Close My Eyes,and Fly

“I’m not any more excited about this than you are” Jack said over her shoulder in class the next day. Mr.Welch was explaining a project that they would be broken into partners to complete. They had begun reading Romeo and Juliet and the partners were required to write an essay. The prompt was “Does love really trump all or is there something that overpowers it?” Aaron thought it was dumb prompt but she was happy to write it none the less. Anything was better than a project they had to present in front of the class.
Aaron didn’t turn around, instead she kept her eyes glued to the board in front of her. She had hoped that with the news that they would be hanging out this afternoon there would be a temporary truce between them. It was foolish thought, and today was like every other. Jack was still giving her the cold shoulder and she was still giving him one in return.
“Okay, I’m going to break you into pairs now, once I assign you your partner I want you to find an area where you can work quietly. I expect you all to work productively for the remainder of the period.”
Mr. Welch then began reading off partners on his roster, the pairs smiling as they discovered that he had paired them with their best friend or significant other.
“Aaron I’ve paired you with Mr.Mathess” Mr.Welch said. They were one of the last pairs to be called and Aaron had already come to the conclusion that her dilusional teacher would match them together.
For Aaron it wasn’t a completley radical conlcusion for him to come to. At the beginning of the class the two of them had become good friends. Mr.Welch had no way in knowing that the two of them were now barely on speaking terms.
She swung around and stared at him. Jack was doodling on a piece of paper pretending not to notice her. She let out a cough to get his attention but he didn’t acknowledge her existence. Instead he remained focused on the square faced man he was doodling over todays lessons on paragraph shape and context.
“Can we get to work, I don’t have all day for you to finish your doodle” She said, sliding a copy of Romeo and Juliet onto Jacks desk. He glanced up at her for the first time, snatching the book off his desk. “Ok. Lets get to work then” he said, standing up from his seat and towering above her.
The two of them walked from the classroom and down the hall. Passing other pairs who were giggling against lockers and in the corners of halls, pretending to work but in reality goofing around and gossiping.
Aaron had no intention of spending any more time with Jack than necessary, it was clear to her now that he wanted nothing to do with her, and she in return was content with not acknowledging him either.
The reached the courtyard and glances out the window at their abandoned tree. It didn’t seem appropriate for them to sit under the tree that their friendship had blossomed under. This seemed to be a mutual unspoken agreement and the two of them walked over to the benches that were placed directly in the sun.Not the best location, but one that would be less awkward to complete their assignment.
They took their seats and Aaron began scribbling on their sheet of paper ideas on their essay prompt. She knew that Jack had no interest in this work so she took it upon herself to make sure that she would at least get a good grade in this class.
“Hey wait what about my ideas?” jack said finally, glancing over at the paper that Aaron had filled with Quotes from Romeo and Juliet.
“ Hate trumps love.” Aaron said flatly, not glancing up from the book as she skimmed through for more supportive evidence.
“I disagree” he said, folding his arms across his chest. This intrgied her and Aaron glanced up for the first time. “Oh?” she said incredulously, she didn’t seem fully convinced that Jack of all people was a romantic, so she took it upon her self to deymth this rumor. “You think that love triumphs over everything?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at Jack who was sitting there silently starting at her.
“I think that if you love someone, that overpowers all the hate you feel towards them and everyone else” he said quietly. He seemed unsure of himself, and for the first time since meeting him Aaron watched Jack doubt himself.
“I think that no matter how much you don’t get a long with someone, if you love someone deep down, even through all the fighting you will still love them.” He continued, glancing up at Aaron again. “And even if you don’t love them anymore, you still did. Once upon a time”
The two of them sat in silence for a few moments while Aaron pondered this impossible question. She finally decided on a plausible sentence. “ Well what if there isn’t just love and hate.” she started, tapping her pen against the piece of paper.
“What if between love and hate, is uncertainty, what if its possible for love to overcome everything, but it is also possible for something to get in the way of it, and that triumphs over love” Jack raised his eyebrow at the preponderance.
“I suppose thats a valid point” He said, a smile spreading across his face for the first time in days. “I think that’s a good way to put things, but I still think that even with things in the way, it will always exist or have existed.”
