Drive Fast Until We Crash

“Okay class, seeing as you’re a month and a half into your Senior year, I’ve decided to set you a project!”

I groaned along with the rest of the class. Like our English Literature teacher said, it’s half way through October, and I’m in class right now with all 6 of my friends. Yes, I do consider Jack as one of my friends now, as he holds decent conversations with us all.

“Ah, no complaining, it’ll be a fun project. I’ll be putting you in pairs, so you can’t mess around. Zachary Merrick...you’re with Kirsten Harris,” the teacher started.

She’s a cheerleader. Poor Zack. I zoned out as she listed more names, until I heard mine called.

“Alex Gaskarth and Jack Barakat,” she announced.

I smiled at him, earning a smile back. At least I get to do the project with someone I know! I nudged Rian next to me.

“Who are you with? I wasn’t listening,” I whispered.

“I’m with Bill. Thank fuck he’s smart,” Rian grinned.

“And everyone else?” I asked.

“Mike’s with that girl Lucy he’s got a crush on and Martin’s with that really nerdy rich kid Hamilton,” Rian explained.

I snorted. Poor Martin.

“Okay, for this project you will have to research a classic literary text and produce a 10 minute presentation on a aspect of it, as well as a project board and an essay about the aspect you’re presenting. I expect all of you to consult me about the aspect and the novel, as if I don’t agree with it then you can’t do it. You have 3 weeks to do it, and you can start now,”

I picked up my stuff and walked over to Jack’s desk. He sits by the window and I prefer that.

“Hey partner,” I grinned.

“I’m so glad I get to work with someone I know,” Jack groaned.

“Still feeling the new kid effect huh?” I teased.

“I probably wouldn’t if I wasn’t hanging out with the school rejects,” Jack retorted playfully.

“The school rejects that everybody seems to want,” I shot back with a grin.

“That’s only you, Lex. Everyone wants you. They just want to party with Bill and Martin,” Jack corrected, teasing.

I blushed and laughed along with Jack.

“I can’t be assed to work on the presentation right now, so do you want to meet up after school today and start it? You can come to mine if you want?” I suggested.

“Uh...”

“I would say we could meet at yours, but people like me aren’t welcomed in your neighborhood, whereas in my neighborhood as long as you're with a local you'll be fine,” I interrupted.

“I guess so. Yeah, sure we’ll start it at yours,” Jack nodded.

“You can get a ride with me, Zack, Rian and Mike in Mike’s car. That way you don’t have to walk the ‘scary’ streets of the poor side of town,” I chuckled.

“I’ve never been to your side of town,” Jack admitted.

“Then you’re in for a shock,” I snorted.

Jack has no idea what he’s getting himself into. I actually live in the nicer part of the poor side of Baltimore, but it’s still going to be a shock for him. Oh well!

*

“Thanks for the ride Mike!” I called.

“Y-Yeah, th-thanks,” Jack said nervously.

I chuckled as Mike, Rian and Zack laughed at his nervousness as they drove off. Poor guy. We didn’t leave school for half an hour after it finished because we were all held behind in Music practice for playing instead of paying attention, and it takes half an hour to get to my house, so it’s now 5pm. I walked into my apartment building and up the stairs to my apartment on the second floor, Jack sticking right by my side.

“You can stop holding your breath you know. My building’s pretty damn safe,” I pointed out.

“O-Okay,” Jack squeaked.

I rolled my eyes and opened my front door, shutting it after Jack rushed in. There’s one massive room with a bunch of sofa’s and a TV on one side, and a kitchen on the other side with an island and stools to eat at. There’s two doors at the far side of the room, one for the bathroom and one for my room. Then there’s a set of metal twisting steps up to a small balcony style floor, which is where my mom’s bedroom is. It’s not a massive apartment, but it’s still one of the biggest on this side of town.

“This is nice,” Jack said with a smile.

“Not compared to yours I’m guessing,” I snorted, throwing my rucksack onto the nearest sofa.

“It’s still nice,” Jack replied.

I shrugged and smiled, heading over to the kitchen.

“Do you want a drink or anything? We’ve got orange juice, water...”

“Water’s great,” Jack interrupted.

I nodded and threw him a bottle of water, which he caught, and pulled one out for myself before shutting the fridge.

“Uh, let’s go to my room,” I said, grabbing my rucksack.

Jack nodded and followed me. My bedroom’s smaller than my mom’s, but that’s only because of the bathroom. Otherwise, my bedroom’s pretty big seeing as it’s nearly the same size as the width of the apartment. I sat down on my bed as did Jack, and we pulled out our notebooks.

“Alright, let’s get this started!” I said as enthusiastically as I could.

*

[4 hours later]

Jack and I had been working solidly. Right now we were silent, just writing down our ideas in our own notebooks. This was nice. Jack’s surprisingly easy to work with, even though he doesn’t speak much. I’m putting that down to him getting used to somewhere as small as this though.

“Hey, um, this is going to sound stupid, but did I spell this right? I’m not so great on spelling,” Jack confessed.

I leant over onto his thigh as I read what he’d written. Yeah, there are a few mistakes.

“Okay, you spelt vulnerability wrong. There’s an ‘a’ in it, not a second ‘e’. And you spelt absquatulate wrong. There’s a third ‘a’ in place of that ‘o’,” I explained.

