Status: finished by the end of september~
Alex Gaskarth Must Die
THIRTEEN
Well, that’s that then. I’m the new face of the Alex Gaskarth Must Die campaign.
As I sit in science class, mulling this over in my head, Jack nudges me and whispers, ‘Hot for Alex now too?’ I flush and turn away from Alex, only just aware of my staring.
‘No,’ I snap under my breath. ‘I just thought- I just thought he looked kinda down.’
‘Sure,’ Jack teases skeptically, but he’s only kidding.
‘Poop,’ I say, sticking out my tongue in retaliation. He laughs and turns to grab a microscope off of the cart that’s passing us, placing it on the table and nudging it towards me with big, round eyes.
‘Fine,’ I huff, grinning as he pushes it the rest of the way towards me. We’ve slipped into this routine, Jack and I, so science class now is just me doing the work and Jack copying everything down after school on Thursdays. That way, I get out of driving my brother to his weekly practices so I can be a part of my ‘study group,’ and Jack passes this class.
‘Thank the Lord!’ Jack flings his arms up in the air dramatically and then turns towards me as I turn the dial on the microscope. He’s not saying anything, but it’s painfully obvious that he’s just bursting to tell me something. I force the smile out of my face and pretend not to have noticed; let him suffer for a little while longer.
‘So…’ he says. ‘So.’
‘So?’
‘So….’ He stays silent and fidgets, obviously pleading mentally with me to say something or ask him about anything at all. When I diligently start on my work, scribbling down answers for a whole ten minutes, he finally snaps. ‘Have you heard about Alex and Lauren?’ Bingo.
‘Of course I have,’ I laugh, amused at what he’s been apparently dying to tell me. ‘It’s kind of the talk of the school, Jack.’
‘Yeah…’ He seems to weigh his next words carefully before carrying on. ‘You’re friends with Lauren, right?’
‘Kind of,’ I shrug. ‘I mean, I like her and we get along, but Brittany’s my best friend, so…’
‘Oh, right, yeah,’ he says, nodding. ‘Well-’ Jack casts a glance around us quickly before leaning in closer. ‘What I say stays between us, yeah? No reporting back to Zoe or anyone.’
I nod. ‘Of course.’
‘Okay. Well, remember when we all hung out at Alex’s house? On Friday?’
‘Yeah.’
He drops his voice to a whisper and scoots his chair closer. ‘After we left, Lauren and Alex were still in and he looked at Lauren’s phone and there was a text from Brittany.’ When he casts me a significant look, as if I should find this interesting, I remember myself quickly.
‘Oh! Brittany? What- Why-’
‘I know!’ Jack says, getting more and more excited. ‘So he looks at the text and-’ A pause for suspense. ‘Turns out they’re in some weird plot together to break Alex’s heart!’
‘Wait, together? Like, together together?’ I ask, feigning ignorance to the whole thing. Oh, Jack. If you only knew. There’s an odd twist in my throat, but it’s nothing and I ignore it. I have to go through with this; Brittany and the girls are more important than Jack, who I haven’t even known for a year.
‘Yeah! They were mad because before-’ he looks around us again ‘-Alex cheated on them both at the same time.’
‘With each other?’
‘Yeah,’ he says, looking slightly sheepish.
‘Pig.’
‘You won’t be saying that after you hear this. So Brittany and Lauren were mad, so they decided to like, be a team or whatever and do it back to him.’
‘What d’you mean, “do it back to him?”’
‘Like, play him. Break his heart. You know.’
I look at Jack skeptically. Now that I’m hearing it from someone not in our little group, I’m realising how outlandish and odd it sounds. If I weren’t a part of it, I wouldn’t believe it. Even Brittany and Lauren aren’t that insane, I’d think.
‘It’s true!’ he insists.
‘Right,’ I say, dragging out the I as I turn back to the microscope.
‘It is!’ He places his arms around me imploringly and pulls me in for a hug. ‘It is, it is, it is,’ he keeps repeating.
‘Jack,’ I laugh, ‘just ‘cause you’re hugging me doesn’t mean I’ll start believing you.’
‘You mean the power of my hugs isn’t enough?’ He pulls back with a laugh, but continues with his story. ‘Really, Rebecca, it’s true.’
‘It’s ridiculous, Jack, that’s what it is. Lauren and Brittany are insane, but not that insane. Besides, they hate each other.’
‘That’s the point! See, no one would suspect anything if they were supposed to hate each other, right?’ Jack’s almost bursting out of his skin with frustration at this point, so I pretend to think a little and turn to him hesitantly.
