Fools

One

The bus stopped in front of the high school and let the students off. They all rushed to their awaiting friends while Ralph was one of the last off. He clutched his books to his chest and went to the main office. There was a line of students getting their schedules and to Ralph's dismay, Jack was right behind him.

"Ralph Monroe." He said to the old woman behind the counter. She looked like she had been alive before dinosaurs roamed the earth. Her skin was leathery and her hands had dark spots all over them. Her hair was a mixture between gray and white strands that framed her round, wrinkled face. She was undoubtedly in her 80's, and how she was still working there, Ralph had no idea.

Hearing his name made Jack freeze. That was Ralph. The one he'd tried to kill. The one he wanted to behead over something as ridiculous as jealousy. Piggy was Ralph's

friend, but Jack was too obsessed with having power to be friends with him. He wanted to be close to Ralph just as much as he wanted him dead. It was a strange concept that kept Jack up late some nights. He didn't want to admit it, but at the time he had a small crush on the smaller boy.

"Jack Merridew." Jack stated and accepted the small white piece of paper. Jack walked alone to his first class due to the fact that none of his friends have shown up yet. He had psychology first period. Jack assumed that they were going to introduce themselves, learn little bit about the course and do whatever they wanted for the rest the period. That's what they usually did the first day of school.

He was surprised when he saw Ralph sitting alone in the back of the room while other students sat together talking about their summer vacation. Ralph didn't really know what to do, so he sat alone. He didn't know those kids and he was afraid to talk with them. Jack sat down next to Ralph and set his notebooks down.

"Hey," Jack said. Ralph could feel his heartbeat quicken at the sound of his voice.

"Hello." Ralph acknowledged Jack without looking directly at him.

"Was your summer good?" Jack asked awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He didn't really know what to say to Ralph, but he wanted to talk to him.

Ralph gawked at Jack with wide eyes before shaking his head slightly looked away. "It was good." Ralph mumbled before turning his attention back to his notebook.

"Mine was...swell." Jack's voice died out when he saw that Ralph wasn't very interested in talking to him.

Jack had tried most of that day to talk to Ralph, but Ralph did his best to avoid Jack. This was proving to be difficult because they had every class together. Not to mention Jack was trying to walk with Ralph in the hallways and insisting that he sat beside Ralph on the bus ride home.

This happened every day for a month. At first, Ralph tried to ignore him, or try to talk as little as possible. It was hard though because Jack did everything in his power to talk to him. Ralph was afraid of him. He didn't know what Jack was planning. He didn't want to risk anything by talking to him or opening up. That was until they bonded over an English project.

In English class, the students had a very difficult time getting along to the point that it was causing stress on their teacher. So, the teacher decided that the only way that they were ever going to get them to stop arguing in her class was to make them write a three page essay about their partner. After a few complaints and groans, she had them all in pairs.

Each student had to interview one another, and the teacher just so happened to pick Ralph and Jack to be partners. Ralph sat on the corner of his seat, his leg was bouncing and he had no idea what he was going to ask Jack. Jack, on the other hand, was quick to question him. Though to Jack it wasn't just about the project. He genuinely wanted to get to know who Ralph was as a person.

"What do you like to do in your free time?" Jack said, his pen ready to write Ralph's response. He had a friendly smile on his lips, but Ralph was hesitant to think it was real.

"Read." Ralph mumbled under his loud classmates. He looked down and started fiddling with a button on his shirt. "What about you?"

"I draw." Jack said, his smile faltered. He drew all the time, but they weren't very pretty pictures. Most of them were memories from the island. He had notebooks full of pictures of Piggy, Simon, and Roger. He drew what he thought the beast was. Once, he even drew himself as the beast.

"That's interesting." Ralph finally looked up at the pale boy in front of him. "I didn't take you for an artist."

Jack chuckled. "Not many do. It's just one of my hidden talents, I suppose."

That was the first time that Ralph smiled at him, a real smile. Not the fake or awkward smiles he would give to try to hide his fear. Jack smiled back at him before they continued their project. Ralph hadn't sat fully in his desk, nor did he feel comfortable with Jack then, but he thought that maybe they could be friends.

Eventually, Ralph became more fond of Jack's presence. He was less tense around Jack. He found himself laughing at his jokes and even willingly working with him as a partner on some class work. He smiled more when he was with him. Sometimes, he'd even blush when they talked. Jack enjoyed talking to Ralph. He thought that he was a very unique kind of friend. His other friends preferred to play soccer and go outside more than anything, but Ralph was the opposite of that and to Jack, it was like taking a breath of fresh air.

By the second month, the two boys were hanging out after school, but Ralph couldn't help but feel the need to have some closure. He needed to know why Jack turned everyone against him. It had been bothering him for eight years and he finally had the chance to find out what was really going through Jack's head when he had tried kill him. It was eating him alive being so close to someone who he knew could easily turn on him, again, and hurt him.