• “Hey Jamie, can we talk after class?” asked Jack. Jamie looked at him and tried to read his face, but he showed no emotions.
    “Yah, no problem,” she said trying not to sound worried. She had never seen him like this. The class went by really slow that day. They walked out together, without holding hands like normal. It was quite. They walked outside and Jack stopped just out of ear shot of the rest of the students leaving school. Jamie looked at her boyfriend wondering what was up with him.
    “Jamie…” he tried to say something but couldn’t seem to get the words out. He looked at her and let the wall that had been shadowing his emotions fall. Jamie could tell that this was going to be bad.
    “You want to break up, don’t you?” she whispered looking at her feet. She was fighting the tears now. She could feel his eyes on her but she couldn’t look at him.
    “Yes. I just don’t think that we’re going anywhere right now. I…I just really don’t know what I want any more,” he responded. “I don’t want to hurt you Jamie. Are you okay?” he asked her as she started to shake. She was trying to hold in the sobs that shot threw her.
    “Get away from me! I…” she couldn’t say the words. No matter how much he hurt her, she could never say ‘I hate you’. All she knew was that she needed to get away from him so he couldn’t see her cry.
    Jamie pushed past Jack as the tears started to flow from her eyes. She hated to cry in front of anyone, even the boy she loved and had thought that loved her. She didn’t look back for fear that he was just standing there, not going to come after her. She was also afraid that he would come after her. She knew he could easily out run her. She was startled when a strong hand grabbed her arm, spinning her around like a top so that she was facing him.
    “What the heck do you think you’re doing just running off like that? You could have ended up in the road or something. Is that what you want? To be hit by a car and end up dead?” he yelled at her.
    “What does it matter to you? You hate me remember? You just said that you didn’t want me!” she sobbed him. She tried to pull her arm from his hand, but he was to strong. As she struggled to get loss he grabbed her other arm and shook her. She stopped and looked up at him in surprise. He had never hurt her before and he had just shaken her fairly hard.
    “Is that what you think? That I hate you? Jamie I don’t hate you. I could never hate you, even if I wanted to! You are the most precious thing in the world to me!” he said and pulled her close to his body. She felt him stroking her hair, and started to think about what had happened that day. Nothing stood out that confirmed that he hated her; nothing had seemed wrong until last period. She truly hadn’t thought that he hated her but it might have made her feel better. Well, no it wouldn’t have. It would have made things worse She finally pulled her face from his shoulder and looked into his face; seeing the understanding there, she sighed.
    “You truly don’t hate me? You never did?” she whispered.
    “Good you’re so stubborn, no I never hated you. I wasn’t even mad at you! I just… I just thought that we could use a break to try and get things back in order,” he whispered in her ear. She looked at him and gave a half smile. ‘So he doesn’t hate me after all’ she thought to herself.
    “I love you. I always have but we still do need a break. Can you handle it?” Jack said just loud enough for her to hear. He looked down at her and a hopeful smile was on his face. Jamie thought about it. Could she handle it? She was a strong girl but she wasn’t sure that she was that strong. She looked at him, and could see that he really need some space. She wanted to make him happy.
    “I guess. I just want you to promise to give me another chance,” she whispered.
    “I don’t know. Maybe, but no for a year or so,” he promised smiling. She could see that she had made him happy, exactly what she wanted. As long as he was happy she would be too.
    “I guess I can live with that,” she said forcing a smile. “You probably should be going. You don’t want to be late getting to your bus.”
    “Just answer one question for me. Why did you say that I hated you? Do you really believe that?” he asked.
    “No. I was just upset.” Jamie managed to whisper. She felt his warm hand on her face. He ran his hand from her temple to her chin lifting her face to be level his. She was blinking back more tears. Jack sighed and pulled her closer to him. “You’re going to be late.” She whispered, again.
    “I don’t care. I don’t like to see you cry, so until your felling better I’m not going any were,” he whispered into her hair. They stood there for what seemed like hours, her crying him holding her. Finally she pulled away from him, looking up at him. She knew that what he had said earlier was true and she wasn’t going to push it.
    “You don’t need to stay, I’ll be okay. Besides you’ll be here for a long time if you don’t want me to cry. I don’t think that I’ll be able to not cry. Besides your mom would be mad if your late,” she said trying to laugh. She had always been a bad liar, epically about weather she was okay or not. She was expecting him to say no, to say something like ‘I’m staying’ like he us to, but he didn’t.
    “Okay them you don’t need to cry any more. I’m not going any were!” he said putting a smile on. She could feel her heart in her throat. She just wanted to scream, but them she stopped and thought about it. He had said he needed some space, and he had meant it. She didn’t want to push him away by making him feel guilty and feel the need to date her.
    “No. I can handle it. It’s just going to take some time. I don’t want you to do something you don’t want to do.”
    “Its not that I don’t want to date you, but you’re right, I do need some alone time. Just remember one thing, okay?”
    “Okay?” was all Jamie could get out. She had to take a deep breath as he leaned in to kiss her.
    “I love you,” he said breathlessly as he pulled out of the kiss that had seemed to last a life time. As she gazed into his eyes, she knew that he was telling the truth.