Jasey Rae

"Jasey Rae! Come downstairs! It's time to leave for school!"

I sighed, finishing up the final touches on my wig and everything else. I was really getting tired of getting up early and putting on my wig and putting in the contacts that I didn't even need. I guess I could have left the contacts out, but everyone says they recognize me by my eyes, and I just couldn't take that risk. Not so close to going home like this.  But putting on all this make up, and wigs and contacts was really starting to be a drag. Right now, all I wanted to be able to do was get up from my bed, put my hair in a messy bun, brush my teeth, and just go to school, pajamas and all. But I couldn't. Because I have to look perfect. I have to look fake.

"Only a few more months, Jasey Rae." Martin smiled, patting my knee for a few seconds before replacing his hand on the steering wheel. 

"Thank God. I hate it here."

"But don't you like your friends here?"

I sighed, sinking in my seat a little. "I love my friends here."

"So what's wrong? How come you don't like it here?"

"I like my life in Chicago. When everything wasn't so complicated." I mumbled, thinking about my fight with Alex and how he won't even talk to me. Jack keeps trying to get him to talk, but we all know he won't budge. Which is perfectly okay with me. I don't even want to talk to the jerk right now. 

I got out immediately once Martin pulled up to the school. "Bye, Martin."

It was really early to be at school. Only a few kids were here. Probably becuase that was the only time they could get here without being super late or something. Or they just needed to get their homework done. Which was mainly the case with everyone who gets to school early. But today, I just really wanted to get out of the house. 

Mom kept looking at me like she knew I was hiding something. Like she knew that Jack had found out about my secret. But if she knew that, she would have already bitched at me for it I guess. But she always has this distracted look on her face. Like she's thinking of someone else. Like she used to when she was with Dad. She had to be seeing someone. I was scared of who it could be. Who in their right mind would go out with someone like my mom?

And, on the other hand, Jake kept giving me the 'You shouldn't have told Jack your secret' look. And that was really getting annoying. He has always hated when I told people my secrets, because they just end up telling someone else. And you'd think I would learn, but I never listen to my own advice. I just keep telling people. But it's not like the whole world doesn't know that my dad left because of me.

Usually, the teachers get here this early. To grade papers they were supposed to do over the weekend but put off because they went on with what they called their 'lives.'

Band kids also came this early because their instructors order them to come early to practice their latest piece. As if five hours of practice after school wasn't enough.

By the time I had gotten to my locker, unpacked my books and sat down on the floor, ten minutes had already passed and I was really tired. Normally, I would have just gotten out of the shower.

"Now what're you doing here so early, Chicago?"

I looked up, smiling once I saw Rian staring down at me with dark brown eyes. He gave me his infamous smile, sitting down next to me. "Had to get out of the house. How 'bout you? Why are you here so early?"

"I had to turn in an essay or I would've gotten an F." He explained, taking out his phone. He txted someone, then put away his phone. He chuckled after seeing my confused expression. "Sorry, I had to tell my mom I turned it in."

I nodded, laughing slightly as I rested my head on his shoulder. "I see."

I felt him rest his head on mine, sighing. "What's wrong at home, Hay?"

I groaned, sliding down so I could rest my head on his lap, looking up at the high ceiling. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, trust me. Let's just say not everything is going my way."

He smiled slightly, brushing my fake hair from my face. "Chicago, what could possibly be so wrong at your house? It seems perfect there."

I smiled slightly. "Trust me, it's a hell hole there. I hate it. My mom hates me."

"I doubt she hates you-"

"No, she really...really does." I mumbled, my stomach tightening up a little. "She has her reasons."

"And those are?"

I bit my lip, letting out a slow breath. I might as well tell him. The whole world pretty much knows. "Long story short, my dad thought I was really stupid, which I am. I mean, you should see my grades. I'm failing almost every class. And...he just wanted a perfect family. And with me...he couldn't. So he left. And that's why my mom hates me."

"Well damn."

"Tell me about it." I said, rolling my eyes at the thought of my dad. What a jerk. "I'm glad he left, but it's hard sometimes. I mean, I never get to celebrate father's day. And when it's his birthday I always end up buying him a card, but I never send it." I blinked away the layer of salty water that was starting to form. "It's just...it's hard. Jake goes and visits him  sometimes actually. Out in Texas, I mean. Mom goes with him, too. They never even offer to take me."

