Uprising

Chapter 6

After my shift was done, I went and got changed out of my work clothes after clocking out. I took out my phone from my work bag and decided to call Eric quick while I was in the back and out of ear shot of Jake. After one ring, he picked it up.

"Everything alright?"

"Umm, yeah, Jake hung back and waited for me." I told him simply because I wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Oh." Eric sounded surprised at what I'd told him. "He said he was going home to me. Sly dog. I guess I'll have to have a talk with him and tell him to not mess you around or I'll kill him."

"Wh..wh.. what do you mean?" I stuttered a little, unsure of how to take his comment, as I sat down in a chair for a moment.

"Jake is... Jake." Eric seemed to answer as if he were not sure how else to explain Jake in the slightest. "He's a good guy, but when it comes to women, sometimes he's not his true self."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means don't fall for his charm, Iz, and remember you have a boyfriend. You'll soon see and figure it out for yourself if nothing else." I heard Eric quietly and I shook my head a little.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"Just be careful and try giving him the benefit of the doubt; he is a good one, I promise. I mean, at least give him a chance to be friends, is what I'm saying."

"I'll try." I muttered. "Have a good night, Eric, and tell Jen the same." I didn't wait for his reply, as I just hung up, closed my eyes, and took a couple of deep breaths. So Jake was a bit of a playboy, and I certainly had no time for those types of people in my life, but I had to try and at least be nice for Eric's sake. I had to try and get along with Jake while he was in town, as I had no clue just how long he was going to be around for.

I grabbed my stuff and got up, and as I did, my phone buzzed as I found a text from Eric. I opened it quickly, laughed, and shook my head a little. If he doesn't behave, tell me, and I'll kill him personally for you, I promise. I locked my phone again, shoved it into my jeans pocket and then headed out to find Jake.

He was still sitting in the booth I'd spotted him going into and I slid in opposite him.

"I thought you'd run out the back and ditched me."

"I thought about it for a moment but then decided against it. I owe it to Eric for us to try and be friends at the least." Jake laughed at the comment and shook his head a little.

"And here I was thinking you'd agreed to this because you liked my charms and all along you've been doing it for our best friend." I couldn't help but laugh at the comment, too. It did sound a little like a low blow, but from what Eric had said about him being a playboy, I figured that a small jab to his ego wouldn't hurt him too much.

"So, what are you drinking tonight?"

"Coffee," I told him simply. "I have some late-night studying to do later when I get home for my exam at the end of the week."

"Ah, so your the good girl type who gets her head down and gets on with what she has to do." Jake nodded to himself. "I can respect that." He offered with a smile. "How do you have your coffee?"

"Sugar and milk, please." I told him quietly, as I felt a little bad for lying to him, but then again, I didn't have to put my whole life on the line for him to know; at the end of the day, the only reason I was getting to know him was purely and simply because Eric had asked me to give him a chance, so that's what I planned on doing.

Jake got up, went to the bar and ordered for us. He came back not very long later with two coffees; he passed one over to me while he took the black coffee.

"Thank you." I told him quietly as I wrapped my hands around the cup for my own comfort.

"So you and Eric are friends?" Jake asked me, tilting his head a little.

"Mmhmm." I answered simply. "I have known Eric for a long time. He was one of my first friends when I moved here." I told him honestly. That had been the truth; when Cordelia had found us a home, she'd made friends with as many people as she could, both human and supernatural. Eric was the son of the Alpha and Luna of the pack that lives near Cordelia.

Eric and I hit it off as friends right away and whenever Cordelia had business with the pack, I was always too happy to go with her to see Eric and his mum and dad had always been happy for me to go.

"Why are you jealous?" I decided to chime in to try and figure him out. Eric had said he was harmless but I still felt on the edge about that statement.

"Nah, just curious why, in all the years I've known him, he's never mentioned you." Jake lent back into the back of the booth, watching me. "I mean, you are special to him and Jen accepts you too... I just get the feeling there's more to you than meets the eye and there's more to you and Eric than meets the eye too."

