Only Fools Rush In

Sitting through Mr Gaskarth’s lecture, which he was half-heartedly paying attention to, was something the raven haired boy surprisingly enjoyed a lot. He knew he was staring pretty intensely at the teacher, but he just couldn’t help it.

The young man’s voice was far too absorbing, his smile far too alluring, and his body far too appealing to be one of an educator, thought Jack.

But it was his eyes that kept the teenager’s attention. Those beautiful brown orbs were far too intoxicating to be of a man classed as forbidden.

Not only was the student basking in watching Alex, he found himself remembering the warm feeling of his teacher’s hand on his arm and the caring words that soothed all his anxiety.

He tried to forget the shiver that it had sent down his spine, tried to ignore the craving that he had for another soft touch. It was stupid to be getting so flustered over nothing, he thought.

It was the fact Jack had opened up about his sexuality, to a teacher of all people, that struck him the most. He still wasn’t comfortable speaking about the topic, though it wasn’t because he was ashamed of his preferences. It was the fact others were more disgusted by it.

Through his school years, the teenager knew he was attracted to the same sex but he persisted in keeping it to himself. He knew that people would treat him worse than they already did, and the raven haired kid didn‘t want to deal with such hate.

When Jack felt he had avoided anything of the sort, he confided in one person he thought he could trust. It was his crush at the time, a flamboyant jock who hinted at being gay though would forever tell people he ‘only fucked chicks’.

The two had grown closer over a couple months which made Jack believe he finally had someone to call a friend…or maybe even more. Unfortunately, it was all just a cruel joke.

As soon as the jock found out Jack’s sexuality, he was quick to announce it to the whole school. However, it wasn’t in a way that could be seen as an embarrassing anecdote.

No, it was a malicious attack on the boy. With students using words such as ‘repulsive’ and ‘grotesque’ to describe Jack, all he wanted to do was perish so hopefully he wouldn’t have to deal with more ridicule.

There were repetitive beatings that the teen had to endure and it was when he landed in hospital that his parents decided that he could switch schools. He didn’t know what to expect from this new school, but he hoped it would be better than the last.

“…Jack? Barakat, what is the answer?” those words pulled the raven haired boy out of his reverie and filled him with panic. He cursed himself for not paying attention.

“Ugh…c-could you repeat the question, please?”
The whole class was now looking at him, but his eyes were stuck on the teacher. “I asked you to tell us all about your daydream since it’s obviously more important than this lesson.”

Jack stared at Alex with his mouth agape, fear washing over him at the thought of having to actually speak the truth. “Emm…I eh, it wasn’t anything important…I’m sorry.”
With a playful roll of the eyes from the teacher, he was let off the hook. The gawking eyes soon turned away from him, making him deflate with a heavy sigh of relief.

***

“Thank you.” Jack mumbled to the cafeteria lady once he received his change and food, making his way out of the queue and towards the doors. The teen didn’t like spending his lunch time with a room full of people who didn’t know him and somehow hated him already.

He kept his head down, trying to be discrete as he made his way out without being noticed. However, when he slammed into something hard causing him to drop his bottle of water and sandwich with more noise than seemed possible, all eyes were on him and the scene.

“Watch where you’re going, freak!” someone spat, making Jack look up from his ruined lunch to find a guy snarling at him and his posse of jocks doing the same.

Taking in the sight of the leader of the pack, the senior would have considered him handsome but that was abolished by the abusiveness he showed. All the skinny kid could do though, was roll his eyes at the comment. It was forever the same thing; always Jack’s fault and always the same insults made.

“Whatever.” he mumbled as he attempted to step around the abrasive student only to be harshly shoved back.

“I didn’t say you were excused.”
Grunting, he replied “I didn’t know you were my superior.”
The well-built male stepped forward, his face right in front of Jack’s. “Everyone is your superior. You’re just the new kid, dipshit. And a repulsive one at that.”

Though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, that remark hurt the new kid.

“Well, if I disgust you so much, why are you still talking to me? Just let me get on with my life.” with that, Jack tried again to leave the scene that was playing out. He could feel the stares and hear the whispers; he just wanted to leave.