"That's awful-"

"Trust me, I don't want to go visit him. He left because he hated me. Why would I go visit him?" I asked, getting on my feet and turning away from one of my best friends. I knew if I kept talking about my father, I'd either break down or end up punching a locker. And I didn't exactly want to do either at the moment. "It's whatever though. It's not like he cares about me. The feeling's mutual for me." I said, glaring the locker next to mine. Right now, I despised my father. And talking about him wasn't making the relationship better. "Like I said, I don't care anymore. He can go die for all I care. I gotta go. I have to study for an English test."

[jaseyrae]

Evidentally, studying was the last thing on my mind. Since the conversation with Rian about my Dad, it's that's running through my mind and I knew if I tried to study I wouldn't remember anything. Not like it mattered though.

I thought about how Jake and Mom go and see my father without me, as if what happened in the past years never affected them or our family. The first few times when they went to go visit him, they had offered to take me, but I was quick with a decline each time. So Mom practically threw me into my aunt's house the day before they left and went to go see her ex-husband. Even though we all knew that this family could never be the same. 

But Jake still believes it can. He thinks it's just some stupid speed bump in our life and that we'll eventually get over it. He can never fully understand what happened that day our father decided to leave. He thinks everything will be okay, and that he'll come back eventually. As much as I know how smart Jacob is, he can be really naïve at times. But it's understandable I guess, since he's only thirteen, and he was only about nine when the day Dad decided he had had enough and said he was leaving the family. He took it pretty hard too, considering the fact that he and our father had a very close relationship.

Jake is exactly what Dad wanted in a child. He's getting straight A's, and is on his way to getting a full ride to a great college when the time comes since he's incredible at soccer too. And when Jake wasn't studying or kicking a sometimes muddy soccerball around the field, Dad would take Jake fishing with him, and sometimes even me.

That was one of the very few things my Dad liked about me. I actually liked going fishing and hunting and target shooting. All of that was really great fun for me. The other thing he liked about me was what I do now. My "profession" if you will. Dad always loved the fact that I was in love with boys sports.

But you could see it in his eyes that he wanted two sons, not just one. My gosh, he said it enough to all of his friends. 'You know, if I had TWO sons....'  'I could only do that if I had TWO sons.'

'But whatever, it's not like I care anyways....

[jaseyrae]

"Hey, Chicago, where were you this morning?"

I flicked my eyes upward at the sound of my nickname, groaning internally. I didn't want to explain everything at the moment. "I was studying for English."

Jack nodded, flipping his blondish brown hair out of the way as he sat in the desk next to me. "Oh, we had to finish that essay last night, right?"  

I nodded at him, staring down. "Yeah." The bell rang then, saying that everyone should be in homeroom by now. I looked up to see who was going to be late for class, and grimmaced when I saw Alex. He glanced over, his eyes meeting mine for a split second, and I clearly saw hurt and anger. Mainly anger. And he gave me a look I could never describe and sat next to a bleach blonde. The same bleach blonde I freaked out over the second day of school. The same bleach blonde that he was flirting with. He started talking to her, laughing here and there along with her, which made me want to puke.

He was doing it on purpose. I knew him all too well to see that he was trying to get me mad. It was working perfectly. And he knew that. He knew we got worked up over each other flirting with one another. 

He leaned closer to the blonde, smiling him infamous smirk, and glanced at me for a second that said 'I hope this really hurts you.' Then, he crashed his lips to Whitney's.

By the time I walked past them to run out the room, my stomach felt like it was dragging on the floor and my feet felt like bricks. Mr. Black bought my 'I don't feel well' excuse without hesitation. It was partially true. I felt like shit right now. The look Alex gave me when I had passed him was filled with anger, and it said the same thing he said just before he kissed her. He wanted to hurt me. Badly. 

He did, so so well.

My feet got too heavy to take me to the bathroom, so I just slid down the closest group of lockers, feeling a few tears fall from the corners of my eyes. I mentally cursed myself, asking myself why I was crying over such a thing. 

