Close My Eyes,and Fly

“Ya know I really don’t wanna talk about last night” Aaron said into the phone to Madison. Her best friend was trying to get her to explain the situation between her and Scott as well as the awkward exchange between her and Jack.
“Theres nothing going on between us trust me, I wouldn’t bother to even go there” she continued.
She was in her kitchen standing in front of a giant window overlooking her backyard. She hadn’t been back there for months, at least since easter, and she watched as the tire swing hanging from a large limping branch swung carelessly with the breeze of the afternoon.
“ Can I just talk to you later.” She said into the phone, watching the blades of grass swaying in the breeze. “No, i want to talk now, whats going on?” she heard her best friend, say. Her voice was growing angry and Aaron sighed, she didn’t feel like listening to an angry madison, especially on such a nice day like today.
“I’m just doubting Scott right now, especially after yesterday” she said, biting her lip.
“so you’re just gonna steal my boyfriend instead? that’s your plan? Some best friend you are” Madison responded bitterly. Aaron felt her face grow hot, “I’m not trying to steal him away from you, and even if I was he was my friend long before he was your boyfriend, maybe he’s just concerned for me since obviously you’re not.” she said. She could feel herself fuming.
On the other line Madison sat stunned she could hear her best friend breathing but there was no response.
“I don’t know when you turned into such a selfish little bitch, but ever since you’ve come home you’ve been treating me like I don’t matter” She continued, her voice was now urging her best friend to respond.
“Fine, bye.” was all Madison said before hanging up. She didn’t have a response and she was relieved, she didn’t feel like arguing with her best friend any longer than she had to. She hoped that this would blow over in a few days and they could return to their friendship.
Aaron threw the phone onto the couch and wandered outside. There was a slight breeze, and looking up at the sky Aaron saw that clouds had accumulated over head. The air smelled as if there was an upcoming rainstorm and Aaron couldn’t help but smile. Rain was her favorite weather, the silence and stillness of the world had always made her feel small and safe.
She wandered the tire swing, the tire was worn and dirty, on the inside dust and leaves had accumulated from the weather it had to endure for the months it had been neglected.
She sat and swung back and forth for a few minutes, kicking her feet into the ground and carelessly watching ants scramble for shelter through the blades of grass from the upcoming rain.
There was no sound except for the occasional ruffle of the leaves on their branches, and the beating of the wings of birds flying home to their families.
Aaron thought about her own family, and the time they had been apart. It would be three weeks soon, since she’d seen her mother and little brother, and she hated to admit that she missed them, as much as their irritated her.
Behind her, a pair of hands reached out tand nudged the small of her back, pushing her forward on the tire swing into the cool air that rushed against her face.
She turned around abruptly, suprised at the sudden momentum she had gained.
Behind her Jack stood, one of his hands in his pockets, and the other one outstretched, preparing to give her another push forward.
“What are you doing here?” she said, gripping the rope of the swing for support. Jack gave a soft smile. His hair was damp and flowing out of the sides of the hood of his grey blue hoodie Aaron assumed that it was already raining by his house.
“I wanted to see you” he said, his eyes were on the ground, and Aaron halted herself to a stop, turning the swing around to face him. She felt her face grow hot. “Oh” was all she said.
“why’s that..” she said finally, she has resumed to kicking at the ground, rolling a pebble around under her shoe.
Jack remained silent, shoving his other hand into his pocket. “Are you okay?.. after yesterday I mean” he said finally.
Around them the rain started to fall in sheets, Aaron glanced around and then up at Jack, as the rain drenched their clothes. She sighed and scratched the back of her neck, glancing up at him. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m not really sure whats going to happen between Scott and I, I think he might go back to Penelope” she said, she felt her eyes water and she was greatful that the rain would mask any signs of tears.
“He’s an idiot” Jack said with a sigh, the rain had drenched his hoodie and he moved under the tree for shelter from the pouring rain. Small trickles of water leaked down the branches and hit his face and Aaron could see now that there were dark circles under his eyes.