‘That does kind of make sense,’ I admit slowly, to a beam from Jack, ‘but why would they do that? It’s kind of an overreaction, don’t you think?’
‘Well, yeah, but it’s Brittany and Lauren… I know you’re like, best friends with Brittany, but just think about it. Think about it!’ he insists loudly as soon as I open my mouth to protest. I laugh, but shut my mouth and just settle for shaking my head.
- - -
‘Soooo…’ Robin says, wiggling her eyebrows at my locker.
‘Quit that,’ I laugh, slapping her arm with a notebook, ‘your eyebrows look like hairy worms wiggling across your forehead.’
She gasps in mock horror. ‘Well, not all of us have dashingly handsome boys named Alex Gaskarth to look good for.’
‘Nothing’s happened,’ I say, rolling my eyes. ‘How am I supposed to even make something happen? I can’t just go up and like, shove my boobs in his face.’
‘Well-’
‘No.’
‘Just a thought,’ Robin shrugs, laughing. ‘Why don’t you ask Jack for help, though?’
I blink at her blankly. Ask Jack for help? I hadn’t thought of that, but it would make sense, wouldn’t it? They’re such good friends, Jack could invite me to hang out with them, tell me what Alex likes… ‘That’s a good idea.’
‘No shit,’ Robin laughs. ‘Now shut up, class is starting.’
- - -
Over lunch, Brittany, Zoe, Robin, and I took our trays and left on a ‘cheerleading mission.’ The other girls weren’t happy about it, but Brittany overruled them with some made-up crap about how Robin was our treasurer and the captains needed to discuss an upcoming field trip in private. They feel left out, that’s all, but it doesn’t help that most of them think Robin’s really weird and that they were counting on a major gossip session with Brittany today.
The news about Lauren and Alex was old news, but Brittany’s involvement in it has only just gotten out around last period. The gossip story I’ve heard (not from Jack) is that Brittany and Lauren are in a Jesus cult where they chant the word ‘revenge’ over a campfire and toast mini-Alex-Gaskarth voodoo dolls. It’s completely ridiculous, I know, but that’s high school for you.
Our ‘real’ story is that Brittany and Lauren had a mini, not very serious plan, to go after Alex after he went out with them both at the same time. They met up in detention, but not after that; just texted. They do hate each other, after all.
Robin and I have brought up asking Jack for help, which Brittany has heartily vetoed. ‘No,’ she had said. ‘He likes a challenge. I mean, I obviously wasn’t, but you’re gonna be unimpressed and cold at first.’ Zoe and I were skeptical- Hard to get doesn’t really work, does it? It seems a little counterintuitive, but we figure Brittany’s had more experience with boys, so we’re going with her plan.
‘You know,’ Robin muses once the two of us are safely in my car and driving towards Robin’s house, ‘Brittany would be really good in like, the army or something.’
‘Yeah,’ I laugh, ‘or maybe the manager of some terrible partier in Hollywood.’
‘What about the principal of a high school?’
‘Oh, God,’ I groan. ‘No way. She’d have sex with the entire football team, and then where would they be?’
- - -
‘Truth or dare?’ I ask Jack during yet another stupid-game-session in science class, because we are totally mature adults just about to enter college who no longer take part in juvenile activities.
‘Dare.’
‘Um… Okay: for the next fifteen minutes, every time Mr Bryant turns around to write on the board and talk, you have to stand up really obviously - only to us though - and do some crazy dance.’
‘Like, popping-and-locking-crazy or chicken-dance-crazy?’ Jack asks seriously.
‘Popping-and-locking-crazy,’ I confirm. ‘Grinding and shit, just be really really awkward and over-the-top about it.’
‘Done.’ He flashes a grin before pushing his chair back and jumping up, raising his arms to point a finger across the class, Greased Lightning style. By the time Mr Bryant turns back around to look at us and make sure we’ve got it, the whole class have their hands clamped across their faces to stifle the laughter. As soon as Mr Bryant turns around, Jack’s at it again, grinding and slapping the ass of some imaginary girl in front of him. The thing is, he’s making these hilarious facial expressions with them, sticking his tongue out and rolling his eyes back and moaning silently as if he’s actually kissing someone. I’m laughing so hard it’s silent, and tears have just started leaking out of the corners of my eyes.
‘Fifteen minutes is up,’ I choke out once the long hand of the clock has ticked down to the six.
‘Aww,’ Jack says sadly. He pouts but laughs, saying, ‘I was actually having fun up there.’
‘No shit,’ I laugh, wiping at the corners of my eyes, ‘you kind of always do.’
‘Your turn now: truth or dare?’
‘Truth,’ I say.
