What Makes It Wrong For Us To Fall In Love?

Alyssa’s POV

After French class had ended, I proceeded to pace over to my locker to retrieve my Calculus and English books. While doing so, I had felt a vibration against my front pocket, signaling that a new text message was sent. Taking out my phone, I continued to press the ‘open’ button, later finding that is was from Jack.

‘From: Jack Barakat
September 13, 2004. 2:14 PM

Meet me at the front of the school :D’

Smiling, I retreated to the front steps of the school knowing that Jack was waiting for me. Once I had stepped out of the front doors, the smell of fresh leaves and flowers had danced across my face. I always loved the outdoors, and the scent was pleasant. I spotted Jack sitting on a bench under the oak tree. He looked engulfed in his phone, so I went over and took a seat next to him; wondering if he had noticed me. Looking up from his phone, Jack smiled at me and pulled me into a hug.

“Hey Alyssa,” He said, smiling.

I giggled, “Sup Barakitten.”

“Ha-ha, real funny. Now let’s get going to Rian’s house. We don’t wanna be late to band practice now, do we?” He replied in a monotone. I nodded in response, following him to his car. Jack being the gentleman he was, opened the passenger door for me once we had gotten to his car, “Ladies first.”

“Why thank you, Mr. Barakat,” I giggled.

“Anytime dear,” He replied, closing the door and heading over to the driver’s seat. Stepping into the car, Jack proceeded to put a Blink-182’s Enema of the State into the radio player. Looking over at him, I flashed him a smile. I loved this CD; it was my absolute favorite at the moment.

“I fucking love this band,” I thought out loud. Jack chuckled, agreeing with me by nodding his head. “Hey Jack, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?” He asked, lowering down the volume of the music so we could hear each other better.

“Okay, first of all, promise me you won’t get mad. I know it’s a touchy subject, and I’m not going to pressure you into anything,” I replied.

He sighed, “Okay I promise. I’m betting you it’s about Melanie, isn’t it?”

“You know me too well. Yes it is, and I’m just going to ask you if you like her. That’s all,” I shrugged. I know I sounded a little bit nosey, but I really wanted to know how he felt.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I guess I kind of do. I mean, she’s not horrible-looking,” He retorted, glancing at me then back at the road.

“Jack, it’s a yes or no question,” I said.

“Then I don’t have an answer for your question,” He replied with no emotion. Rolling my eyes, I mumbled a ‘fine.’ He answered, and that was all that mattered. At least he even did give me an answer.

“Okay, sorry. But one more thing, if you “kind of” like Melanie, the question is are you going to ask her out? Or even to prom if that’s possible?” I curiously asked with a hint of hope in my voice. Frankly, I would love for them to go to prom together. It was as if they were made for each other. Even if they went as friends, that would make me happy.

Scratching his chin, Jack replied, “……Maybe I will. I’m not sure, yet.”

“Ugh, c’mon Jack, you guys would look perfect together. That’s only my opinion though,” I reasoned out. He ‘hmphed’ in response, then went back to focusing on his driving. Sighing, I looked out the window, taking note that we were slowly coming to a stop on the side of the road. I thanked Jack for the drive here, and then unfastened the door to step outside of the car. Before I headed to the door, I waited for Jack to join me; I didn’t want to be rude. We walked to the front door and onto the front porch; Jack then automatically opened the door without ringing the bell. “Um, Jack? Aren’t you supposed to knock or at least ring the doorbell?”

“Nah, it’s cool. Rian doesn’t care much,” He nonchalantly replied. I shrugged off the subject, following him into the house.

A medium-sized boy with shaggy brown hair appeared in my view, and he greeted us both; pulling Jack into one of those ‘man hugs.’ I remembered that he was Rian from lunch, the one that Lisa introduced me to on my first day of school.

He strangely reminded me of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo by the way his hair was styled.

“Oh, hey, Alyssa right?” Rian questioned, turning to me. I nodded my head and smiled in response. He warmly took my hand into his and shook it. Jack, Rian, and I then went to the living room. I immediately noticed Kara was sitting on one of the couches, mindlessly watching television. She looked up at me, smiling in the process.

“Hey! Oh I know you, you’re Alyssa, right?” She asked, standing up to give me a hug. I quickly hugged her back. “I’m sure you already know I’m Kara.”

