"Jake's acting strange Camille." Natalie said while she sat on her bed.

"Yeah, I can see it. He seems to care for you much more than before." Camille flipped through the pages of her book on retailing. "He acts as if he's so happy and in love when you're around" She added.

"Naaah. Maybe we're just imagining things. He couldn't be falling for me, right?" Natalie waited for her best friend's reply.

"No waaay! You've fallen deeply in love with him. Nat what did I tell you about guys like him. You can't possibly think that."

"Yeah, you're right. But I can't help it. He treats me as if I'm important and he cares for me a lot."

"I can't blame you either. You've waited all your life for him to treat you just the way you want him to and now that he's actually doing it, you're surprised. Just don't think about it too much Nat, we know how he feels for Rachel. Okay?"

Natalie laid on her bed and sighed. She thought her dreams were coming true. She thought that Jake had finally realized that the girl he was looking for was just in front of him. She tried telling herself that nothing of what she imagined was true but she kept hoping that someday it really will. She laid there and smiled as she dreamed of a thousand wonderful moments with Jake. Camille on the other hand noticed that Natalie was letting her guard down. She threw a pillow at her and reminded her of how wrong it was to get more attached. Natalie agreed and promised her friend she won't get serious this time. As she closed her eyes and said her goodnight to Camille, all she could picture out was his face… his body… his abs… even his… swimwear... It's form... How his body hugged her—

"Uhm. Camille…"

"I thought you were going to sleep?"

"Yeeeaah. There seems to be a problem." She peeked through her sheets. 

Camille looked at her with a suspicious look. "What?"

"I'm… ."

Camille burst out laughing! She couldn't believe her best friend was thinking about now. It was stupid but funny. She tried to make sense by talking about other things that would distract her. "Why don't you read a book or play a game." Natalie stood up. She wasn't going to forget what she imagined by just reading a book or playing a game. She paced back and forth with her undies and a white shirt. 

"Stop it Nat. You look ridiculous"

She wasn't stopping. She had to forget what she saw. "Nat, you gotta stop. If you don't, I will fail this darn subject!"

"Okay, all right. I will stop but pleeeease, help me get over this!"

"Oh you will. Just think of him defecating. You won't even like the sight of it."

"Camiiiille. You're not helping!"

 

Knock Knock Knock!

 

Natalie opened the door. To her surprise, it was the same person who made her feel so ually preoccupied. Jake too was surprised. He didn't know what to say. Who can blame him; it was his first time seeing Natalie in her pink undies. Natalie didn't notice that of course, her mind was in chaos. Camille quickly took a towel and covered Natalie's lower extremities. That was when Natalie realized that she was half .

"Would you like to watch a DVD with me?" He blushed. He wasn't sorry that he wasn't able to inform her about what she wore. He actually was quite excited.

"Yeah sure, I'm not yet sleepy anyway and it's still 9 in the evening."

Camille nudged her.

"You can also come with us Camille. I can't sleep. Chris and Dug are out. We can watch a horror movie if you like", Jake asked.

"Naaah. I can't. I haven't finished studying. Maybe I can catch up later." Camille smiled a little.

 

Jake waited for Natalie to get changed. After 3 minutes, she went out and both went to Jake's room. When inside, Natalie sat at the couch and started imagining things. She couldn't stop. Jake started picking out different DVDs. "Have you seen Iron Man 2?"

"Yeah. I've seen it."

"How about GI Joe?"

"A lot of times"

"Um. Meet the Spartans?

"Seriously Jake"

"Hmmmn. Here! You'll like this. This is so awesome."

"What's that?"

"The Notebook!"

Natalie wanted to laugh but then again, it was the perfect movie. She has seen it 8 times but she never found it boring. She remembered the scenes pretty well and she thought it could spice up things a little more.

"Uh, have you seen this?" Jake hoped for her reply. He wasn't sure what she'd say.

"No I haven't. They say it's really nice. Was that about two people who fell in love with each other but the parents would not agree?"

"Yeah. You'll love this Nat. Wait 'til you see the end part. You'll really cry."

Jake placed the disc inside the DVD player and pressed play. He turned the lights off while Natalie smiled with delight.