‘Wimp.’ He pokes his tongue out at me. ‘Boooring.’
‘Chicken and proud of it,’ I smile.
‘Okay. Um… Do you… Have you… Oh, shit, I don’t know. Okay, who do you hate most in this class?’ Hm. Way to fit right into the Alex Gaskarth scheme, Jack.
‘Alex Gaskarth,’ I answer without a pause.
‘Ouch,’ Jack winces.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say apologetically, ‘but he’s kind of a pig. I mean, yeah, I don’t really know him, but he’s such a big man-whore.’
‘I’m still gonna convince you otherwise,’ Jack promises. When I give him a skeptical look, he only raises his voice. ‘I will!’
‘Mr Barakat,’ our teacher scolds.
Jack rolls his eyes but lowers his voice to a whisper. ‘I will!’ he repeats. ‘It kinda sucks that you don’t like my best friend, ‘cause you guys are like my favouritest people in the whole world.’
‘Oh, Jack,’ I laugh softly, wrapping my arms around him and squishing myself against his bony body, that odd twist appearing in my throat again. ‘It’s kinda awesome ‘cause you like Zoe and Robin and Brittany - you at least like her boobs -’ I say quickly when I see his mouth open ‘and they like you.’
‘Well-’
‘Okay, fine, they kind of are really, really annoyed by you,’ I relent with a bark of laughter.
‘They’ll never come between us,’ he vows mournfully. ‘Nobody understands our love.’
- - -
Zack M. to Jack B. (CC) on 11/30/05
yo dude, whats the plan 4 alexs bday?
Rian D. to Zack M. (CC)
either a party or just a night in with like cake and beer
Jack B. to Zack M. (CC)
matt said he could get us a show
Zack M. to Jack B. (CC)
yea but its his bday. i know hes like at his best creatively right after a break up but we want him to be happy.
Danny K. to Zack M. (CC)
right. how bout we get one of the cheerleaders (jack- that one ur always hanging out with?) to throw a party at their house and then we can check it out and leave if he doesn’t feel up to it
Rian D. to Danny K. (CC)
it’s a plan
Jack B. to Rian D. (CC)
i’ll ask rebeca
As I sit in science class, mulling this over in my head, Jack nudges me and whispers, ‘Hot for Alex now too?’ I flush and turn away from Alex, only just aware of my staring.
‘No,’ I snap under my breath. ‘I just thought- I just thought he looked kinda down.’
‘Sure,’ Jack teases skeptically, but he’s only kidding.
‘Poop,’ I say, sticking out my tongue in retaliation. He laughs and turns to grab a microscope off of the cart that’s passing us, placing it on the table and nudging it towards me with big, round eyes.
‘Fine,’ I huff, grinning as he pushes it the rest of the way towards me. We’ve slipped into this routine, Jack and I, so science class now is just me doing the work and Jack copying everything down after school on Thursdays. That way, I get out of driving my brother to his weekly practices so I can be a part of my ‘study group,’ and Jack passes this class.
‘Thank the Lord!’ Jack flings his arms up in the air dramatically and then turns towards me as I turn the dial on the microscope. He’s not saying anything, but it’s painfully obvious that he’s just bursting to tell me something. I force the smile out of my face and pretend not to have noticed; let him suffer for a little while longer.
‘So…’ he says. ‘So.’
‘So?’
‘So….’ He stays silent and fidgets, obviously pleading mentally with me to say something or ask him about anything at all. When I diligently start on my work, scribbling down answers for a whole ten minutes, he finally snaps. ‘Have you heard about Alex and Lauren?’ Bingo.
‘Of course I have,’ I laugh, amused at what he’s been apparently dying to tell me. ‘It’s kind of the talk of the school, Jack.’
‘Yeah…’ He seems to weigh his next words carefully before carrying on. ‘You’re friends with Lauren, right?’
‘Kind of,’ I shrug. ‘I mean, I like her and we get along, but Brittany’s my best friend, so…’
‘Oh, right, yeah,’ he says, nodding. ‘Well-’ Jack casts a glance around us quickly before leaning in closer. ‘What I say stays between us, yeah? No reporting back to Zoe or anyone.’
I nod. ‘Of course.’
‘Okay. Well, remember when we all hung out at Alex’s house? On Friday?’
‘Yeah.’
He drops his voice to a whisper and scoots his chair closer. ‘After we left, Lauren and Alex were still in and he looked at Lauren’s phone and there was a text from Brittany.’ When he casts me a significant look, as if I should find this interesting, I remember myself quickly.
