I Need You Here Tonight

Dakota POV
"Sophie, you're beautiful." Howl said. I gushed and giggled a bit. I wished a guy like that would say that to me.

Of course Howl was a cartoon. He didn't exist, but wouldn't it just be so great if he did. I sighed sadly when Sophie turned back into an old woman. No, fight the spell, Sophie. You and Howl belong together.

My movie evening is disturbed by someone knocking at my door. I glanced over, choosing to ignore it and focusing my attention back on the film. The knocking increases in persistance and I find myself becoming annoyed.

Eventually I pause Howl's Moving Castle and shuffle over to my dorm room door. I pulled it open to find my best friend, Shay standing there. She was tapping her foot and glaring at me.

"Why are you here?" I grumbled, sullenly.

"I came to abduct you, bitch." She grinned.

I groaned and walked back to my bed, flopping down, effectively face-planting the bed. I peeked at Shay. She was currently going through my closet, digging through my clothes.
She was wearing a pretty, blue dress that barely left anything to the imagination.

We were total opposites though. She was tall with long, brown hair, due to hair extensions and an amazing figure. The guys on campus flocked round her, but she barely paid them any attention.

I was short with ginger hair and a layer of freckles dusted my nose and cheeks. She found one of my favourite dresses and laid it across my chair near my desk. She whipped round to face me.

"Get up already." She whined.

"But I don't wanna." I sounded muffled by the cushions.

She huffed in annoyance and stomped over, tickling me through my SpongeBob PJs and making me snort in laughter.

"Come on, Kota. It's Saturday and I want to party with my girl." She was whining again, full-on annoying.

I sat up and sighed, "Yeah, right. When have you ever known me to party."

That was the truth, really. Shay went out most Saturdays and I stayed in, studying and watching Netflix. My life was the life of champions. Shay kept whinging that she wanted me to go out and I guessed she was planning on tonight.

"Whatever, get dressed, or else." She giggled, evilly.

Thankfully, she allowed me to strip out of my PJs and change into the dress and a pair of tights. This dress was my favourite because I could wear converse with it. Me in high heels was a mistake and could cause a freak natural disaster.

Shay reappeared two minutes later. She pretended to shed a tear when she saw me.

"Such a rare and beautiful sight." She cackled afterwards.

I glared at her and tied my long hair up until it was tidy. I trailed after her and down the hall. The dorm lounge was full of people, laughing and generally being drunk. I stayed close to Shay.

"Hey, Kota." One of the girls from my dorm grinned. She gave me a thumbs up.

It's seriously like they thought I was some kind of hermit that only left her room for classes and food. Shay waved at everyone and ignored Jordan when he tried flirting with her. His group of friends laughed loudly.

"Shot down." Matt slapped Jordan on the back.

I followed Shay onto the street. It was a warm evening and the holidays had just started. A lot of people went home, but more people stayed on campus and partied the half term away.

I spied a familiar figure across the road. Oli was our other friend. I had known him since year ten and we had been nest friends ever since.

"Oli," I called out, and he looked up from his phone.

He walked over, smiling. He gave Shay a quick hug and then pulled me into a hug, picking me up. It was an easy thing to do.

"Hey, Kota. You're actually hanging out tonight," He set me down. "Did Netflix run out of films?"

"Nope, I dragged her out to party." Shay giggled. I suspected she'd already had something to drink.

I had only been out once before so I followed my two best friends down the street and round the corner. There were quite a few bars and night clubs near the campus.

"Where to first?" Oli asked.

"Let's go in Fluid. I love it in there. Two for one on cocktails," Shay replied, clasping my arm so I'd keep pace with them.

"Where do you want to go, Kota?" Oli looked to me.

"I dunno. I'll go wherever you want to go. Is Mickey's still open?" I asked. The karaoke bar was my favourite.

"No, they closed last year." Shay chuckled. "Get with the times, Kota."

Fluid was the choice that seemed popular, only because Shay kept going on about how amazing it was. We joined the queue of people and once I'd been ID'd, we were in.

The club was amazing. There were plush sofa's against the walls and it was decorated light purple. The dance floor was rammed full of people. It didn't really look like they were dancing, just moving in slow motion and swaying a bit.