 

The movie started as Natalie expected. She knew some of the lines but preferred to stay quiet. She had the Doritos with her but she wasn't eating. She was trying to look like she was watching the movie when in fact she was actually paying close attention to Jake's actions. When she laid the chips down, she took a melted chocolate and ate it in a hurry. Jake on the other hand was wondering why Natalie was acting strange. As she sat there acting as if she was really serious, Jake started staring at her. She could see him from her blind spot. He wasn't stopping, he kept staring at her and it made her blush. Good thing it was dark in the room, but the dark did not help either, it was making her even more excited. Suddenly Jake touched her arm. She looked at him wide-eyed. He started moving near her and she could feel her heart stop. Coincidentally the scene on the screen was where Noah Calhoun and Allie Hamilton decided to make love on an old, abandoned house. Natalie wasn't blinking anymore. Jake's face was getting near hers and she could almost feel his breath on her face. As expected, his hands went for her face. She knew that it was it. It was time for her to close her eyes. Jake's hands went for her lips and…......

"Is this chocolate?" Jake asked.

"What?" She opened her eyes.

"My God Nat, you eat like a three-year old child." He laughed silently while he removed the stain near her lips using his thumb.

Dammit, this isn't happening!, she thought. Darn chocolate, now I look ridiculous. Grrr! I even closed my eyes!!!!!!! What was I think—

"You should check out their love scene Nat. It's clear here that they really love each other 'cause of the way they make love." He was now looking at the screen. She tried finding her voice and fixing her hair. "Yeah, it seems they really love each other." Nice job Natalie, now you look like an idiot, she thought to herself. Idiot idiot IDIOT!!!!!

 

After an hour and a half Natalie was starting to get drowsy. She didn't want to yawn 'cause she might distract Jake. While she was leaning at the couch, she couldn't help but look at Jake. He was so serious she wanted to giggle. The movie almost came to an end. The scene was where the older Allie had a nervous breakdown because of the older Noah. It was the saddest part and Natalie remembered how she kept crying when she first saw the movie. It didn't hit her now unlike before since she has seen the movie a thousand times. She realized that Jake was really quiet so she tried to check if he was sleeping. As she peeked to see his face, she saw a teary-eyed Jake! That was enough to send her laughing loudly.

"What's wrong??" Jake asked.

"Are you crying?????" Natalie asked, still laughing.

"Nooo. Why would I?" Jake was in total denial.

"You were crying. I saw you!!!!!"

"I did not!!!"

"Yes you did!!!" Natalie was still laughing so hard that it made Jake blush. Natalie wasn't shutting . She couldn't get over the fact that a guy like Jake Harper would cry because of a sad love story. Jake wanted to keep her quiet, the movie wasn't through yet but it didn't matter anymore. He needed to shut her up. He threw a pillow at her which hit her on the face. It did shut her up but she wasn't giving up without a fight. She threw a pillow at him and hid her face with her hands. Instead of throwing another pillow, Jake ran towards her and started carrying her in a way that her whole upper torso was facing his back. He held her tightly with just her thighs and she screamed her heart out! She was upside down and she didn't know how to escape. She realized he wasn't going to put her down so she started wiggling. Jake's grip was too strong she couldn't get away with just a wiggle. So with all her might and with a prey's instincts, she opened and gave him a bite at his right lower back. It worked. The problem was he let both of his hands free and he lost his balance. Both fell on the floor, a clear hint that the fight was over, but it wasn't done. Natalie crawled her way towards the other side of the room as quickly as possible, but she wasn't quick enough. Jake held her ankles and she wasn't able to go on with her plan. She tried to pull her leg but she wasn't successful. He realized she was like a big fish out of the water so he quickly jumped over Natalie's back so that she couldn't move any further. He knew he was much taller and stronger than her so the plan worked. She was pinned on the ground with her face sticking on the floor. She couldn't breathe that much since Jake was heavy. "Okay okay! I give up Jake!" She tried catching her breath. Her stomach and chest was perfectly pinned down on the floor. "Jake. I promise. I give up. You win!" Jake saw that he has finally defeated his opponent so he pulled his weight up.  Natalie turned to face him. "You win.…..... Or not!" She went for the free space and hoped for an escape, but he was too quick. He shifted his weight back on top of Natalie and this time his body held hers in place. His face was near hers and he grinned. "You can't get away from me." Instead of fighting for her life, Natalie laid there motionless. Her heart started beating faster and she could feel getting dry. He was on top of her and boy who could imagine what their position looked like; with his arms at the sides of her head, his knees bending in between of her thighs; she was in deep shock! He noticed how she was reacting and he too felt the spark. His lips started to dry up and his breath hardened. He looked at her in the eyes as she stared back. She was beautiful. The room was dark but he could still see her pale face and her eyes looking unto his'. She bit her lip and he couldn't help but stare. He slowly moved his head downward. He smiled. This time she didn't want to close her eyes. His head slowly went near hers and she knew this was finally it. An inch more and finally she could kiss him. He closed his eyes and their lips started to touch. Their lips parted and he looked at her. He kissed her again and she kissed him back. She placed her hands around his neck and they started kissing some more. Natalie smiled as the background music of the credits coincided with their moment. When everything she asked for were finally coming true, Dug and Chris barged inside the room and ended the moment she hoped for.

