You of all people - Stosuh

But if I do - Stephen

It wasn't particularly my idea of fun when Jay had come running down the hallway, seeming all bubbly and happy, which was unusual, but I knew in that moment as soon as I had left the library during after school hours, it could only mean one thing as he came bustling down the hallway in a bee-line towards me. "The answer is no." I hissed with venom, though he didn't seem to hold back as he continued to approach me and grabbed my shoulders.

"It's time! It's time, it's time, it's time, it's time-" Jay repeated over and over in a chant as he always did whenever he was in an attempt to get me out of the safe room. "I'm not ready Jay."

I said as I fumbled with my bag and started to walk towards the exit with him, as he bounced around happily whenever he was in an attempt to cheer me up. "Yes you are!" He replied as he opened the front doors and ran ahead as though he was in some kind of movie.

"Yeah, and who said I was ready?" I bit back in reply, though Jay always seemed to have something ready. "I did!" He said, running back and grabbing my left hand with his free hand and lead me through the maze of cars located at the parking lot.

"You never do anything fun, it's time to open up!" He added, as he finally seemed to calm down as we approached a black car sitting at the far end of said parking lot, right in front of the soccer & football field located at our school. "I play video games and we go out for pizza. What more could you want from me?" I asked, as he looked at me with an unimpressed look.
"Fix yourself."
"What's wrong with me?" I asked in replied as I studied myself. I looked fine, but apparently I wasn't.

"Hair. Your head looks like a rat's nest. New shirts. You're constantly wearing stained shirts to school. Wash your face. You look gross, or maybe you look like that all the time." Jay hissed as he drove off school property, me sighing as I leaned against the window and crossed my arms. "I look fine, Jay. Even if I don't look fine, it's not like I'm trying to impress anybody."

"Whatever, Vermin. All I'm saying is that you need to put in more effort and leave your room. Besides, Ann invited me to a party because she wants somebody to hang with, and she said I could invite somebody else too, and seeing as you're the only person who isn't part of band or props from the drama club, you're the only logical person to choose."

"Mhm. And may I ask why you couldn't have chosen somebody from band? Or anything else for that matter." I asked with a grunt as he stopped at a red light, tapping his fingers frantically as he looked behind us with the rear view mirror. "I'm going to be honest with you Stephen." Jay said, though he fell silent for a moment and just sat there, staring blankly to the empty road ahead before he pressed the gas pedal down and went flying along the road.

"Band kids are awful. Everybody in the band secretly hates one another, and outside of class we're at one another's throats. On the way to the actual show people are in the bus doing drugs, and smoking, and giving each other blow jobs and shit, drinking stuff that shouldn't even exist.. & I mean okay sure, not all of us hate one another and I might be over exaggerating, but the other stuff- even if not all the kids do it, it's more common than you'd think. Closed doors, my friend."

I stared at him, blinking solemnly at him as I turned my attention back to the road ahead. "Jay."
"Mhm?" He asked in reply, glancing at me. "That kind of stuff will probably be there anyway. I know.. I know you're just trying to do this to get me out of the house."

He didn't say anything, just stared at me.

* * *

We sat there, parked outside in front of my house. Here it was. My house! Broken mailbox, chipped green cabinets awaiting me in the kitchen, the door at the end of the hallway that always stood slightly ajar. Jay was staring at me, or maybe it was past me at the house that we had spent so many weekends in when we were little, constantly running down the block to one another's place and letting our fingers tangle through the spiral phone cord when we were grounded yet still spoke to one another.