He Doesn't Look A Thing Like Jesus; But He Talks Like A Gentleman

Alex sat on his bed on his laptop. While normally he'd be at practice, out with friends, or just out he couldnt bring himself to do anything but go on facebook, and listen to his itunes library. He knew what he truly wanted to do, write. Ever since watching Zack and Rian play together the previous night he had to urge to let out all his feelings and put music to it. But fear was holding him back. Fear of failing. He held his true passion for writing and playing his guitar to himself mostly, even from Chase. It was the one thing that used to keep him sane, and if someone told him he was horrible at it, he wasnt sure he'd ever fully recover.
Tapping his fingers on the keys lightly and not really typing anything, Alex fixated his gaze on his guitar. He was mentally debating on the issue, and was slowly leaning toward his guitar when his phone rang with an unfamilar number. Holding his phone in his hand he went to hit ignore but accidentally hit the answer key. Shit
Stopping his breathing and trying to be silent as possible he sat waiting for a voice on the other end of the phone.
"Alex Dinner!" his mom yelled up the stairs at that very moment. Double shit
A female voice sounded on the phone
"Hello?" The female voice said irritated. He knew that voice but he just couldnt seem to place it.
"Alex?" his mother called again impatiently.
I've got to talk now, Alex thought to himself.
"Be down in a few," he responded, before quickly talking into his phone, "yeah."
"Well," the voice sarcastically sighed, "You're just as peachy on the phone as you were in class today." Finally he knew who it was. Jasyn Barakat.
"Jasyn?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," she sighed in confirmation.
"How did you get this number?" he just slipped out. He didnt mean for it to sound as rude as it came out, he was just in shock.
"Well, you're popular in the girl's population. They seem to have you on speed dial for quick lays," Jasyn spat obviously offended and defensive.
"I didn't mean anything by that comment. I was just surprised," Alex's voice grew cold as well. He wasn't in the mood for her little games. "What do you want?"
"I want to not be on the phone with you," Jasyn didnt miss a beat, "but I have to be. We have to get together and plan our stupid presentation it's due at the end of this week."
"Right," Alex said placing his fingers into the shape of a gun and pretending to shoot himself in the head, even though no one could see him. Just another stressor on his plate. "Greaaat," he dragged the word out, "well when do you want to do it?"
Jasyn blew a large gust of air out like she was thinking, "Uh. I guess we could meet up at the library. Tonight and Thursday are the only night's I'm free."
"Thursday's no good," Alex shook his head. Family dinner, and he'd skipped the last one, there was no way he'd be able to get out of two in a row.
"Well what are you doing now?"
Alex looked around his room, then back at his guitar for a lingering amount of time. "Nothing," he finally said. "I'll be there when I finish dinner," he replied.
"Fine," Jasyn hung up the phone before he could say anything, and Alex ran his hand through his hair before throwing his cellphone in his pocket, and dragging himself downstairs and sitting at the island while his mother dished out their plates. The kitchen seemed so empty to him. Last year there had been four people in the house, practically five because Chase had always been over. Then Dawn had left, and the fighting started, so Chase didn't make appearances quite so frequently. Now his father was gone too. Just Elizabeth and Alex left.
This kitchen is too big for two people, he couldn't help but think.
"What's on your mind?" Elizabeth asked her son as she slid a plate his way and sat beside him.
"I need to borrow your car to go work on a project," Alex smiled gently.
Elizabeth shrugged good naturedly and took her fork to her mouth, "ok."
+++++++++++
It was only an hour ago that Chase realized she could possibly be...she couldn't even bring herself to think of the words again. She was in complete denial and chose to just ignore it for now, and going on with Tommy provided the perfect distraction. He wasn't observant and liked to talk about himself a lot. The perfect combination. The whole car ride to the bowling alley all he did was talk about himself. He didn't even realize anything was wrong. The surface Chase loved it, but the subconscious Chase wondered if she was with Jack right at the moment and she was sitting in the car silently if he would notice.
Entering into the bowling alley, Chase couldn't help but chuckle. Kelli and Kerri were jealous that she was going out with Tommy, yet she could never picture either of them wearing shoes that other people had worn.
"What's so funny?" he asked amused, and Chase shook her head with a smile, "Nothing."
As the two went to go to their lane a male voice called out behind them, "Yo Tommy!" Tommy and Chase whipped around, and Chase's stomach dropped into her rental plaid checked bowling shoes. Jack.
"Hey man." Tommy said flatly.
