Jacob Whitesides Prefrences

Promise

hello! my name's kailey, I decided to give preferences a go. I hope you enjoy! a few of these will be written by shawnscookiee.

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Your palm was softly pressed against the dips of his shoulders, his chin resting atop your head with his arms loosely draped around your waist. You had your head to his bare chest, which was rising an falling, hearing his heartbeat go ga-gung repeatedly while he slept.

You couldn't help but wonder if perhaps, while this close, he could hear your thoughts.

It was a feeling that couldn't have been the heat of the moment. You had been denying it since the moment you met him, directly seated beside you at a country music concert you were both forced to attend.

His smile unleashed the butterflies in your stomach, his eyes could light up the starless night sky. You'd been having the same recurring feeling of falling-- a rush of wind to catch every limb, scared for life, but with adrenaline buzzing through you like fire.

But you couldn't speak it.

Three words like that are the only ones that can make or break you. They lead to one of two things, and you couldn't keep your heart set on either of them.

Still, you could feel them on the very far edge of your tongue as he slept, and you slowly moved one hand from his shoulder to his hair and softly ruffled the tiny strands of brunette there. As you quietly sat up a bit to see him, your lips twitched into a smile that wouldn't abolish in this room.

Suddenly, his eyes fluttered open, and he sat still, half-asleep.

"Morning," you say softly, your voice raspy.

He yawns, gaze set on you. His smile couldn't and wouldn't leave, either.

"Hey," he bites his lip, hands tightening on your waist. You now sat up completely, so that you were straddling his lower stomach.

He looks up at you and grins. "How'd you sleep, princess?"

You nod, wanting to tell him now, but resisting. "Good. You kept me warm and all."

He chuckles softly, his voice low. "You want some breakfast?"

You agree, and he starts to get up out of the bed, but you place a hand on his chest and stop him.

"Wait," you say. "I have to tell you something first."

You feel your stomach tie up into a knot, hands clammy. This was it.

He sat, waiting. You look away from him, down at the sheet that he lay on.

"I think, um... " you glance around the room, anywhere but his eyes. "I think I'm in love with you."

No. That came out wrong.

You had rehearsed it hundreds of times, you were supposed to word it differently. You were supposed to wait until he said it first.

You finally narrow your gaze on him, watching his smile slowly fade away. He didn't move. He averted his eyes to the wall of his bedroom, and sat completely still.

"... Jacob?"

He looked as if he was about to say something, but he didn't.

It hit you like a thousand bricks, piling on top of you and never halting. This is exactly what you were afraid of.

As your eyes begin to sting, your throat constricting, you climb over him and race out of the bedroom so he couldn't see you cry.

You topple down the stairs one by one, your first instinct being the front door. But you head for the bathroom instead, locking the door behind you.

As you lean up against the wall, you feel yourself slide all the way down. You bury your face in your arms, hugging your knees to your body. You felt unbelievably small, and ignorant. It was nothing you should have toyed with. Love is for grown-ups-- you knew nothing about it.

With each negative thought, you got that falling feeling again. Only this time, there was no adrenaline, and no excitement. Only terror.

A knock on the door startled you. You struggled to wipe away all evidence of tears, to shop shuddering and making noise so he could be given no hint that you were dying inside.

"Go away," you manage to say, trying to maintain a strong voice.

"Baby, please," he begs from the other side of the door. "Please, listen to me, Y/N. Open the door."

"No, go away. I'm calling my mom to come pick me up, seriously. I don't want to talk to you."

"Open the door, Y/N. Please. I don't know why I tensed up like that back there, I really don't. Maybe it's because I'm scared that I, you know, feel the same way. I've only ever loved one girl in my life, and..."

You slowly stand up, stepping towards the door. With a single turn of the nob, the lock unclicked, and you swing the door open.

"...and it ended in heartbreak. But now, there's you." His eyes adjusted and he looked down at you, his figure towering beside the door frame. "And I don't know why I couldn't say it back, because I wanted to. I just didn't want to seal the deal. Saying I love you, Y/N, is a promise."

"It's a promise that I wanted to make," you say weakly. "I really do love you."

He bites his lip and a grin spreads there, hands reaching out to find your hips. He envelopes your body into a hug, and softly kisses the top of your head.

"Here it goes," he mumbles, taking a deep breath.

Finally, after pausing, he adds, "Twenty bucks says I love you even more."

***