Chapter Fifteen

Adam POV

I sat next to Jake on his bed, his face sombre as I had just finished filling him in on what happened with Marley today. I hated seeing the hurt look in his eyes as they filled with tears and I automatically put my arm around him, pulling him into a close embrace as he broke down in tears.

"Oh God…." Jake mumbled tearfully against my chest, his shoulders shaking as he cried quietly "I'm the worst friend ever, I thought she was okay and got herself sorted… she spent all last year trying to get over her bulimia, now she's just back where she started."

I fought the tears from escaping my eyes as I held him and he wiped his eyes on the back of his hand and looked at him with those beautiful brown eyes that were always filled with concern.

"It must have been horrible to see her like that, Adam" Jake said softly and before I could protest, he pulled me into his arms and began rubbing gently circles on my back "are you okay?"

"Can't help but feel like this is my fault," I sighed, the memory of Marley's tearful eyes fresh in my mind "Marley said she was hurt because she thinks you've fallen for someone else and Ryder's with Amanda, she feels so alone and for some reason I feel like…

Jake looked at me and shook his head, leaning closer and brushing his lips gently against mine and for just a second, I allowed Jake's touch calm and soothe my nerves. I pulled away after a moment and Jake sighed deeply, cupping the side of my face in his hand and wrapped his other arm around my waist.

"Yeah, I've fallen for someone and yeah, it is you." Jake said honestly, his eyes never leaving mine "but I should have been more attentive to what was going on with Marley, I should have seen the signs. This isn't your fault, if anything it's mine."

I pulled away from Jake's hand and stared at him in disbelief. How in the name of Merlin's pants could he think this was his fault?!

"No it isn't!" I told Jake firmly and he shook his head "no listen, this isn't your fault-"

"Neither is it yours," Jake cut in just as firmly, but then his voice became softer as he gave a small hint of his cocky smile "how about this? it's nobody's fault but we're gonna work together and help out our friend."

I nodded, standing up and ready to take charge of this situation, as I paced up and down with too many thoughts to process. Right, Marley has been through this before so she's had counselling and got better. But if she has just started making herself sick, there may still be time to stop this from becoming repetitive and we can all support her in Glee Club. If this has been happing on a regular basis, we're gonna have to go all out - counselling, support groups and anything else to make Marley better. I could get on the internet and look up a therapy group or what to do when dealing with someone suffering with bulimia or I should-

"Man, can you stay still?" Jake asked, standing up and wrapping his arms around my waist and forcing me to stop my pacing "you're giving me neck ache."

I sighed in frustration, hating that I wasn't doing anything to help Marley. I'm not one of those people who sit by and watch a disaster happen, I have to do something about it and stop situations from spiralling out of control.

"Hey, we'll sort this." Jake said confidently, then he gave a cute lopsided smile "and if it wasn't for the current situation, your serious thinking face would be a massive turn on, dude."

"Jake…" I began in exasperation, but I felt my face become slightly red from embarrassment. I know he was just trying to lighten the mood, but it didn't help that this guy was always sexy even in a serious situation.

"I know, man." Jake chuckled and even I couldn't help but reluctantly smile at his sweet boy grin, but then his face became serious "I'll go to school tomorrow and talk to her, let her know that I'll be there for her and be her friend again."

I nodded, glad that Jake was finally ready to rebuild a friendship with Marley and hopefully we'll be able to help her with her eating disorder before she goes back to her old ways.

"Good, she can do with all the friends she can get." I told him with a relaxed smile on my face and relief at the thought of Marley not being alone anymore "she's a very special girl."

"Absolutely, but you know you're my guy now, right?" Jake said in a small and nervous voice "I ain't interested in Marley or anyone at that school, so you haven't got nothing to worry about"

"Hey, I trust you." I told Jake sincerely and Jake beamed his amazing smile.

