Dark Eyed Dreamers

“Raegan? Cute little blond with septum piercing? Really? Are you sure it was that one? The innocent one?” Rian asked in shock. Jack couldn’t speak; he could barely breathe with the way he was crying. Full out sobs escaped those soft pink lips of his.

“Clearly she’s not that innocent.” I scoffed. Rian just gave me a ‘that isn’t helping’ look.

“That’s just so unlike her. She and Alex aren’t even dating.”

Jack picked his head up from the pillow it was buried in.

“Ap-parently they ar-re” he stuttered, tears still falling. “Why is it always me that gets hurt? I fucking hate Alex.”

“Jack, he’s your best friend. You two are like peanut butter and jelly. You don’t hate him.”

“Not any more. I don’t want to talk to him ever again. I can’t fucking believe him right now. He knew! He knew for so long that I was, still am, in love with her, and he goes and fucks her then makes her his girlfriend. Peanut butter doesn’t dick over jelly. We are no longer harmonious!”

I was taken aback by two things.
First, Jack had never been this upset about anything ever.
Second, Jack used a big word.

“What did I do wrong? I told her how I felt for Christ’s sake! Why aren’t I good enough? Why can’t she like me?” he cried into the pillow he was curled into a ball with.

I hated this. Jack was hurting. I couldn’t do anything about it. Rian looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

About an hour later, Jack’s phone rang. He answered it with a sniffle before his gloomy expression hardened.

“I have nothing to say to you.” He spat, before hanging closing the phone and throwing it through the doorway.

Rian’s phone rang next.

“Hello?” he answered. “Yeah, he’s really upset… Maybe you should have thought of that before… Are you serious? … No. It’s a bad idea. Not today… Fine. Bye” he closed his phone, and took in a deep breath.

“Who was that, babe?” I asked him.

“Alex. He- he said we need to have practice today.” He looked at Jack.

----

Practice was interesting to say the least.

When we arrived at Alex’s, Zack was texting in the corner, and Alex was talking to Raegan while Brae fumbled with her thumbnail. Jack glared at Alex before picking up and plugging in his guitar. Rian kissed my cheek, got Alex’s and Zack’s attention, and sat behind his drum kit.

“Start off with Circles?” Alex asked, Zack nodded in agreement, plugging in his bass, Jack didn’t look up from the ground.

Rian counted off with four stick clicks and the song began. It sounded good at first, but then Jack kept screwing up. I couldn’t tell if it was on purpose or not, but it progressively got worse as the song went on.

Before the second verse, Alex stopped the band.

“What the fuck, Jack?” he asked, annoyed. Jack looked up and glared daggers at him. “What’s wrong with you. We’re practicing, this is supposed to be constructive!”

“How can I not screw up when you’re eye-fucking the girl I’ve been in love with for the past two years?” he nearly screamed, before throwing down his guitar. “Fuck this. I quit.”

Then he was gone.
This summer was supposed to be wonderful, but now it’s at an All Time Low.