listen before i go - jack will

three.

the doors open to reveal a herd of students rushing around the halls. we all get to pick our own lockers, so jack, auggie, summer and i all rush over to four open lockers. we go in the order of summer, auggie, jack, then me. there's an open locker next to mine until julian albans rushes over and claims it.

"hey y/n." he smiles at me, opening his locker and putting his things in. "oh, hey julian! how was your summer?" i ask him, as summer and auggie close their lockers after putting their things in, and walk over to jack, julian and i. "we're gonna head to our homeroom. meet us after?" summer ask jack and i, not looking at julian. she's still not completely over everything that julian did, and i understand that. auggie's moved on for the most part, SUMMER hasn't. "yes, jack and i have mrs. wallace for homeroom, so we can meet back here afterwards." i say, as they walk away.

"you have mrs. wallace? oh cool, so do i." julian says, avoiding looking at jack, who's glaring at julian. "oh nice. maybe we could all try to sit together. jack and i were going to sit together anyways, but i'm sure you could sit with us." i slightly smile at him, as he smiles too. "sweet! well, i'm gonna go get something out of the vending machine, do you want anything?" he asks me, as jack brushes his knuckles against the back of my hand.

"i'm okay, thank you though." i smile, as he smiles back and walks away. "i don't think he likes me." jack tells me, as we walk beside each other to our homeroom. "you don't like him either." i chuckle a little, as he rolls his eyes with a smile. "whatever. he definitely likes you." jack tells me, as we sit down in the seats in the back of the class, his seat in the corner, my seat next to him.

"you're crazy." as i say that, julian walks into the classroom with two snacks. he sits in the seat next to me, so now i'm in the middle of both of them. "i got you some (your favorite snack), since i know they're your favorites." he smiles, as i smile back shyly. "thank you julian, but you didn't have to." "too late." he jokes, as i chuckle a bit. "oh, hey jack. sorry- i meant to say 'hey' to you earlier." julian tells jack, who takes a deep breath in while flaring his nostrils subtly. "mhm, yeah- hey dude." he says, as i hit his arm and he chuckles a little.

-

about halfway through class, jack starts writing on a small piece of paper. he then slips the note onto my desk quietly.

"i'm telling you, julian likes you."

it reads, as he looks over at me, and i roll my eyes before writing back.

"he definitely doesn't. do you not remember anything from 8th grade?"

-

FLASHBACK

i'm crying on the bathroom floor for the third time this week, gripping onto the strands of my hair. "y/n? y/n are you in here?" summer's voice echos as the bathroom door opens, as i sniffle and wipe my eyes with my sleeve. "yeah- yeah." i choke back a little, opening the stall. "oh- babe.. c'mere." summer says, hugging me as jack and auggie follow behind her. "w-what're you guys doing in here?" i ask auggie and jack. "we saw you run in here crying, so we wanted to see what was going on." auggie answers, as summer lets go of me.

"that's nice, but there's only an hour left of school, so soon i'll be able to just go home. but really, you guys shouldn't be in the girls' restroom." i reply. "nobody uses this bathroom. it's not like anyone's gonna come in." summer says. jack is trying to be quiet, but he's scratching the back of his neck, trying not to look at me. "jack-" i say, but jack cuts me off by immediately wrapping his arms tightly around my waist.

"i'm gonna kill him." jack whispers, as i chuckle through a sniffle, wrapping my arms around his neck. "what'd he do this time?" auggie asks me, as i let go of jack. "he was saying how i was going to end up a 'drunkie' like my mom, or in prison like my dad." i choke on my words, as jack grips my hand. "i know it shouldn't bother me as much as it is, but i haven't seen my dad in five years, and my mom hasn't been super present since then. it's just a touchy subject." i explain, wiping my eyes again.

-

END OF FLASHBACK

jack's face grows red at the thought of what had happened, before writing back.

"i don't know how to explain it. but i do know that he likes you."

i read it, crumpling up the piece of paper and throwing it in the trash. at the end of homeroom, the three of us head back to our lockers. "hey y/n, could i talk to you for a sec?" julian taps my shoulder, as i turn around. "oh- sure." i reply, as he and i walk over to the stairs, jack gulping as i walk away.

"so- i just wanted to say that i'm sorry for everything that happened-" "oh- julian, it's okay. well- it's not okay, but i'm over it. that was two years ago." i lie, as a smile shows on his face. "great! well uhm- i just wanted to let you know that i'm having a party at my house tonight, and it'd be really cool if you'd come. it starts at 7." he tells me, as i smile a little. "that sounds fun, i'd love too. could jack, summer and auggie come?" i ask, as he scratched the back of his neck.

"uh- sure, but i should probably make it more clear, that it's less of a party and more of a hangout. there won't be many people, and it won't go that late. kind of just a 'back to school' get together, with just amos, miles, henry, and now i could invite ximena since jack is going now." he explains. "wait- i'm confused, what's the relation between jack and ximena?" i ask, chuckling a bit. "well, ximena likes jack, so i was thinking that if jack was going, then i could invite ximena so they could hang out and get to know each other better." he says, as i feel my face grow red. "oh- uhm, cool beans. i'll let them know." i say, rushing back to jack, who's now waiting with summer and auggie.

"where were you?" auggie asks me. "julian was apologizing and then he invited us to a little get-together at his house tonight." i explain, as they all widen their eyes. "are we going?" summer asks. "well, it's only a few people, so why not?" i say. "okay, sounds fun." jack says sarcastically, as i turn around and look at him. "c'mon jack, please?" i ask him, not sure if i even want him to go. i don't want jack to start liking ximena, but then again, i only want him to be happy.

"fine, but as long as i don't have to hang out with julian." he says and i roll my eyes. "deal." i say. "also, at the end of the day, do you think that we could talk? like, outside in the parking lot or something." he asks. "of course, now we should get going, i don't want to be late for first period." i grab his wrist, and he chuckles as we rush through the hall to get to math, our first class.