Jake Posts

 So I got some good feed back on the Jake snippets I posted a while ago, and I thought maybe you guys would like to see some more, since I still haven't typed up those book reviews I've been kicking around, and I'm strapped for time right now anyway. So here they are!


He was sitting on the table, his sneakers brushing the floor. He held a cigarette in his hand, the smoke wafting up lazily as he contemplated it.
“What are you doing?” She asked with a small frown.
He shrugged and glanced up, grinding the glowing end into the ashtray. “Take a guess.”

She folded her arms and stood in front of him. He looked up from his place on the couch, his face a blank page. “You said you wouldn’t go back there again.” She felt like a parent.
He nodded. “I know what I said.”
“But you went back there.” She continued.
“I did.” He said, as if there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.
She unfolded her arms and opened her fingers. “Are you seeing a problem Jake?”
He shrugged. “A discrepancy maybe.”

"Jake, don’t. That could hurt you.”
He smiled and rolled his neck around to look at her. “We’re here to live and do big things Trish. Can't do that if you stop at everything that could hurt.”

 

He watched her as she stood on the board. There was no athleticism in the lines of her body at all. She stood on it and looked at the concrete like somehow it would move and she would be skating. “Good. You’re great at standing. Lets try and get you to look like you have control of your limbs.”

He smirked at him and folded his arms. “Go ahead Devin. Go ahead and make assumptions. I don’t care if you judge me.” He narrowed his eyes. “You just better make sure you never make a mistake again.”

 
He was so chaotic. Every decision he made was based on an impulse rather than an actual thought process. It was like a badly filmed movie. Jumping from one angle to the next so fast that it gave you a headache to watch. She only hoped one of those impulse driven leaps wouldn’t get him killed.

 

“He’s trapped.” She said softly, watching the boy across the room. “He has this idea of who he thinks he is, but he’s not quite it. And he knows what he wants to be, but doesn’t think he can get there.”

“Love sucks.” He said, but it lacked the venom she thought it should have. “You give it and give it and it always ends in some kind of heartbreak.”

“That’s not true.”

“Sure it is.” He nodded. “Give me one example that goes on forever with a happy ending. Not even fairy tales have that. They cut them off short before we get to the part of the story that’s real life. The part where people leave, or die.”

 

He knew she’d try to save him. Lots of people had done that. Told him what to do. How to be better. And then sat and watched. And when he started to wander off the path, she wouldn’t try to bring him back. She’d watch as he went. Just like the rest.

It wouldn’t be so bad if she just didn’t love him. It was that fact that she loved Devin. His best friend. The one who was supposed to stand beside him, not rise above him. She loved him, and that was the part that he couldn’t stand.

He leaned back on his elbows and looked up at her. “Go ahead, say one of those corny things like they say in books.”
She giggled and rested her forearms on her knees. “Okay….being with you is like the warm summer sun on my face.”
He smirked a little. “That is corny.”
She nodded. “That’s what you asked for.”
He nodded. “Yup.” He quirked the corner of his mouth up. “But that’s only one season. I was hoping I could be all of them.”

"Are you falling in love Jake?” He asked incredulous.
Jake shrugged a little. “I think collapsing describes it better.”

She backed away and watched the boy get up in the thugs face. She couldn’t hear what he said, but he got him to turn and leave. She studied him as he stood there, watching her assailant go. Standing there in ripped, baggy jeans, and a black tshirt, his Mohawk the only color in his getup, he looked more like the villain of a story than the shining knight. He did save her though.

“Do you have a motto Jake?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Like what?”
“Oh, you know. Like, If you cant say something nice, don’t say anything.”
A grin spread over his face. One of the genuine ones that she was sometimes able to see, and lived for. “Oh sure, I have one of those.”
“What is it?” She smiled.
His grin turned sly. “Say everything sarcastically.”

 

“Jake.” Trish’s tone held warning and he turned to her.
“Yes, I know. Smoking will kill me.” He found her eyes. “That’s not something that worries me.”

“There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel Jake.” Trish said softly.
He smiled painfully. “I know. But sometimes it’s a train.”

 

“He thinks he’s the hero.” Devin said, malice peeking through his voice.
“Is there something wrong with that?” She asked.
Devin shrugged. “Never seen a hero make so many mistakes.”
 Trish shrugged. “People forget that heroes are just people who are willing to try. When people try, they sometimes fail. Doesn’t mean they were wrong for trying.”

 

“What are you doing? You’re going to die before you’ve grown.”
“That’s the point isn’t it?” He asked. “No one wants to be old. We live as hard as we can as long as we can and hope we’re done before things get boring.”

“Who’s side are you on Jake?” Devin frowned.
“My side.” He said bluntly.
“And what about Trish?”
“I love her. That puts her on my side.”

She wished they could be that way. That someday they could be the old couple with the young love. But for people like Jake, some dreams just had to stay dreams.

She finally decided to accept the fact that part of her would always belong to the dark haired boy who liked sad songs.

 

"Hey, look at me. Look at me.” He tipped her chin. “You’re gonna be fine. You’re gonna get out of here. You’ll keep having fun, and you’re gonna dance.”
“I only want to dance with you.” She said tearfully.
He smiled for her benefit. “What makes you think I’m not coming out with you?”

 

“Growing up is a scam.” He bit off the sucker. “Our bodies get bigger, but that’s it. We don’t get any great knowledge. We’re just as lost as before.” He shrugged. “People just think we shouldn’t be.”

 

There you have it. Some more of my tear jerker. *grabs tissue*