I rarely ever cry, and when I do, it's for something that really breaks me. I cried when my dad left, and when my grandma died, and I cried when the terrible incident happened last year. And I cried when my dog died because it was family to me. But crying over boys? Never happened. Not even when I break up with my boyfriends at the time. I just...don't. So why was I crying now? Why am I crying over just a high school boy I'll probably never see again?

Because you're in love with him, Jasey!

I shook my head. What a ridiculous thought.... Why love someone who won't ever love you back?

"Hayley?"

Looking through my blurry vision, courtesy of the tears blocking my sight, I noticed a figure sitting next to me. The voice was familiar. "S-Sam?"

"Hayley, why are you crying?" He asked softly, his thumbs wiping away the salty water droplets from my cheeks. "What happened?"

"Just stupid drama...."

"Well, it must not be that stupid because you're crying over it. And you don't look like one to cry over too much."

I shrugged, my chin trembling hard as I stared at my hands. "M-My best friend hates me." I managed to squeak out before completely breaking down. 

"Oh God." Sam pulled me into his arms, a stranger comforting feeling coming to me. But I couldn't help but to think that being on Alex's arms was much better. "Hayley, I doubt anyone could hate you. They're probably just mad."

I shook my head. "No, you don't get it. He hates me. Alex really hates me."

"Well, how come?"

"Because we kissed.... And I liked it."

"I liked it to." He mumbled, which I didn't think I was supposed to hear, but shook it off when he took a deep breath. "Hayley, Alex is just mad. I know how he gets sometimes. I may not be the best of friends with him, but I know how he acts. If he gets mad at someone for something, he does something stupid to hurt the person, but he never means it. He's pissed off for a while, then completely forgets about it. He's never mad for long."

I sighed, pulling back from him and wiping my eyes. I mentally thanked myself for wearing waterproof makeup today. "I hope you're right...."

There was a silence for a while, a half comfortable half awkward silence. I knew that we were both thinking about the same thing. The kiss we shared just this passed weekend. 

We said each other's name at the same time, laughing lightly and telling the other to go ahead, causing us to laugh again.

"Ladies first." 

I took a deep breath, still a little shaky from my crying. "Sam, I liked our kiss. A lot."

"I did too."

"So where does this leave us?"

Another silence took over, but we were too lost for it to be awkward or anything. 

"Hayley...I really like you."

"I like you too." Which I do. A lot. I mean, Sam is amazing. He's funny, smart, athletic, hott as ever. How could you not like him? But right now, the whole thing with Alex had to get straightened out, whether that meant losing a best friend and gaining a boyfriend, or losing a boyfriend and keeping my best friend. 

And right now, I really didn't know which one I wanted more.

"So...do you want to go out Saturday night? On a date?"

I looked at him, a small smile tugging at my lips. I was hoping he didn't see it not reaching my eyes. "Sam, I would love to. I really would. But I have to think a few things out first. I'll call you tonight to give you an answer, okay?"

He nodded, giving a small smile of his own. "I can repsect that."

"Thanks, Sam." I smiled and gave him a tight hug. "For everything."

Trying to ignore Alex was a lot easier than I thought, considering he was in only one other class with me. Jack and Rian talked to me when we were in class, doing their best to make me feel better. But we all knew nothing was really helping. Jack had told Rian the story, making Rian just as equally furious as Jack at their best friend. I told them not to worry about it, that it wasn't their problem, but I knew it was useless. But they didn't listen. 

Lunch was difficult. Rian sat at our normal table with Alex and Whitney while Jack sat with me at another table since he was too mad at his best friend for messing up.

The last class was hard, since it was my only class with just Alex. But it helped that we were both ignoring each other. We sat on opposite ends of the room, and everyone could see the tension between us, knowing not to bother us or anything. An every time we locked eyes we glared at each other for the very few seconds we stared before I looked away each time. I knew if I stared any longer I'd do something drastic. Whether that would have been a verbal fight, me punching him square in the jaw, or just a smackdown, I knew something bad would have happened.

I thanked God that I had a shorter schedule than the rest, because once that bell rang, I booked it out of there.

[jaseyrae]

I put my hands on my knees, head hanging down as I took what seemed like thousands of deep breaths. That had to be by far the best time. I forced myself to stand up straight and lock my hands behind my head. "What...about...that?"

