Book of BxB One Shots

His Name was Jayce

Word count: 6586 words.

[Warning] Reader discretion is advised. Story contains a main character who swears an excessive amount.

Written between Dec. 29th and Dec. 30th, 2016. (I was up from 11 PM to 6 AM, so enjoy.)
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    The first time I met Jayce Bryant was in the sixth grade. His family had just moved to town and his younger brother, Jared, was in the same grade as me. Jared and I shared most of our classes together, and we quickly became friends over a game of soccer during lunch. One day after school, I was supposed to be going home with Jared so that we could hangout at his house. His mom had pulled up to the curb in her small, grey SUV, and Jared and I piled into the backseat, with Jared sitting behind his mom and me sitting behind the passenger seat. It wasn't until I was buckled and the car was moving that I realized there was someone sitting in the seat in front of me.

    The guy had black hair, like a charcoal black, but it looked soft, and it fell in his face and poked out in random directions. It reminded me of the typical emo-style haircut I saw on TV. He wore a dark hoody and dark jeans, with his arms crossed over his chest while he slouched in his seat and stared out the window. In his ears, I spotted two black and silver earbuds, with their cords trailing down his body until it disappeared in his hoody pocket. His skin was pale, and speckled with a bit of acne on the little bit of his face I could see from where I sat. I wondered if he ever went outside, or if he just couldn't tan. Looking at his brother, whose skin was a nice, healthy tanned colour from playing outside so much, I assumed it was the first. He appeared thin and lanky, though it was hard to tell while he was sitting down. If he had have been any other kid at school, I would have said he would have been an easy target for bullies, given his skinny appearance, but the way he held himself . . . The way he sat, uncaring to the world around him . . . I found myself in awe of him.

    The moment our eyes locked in the side-mirror, my breath caught in my throat and my cheeks warmed a little in embarrassment at catching the gaze of a stranger. His eyes were a bright, electric blue, outlined in a deep navy blue. They were intense to look at, yet despite the beautiful colour, they were hard and piercing. I looked away first, turning my gaze to my new best friend, whose eyes didn't match those of the boy's in front of me. His eyes were navy blue, with bits of green mixed in. They didn't burn into me, like the other boy's eyes, either.

    "That's Jayce, my brother," Jared had introduced, nodding his head toward the passenger seat where Jayce sat. "He's in the ninth grade."

    Jayce had never said a word, or even made a move to acknowledge the introduction. For the rest of the ride to their house, he had stared out the window and ignored everything else around him. I found it oddly fascinating how he could do that.

    Four years later, and I found myself sitting in Jared's bedroom, playing a game on his Xbox 360 with him and our other friend, Leon. We sat on bean bag chairs in front of the TV, controllers in our hands. So far Leon was winning, his thick fingers quickly stabbing at the buttons and jerking the thumb pads around so quickly, they made a snapping, cracking sound each time he whipped them from side-to-side. I honestly wondered if he was going to break the controller.

    "Argh! You asshole, you did that on purpose!" Jared suddenly shouted, roughly shoving Leon on the shoulder. All the while, Jared's car faced the wrong way from Leon crashing into the side of Jared's car with his own, and forcing Jared to try to right himself and evidently managing to spin himself out in the process.