"Aw, man!"
Rachel ran, but she didn't reach the button in time. She had to wait for the other light to turn green, which took a while. While she was waiting, she heard a car pull up and a familiar voice talking. She smiled. "Okay� here he comes� 3� 2� 1�"
"Rachel! Hey!"
Perfect timing. She turned. "Jake! Hey! How was your Christmas?"
"Good. I ate a lot."
She raised an eyebrow. "Really."
"Yeah. Don't worry. I was good."
"Good." The light changed and they crossed the street. "So. What did you get for Christmas?" Jacob asked.
"Oh, a whole bunch of money, clothes, jewelry, stuff like that."
"Cool." They had reached the other corner and were met by Karina, their friend. "Kari! Hey!"
"Hey, Rachel. Hey, Jacob. Are you better now?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." Karina nodded and then turned to Rachel. "How was your vacation?"
"Oh, good, what about you?"
They continued this small talk about vacation while they walked across the street again to get to their school. Suddenly, Karina changed the topic of conversation.
"Hey, what are you guys doing for Mid-Winter?"
That question took them both by surprise. "I don't know, I'm probably going to go, but just by myself or with some friends," Rachel responded.
"What about you, Jacob?"
"Well, I'm thinking of asking someone, but I'm not sure who yet," Jacob replied. Maybe Rachel.
"Okay. See, I'm going but I don't know anyone else who's going, so I need someone-besides my date, of course-that I know to go."
Rachel nodded. "I'll try to find a date. Either way, I'm going."
"Cool."
So Rachel doesn't have a date? Jacob thought. Hmmm.
~*~
"Hello?" she asked into the receiver.
"Rachel?"
The voice was unfamiliar. "Yeah� who's this?"
"It's Jacob."
"Oh! Hey! What's up?"
"Nothing much. Um, I was wondering if you have a date to Mid-Winter."
"No� why?"
"Well� I figured, I don't have a date either, so do you want to go together? As friends, I mean."
"Um, sure! Yeah! That would be cool," Rachel gushed.
Jacob smiled. "Okay. So we're settled? You'll go with me?"
"Yes."
~*~
"Hey, Jacob!"
Julia Elizabeth (Julie Beth, for short) rushed to meet him. "Jake!" she said, breathless. "How are you? I heard about your hospital visit."
"Yeah, that sucked. Well, not really. A friend of mine came to visit me and she helped me a lot."
"She? As in�"
"Rachel? Don't you know her?"
"Oh, yeah! Rachel!" Julie Beth raised an eyebrow. "Since when did you two know each other?"
"Well we got kind of close over her visits and Christmas vacation. I'm going to Mid-Winter with her."
"Oh." Julie Beth nodded. "That's cool. Really."
"Yes, it is. See, it's like this." Jacob lowered his voice. "I think I might like her."
"Really?" she exclaimed. "I mean-yeah, she's cool and everything. But Rachel? I mean� well, I guess you don't know."
"Know what?" Jacob asked. "People have been doing this to me a lot lately. What about Rachel do I need to know?"
"You'll see. But really, I think she'd be good for you, Jake."
"You think?"
"Yeah." Julie Beth checked her watch. "I better go. Catch you later."
"Okay, bye." He headed over to the band dock, where Rachel, Karina, Jeni, Alina, Patrick, and Elijah were eating (random friends of his). They were in the middle of laughing when he interrupted. "Hey, guys."
"Oh, hey, Jake," Rachel greeted, still laughing. To see that smile on her face� it brightened up his whole day. She was really pretty�
"Jake?" Jeni asked. "You okay?"
"What? Yeah. Hey, guys. Can I eat here with you?"
"Sure," Karina complied.
"Go ahead," Rachel added, clearing a space next to her for him to sit. He did, and they began to talk again.
"So Mr. Stanton is all like, talking about that stupid vendetta he has against Canadian bacon, and all of a sudden, Ashley pulls out a piece of pizza from her backpack and offers it to him! And he's like, 'Heretic! Get out!' It was comedy," Elijah commented.