I grinned at his adorable smile and leaned closer, kissing Jake full on the lips and was pleased by the very enthusiastic reaction I got back. Jake moaned into my mouth, his tongue entering my mouth and he pushed me backwards and onto the small single bed. I felt the weight of his strong body against mine as we continued to kiss passionately, my hands roaming from his toned biceps to his short buzzed hair.

"My mom won't be home for three hours," Jake breathed against my lips and I shivered at the sudden huskiness of his voice "you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Too right I was - I'm a guy give me some credit, but I still wasn't ready for that yet and the idea of having sex for the first time was still a terrifying and nervous prospect (but I know Jake wouldn't force me to do anything I wasn't ready for). I smiled up and Jake's brown eyes and gave me a quick peck on the lips.

"Yep," I said casually and pushed him off me and sat up, grinning at his stunned face "we've still got to write the character analysis for our English essay."

"Seriously, bro?" Jake asked in disbelief as I grabbed my rucksack from the floor, pulling my notebook and pen from inside and I glanced at him to see him grinning "you're gonna be the death of me, you know that?"

Jake POV

Staying true to my word, I was outside McKinley High the following Friday afternoon, leaning against my truck and watching the flood of students pour out of the main entrance. It was difficult to see Marley amongst all the random faces, but I wasn't leaving until I saw her. I meant what I said yesterday, Marley was a good friend and I wanted to get our friendship back on track… but that was it. These past two months have been a real brain-fuck for me, but I have accepted the fact that I'm officially into guys and I won't be getting back with Marley - I'm with Adam and that's that.

"Marley!" I called when I finally spotted her, walking with Tina and Kitty towards Tina's way too expensive car and sprinted to them.

I skidded to a halt just as they reached the car and Marley looked at me wearily, clutching her textbooks close to her chest.

"Jake?" Marley asked in a confused voice, but Kitty cut in with her usually smirk.

"Well, if it isn't my three-nipple ex, what do you want?" Kitty demanded in an icy tone "if you're just gonna mess with Marley's head, you can fuck off!"

I opened my mouth to throw a few insults back, this blonde bitch needs to realize I'm from Lima Heights - we were raised on insults, but Marley glared at both of us and I fell silent.

"Enough!" Marley said firmly, then turned back to me "what's up, Jake?"

"I wanna talk about yesterday," I told her meaningfully and her face paled slightly, but she nodded and turned to the girls.

"I'll be back in a sec, kay?" Marley said in a small voice and I lead her back to my truck, once we were out of earshot of Kitty and Tina, Marley turned to look at me with shame in her eyes "Adam told you?"

"Yeah, he did" I told her truthfully and Marley hung her head, her hair covering her face as she sighed a shaky breath "the dude was seriously worried."

Marley nodded, completely avoiding my eyes.

"He's a good friend and I hated him seeing me like that," Marley mumbled, her voice sounding thick with emotion "it was a one off, it won't happen again."

I moved closer and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, which caused her to look up with her crystal blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Yeah it will be, because next time you're feeling stressed or upset, give me a call and I'll be there." I told her with a small encouraging smile "look Mar, I'm with someone now and I really care about them, but I want us to be friends again and I wanna be there for you. So anytime you need me, just holler."

"Okay, being friends actually sounds like an awesome idea" Marley said with a small smile and I wrapped my arms around her, giving her a cuddle "I've missed you, Jake."

"Missed you, too." I told her, meaning every word I was saying and gave her a huge smile as we pulled apart "friends?"

"Yeah, friends." Marley said cheerfully and slung her rucksack higher above her shoulder "and whoever this girl is, she must be really special so I'm guessing you've fallen head over?"

"Yeah, I have." I muttered awkwardly, secretly hoping Marley will still be my understand friend when she finds out the she is really a he.

"Well, I can't wait to meet her." Marley said brightly, but the sound of Tina's horn beeping impatiently caused her to groan in annoyance "I better go, I'll see you at school on Monday."

With one last quick hug, Marley hurried back to Tina's waiting car and I couldn't help but notice the new spring in Marley's step and feel utterly thrilled that I now had Marley as a friend again.

Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter - read and review :)