As we walked towards our homeroom class, Colton and Lillian stopped me before entering the classroom. "What happened back there before we came?" Lil asked with concern. I leaned against the row of lockers, sighing in frustration.
"It was nothing." I muttered.
Colton scoffed, "Don't give us that crap. If it was nothing than that little outburst wouldn't have happened, so tell us the real story."
I ran my hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face, and began to tell them how this whole thing with Jayce started. As I unfolded the very short story towards them, I realized something. I realized that Jayce Reynolds was one of those guys. The type of jock who was so caught up into themselves, their friends, and popularity that they never wanted to do anything to ruin it. He cared so much about what his friends and everyone else thought of him. When someone, like myself, came up to him and tried to have a normal conversation, he'd act a completely different way. He'd try to please his friends, and trick them into thinking that he was some self-involved person just like them. And that's what I hate, people who act like someone they're not.
That's the thing about high school. Teenagers roam the hallways of high school acting like people they think they want to be, but really they're just doing what everyone else is doing. Everyone wants to be thought of as someone cool, as someone who is better than everyone else. And that's the problem; no one actually has the balls to actually break through the walls that contain their true selves. Jayce obviously had this problem; he was so caught up in being Mr. Popularity that he didn't care about other people. He wanted everyone to think that he was "cool" or some sort.
To be honest, I bet everyone thinks this.
"Cool kids" aren't cool, at all. No matter how much they think they're cool or what not, they're really not. The secret to cool or popular kids is that they do or say things that they think are "cool". They make everyone believe that they are all high and mighty, when really they're just like everyone else. We're all about the same age, we're all in the same grade, believe it or not, it doesn't matter if you're an outcast or a jock, and we all have something in common.
And that thing is insecurities.
I think that insecurities ruin everything, because in reality, it's what causes the popular kids to act the way that they are. They try to cover up all those flaws by acting someone they're not. And that's Jayce's problem.
"Alex, as hard as it is to believe, I think you're starting to develop some feelings for him." Colton said bitterly.
I looked at him with a huge question mark on his face, "Are you kidding me? How can I develop feelings for someone like that? I barely even talk to the guy."
"I'm with her on this one Colton," Lillian chimed in, "I mean nothing special really happened, besides the fact that he texted her and she found him in her room, but that doesn't defeat the fact that he just acted like a completely different person to her in front of his friends."
The sound of a bell pierced through our ears, echoing throughout the school, signaling that class was about to start. Colton had a different homeroom than Lillian and I, so he ran off to class, while we entered the classroom not too far from us. I took my usual seat, not in the front with Lillian, but somewhere towards the middle.
Just as our homeroom teacher, Ms. Rhodes, was about to close the door, two boys ran through the doorway.
Jayce and Parker.
"Mr. Reynolds, Mr. Adams, quickly take your seats." Ms. Rhodes said while narrowing her eyes towards them.
They nodded, and made their way towards their desks, which so happened to be near mine. I hadn't really noticed them in this homeroom until now because I had no reason to actually acknowledge them. Jayce sat at the desk diagonally behind me towards my left, whilst Parker sat right in front of me.
How ironic.
As Ms. Rhodes took attendance, and lectured us about some boring school fundraiser no one really listened to, I felt something hit the back of my shoulder. I looked to the left on the ground, seeing a crumpled piece of paper. Picking it up, I unwrapped and tried straightening it out on the edge of my desk.
The handwriting still looked legible and it said, "I'm sorry I had to do that earlier, Parker is sorry too. Do you think I could still borrow that book from you? I'd really like to read it. Let me make it up to you."
I crumpled up the paper again and threw it on the ground. I'm not some pity party; I didn't need him or Parker to feel sorry for me. I never wanted them as my friends, I didn't talk to them, they talked to me. They brought this up amongst themselves; it's not my problem.
Another bell rang, indicating that first period would start. We all got up from our seats heading towards the door. But before leaving I had something to do. I turned around and walked to Jayce's desk. Upon seeing me, he smiled a little; I didn't even look him in the eyes. Getting the book he wanted, I practically threw it down on his desk and left.
♔
It was after school, and I was heading towards the library to finish my homework, and then meet up with Cam on the football field for his game. That was until Parker Adams decided to make an appearance. "Hey Alex, wait up!" I turned around as I was walking through the hallway, to see Parker coming up to me. I swiftly turned back around and kept walking, quickening my pace. I reached the outside of our school, and practically scurried towards the library building, until I felt a tug on my arm.
"Alex, come on. You don't know me well enough to know that I'm that kind of guy who just disses their friends."
I snatched my arm away from his hold, "Are you sure you really want to talk about this now? Someone from the team or the squad can just pop out of nowhere, you don't want that do you?"