"You beat your record by a few seconds." Jake smiled, recording down my time, earning a large grin from me. "You really booked it, Jasey. Something happen at school?"

My smile fell as I put my aching arms down. The incident of Alex kissing the blonde replayed on my mind, causing me to flinch. "Yeah...." I knew I couldn't lie to my brother.

"Tell me." Jake demanded softly, signaling for me to help him clean up. And I did; I told him everything from homeroom and on, including everything with Sam.

"Jasey, you need to get everything straightened out." Jake said as we sat on my bed.

"Me? It's not my fault he went and kissed Whitney!" I argued, in shock. I thought he'd at least be on my side.

"Well...you were the one who kissed Sam...."

I opened my mouth to reply, but shut it. He was completely right. Alex only kissed Whitney because I kissed Sam.

"I know you don't want to hear this, JR, but I think Alex kissed Whitney because he wanted you to feel how he felt when he saw you kiss Sam...."

I thought about it. The look Alex had when I looked at him after I kissed Sam. The hurt in his voice as we fought about it afterwards. The looks he gave me before and after he kissed Whitney. It all made sense now. He wanted to hurt me like I hurt him....

"Jasey!"

I looked up at my door just in time to see it fly open, revealing a very furious Jack Barakat at the door. "Jake, go to your room. We'll talk to later." I mumbled and he quickly obeyed, scurying past Jack and shutting the door. "What's wrong, Jack?"

"Alex! That's what's wrong!" He screamed, looking like he was about to punch the wall. I hoped to God he wouldn't. I could never explain that to my mother without being grounded for weeks.

I took a deep breath. This won't turn out well. "What happened with Alex?"

"He fucking got together with Whitney!"

I flinched, my heart stopping as my stomach dropped. "Huh?"

"He asked her out. He and Whitney are together now!" Jack yelled, not quite as loud as before. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself down. It didn't seem to be working.

I felt like crying again. "I...what...but...."

"I'm so sorry, Jasey." He mumbled, sitting next to me on the bed. He wiped away the few tears from my cheek. "I just got back from his house. We fought and now he won't even talk to me because I'm on your side."

"Oh God, Nack. No, don't ruin your friendship with Alex because of me-" I could never break two best friends up. I'd never live it down.

"Jasey, I'm not gonna just sit there and watch him Hirt you like that. He's all wrong in this situation." He shook his head, his hair falling in front of his face. "I don't care I'd me and him aren't talking right now."

I took a shaky breath, leaning my head on his chest. My vision seemed to slowly get blurrier as time went on. "Jack, what am I going to do?" 

There was a long silence, and that made me cringe. I wanted to crawl out of my own skin at the moment. Just trade lives with another girl, who has a perfect life. Who lives far away from stupid Maryland. There was nothing I could do. That was that. There was nothing I could do to change Alex's mind. He hates me.

"...I don't know, Jasey." He whispered, letting out a long breath. "He won't change his mind, no matter how much I yelled at him. I’m so sorry.”

I sighed, a sob dying to escape my throat, but I covered it up with a cough, hoping Jack wouldn’t see the difference.  Thankfully he didn’t.  I think he was still too mad at Alex to even notice. 

God, all because I kissed Sam....

I inhaled sharply. Sam.

I took out my phone quickly flipping it open to scroll down the contacts. I ignored Jack's constant questions and hit the green button. "Fine, if he can date someone...." I mumbled, the ringing echoing through my ears. 

"Hey, Jasey."

"Sam? I have an answer."

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

I took a deep breath, looking over at Jack. He stared at me, giving me a look that said 'Don't do anything you'll regret.' I nodded my head once and stared out my window wall. "I'll see you Saturday night."

"Really? Great! Uh, I'll have to talk to you about it tomorrow, okay? I've got practice in a few minutes, so I have to get going."

"Okay, have fun. Bye, Sam."

"See ya, Hays."

I hung up, throwing my phone on the bed, missing Jack by about a few inches, earning a slightly angered look from Jack. But I ignored that and put my head in my hands, sliding down my wall. This is so stupid. I'm so stupid. "I'm so stupid, Jack."

