Serenading Sirens

I stepped back into life like everything had just been on pause inside a television. Things had been different for that one day. Everyone had hated me and I exploded. But as I crossed the threshold of the school with Jack's hand in mine, everything just seemed to be back to normal. There were only glances in our direction as we continued to my locker.

I couldn't say that I didn't like it like this. It just didn't make sense. When Alex and I had started our relationship, we had been a hot topic whether I liked it or not. His best friend was currently clasping my hand in his. Where was the chattering gossip? Why was this not the scandalous front page headline on a special edition of the school newspaper? This was something big and if anyone would pick up on it, it would definitely be our school. It was a smooth stroll down the hall though.

I spent a long time staring into my locker after I had gathered what I needed. Jack was busy talking to a friend, so he didn't notice my frozen state. I just couldn't help but feel like I had gotten the short end of the stick with Alex.

Jack finally turned back to me, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "What's wrong?" he questioned when I hardly responded.

I shook my head to attempt to regain myself, shutting my locker at the same time. "I just don't get this," I answered and waved my hand around to gesture to everyone. He began to lead me to my homeroom, holding me close with his arm around my shoulders. "I was expecting a mass conversation the moment we walked in the door. Do you remember how it was back in November when Alex and I started dating? Back then, I was just the quiet girl. But now, I'm dating you. Scandal, much?" I talked frantically and quickly. It just needed to make sense.

"Are you complaining?" Jack asked. His eyebrows were pulled together, his dark eyes squinted in confusion.

I sighed, setting my things on my desk before looking up to him. I leaned up, connecting our lips without hesitation. Another sigh escaped me involuntarily, content this time. "Not at all," I murmured against his lips.

Now I could feel the eyes on us. It was hard to remember where we were when the populace wasn't acting normal. So when I remembered, I jumped back with a slight giggle. At least they were paying attention to something.

"I'll see you in a bit," he smiled, kissing my cheek once more and heading out the door.

I seemed to melt into my seat as everyone else flowed into the room for homeroom.

The day passed quickly since no one had anything to say about Jack and I. I definitely felt odd. The center of attention was something I never wanted to be. But it was what I had been expecting, and now it just felt like a big let down. So was I really complaining? Well, I had to be completely honest with myself. Of course I was.

I had also expected things to be awkward with the guys. That was also something that just didn't happen. English and lunch with all of them was just as pleasant as any other day, except Rian and I had changed positions. When I was alone, there were few people that decided they were brave enough to hold a conversation with me. And then there was Alex and I left to ourselves in Micro to do the lab together that we had both chosen to miss.

And it was like nothing ever happened. We joked around and laughed loud enough to disrupt the class. Instead of marking slides with the permanent marker, we took turns filling each other's arms with fume-ridden drawings. Mrs. Henderson was livid by the time we left class, still laughing loudly.

Alex walked with me back to my locker, like he used to. The only difference was instead of holding hands, we were clutching our stomachs, respectively, to try to stop our guffaws.

"It's great to not have any animosity between us," he said once we had regained our composure.

Still breathing deeply, I smiled over at him. "Yeah, it really is," I responded, opening my locker and blocking my sight of him.

I wasn't telling him all of what I really thought. The words I'd spoken were only half the truth I felt. It was nice not to be fighting or hating each other. But in a way, I think that would make things easier. We weren't together anymore. With as strongly as I felt for him, it surely wasn't a good thing to be around him and acting so chummy so soon.

I closed my locker again without really realizing it before addressing him again. "Well, I told Jack I'd meet him before I left. ...I'll... uh see you tomorrow." Suddenly, the air felt awkward. That was probably just to me, thanks to my thoughts. Alex seemed perfectly unfazed, still smirking away.

"See you in the morning," he called happily as I walked away.

I shot one last smile over my shoulder before continuing to find Jack. It was a relief when I could quit the charade when I faced forward again. It was even more satisfying when I found Jack waiting for me just by the doors.

He held his hand out when he spotted me, just waiting for it to be filled. My own found it easily, instantly forming to his. I accepted his embrace delightedly, wrapping my free arm around his torso. I breathed in his scent, the one I had taken the greatest liking to over the past week. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head like he was so fond of.

"You smell like Sharpies," he wondered, breaking our perfect moment.

I sighed mentally, but looked up at him to see his nose wrinkled playfully. I giggled, using the hand that was in his to lift the sleeve of my pullover hoodie on the other arm. "Alex went a little crazy," I told him.

He examined all the drawings closely. "You have a cock and balls right below your elbow," he almost grumbled. He looked back up to face me, his face solemn.

I considered telling him that Alex's arms looked just the same, but I noticed his expression was upset. I pulled my sleeve back down before leaning over and kissing him, thankful he was currently at my height. "It's just us being us," I assured once I pulled away. "There's nothing left between us." What a lie.

Finally, it was someone else's turn to sigh today. Jack tried his best to smile afterwards and touched his lips to mine again. "I have to go," he announced sadly, distracted. "I'll be there after school. I love you."

My smile was unstoppable at this. "I love you, too."

He walked away first, shoulders slumped ever so slightly. He did look back though, his eyes shining with buoyancy. I grinned back at him, glad that he wasn't upset. The fingers of the hand he had been holding bent in a wave to him before I headed out.