"I'm sorry, okay?" He said sincerely.
I rolled my eyes, "Look, I didn't ask for you to be my friend, nor did I ask Jayce, so if you're embarrassed to be my friend, or let alone be seen with me, don't even bother talking to me because I never asked for all this to happen."
He sighed, and pleaded, "Just listen to me, okay? Just listen and I'll explain everything, just please."
This is what sucks about being too nice.
"Go on." I stated with a blank expression.
"I know there's no excuse for not standing up for you, for letting my friends say those things to you, and I am truly sorry. But at least I didn't say anything hurtful towards you, unlike Jayce." He said.
I looked at the ground, avoiding his gaze, "Still that's not an excuse."
He nodded, "I understand that. But it is true that I want to be your friend, for real and all. You're pretty cool, and it would be fun to have a friend who isn't so caught up with themselves."
From the small amount of time that I've talked to Parker, including last night, he did give off a good vibe about himself - something I noticed right off the bat. And he is actually apologizing to me, not throwing some stupid note at my back.
"I guess we're okay." I admitted, because hey who could hold a grudge against someone who is truly apologetic.
His face lit up, "Really?"
I nodded, grinning slightly, "But that doesn't mean I fully forgive you, we'll see where this goes."
"That's alright, I'll take it." He smiled with gratitude. Turning his head, he looked back towards the football field. "Well I got to change for the game tonight, I'll see you there." With one last wave, he made his way back towards the school, probably heading to the locker room.
That seemed easy, forgiving Parker wasn't such a difficult task. I mean if letting Parker off the hook wasn't so hard, then how come I couldn't do the same with Jayce?
Now that's the mystery.
♔
"Woo! Let's go Knights!" Lillian cheered from our position on the bleachers. We were seated, well stood, in the mid section of the bleachers. Darkness covered up the sky, with only the stars and field lights illuminating everything. Our team was doing pretty well, 15-7, so I guess we had a good chance at winning. Colton and Lillian seemed to be enjoying themselves since they were on their feet with everyone else, showing their school spirit for our team. Unlike them, I was sitting down.
I mean, it's not like I didn't enjoy the game, it's just that seeing someone, you can't really stand, for an hour or two isn't something I was looking forward to. And unlike Jayce, forgiving Parker was fairly easy for me because of one reason.
That reason is, because he actually meant it. Like I realized before, instead of writing some stupid, crumpled up note, he came up to me face-to-face and sounded sincere, he sounded like he was truly sorry, so I accepted his apology. Plus he was right, he said no such thing about me, he didn't really do anything wrong, besides the obvious fact that he let his friends act like total jerks towards me, but it was one time.
With Jayce, it was another story. He scolded Miles for making fun of me, he invaded my privacy and came into my room, we had an actual conversation like two normal people, he seemed interested about the fact that I loved to read and write, and he even asked to borrow a damn book from me. May I remind you that, all of those events occurred when no one was paying attention and when it was only the two of us.
And the one time I actually go up to him in school, to talk and give him what he wanted from me, he acts like I'm some obsessive girl, which I am not, obviously. And I know why he did it, I'm not stupid.
He's embarrassed of me. As hard as it is to admit, he doesn't want to be seen talking to me, being with me, or interacting with me in any other way. But what I don't understand is that if Parker could handle being around me in public, why can't he?
Taking a break from my train of thought, I took a sip from my Big Gulp that I had purchased at the concession stand before the game. I sucked through the straw to have nothing come up.
I sighed, and suddenly had the urge to pee, really bad. Excusing myself from Colton and Lillian, I practically ran down the bleachers and made my way into the school. Luckily, as I stepped into the hallway, it was pretty deserted, probably because of the fact that a football game was going on.
I tossed my cup into a nearby trashcan, and ran to the girls bathroom, which happened to be on the other side of school.
Let me tell you something, trying to keep your legs together while running has to be the hardest thing to do. With the amount of urine I was carrying in my bladder I seriously felt like I was going to burst. I saw the blue sign with the white stick figure lady on a door up ahead and relief came upon me.
Running even faster, I suddenly felt someone solid crash into me. It was as if I ran into a wall. That's when I noticed, I was now flat on my butt, with someone looking down at me with a royal blue football jersey on, with his white jersey number, all padded up, with sweat dripping down his face.
And that someone happened to be the one person I definitely did not want to see right this second.
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry. Here let me," He crouched down a little to pull me up, but I ignored him completely and got up on my own. Brushing off the dirt on my jeans, I pushed past him continuing my way to the restroom, which wasn't so far anymore.
