17 - Moving Mountains

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'He's got some nerve'

'I can't believe he's going to use blackmail.'

'I'm kind of proud, to be honest.'

For the past four days my mind was racing, I couldn't tell if I was annoyed at Drew or if I wanted to laugh at him. It was genius that he would bribe me with something like this, I almost completely understood. Why should I expect him to make good with our mum when he's trying to do the same with our dad? I let out a sigh as I walked towards the cafeteria to meet up with the rest of my friends.

Every day was the same, I'd walk in, discreetly look at Jaxon's table and then eat in silence, occasionally dabbling in conversation with everyone. I was getting emotionally tired from this game I was playing with myself. Despite constantly trying to reassure myself, I knew I wanted to speak with him. I wanted to lay it all on the table.

I missed him.

That I could admit now.

This time however when I looked up, I saw them all laughing at something. Seeing Jaxon's laugh was always refreshing. There were two sides to his laugh, his normal chuckle when he found something funny and then there was the laugh that showcased his dimples, when he found something extremely funny. I loved seeing the dimples on his face, it made him look so carefree. It was my favourite smile. His eyes flickered towards me but I made no attempt to hide the fact that I was looking at him, his smile slowly died the longer he looked in my direction.

I shook my head at my own stupidity, excusing myself I got up and walked outside. I kept walking towards the secret garden that was only accessible to seniors. It seemed to be my lucky day because all the seniors wanted to sit inside today, leaving the garden to myself. As soon as I made my way through the gates, I closed my eyes and tilted my head back allowing the sun to soak into my skin for a few seconds. It wasn't hot but it wasn't cold either, with only a cool freeze whisking through. It was the perfect weather for me.

I looked around at all the picnic benches that laid around in no particular order. My eyes kept wandering until they landed on two benches that faced each other, with no table in between.

'Perfect.'

I made my way towards it, sitting down and instantly stretching my legs out on the opposite chair as I closed my eyes and tilting my head back, appreciating the silence for the first time this year. I used to always love the silence when I was back with my mum, mainly because they would constantly either be yelling or having a party of some sorts. So on the rare occasion that it was quiet in our house, I loved every minute of it. I try not to dwell too much on the past with my mother, because I know she's trying to make it right. It wouldn't be a fair shot if I kept rehashing out old shit.

"This seat taken?"

I kept my eyes closed for another second before opening them to spot Jaxon, who was already sitting next to my feet, facing me. He stretched his right arm over the bench before placing his left foot over his right knee, getting comfortable. He made it perfectly clear that he wasn't going anywhere, no matter what I said.

"By all means." I said as I extended my hand to point where he was already sitting. We sat there in beautiful silence, it was never awkward to sit in silence with Jaxon. He kept a close eye on me making my eyes wonder around, pretending like I gave a shit about the greenery surrounding.

"So, are we going to talk or are you going to run off and change your number on me?"

I blinked twice in shock at his bluntness. I looked at him as he waited patiently for me to answer while he had one eyebrow raised in question at me.

"Oh wait, you've done that already." He whispered mockingly.

"I changed my number because of what Noah said to me okay, the last thing on my mind was who did and didn't have my number."

"What did Noah say?" He asked sternly.

Okay, so it was a little white lie. I had been debating if I wanted Jaxon to have my number. I kept going back and forth but out of curiosity I decided against it, to see if he was actually going to actually realise.

"I'm surprised you realised." I mumbled, ignoring his question.

"What was that?" He asked, knowing exactly what I had said.

"The last time I tried to call you was at the party, and I believe you ignored me." He added.

"I had my reasons."

"I doubt they were accurate." He responded almost immediately.

We both fell silent after his comment.

"Please, just go to coffee with me. We both need to hash everything out. No more secrets or lies." He asked as he placed his forearms against his knees, leaning forward to face me.

"We tried that already, remember?"

"Yeah, and you bailed on me."

"I didn't bail!" I yelled back

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't! You went into a bedroom with Brittany!" I growled back before standing up in anger.

"Oh, for fucks sake!" He yelled out, his hands slapping against his thighs as he leaned back against the chair.

I took one step forward to leave.

"Wait! Please!" He yelled out in frustration, as he stood up and placed his hands gently on my shoulders.

I let out a sigh before sitting back down.

"I'm sorry, Avery. I'm just getting frustrated because you aren't letting me explain anything!" He sighed out, running his fingers through his hair before they rubbed against his face.

"I'm tired of the games, Jaxon." I spoke softly.

"No more games." He confirmed, shaking his head back and forth.

* * *

"Avery, can you please go take table twelve's order. I'm just a little inundated."

"Yeah of course, Paula." I said as I walked with my head down to get my notepad ready.

"How can I-" I looked up and spotted Jaxon and Lucas. I looked at their table number and sure enough the number twelve sat there.

I closed my eyes as I tried to remain professional and calm. I had to remind myself that there were strangers here who would only look at me as the blame, especially when the owners son sat here with a cool as cucumber smile on his face. A smile I wanted to cut off because it always relaxed me. It was a smile that always brought butterflies to my stomach.

"What do you want?" I whispered hastily. I watched as Lucas smirked at Jaxon, not saying a word.

Jaxon crossed his arms over his chest as he smiled innocently at me, "Coffee."

As I went to write it down, he spoke up again causing me to stop.

"At 9:00pm. When you finish your shift."

I looked into his eyes, not answering as I tried to make a decision. But, I couldn't. I was having a battle with myself, half of me was screaming yes and the other half was cowered in the corner crying no.