I was sure that years had passed since I'd last been at the bowling alley. Like usual, it was mostly dead when I pushed the glass plated door open. A ball rolling down a single lane, a few men sitting at the table behind it. Zack and I were always the only people on at this time, and he was seated behind the snack bar, sipping his water. I didn't bother getting my "uniform" and went over to him.

"Where's your usual Mountain Dew?" I questioned, sitting on the stool in front of him. He shrugged without much of a response. "You're going crazy with your fitness jig," I declared, figuring that's what it was about.

Zack snorted to start his laugh and shook his head. "It's definitely not crazy. I'm being healthy," he defended himself.

"Well, maybe you can teach me," I suggested while leaning over the counter to produce my own bottle of water.

For a good hour, I listened to Zack rattle off the importance of being healthy and working out. Mostly, I just watched the way his newly formed arm muscles contracted and moved every time he shifted. I found it odd that he had found this new obsession, taking a liking to it so quickly. It was a better infatuation than any other. It worked for him. Much better than any of mine had for me.

The day picked up, lanes filling with everyone coming from school. In the middle of handing a touchy couple their shoes, Jack entered the building. Not far behind him were Rian and Alex.

They made their way over to me slowly, waving at Zack across the entrance. Jack reached me first. He jumped up to sit on the counter, swinging his legs around to jump back down beside me. I smiled at his actions before puckering my lips. He easily fulfilled my wish, holding me there until the others cleared their throats. I blushed, keeping my eyes especially from Alex's gaze.

"Long day?" Jack asked while Zack made his way over to the rest of us.

"Long week," I replied. I was turned around to get them each shoes so I didn't see their mocking reactions.

When I faced them again, Alex was the only one still there. Heat filled my face. He was the last person I wanted to be alone with right now. I scanned all the people, hoping to spot Jack.

"It's only Monday," Alex pointed out as I was avoiding him.

I tried ignoring him, but he was blocking my view every way I moved. "I uh- It's um-" All I wanted was to find Jack to run to him, to have an excuse to get away.

Alex was chuckling. He had been resting against the counter as he watched me, making me uncomfortable. He made his way around it now, clearly not as anxious to be close to me as Jack had been. "Didn't like that no one gossiped all day, huh? I was afraid of that." He rubbed the back of his neck as he shook his head. "Our time together took your humility," he joked.

My eyes narrowed at him and I crossed my arms. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. I was close to smacking him for an answer.

Again with the chuckling. Whatever his answer was, apparently it was hilarious. For his sake, I really hoped I felt the same.

"I was the one that did it," he admitted, still being cryptic. When I raised one eyebrow, he continued. "We had a show last week. I made sure to tell everyone not to give you any shit about it. Word spreads," he shrugged.

I stared at him in disbelief. He had no reason to do that. In fact, if he still cared about me as much as I knew he did, he should have done the opposite. Or he cared about me far more than that. He just wanted me to be happy. It took me a while to come up with something to say. My voice was thick and shaky by the time I spoke. "Why didn't Jack tell me?"

Alex smiled lightly, taking my hand in his, palm up. "I didn't want him to. He was probably mad anyway that I still care enough to do something for you," he explained while examining my hand. I opened my mouth to thank him, but he was already talking again. "I wanted to give this back while I was here, by the way."

Our palms were touching as he told me this, but something stopped the contact from being complete. Whatever it was still held the heat from his hand. He left it there, placing his hand on the back of his neck again. Alex Gaskarth was nervous, and it was about me.

"I didn't even know you took this," I whispered. I held the bracelet up, recognizing it as the one Hadley made me in eighth grade. An array of beads covered the elastic string; hearts and stars, circles and squares. The colors only made the white beads spelling out my name stand out that much more.

He smiled. "I took it the first time we were at your house," he informed me. "You never noticed I've been wearing it ever since."

I realized the wear on it was a lot more noticeable than it had ever been. It was stretched out from the new owner and some of the beads had lost their shine. I took his hand again and slowly slipped the bracelet back over his fingers. I couldn't stop the tears from escaping the dam of my eyelids. "Your still my first love, Alex. And no matter how much I love Jack now -or will in the future- there's now way I can forget you. You changed me into the person I am now, the person I needed to be. You really just need to know that's what I think." I let go of his hand, still staring at the bracelet, a perfect fit on his wrist. Hadley always made them too big for me, and Alex had made it fit him.

I was still trying to watch it as it disappeared, his arm moving from my sight. So I just looked down and waited for him to walk away. That didn't happen. The arm that had disappeared was wrapped around me, his other arm came around the other side. I breathed deeply, trying to stop myself from bawling so openly.

"At least we think alike," he said while my arms copied his.

Meetings with Alex just seemed to end in tears and embraces lately. We kept ourselves on our toes with our emotions better than we had when we were together. But it couldn't always be like this. I shouldn't be letting him hug me like this. I couldn't find the strength to pull away though, wanting so bad to keep something between us.

"Jack's coming," he whispered in my ear, and then held me away at an arm's length. A wide smile broke his features. "It's a good thing you didn't wear eye makeup today," he hinted, and let go of my shoulders.

I looked down briefly to rub away the wet look of my eyelashes. When I looked up again, Alex was gone. I wheeled around to see him walking away, passing Jack on the way and clapping him on the shoulder. A gesture I hadn't seen between them since that first day I had really gotten to know them.

Jack approached me with a smirk. He reached across the counter, offering his hand for me, just to hold. I didn't hesitate to take it, my loving smile sincere.