"What? No, you're-"

"Yes, I am, Jack! If I didn't kiss Sam...Alex wouldn’t have…have kissed that wh-whore!” I squeaked, the tears finally falling. God, I hate crying.  “I’m such an idiot!”

“Oh, God, Jasey, I’m really sorry.  But you didn’t know all this was going to happen. It’s not your fault.” Jack said, pulling me into his arms.

I rested my head on his chest, my hands shaking as I did my best to wrap my arms around his thin torso.  I hated crying.  I hated crying with all my being.  Especially crying in front of people.  It shows weakness, and weakness shows that anyone can overpower you.

But, it was weird seeing Jack like this.  He is always so energetic and fun and happy.  And now…now he’s compassionate and he’s not even talking to his best friend because of me….

Because of me….

[jaseyrae]

“Do you wanna stay for dinner? We’re having Nina’s pizza. It’s amazing.” I asked, smiling a little at the skunk-haired boy in front of me. We ended up watching a movie to get our minds off of what had happened today.  It didn’t really work, and we both knew it really wouldn’t.  Not for long, at least.  

I could see that Jack was still thinking about Alex’s and his fight. How he fought with his best friend over some girl from Chicago, that he was being a douche and he was so stupid. And being on the terms of not even speaking to each other was bad for them.  Jack and Alex were inseparable. Nothing could tear them up. Not even a girl. But now I was tearing them apart?  That isn’t right.  I’m not worth it at all.

Jack could see that I was still thinking about this whole ordeal, from the party to now. How Alex and I went from being the best of friends and flirting like hell all the time, to practically hating each other.  But I could never hate Alex, no matter how much I wanted to.  This whole thing was my fault. If I didn’t go to that stupid party, this wouldn’t have even happened. But I had to go and kiss Sam, and all of this started.  But I guess I don’t regret kissing Sam. I did it because I wanted to, not to make anyone jealous or mad.  Sam is…amazing.  I mean, how can you not like him? He was just absolutely perfect.

Jack gave me a lopsided grin, the left side rising a little higher than the right.  He knew I loved his smile to death.  “Sure.  I’m always up for Nina’s cooking.”

“She really likes you guys, you know.  Since the first day she met you all.  Especially you. She loves how energetic you are.” I smiled, thinking about the day Nina and I talked about the boys after they left.

“Really?” His dark brown eyes lit up.

I nodded, laughing lightly.  “Yeah, it’s a refreshing change from my family and I.  We’re not exactly the most exciting family most of the time.”

Jack laughed, causing me to laugh.  His laugh is always so addicting.  “I can’t imagine why she thinks that.”

I punched him lightly for making the sarcastic remark and laughed.  “Shut up.  We have our reasons.  I’m actually the most fun and energetic of the family.

He started to laugh, causing me to drop my jaw.  He only laughed harder, causing me to smirk.

“Fine.  Be that way.  I’ll show you fun.” I took the chance when he wasn’t looking and pounced on him, completely shocking him. I brought him to the floor, resulting in him screaming out in shock, but wrestled back anyways.

We wrestled for a while, going back and forth on who dominated.  Jack puts up a pretty good fight, considering he was almost a foot taller than me, but still, I did my best to try and give a good fight too.

But, Jack got me in a headlock with his lanky arms and I tried to get out of it, flailing my arms and legs, but nothing worked and Jack knew that.  So I went to Plan B.

“Jack, you’re…holding…too…tightly….” I mumbled, holding my breath to slow down my heartbeat.  But he didn’t listen, basking in his glow that he had me beaten.

So, I “collapsed.”

“Jasey?” He asked, his grip loosening slowly.  “…Jasey Rae…?”

I only stayed silent, about to break.  I thanked God I could hold my breath for so long.  But I could never be able to hold a straight face for long.  

“Oh, God, Jasey!”

He set me on the floor, screaming my name.  He was starting to panic.  He shook me, screamed my name, slapped me a few times.  I only breathed through my nose subtly.  He was too panicked to even notice.  “Oh, God, I killed her! What am I gonna do?! Everyone’s gonna hate me! I killed her! I killed Jasey Rae Scott!” He was on the verge of tears, his voice shaky.  For a moment, I felt really bad.  But then I didn’t. “Maybe she’s only unconscious! Wait! I don’t know CPR! Damn it, what am I gonna do?! Wake up, Jasey!” He panicked, begging for a hint that I was alive.  “Oh, fuck it! Breath, Jasey, breath!” He said, and suddenly, his lips were on mine.

