❦Zach❦
I shouldn't count my steps to distract myself from Daniels rant, and I also shouldn't have looked up either, because when I did in came a new distraction. The distraction known as Jack Avery. So I didn't catch but a few words of Daniel going on and on about how I should've won yesterday and this and that. He never caught wind of me totally ignoring him and breaking my neck to glance at Jack who was walking too fast with his friends in his leather jacket and dark facade as usual. I make exaggerative and sloppy strides to just be behind him. For a moment he seemed just at arms reach, but that was a daydream. I looked at him and even being so close I could never hear his voice over the bustling halls. I could only see his mouth move and think of what melodic sound his voice would be. Maybe it was low and smooth, sweet even, something to complete the rugged yet soft edge to him. Then again what do I know anyways, I don't even know him. Then him and my reverie disappeared down the hall as we turned into a different direction and jogged up the steps. I felt the world resume.
"I don't get it." Daniel stops to breathe finally. "Aren't you going to say anything?" He chuckles with almost a hint of annoyance. I'm sure at this point he knew I wasn't listening.
"What is there to say? I came in second and that's that Danny." I halfheartedly smile and pat his shoulder. You'd think he'd have dropped the topic by now but the supportive friend in him simply couldn't. To an extent though, I didn't mind.
"Eh, I guess so." And I silently pray that that's the end of that. "We have a chem test first period and I'm feeling quite alright about it." He changes the subject as we open my locker that we share.
"Shit, that's today?" I ask hoping he was wrong but I'm pretty sure he's right. If I recall correctly our teacher spoke of a pop quiz coming sooner or later sometime last week. I thought it was a weak threat but I guess it was a guarantee.
"Yeah you didn't study? Dude I asked if you wanted to study together." He says as we both shuffle through our bags retrieving what we need for the day.
"I know , I know. I just haven't had the time." I actually had all the time in the world but I don't know what I'm worried for anyways, I'm good at chemistry. Hell, to everyone on the outside looking in I'm good at everything.
"No worries that's what Google is for." He says waving his phone in the air. I shut my locker shooting him an agreeing look but we both knew we didn't need to nor would we cheat.
— • —
I entered my house to be greeted with the sounds of unfamiliar voices coming from the dining room. Nothing strange here seeing as there's almost never a silent moment in this house anyways with dads meetings, moms book club, the occasional parties, the occasional snooty friends my parents have over, sometimes even arguing, and etc etc. So much for the hope of one day of silence.
"Mom?" I called out and turned the corner to see what the commotion was all about.
"Oh Zach!" She says still slightly giggling over whatever was said by the guests she had over. Her eyes are slightly glazed over and her smile is entirely too big, she's tipsy. She sets her glass down and gracefully makes her way over to me, her floral dress flowing behind her. "This is my son Zach," The overdressed people which includes, two balding men and two ladies I assumed were the wives, waved at me with warm smiles.
"Your mom absolutely raves about you." One of the ladies in a white dress says I nod curtly with a smile. I was used to my moms guests because it must get lonely here all alone sometimes but I'm naturally anxious ninety-nine point nine percent of the time. No matter how many new people I meet it's something I don't think I'll grow out of. Natural human interactions don't come natural to me at all.
"I'll be in my room, it was nice meeting you guys." I say excusing myself with an awkward smile but as I prepared to turn my mom called out to me again.
"Oh and there's one other person I'd like you to meet." She gestures for me to follow. "If you guys will excuse me for a moment. Help yourself to some more hors d'oeuvres and champagne." As if on cue Daisy gracefully comes in balancing a tray of food in one hand and a bottle of bubbly in the other. My mom takes my arm and practically drags me down the hall and stops just before we reach where the end of the hall meets the beginning of the living room. "So Daisy had a little issue with her son and well she had to bring him here." She practically whispers like her guests could hear us from so far. Even if they could what would it matter?
"Okay?" I say confused not sure what this has to do with me.
"Well I want you to be nice to him and show him around and keep him company. Between me and you, I quite frankly don't trust the kid. Now go introduce yourself he's right in the living room." She says as we tip toe to the threshold, a step away from seeing this stranger. My moms heels click all the way back to the dining room with her friends before I have time to complain.
"Daisy has a son?" I mumble turning the corner running my hands through my hair. First our eyes met, then our faces mirrored the expression of moderate recognition, but that was the end to whatever short lived moment that was.
"Hi, I'm Zach." I say first still standing a great deal away from him. He turned his head slowly, but still with such a nonchalant manner.
"Hi." I was oddly not the least bit offended that he hadn't formally introduced himself in return for his presence goes without need of introduction. He's Jack Avery: the skater, the delinquent, the bad boy, the one with the curls, the mystery, the boy who I'd never expected to see in my living room ever. I was already out of words to say and we didn't even really have a real conversation. Then Daisy and my mom appear behind me managing somehow to not make a single sound until they spoke startling me.
"I see you two have met." Daisy says to me mostly, looking between the two of us. My mom is staring holes into the side of Jacks head and her eyes keep switching from his socks to his face. He had his feet up on the glass coffee table as if he were right at home.
