early mornings [JAKE]

[delilah megan cohen]

The only thing worse than an early morning class, in Delilah's eyes at least, was an early morning class on a Friday. Having to get up early any day of the week was bad enough, especially if when you had to drag yourself across town to get to class on time. But making all that happen on a Friday morning was just torture.

Thankfully this wasn't something Delilah had to deal with on a daily basis. Friday was her only 8:30 class, and she was glad that it was one that she enjoyed to much, or else she'd be faced with the temptation each week of skipping. Pushing herself across campus, Delilah walked at a pace faster than normal. Even though she was far from being late, her class was awkwardly far from the main entrance of the building, and doodling only made the walk seem longer than it was.

As Delilah reached the classroom, she walked in being only one of five already there, and took her normal seat near the edge of the room at one of the double desks. After pulling her books from her bag, Delilah pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, and started checking the various social networking sites she had linked to it. She knew that she probably should of been reading her notes from last class, but she didn't really care. Delilah, or anyone who'd be in this room for the new hour or so, wasn't awake enough to care. Instead she scrolled through the endless news feed, reading ridiculous updates, wasting time until class started.

[jake matthew hunter]

Mornings and Jake had never mixed, but he thought that because he only had to get up early on Fridays that the promise of the weekend was enough to make up for the alarm clock ringing in his ear at half six in the morning. Still, just because he accepted it, didn't mean he enjoyed it much. Friday mornings often consisted of Jake moving around his house in a zombie like state. It was nothing short of a miracle that he actually made it to college presentable.

The walk across campus always seemed to wake him up though, so that by the time he arrived at class he appeared pretty awake and ready for anything, even if he was still sleeping on the inside. Although by the time class started he was almost always awake. Delilah Cohen just seemed to have that effect on him. Maybe that was why he didn't mind getting up at half six every Friday morning. Of course, he wouldn't tell her that. Not yet anyway. He wasn't going to rush anything with her though...

Jake could see the classroom for his first lesson now, and knew that he was early. The hallways weren't too busy, but they would be soon enough. The classroom wasn't too busy either, he soon found out once he reached it. If his maths was any good - and it should've been since he was taking a course in math - he counted five others in the room, one of which was Delilah. A small smile crept onto his face as he saw her. She was sitting at her desk, all of her attention on her phone. He went to sit down in the open seat next to her, pretty sure she wouldn't notice until he was actually sat down, with his bag on the desk. "You know you're not meant to have that out right?"

[/color]

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[delilah megan cohen]

Delilah didn't know how long she had been sucked into the world created by Mark Zukerberg. Ten minutes? Twenty? Three? She had no idea. Actually, it was quite amazing how she got sucked in by reading a bunch of nothing. No wonder the kid was a gazillionaire. If it wasn't for Jake sitting down next to her, Delilah was sure that she wouldn't of snapped out of it until the teacher came in to start the lesson.

As he sat down and begun to talk, Delilah's attention snapped away from her phone and went back to reality. Closing her phone's browser, Delilah looked over at Jake. She found it weird how, in the past, her and Jake hardly spoke, and now Delilah found herself talking to him at least once a day. She used to remember avoiding him and his fling of the hour week, but now she hardly noticed Jake's love life. Did he even have one anymore? She mentally shook her head. No. He just became better at hiding it. It was one of the things Delilah said to him when they started hanging out; that she didn't need to hang out with his "flavor of the week".

Delilah looked around the room, and then back to Jake before she started to speak. "You do know that there's no teacher here yet, so it doesn't matter." Yes, Jake was right. In the classroom, at least according to this mornings teacher's rules, cell phones weren't allowed. "And besides, that's never stopped you from pulling out your phone during a lesson." Delilah quickly added with a smirk.

[jake matthew hunter]

"You do know that there's no teacher here yet, so it doesn't matter." Delilah told him, and he answered her with one of his 'Jake Hunter' signature smiles. They seemed to be pretty effective on girls, if past experiences told him anything, but for some reason they just didn't have the same effect on Delilah. That didn't stop him from using them though. Maybe one day they'd become effective. "Yes. Well, who knows when a teacher might pop their head in and then bam, your phone's gone."

[/color] Jake was of course talking from memory... He couldn't remember how many times over the years he'd had his phone confiscated. He'd never learnt his lesson though, and if Delilah wasn't here for him to talk to he'd probably be on it right now.