My body froze, and I wasn’t breathing at all right now.  Jack’s hot breath was forced into my own mouth, then pressed on my chest before doing it over again.  “Jasey Rae, breath! Please! What am I gonna do without you?!”  He was crying now, and that made my heart ache. He put his lips to mine again, forcing his breath in my mouth.  So I took this chance to ‘be alive’ and grabbed his shoulders, somehow getting on top of him, panting heavily for air.  I never thought breathing was so amazing until now. I started coughing a little.

Jack stared up at me in show, the few tears escaping the corners of his eyes. “J-Jasey? You’re alive? I-I saved you?” He pulled me down, wrapping his long arms around me tightly.  “Fuck yeah! I’m a life saver!”

I tore away from his death grip, still sitting on top of him.  “No, you idiot! I was still alive! You didn’t even check my pulse! I was faking it!”

“…Huh…?”

“I…was…faking…it.” I said slowly, smirking.  “By the way, I win this wrestling match.”

He stared up at me with a very sad look, the tears still on his face.  I reached down and softly wiped them away before he spoke.  “Jasey….” He was about to cry again.

“Oh, gosh, Jack! No! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry!” I said, my eyes going wide.  

He started to sob, pulling me down and wrapping his arms around me again.  “I…thought…you…died!”

“I’m so sorry, Jacky!” I said, doing my best to wrap my arms around him as he cried.

Suddenly, my back was on the ground, Jack on top of me.  I stared up at him in shock.  What the?

He leaned down an inch away from my face.  “I like being on top.” He said, quietly, an amused look on his face.

I started laughing, causing him o laugh as well.  “Jack Bassam, I love you.”

“I love you too, Jasey Rae.” He smiled and kissed my cheek for a few seconds.

“You did CPR pretty well for someone who didn’t know what they were going.” I smirked.

He grinned, a slight blush creeping on his cheeks. “I could do it again if you’d like.” He wiggled his eyebrows and sending me a wink, causing me to laugh.

“Jasey! Time for dinner!”

“Jack! Wonderful to see you!” The family cook grinned as Jack and I walked in the dining room together.

Jack gave a smile of his own.  “Hey, Nina! What’s up?! I heard you’re making pizza!”

She laughed lightly, knowing how Jack was with food.  “Sure am.”

“Jack’s staying for dinner.” I explained to Nina.  

“I’m glad I made two, then.”

“Mom, Jack’s gonna stay for dinner.” I said as I saw my mother walk into the room.

She looked up from her phone, her eyes landing on the boy next to me.  “And this is Jack, I presume?” No smile on her face whatsoever. I could tell already she didn’t like him just by the way she was looking at him.  Mother is always quick to judge….

“Yes, ma’am.  I’m Jack Barakat.  I go to Ja-Hayley’s school.”

I sighed of relief, glad Jack didn’t say my real name.  If Mom found out he knows about everything, all hell would break loose.  “Jack’s my best friend, Mom.” I hoped that would be the end of it, for her to just accept Jack.

She nodded, a skeptical look on her face as she shook Jack’s hand.  She forced a smile. Damn.  “Nice to meet you, Jack.”

“You, too, Mrs. Johnson.”

Jake came down, then, then saw Jack, a smile plastered on his face.  “Jack!”

“Jake! What’s up, kid?!” Jack grinned, giving my younger brother a quick hug before we all sat down.

My family and I sat in our normal seats.  Mother on the opposite end of me, Jack kiddy corner to Mom.  So Jack took the seat kidding from me, a quiet grumble coming from his stomach.  As if on cue, George and Nina brought out the food.

“So, Jack, you said you go to Ja-Hayley’s school?” Mom asked, and I internally groaned.  She was goingto interrogate him.  Just like every other friend of mine….

“Yes, ma’am.  She’s in a few of my classes.” Jack answered, nodding.

“Are you the Jack whose house she goes to after school almost every day?”