“Yup, you’re Rian’s girlfriend,” I simply said. In the far distance, I heard the doorbell ring. I slowly traced my steps into the hallway to find a guy with real lengthy dark brown-ish hair with a tint of crimson in the front that reached his shoulders. He was currently wearing a black shirt that had the logo of ‘Jesus’ and blue fitted jeans. Rian and Jack greeted him, yet again giving him one of those man-hugs. The mysterious guy then turned to me, giving me a strange look, signaling that he didn’t notice me from anywhere.

“Oh, yeah! Zack this fine lady here is Alyssa,” Jack introduced us both. I awkwardly scratched my arm, and gave him a half smile.” And Alyssa! This dude is Zachary but we all call him Zack, because we think Zachary sounds gay,” Jack joked. I snickered quietly while Zack gave him a slight glare. “Oh by the way, Rian where’s Gaskank? He should be here by now.”

“Oh, he is here. He’s in the basement actually,” Rian replied. Rian then waved his arm, telling us to follow him downstairs so they could set up the equipment. We all followed him one by one, Kara in front of me while Zack was behind. Going down the wooden stairs one by one, I watched my step so I wouldn’t fall and cause commotion. When we reached the bottom step, I saw a drum kit in the far back followed by two guitars leaning against the couch. The bass guitar was laying flat on one of the chairs. I spotted Alex by the microphone, testing it to see if it worked.

“Testing...1…2…3… Jack is gay...I repeat, Jack is gay,” Alex chuckled. I then saw Jack strut up to Alex in the gayest form possible I have ever seen in my life. By the way he was acting; he could seriously pass to be a homosexual.

“Pretty boy, you want gay? I’ll show you gay!” Jack exclaimed, putting his hands on his lanky hips. He continued to wrap his hairy leg around Alex’s hips, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. But before any action could ensue, Alex shoved Jack off of his body causing Jack to erupt into a shrill, girly scream. I covered my ears while laughing; it was far too amusing not to. “You bastard! We are through!” Jack said, shoving his hand into Alex’s face. Sticking his nose up in the air, Jack ‘hmphed’ and stomped over to the couch; plopping onto it and holding a pouty expression.

“Well…That was amusing. Now seriously guys, let’s get practicing,” Rian stated, clapping his hands together. Kara and I took seats on the couch, while all four of them stood up; grabbing their guitars and bass. Rian took his seat behind the drums, picking up his wooden drumsticks. Alex stood behind the microphone, taking it into his hands.

“This song is called ‘The Next Best Thing’. And it’s dedicated to these two lovely ladies over here,” Alex winked. Jack proceeded to yell ‘fuck yeah!’ before they broke out into the song. I bopped my head to the beat, obviously liking it. Jack went into a beginning solo before Alex came in. “I’m looking forward to another day without you! The way I see it you could never do what I do,” Alex backed away, strumming at his guitar.

“I welcomed you with open arms; you drove the knife right through my heart! So now I’m crossing out the pain that’s been tearing us apart. You were out of sight, now you are out of line! Went to you head, now you are left behind,” Alex then sang the chorus.

“Let me go, can’t you see? You’re just the next best thing to me! Here I go, honestly. You’re just the next best thing to me!” Alex sang. The guys looked as if they put all their heart into playing. They were just so into it. I saw Rian throw and catch his drumstick from the air, before going into the second verse.

“I’m packing up my things and moving on without you. As far as I can see, you’ll never do what I do. I’m pushing you away, living out my dreams that you tore down,” Alex sang.

“Can’t you just swallow up your pride? Admit to me, and finally drown,” He held out, pausing to look down at his guitar while strumming.

“I think you’re in over your head. Choking as the water fills your lungs. Can’t you see to me you’re dead? Too late now, what said it’s done,” In the distance I saw Jack do a mini scissor jump while Zack stomped his feet, moving his bass around.

“You were out of sight, now you are out of line; Went to your head, now you are left behind!” Alex sang the bridge. Jack did a solo, before they jumped back to the chorus.

“Let me go, can’t you see? You’re just the next best thing to me. Here I go, honestly. You’re just the next best thing to me,” They finished, out of breath. I watched as Jack drop hold of his guitar; letting it hang from his neck.

“So, how did you girls like it?” Alex asked.

“You guys, that was awesome! I loved it,” I cheered, clapping my hands. Alex and Jack grinned; sweat dripping down their foreheads and necks. There were sweat stains on their shirts.

Out of nowhere, Jack came up and put an arm around Alex shoulder. “Hey, Alex. I noticed we never came up with a band name…,” Jack trailed off.

