It's weird how one person, that you've never really said a word to for about four years or so, decides to send you a text. You know what they say about when guys text you, it means that he was thinking about you.
Jayce Reynolds was thinking about me, and I don't know if I should be flattered or not. The reasoning could be just to make amends for what his stupid friends did.
I texted him back, "thanks for that."
I know a simple reply to the most popular guy in my grade is probably the worst thing I could do, but I really had nothing to say. Even though girls would practically kill for Jayce to text them, it really didn't seem like anything special. He probably just wanted to be that guy who stood up for helpless girls who couldn't stand up for themselves.
Suddenly, a tap caught my attention. I looked around my room to try and see what it was.
Nothing.
Another tap rang through my ears. It began to get repetitive.
From my peripheral vision, I saw something hit my window - a pebble to be exact.
I walked over to the other side of my room, and opened my window. Down below was a boy with brunette hair that seemed to match mine, a friendly grin on his face, and a hand filled with little rocks.
"Colton," I said, smiling down at my next-door neighbor, who just happened to be the one out of the two people that were actually my friends at school.
"Hey, can I come up?" He asked, cupping his hands around his mouth to project his voice more.
I nodded, opening up the window as wide as it could go so he could climb through.
Now before you get any ideas, Colton and I don't like each other that way. You see, him and I have been best friends since the first grade, we met Lillian in sixth grade and it has always been the three of us ever since.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like Colton isn't good-looking, because believe me - damn he is. But I never saw him as nothing more than a friend, and his feelings are mutual. He's had his fair share of girlfriends here and there, but not once has he ever taken advantage of them; you could say that he was sort of like Cameron when it came to the opposite sex.
Colton always did this though, whatever the case may be; he'd always come over to my house, which was right next to his. He'd climb the tree that happened to be right next to my bedroom window, and just jump in. We told each other everything, and I'm not saying that I was closer to Colton than Lillian, but we definitely had our moments.
"So what's up?" I asked, as he came through the window.
He dusted off his hands on his jeans, and sat on my bed, "I just wanted to ask if you were coming with Lillian and I to the game on Friday."
"And texting me wasn't an option because?" I flatly asked.
He laughed a little, "Climbing up to your room is always more fun, besides it makes me feel like one of those princes in fairy tales, except I feel like I'll never truly find that one princess." His tone of voice became lower as he ended his statement.
Here's the thing about Colton, although he was very attractive, and had girlfriends before - he never seemed to be genuinely happy with either one of them. He always thought that he'd find the perfect girl, fall in love, and live happily ever after. He was just like the naïve girls at our school, except he was never taken advantage of. And to be honest, all the girls in our school only went out with Colton because of one thing, his looks. And he knows that which, is why he's such a hopeless romantic.
"Stop being so negative Colton, it's only our junior year, anything could happen." I sent him a sympathetic smile, which he just shrugged in response.
"So back to my question, are you going on Friday?" He asked once again.
I grabbed one of my textbooks from the floor, ready to begin homework, and replied, "Do I have a choice? I always go to those stupid games, for one reason-"
He cut me off, shoving my phone screen in front of my face, "Is that reason because of Mr. Jayce Reynolds?"
I looked at the screen to see that Jayce had texted back.
"what a great way to keep a conversation going..."
I snatched it away from Colton, and rolled my eyes at Jayce's sarcasm, typing back a simple response to get him to stop talking to me.
"Since when did you and Jayce Reynolds text each other? Last time I checked he never even knew you existed." He said nonchalantly.
Flipping through the textbook, I muttered under breath, "Last time I checked I still had feelings." Luckily for me, Colton was too zoned out that he didn't hear me.
"Anyways, I have to go, can't be late for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow at school." He grinned, showing me his straight white teeth, and climbed out of my window.
♔
I ran a hand through my hair, closing my last textbook of the night, finally finishing the two hours I've wasted on my life, doing homework. I pressed the home button on my phone, the screen lit up showing the time, "7:43pm"
Just then my stomach let out the most unattractive growl that could make boys in a hundred feet diameter scowl at how weird it sounded. I hadn't eaten dinner, because most of the time, Cam and I would order pizza or take-out, drive to a local diner, have dinner at Colton's, or cook something for ourselves.
