• Was it possible to actually love someone that hated you more than any other person in the world?
    I thought not.

    There's a boy in my class. Everyone calls him Jake. It's been that way since preschool and it never changes. Nobody even remembers what his last name is. He's any girl's dream - his tall, slim, muscular figure, his white-blond hair, his innocent green eyes, and a smile that could melt butter.

    He's never directed that smile at me, ever.

    I had transferred to this school just a few months ago and ended up in the same homeroom as him. At first I'd been thrilled to sit next to this super good-looking guy...until I saw the way he glared at me.
    I was stunned and practically frozen with fear. I never knew that anyone could look so mean. After that, I kept my distance from him, dreading homeroom and sitting as far away from him as I could. He did the same.

    When I'd complained about this to my new friend Kate, she just laughed and said, "Maybe he likes you, Ella." But then she saw him glaring at me, and ever since, she's stopped saying that.

    I started to hate him just as much as he no doubt hated me. By the end of the first month at my new school, I was pretty much starting to forget about him, and then something happened that made me remember about him all over again .

    He was talking with a couple of girls that were flirting with him, smiling and laughing at whatever they were saying. He ruffled their hair, saying something that made them flirt even more.

    At that, a pang of jealousy ripped through me. I fought back the tears; I hated crying. What had I ever done to make him hate me? I'd never even spoken to him. I just didn't understand. Kate, who was with me at that time, tugged me off in the opposite direction, understanding immediately. I let her drag me, feeling empty.

    Kate comforted me at the lunch table. I was starting to feel better by the end - I mean, why should I get jealous over a guy like him? I had plenty of friends. I could live without him. In fact, I would be better off without him.

    Kate's voice trailed off in the middle of her comforting words. She was glaring at someone, and I didn't have to look to see that it was Jake. I could hardly help myself though; I just had to look.

    When my eyes met with Jake's, he wasn't glaring at me. He wasn't even looking at me. He was arguing quietly with his best friend, Lucas. Lucas kept glancing over at me, and I got a sinking feeling that they were arguing about me.

    After a few intense moments, Lucas started to come our way. I looked away quickly, my heart pounding wildly. What on Earth was he going to say?
    "Can I sit here?" he asked, setting his tray down lightly on the empty seat next to us.
    "Sure," Kate said hesitantly. I tried to hide my displeasure.

    "Ella," Lucas said to me, getting right to the point, "Jake doesn't hate you, if that's what you're thinking."

    I rolled my eyes and didn't answer, still too angry at Jake to even talk about him.

    "Then why does he glare at her like that?" Kate asked. "I've seen it, and it's really freaky."

    "Ella just looks a lot like his ex-girlfriend," Lucas said with a shrug. "You know...the one that passed away in the car accident."

    Kate went speechless. I didn't look up. So he hated me because I reminded him of his ex-girlfriend? I didn't need any of this.

    "I told him to give you a break, you know," Lucas continued. "He's stubborn. But I think he really likes you, and he just can't admit it, because it feels like he's betraying his ex."

    I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up, my chair collapsing. Kate and Lucas both looked at me in surprise. I'd never been so mad in my life.

    I marched over to where Jake was standing. He was leaning against a pole, surrounding by a couple of his friends. Ignoring everyone that was staring at me, I pushed my way through his friends and dragged him out of the lunch room. He tried to break free of my grip on his wrist, but when I was this mad, nobody was any match for me, even Jake.

    When we were alone, he glared at me. What as surprise. I was suddenly releived that we didn't have much a height difference, because then I would have run away in fright.

    Without giving myself time to think about it, I raised my arm and struck him across the face as hard as I could.

    He staggered, his hand flying to his cheek. His glare was now more pronounced than ever. I glared right back at him.

    "Would you stop glaring at me?" I practically yelled. "I don't care if I look like your ex-girlfriend, I'm sorry she passed away, but you don't have any right to treat me like this!"

    His glare turned into a stunned look of disbeleif. He shook his head, muttering, "Lucas."

    I fumed, waiting for him to say something else. Like an apology.

    "What else did Lucas say?" he asked tiredly, rubbing his cheek.

    "That you don't hate me."

    Jake snorted. I stilled waited.

    "I guess I don't," he said, his tone bored. "I don't hate you...but of course, I don't like you either."

    "At least we have one thing in common. I happen to 'not like you', either."

    Finally, he looked right back into my eyes. There was nothing mean in them; it wasn't a glare. He sighed.
    "Sorry," he mumbled.

    I was caught of guard. Had he just apologized to me?

    "Did you hear me?" he asked impatiently, when I gaped at him without saying anything.

    "No," I lied, just to hear it again.

    "I said sorry," he said, raising his voice and sounding angry again. "I shouldn't have treated you like that, and I'm sorry. Are you happy now?"

    "I guess so," I said. But I wasn't.

    Because no matter how much I lied to myself, I was in love with this guy that didn't love me back.

    "Did Lucas say anything else?" Jake asked.

    I debated on whether to tell the truth and make a fool of myself or not tell the truth and live without knowing what would have happened.
    I chose to tell the truth.

    "He said that he thinks you really like me, but you just don't want to admit it because you would be betraying your ex-girlfriend."

    Jake's eyes grew wide. He quickly looked at me. His right cheek was still red, because I'd slapped him there...but now his left cheek was getting red, too.

    I tried to push my hopes down before he could crush them. But I'd never been too good at controlling my emotions.

    "He also said that you're stubborn," I added, to stall. I wasn't ready to hear the answer myself.

    "Sure I am," Jake grumbled.

    "So?" I asked, just as impatient as he had been. "Is it true? Just say yes or no."

    "No," he said. "But like Lucas said, I'm stubborn. I don't like telling the truth."

    And he finally, finally smiled at me.

    It was the smile I'd been dying to see forever, since I'd first met him. Without thinking I jumped at him, throwing my arms around his neck...he wrapped his arms around me, too, looking bewildered but pleased.


    "Do you think Jake and Ella are okay now?" Lucas asked Kate, grinning.
    "I think they are," Kate said, grinning back. "I always knew they'd be a pretty cute couple."