“Jack noticing something? Well that’s a start,” Alex smirked, shrugging off Jack’s arm. Jack then smacked the back of his head mumbling ‘bitch’, causing Alex to shout out in pain.
“Alright, Gaskank; I’m being serious about this,” Rian and Zack joined us in the circle; Zack standing next to me while Rian next to Kara.

“You know Alex, he is right about that. We never did actually come up with a name,” Rian reasoned out, patting Alex’s shoulder.

“Hm, okay. So does anyone have ideas then?” Alex questioned, looking around to the rest of us expecting someone to come up with something.

“Uh, how about Salt Horse-Razor,” Zack suggested, raising both of his hands in a shrugging manner; his eyebrows hoisted up as well.

“Nah, man. That’s gay,” Alex waved off, rolling his eyes. I just stared at them with no emotion; no ideas came up in my head.

“Well, you got a better idea then, Alex?” Zack asked irritated.

“Umm, okay, fine then, how about Playground X?” Alex asked unsurely while Zack scoffed.

“Dude, what the fuck is that? It sounds like a stripper club or some shit,” Jack exclaimed, lifting his arms in the air in disbelief. I rolled my eyes; of course Jack would say something like that. “How about this, Never Wreck; I can already see it on our promotion picture and merchandise,” Jack grinned, waving his hands in front of his face, acting like he was some genius.

“Dude, that’s not half-“Zack was cut off.

‘And it feels like I’m at an all-time low, slightly bruised and broken from our head on collision.’

Zack’s ringtone echoed in the silent air. He held up one finger and went up the stairs of the basement to take the call. An idea popped up into my head right after that had happened. But before I could say it, all three of the guys were talking; I could barely hear any of them clearly. Obviously, they were arguing about how gay their ideas for the band name were. The commotion was loud, and I could see Jack covering his ears; repeatedly yelling ‘la, la, la’ over and over again.

“Guys! Guys!” I screamed, but they still wouldn’t shut up. So, I used my skill that I had learned from Dad, and whistled. Rian and Alex immediately became silent; curious as to what happened. But Jack did the opposite.

“La, La, La, La, La, La!!!” Jack screamed like a girl; his ears still covered. It was clear that he didn’t hear my whistle and everyone quiet down. I rolled my eyes at him as Rian and Alex gave him the weirdest look. Jack immediately stopped and looked around. “Oh, you guys are done now?” Jack asked, dusting off his jeans and acting as if nothing happened.

“Alright, so I was trying to tell you guys; I have an idea,” I beamed; slightly clapping my hands together. They all stared at me, waiting for me to say it. “So, I was thinking, how about ‘All Time Low’?”

Rian clapped his hands, and Alex grinned foolishly. “You know... That’s not half bad! Its way better than our ideas that’s for sure,” Rian said. “So, what do you say guys? How does ‘All Time Low’ sound?”

“Yeah, I like it. It sounds sexy,” Alex joked. We all looked at Jack, curious as what his answer was.

“Why is everyone staring at me? O-Oh yeah! It sounds pretty sick. Well it was an idea of Alyssa’s anyways,” Jack replied, grinning like a mad-man.

“So it’s settled! ‘All Time Low’! Now we just need Zack’s approval on this,” Rian stated. About two seconds later, Zack came back down the stairs.

“Sooo... Did we get any ideas?” Zack asked.

“Yup! Alyssa suggested ‘All Time Low’, sounds pretty sick right?” Jack questioned.

“Yeah, it is. Way better than our ideas for sure,” Zack nodded. “So, I’m guessing band practice is done for the day?”

“Mhm, I’m pretty beat up,” We all agreed to Rian’s answer. Jack, Alex, Rian, and Kara then proceeded to sit over on the couch; leaving me no room. Since they were still sweating, being the nice lady I was; decided to ask them if they wanted anything to drink.

“Hey, do you guys want anything to drink? I’ll get it,” I questioned, looking at them.

“Thanks Alyssa! Just get us Cokes,” Rian answered for all of them. I nodded my head, making my way to the stairs. But when I passed by Alex, I could lightly feel him slap my ass. Turning around with my mouth gaping, I kicked him in the shin. He moaned out in pain, holding his shin. While smiling victoriously, I turned back around; heading up the stairs. ‘He is seriously pissing me off’ I thought.

Making my way into the kitchen, I headed to Rian’s old refrigerator covered in family photos. I opened the door, getting out five cokes and setting them on the counter. I wasn’t up for some soda at the moment. Suddenly, I felt scrawny arms snake around my waist, and breathing on my neck. Immediately, I whipped around, noticing that it was, in fact, Alex. I gasped, pushing him off of me. He walked closer to me again, and I slapped him right across the face.