‘Oh! Brittany? What- Why-’
‘I know!’ Jack says, getting more and more excited. ‘So he looks at the text and-’ A pause for suspense. ‘Turns out they’re in some weird plot together to break Alex’s heart!’
‘Wait, together? Like, together together?’ I ask, feigning ignorance to the whole thing. Oh, Jack. If you only knew. There’s an odd twist in my throat, but it’s nothing and I ignore it. I have to go through with this; Brittany and the girls are more important than Jack, who I haven’t even known for a year.
‘Yeah! They were mad because before-’ he looks around us again ‘-Alex cheated on them both at the same time.’
‘With each other?’
‘Yeah,’ he says, looking slightly sheepish.
‘Pig.’
‘You won’t be saying that after you hear this. So Brittany and Lauren were mad, so they decided to like, be a team or whatever and do it back to him.’
‘What d’you mean, “do it back to him?”’
‘Like, play him. Break his heart. You know.’
I look at Jack skeptically. Now that I’m hearing it from someone not in our little group, I’m realising how outlandish and odd it sounds. If I weren’t a part of it, I wouldn’t believe it. Even Brittany and Lauren aren’t that insane, I’d think.
‘It’s true!’ he insists.
‘Right,’ I say, dragging out the I as I turn back to the microscope.
‘It is!’ He places his arms around me imploringly and pulls me in for a hug. ‘It is, it is, it is,’ he keeps repeating.
‘Jack,’ I laugh, ‘just ‘cause you’re hugging me doesn’t mean I’ll start believing you.’
‘You mean the power of my hugs isn’t enough?’ He pulls back with a laugh, but continues with his story. ‘Really, Rebecca, it’s true.’
‘It’s ridiculous, Jack, that’s what it is. Lauren and Brittany are insane, but not that insane. Besides, they hate each other.’
‘That’s the point! See, no one would suspect anything if they were supposed to hate each other, right?’ Jack’s almost bursting out of his skin with frustration at this point, so I pretend to think a little and turn to him hesitantly.
‘That does kind of make sense,’ I admit slowly, to a beam from Jack, ‘but why would they do that? It’s kind of an overreaction, don’t you think?’
‘Well, yeah, but it’s Brittany and Lauren… I know you’re like, best friends with Brittany, but just think about it. Think about it!’ he insists loudly as soon as I open my mouth to protest. I laugh, but shut my mouth and just settle for shaking my head.
- - -
‘Soooo…’ Robin says, wiggling her eyebrows at my locker.
‘Quit that,’ I laugh, slapping her arm with a notebook, ‘your eyebrows look like hairy worms wiggling across your forehead.’
She gasps in mock horror. ‘Well, not all of us have dashingly handsome boys named Alex Gaskarth to look good for.’
‘Nothing’s happened,’ I say, rolling my eyes. ‘How am I supposed to even make something happen? I can’t just go up and like, shove my boobs in his face.’
‘Well-’
‘No.’
‘Just a thought,’ Robin shrugs, laughing. ‘Why don’t you ask Jack for help, though?’
I blink at her blankly. Ask Jack for help? I hadn’t thought of that, but it would make sense, wouldn’t it? They’re such good friends, Jack could invite me to hang out with them, tell me what Alex likes… ‘That’s a good idea.’
‘No shit,’ Robin laughs. ‘Now shut up, class is starting.’
- - -
Over lunch, Brittany, Zoe, Robin, and I took our trays and left on a ‘cheerleading mission.’ The other girls weren’t happy about it, but Brittany overruled them with some made-up crap about how Robin was our treasurer and the captains needed to discuss an upcoming field trip in private. They feel left out, that’s all, but it doesn’t help that most of them think Robin’s really weird and that they were counting on a major gossip session with Brittany today.
The news about Lauren and Alex was old news, but Brittany’s involvement in it has only just gotten out around last period. The gossip story I’ve heard (not from Jack) is that Brittany and Lauren are in a Jesus cult where they chant the word ‘revenge’ over a campfire and toast mini-Alex-Gaskarth voodoo dolls. It’s completely ridiculous, I know, but that’s high school for you.
Our ‘real’ story is that Brittany and Lauren had a mini, not very serious plan, to go after Alex after he went out with them both at the same time. They met up in detention, but not after that; just texted. They do hate each other, after all.
Robin and I have brought up asking Jack for help, which Brittany has heartily vetoed. ‘No,’ she had said. ‘He likes a challenge. I mean, I obviously wasn’t, but you’re gonna be unimpressed and cold at first.’ Zoe and I were skeptical- Hard to get doesn’t really work, does it? It seems a little counterintuitive, but we figure Brittany’s had more experience with boys, so we’re going with her plan.
