Chapter 1
Jack was in a hurry; as per usual he was late. He was really late. He thought back to Matts words last night. ‘Don’t get too drunk tonight, only have a few drinks, this meeting is really important and you need to be there on time’. In Jack’s mind there was no such thing as ‘a few drinks’. If they didn’t want him to drink so much then they shouldn’t have taken him to a night club!
He couldn’t even remember anything that happened after the fifth shot and then he woke up in an unknown apartment, naked, next to a blonde unknown girl – who also happened to be naked. He left before she woke up, dick move, but he didn’t fancy the morning after talk.
He turned the corner onto a fairly quiet street. It was surprising how quiet things were in the middle of a town centre. It was beautiful and Jack couldn’t help but slow down. The path was slim and gradually curved out into a large circular area, there was a marble fountain in the centre and then soon enough the path slimmed again. Jack couldn’t remember ever being down here before. He looked to the left and saw BALTIMORE PUBLIC LIBRARY. No, he defiantly had not been here before. So he was lost.
Fuck sake. Well this is a first.
He went and sat by the fountain, there was no one around at all to ask. His head snapped up out of his hands when he heard a small cough. He looked around but couldn’t see anyone – confused he got up and walked round the other side of the fountain. Sure enough, there was a girl sitting there, her head in a book and her glasses perched right up on her nose.
“Calista!” Jack called out happily.
He knew this girl, she went to his high school, and he couldn’t remember much about her other than she was really smart.
Her head shot up and her eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights.
“I prefer Callie” she said shyly looking down.
“You remember me right?” Jack asked excitable.
“Jack Barakat, of course I remember you” she closed her book and pushed her glasses up, her hair fell into her face almost like a shield to hide herself.
“Good!” Jack grinned.
“You haven’t changed much have you?” Jack observed. “Still got your head in a book like usual!”
“Yeah…you haven’t either” she spoke so quietly Jack’s ears strained to hear her.
“My band got signed” Jack bragged. “You should come and see us guys!” Jack said all of a sudden having the idea.
“Right now?” Callie’s eyes widened once again.
“No silly, who does a show at like ten in the morning. Shit, that reminds me I’m late” Jack said sheepishly.
“Okay, well bye” Callie sounded relieved, opening her book back up, Jack didn’t move from his spot.
“Can I help you with something?” Callie asked sighing after he stood there for about five minutes, making her more uncomfortable with each passing second.
“Well now that you’ve asked I’m kind of lost” Jack blushed.
“How do you get lost?” Callie giggled for the first time in front of him.
Jack grinned widely, she had a pretty giggle, it wasn’t an attention seeking giggle like most girls, it was cute and innocent.
“Can you help me?” Jack stuck his bottom lip out.
“I’d be rude not to” Callie said more to herself then Jack.
“That’s great! I need to get to the studio!”
“That’s really specific” Callie mumbled sarcastically. “Luckily I think I know where you mean, we’re not far – follow me.”
Callie didn’t speak much; Jack did most of the talking. She was really shy Jack had noticed and whenever he made a immature gesture of joke he could tell she wanted to laugh because the corners of her mouth turned up for half a second and then she stopped herself.
Jack wasn’t paying attention to what he was doing at all; he was talking away to Callie, even though it felt like he was talking more to himself. And so he walked straight into a lamp post. Callie giggled and it turned into a laugh. She couldn’t help herself.
“I’m sorry” she said still laughing.
“You should laugh more” Jack couldn’t help but laugh with her.
“Thanks” she went quiet again.
“We’re here” she told him.
“Thank you, you are a life saver!” Jack hugged her tightly, she hugged him back awkwardly – patting him on the back slightly making Jack giggled.
“I’ve never met anyone quite like you” Jack told her.
“Sorry, I’m not good with socialising” she admitted looking down blushing.
“I like it, I think it is cute” Jack grinned.
“Thanks…” she didn’t know how to reply. “I’m going to go now” she told him turning around to leave.
“You should come in!” Jack said to her, she turned around.
“I don’t think that is a good idea” she said unsure, Jack shrugged.
“C’mon you know the guys, Alex and Rian, you won’t know Zack because he went to a different school but he is harmless, he is like a teddy bear” Jack assured her.
“I’m busy I can’t” Callie lied.
“Please” Jack dragged out the word.
“I’m really sorry; I’ll see you around Jack.”
“Can I at least have your number?” Jack asked her.
Callie had a mental argument with herself, pros and cons of whether or not it was a good idea to give him her number. When she said I will see you around, in other words it meant I will probably never see you again, this has been really awkward – goodbye. If he had her number that meant more awkwardness, maybe awkward texts or him asking to meet up. But then again, why would he want to meet up with her again? She knew what was most likely going through his mind. Oh god this was that really geeky girl from school, I’m just trying to be nice to her, she seems lonely.
She sighed and passed Jack out her phone.
“Thanks!”
Jack quickly typed her number in his phone and then his into her phone.
“I will call you or something” he told her.
“Okay, see you around.”
“Bye” Jack waved dramatically then entered the building.
“You will never guess who I just saw guys!” Jack walked into the room.
“You’re late” Matt said annoyed. “I told you this was important and you were late. This is why I do these things. I knew you would be late!”
“What is he on about?” Jack asked Alex.
“He told us the wrong time” Alex also seemed annoyed.
“We all got here an hour early because he thought we would show up late!” Rian continued.
“So we have been doing shit all for almost an hour because some of us always happen to be late” Zack grumbled.
“So I’m not late?” Jack clarified.
“The meeting starts in five minutes” Matt told him.
“Awesome!” Jack said happy he wasn’t later.
Everyone shook their head at him, Jack ignored them all.
“I got lost on the way” Jack continued with his story. “And I bumped into Calista!”
“Geeky Callie?” Alex asked now interested.
“Don’t be mean!” Jack slapped his arm. “But yeah, geeky Callie – she helped me find my way here. She is really cool man!”
“So she has changed?” Rian asked joining the conversation.
“No b-.”
“So she is still a geek?”
“I don’t know b-“
“Where did you bump into her?” he was interrupted again by Alex.
“By the fountain, she was reading some book-.”
“Still the same geeky Callie” Rian confirmed
“Whatever, you guys are a bunch of shallow pricks” Jack grumbled crossing his arms over.
“We didn’t mean it offensively” Alex said and Rian agreed.
“Whatever, I like her, she seems really nice!”
“She doesn’t exactly sound like your usual type” Zack said.
“She is far from blonde bimbo” Alex agreed.
“I’m not going to hook up with her!”
“I don’t think you could anyway” Alex laughed.
“Why?”
“She was never the type to just ‘hook up’” Alex explained.
“She is just a friend” Jack flipped them off.