Aaron wasn’t sure at this point if the two of them were still talking about their essay prompt. She would of liked to think of this conversation as the opening of a new door in their friendship, possibly even a rekindling of their fallen out relationship.
She glanced over at the tree sitting in the middle of the courtyard, and watched at the slight breeze tickled the branches that overhung the grass. Next to her, Jack followed her eyes, glancing over at their tree and smiling.
The bell rang all too soon and Jack picked up his books and strutted off towards the door way, calling after him, “I’ll see you tonight Aragorn” before disappearing through the metallic metal doors of the school.
“ I just don’t know anymore” Aaron said, sipping the ice tea that was sitting in front of her on the familiar glass table. She had decided to visit Mrs. Caillage after school that day, she needed advice or just the company of another female, Madison obviously wasn’t a choice at the moment and the thought made her sad.
Mrs.Caillage sat across from her in her full dress and pearl earrings. She had always had the motto that you should dress up every day because you never knew who you might meet. Today she looked especially fancy and Aaron couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm of every day.
“Well dear, you like him?” Mrs. Caillage said, she had a cup of hot tea, something Aaron had never enjoyed. “He’s my best friends boyfriend” Aaron said flatly, hiding her face in her hands.
Aaron had told Mrs.Caillage about the exchange that day with Jack, as well as her relationship with Madison as well as her relationship with Scott. At this point She was completely overwhelmed with every conflict and exchange she just needed to talk to someone that wasn’t biased or judgmental which is precisely how she ended up at Mrs.Caillages front door.
“So? That doesn’t mean you can’t like the fellow” Mrs. Caillage insisted, wiping the brim of her cup with a napkin.
“Would you like another piece of banana nut bread?” She said, taking another slice for herself. Aaron shook her head no and continued to sip at her ice tea.
The truth was, she didn’t really know what she thought, so she lied.
“I think I just miss his company.. and having him around” She said finally, after a pause. Her hand was trembling as she took another sip.
“Well tonight I think you two should take some time to yourselves and talk about it, things will never be solved if you leave everything in” She said, placing a piece of bread on the china plate in front of her.
That evening Aaron stood in front of a full length mirror in at least fifteen different outfits. She pondered what Madison would wear and she wondered how she could possibly anticipate looking nice enough to match let alone beat her best friends appearence.
She sighed as she slipped on a sweatshirt. She decided she would just go as her regular old self and hope that no one would notice she was dressed like a slob.
The doorbell rang and Aaron answered it. it of course was her date, Scott, standing there in a casual outfit one would wear to a movie date. Aaron smiled and embraced him.
“We’re gonna get through tonight” She said as she pecked him on the lips, her fingers were laced through his hair as she looked in his eyes. A feeling of calmness overwhelmed her and she had an unexplainable urge to give him a hug.
“Ahem” someone said behind them, she glanced over his shoulder and Madison and Jack were standing awkwardly behind them. Aaron blushed and released him, dropping her gangly arms to her sides and smiling weakly. “Oh hey guys..” She said, lacing her fingers with Scotts.
With their palms pressed together Aaron felt a surge of strength flow through her, and she guided him out the front door behind Madison and Jack to the car.
Madison was dressed in an outfit Aaron could only describe as extravagant. She assumed that her best friend had gone out shopping the day before to find the most revealing and expensive outfit she could get away with leaving the house in. She wore a little red dress that tied behind her neck, and ballet flats. Needless to say, Aaron felt significantly underdressed, but next to Scott she felt completely at ease.
Next to Madison sat Jack, he was wearing a button down shirt and jeans. Aaron assumed that Madison made him change before they arrived, she never would of left him appearing less fancy than herself. His palms were resting in his lap and he was gazing out the window his hair brushed carelessly across his face.
The car was silent except for the pleasant humming of Madison, who behind the wheel seemed completely at ease.
The group arrived at the restaurant in silence, as they entered Jack attempted and failed at making a joke, “Hey i wonder if they have green beans here” he said. No one laughed, and he quickly blushed in embarrassment as he opened the door for Madison who was walking behind him gracefully. The two of them disappeared through the double doors, Jacks hand on the small of her back, guiding her to the hostess.
