Chapter 02
1363 Words
"Oh, c'mon sis! Let's be real, okay? You know when someone's ugly! She's ugly!" Jacob told her sister who just rolled her eyes at him. They're having breakfast at the moment.
"Hmm, wow! She must be really ugly," his older brother Jeremy commented.
"Now, now, boys what did I tell you? Outer beauty isn't going to last, everyone starts having wrinkles when they get older," their mother said.
"But didn't you say you saw her kindness towards the street children? You found her beautiful first," his sister, Jane told him as she slices her meat.
That made Jacob think about it. Yeah, she's beautiful in that way but she still looks so ugly. He doesn't know if he should apologize to her later at school or what. He just sighed his decision off.
•••
Merida felt sick looking at herself in the mirror. Why does she have so many pimples all over her face? Why does she doesn't have a perfect nose as everyone has? Why are her eyebrows too bushy? Why are her lips always cracked? Why is her front tooth crooked? Why is she so ugly?
Tears were coming out from the corner of her eyes. She sniffed as she knows, another person was going to team up with everyone against her. That guy from last night... he even froze.
She sighed deeply and tried to smile. Even her smile is ugly. There's nothing beautiful about her. There's just no one who could fall for her.
Wiping her tears away, she stopped looking at her ugly face. She turned around and took her backpack, leaving her room for school.
•••
Jacob was normally late but this day was something else. He wanted to apologize to Merida so he was early, only to find no Merida in the classroom. Maybe Brandon was wrong, he thought.
The bell rang and everyone went inside. Usually, he wouldn't mind anything that is happening anymore at this point but then he did. He finally saw her ugly face coming in, but wait, he didn't just notice that! He noticed a bruise too. That made him slightly frowned. What happened to her?
The whole day, the bruise is all he could think of. Even at basketball practice, he couldn't focus so he sat at the bleacher. Then he suddenly heard those girls laughing again.
"I couldn't help it! Her ugly face was so annoying that I had to throw a fist at her for no reason but her ugliness!" What she said sparked guffaws around their area.
"So that's why she had that..." he mumbled.
Jacob thought something for about a minute and then snatched his backpack and run towards the exit of that gym.
"Yo! Jacob! Where are you heading man? The practice isn't over yet!" Brandon yelled across the court.
"I have to go! It's an emergency!" He shouted and never again looked back.
At the school ground, he looked around for Merida. He needs to apologize to her for acting the way he acted. First, he went inside the classroom but no one was there. Next was the library because usually, nerds stay there and again she wasn't.
As soon as he was losing hope to see Merida, shepopped up at the staircase. Her eyes widened seeing him down the stairs but Jacob's grin turned into a smug.
She was stuck on that step for moments until he took a step up and she heard a bell on her head. A warning bell that she immediately turned around and rushed to climb up.
"Wait! Merida!" She heard him scream but no! There was just no way that she's going to face that guy! No uh!
She continued to climb up. Good thing almost everyone was gone already.
"Merida c'mon! I just want to talk!" She heard him again.
His voice is like a blasting sound of a chainsaw that was going to tear her apart. It was scary to her so she kept running until she was up at the rooftop where she was nowhere to go.
Merida was catching her breath thinking of a way to hide from him but the rooftop was just so clean and plain. Okay, she's dead.
"Mer—Merida"
She looked back to see Jacob catching his breath, his hands on his knees. She frowned as she almost ran out of breath from running up.
"What is wrong with you? Why were you chasing me!?" Merida angrily asked.
"You were running away, so of course I had to chase you!" Jacob yelled.
"Why are you yelling at me? I was scared of you!" Merida yelled back.
"You-you're yelling too," he said as his breath finally steadied.
Merida can't stop glaring at him. "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing! I just want to apologize for being so shocked at how ug—I meant... uh... it's—"
Jacob can't find the right words to say sorry without mentioning that part.
Merida looked down and her face softened. "You don't have to apologize. Just leave me alone already," she spoke, almost like a whisper.
Now, Jacob just feels like s**t. It probably hurt her that he said that. I'm so stupid, he thought to himself.
"I just want to be friends with you," Jacob told her, hoping she won't push him away.
But then the next thing she said hit him. "Why? Cause you think when we're friends you can freely bully me all you want?"
Merida stared at him when he couldn't respond and he stared back at those sad eyes. Her face was clouded up by pain and self-hate. It was at that moment when he realized how beautiful she was in that disastrous look on her face. She can be beautiful if she wants to, he thought.
Merida was walking her way home but then this guy just won't stop following her. She just tries not to mind him but after ten minutes she just can't disregard this guy.
She stopped walking and turned to glare at him. "Why are you following me?"
Jacob showed a flattering smile and replied, "I just want to see you getting home safe."
Merida frowned as she can't figure out what this guy's intentions were. They've been in the same class, but it's just this year that he goes doing this. What's wrong with him? She asked in her head.
"Why stare at me like that?"
Merida shook her head turning her head at the side. She forgot that she was still looking at him when she spaced out.
"Nothing. I live just at the corner. You can go home now," Merida told him and continues to walk.
"I meant inside the house. Which one is your house?"
Merida turned around frustratingly. "Come on! Just leave already! Stop acting like you want to be friends with someone as ugly as me."
Jacob didn't say anything for fifteen slow seconds.
"Which one?" He insistently asked, showing an irritating look on his face.
"Ugh!!!" Merida groaned a hundred percent frustrated with the guy. She walked fast to stay away from him.
Jacob secretly grinned at the way she acted. She's cute, he thought and continue following her. Once they were in front of her house or so where she led him to, she faced him.
"Thank you for walking me home. Now you can leave and please don't bother me again," she told him so straight forward.
Jacob just smiled and waved at her.
When she thought he was out of view she sighed. Finally, that guy was gone. It excited her that he wants to be her friend but the fact that he's one of the popular boys at school, everyone would pick on them, especially her. His idea is trash to her.
Merida walked away from that house, walking her way to her real home. It wasn't her house, she just wants him to stop what he was doing.
Jacob finally left after seeing her set foot inside her real house. He smirked, thinking she didn't want him as her friend.
"But she can't do nothing when a Jacob wants to be her friend," he muttered to himself, smiling like an i***t.
- Writer