"I can only imagine," Rachel replied. "God, I will never understand that teacher. He is the weirdest guy."
"Yeah, but he grades harsh," Jeni pointed out.
They all nodded in agreement. "So," Jacob interrupted, changing the subject, "what are all of you guys doing for Mid-Winter?"
"I'm going with Daniel," Karina replied. "Over there. In the yellow." She motioned to a guy talking to another group of people.
Rachel nodded. "Yes, Kari, you've told us at least twelve times."
"Sorry, Rach, but you know how I am."
"Yes, unfortunately," Jeni interjected. "To answer your question, Jake, I'm going with a whole bunch of friends."
"I'm not going," Alina stated. "I mean, I don't have a date or anything, and it's too expensive for me."
"Yeah, besides, I'd rather sit and read," Patrick said.
"Of course," Rachel and Karina chorused. They looked at each other and laughed.
"I'm not going either," Eli confirmed. "I wouldn't be able to find a date."
"No comment, Eli," Jake replied. They all laughed again. "So, Jake, what about you? What are you doing for Mid-Winter?"
"I'm going with Rachel." He looked over and smiled at her and she smiled back. "See, neither of us had a date, and we've become really good friends, so I figured, why don't we go together?"
"Brilliant, Jake," Jeni said. "You are so smart."
"I am, aren't I?" Rachel rolled her eyes at him. "Yeah, right."
He just threw a pizza crust at her. She retaliated with an empty apple juice container. It bonked him in the head. "Ow!"
"Sorry," she replied sarcastically. "Oh, would you look at the time. Kari, don't you think it's time we went to Stanton's room? Didn't you want to talk to him?"
"Yeah, that's right!" Karina slapped her forehead. "Is lunch almost over?"
"Just about," Eli said, looking at his watch.
"Well, then, we'd better go, before everyone else gets there." She stood up, pulling Rachel with her. "'Bye, guys. See you later."
"'Bye, Kari! 'Bye, Rachel!" As soon as the two of them left, Jeni asked, "Since when did you and Rachel become so chummy?"
"Since she came to visit me in the hospital�" Jacob trailed off. Jeni noticed the glossy look in his eyes. "Jacob, do you like her?"
"What? Um�" he hesitated. "No�"
Jeni laughed. "You do, don't you?"
He was quiet. "I thought so. I saw the way you were looking at her. God, this is news. One day, you two are almost complete strangers and the next you guys are cr-" She stopped midsentence, realizing what she was about to say.
"We're what?" Jacob asked.
"I mean, you guys are really friendly. Yeah. Friendly."
"Well sometimes I wish it was more than that," he mumbled.
"Oh, Jake, why are you so sad?"
"She seems� I don't know� she's really nice and everything, but she doesn't give away who she likes or anything."
Jeni laughed. "Believe me. If you're her friend, she gives everything away."
"Really?" Jacob's eyes lighted up. "Who does she like?"
"I can't tell you that!" she exclaimed. "It wouldn't be fair."
"Please, Jeni?"
"Okay, fine. Well she kinda likes this guy named Ethan-"
"Oh." His face fell.
"But� she likes another guy too."
"Oh great. Two guys to compete with."
"I wouldn't be too down if I were you. You don't know who the other one is." The bell rang then and Jeni said, "Well I have to go now, Jake. It was really nice talking to you, I haven't talked to you in a while now."
"Yeah, you too, Jeni." She walked off and he thought about what she said. Could it be that� nah� it couldn't possibly. Rachel couldn't like him. She was too perfect, too good for him.
~*~
"You know what?" Karina blurted out.
"What?"
"I think he likes you, Rachel."
She stopped abruptly. "What? No way! We're just friends!"
"Not by the way he was looking at you. It's so obvious. Oh, this is too cute. Aren't you happy about this, Rachel?" Karina asked, noticing how her friend's mood hadn't changed.