"!" Jake exclaimed.

He quickly stood up and went near the TV as if he was trying to turn it off. Natalie was left on the floor and had no choice but to turn to her side.

"Dude, what's with the lights off?" Dug asked while turning the lights on. Both of them realized that Natalie and Jake were so quiet. "Hello, earth to Jake and Nat?!" Chris said.

"What took you so long guys? We just finished watching the movie."  Jake faced them.

"What movie?" Dug asked.

"The Notebook! It was so awesome. Natalie had to cry."

Natalie looked at him immediately with a questionable face.

 

"Dude! You're so gay!!!!!!!" Dug and Chris laughed at Jake.

"By the way Nat, what are you doing down there?" Chris asked. Jake looked at her but avoided her gaze.

"Ohhh. Yeah. I lost an earring. Hehehe."

 

Dug examined her with a suspicious look. "But you have both earrings on?"

"Oh. I found it already. Hehe." She was so nervous her hands started shaking. She stood up and fixed her shirt.

"By the way, why is the room so disorganized? Did you two make something new? Huh?" Chris asked both of them while Dug continued looking at them in a suspicious manner. Both of them quickly looked at the two men and exclaimed, "NO!"

"Maybe I should go. It's getting late anyway." Natalie said. She wanted to get out of that place before someone figured out what just happened. "You're leaving?" Jake asked. He didn't want her to leave. After all, he did kiss her. "Jake. I have to. I still have an exam to take tomorrow."

"Yeah Jake. Give her a break. She looks really sleepy." Chris patted Jake on the back. Dug went to the rest room to take a bath while Chris decided to eat the left overs. Jake went to take Natalie's hand and offered to accompany her to her room. Natalie agreed and both of them left.

 

When they arrived at the door, Natalie faced Jake and thanked him for the awesome movie. Jake smiled and thanked her for the company. As she was about to go inside Jake held her wrist. "Nat", he paused, "Can we… eat lunch together tomorrow? I mean, can I join you and Camille?"

"Yes of course. There's no problem with that."

"Oh. Great." He let go of her arm and she stepped inside the dark room.

"Nat?"

"Yes Jake?" She was waiting for his reply.

"Good night." Jake smiled at her and she smiled back. "Good night Jake." As the door closed Natalie headed to her bed. She couldn't stop smiling even if she was already lying on the mattress. She kept thinking of the kiss they had, how it felt so right and so real. He kissed her and that was enough. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep while dreaming of the passionate kiss Jake gave her. All throughout the night, Natalie's dreams were about Jake; how they looked like a great couple and how he loved her. She didn't know that Jake too was thinking about her, the only difference was, he wasn't asleep, he was wide awake. He kept rewinding what happened between him and Natalie. He didn't mean it but he really liked it. He remembered how it felt with Rachel but he knew his kiss with Natalie was way more different. It was real and he felt something. He was finally asleep by 3 am, but before he dozed off, he asked himself; did he learn to like her after everything they've been through? Or was it merely an act of appreciation for being his friend?