“Uh Mathess’ Jack coughed, hiding the now fading blush from the hostess who was leaned provocatively over the podium. “Right this way” she said, batting her eyelashes at him. Jack grinned. Madison sighed under her breath and linked arms with him protectively, nudging him in the gut as she shot him a glare. Aaron flinched in disgust, and clung closer to Scott as they walked back through the rows of tables.
The demeanor of the restaurant was surprising for the name. The green bean was casual restaurant that was littered with posters of famous rock and roll legends. The tables were lined with paper similar to that of Macaroni Grill and in the center there was an assortment of crayons and markers for the customers to doodle with while waiting for their food.
The four of them were sat at a table in the center of the restaurant, overlooking the view outside of the cars whizzing by in the moonlight.
Madison and Jack sat on one side, Aaron and Scott on the other, the couples stared awkwardly at each other as they took their seats, the boys not even attempting to make eye contact with one another.
“Well this is going to be fun” Aaron said sarcastically, folding the napkin across her lap carelessly.
The waitress approached the table, dressed in a green shirt and black pants. Aaron thought she recognized her from somewhere but she couldn’t quite put her finger on the resemblance.
“Hi my name is Penelope, I’ll be your waitress this evening, what can I get for you?” She said, holding a pen and paper in front of her ready to take orders. She glanced around the table and froze, making eye contact with Scott who sat with a smile spread across his face. “Hey Penny” he said, the smile growing even wider. Aaron now sat in horror at the display in front of them. “Hey Scotty” She said, a smile of recognition growing across her face as well. “What a small world we live in”.
After a moment of confusion something in Madison’s mind clicked, and she asked the question Aaron had been so desperately trying to avoid. “I thought you moved?” Madison said, a tone of surprise in her voice.
Aaron’s eyes closed as she awaited an answer, inside her mind she prayed that this wasn’t the same penelope that her Scott had been so in love with and heart broken over months before.
“Yeah but I just moved back into town, my parents are living over seas so I’m staying with my grandma until graduation” She said, she was still smiling at Scott.
“Will you excuse me?” Aaron said, standing up from the table. “Hey wait, what do you want to drink?” Scott called after her. “Just get me whatever” she said, throwing her hand carelessly in the air as she rushed through the restaurant to the bathrooms in the back.
She felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she approached the hallway lined with faded red carpet. On one side was a sign that said “Ladies” and the other “Gents”. She sighed and leaned against the hallway when she knew she was no longer visible from her table.
“Of course when things were going shitty it needed to get that much worse.” She thought, sliding down the wall and barrying her face into her knees. She sat there sniffling, until someone tripped over her on their way to the bathroom, she glanced up and apologized to the little girl with pig tails who was glancing at her curiously.
Pulling herself up from the ground she ran into another figure, this time it was Jack. “I just came to check on you..” He said awkwardly, reaching behind his neck and rubbing it as he glanced down at her. “Madison sent me” he added quickly when he noticed her look onf confusion.
“I’m fine.” she said quietly, glancing down at the floor, a tear escaped her eye and slid down her cheek, she sighed in defeat. “Your jackass boyfriend is out there flirting with the waitress, its obvious you’re not okay” he said, wiping the tear from her cheek.
She brushed her hair out of her face and glanced up at him, giving a weak smile. “It’s his ex girlfriend” she said, sniffling as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.
“So what?” Jack said angrily, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the opposite wall in front of her.
A woman walked down the hall and squeezed between them, muttering an “excuse me” as she passed. Aaron’s eyes followed her as she passed.
“You’re his girlfriend now, so his eyes shouldn’t be wandering” He said bitterly, sucking in his cheeks in frustration. Jacks chocolate brown hair was swept neatly across his forhead and Aaron could see his eyes were wandering down her torso to the ground.
She crossed her arms over chest self consciously and muttered, “and Madison it your girlfriend so neither should yours.”
His eyes snapped back up to hers, and a grin spread across his face, he leaned across the hallway and in close towards her face. “What are you gonna do about it?” he said, his lips inches from hers. He was looking directly into her eyes, and she trembled, frozen in a stance so tense her lower back began to hurt.
Jack leaned in and kissed her cheek gently, smiling as he pulled back. “Gimmie a hug Aragorn” he said, unfolding his arms for an embrace. Aaron glanced at him cautiously and then wandered into them, locking her arms around his waist like a small child hugging her father.
