Do It for Baltimore, Do It for Me

In what seemed like hours, the bell finally rang. She exchanged numbers with Jordan, already feeling more comfortable around him than she had with most people. Tay started to feel as if she'd actually gained her first true friend, and she couldn't be more ecstatic.
As Tay gathered the rest of her things, she saw Alex sauntering over to her with that easy grin that always seemed to adorn his face when it wasn't just the two of them. A large part of her was unsettled at the change of personalities with him; she didn't know which side was really and truly him.
"Hey you," he greeted as Tay gave him a small smile, "do you need to drop those things off in your locker first?"
"Yeah, I don't really feel like carrying textbooks around for an entire lunch period. Do you mind directing me towards my locker?" She asked with a small laugh.
"I'll do you one better; I'll take you there." He grinned.
"If you say so." She said with a small laugh as he lead her to her locker. She fumbled with the lock a minute before it cracked open and she slid her books onto the shelf, closing it soon after. "Alright."
Alex's smile grew as he lead her to the cafeteria. "So, are you liking Dulaney Hell - I mean, Dulaney High so far?" He asked to make conversation.
Tay giggled a little at his obvious distaste for the school. "It's definitely bigger than my old school. Other than that it's the same."
"Well? Do you like it here more?" He asked with a chuckle and Tay shrugged in response.
"I've talked to more people here already than I did at my old one. I'm just not sure if that's a good thing or not."
"Why would having friends be a bad thing?" He questioned, clearly confused. Tay let out a short sigh; of course Alex would see that as a bad thing - he probably wouldn't function without other people boosting his ego. He was the socially dependent person and Tay was the opposite.
"I didn't say it was a bad thing to have friends," Tay explained, "it's just that I'm not used to having people to talk to. I like to be alone."
"Don't you get lonely?"
"Honestly, I don't expect you to understand. I'm not someone who likes to be with people 24/7. I like to be alone, and I always have." She explained quietly and Alex gave her a look she couldn't decipher.
Alex was silent up until they'd reached a table occupied with three other boys, one of them being Jack. She sat down next to Alex and an unfamiliar boy who seemed rather muscular and had a nose piercing like her.
"Tay, this is Zack, Rian and I'm sure you've met Jack." He said as he gestured to the boy beside her, a boy with short dark hair and finally Jack. "And guys, this is Tay."
Each of the three guys took turns greeting her and she politely did the same, though she was sure it was blatantly obvious how uncomfortable she was.
Soon after they'd finished greeting her, Alex, Jack and Rian got into a conversation about whether Blink 182 or Greenday was better and Zack took the opportunity to turn to Tay. "Hey," he said quietly and Tay was caught off-guard by his shyness. He definitely didn't seem to be the same kind of person as Alex and Jack.
Shaking herself out of the internal conversation she was having with herself and gave Zack a small smile. "Hi."
"So, you're new?" He asked though it was obvious to both of them. At least he was putting in the effort to talk to her.
"Yeah, just moved from New York." Tay explained as she fiddled with her fingers.
"New York?" His brows shot up, "Wow. What part?"
"Poughkeepsie." She shrugged and felt a smile twist her features. It was nice to see he looked genuinely interested.
"Why Baltimore?" Zack asked.
Tay shrugged. "I'd rather not get into it right now, sorry." she said sheepishly and Zack nodded.
"Alright, sorry for asking."
"Don't be, it's okay." she said, flashing him a genuine smile.
Zack nodded and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So…" he trailed off and clamped his mouth shut as if he were stopping himself from blurting something he shouldn't. Tay raised her eyebrow.
"So…?" she urged him on, hoping that he'd tell her. Zack's gaze flicked from her to Alex, and back to her before he sighed.
"You must be something special." he said low enough for only Tay to hear.
Raising an eyebrow she asked, "What do you mean?"
Zack shrugged and glanced at Alex again for a second. "Well, he doesn't usually talk to new kids. Actually, I don't think he ever has." Zack explained and rubbed his chin.
"I'm not anything special, I promise you that." she said quietly and stared down at the plastic table.
"Jack said he ran out after you in music. That's got to be pretty big." he pointed out.
Tay chewed at her lip a little. "I don't think there was anything to it. He just checked on me."
"Exactly. He doesn't do that."
"People can change, Zack."
"Not him. He's been like that for as long as I can remember and you've been here one day."
Tay sighed and looked at him seriously. "He's probably curious. Being the new girl, and all. I'm sure once he figures out I'm not what he's looking for he'll leave me be."
"If you say so…" he said, going silent seconds later as he contemplated Alex's motives.
Tay nodded and sat quietly as the three guys ate around her. A while passed before Alex turned to her with a smile present. She caught Jack watching her, deep in thought but tried not to dwell on it too long. "So Tay, what do you have for the rest of the day?" he asked.
"What…?" she asked, confused.
Alex rolled his eyes playfully and smirked at her. "Your schedule."
Tay blushed a little and moved her hair over her cheeks to hide it as she glanced down and got the paper she had folded from her pocket. She held it out to him and he scanned it for a second to see what the next three periods were. "Looks like you're stuck with me for the last two periods of the day. Rian is in your last class as well, but none of us are in the class right after lunch with you." he explained and Tay looked at him as she tried to take the information in.
"Alright," she said after a second and put her schedule back in her pocket as the bell rang. She stood up and bit her lip, looking at the ground for a second.
"Everything okay?" Jack asked as he came up beside her.
"Yeah I just don't know where my math class is." she said sheepishly and Jack laughed a little.
"What room is it in?" he asked and Tay read off the number.
"Easy, that's on the way to my next class. I'll show-" he said, being cut off by Alex slinging his arm over her shoulder.
"C'mon, let's go. I'll show you to it." he said with that same cocky grin from before. Tay looked between the two guys and unwrapping herself from Alex's arm.
"Thanks," she said with a small smile, "I'm sure I can figure it out though." she said and started walking back to her locker.
Jack turned and glared at Alex. "What the hell?"
Alex laughed a little and held his hands up in surrender. "What did I do now?"
"Forget it." he muttered and stormed off to his next class.