JACOB AUSTIN - THE HOPELESS ROMANTIC

 Jacob Austin is an inspiring writer who writes about situations he had faced before. He has won previous accolades including a Broward county district literary fair award. He is currently at Full Sail University trying to Pursue his career in novel and script writing.

The Hopeless Romantic        

​       “BEEP BEEP BEEP!” The alarm clock blared as Jacob hit the snooze button on his phone. He saw that he once again had no notifications from anything other than twitter and bleacher report and turned his body to the opposite side of the bed. It was empty. Nothing but an abyss of loneliness and despair, reminding him of his failed attempts of finding true love. Jacob drugged himself out of bed and walked to the bathroom with his head hung low. Reaching the bathroom, he proceeded to brush his teeth… alone. He’ll occasionally look up, wishing a feminine figure would be behind him, embracing him from the back. The one thing Jacob wants in life is a girlfriend. Someone he can call home. A person who will stick it out with him for the long term. Unfortunately for him, he can't seem to grasp that dream no matter how close he is to it.
       After brushing his teeth, he heads to the living room, opens his laptop, and begins to write. Suddenly he gets a text from a girl he’s had his eyes on for a while. Samantha, 19 and goes to the same college as Jacob. Though they have been friends for years, Jacob can’t seem to shake his feelings for her. His heart starts to beat a million miles a minute, and a cold sweat starts to drip down his temple. He’s visibly shaking due to how nervous he is to talk to her. He hesitantly picks up his phone, and his nervousness becomes terror. Last night Jacob confessed his feelings for Samantha. The text reads “Hey umm. Sorry but I don't view you like that. You dated somebody I used to be friends with, and now I can never look at you the same.” Jacob eyes watered, but he doesn’t cry. He’s sunken deeper in the mindset of giving up on love. 
       He leaves her on open and does his best to forget about his failure. His friends tell him it's okay, and it’s her lost, but he doesn't feel that way. It was his loss. His loss at true happiness. Jacob goes back to his laptop and starts to write. Still shaking, and red as a stop light in the face. Twenty minutes pass, and he seems to forget everything that happened, when Emily, 20, and doesn’t go to school texts him on snapchat. Her message read “Hey!! Good morning.” Jacob smiles as he looks at Emily's face. He’s taken back by how beautiful she is, and that this was his opportunity at a second chance with her. Jacob ruined the relationship the first time because he rushed her into it. Without realizing himself. 
       He sends a selfie back with a message stating “Good morning big head, wyd tonight.” Jacob was ready to take this friendship to the next level. After she responds back with a message saying that she’s free tonight, Jacob musters up the courage to ask her on a date. She sent a selfie with a confused face, reluctantly answering yes or no. Jacob’s heart was now in his throat, taking this as a sign of messing up. He quickly blamed his verbiage and switched “date” with “hanging out”. Only then did she say yes. For many this is a success, but for Jacob it’s another failed attempt. She clearly didn’t want to label them as going out, as going on a date, meaning he was in the friendzone. A zone where no man ever wants to be. A zone that is like a one-way mirror. Everyone can see you making a fool of yourself, but you can only see the reflection of yourself thinking that everything is normal. Now he has a “hanging out” session on Friday, but still no one that likes him. He has other girls, such as Mariana, Shachari, and Sammy who flirts with him out of sport and deviance, but never nothing real. Day in and day out, there's never an end to his story. It’s the same cycle every day, wake up lonely, get rejected, and go to sleep lonely.
       The time is now one O’CLOCK pm, and it’s time for him to go to work. He works in a factory, but he can still have his phone with him. Once he starts working, putting boxes inside the back of a thirteen-panel trailer, he’s at peace. No burden of a woman to call his, no rejections, just him and work. The six hours fly by and it’s seven pm. He clocks out and heads home. Back to his empty one-bedroom apartment. He unlocks his door and jokingly says “Honey I’m home.” before getting depressed at his own joke and growing in anger and sadness. He grabs his clothes, and towel, places them on the bathroom sink, and hops in the shower. He’s fine at first until his shower thoughts blitz him. 
     “You’re not good enough. Face it loser you'll always be friend zoned. JUST GIVE UP!” It is at that point Jacob starts to lightly sob asking the universe why him. Why did you choose him? Even under the running water, Jacob can feel tears flood down his face. Mentally defeated, he gets out the shower, puts his clothes on, and skips dinner. He heads straight to the room to lay on the bed. Still mentally exhausted, he lets out a deep loud sigh. He takes one last glance at the empty side of the bed next to him. His face turns red, and his eyes bubble up. Fighting back the pain and the tears, he just stares at the side of the bed. He wishes that one day he’ll find someone who loves him how he genuinely loves everyone. He turns his body so his back is to the empty, depressing side of the bed, and gently lays his head on his pillow and goes to sleep in tears, knowing that his prayer will never be answered.