Sighing, I walked out of my room, going down the flight of stairs, when I heard a series of laughter coming from our living room.
It was probably our parents and their work colleagues, they had the time to hang out with them, but when it came to their own children, they had no care in the world.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, my eyes widen at the sight in front of me.
Four boys were sat in my living room, laughing at some TV show on MTV, but what caught my attention was the boy seated at the end of the couch.
Jayce Reynolds
My brother turned to me, his smile widening, "Oh hey Alex, the boys brought some food over if you want some."
I nodded, keeping my mouth shut. I'm so damn confused.
Cam's best friend, J.C greeted me like he always did.
Justin Christian Rodriguez, also known as J.C, and Cameron were inseparable. Although so many people claimed to be Cam's "close best friend", that title was already taken by J.C. He was practically like another older brother to me. He was one of the few who knew about the whole situation with our parents. So he always did whatever he could to help us when it came to family related matter.
I was puzzled, I obviously know why J.C was here, he was Cam's best friend, co-captain of the football team, and this was basically his second home. But why were two juniors, Jayce and his partner in crime, Parker Adams, sitting in my home?
I cleared my throat awkwardly, "Uh why are they here?" Cam knew who I was referring to - the only two boys who were my age.
Parker smirked, "Way to be subtle Alex."
"I'm sorry, it's just weird to have you two are here because, well you know, you're not really friends. And Cam doesn't really let any juniors in here besides, well, me." I replied shyly.
"I invited Jayce here as a thank you for not being a total jerk like his friend Miles. And Parker just came along, he's lucky that he kept his mouth shut about the whole "stalker girl" thing, because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to step foot into this house." Cam said, giving Parker a look.
"No worries Cam," Parker smiled friendly, "I'm nothing like Miles, and I actually have a care in how people feel."
I pursed my lips, nodding awkwardly, "Well that's good, I guess."
Saving myself the trouble from further more embarrassment, I fled to the kitchen, hoping to grab myself a plate of food. Entering the kitchen, an aroma of Chinese food filled up my nose. On the mahogany dining table were open take-out containers, some were tipped over and empty, while others were still filled with food. I guess boys will be boys.
I started picking up each and every one of them, organizing them on the table; whilst in search for something that looked edible to eat and that hadn't looked like four boys fought over it with their nasty hands. I mean come on, they had all just been to football practice, and J.C still smelled like the grass and dirt of the field, so I shouldn't be taking any chances.
"Finally." I muttered to myself, finding an unopened container filled with chow mein. I grabbed a pair of chopsticks, ready to head back up to my room for two reasons. One reason being that I didn't want to be stuck down here any longer with four boys who seemed to be highly captivated by some show. And the second being, because Jayce made me feel extremely nervous and anxious.
Yeah, I admit it he had an effect on me, but I wasn't going to let myself show it. It was one text, well technically two, but he had a girlfriend who took it upon herself to officially title me as his 'stalker', which makes absolutely no sense. You don't see me with binoculars and a camera snapping pictures of her and her boyfriend. In my opinion, Quinn should've just kept to herself; I had never done anything to her, and so I only have two words for her - fuck off.
I made my exit out of the kitchen, not sparing a glance into the living room, hoping not to gain any attention from them. I quickly made my way up the stairs, careful trying not to spill any of my food. When I returned to my bedroom, I was startled by the masculine back that was facing me.
"What are you doing in here?" I asked setting my food down onto my desk filled with papers and books.
He was standing by my dresser and it looked like he was examining something in his hand, "Nice picture."
The picture frame in his hands was of Colton, Lillian, him, and unfortunately myself. Looking at that picture took me back to the moment it was taken, back when I had braces, when Lillian's hair was still it's natural color, when Colton was still scrawny and a bit nerdy, and when Jayce actually talked to us.
It was taken on our 8th grade field trip; our class was taken to different high schools, including the one I was attending today, Hartwell High. All four of us were put into the same group, since Colton, Lillian, and I refused to split up since we were inseparable. At first, Jayce wasn't assigned to our group, he was with a few of his friends, but to due to the rowdiness of his group, our teacher and chaperones all thought it was best for him to switch groups. It wasn't just the four of us though, there was another kid, a really awkward and closed off boy, Walter. But unfortunately, he had gotten sick during the whole tour, and went home early, so that's how the four of us ended up together. The picture was taken after the tour ended, right in front of Hartwell High, which was ironic because we all seemed to end up there.