"Okay, well. I'm just here for the free feed. So I'll have the Chicken Scallopini and a large Margherita pizza, please." I tried to fight it but had to smile at Lucas. I shook my head in humour as I wrote down the order before walking back. Our conversation at lunch had been cut short from the lunch bell so I didn't get to ask what he meant by "No more games." I never answered his question about coffee either, it's now catching up to me.

Something deep down inside of me knew there was more to the story than what meets the eyes. I couldn't shake this feeling off and I was always right, most of the time. I knew I was going to agree to this coffee but I had no intention of telling him right now, maybe at the end of my shift I'll agree. I still had a few hours of work left and I wanted to make him earn that "yes." I wasn't going to just drop everything for him and go to coffee. Let him think that I didn't want it.

I let out a sigh as I shook my head slightly, I needed to focus on my work. This was a challenge in itself, because knowing Jaxon was only a few feet away no matter where I walked was nerve wrecking. I could feel his eyes burning through me every time I walked passed him or served a table next to his.

"Order up, twelve!"

I internally groaned as I heard the table number, knowing damn well it had to be me who took the food out. I walked over to one of the girls, Lucy, who was cleaning the plates, getting them ready for me to take them out. I had placed both large plates on a tray, ready to take the food to Lucas but Lucy stopped me mid step.

"Avery!" She whispered hastily.

"Yeah?" I asked, concerned that there was something wrong with the food. She looked around nervously before taking a step closer to me to whisper in my ear,

"Pass this note on for me?"

I looked at her hand before looking at the large tray I was holding with both hands. I wasn't about to try and juggle something this heavy just for a piece of paper. Eventually getting the message, she slipped the paper in my front pocket of my apron. I took a step towards the door before stopping and turning to face Lucy.

"Which one am I giving it to?"

She blushed at my question before whispering,

"Jaxon."

I smirked at her before pushing the doors open with my butt, walking out and straight towards their table. I wasn't annoyed or mad, I gave her credit that she was game enough to write; I'm assuming her number, on a piece of paper and hand it over to a guy she liked. I personally could never do that and would internally suffer as I played the game of "I wonder if he likes me or not." Maybe I was slightly jealous, jealous that she was trying to poach Jaxon. I couldn't blame her though, it's not like she knew we were... whatever it is that we were at the time.

"Scallopini and Margherita pizza, for you." I said, placing both plates in front of Lucas. I placed my hand in my pocket to retrieve the piece of paper before placing it next to Jaxon's hand,

"Piece of paper, for you."

I looked on as he raised his eyebrow in question before eyeing the piece of paper on the table. The sound of Lucas coughing got my attention, when I looked at him he just smiled as he drank from his water. After a second he cleared his throat, "Sorry, food was too hot. Delicious though."

"Right, well... enjoy." I smiled politely, before walking off.

"Don't even start, Lucas." I heard Jaxon mumble in an annoyed tone, followed by the sound of Lucas chuckling.

An hour had soon passed and I found myself keeping busy, I had kept my head down in an attempt to stay focused. Before I knew it, my shift was almost finished. I was on my last assigned table, handing them the bill when the older lady patted me gently on my forearm.

"You are a very lucky young lady." She said, smiling at me. I smiled at her before looking at everyone else in slight confusion.

"I'm sorry?" I asked.

"Every girl would kill to have someone stare at them the way he stares at you?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I turned slightly to see Jaxon looking intently in our direction. He raised his glass just before taking a sip causing me to turn my attention back to the lady.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Ma'am"

"Young lady, he looks at you like you're his oxygen. His eyes haven't left you from the minute he sat down." I stood up straight as I felt the cheeks on my face become warm from embarrassment.

"Embrace it." She added, before standing up to collect her things. She patted me lightly on my shoulder before walking out with the company she was keeping. I kept my eyes on her as she made her way towards the double doors. She knew nothing about my life yet she knew Jaxon was linked to me somehow, just by the way he was looking at me.

I turned my head once more to tell Jaxon I was willing to go for coffee, I wasn't expecting an empty seat though. The sight of the chair caused my heart to squeeze a little, letting out a sigh I walked over to grab the bill folder. As I went to grab it I noticed the white piece of paper, still folded and sitting in the exact same position I had left it in. I didn't have the heart to leave it there in case Lucy saw it, grabbing it I quickly placed it in my pocket before walking towards the staff room to get ready to go home.

I shook my head out of frustration at myself and at the entire situation. I snickered at myself for thinking so immaturely, I should have just said yes to the coffee and be done with the situation. Seriously, what was I thinking? Here I was giving him the speech about "no more games" and here I was playing games.

'No, he deserved to sweat it a little!'

'Stop with the games. You want coffee? Order a fucking latte!'

I growled in frustration at myself as I threw my bag over my shoulder before walking out the back towards my car. I rummaged through my bag in an attempt to find my keys, internally cursing myself for not getting them out earlier. Finally managing to grasp them in my hands, I looked up and was slightly stunned at the sight of Jaxon sitting on my bonnet, arms folded across his chest, legs stretched out crossed over each other.

Before I could question him my phone rang causing me to jump slightly. I kept my eyes on Jaxon as I answered my phone.

"Hi, Isaac."

"Just letting you know not to stress, I'm home so I let Lisa go. Enjoy your coffee date with Jaxon."

"What? How did you-" I couldn't find my words.

"Boo-Bear, I'm Isaac Adams. I know everything."

I creased my eyebrows in confusion as I placed my phone back in my bag. Jaxon's smirk became more prominent the closer I got.

"How about that coffee?"

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A/N: Sorry I'm late guys! I have been super busy with life and haven't had the chance to write anything. I hope you enjoyed it.

Next Chapter: No more secrets or lies. Everything is about to finally come out in the open.

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