"And besides, that's never stopped you from pulling out your phone during a lesson." She added quickly, a smirk on her face as if she was proud of what she had just said. She had a point though; Jake was pretty good at 'paying attention' and being on his phone at the same time. He hadn't had his phone taken from him since the end of the last school year. "But I'm more discrete than you, Miss Cohen..."[/color] Jake replied, winking at her. "I don't text that much anymore anyway,"[/color] He added. It was true... A couple of years ago and he'd be getting texts from people left right and center, mostly girls but that wasn't that important. He'd dated a lot of different girls back then, but since he and Delilah started hanging out, he'd started talking to them less and less, far more interested in Delilah. He hadn't stopped altogether though. Delilah seemed to be harder to get than most girls here... which was something that he found that he liked about her... that she didn't just throw herself at guys (although this whole thing would have gone a lot quicker if she had). "So, do you have plans for the weekend?"[/color]

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[delilah megan cohen]

When Jake flashed one of his smiles, Delilah couldn't help but roll her eyes. Not only did it bug him, which was always a fun thing to do, she knew that he had been trying to make his move on her for the past… forever. True, it all came natural to Jake, hitting on girls, but Delilah still wasn't certain if he was after her because she was still on his "to do" list, or if he genuinely wanted to date her.

"This isn't high school, Jake. Teachers just don't take phones for no reason," Delilah said, "Unless the teacher said 'no phones' as a part of their rules, of course." She smiled triumphantly again. There was some sort of satisfaction when it came to shooting down Jake.

When Jake told her that he was more discrete, Delilah shook her head and ignored his wink. But when he mentioned not texting people as often anymore, she nodded. Although there wasn't a change in the tone of his voice, she knew what he meant. And she agreed with his statement. Though she hadn't been texting different girls at the same time, as Jake did, Delilah used to be glued to her phone, texting Aaron whenever the two weren't together.

Jake's next question snapped Delilah out of her thoughts. Mentally, she thanked him. "Oh, um…" Delilah thought for a moment. Did she have anything planned this weekend? "Nothing really… The usual… You know, homework," She told him, trying not to think of what a depressing life she lives. "What about you? Hot date?" Delilah asked, turning to him, laughing lightly. Although she had asked, Delilah hoped that he wouldn't go into detail if he did have a date planned with girl-of-the-weekend.

[jake matthew hunter]

"This isn't high school, Jake. Teachers just don't take phones for no reason, unless the teacher said 'no phones' as a part of their rules, of course."

[/i] Jake had to give her that. This most definitely wasn't high school, and so the rules were a little more lenient here. Still, this was a 'no phones' class, as some idiot who sat a few seats away from both Delilah and him found out a couple of weeks ago. Although if Jake was being honest, he was surprised that the phone hadn't gone well before that. This guy had no idea on how to use his phone in class without causing suspicion. He might as well have had a big neon sign flashing over his head. It wouldn't have made it any more obvious.

Sometimes Jake wondered what it was about this girl that made him keep trying to get her to go out with him. She was gorgeous, yes, but then again so were a lot of other good looking girls in this place. A lot of his friends said that he was wasting his time on her, but Jake didn't see it like that at all. Even though she did keep turning him down, he liked just being with her. He was going to turn into a right soppy mess at this rate, but if that was what it took, then it wouldn't be all too bad.

Jake's question seemed to pull Delilah out of her head, and he couldn't help but wonder what she'd been thinking about so hard. He doubted it was him, but still hoped for it anyway. "Oh, um…" She stuttered out, which only added to Jake's suspicion that she'd been engrossed in her thoughts. "Nothing really… The usual… You know, homework," Oh wow. He thought to himself, not really being able to stop the thought from appearing. "Well that sounds... Fun."[/color] He replied sarcastically. Jake couldn't imagine a worse way to spend his weekend. Of course he would do homework, but if that was all he did, then he was pretty sure he'd go crazy or something. "What about you? Hot date?" She asked, laughing lightly at the end. His weekend plans were pretty non-existent this time for once. Jake turned slightly in his chair, his elbow on the desk. "That depends,"[/color] He answered. "Are you free?"[/color]


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[delilah megan cohen]

Delilah couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something about Jake. Maybe it was his smile that after looking at it caused you to smile too. Or, maybe it was how hard he has been trying to get her to go out with him. Delilah hoped it was the latter, not being a particular fan of knowing that seeing him smile made her smile. Although, Delilah didn't know if he was only hanging out with her in hopes to get her to go out with him. If it was, and if she finally said yes, would Delilah lose one of her friends? Were they even friends?

Delilah hoped so. She did like hanging out with Jake, and as much as she hated to admit it, he could be quite charming. You know, weekly-bimbos aside. And, probably the thing Delilah liked most about hanging out with Jake was that she didn't think about Aaron as often. Yes, the thought of Aaron always did linger in her mind, but at least when she was around him (and when she wasn't around him, she was typically with Emma* or her other friends), she didn't have the time to keep Aaron at the top of her thoughts.

When Jake commented on her weekend plans, Delilah could almost feel the sarcasm. She didn't see that big of a problem with her plans. Yes, it was sort of hermit like, but Delilah did most of the following weeks homework during the weekend, that way she didn't have to worry about it during the week. Then Jake, as if it was right on cue, asked her if she was free in reply to her asking about his "hot date".