"What's so nice about it?" I grumbled under my breath, although it had seemed that he heard me.
Setting it down in its place, he replied, "Well it just looks like we're all happy, genuinely happy, not that fake happiness that occurs right now."
I raised my eyebrows, "And how exactly would you know if our happiness is fake right now? Last time I checked, you were never our friend, and you have never even spoken one word to either of us when high school started... well obviously besides now."
Damn, since when did I grow a pair? Seriously, when did I ever build up the courage to stand up to someone like Jayce Reynolds.
Oh gosh, I'm turning into Lillian with the whole full name thing.
"Well can you blame me for not talking to you guys?" He retorted.
I shot him an offended look, "And what exactly is that suppose to mean?"
"We're from two different worlds Alex, I-"
"Don't give me that bull." I cut him off in a nonchalant way, speaking as if what he just said didn't bother me, "Why were you here in the first place? Just because you kind of stood up for me doesn't mean you could invade my privacy by going into my room. We don't even know each other that well, and I don't think your girlfriend would like it if she found out her precious boyfriend was in some other girls room, especially if it was mine."
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his maroon hoodie, and smiled, a real smile, "You're... something else Alexandria." Jayce then gazed around my room, his eyes landing on something that was on my desk. Moving towards it, he came closer to me without even noticing it. Looking to where his eyes were so focused on, I caught his center of attention; it was a college brochure, specifically to UC Berkley.
He picked it up, and looked through it, he turned to the page where it talked about Writing for Multimedia Programs, the programs I was particularly interested in. I even took the liberty of circling it in red twice. Yeah, I know it seems so early since I'm only a junior, but I like to plan ahead, and maybe get an early acceptance.
"Your brother wants to major in writing?" He questioned, looking up at me.
I shook my head, "No, that's actually what I plan on doing, if I'm lucky enough to get in."
He stared directly at me, his eyes never leaving mine, as if he wants my full attention, "You write?"
I fiddled with the end of my sweatshirt, nodding, "From time to time, I read a lot as well, mostly the classics, but I make time for regular young adult fiction books as well. You can probably tell." I gestured towards the built in bookshelves that pretty much covered the wall opposite of my bed.
He looked as if he was impressed by my fixation on books, "As surprising as it is, we seem to have a lot in common." I glanced at him with a small smile, and he looked at me for a moment, before walking slowly towards the open door.
"Hey Jayce, m-maybe if you come over again, or if Cam invites you, I could let you borrow some books that you haven't read yet, or you know if you want, or if reading is just some hobby for you not a passion like for me, but I don't know, you probably read the classics, although, not everyone enjoys them."
What the hell was that? I really should just stick my head in the toilet and let it suck me inside the sewer system.
Usually I don't ramble like that. No, scratch that I never ramble on like that to begin with.
I nervously looked at Jayce, who had an amused smile on his face. He was leaning against my doorway, with his arms folded against his chest, "That's actually not a bad idea. Well I have to head down right now before your brother thinks something is going on. But how about you let me borrow 'A Tale of Two Cities' by Charles Dickens, out of every Dickens book, believe it or not I've never read that one. My copy got all tattered up and torn when my father found it laying on my bed." I sent him a puzzled look, but he returned a look that said, "Don't ask."
So I just nodded, "Yeah okay, I'll give it to you sometime this week."
He grinned and said his goodbyes to me, "See you around, bookworm."
I watched as his retreating back made it down the hall and to the stairs. "That name is not going to catch on with me!" I called after him.
"It's worth a shot!" He replied.
I guess I had a new nickname, and for some odd reason... I liked it.
Plus from what I heard Quinn never got a pet name from him so... HA.
-
Authors Note:
Hey!
Happy New Year everybody! 2014, yay! cx
I hope you all had a special and safe New Years!
So I've noticed that I've gotten a few more reads which makes me feel even more happier during this New Year :)
ON THE SIDE: my baby Jayce Reynolds played by Francisco Lachowski (obviously played by his younger self), Jayce is such a little dork and that gif is the perfect one to use to showcase his personality
Thank you all so much!
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Until next time,
-queenfreakco