Jack of Clubs (BxB)

11: To Focus On Something Else

"What else did you want to tell me?" I asked the instant that I opened the car door, not even waiting until I sat down. The question was burning a hole inside of my brain, and I couldn't bear it for a second longer.

"My day was fine, thanks for asking." Sam amused himself.

I just ignored him. "You said you'd tell me the rest later. It's later now."

"It's not a whole lot. Just that we go to Jack of Clubs for our meetings." He shrugged, starting the car and taking us out of the school's parking lot.

"Why Jack of Clubs? That doesn't seem all that secretive."

"That's where they found me the first time, so it's just sort of become normal. It's kind of in the perfect location, and no one really goes there anymore."

"What about Ezra and the cook?" I pointed out.

He shrugged. "Ezra doesn't even leave the back room unless there are customers, which there aren't a lot of, and I've never even seen the cook before. They don't seem to notice anything."

"Nothing about this sounds smart."

"It's better than being somewhere far from any semblance of safety and civilization."

I couldn't help but concede. "You make a fair point."

"You're just now noticing?" He laughed, and then leaned forward to turn the radio on. It instantly connected to his phone. "Point my phone at my face to unlock it."

Maybe it was just me, but my phone was my sacred place. It was where all of my favorite photos, videos, games, conversations, etc. were safely held. The idea of just giving my phone to someone that I hated for years freaked me out a bit. But Sam didn't seem to care. It was possible that he didn't value his phone as much as I did, or maybe he just had more faith in me than I had in myself.

Reluctantly, I did as he said.

"Press my Spotify. Play any playlist you want, or even something that I don't have. I'm curious what sort of music you like." Sam cast a glance my way. I stared down at his phone.

His Home Screen was a picture of him and his friends. Dennis had one arm around Sam's shoulders, and the other around a stoic Brian. Caden was gripping Brian's sleeve and laughing about something probably lost to time. He had a few widgets as well, but it was just practical things like the weather and date.

I found his Spotify and opened it up. Scrolling through someone's music also felt deeply personal. Music taste said a lot about a person — not always things that were easy to learn. What I quickly found out about Sam was that he liked everything. Pop music, rock, bedroom dance. Some I recognized, while others were songs and artists I had never seen before.

Finally landing on a playlist that seemed the most familiar, I pressed shuffle. Come A Little Closer by Cage The Elephant started playing, and Sam smiled. He didn't even hesitate, singing the lyrics to himself. He was by no means a singer, which made it even more fascinating.

His confidence knew no bounds. I couldn't help but watch him intently. It would be a lie if I said that it didn't make me like him a bit more. There was something so endearing about the way that he didn't care what I said, or if I judged him. He just sang because he wanted to, and I was glad to be there at that moment.

Rewiring my brain to search for good aspects in Sam rather than bad ones was a peculiar experience. Sometimes it worked, but changes like that took time.

When he realized that I was staring at him, his eyes flitted to mine. His cheeks heated slightly, and he sang a little bit quieter. I forced my eyes away from his face, instead trying to pretend as though I wasn't enamored by the new viewpoint distorting my previously known world.