Not Like the Rest

Chapter Five

Jack sat in science class, taking notes on deep space occurrences. He always found it humorous how many faults common theories about space had. Humans were fascinating creatures. Jack was lost in his daydream as he thought about the cosmos and the stars. Then another, not particularly happy thought, entered his thoughts.

Bossatronio...

Jack's smile faded as the image of his home planet. Escape pods fleeing from the hopeless defense against the Xostricarrian invasion. He remembered how the enemy fleet had swarmed their homes and forced the Bossatron population to evacuate. He didn't even know if they were alive. Jack felt his body start to slightly tremble. Then Sam's voice spoke in his head.

Jack, don't think about Bossatronio! Think about cake!!! THINK ABOUT CAKE!!!!!!!!

It was too late for Jack to reverse the depressing thought of his home, even for cake. Jack felt the tears coming. He clutched his pencil, fighting them back. When he took a deep breath and raised his hand. The teacher pointed in his direction. "Yes, Jack?"

"May I use the bathroom?" Jack quickly said. If he was going to cry about Bossatronio, he didn't need the humans to know about it.

The teacher smiled. "Yes, you may, Mr. McLoughlin. Make it qui-"

Jack was gone before the teacher could finish. The green-haired boy fought the tears as he raced to the bathroom. He made a sharp turn into the washroom, then quickly ducked into a stall, shutting the door tightly. Sam wiggled his way out of Jack's pocket as the Irish boy hugged his knees to his chest. He rested his head on his knees, silently crying. Sam perched himself on Jack's shoulder, pressing close in an attempt to comfort him.

Jack, are you OK?

Sam made a wincing expression, knowing the question was stupid to ask. Of course, Jack wasn't OK.

But Jack just looked at the septic eye, tears streaming down his face. "I don't know. I want to think they're OK, I want to make myself believe that some of my friends and family are still alive on Quarinion, but just the thought of home..." he shivered at the image of Bossatronio.

Sam looked at him.

I know. I know. But remember what your mother said.

Jack looked at the eyeball. His eyes were still red from the tears, but a small smile showed on his face. He held his hand out for Sam to sit on. Sam did so, and Jack pulled his hand to his chest. The pair of oddballs stayed like that for a while, just the two of them, honoring the memory of their home planet.

Jack sighed, wiping the last traces of moisture from his cheeks. "Thanks, buddy."

Sam made a happy expression.

No problem, Jack.

Just then, a knock was heard at the door. Jack looked up, his face pale with fear. Sam looked up at him. Jack looked at the eyeball then mouthed the words: "Get in the pocket". Sam wriggled into his pocket and out of sight, just as Jack stood and went out of the stall. He went over to the bathroom door and opened it. His eyes slightly widened at the face he saw. That boy who he was talking to about his sketch the other day was staring at him. The boy's rich, chocolate brown eyes sparkled with concern.

"Hey, um... the teacher sent me to come check on you," he said, his deep and melodic voice echoing throughout the room.

Jack shifted. "Oh. I see."

The boy softly smiled. "Well, are you OK?"

Jack smiled. "Y-yeah, I'm fine."

The boy looked relieved. "That's good. Wanna head back to class?"

"Sure!" Jack said. The pair then started down the hall. Jack shifted in the awkward silence between them. Then the flame-haired boy finally spoke up. "My name's Mark, by the way."

Jack blinked, taking in the new information. "Cool," he said, taking in Mark's features. His skin was a golden brown, noticeably tanner than his own milky white skin. Mark's deep, rich, chocolate brown eyes sparkled in the light. The Bossatron subtly shifted his gaze to his body shape. His shirt was slightly tight around his biceps and chest, meaning that this "Mark" earthling had a lean body. Jack logged the image of Mark in his mind. Mark the looked at him, smiling. "You're that Jack kid that everyone talks about, right?"

Jack blushed with embarrassment. "People talk about me?"

"All the time," Mark said. "Whenever you do something unconventional, the whole school knows about it by the end of the day."

Jack blinked. Was his behavior really that different from normal humans? "I... had no idea," he said.

Mark smiled. "Just, you're so... alien to us all here."

Jack's face paled a bit at his words. Questions raced through his mind.

Did someone find out about my past?

How many people know?

Who did they tell?

Through his confusion, Jack managed to speak. "W-what do you mean by 'alien'?"

Mark looked at him and laughed at his antics. "Oh, what I just mean is that people think you're weird."

Jack calmed down a bit after mark's reassurance. "Oh. I see." He then put on a fake blush. "Sorry, I'm not used to talking to other people, so I don't know the common slang." He breathed a sigh of relief.

Mark smiled as the two continued to class in silence. Jack knew that he needed to be careful about what he said. Through his years of studying human behavior, he knew that they were curious creatures, and always needed an explanation for everything. Possibly why he'd seen so many arguments about who did what. The Bossatron sighed. He thought about something other than his struggle to keep his true identity a secret, which was a rare thing he could do... 

A/N: Hey hey! Firstly, JESUS CHRIST I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE!!!!!! I was busy with marching band, and then I was busy reading fanfiction, so...yeah. Second, huge thanks to SmolGayPlantChild for letting me use her computer to write this part, because, as I've mentioned in previous works, the school blocked Wattpad. Love ya, Alec <3

Also, I might as well explain what the fuck Quarinion is. Basically, in the prologue, I had some unmentioned canon that the people of Bossatronio were fleeing to a hidden planet for safety, which was where Jack was heading to in the first place before his escape pod fucked up and went to Earth.

Anyway, that's all from me. Thank you so much for reading, and I will see you soon!

~JACL