"Jack put your feet down, I know you know better." Daisy scolds her son and Jack only sucks his teeth in response and a loud thud assures me, even though I didn't look, that he'd reluctantly put his feet down. My mom is still eyeing him. My head was swimming, I felt like I was dreaming.
"Is he always like this?" I ask trying to say it jokingly and failing miserably. Daisy is just looking at me with apologetic eyes.
"Like what?" Jack says from right behind me making me clutch my chest in surprise.
"Look could you two be friends for just a few hours or so?" My mom says through gritted teeth, plastering on her fakest of smiles. Then robotic like he face changes and she looks at me, still the smile remained. "Zachy how about you go upstairs and show him some of your video games and find something to do." I cringed inwardly at the pet name hoping he hadn't heard it.
"Fine." I mumble and motion for Jack to follow me upstairs.
"Nice place." He finally speaks once we make it upstairs. "Geez that's a lot of trophies." He points at our cabinet full of trophies and medallions. My mom put it in the front on purpose as if the house wasn't enough to brag about to visitors. Our life was one giant display of 'Ooh look at what we have!'.
"Thank you and yeah I guess so," I reply with a cross of humbleness and remaining unfazed. I've heard compliments about my home and my achievements time and time again. Beside me he runs his fingers along pictures on the walls as we go up the winding staircase, his eyes hard and maybe judgmental. "This is my room." I say as we reached the door at the end of the hall. I push it open and he follows behind me and proceeds to sit on the bed. He lays there propped up on his elbows looking around, still assessing the place.
"Don't I know you from somewhere ?" He asks randomly.
"Maybe school," I say trying not to sound too offended. In my deluded memory we knew each other since freshman year when we had gym together second period every A-day. We never talked, but I knew his face, I'd know it anywhere.
"No, I mean like somewhere other than school, never mind." He brushes it off but the tension was making it almost hard to breathe.
"Wanna play some video games ?" I ask. I didn't know what else to talk about at least a video game would distract us from trying to force a conversation, that and how could I possibly focus on pre calculus at a time like this?
"Sure." I turn on the tv and console and pass him a controller and pull up my desk chair, too afraid to sit beside him though it's my bed. My heart could only handle being this close to him or else it would implode.
Everything felt off. He had to be a hologram, an illusion of my mind. I must have reached the breaking point of obsession.
The intensity of the game made us unconsciously comment on things the other did. It was like almost talking, or at least as close as we were going to get to a real conversation. He couldn't aim to save his life, literally, and apparently I couldn't drive well which I don't disagree with.
"Ya know, I never knew Daisy had a son." As close as me and Daisy are she had never brought up this vital information, Jack Avery is her son!
"What does it matter to you?" He responds kind of snarky just as he gets a headshot in the game. Maybe being close to your crushes mom that just happens to be the housekeeper is a little weird.
"I guess it doesn't," I trailed off regretting having said anything else. He paused the game then to check his phone huffing out a breath of frustration. It's not that I meant to look but my eyes caught sight of the influx of texts he was receiving from the contact name "🖤". As if I had to even decode that to know it was his girlfriend.
"Two hours to fucking kill," He just barely mumbles. He didn't bother to hide the fact he didn't want to be here and I just sat there awkwardly. He types something quickly and tucks his phone back into his jean pockets.
"You wanna listen to music?" I suggest since we both seemed over playing video games.
"I bet you have nothing I haven't already heard." He chuckles. I praise myself silently for getting any positive feedback from him. I stand up with confidence knowing I definitely had something good in my Apple Music library. I scroll through until I find one that he just couldn't know, but if he did it's a plus. I connect my phone to my Bluetooth speaker.
"Try me." I shrug pressing play and he smiles, nodding his head, mildly impressed. Of course he'd like Blood Orange, everyone should. He was liking the song so far, that was until his phone chimed. I savored the short lived moment and kept my composure and didn't beg him to stay as he began to gather his things to go. But once again my curiosity did get the best of me. "Who was that?" He straightens out his jacket and lets his face return back to its stone cold glare.
"Why would I tell you?" He snaps, not to my surprise though. I just assumed that his girlfriends nagging probably got the best of him so he was splitting. then again it was none of my business.
"Do you plan on walking wherever you're going?"
"No my friend doesn't live too far I'll just text them where I am so they can — why am explaining myself to you right now?" He stops mid sentence to look at me in annoyance.
"Won't your mom wonder where you went?" I pester on as my way of discreetly trying to get him to stay.
"Could you make something up?" I let out a little snort at that. "Oh come on Zachy, what's it to you if I leave anyway? After today we don't even have to exist to each other." He's got me stumped there. I guess we both have our fair share of secrets and after today we probably won't ever speak.
"Fine, but typically, this is the part where I say you owe me." I smile irreverently at his dilemma feeling as though I have the upper-hand on the situation somewhat.
"Whatever." He rolls his eyes and disappears behind the other side of my door.