My Days of Crushing on Jake

My Days of Crushing on Jake, the Hottest Guy in School, Were Fueled by Desperate Dieting

It all started with the gym class where I almost fainted from starvation.

Jake, without a word of argument, took my hand and led me straight to the cafeteria.

He was practically seething,

"Can you just stop with the freaking dieting already?" he demanded. "If anyone makes a crack about your body again, I swear, I'll go off on them, okay?"

But that day, I confessed my feelings to Jake.

He just stared at me, a kind of mocking grin playing on his lips, before finally asking,

"Seriously, you don't think you're, like, disgusting?"

1

It wasn't Jake who reacted the most when I finally blurted out, "I like you."

It was Mark, the jock who was standing next to Jake's desk.

"What?!"

"Ginger, you said you have a thing for Jake?!?"

His voice, amplified beyond my own intentionally quiet confession, cut through the classroom buzz.

For a split second, our whole class went silent.

Then, an explosion of laughter erupted, louder than before.

"Dude, Jake's got it going on, even the chubby girl in our class is crushing on him!"

"Hey Jake, so all those girls you rejected, was it because you actually have a thing for the 'plump' type? LOL"

Jake's grin faded, and his gaze locked onto me.

His tone was surprisingly calm.

"You for real?"

My cheeks burned, and I dropped my head, mortified.

I didn't expect Jake to get made fun of because of me.

I should have confessed after school.

Suddenly, a loud crash interrupted my spiraling thoughts.

Jake had kicked over his desk, scattering his books around my feet.

The class, sensing Jake's genuine anger, finally shut up.

Jake stood over me, his eyes filled with that unsettling mix of amusement and contempt.

"So, tell me," he said, his voice laced with a sardonic edge. "Why did you think you could confess to me?"

"You think I have some kind of screwed-up taste?"

I stood there, frozen, my face draining of color.

Jake's voice was slow and deliberate as he asked, "Hey, chubby."

"Don't you think you're kinda gross?"

Ever since I was a kid, my size had been a source of hushed mockery, making me increasingly introverted.

Then Jake became my desk buddy.

His gaze had always been free of judgment. And he had even stood up for me with a cold comeback whenever people teased me.

In my quiet, yet hopelessly romantic teenage mind, Jake was my biggest source of dopamine.

2

But today felt like a bucket of ice water.

It was clear, I was never going to be an exception to any rule.

Before the bell rang, Jake rubbed his temples and walked out of the classroom.

Our class rep, Sarah, dragged a chair next to me, trying to be comforting.

"Don't beat yourself up, Ginger," she said. "I'm sure Jake didn't mean to be so harsh."

"You can't blame him either, I mean...you know..."

"It's like you're biting the hand that feeds you, you know? He’s been so nice to you. Even if you like him, you really shouldn't have confessed...You probab...