Guilty by Association [Jacob Barber x reader]

Eight.

Eight.

Their normal pre-Ben weekends were spent mostly sleeping and bingeing movies. It was Sunday now, and they continued their old traditions. Esther was relieved that she could still rely on one part of her life to stay the same. She nestled herself closer to Jacob, as if possible, as they rewatched some old Disney movie. She was hardly paying attention anyways. Her thoughts kept returning back to that dreadful day. She ignored the feeling of her chest restricting around her heart and instead focused on Jacob's arm around her torso.

He'd been extensively careful not to accidentally touch her lower back. Her wound was nowhere near completely healed, so she still couldn't lie down comfortably on her back. It was almost intolerably itchy but Jacob had warned her not to scratch it, for obvious reasons. He wanted nothing more than for things to go back to the way they used to be. He wished he could somehow bring Ben back from the dead. Although it pained him to think about it, Ben and Esther had a bond he could only hope to have with someone someday. He remembered when Esther had asked him to go on their first date after months of flirting, Ben looked hurt. Jacob didn't think too hard about it, though, because he was too focused on Esther. He was beside himself and immediately agreed.

Jacob felt himself tune out of the movie as he drifted off to sleep, dreaming about all of his pleasant memories with Esther.

***

It was freshman year, Jacob was wandering aimlessly around, wishing he'd gone to the freshman orientation. He was about to pull out his phone to text Derek but decided to take one last look around. That's when he first saw her. Leaning up against a row of lockers, chatting with someone next to her, and staring directly at him. The girl brushed off whatever the boy next to her was saying with a swipe of the hand and walked away, right in Jacob's direction. Jacob was sure she was going somewhere behind him, despite her relentless eye contact, and didn't even hear the first words she uttered to him, because he assumed they weren't meant for him.

"Hey," the girl said more firmly. "Are you lost?"

Jacob looked up at her, captivated by her striking gray eyes. "Who, me?"

The girl smiled at him. "Yeah, you," she gestured behind her, where the boy she was chatting with stared at them, biting his thumbnail. "My friend Ben and I are freshmen, too. We have no idea what we're doing, either. Wanna come be lost with us?"

Jacob smiled at her, confused. He was mostly wondering why she'd take him under her wing if she had no clue what was going on herself, but that's what he found the most endearing. He followed her back to the brunet boy, who ignored him and looked only at Esther. "I'm Esther Chaupin, by the way," she brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Oh, I, um, I'm Jacob Barber," Jacob muttered shyly.

Esther nudged the boy next to her, who didn't respond in any way. She scoffed. "Ben, stop acting so timid. You'll literally be running this bitch in a week. This is my best friend, Ben Rifkin."

Ben smiled. "I'm your only friend."

"Yeah, for now," Esther said. "Look at Jacob and follow his example. He didn't say a word about my old lady name."

Jacob assumed that was an inside joke, but smiled anyway.

"Feel lucky, Ben," Esther grinned. "Or should I say soon-to-be-side-piece?"

"I can only be a side piece if you have a boyfriend, Ess," Ben said with a smile. "Which will never happen, nobody would take you but me."

"And I'd be lucky to have you, Ben," Esther said, awkwardly laughing. "But you can do better than me. Anyways-"

Jacob was glad to be out of that conversation. He wished he could leave, feeling like he was intruding.