Jack started walking towards them, and Chase manage to compose herself rather quickly, yet the nauseous feeling of nerves wouldnt settle down. Then a girl came into view behind him. A familiar girl. Sarah.
Chase sent Jack a not necessarily nice questioning glance, and he smiled devilishly in return.
"Mind if we join you guys?" he asked as Sarah caught up to him in stride and stood beside him.
Tommy began to say no, but Chase cut him off, "Sure that would be fun, Hi. I don't think we've met I'm Chase," she extended her hand to Sarah who reluctantly took it and shook it as if she was waiting for a trick, and Jack cocked an eyebrow in surprise at her civility.
"Yeah I know, I'm Sarah." Chase smiled warmly at the girl with the best intentions and lead her over to their lane leaving Tommy and Jack staring for a moment before they followed.
Chase was having a better time talking to Sarah then she was with Tommy, who tried to get into the two girl's conversation whenever possible. Jack stayed quite quiet for Jack, and everyone seemed to take notice. Chase wondered if Tommy and Sarah had also noticed, as she had, Jack's eyes always seemed to make their way to Chase.
Despite the obvious awkward factors by the end of the first game, Chase was having a lot of fun.
"Game two?" Tommy asked to which Chase and Sarah nodded while in conversation with one another.
"Excuse me," she said to Sarah, "I'll be right back, heading to the bathroom," she said politely.
Chase got into the bathroom pointedly ignoring or trying to ignore the pang she felt when she passed the tampon machine. When she was done with everything, Chase left the bathroom and obliviously starting walking back to the lane, so she was startled and scared when someone grabbed her wrists gently and pulled her in the opposite direction, all in under five seconds. Whipping around, she was relieved and terrified that it was Jack. "Hey," he smiled.
Chase bit her lip and put on a smile as well, he was thisclose to her.
"I want to show you something," he let go of her wrist and nodded his head motioning for her to follow him. They went through a door labeled Employee's Onlyinto a small lounge, through another door and another until Chase would have been lost if she tried to get back by herself.
"What are we doing..." she nervously trailed off.
Jack laughed, "Don't you trust me?" he replied and she had no answer so instead just followed him. Finally she had an idea where they were, they were behind the lanes!

"What are we doing here?" She asked shaking her head at his childish antics but a wide smile was plastered on her face.
"This," Jack said leaning in to Chase, and this time she was prepared. She began to lean in towards him as well, until a ball hit a set of pins to to their left and she jumped, startled. Her small knee-jerk reaction was like a domino effect, because she jumped she began to slip on the floor in her bowling shoes, Jack grabbed her to keep her from falling backwards but in the process, he himself slipped as well falling backwards, with Chase falling on top of him.
"Or that," Jack laughed but then his face went into a more serious structure, and he gently wiped a strand of hair out of Chase's face behind her ear.
"And this," she said leaning down and placing her lips on his starting their first real kiss. Well their first real kiss that she actually meant.
+++++++++++
When Alex got off the second flight of stairs, Jasyn was the first thing his eyes were attracted to. She had her hair up in a ponytail, and basically no makeup on, with a hint of a black-eye still.
"Hi," he said flatly, not rude nor warming.
"Hey," she replied the same inflection in her voice. It was just then that Alex realized that she had papers scattered all around her on the table. It was every sheet they'd received since the assignment was assigned, and they were all finished, although Jasyn had missed a few classes.
"Ok. Let's get this done, I don't want to have to walk home in the dark." she said pulling her coat tighter around her and the sleeves down past her hands as if feeling the cold already. Alex gave her a quizzical look and she rolled her eyes. "Jack's on a date with some whore girl, and I have no car."
Alex didn't respond instead he just picked up one of the sheet in front of him that clearly laid out the project.
The two of them worked on the project for about two hours before they completed the tasks that needed to be done. And they each gave in, and had fun with it.
"So I'll just type this up before Friday, and you can do the poster-board?" Alex clarified feeling better then he had earlier.
"Yeah," Jasyn nodded looking outside pulling her gloves over her dainty hands.
Alex packed up his stuff and waited for Jasyn to do the same so they could walk out together. Making little stupid chitchat about mindless things until they reached the door leading outside.
"Well, I go this way," she said nodding her head towards the right. "bye," she waved and began to turn before Alex stopped her.
"Wait," he called out startling her, and she turned around.
"yes?"
"C'mon I'll take you home," he smiled lightly, and for the first time ever he saw Jasyn grin, widely at that.
"Ok," she wasn't missing a beat and was at his side in a second.