I couldn't help but shift a little in my seat, uncomfortably, at how observant he'd been both times I'd met him. I took a sip of the coffee, trying to process just how I was going to answer, when Jake laughed a little.

"Is it that you have a crush on him and are waiting for him to notice you?" I nearly choked on the last small amount of coffee I had in my mouth at his comment. Had he really thought that? "Because you know him and Jen aren't going to break up anytime soon."

"You have it completely wrong if you think that." I couldn't help but laugh a little after I'd swallowed the coffee. "I know those two are made for each other; anyone can see that." I shrugged and shook my head a little as I laughed a little again.

"So what is it like then?" Jake seemed to grin as if he were winning the conversation and was finally getting to the bottom of the big mystery that was Eric and me, even though it had nothing to do with him or anyone else.

"You know Eric. There's a reason why he kept you and me separate. He likes to keep his business life at work, so to speak, and he likes to keep his personal life exactly that. You fall under the first part of his life, while I fall under the second part of his life. If you want to know what happened between him and me, then I suggest you ask him. I'm not breaking my friendship with him after all these years over you, who I've just met. And I mean no disrespect by that either."

"None taken." Jake took a drink of his coffee and then put it down with a look of defeat on his face for a moment and then something else seemed to cross his face as if he'd decided on a new course of conversation. "So did Eric ever tell you about me?" He asked curiously.

I just laughed quietly and shook my head at him in disbelief. "I heard your name once or twice." I decided to settle for. "Why does it bother you so much?" I asked quietly as I lent back into the booth and folded my arms, watching him intently.

"I'm just trying to figure out why he's protective of you." Jake shrugged as if he decided that being honest was going to get him more answers than questions.

"Like I told you, Eric and I have history. We've shared secrets with each other. I guess he just felt protective of me. If I'm honest, it feels like your jealous of me." I told him honestly.

"It's not that in the slightest." Jake leaned forward on the table. "Eric is my best friend, and I understand he has his own secrets and things he won't tell me, but I just don't like knowing certain things, especially when all I want for him is for nothing to come back and bite him because of the position he'll be stepping into when he gets to the right age."

I shook my head and looked at Jake again. "I know Eric is set to take over his family business, if you will." I told him simply. "If you think I'd go and find a way to destroy that for Eric, then you really have no trust in your best friend. I'd never do anything to hurt Eric." I picked up my coffee cup, finished it, and put it back on the table. I could feel myself beginning to get angry with Jake and I knew that was a dangerous line for me to walk, so I decided that the coffee and talk were over.

I leaned over, grabbed my stuff, and stood up. I stopped before I walked out of the restaurant and looked at Jake. "If you must know, I'd never betray Eric or Jen like that. I might not be able to love him like I once did, but at the end of the day, Eric is like my brother and that is why he protects me and why I'd do anything to protect him and Jen. Jen understands what Eric and I had and understands that we can't simply walk away from feelings as simply as what you'd probably want, but at the end of the day, we both know it's over but we found a new way to love and support each other." I shoved my bag up on my shoulder. "Is that what you wanted to know or hear?" I didn't wait for an answer from Jake as I walked out after waving goodnight to the bar staff.

I walked over to the car in a bit of anger. I dug into the pocket of my coat for my keys and then shoved the key into the car door, threw my stuff in once it was unlocked and then got into the car and locked my door. I knew I needed to calm myself before I went to see Danny. I couldn't take this anger and negativity with me; otherwise, I knew it was going to end badly tonight and I needed at least one thing to go right tonight.

"Comtheano." I muttered as I took a slow, deep breath with my hand clenched up into a fist. I could slowly feel a calm washing over me and I unclenched my hand from a fist into a flat hand, rested it on my knee and took a few more deep breaths. "There is no point in putting this off any longer." I muttered to myself and then put my key into the engine, started the car up, put the heating on and then started the half-hour drive to Danny's house. I really hadn't been looking forward to doing this tonight, but I knew I had to do it; otherwise, I'd just find another reason to back out and I'd find a reason to carry on the lie that I'd been living. I can't do that anymore; I need to know if he'll accept me or not.