“Are you okay? you look like you haven’t been sleeping” Aaron said, standing from the tire swing and walking over to him, tracing her thumbs over the circles under his eyes. Jack flinched.
Aaron paused and examined him, the blue grey she noticed, was only surrounding one eye, and Aaron gasped when she came to the realization that the circle was actually a black eye.
“What happened?” she said, looking up in his eyes. Jack didn’t make eye contact with her, instead he looked up at the sky.
“He should appreciate you more” Jack said finally, his voice was almost a whisper but it was audible enough for her to realize what had happened. “... are you okay?” she said. She felt the guilt rising inside of her. her mind raced and she wondered if Scott was hurt too.
“I saw him with that girl.” Jack said, he looked like he was fighting with himself his face was twisted with frustration, and his hands were clenched into fists. Aaron bit her lip, “what do you mean you saw him with her” she said, Jack remained silent.
“Jack. answer me” She said, the tone of her voice was rising and she felt her hands tremble. Jack glanced down at her sadly, “Ooh Aragorn.. i’m sorry..” Was all he said.
She stood silent and still, she felt herself grow week as her heart started to beat wildly.
She began to hyperventilate her consciousness becoming dizzy. Before she could register the actions of her frail body, she was on her way towards the ground. In one swift motion Jack caught her collapsing body, and scooped her up.
“I’ve got your Aragorn” he said, stroking her head and pulling her close to him. She felt herself cling to his wet hoodie, and she embraced him in return, crying softly against his chest.
she hated feeling as pathetic as she did at that moment. She hated Scott for making her a fool and she hated Penelope for doing that to her. She felt the overwhelming urge to talk to Madison and tell her what was going on and have her best friend around. But she knew that she was all alone. Except for the strange awkward tall boy that was holding her in the middle of her back yard in the pouring rain. Comforting her after all she had done to him and him to her.
“You wanna get a bite to eat?” he said, stroking her head. She shook her head, she didn’t feel hungry at all. She felt like if she ate anything she might throw up. “Please don’t cry Aragorn..” He said, kissing the top of her head.
He carried her inside, through the then pouring rain, and sat her on the couch. Both of them were drenched from head to toe. Aaron brushed her wet hair out of her face and looked at Jack who was rummaging through cupboards for dry towels to cozy up in.
“They’re upstairs” she croaked, motioning in the direction of the staircase. Jack smiled and disappeared into the upstairs hallway, she could hear him rummaging through drawers and closets. He finally reappeared with two dark blue towels. He tossed one in her direction and used the other to shake the water out of his damp dark hair.
` Aaron bundled herself up in the toasty warm towel and curled into the couch, glancing over at Jack who had seated himself next to her.
“You know Maddie thinks there’s something going on between us” she said finally. She was picking at the little balls of lint that had accumulated on the corners of the towel, she didn’t glance up at Jack who was staring at her.
“why would she think that” he responded. He was sitting cross legged on the other side of the couch, his towel was draped delicately over his shoulders and his strong sturdy hands were trembling against the clasped edges of the fabric.
Aaron sat silent, pondering the question herself. She wasn’t sure why Madison would of gotten that impression, she hadn’t noticed any sort of sexual tension between them. Here Jack was, sitting wet and vulnerable on her couch, and there was nothing going on between them. The idea of is made her laugh out loud.
“I honestly don’t know” She said, a smile breaking across her face.
Jack smiled back at her, the same grin he had worn the day they sat outside discussing their essay.
“Do you think there is anything between us?” He said, scooting only a little closer to her, fastening the towel tighter around his shoulders.
Aaron blinked, she had to admit to herself that she was physically attracted to Jack. He was a nice looking boy with a nice personality, most of time. Except for the occasional slip up of personality.
“I don’t know..” she said finally, she looked over at the coffee table that was littered with papers and trash. It had been sitting there for the weeks her parents had been absent and she felt suddenly self conscious of the mess that she had exposed Jack to.
“What do you mean you don’t know” Jack said, raising his eyebrows in frustration. Aaron paused, she wanted to choose her words delicately.
