Never Say Goodbye Ch. 01

Here is the first chapter of my work on The story with Jakobi and Aiden. It focuses mainly on character development and the suspense of the two reconnecting. More to come (hopefully)

*

The bright glow of the stadium was like a firefly in the distance. She sucked in a deep breath, stepping out of the truck and locking the door behind her. How long had it been since she'd even been on this campus? Freshman year seemed like a lifetime ago. Here she was a senior, almost an adult, and she was back where she started. Back to square one.

Starting towards the bright speck in the distance, she reflected on the past four years. How quickly they had passed! The Highland campus still felt like home, though she'd only spent a single semester here as a freshman. Long enough to change everything for you, Aiden, she reminded herself.

She had been heartbroken when her parents pulled her out of public school and began homeschooling her after that first semester. High school had been some sort of blessing for her. Aiden had always been the odd girl out, the one that never quite fit. Her first year of high school had changed everything for her. Finally, she had a place where her geeky fun-loving self had a place to fit in and find herself.

Aiden found herself reminiscing as she walked through the campus toward the stadium. How young and naïve she had been in her time here... She was a loud, bright teenager, who was ready to take on the big bad world at fourteen. At the thought of that now, her eighteen year old self had to laugh at her youthful innocence.

Her fond memories were not the only thing that drew her back, not by a long shot.

Especially not tonight.

* * * * * *

Jakobi sat in the locker room, the noise of the growing crowds in the stadium above him tying his stomach in knots. This was his last year as a highland lion. Senior year had come too quickly. Wasn't it just yesterday he was tying up his cleats for the first game of the season freshman year? Here he was now, tying up his cleats for the last game of senior year.

His phone vibrated in his locker above him, and he let it ring, knowing Kat was on the other line. His beautiful girlfriend was desperate for him to win the game tonight, flirty promises of a filthy reward if the lions brought home the championship. "Winning turns me on." She had giggled to him before skipping out in her tight cheerleading uniform.

He felt sick to his stomach, thinking about that. The only thing that kept him from breaking up with the shallow bitch was his social status. Did that make him shallow as well? He didn't care.

He used to care. He cared so much that people took advantage of him, walked all over him. Why couldn't things have stayed the same?

Jakobi had been popular from freshman year. Girls wanted him, guys wanted to be him. He never had to work for it. His blonde, messy hair and quick blue-grey eyes made girls blush, and made guys jealous. Being quarterback all four years of high school kept him in fantastic shape. Baseball ensured that shape stayed year-round.

He sighed, forcing himself to put the game first in his mind. Winning. Go out with a bang.

Sliding his shoulder pads on, he stood up and checked his phone for the voicemail Kat had left him. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't from her.

Slowly, Jakobi read and re-read the number. It wasn't familiar. He stared intently at the screen, and after a few minutes, the phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor.

It cant be her.

* * * * * *

Maybe she was stupid for being here. What was showing up going to prove to him? "Hey Jakobi, I'm not disgusting as I was four years ago...just wanted to say have a nice life." She laughed at herself to cover up the fact that she really didn't know what she planned on accomplishing with him.

Jakobi Davis was the one that got away. She fell in love with him freshman year and never really got over him.

Jakobi wouldn't of ever spoken to her if it hadn't been for a seating chart in Spanish. He was assigned the seat behind her, all the way in the back of the classroom. This is where they became each others best friends. It was fate, she believed. He came to her about everything, and she trusted him when she could trust no one.

She fell in love with him. This was completely out of character for her. She never let herself get too close, and especially with a jock.

She herself was a late bloomer. Her skin was constantly broken out, her chest flat, and more into her studies than a bookworm. She was the polar opposite of the fit, attractive Jakobi, and his even tighter, more beautiful girlfriends.

She loved him all the same. And when she told him about being pulled out of school, they both cried. But Aiden never forgot about him. When text messages remainder unanswered, and phone calls never returned, she pushed him to the far reaches of her mind, and he stayed there, but she never, ever forgot.

* * * * *

Aiden? After all these years? Jakobi was frozen in place. He remembered her so clearly. Her brilliant eyes, how hard they had made each other laugh, all the times he'd gone to her for comfort. Only one thought raced through his mind How could I have forgotten about someone so amazing?

When she left Highland, everything had changed for him. He was walking around missing a piece of himself. He had patched himself up, blocked out the loss, and gotten over it.

Aiden. Aiden. Aiden.

* * * * *

She slowly climbed the stadium steps and maneuvered through the massive crowd. Her heart hammered in her chest. Was she really going to do this? Would Jakobi even remember her? Or RECOGNIZE her for that matter? Four years had changed so much of her...

Her thoughts vanished as she reached the sidelines.

There he was.

He was beautiful as ever, His messed golden hair falling in his eyes as he warmed up. He was tall, and broad, his big shoulders tampering down to a surprisingly small waist. His football uniform clung to every inch of him. Her voice caught in her throat. She stood there, doing nothing, staring at the man her best friend and first love had become.

When he turned his head to the stands, and saw her gaping, he froze.

* * * * *

Jakobi's head snapped to the right, feeling eyes on him. Amidst the mob of shoving sophomores stood the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Long legs that went on for miles were revealed by a short, dark blue sundress, tight around the waist, the delicate curve of her hips accentuated with a cropped leather jacket with the sleeves pulled up. Her dark, loose curls hung to the middle of her back, her sideswept bangs begging to be pulled out of her ey-

He froze.

Those eyes. Green and blue with the most amazing golden sunflower in the middle.

"Aiden?"

She smiled, and waved at him. Dropping the ball, he ran to the fence to see for himself.

"oh my god, Aiden is that really you?" He asked in disbelief.

She couldn't do anything more than smile. Her voice was still caught in her throat from both the excitement of seeing him after so long, and his sheer beauty. Up close, his blue-grey eyes shone, his disheveled blonde curls dripping with sweat from his pre-game warm ups.

He too, was in shock. The last time He'd seen Aiden she was a bit chubby, her skin not the clearest, and her hair cropped short to her chin. Now, her body ran for miles in that tight little dress, her long hair falling in long dark cascades over her shoulders and around her breasts. He forced himself to stay locked in her beautiful, breathtaking eyes.

"miss me?" she finally spoke, her voice nervous, but not at all intimidated.

Jakobi was silent for a moment, giving them both a chance to stare. She was savoring every second. His fit body was well defined, even through his green jersey. His jaw was tight, his forehead covered in a sheen of sweat, his eyelashes long and dark.

"Meet me in front of the boys locker room in five minutes?" He spoke finally.

Her eyes darted from the field back to him. "Don't you have a championship to win?" she asked in the smart-assed way he realized he missed.

"They're going to have to win without me." He said, not giving her time to reply before running off the field. She watched him the entire way before turning on her heel.

Yes. He remembered her.

And yes, tonight was going to change some things.