Chapter 20

                                    

                                          
"Hey! Are you okay?" 
I can hear Jake all right, but I'm somehow unable to utter a word.
Everything happening around me is literally a blur.
"Hey!"
This time his voice is powerful enough to smack me back into reality.
"Huh?" I ask groggily.
"You good?"
"Erm...yeah. All g..good. Thanks."
I risk a backward glance....the situation's still the same. The picture is still circulating.
"I'm guessing that's not exactly how you planned on launching your new relationship,"  He tells me with a chuckle, gesturing to the chaos behind me.
My new relationship.
Ha!! I wish.
If not for the current situation I probably would've had a good laugh over that statement.
Right now the whole school probably just assumes that Randy and I are in a relationship and I can't really blame them....we did look kind of intimate in the picture.
So, the now most popular piece of paper which is circulating really fast around the school happens to be a Polaroid photo of Randy and I which was taken at my house on Saturday, in those last moments when we were about to kiss...except, we didn't actually get to kiss because mom rudely interrupted and ruined everything!
Yeah, I'm kinda still mad at her.
To be honest, the photo is very beautiful, and it actually captured the moment perfectly... the lingering closeness of our bodies, the yearning looks in our eyes, the chemistry, the tenseness of the atmosphere and all that. Seeing it today, memories of that morning come flooding my mind, accompanied by a strong wave of nostalgia.
Obviously, the picture couldn't have been taken by either me or Randy, which leaves only two other suspects.
Mom or Miranda.
Or the two of them!
"So, uh, you and Randy huh?" He asks casually.
"That depends. Who's asking?" I reply before even realizing how weird an answer that was. It didn't matter who was asking, because the answer would be the same! - There's no such thing like "me and Randy." 
"Just a concerned friend."
He gives me a corner smile.
Concerned friend? Ha!
Since when was Jake my friend.
"You're not my friend, Jake. We just go to the same school," I tell him with a smile.
"You don't seem to like me very much," he states matter-of-factly and I can't help but nod my agreement.
"You don't exactly seem likeable, so pardon me if I don't seem to like you very much."
"I'm sorry, was that funny?" I ask a few seconds later when he starts laughing.
"Not exactly. But ironic? Yeah, it most definitely is."
"And why's that?"
"You dislike me because I seem unlikeable, yet you date a guy who's pretty much just like me. Give me a better ironic situation. I'll wait."
He folds his arm's across his broad chest and gives me a smug look.
"You and Randy are nothing alike."
"Oh, defending the boyfriend, I see. Isn't that sweet? Speaking of the devil..." He nods towards my back and I turn around to find Randy approaching. The chaos seems to have stopped momentarily, as they're all staring at him in silence...probably waiting for one of us to either confirm or deny their not so hidden suspicions.
"Hey guys," He greets us cheerily.
I force a smile and Jake responds, " What's up brother?"
"I'm all good."
Randy reaches for a high five and they do that brotherly half hug thingy guys usually do.
Jake flashes me a smile I can only interpret as an I-told-you-he's-just-like-me smile.