"Alex, can you just hold on for a second, please?" He called out.
I heard footsteps heading my way, and quickened my pace, trying to escape him. Just as I was about to push the restroom door open, I felt a hand grab my shoulder and turn me around.
Why are all these boys faster than me? I gotta start hitting the gym or something.
I leaned against a nearby wall, staring up at Jayce's dark brown eyes, which seemed to have bits of gold around the iris.
Hmm, I never really noticed that.
He sighed, "Alex, please listen to me." I rolled my eyes, ignoring the fact that I had a really good-looking guy vying for my attention.
He huffed and suddenly had an angry expression on his face, "So, you'll listen to Parker, who you've only known for like a day, but not to me who you've known since kindergarten."
Yeah, I might've left out the fact that Colton, Jayce, and I were all in the same kindergarten class, but it's not like I actually spoke to him. The only interaction I had with him was from middle school; our one moment in the 8th grade, and in 2nd grade where we were partnered up to make a poster with our favorite animal on it, we couldn't agree on picking one, so our picture looked like a combination of a yellow lion and a purple elephant.
But back to the more important point of this, he was not seriously using the kindergarten card against me.
I laughed, with no humor in it, "You cannot be serious. The fact that we've known each other since kindergarten is irrelevant to this whole situation. In between those 12 years we've been in the same class, how many times have you actually talked to me, besides yesterday and today? Don't act like you're the victim here Jayce, because you're not. So get your head out of your ass and actually think of someone else beside yourself. Oh wait, no I was wrong about that, the only people you think about is yourself and your so called friends."
He looked taken back, and I don't blame him. What I told him was the truth, whether he liked it or not.
He ran his fingers through his hair, "Look I'm sorry alright? Karma already bit me in the ass, were you not watching that game out there? Did you not see how many times your brother let the other team tackle me down?"
I couldn't answer his question because honestly I wasn't really paying attention to him during the game.
"Why do you think I'm here with you, instead of in the locker room with the rest of the team, who seems to be pretty happy right now since we're winning. But the only person on that team that doesn't have a smile on their face right now is me, because I hurt you, Alex Simmons, who seems to be the only person who doesn't care if I like to read boring shit, which isn't really boring. I actually enjoy the classic books out there Alex, and I'm not lying. And the book that you gave me, I practically finished three fourths of it already," He shook his head, " But besides the point, I'm really sorry Alex, I truly am."
Instead of replying right away to his apologies, I looked around the hallway to find it the way it was earlier, no wonder he chose to apologize to me now, there was no one around.
He looked at me as if he read my mind, "I know it was wrong of me to go along with what my friends said about you, it was stupid. And I'm sort of paying the price for that now. Alex, you're not some stalker, you're definitely not obsessed with me, I know that. I'll admit it, I was the one who came to you, and I shouldn't have treated you that way and I'm sorry. I'll say it a million times if it meant that you'd forgive me."
Pinching the bridge of my nose with my index finger and thumb, I scrunched my face and said, "Fine, whatever. I'm not the type to hold grudges, so alright, I forgive you. But this is just the first strike, two more and I'm done for good. This is a difficult game you're playing Jayce, and I don't know if you have what it takes to win." I teased, and he returned the gesture.
"We'll see about that bookworm. How about to make it up to you, you come with me somewhere after the game? It'll be something to start building up this relationship we have together."
I raised an eyebrow at him, "Relationship? Friendly or intimate?"
He smirked, while taking a few steps back, probably to head back out for the rest of the game, "Well, I've made my decision about what kind of relationship I want with you. I'm just waiting for you to make yours."
He was gone in an instant, leaving me standing there dumbfounded. Did I really just agree to go meet Jayce after the game, just the two of us? Crap.
Letting out a sigh of anxiousness, I muttered to myself, "What have I gotten myself into?"
That's when I noticed something - I still had to pee.
-
Authors Note:
oh my gosh, hi.
THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO @Atlantis94 BECAUSE SHE JUST FINISHED HER "KNIGHT" SERIES AND I WAS IN LOVE WITH THOSE 4 BOOKS AND NOW THAT IT'S FINISHED I AM NOW SAD. THE EPILOGUE LITERALLY MADE ME BAWL MY EYES OUT AS I READ IT ON NEW YEARS DAY.
IF YOU HAVE NEVER READ THAT SERIES, YOU BETTER START BECAUSE IT WILL LITERALLY MAKE YOU HAPPY, UNTIL THE END.
Thank you all so much for the amount of reads you've given me! I've been told by close friends that they really like this story, so thank you for giving this story a chance :)
ON THE SIDE: Parker Adams played by Taylor Lautner
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Until next time,
-queenfreakco