Jake had planned to stay in bed all day watching old movies with Brooke, but there was something from his house that he needed; an heirloom his mother, Vera, gave to him in Mexico over the summer. Vera always knew she’d give it to Jake. This past summer seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. Vera had a long, deep conversation with Brooke before the blonde put her guard down and confessed her love to her childhood best friend. Brooke always knew, but she needed someone to talk to. Monica was no help and Quinn, well he wasn’t exactly a Jake fan. That left her friends, which were biased when it came to Jake. Vera was her best option; honest, supportive, and there for her little hermosa. After that conversation with Brooke, Vera found Jake and handed him a ring. The brown eyed boy looked up confused at first, why was she handing him a ring and why was she upset? Did something happen between his parents? No. Quite the opposite, these were happy tears. “Not now, Chico, but one day, you’re going to need this, for Brooke. When the time is right and not a day before. This isn’t to encourage you to rush into such a big commitment, but it’s a reminder of what you and I have always known. This ring has been in my family for generations, and when you and Brooke are in the place I was in when your father proposed, you’ll need this.” It was Vera’s blessing. She’d known for as long as Jake has, that they would end up together and after her talk with Brooke, she knew this was the time to hand it over to Jake; not to use right away, but to hold onto. “Thanks, mom.” Jake looked up, past Vera was Brooke walking across the sand coming over to them. “Now, shh. For when you know…” funny thing is, Jake already knew. He was just waiting for Brooke to realize it too. That night Brooke asked Jake out. No more hiding and no more back and forth; she confessed her love for the first time and Jake would have taken the ring out in that moment but it would have been too soon. So he hid it in his bedroom and planned to use it after they finished high school. Propose during graduation. In front of everyone. But, Brooke beat him to it by a year. And now he was texting Will to retrieve that very ring to make it official.
“Babe, I have to ask you for a huge favor. I know we just took the drive yesterday but I got another 911 from Will. We need to meet him back at the park. I’ll get you food on the way and we’ll stop by some attractions and do something fun.” They were both sore and exhausted but it would be good to get some fresh air and do something outside of the house for a couple of hours. At least, that’s what he was trying to persuade her with. The real reason he wanted to go was so that he could get the ring from Will. It took a few kisses and some light pleading with, but Jake got her in the behemoth and they stopped for pancakes and some snacks on the way. “C’mon, gorgeous.” Jake helped her from the truck. He didn’t want her to wait behind. If he learned anything at all, it was that they needed to stick together. Especially when Quinn was still missing and Tyler was on the hunt. As they walked hand-in-hand, Jake stopped by the same ice cart he met Will at before and bought Brooke a rainbow sherbet again. “Did you know there’s a horse ranch around here? Are you too sore to ride with me, like old times?” when they were younger, Brooke tried teaching Jake how to ride a horse. He was awful and scared and had to sit behind Brooke on her horse for the longest time before he finally realized what ‘male pride’ was and insisted he ride his own.
When Will came into view, Jake stepped closer with a casual, “what’s up, dude?” though his face read differently, ‘do you got the box?’ He wasn’t sure if Will peeked, but he knew Will most likely figured it out. I mean, it was obvious. It was in an old leather box, straight out of mexico. “Brooke popped the question…” Jake told his friend up close, “time for me to lock it up for real. You’re the first and only to know. I love you bro for making this possible. I owe you more than one. I owe you everything and I’m gonna start making shit up to you ASAP….” Jake placed his hand out for him to shake, “We cool?”
@xmoron