Shay went straight to the bar and ordered drinks. Oli stayed with me and we walked to the bar together. He bought me a blue WKD since I wasn't a fan of getting completely wasted.

We ended up staying in Fluid for the rest of the night. Shay declared she wanted to dance and dragged Oli with her. I stood on the sides and watched them. Shay was trying to be sexy, but kept stumbling and giggling drunkenly.

Oli was laughing at her failed attempts to dance. I allowed myself to laugh too. Oli glanced at me and waved. His smile faltered and he frowned. What had got him so worked up?

A hand on my shoulder made me jump and I turned very quickly. There was a guy behind me. He was quite good looking with spiked blond hair and bright eyes. His vision was unfocused though, but he was smiling.

"Hey there, sexy," He said, hiccuping a little.

I struggled to think of what to say and stepped back slightly, unerved by him being there. Men would often approach Shay so I glanced over my shoulder to see if he was addressing her, but she was still dancing.

"No, I'm talking to you." He grinned, drawing my attention back to him.

Oli was still watching and I smiled to reassure him before giving this total stranger my full attention.

"So, can I buy you a drink?" He asked.

"No, I've got a drink here." I mumbled, holding up my blue WKD that I had been nursing for a while now.

He ignored my request and reached down, grabbing my hips and making me tense up. In the small space I was pretty much pressed against him and could smell the drink on his breath.

"Why don't you dance for me, sexy." He leaned in very close.

"No, thank you. I'm fine just here." I struggled to push him away.

Panic was beginning to set in. The guy was suddenly yanked back and this caused me to stumble slightly. I managed to catch myself before I fell and looked up. The blond guy was stumbling away and being escorted by a doorman.

I wanted to thank whoever had saved me. There was another guy standing behind me. He was watching the drunk guy be led away. He was grinning and he suddenly noticed me staring at him.

His eyes flicked to me and he smiled again. The music was loud and I couldn't hear him. He rolled his eyes and took my hand. A spark shot up my arm and I followed him. We made our way to the bar where it was quieter.

"Thank you for helping me back there." I smiled, and took the opportunity to look at him.

He was taller than me, obviously. His eyes were dark brown and his hair was black and quite long, finishing just below his shoulders. He was analysing me with those dark eyes and I was struck by how familiar he looked to me.

"Dakota Kaplan?" He ignored my previous statement. That, and he knew my name.

But how did he know my name? This had to be our first meeting, but he was still so familiar to me.

"Y-yes, that's my name. How do you know me?" I fumbled, feeling awkward.

"It's me, Jake. We went school together," He seemed to be waiting for me to remember.

The only Jake I had known in school was my tormentor. Our mother's had been best friends in school and grown up together. When they had children, they thought we would be best friends too. Sadly this was not the case.

From day one, Jake had bullied me. From year three when he put a spider down the back of my uniform to year nine when he locked me in a supply cupboard. He moved school when year nine ended.

This guy in front of me couldn't possibly be him. This Jake was tall and dressed like a biker with a leather jacket and black jeans. It couldn't possibly be the same person.

"Earth to Dakota." Jake chuckled, waving a hand in front of my face.

"I do remember you." I said, almost in monotone.

"And you're not happy to see me?" He smirked then, frustrating me to no end.

"No, because you picked on me, jerk." I forgot my awkward shyness then.

He laughed again and I puffed out my cheeks in aggravation. He wasn't exactly as I remembered, but the familiarity seemed to grow.

"Yeah, well, let's start over." He chuckled again, and moved closer to the bar.

He bought me a drink and stayed with me, talking to me for a bit. It was surreal seeing him again. We chatted for an hour or more. Shay stumbled over, considerably worse for wear. Oli was supporting her.

"We should probably get Shay back to the dorm." Oli sounded sleepy too.

I turned to Jake and held out my hand to him. I didn't feel completely comfortable hugging him. He accepted my hand and yanked me closer, hugging me. He was warm and smelt like Hugo Boss.

I pulled back nervously, stuttering over my words, "I-i'll see you soon, maybe."

"Hang on a moment," He pulled out his phone and I realised he wanted my number.

Oli was getting impatient so I told him my number, not really expecting a text from him at all. I helped Oli get Shay outside and we walked home.

Notes

New story!!! Decided to write the Jake/OC story first as I've been thinking of it for longer. Plus Jake doesn't have many stories.