"Well� are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm positive. You'll see."
~*~
"I guess this looks okay," Jacob said.
"Are you kidding? You look great!" his sister, Leah, replied. "That Rachel girl is going to swoon when she sees you, I swear. If I wasn't your sister I'd do the same."
"Thanks, Leah." He gave her a quick hug and then said, "Omigod. I'm going to be late."
"Well then you better get going. Here. Don't forget these." Leah handed her brother a corsage of baby blue roses. "Have fun, Jake."
"Thanks. Wish me luck."
"Good luck with Rachel!" she yelled after him. He rolled his eyes and laughed.
~*~
Ding-dong!
"Aah! They're here!"
"Don't worry, honey, I'll get them." Rachel's mom went downstairs to open the door while Rachel applied more makeup. This was her night to tell Jacob how she really felt about him. "If this doesn't work, I don't know what will."
"Rachel, your friends are here!" her mother called from downstairs.
"Okay, Mom! I'll be down in a few!" Rachel put a few more pins in her hair, adjusted her little tiara, stepped into her sandals, grabbed her bag and her shawl and raced downstairs. There stood Jacob, Jeni, Julie Beth and Nick, Julie Beth's date. "Hey, guys."
"Rachel, you look great!" Jeni exclaimed.
Jacob could only nod in agreement. He was stunned by her beauty. She was wearing a shimmering dress; a pale blue, double spaghetti-strapped satin one that criss-crossed in the back and reached the floor. The neckline was dotted in rhinestones, and along the waist of her dress was a row of rhinestones that met in the center with a shimmering snowflake pattern (in rhinestones, of course). The skirt gracefully cascaded; it was not too full, but at the same time, it wasn't straight-cut either. It was also dotted with rhinestones, and the farther down the skirt went, the more stones there were, so that at the bottom it was littered with rhinestones. One set of the spaghetti straps was lined with rhinestones also. She was wearing a shawl that matched her dress, a pale blue satin shawl with rhinestones surrounding a snowflake pattern at the edges. (P.S. This is not a real dress, not that I know of anyways� it's my own design J)
Her hair, a small silver tiara in it, was up in a simple French twist, with curled tendrils falling from it. In her hair were nestled more rhinestones, and on her feet were strappy sandals with a high heel, in a shade of iridescent, shimmery white. Her fingernails (and her toenails too) were painted the lightest shade of yellow, with a rhinestone on each one. She wore a ring, with a tiny heart of blue topaz linked with a tiny heart of diamond, set in silver, and a matching bracelet. Her necklace was an illusion one, with a simple blue topaz surrounded by tiny diamonds. Dangling from her earlobes were blue topaz hearts, hanging each from a diamond set in gold (Rachel can't wear silver earrings). Rachel was, in a word, the epitome of perfection, at least in Jacob's eyes. (Okay, I know that wasn't one word, more like four, but still�)
Julie Beth nudged him. "Give it to her!"
"Oh yeah." Jacob pulled something out from behind him. "Rachel, this is for you."
She gasped. "Jacob, this is so pretty!"
"You like it?" he asked.
"I love it! Thank you!" She gave him a hug and then he put the corsage on her wrist.
After Rachel's parents did the usual (took the pictures, lectured the teens on what to do and what not to do, reminding Rachel to call them, etc, etc), they headed for Denny's, where they were going to eat before the dance. They sat at one big table, discussing what they were going to do and what songs they were going to dance to, stuff like that. Rachel was so excited, she could hardly eat. She did notice that Jacob was eating, which was a good sign, but she was afraid that he might relapse into his bulimia. So she decided to eat, to not worry Jacob.
After what seemed like forever, they decided to head over to the dance. Since they couldn't afford a limo, and Julie Beth and Jacob were the only ones who could drive, Jacob took Rachel while Julie Beth took Nick and Jeni. The night was just beginning.
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