✓ SOUR SWEETHEARTS | JAKE

17 - Losing The Dare

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm here because I want to." She frowned. "What are you doing here?" 

"I followed you and I happened to find you here. How do you know about this place?" His eyes flickered to the waterfall and then back to her as she sat on the mossy rock, her fingers tracing the surface of the clear pool below the waterfall.

"I stumbled upon it, okay? But now you ruined my peace and I don't want to stay here anymore." She sighed heavily and stood up, leaving him standing there like a statue while he watched her with disappointment. Y/N began to walk away from the waterfall, trying to find her way through the big trees. 

Jake quickly followed her, matching her pace. "Why are you always so fucking annoyed? The second I try to talk to you, you act like I've committed a crime," He finally blurted out, his frustration growing. "Can't we just have a normal conversation without you shutting me down?"

"Of course, I should be annoyed. You annoy me!" She turned to face him her finger pointed accusingly. "You come into my life, ruin my vacation, you and your girlfriend or whatever, and drive me so mad that I ended up kissing you. Do you even realize how complicated you've made everything?"

He scoffed and threw his hands in the air out of frustration. "You kissed me because you know damn well you're attracted to me, Y/N. And what girlfriend are you even talking about? Heran? Are you jealous of her?"

"What? No! Why would I even be jealous of her? It's not like I care about who you date." Her cheeks flushed with anger and she continued walking away, trying to find her way through the dark forest.

Jake quickened his pace, catching up to her once more. "Then what's the problem? Why are you making this so complicated? We had a moment, okay? It was unexpected, but it happened. We can talk about it and move on, like adults, but no, you're trying to make me the bad guy just because I believed Heran over you. Guess what? I'm human, Y/N, and it's not wrong for me to trust a friend over someone I barely know."

She scoffed and halted abruptly, causing him to bump into her and the two of them ended up falling down the edge of a pretty high hill, tumbling together until they came to a stop at the bottom, surrounded by fallen leaves and twigs. Y/N groaned as she tried to sit up, rubbing her aching side. 

"Great, just great," She muttered, glaring at Jake who was also attempting to get up and brush off the dirt from his clothes. "This day just keeps getting better and better."

Jake winced as he tried to stand up but only ended up sitting down with a thud. He held his leg tightly, his face contorted in pain. "I think I broke my ankle," he admitted, wincing as he tried to move it. "Fuck, I have a dancing competition in two months."

Y/N looked at him, her annoyance momentarily overshadowed by concern. "Are you serious? Let me see." She said, crawling closer and gently examining his ankle. "It doesn't look broken, but it's definitely swollen. You might have sprained it pretty badly."

"Great. Just what I needed." Jake gritted his teeth, his frustration turning into a grimace of pain. "Fuck it," He sighed heavily, resting his head against the trees behind him. "Are you hurt?" His words made her hide her arm behind her but he could see a scrape on her forearm. "You are," he continued, "Let me see that. Do you have any supplies with you?"

Y/N hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly showed him her scraped and slightly bruised forearm. "I didn't exactly plan on getting into a forest accident today, you know." She yanked her hand away and let out an annoyed sigh while trying to look for her phone. "Shit, where's my phone?" She carefully stood up and searched the place around her because she was holding her phone and it should be somewhere nearby. But it was nowhere to be found and she paused, running her fingers through her hair in frustration.

Jake watched her search for her phone, a sinking feeling in his chest. He had left his phone with Heran and losing their only means of communication with the outside world wasn't good news, especially considering his injured ankle. "We'll find it-"

"Where?" Y/N snapped at him, her frustration boiling over. She clenched her fists, her scraped forearm stinging. "We're in the middle of nowhere, Jake, with no phone, no GPS, and now you with a bum ankle. It's all your fault."

"How is this my fault? It's not like I fucking wanted to sprain my ankle," Jake shot back, his patience wearing thin. He knew Y/N was upset, but blaming him for their situation wasn't helping anyone. "You're always quick to point fingers, Y/N. This isn't the time for that."

"Oh yeah? Well, you're always ruining things. My phone has literally every single unpublished chapter I wrote and you're telling me to calm down like it's not a big deal-"

"Fuck your chapters and your damn writing!" Jake exploded, his frustration and pain finally reaching a breaking point. "You act like that's the only thing that matters right now. We're lost in the fucking woods, Y/N, and you're more concerned about your stupid stories. I'm trying not to be angry and frustrated but you make it so damn hard." His chest heaved as he tried to catch his breath, the pain in his ankle mirrored by the pain in his heart.

She had never seen him so angry before, and it stunned her into silence. Standing there with clenched fists, she bit her bottom lip as tears welled up in her eyes. For a moment, they both just stared at each other, their harsh words hanging in the air like a heavy cloud. "Yeah... you're right. They're just stupid stories." Her voice was shaky as she admitted it and sat down beside him, making sure there was a bit of distance.

"Y/N, stop acting like that-" He reached out, trying to touch her arm gently, but she pulled away, still stinging from his words.

"No, Jake. I get it. We're in a tough situation, and maybe I've been too wrapped up in my own world. But those 'stupid stories' are important to me, just like your dancing is important to you." She turned her gaze away, staring at the forest around them as if it held the answers to all their problems.

"Okay, whatever. I'll just sit here in silence then," Jake muttered, leaning back against the tree. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for lashing out at her, even though her initial anger had hurt him as well. But the silence didn't last long between them. The forest around them began to fill with the sounds of chirping birds, rustling leaves, and the distant rush of water from the waterfall. 

The sound of something rustling in the underbrush nearby made Y/N gasp and hold her legs closer to her, her eyes widening in alarm. Jake let out a scoff and looked away. "What are you scoffing at now?" She hissed at him, her fear and anxiety now redirected towards whatever was lurking in the underbrush.

"It's just a little squirrel." He replied, looking at the harmless creature that had emerged from the underbrush. The squirrel stared at them with its tiny beady eyes, twitching its fluffy tail before scurrying away into the trees. He turned to look at Y/N, his gaze lingering on her momentarily before speaking. "But if you're scared, you can sit next to me-" 

Before he knew it, Y/N scooted closer to him, her heart still racing. She gently held his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, avoiding his gaze as she continued to stare at the forest around them. Her hand trembled slightly, and she let out a shaky breath.

Jake swallowed a hard lump in his throat when he felt Y/N's head resting on his shoulder. He only wished that she couldn't hear how his heart was beating so fast for her because it was right then when he realized he had already lost the dare.