[ C h a p t e r - 2 0: J o n a h ' s - P e r s p e c t i v e ]

Chapter 20: Jonah's Perspective

I stared at my cousin who was currently dancing around my bedroom. "Weston, stop."

My protest was drowned out by the sound of his singing. "Story of my life! I take her home! I drive all night to keep her warm!"

I wanted to cry. Weston sounded like a dying goat. "Please, Weston."

"I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want; so tell me what you want, what you really, really want!" he continued to switch up songs.

I was begging him now. "Weston, don't do this to me."

"My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like- it's better than yours!" he danced around my room before he glared at me. "Tell me!"

"Fine, okay, I'll tell you," I snapped and he grinned before coming to a full stop. I let the silence sink in for a moment. "I do."

"I knew it!" he cheered.

I glared at him. "Yay, you know it, congratulations. Now go, I have to get ready."

"What, you're not going to tell her?" Weston asked me as I walked towards my dresser; I turned around to look at him.

"No," I shook my head.

"Well, why not? If I were Savannah, I'd want to know that you like me," Weston placed his hand on his hip and twisted his neck around, attempting to do his best Savannah impression.

I glared at him. "But you're not Savannah and she never does that."

Weston returned my glare. "Well, remember this, if she ends up dating someone else...don't be surprised," he warned. I registered his words, knowing that they were true, very true. I was still curious as to whom Arthur is but I know that he isn't a good guy, I also know that he is no longer in our school.

I glared at Weston before watching him unlock my door and exit the room, closing it on his way out. I just walked towards my closet and yanked a pair of dark jeans and a blue shirt out of it. I grabbed my jacket and another one, too, just in case.

I got into my car and started the drive to Savannah's house, a weird feeling in my stomach. It was a good feeling, like butterflies, almost. Is that what they call it? Do they call them butterflies?

When I pulled up to her house, I honked the horn and waited patiently for her to come out of her house. When she did waddle out of her house, I found myself grinning from ear to ear. She definitely had layers on. She was wearing a large blue sweater and a thick pair of jeans. She had snow boots on, too, and her hair was in a pile on her head. Her cheeks were tinted red along with her nose from the nippy air and she looked beautiful.

"You look like a penguin," I smiled at her.

She got into the car as I opened the door. "Just drive, boy."

She turned on the music and sang along to it while I drove. I just kept smiling, probably looking a bit sketchy to people on the sidewalks but I didn't care. I was happy.

~~~

I looked at the clock and narrowed my eyes. "We're going to be so early."

"You can always drop me back home and then go drive around," she retorted with a serious look on her face. I frowned. She didn't want to be here?

I looked at her. "You don't want to go?"

She laughed loudly, chuckling as if what had just happened was hilarious. "You should have seen your face, so vulnerable."

I glared at her. "I hate you."

She let out a loud laugh. "We both know that isn't true." Yeah, I know.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; what do you want to do? We have thirty minutes to kill," I questioned her.

She shrugged, turning to look at me. "Do we have a song?" she asked.

I grinned and nodded. I looked at her with a serious face. "Our song is a slamming screen door, sneaking out late, tapping on your window, when we're on the phone and you talk real slow cause it's late and your momma don't know."

She let out a howling laugh, holding her stomach as tears streamed down her face. I laughed lightly but kept my eyes on the road, or else I'd swerve off of it. She opened her mouth to say something but was consumed by laughter. She covered her face with her hands and shook with laughter. I couldn't fight the smile that was pasted onto my face.

Eventually she stopped laughing but when she looked at me, she started again, and I couldn't fill my car with a better sound.

~~~

We got to the football field early. We managed to get seats near Georgia and the twins, who were directly above us, in the second and third row. We were on the first row.

"I'll be right back," Savannah stated as she smiled at me. I nodded as she walked by me and out of the bleachers, towards the bathrooms.

I looked at the scrumptious chocolate bar resting on her seat and I looked at the delicious soda bottle in the cup holder; so tempting. No, Jonah, don't. I looked at my candy bar wrapper and empty soda bottle. I quickly unwrapped her chocolate bar and sighed in content once I bit into it. I gulped down her soda, too. I felt a sense of guilt wash over me and I sat back in my seat after wiping my face.

I'm going to tell her it was Sierra. I watched as she made her way back to the seat. I frowned, giving her an innocent look. "I'm really sorry to tell you this."

She frowned. "What?"

I sighed, glancing down at my hands to make sure they weren't covered in chocolate. That would ruin my lie. "Savannah, Sierra drank all of your soda and ate your chocolate bar!"

Sierra gasped and glared at me. "I didn't, he did!"

She laughed but rolled her eyes, turning to look at me. She enunciated my name slowly. "Jonah."

I looked at her with a guilty look on my face. "Yes?"

