two of you huh? That date of yours must have gone really well if you brought Jagelski back home with you Lizzy. So are the two of you dating or not? Or are you not official or something; what's that crazy thing you kids call it? Friends with benefits? Is that it? I don't know what you kids do anymore…
"Dan!" Effy screeched, unable to believe that Dan had just said that, now Effy really wanted to die.
"Mr. Scott…" Jake began and before he could say anything and be sucked into Dan's vortex of pure and insane evil, Effy practically leaped over the couch and all but pulled Dan's arm off as she yanked him out of the room to speak to him in private.
"Look I get that you are majorly messed up, you have these twisted priorities and you are the last person on this planet who should be a father to one child let alone three and I have the misfortune of having you as my own father. You have done so much irreplaceable damage to me that I can't be fixed and there isn't even a tiny bit of remorse of your part. You have taken a lot from me so I am begging you to leave this alone, stay out of this thing with me and Jake. Don't ask questions about the two of us, don't talk to Jake or get involved with any part of my life. I don't need you in my life, I don't want you to be a part of this because you ruin everything and I will not let you ruin this for me. I don't know what exactly Jake and I are at the moment and I don't need you sniffing around Jake asking question about the status of whatever we are like you are a concerned father wanting to know Jake's intention." Effy angrily said to Dan, giving her father a real good piece of her mind.
"Elizabeth–" Dan began.
"–Don't Elizabeth me Dan because I don't care about whether you approve of any of this because it is none of your concern. I live my life the way I chose to and I don't need your approval." Effy snapped before she felt a warm and familiar hand on the small of her back and looking away from Dan, Effy saw it was Jake. No doubt he had overheard her conversation with Dan.
"Effy. "
"Oh don't worry Jake, this is what is considered normal between my father and I these days, always hostile and somewhat demeaning and seemed to chip away at my soul and put an even bigger chip on my shoulder then the one already I already have." Effy quipped with a forced smile on her face.
"Mr. Scott. I like your daughter, in fact I like her very much as Effy is the most dynamic and interesting girl I have ever met. This isn't some casual thing or friends with benefit situation for me. There is no other girl, I'm not seeing anyone else as I care about Elizabeth, I want to date her, I want to be her boyfriend if she'll have me." Jake said as he looked over to Effy who was rendered speechless by this, she had just been yelling at Dan about the whole defining the relationship thing and how it was none of his business about Jake's intention but now here Jake was, minutes later having the talk with her dad, right in front of her. It didn't sound like something that Jake was making up on the spot, it sounded almost rehearsed and very sincere, something that a gentleman would say. "I promise that I'll take care of her Mr. Scott and I will treat your daughter with all the respect that she deserves because she is worth it."
"I'm glad to hear that Jagelski as Elizabeth is a very special girl and she deserves the best, I'm believe I don't have to warm you what happens if you break her heart." Dan began, almost sounding like an actual father who actually cared and Effy felt marginally bad for what she had said to him until he did the whole veiled threat thing.
"Dan!" Effy hissed.
"I'll leave you two alone now, I needed to head back to the office just make sure the two of behave as I'm too young and handsome to be a grandfather." Dan quipped and Effy just groaned in embarrassment as her father left the house. After Dan had left, Effy just stood where she was for a few moments before she looked over to Jake and recalled what he had just done and had said.
"You know, you didn't have to say all of that to him." Effy quietly said as she took a few steps over to Jake and fingered the edges of his shirt.
"Yes I did, I know that you don't get on with him but he cares about you Effy despite what has gone on between you two. I wanted your dad to know how I feel and that I am serious about this, about you and I know we haven't exactly talked about what we are, so all of that was for you Elizabeth, I want you to know that there is no one else. I just want you…"