“You’re dating my best friend” she said finally. That was the easiest way to put it, she didn’t want to complicate things by admitting any possible false attraction to him. She didn’t want to prove Madison right and she didn’t want to lose her either.
“Yeah..” Jack said. There was a long silence, the two of them staring awkwardly at one another.
outside the rain stopped after minutes of unexplainable down poor. The side walk was left damp and the grass soggy, the after math of the rain was her least favorite part of the storm. It always was a mess and it would always involve her bundling up and preparing for any after storms.
“I should go” Jack said finally, rising from the couch. “Call me if you need anything okay Aragorn?” Aaron nodded and gave him a weak smile. She didn’t move from the couch but instead watch him disappear through the front door. Left behind on the couch Aaron could see a piece of paper that was damp and crumpled in the spot that Jack had been resting.
She assumed it must of fallen out of his pocket. THough she knew better the curiosity got tthe best of her, and she leaned acros the couch and grabbed it.
It was tattered and worn, the blue ink was visibly smeared from the outside and Aaron had to delicatly unfold it to prevent it from ripping.
She glanced over her shouder for any sign of a returning Jack before she read it. It was a short note, and one that was instantly familiar.
“Maybe some day” was scribbled across the page in bubbly blue handwriting, her own to be exact. It was the note she had passed him weeks before when the two decided to give their friendship a shot.
She wasn’t sure why he had it with him, or why he had even kept it, but she folded it back up and slipped it inside her pocket for safe keeping, just incase the subject of their relationship was ever to come back up conversation again.
The next day of class Aaron sat silent in her seat waiting for Jack to arrive. Mr.Welch had begun preparing for their final so their work load had been gradually winding down by the day.
Today Aaron found herself disappointed at Jack’s absence as the late bell rang and class began. Mr. Welch began scribbling on the board the plan for todays lesson and then class began.
Aaron’s head fell into the palm of her hand as she absentmindedly took notes from the overhead projector that he centered in the room, parting the desks to make just the right angle of interception between the light and the screen, a process he had tinkered with for at least five minutes.
She doodled carelessly on her notebook and then sighed when she came to the conclusion that he wasn’t going to show up late, he just wasn’t going to show up at all.
The door to the room swung open and Jack rushed through, his face read and his persons panting and huffing in frustration. “Sorry I’m late Mr.Welch” He said out of breath, making his way back to his seat behind Aaron
“don’t make a show of it Mr.Mathess just take your seat” Mr.Welch said, glancing up from the overhead projector.
Aaron felt her heart beat increase as he walked past her, a rush of cologne wandered under her nose and she inhaled it with delight, the comforting smell sending goosebumps over every inch of her body.
she nervously gripped her pencil and pretended she was listening to the ramblings of Mr.Welch in the front of the room, however in the back of her mind, her thoughts were racing as to when they would finally acknowledge each other, or even the conversation of yesterday.
To her surprise the conversation wasn’t immediate, and she had to admit she was disappointed when he didn’t jump at the chance when he saw her again.
Finally a note bounced onto her desk from behind her. It was in a crumpled up mess and the handwriting was barely legible, she opened it and gazed discreetly down at the piece of paper.
“Hey there stranger, miss me?” the note said, in Jack’s messy scrawl. Aaron felt a blush creep its way to the apple of her cheeks and she quickly grabbed her pencil and began scribbling out an answer.
“You, sir are late” she decided to write, avoiding any claims of missing or adoration. She held the piece of paper behind her and Jack promptly snatched it from her fingers, brushing his own against hers. Another wave of goosebumps ran over her body and she snatched her hand away.
“I had some stuff I had to do..” Aaron read, she pondered what this was suppose to mean and then decided to ask.
“Like what?” She wrote.
In the front of the room Mr.Welch had put up a work sheet he expected them to finish and and it. Aaron slipped the note under her paper intending to pass it to him when Mr.Welch wasn’t looking. Behind her Jack jabbed her back with the edge of his pen and Aaron screeched ticklishly.