Putting her elbow down on the desk, Delilah leaned her head against her hand as she looked at him. "This again?" She asked, like it was almost expected of her. The two really did go over this too often. "Jake…" Delilah started, trying to make this weeks talk different from the last (which was different from the last and so on), "You know I…" Delilah's voice trailed off. She knew what she wanted to say, but trying to get it out while thoughts of Aaron went through her mind was always hard. "I'm sorry, but no." She told him, trying to make as little eye contact as possible, while giving her head a light shake from side to side.

[jake matthew hunter]

He didn't expect her to say yes. They'd done this dance so many times before, and so far it had always turned out the same... Delilah would turn him down and he'd brush it off of his shoulder, acting as though it was nothing. He'd known that she wouldn't just give in... Her last relationship had been... abruptly ended to say the least. Jake didn't like thinking about it, but that didn't change the fact that he'd as good as pulled the trigger on her ex. Well, he didn't actually shoot the guy, but hitting him with his car had had the same sort of consequence. Jake carried the guilt of that night around with him every day. You'd think that he wouldn't be able to stand being around her after that, but the opposite was true. Somehow being around her lifted the guilt a little. When he was around her, he didn't think about that night nearly as much.

Maybe Jake should change how he went about this. After all, a definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again, expecting the same outcome. So what could he do? He could go for a different outcome, but he didn't really want to do that. Then what? He'd have to change how he went about asking her.

Jake liked to think that he knew Delilah well enough to know when it came to knowing when something was on her mind, and he was pretty sure that now was one of those times. He didn't know what was on her mind. He didn't want to think about that. That would just get all too complicated for him. "Okay, let's drop the date part."

[/color] He suggested, referring to the 'hot date' that she'd brought up. In his eyes, it wasn't possible to drop the 'hot' part, simply because he thought she was beautiful. "Saturday night. You... Me... As friends. You can even bring homework if you want..."[/color]


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[delilah megan cohen]

Delilah would be lying if she said she didn't feel about about saying no to Jake. Everytime she told him, she felt bad about it. But she didn't regret saying no. She never had. Honestly, when she thought about it, Delilah didn't know why Jake still tried, time after time. Did he expect a change of heart suddenly? She didn't even understand what he saw in her, especially after all the rejections.

Sure, Jake seemed like nice guy, but Delilah wasn't ready to move on. True it had been two years since Aaron, but it was almost if Delilah feared moving on. That if she moved on, she'd forget him. And, on top of that, Delilah always took Jake's past into consideration. Would he lose interest in her once she said yes? This was all too much for one girl to think of almost everyday.

Delilah didn't expect Jake's change in proposal. Maybe it was because they went through the same thing every week, so anything of course seemed surprising. Jake was suggesting that they hang out as friends. Of course Delilah knew that he wanted more, but she didn't. Not now at least. And hearing Jake suggest this made Delilah a bit happy, knowing that he really did listen to things she had said in the past about not wanting a relationship. "So If I bring my homework you won't be upset?" She asked him, with a small smile growing on her face.

[jake matthew hunter]

Jake's fingers tapped at the table impatiently, his mind going in to overdrive as he tried to predict Delilah's reaction. She'd said no to him every single time before this - trying to let him down lightly of course, and he'd say 'Don't worry, maybe next time?' Every time after she'd turned him down, he started to think about listening to the part of his head that told him it was never going to happen, and that he should just move on. But he couldn't.

There was just something about Delilah Cohen... The way that she made him feel when he managed to get a proper smile out of her, the sort that made her whole face light up. The sound of her laugh when he said something that amused her. She had him, even if she didn't know that she did, or even if she didn't want to have him. It was easy for Jake to see why that Aaron guy she'd been dating - before he died - had fallen for her. Jake was pretty surprised that she didn't have more admirerers following her around like he did. Of course, maybe they were just a lot more subtle than he was. It would make sense...

"So If I bring my homework you won't be upset?" She asked, one of those smiles slowly starting to make an appearance on her face. Jake' face mirrored hers as he smiled at her words. "Definitely not. And if you forget your homework I'll let you do mine..."

[/color] Heck, he'd probably get a better mark for it if she did it.


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[delilah megan cohen]

Honestly, Delilah was glad when she saw the teacher walk into the classroom. Most of the time seeing the teacher walk in sucked. It meant that the class would start soon. But now, it meant that her and Jake would have to stop talking. It wasn't like Delilah was opposed to talking to him, it was actually the opposite, it was something she enjoyed. But since she had finally accepted his "not-a-date" offer, Delilah figured that ceasing the conversation would be better. Safer.

Delilah didn't regret saying yes. In all honesty, it gave her something to look forward to doing on the weekend. But there was such a thing as being to excited, and although she wasn't close to being at that mark, Delilah didn't want Jake to know that she was looking forward to it. She constantly put so much effort into constantly turning down Jake, trying not to let go of the past, that it seemed weird to be looking forward to this.

As the teacher moved from her desk to start the lesson, Delilah took the last free moment, and turned to Jake. "Message me later," She said, in a hushed tone while pulling out her computer from her bag, "And we can figure out where we're going to meet."