But of course, Jack Barakat never gets what he wants, so it was no surprise to be thrown into a few of the guys who surrounded him with more force than before. He knew what was about to ensue and began to brace himself.

The pack grabbed a hold of the teen, securing him as the leader raised his clenched fist and wrapped his other hand around Jack’s throat. Swallowing hard and squeezing his eyes shut, the raven haired boy awaited the first punch.

“Aaron, don’t you think the guy has enough bruises already?” said a strong, warm voice that stopped the jock before Jack felt the impact on his cheek. “It looks like he’s already had a beating, so I don’t see why you have to add to that.”

The seventeen year old opened his eyes to find the person speaking was the buzz-cut teen from his homeroom. Shock seemed to be the strongest sentiment he felt at that moment.

“Rian, he’s a fucking fag! He deserves this.”
“He’s a person, Aaron. He hasn’t done anything wrong so stop being your usual asshole-self and leave him alone.”

The room had fallen quiet and Jack didn’t know if that was a good thing or something that should worry him even more. Had Rian just riled Aaron up more, meaning a harsher punishment for the raven haired teen?

The new guy wasn’t sure if the student from his homeroom class was actually defending him or he was just sick of the jock beating on helpless kids. Whatever the reason, Jack was filled with relief when Aaron’s fist fell to his side and he released the hand from around Jack’s throat.

“Watch your back ‘cause next time you wont have anyone to protect you.” snarled Aaron before he nodded to his posse and walked off. The cafeteria slowly gained it’s usual ruckus to Jack’s delight but now he was feeling awkward standing in front of Rian.

“Umm…thank you?” Jack didn’t know if that was the right thing to say, but it was the only thing that seemed right in the moment.

To his surprise, a bright smile appeared on the other teen’s face. “No need to thank me, man. Aaron’s a dick and everyone gets tired of how he treats people, though there’s only a few of us who have the balls to stand up to him.”

That all made sense to Jack. He could see how most people were intimidated by the bully and was even more grateful for the seemingly nice boy. “Yeah, he seems like a complete douche. Reminds me of kids from my old school…”

“It’s Jack, right? Jack Barakat? We have homeroom together and a couple other classes.”
The tall senior nodded his head, astonished that the other male knew who he was. “I’m Rian Dawson.” with another pleasant smile showing his perfect teeth, Jack eased into the company and smiled back

“It’s good to meet someone decent, I thought the next few months would be a repeat of the past few years.” he chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.”
“We’ll keep you safe, don’t worry.” Rian winked with a laugh.

His words confused the lanky male slightly. “Sorry, but ‘we’?”
“Oh, Zack and I. He’s a really great guy even though he’s quieter than you are.” this made the boy flush with embarrassment.

He wasn’t always quiet, usually he was loud and eccentric when with his siblings. It was situations like school that made him feel that being mute was better than speaking out of turn.

“Come on, let’s get out of here. All the staring is freaking me out.” with that, Jack followed Rian out of the room and down a familiar corridor that led to the music room.

“Ugh…are we allowed to be in here?” Jack asked unsurely, though he was hoping Alex Gaskarth would be around so he could do some more ogling.

“Yeah, Mr G is pretty laid back about his classroom as long as you don’t mess up his shit. He’s in here most of the time anyway and jams with us.”

Opening the door, Jack could hear the deep, soothing sound of a complex bass line. “Hey Zack, this is Jack.” Rian called out as he closed the door. The boy named Zack turned around and quirked a smile at the new kid.

“Hey, what’s up. You play?”

Jack couldn’t get over how easygoing these two students were, shocked at how they seemed to welcome him into their little group with no questions. They were definitely unlike the other kids in the school.

Setting his bag on the floor next to the teacher’s desk, the raven haired male nodded his head. “Yeah, guitar. I’m not that good, though.”
“I’m sure you’re better than you think. Let us hear you.”

With that, Jack went over to the wall of electric guitars, choosing the make he liked and plugging it into an amp. Once he checked that it was in tune, he pulled out a pick from his pocket and started playing the first thing that came to mind.