“Bitch, what is your problem?! That’s the second time you hurt me!” Alex exclaimed, a red shape of a handprint forming on his cheek. “Can’t you see I wanna get with you?”

“You’re the problem,” I scoffed, taking the cokes and pushing him against the fridge while walking away from him. I walked down the stairs heading to the basement, to see all the guys cleaning up all the equipment and putting it away. I handed them each a drink, receiving a ‘thank you’ when I did.

“Hey Lyssa. Have you seen Alex? He said he was going to go to the bathroom. It’s been like three minutes, and he hasn’t come back yet,” Rian asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. I didn’t see him while I was upstairs,” I lied. Rian obviously caught on that I was lying, but shrugged it off. Sighing in relief, I sat down next to Kara.

-----2 hours later-----

Currently, we were all in Rian’s living room, getting ready to watch ‘E.T.’. Oh how it was a classic, I absolutely adored that movie, and was glad that Jack suggested we watch it. Everyone was spread out against the couches. Alex took the recliner, while Rian and Kara took the loveseat. Jack, Zack, and I took the couch; me in between the two of them. While waiting for the previews to be finished, I decided I would get to know Zack more, “Hey Zack!”

“Oh, sup Alyssa,” He replied in an awkward manner.

“Um, I just wanted to get to know you more,” I grinned at him. He smiled in response before answering.

“Oh, that’s cool .What do you wanna know about?” He asked.

“Anything. It doesn’t matter, it’ll amuse me anyways,” I chuckled. He copied my action.

“Oh well I’ll just tell you how I got into the band I guess,” He said. He wasn’t so shy anymore which I was thankful for. “Well, the guys were holding up auditions, and one of my friends was friends with Rian. He told Rian that I could play bass without a pick, and I showed up to the audition with a skateboard,” He started, while looking at me. “I played a couple of cover songs, and I quote Jack said, ‘Dude, you’re in the band. I don’t care if he can play, he can skate!’ So I got the spot, and afterwards I did some tricks for them,” He finished, grinning at the end.

“Woah, that’s so cool. I didn’t know you could skateboard,” I said in amazement. I thought skaters were pretty cool. I could never do one of those tricks they did, it looked impossible. “Oh, hey, the movies starting, so we should get quiet,” I whispered. He nodded in response, turning to get the view of the television better.

Twenty minutes into the movie, it was at the part where Elliott found E.T. in the tool shed. Jack decided to be loud and say something right when the good part was here. “Holy shit! What the fuck is in there!?”

The rest of the guys groaned, obviously annoyed by Jack’s sudden outburst. I didn’t pay attention though, and saw Elliott run into the house to tell his mother about the incident. I then saw the kids mocking Elliott, and he immediately said ‘quiet!’

“See, what Elliott said you idiot! Be quiet!” Alex yelled, pointing at the screen. Jack immediately shut up. But about ten minutes later, Jack decided to interrupt, yet again. Kara and Rian were snuggling on the love seat, and Jack chose to yell out ‘Kodak moment!’ while taking a flashed picture of the couple. Rian and Kara both groaned from the flash of the camera.

“Jack, what the fuck man!? Where did you even get the camera?” Rian grunted, Jack obviously getting on his nerves.

“I found it on the kitchen table,” Jack shrugged. I chuckled, averting my attention back to the movie. After Rian scolding Jack like a little kid, he sat down and continued to be a good boy and be quiet. But that all changed towards the end of the movie. When E.T was ready to go back to the moon, Jack was bawling his eyes out.

“No! E.T.! Don’t leave him!!” Jack whimpered, wiping his eyes. I do admit, I was shedding some tears, but Jack was worse than I was. “Don’t leave! Don’t leave!” Jack repeated over and over again until E.T was gone.

Once the credits rolled onto the screen, the lights were turned on. I still saw Jack sniffling and clutching onto his legs.

“Hey Jack, its okay, the movies over now,” I reassured, and Jack looked at me with watery eyes. He nodded, wiping his eyes, and sniffled one more time.

“Okay, I’m good now. But shouldn’t you be going now, Alyssa? It’s like 9PM,” He asked, looking at his watch. I agreed, and he told the guys we were leaving. After all the goodbyes, we headed to Jack’s car while he drove me home.



Alex’s POV

After Alyssa and Jack left, I hung out with the guys a little while before heading home. I seriously could not stop glancing at Alyssa the whole time the movie was on. What is wrong with me? I sound like some creeper.

She’s just so beautiful, but how do I tell her that without her hating me?