"Can you please go get me a soda and another chocolate bar? And this time, some Skittles?" I stared at her for a moment before I nodded. I got up and reached down to make sure my wallet was in my pocket. I walked a few feet before I turned around to see her motioning that I was wrapped around her finger. You got that right.

"I saw that," I shouted and earned an innocent grin in response.

I walked over to the vendor's stand and saw Francis chugging a bottle of water, some of it dripping out of his mouth. He breathed heavily once he retracted the bottle. I ignored the taunting look he was giving me and began ordering from the vendor.

"I'd like two bottles of Sprite, six Hershey bars, four Kit Kats, three Twix bars, three Reeses, two packs of Skittles, and two Starbursts," I pointed to the candy bars as I announced what I wanted.

After paying for it, I grabbed it all and returned to my seat just in time to talk to Weston.

"I said to bring me a chocolate bar, a drink, and Skittles, not the entire vendors stand," Savannah laughed, her eyebrows furrowing cutely.

"I know, they just restocked and I couldn't help myself," I responded innocently. I smiled at Weston. "Hello."

"Can I have some?" Weston asked as I sat down. I smacked his hand away.

"You know you're not allowed sweets before a game...or ever." I replied as I opened a candy bar. Savannah took it out of my hands and began eating it. I glared at her while I opened another one. Sierra took this one out of my hands and this process continued until everyone in our small group of friends, aside from Weston, had candy.

Weston was currently frowning as his eyes jumped from each candy bar. "I want candy."

I slowly chewed a Starburst, grinning at my cousin. "Too bad."

Weston snatched the king-sized package of Starbursts from me and continued to open the small squares, shoving them into his mouth as I watched in shock. The coach blew the whistle and Weston ran over, still chewing the candy.

Savannah turned to me, with a curious look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"He gets really hyper when he eats candy before a game. Last time, he was ramming into players and laughing like a maniac. Every time he made a touchdown, he'd roll on the floor giggling," I explained.

She glanced at me before she turned to the field, her eyes watching as Weston jumped up and down excitedly. Weston is a nutcase on the field when he's hyped up on sugary snacks. As we speak, he's rolling around on the floor because his team got a touchdown. People were laughing at him and he was oblivious, like he usually is.

I sighed tiredly. "He's going to regret this."

Savannah nodded her head, her eyes glued on the field. "Who do you think is going to win?"

I turned to her. "The score is currently 21 to 0. Who do you think is going to win?"

Savannah nodded. "Jo-bro."

I smiled at the nickname before I turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"Shaw is glaring daggers at us," she muttered as I looked at her. "Look slightly to your left, but don't be obvious."

I nodded but despite her warning, I snapped my head to the left and my eyes met with Shaw's. He eventually was forced to look away when his teammates and the coach were calling his name.

~~~

I jumped up and cheered as Weston's team won. I glanced at Savannah to see she was smiling but looked slightly worried. I wonder why. The urge to kiss her was strong so I looked away and continued cheering.

Savannah lifted up the trash and nudged me. Assuming she was going to the trashcan, I nodded and moved to let her pass by me. I watched as she struggled to bypass the people but eventually she managed to get through.

I figured that I should tell her, now. I should tell her that I like her now; I've been thinking about Weston's words. What if she does wonder if I like her? Even if she doesn't, wouldn't it be nice to know? Not in a conceited way, but in a 'someone cares' type of way?

I grabbed my jacket and told the twins that I'd see them at home. I waved at Georgia who had her eyes glued to the football players. I wanted to puke; she was probably thinking about how good their butts look in their pants. I felt proud when I realized that throughout this whole entire game, I didn't look at the cheerleaders. In fact, I'd forgotten that they were here. Weston hadn't, though.

I made my way through the crowds of people exiting the stadium. Savannah was dumping the trash in the trash can. I noticed someone behind her and I immediately started to panic. It was a good hundred feet away and they could easily get her into a car.

I quickened my pace to a jog and was about 20 feet away from the trash can when I realized who it was. It was Francis. He wasn't speaking and instead, he had this determined look on his face. We made eye contact for a minute before he turned back to Savannah, who was now facing him.

I saw Savannah glance back towards the stadium, but her eyes skipped over me. She hadn't seen me. I slowed to a walk while I watched as Francis pressed his lips to hers, crushing my heart in the process. She didn't push him away; instead, she just stood there. A wave of pain shot through me and I felt my stomach clench.

I stared at the two as he retracted and leaned forward, so his lips were beside her ear. I didn't hear what he said and I didn't want to. I had a feeling I wouldn't like it, just like I don't like him. Is this what heartbreak feels like? I felt my breathing quicken and I stopped about five feet away from them. Francis made eye contact with me and smiled smugly before he kissed Savannah's cheek, all the while she just stood there.

I pushed the pain into the back of my mind and tried my hardest to sound normal. "So, you and Francis, huh?"