“What does absquatulate even mean?” Jack frowned.

“You mean you used it without even knowing what it meant?” I laughed.

“Maybe?” Jack offered, blushing lightly.

“Well you used it in the right context anyway. It means to leave quickly, hurriedly, or secretly,” I told him.

“How do you know so much?” Jack frowned.

I laughed and turned my body so my head was lying in his lap and I was facing up at him. Me and the rest of the guys sit like this all the time, so it’s not a big deal.

“You don’t have to have money to be smart at things,” I said simply.

“I didn’t say you did,” Jack mumbled, averting his eyes.

“Hey,” I murmured, lifting my arm.

I turned his face to look at me and smiled.

“I didn’t mean it as an insult,” I said softly.

Jack nodded but didn’t say anything. Hopefully I’m not freaking him out by touching him like this, but the guys and I are pretty close like this, so I’m used to it. I guess I should say something.

“I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable or anything but I’m like this with all the guys in our group. We’re all close like that,” I explained softly, shrugging a little.

“I-It’s okay, I’m just not used to it. None of my old friends were like this at all. If anyone got to close to anyone, they were accused of being gay,” Jack mumbled.

“Oh well I’m not gay so I don’t want you to get that idea,” I smiled.

But I sat up to quickly and smacked my forehead against Jack’s. We both groaned and held our heads, me flopping back down into Jack’s lap.

“Sorry,” I apologised, wincing.

“Not your fault,” Jack groaned.

When my headache had gone, I sat up slowly again, stopping when I was level with Jack. I froze when I realised how close we were. Our noses were almost touching and our breath was mingling, This was so wrong, but I couldn’t move. It looked like Jack couldn’t either. I just stared into his dark eyes, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Usually I can read him pretty well, but not now. Now I can’t read anything. Without thinking, I turned my head slightly and leant towards him...

“Alex! I’m home!”

I sprung apart from Jack, blushing as deeply as he did.

“In my room mom!” I called back.

I cleared my throat, looking at Jack awkwardly.

“I think we’ve been cooped in my room too long. Want to meet my mom?” I chuckled weakly.

“Sure,” Jack nodded, standing up.

As I left my room I cursed under my breath for doing something as stupid as that. I can’t believe I almost kissed him! I don’t even like him like that! And now he’s going to hate me. Wonderful. I sighed, walking over to the kitchen where my mom was standing, and smiled.

“Hey mom, this is Jack. He’s new at school,” I introduced.

My mom took one look at Jack and grinned.

“You’re not from this side of town, are you honey?” my mom mused.

“Uh, no. I live next door to William?” Jack said, offering a smile.

“Ah, Bill! Love that kid! As you’ve guessed I’m Alex’s mom, but call me Lynne,” my mom beamed.

I snickered at Jack’s unease. Yeah, my mom’s pretty in-your-face if you’re not used to her. I sat down on one of the stools, motioning for Jack to do the same.

“I thought you were working till 8 tonight,” I frowned.

“Lex, it’s 9pm,” my mom pointed out.

“Shit, I’d better be getting home,” Jack cursed.

“At this time of night on this side of town? Maybe in summer when it’s light, but not now it’s getting dark. Nuh uh kid, that ain’t safe,” my mom snorted.

“I thought you said this was the nice part of this side of town,” Jack murmured to me.

“It is. Doesn’t mean it’s safe though. Not even to get a cab,” I apologised.

“Damn,” Jack mumbled.

“Feel free to stay over, the couch pulls out into a sofa bed,” my mom suggested.

“You sure you don’t mind?” Jack asked politely.

“Honey, I wish all Alex’s friends were as polite as you. Course I don’t mind! Beats me and Lex eating dinner alone,” my mom shrugged.

“Thank you. I’d better call my mom,” Jack smiled.

He walked back into my bedroom to use his cellphone, and my mom giggled.

“What?” I mused.

“He’s a cutie,” my mom said simply.

I blushed lightly and rolled my eyes.

“He’s just new mom. He doesn’t understand how Baltimore works,” I explained.

“I bet Zack’s happy with that,” my mom said sarcastically.

My mom and Zack’s mom are best friends, so she’s used to Zack getting angry over his background.

“Jack’s been wrapped up in prejudice his whole life. He’s only just learning to get over it,” I explained.

“Well good luck to him. I hope he’s round more often. It’s nice to have a pretty face to look at instead of your ugly mug,” my mom teased.

“Mom! He’s not that attractive,” I hissed.

“Then why are you blushing?” my mom countered.

“I like girls, mom,” I said through gritted teeth, embarrassed.

“So?” my mom mused.

To save me from any more awkwardness, Jack reappeared.

“My mom said it’s alright, but that she wouldn’t tell my step-dad where I was. He...doesn’t like this side of Baltimore,” Jack said hesitantly.

“Honey I am used to the prejudices. Now, do you eat meat?” my mom asked Jack.

“Uh yeah, I’m not fussy,” Jack shrugged.

“Then it’s a chicken stir-fry for dinner!” my mom announced.

“You’ll love this. Family recipe,” I grinned.

I felt a little happier when Jack grinned too. I have a feeling he’s not used to home-style food like this, and the fact he’s slowly relaxing in my home is a good thing too. I hope he comes over more often. Regardless of what my mom was implying.