She turned around and glared at him, he held his hand out for the note and Aaron rolled her eyes, reaching for the note from under her paper. Except it was gone. Standing in front of her was Mr.Welch with the note in his hand, looking down at her disapprovingly.
“Should I read this in front of the class?” he said, looking down at her as he unfolded the note. He quickly read through it and then determined there was nothing juicy enough about the context of the note to embarrass them sufficiently. Instead he slapped the note back down on the desk and walked to the front of the room.
“Aaron, Jack, see me after class please” he said, sitting down at his desk. Aaron sighed as the rest of the class oohed in amusement. She shot a glance back at Jack who was silently staring at the front of the room, a smile spread across his face when he noticed her stare.
The moment the class let out that afternoon Aaron glanced over at Jack and waited for her que to walk over to Mr.Welch’s desk. It was apparent that Jack wasn’t paying attention that class had even ended because he was mindlessly doodling in his notebook as he did every day. Today it was a picture of a tiny cat holding a machine gun, it would even be seen as the Rambo of kittens.
“Aaron, Jack, would you be so kind as to join me up here at my desk please?” Mr. Welch said finally as the remainder of the class exited the room. Mr.Welch was sitting in his rolling wooden chair grading the essays they had turned in last week.
The two of them approached the desk, neither one of them wanting to go first. Aaron ended up cowering behind Jack as Mr.Welch spoke.
“Now, I realize the two of you have become good friends and I think thats wonderful. unfortunatly I can’t have you two disrupting my class with note taking.” he started, glancing back and forth between the two of them.
“ I totally understand sir, it won’t happen again” Aaron said from behind Jack, who was merely absorbing the conversation but making no effort to contribute.
“You’re right it wont. I want both of you to stay after school tomorrow for detention.” Mr. Welch said, writing out slips for both of them.
Aaron felt the heat rise to her face, and she grudgingly snatched the detention slip from his hand that was made out in her name. Jack was more graceful, and pleasantly received the note as if he was Charlie Bucket and he has just discovered a golden ticket.
The two of them sauntered out of the room and down the hall. When they were out of listening distance from Mr.Welch’s class they broke out into mocking laughter. Jack was the first to imitate. “ I can’t have you disturbing my class blah blah” he said in a nasally voice that sounded nothing close to that of Mr.Welch’s. Aaron laughed and stuffed the note into her pocket.
The two of them walked outside and prepared to go their seperate ways when Jack stopped her. “Hey Aragorn, theres gonna be a party down at the beach this saturday, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come?” he said, a boyish grin spreading across his face.
This was the first time Aaron noticed two small dimples discreetly placed on either side of his mouth. Their precsense made him even more warm and boyish than he had ever been before.
“I don’t know, is Madison going to be there?” she said, biting her lip self conciously. She of course wanted to see madison, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to even bother with the situation of the two of them just yet.
“Nah, it’s just a bunch of guys hanging out, ya know, guys night out” he said with a wink.
Aaron couldn’t help but laugh at this, she let out a scoff of fake insultment. “Are you calling me a guy?” she said, placing her hand over her chest in mock horror. Jack beamed down at her. “Well your name IS Aaragorn.”
Aaron rolled her eyes and glanced around at the now empty parking lot. They always had the last session of the day and all the students in their class had departed for home as quickly as they could to return to the normalcy of their lives.
“So whatya say?” Jack said, drawing her attention back to the conversation.
“Yeah uh I guess that would be alright, as long as your friends treat me like one of the guys, and not some piece of meat” She thought back on the display at the restaurant and how angry Jack had gotten when his friends had poked fun at her. She could see now in his face that was also recalling the scene that played out, and his jaw tensed as the thought played out.
“I’ll take care of it” he said with a weak smile. He wasn’t totally convincing but Aaron felt safe enough with him to give him her trust. “See ya tomorrow in detention” he said with a grin, waving his already crumpled and torn slip at her as he walked over to his motorcycle parked on the far end of the parking lot.
Aaron watched him walk away and smiled as he waved and zoomed off into the distance, she turned and began her long walk home, not sure what to anticipate as their plan unfolded.