Jack nodded. “Yes, she comes to see our band play.”

 I cringed, seeing mother drop her fork instantly.  That right there, was the worst thing she could do.  That was a straight up ‘No’ from her.  And that was final.

“A band? I see.” She said curtly, giving a not-so-subtle disapproving look to me.

I stared down at my plate.  I wasn’t really hungry anymore.  She was going to tell me I couldn’t be friends with Jack anymore once he leaves.  All because he was in a band.

Not much was spoken afterwards.  The atmosphere seemed to get more and more awkward as the seconds ticked by.  Everyone, including himself, knew it was because of Jack.  He knew he wasn’t welcomed in the house anymore by my mother.

“Uh, I should go.” Jack mumbled, standing up.  I sighed, nodding.  It was for the best.  “Give my compliments to the chef, will you?” He murmured to me before turning toward my mother. “Mrs. Johnson, it was nice to meet you.”

“You too, Jack.” She forced another smile.

“See ya, Jake.” Jack said before starting to walk out.

I got up, jogging after him.  I couldn’t just let him leave like that.  I finally caught up with him as he was about to get into his mother’s car.  “Jack, wait!”

He turned around, a sad look in his deep brown eyes. “What?”

“I’m sorry….” I said, looking up at him.  It was like looking up at a skyscraper.

Jack shrugged, laughing almost a bitter laugh.  “It’s fine.  She’s not the first person that doesn’t like me.”

“She likes you, Jack.  She just doesn’t like the fact that you’re in a band….”

“The band?”

I shrugged, leaning on his car. "My moms very paranoid when it comes to kids and their high school bands. She refuses to let me be friends with any of them?"

"How come?"

"She thinks they won't do anything with their lives. She hares the fact that they do drugs, and drink, and have sex whenever they want. She doesn't want that life for me, which I appreciate that she wants to look out for me. But I can make my own choices."

"What about you? How do you feel about high school bands?"

"Jack, you're my best friend, I think that says it all." I smiled slightly, then sighed. It was silent for a few minutes. "You know, when I walk back in she's going to tell me to stay away from you."

"Are you?" He asked, his face falling slightly. 

"Never. I can't stay away from you. I'd like, die." I smiled, earning a large grin from him. 

He pulled me into a tight hug, sighing sadly. "I guess I won't be at the Scott household anymore."

I sighed sadly. "I guess not. But I'll have you come over when she's working. Which she always is. And you can come at night too, when she's sleeping and stuff. Sometimes she takes a double or something and stays at the office."

He nodded, and we knew it wasn't going to be the same. Jack wasn't welcome by my mother, and that was very bad. "I love you, Jasey Rae."

"I love you too, Jack Bassam." I smiled, giving him one last hug.  "Please don't be mad at me."

"I could never be mad at you, Jasey."

[jaseyrae]

"Jasey! No! You are not allowed to see that boy ever again!"

"But why, Mom? Please! He's my best friend!" I was crying again, for what seemed like the millionth time today. But these were all for completely different reasons. 

"No! I'm not allowing you to be friends with someone who is throwing their life away trying to make it even close to famous!"

"So what! They're amazing, Mom! They'll make it huge!" 

"You said that about the last band you met and what are they doing now?"

"That's not the point-"

"What are they doing now, Jasey Rae?"

I sighed, staring down at my feet. "Doing drugs every day, drinking, smoking, and having sex with about every girl they lay eyes on."

"And did they even make it close to being famous?"

"No." I mumbled, cringing a little. 

"Exactly. They're wasting away their lives with no education except high school. Barely, considering the fact they almost failed out."

"I got it, Mom!" I yelled, fed up with her right now. "So what! I met five people who were in a band and they ended up being washups! I don't care though! They were great guys and you made me stop being friends with them! All because you were scared they were wasting their lives! It's their lives! Not your's! So l'm still going to be with friends with Jack, Rian, Zack, and Alex! Whether you like it or not!"

"If you do, you're out of this house!"

I took a step back, my eyes going wide. Did she really just say that? She was willing to kick out her daughter, just because she didn't like her friends. Fine, if she truly wants that, then it looks like I'm moving out. "I'll be out in three hours."