‘You know,’ Robin muses once the two of us are safely in my car and driving towards Robin’s house, ‘Brittany would be really good in like, the army or something.’
‘Yeah,’ I laugh, ‘or maybe the manager of some terrible partier in Hollywood.’
‘What about the principal of a high school?’
‘Oh, God,’ I groan. ‘No way. She’d have sex with the entire football team, and then where would they be?’
- - -
‘Truth or dare?’ I ask Jack during yet another stupid-game-session in science class, because we are totally mature adults just about to enter college who no longer take part in juvenile activities.
‘Dare.’
‘Um… Okay: for the next fifteen minutes, every time Mr Bryant turns around to write on the board and talk, you have to stand up really obviously - only to us though - and do some crazy dance.’
‘Like, popping-and-locking-crazy or chicken-dance-crazy?’ Jack asks seriously.
‘Popping-and-locking-crazy,’ I confirm. ‘Grinding and shit, just be really really awkward and over-the-top about it.’
‘Done.’ He flashes a grin before pushing his chair back and jumping up, raising his arms to point a finger across the class, Greased Lightning style. By the time Mr Bryant turns back around to look at us and make sure we’ve got it, the whole class have their hands clamped across their faces to stifle the laughter. As soon as Mr Bryant turns around, Jack’s at it again, grinding and slapping the ass of some imaginary girl in front of him. The thing is, he’s making these hilarious facial expressions with them, sticking his tongue out and rolling his eyes back and moaning silently as if he’s actually kissing someone. I’m laughing so hard it’s silent, and tears have just started leaking out of the corners of my eyes.
‘Fifteen minutes is up,’ I choke out once the long hand of the clock has ticked down to the six.
‘Aww,’ Jack says sadly. He pouts but laughs, saying, ‘I was actually having fun up there.’
‘No shit,’ I laugh, wiping at the corners of my eyes, ‘you kind of always do.’
‘Your turn now: truth or dare?’
‘Truth,’ I say.
‘Wimp.’ He pokes his tongue out at me. ‘Boooring.’
‘Chicken and proud of it,’ I smile.
‘Okay. Um… Do you… Have you… Oh, shit, I don’t know. Okay, who do you hate most in this class?’ Hm. Way to fit right into the Alex Gaskarth scheme, Jack.
‘Alex Gaskarth,’ I answer without a pause.
‘Ouch,’ Jack winces.
‘I’m sorry,’ I say apologetically, ‘but he’s kind of a pig. I mean, yeah, I don’t really know him, but he’s such a big man-whore.’
‘I’m still gonna convince you otherwise,’ Jack promises. When I give him a skeptical look, he only raises his voice. ‘I will!’
‘Mr Barakat,’ our teacher scolds.
Jack rolls his eyes but lowers his voice to a whisper. ‘I will!’ he repeats. ‘It kinda sucks that you don’t like my best friend, ‘cause you guys are like my favouritest people in the whole world.’
‘Oh, Jack,’ I laugh softly, wrapping my arms around him and squishing myself against his bony body, that odd twist appearing in my throat again. ‘It’s kinda awesome ‘cause you like Zoe and Robin and Brittany - you at least like her boobs -’ I say quickly when I see his mouth open ‘and they like you.’
‘Well-’
‘Okay, fine, they kind of are really, really annoyed by you,’ I relent with a bark of laughter.
‘They’ll never come between us,’ he vows mournfully. ‘Nobody understands our love.’
- - -
Zack M. to Jack B. (CC) on 11/30/05
yo dude, whats the plan 4 alexs bday?
Rian D. to Zack M. (CC)
either a party or just a night in with like cake and beer
Jack B. to Zack M. (CC)
matt said he could get us a show
Zack M. to Jack B. (CC)
yea but its his bday. i know hes like at his best creatively right after a break up but we want him to be happy.
Danny K. to Zack M. (CC)
right. how bout we get one of the cheerleaders (jack- that one ur always hanging out with?) to throw a party at their house and then we can check it out and leave if he doesn’t feel up to it
Rian D. to Danny K. (CC)
it’s a plan
Jack B. to Rian D. (CC)
i’ll ask rebeca
♠ ♠ ♠
So, um, I think from now on I'm just going to pretend that everyone texts with (mainly) correct spelling and grammar. Because, I mean, I doubt Jack or Zack really care about where apostrophe's go or shit like that, but when I try to write lykkk thiSsS it comes out looking horrifically fake.But that's it, and I think this story is coasting along quite nicely right now. Any thoughts you have are always welcome!
Comments = the things that make me feel better after I watch things like Atonement.
-x, max.