A Green Day riff that was well-known to the other two boys radiated throughout the room, which made Jack feel the most comfortable he’s ever felt at school. While there were a few minor mistakes, the new student didn’t care at all. He had a guitar in his hands and that’s all that mattered.

Ending the song, the classroom went silent. Jack looked up with expectant eyes though he wasn’t too sure what the two other males thought of his playing.

It was Rian who broke the silence. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re shit.”

As Jack’s heart raced and his face flushed with embarrassment, a wink from the smiling buzz-cut male and a hearty chuckle from Zack stopped him from dying on the spot. Letting out a hefty sigh, the boy joined in with the other two, rolling his eyes and easing into the secure and pleasant atmosphere.

The rest of their lunch break was spent like that; playing their instruments to their heart’s content while teasing one another and cracking jokes. The usually shy boy was able to let himself go, forgetting about the constant fear he felt around new people. He let himself have fun.

***

Being able to drive home in his own car made Jack’s day that little bit better. Sure, it hadn’t started good and the incident with Aaron and his gang didn’t do anything to change his feelings towards the popular kids, but it ended well.

The teen had been introduced to Rian and Zack who were pretty awesome, in Jack’s opinion. They had a similar music taste to the boy, which was always a plus, as well as being easy to talk to.

Barakat was surprised that he could meet two people who he got on with so greatly, but was even more stunned when they swapped phone numbers.

So yeah, the day was going rather well for him, which was something different. And as he stepped out of his car when he was parked outside his home, he noticed neither of his parents’ cars were there. A smile quickly found its way onto his face.

Dumping his bag at the foot of the staircase, Jack went straight to the kitchen where he opened the fridge and began raiding its contents. He wasn’t paying attention to anything other than what his stomach was craving, so once he shut the fridge door, a girly scream escaped him when he found he wasn’t alone.

“Wow. You get gayer every time I see you.” May said, eyes wide and a half smirk on her face. But that soon changed into a look of worry. “What the hell happened to your face?!”

After taking a moment to compose himself, Jack spoke. “Nice to see you too, sis. And it was just the usual shit that happens to me all the time.”
“Why are the kids at this new school being assholes to you?! Do you want me to beat their asses, because I will! I will hunt them dow-”

“Whoa, hey! Calm down, okay? It wasn’t the new kids. It happened yesterday and it was the same pricks from before. I just need to remember not to go outside and I’ll be fine…”
Giving her little brother a disappointed look, she replied, “you can’t let them intimidate you like this.”

Jack just gave a nod and a shrug of his shoulders.
“And why were you at school today? You should be resting.”
“Tell that to mom and dad.”

Walking over to the island, he placed the stack of food down before taking a seat on one of the stools. Beginning to munch through the lot, the stool next to him scrapped across the floor as his sister took a seat.

“Besides what happened yesterday, how’s the new school?”
Turning to the girl, he swallowed his latest bite. “It’s better, I guess. I met a couple guys who are pretty great. But why aren‘t you at college right now? You haven‘t dropped out or anything, have you?”
“No, no. Not at all. College is fantastic! My classes are going well and the people are super nice. And there’s this guy…” she blushed, beaming like a little school girl.

It made Jack grin from ear to ear seeing his sibling so happy, though before he could ask for more details, the front door opened causing him to groan.

Stomping into the kitchen where she knew her son would be, Mrs Barakat raised her voice. “Jack, you are such a slob! How difficult is it to tidy after yourse- May, darling! Oh, my baby’s home!” she pretty much squealed as she quickly went to her daughter and wrapped her arms tightly around her.

Jack could only roll his eyes at the sight, knowing fine well that he would never receive such a welcome from anyone, let alone his parents.

“Jack, take in the groceries from the car then tidy your room. May, how long are you staying? What would you like for dinner? How has college been…”

The boy tuned his mother’s voice out as he left the room and did what he was asked of. Of course he wouldn’t get to spend time with one of the only people who care about him. Of course not.