“Things will get better, I promise. Just stay strong and he will realize what a great girl he has.” He said kissing the top of her head and releasing her.
“Now go fix your face, and come back to the table so we can eat!” he said, slapping his hands together as he backed out of the hallway. Aaron laughed and rolled her eyes wandering into the ladies room to examine the mess she had made of herself.
“There she is” Madison said as Aaron returned to the table. She had tied her hair up into a messy bun, and left her bangs to hang over her face. Her eyes were puffy from crying but Scott didn’t seem to notice as he glanced up for just a moment from his menu to acknowledge her.
“What was the hold up” Madison said, reaching across the table and patting her best friends hand as she sat. “Just a pep talk” Jack said, reaching around madison and resting his arm on the back of his chair.
Aaron and Jack exchanged looks but didn’t say anything, and the table soon fell silent again as the four of them glanced at their menus.
In all honesty Aaron had lost her appetite. Glancing over the menu that littered with oriental foods as well as dishes she couldn’t even begin to figure out, she decided on an asian salad topped with almonds. She didn’t feel like paying too much for something she knew she wasn’t going to even make a dent in, let alone finish.
When Penelope returned to the table with a tray of drinks, Aaron felt the lump in her throat rise again, and she glanced over at Jack for support. To her surprise he was already staring at her, and he winked and gave her an encouraging nod as she ordered her food.
When it came time for Scott to order he didn’t say anything. Instead Penelope just nodded and jotted down something, Aaron assumed it was what she knew he would order. Aaron bit her lip and tried her best to ignore it as she reached for Scotts hand across the table.
He glanced down at it and then back up Penelope, not moving. Aaron retracted her fingers from his space and recoiled into her shell.
It seemed incredulous that at a time when Scott claimed to be so into her he would so readily backtrack into his old ways. She wanted to jump from the table and scream and hit her. She wanted to cry and throw a fit and tell him what an asshole he was being.
However at the same time she was fighting an internal conflict. She knew that if she was in Scotts position she would react the same way. If she had stumbled across an old boyfriend in the midst of a date. Especially an old boyfriend she would potentially still have feelings for, she would of found herself trapped. Heck, she may even flirted with him just to test the waters of their old relationship.
The difference was, it wasn’t her. It wasn’t an old boyfriend of hers, and she wasn’t okay with him testing the waters. For Aaron it was the there and now, and it sucked. She felt her body tense back into it self conscious aura and she stayed there for the rest of the night, barely returning to conversation unless directly spoken to.
“We use to come here all the time” Scott said, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced over at Scott who was folding his napkin into unrecognizable origami shapes. “Back when we were, ya know an item” he continued, he glanced over at Aaron and gave her a weak smile.
“Thats nice” was all she could manage herself today, and after she said it she felt like a mumbling idiot. “Hey so Madison, tell me about your trip” He said, quickly changing the subject after noticing Aaron’s behavior.
Aaron turned out of the conversation, she had heard the tales of Madison’s adventures and it had become something that no longer interested her. Madison’s lavished lifestyle was something she had become use to, so instead she glanced at Jack who was carelessly doodling on the table.
She smiled and watched him, admiring his boyish smile as he doodled figures onto the tablecloth with a green crayon. She admired the way his hair fell into his eyes as he concentrated on the perfection of every line, and she admired the way his sleeves rolled up just to his wrists, exposing a small feather tattoo she had never noticed before.
“Don’t move” he said suddenly, startling Aaron. She haden’t noticed that she had been leaning slightly forward more and more as she examined his features.
Around her both Scott and Madison were watching them, and Madison leaned over his arm to look at his drawing.
“Is that Aaron?” she said, glancing from the paper to her face, her eyebrows furrowed in frustration. “It’s just a doodle” he said, scribbling over it shley and glancing over at Madison.
He then leaned in and gave her a reassuring peck on the cheek. Next to her, Scott reached over and grabbed her hand protectively. The first sign of affection he had managed all night since the presence of his past high school girlfriend.
Aaron flinched at the touch, but didn’t let go, instead she sat cold in her seat. She didn’t allow her face to display any emotion, but as she gazed across the table at the scribbled out drawing of an angelic figure that was meant to be her, she couldn’t help but allow a smile to spread across her face.