I had woke up with a wandering mind and a sore heart. I just wanted to see him. The thought of him just made me giddy.

I knew the friendship wouldn't last long since I was underage. He'd be repulsed and never call or see me again. And I knew I'd have to tell him soon.

I was hopping out of the shower when my phone started to buzz on the bathroom sink. It looked like an out-of-state number. I felt a scream rise in the back of my throat. I coughed to push it back down. "Hello?"

"Macy? It's Jack." He replied.

"Oh, hey." I attempted playing cool. I eyed myself in the mirror and saw my cheeks turn pink. It was a bright pink since I could see it through the fog. I grinned and wrapped a towel around my chest.

"What's up?"

"I just got out of the shower," I paused. I needed to just come out with it. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I'm 16." I said with a sigh.

I could hear him hesitating. He was probably look around, or preparing to hang up. There was so much silence I could've heard a pin drop. I wanted to ask him if he was still there, but I thought he'd be thinking. I felt my heart preparing to rip. When he spoke, I was startled. "It's cool."

I smiled and felt my heart mending. "Really?"

"I mean like, if there's nothing going on.. Just friends, right?" He said a little fast. There was a small hope in me that he wasn't too sure if he wanted to be 'just friends'.

"Just friends." I said firmly, walking out of the bathroom.

I heard a smile in his voice, "So I still gotta buy you a coke... Wanna go to lunch?"

I was going to hop out my skin. "Yeah."

~

30 minutes later I was at the diner Jack said he'd be at.

The diner was a small-town type of deal. It was small, built back in '62. I had known the people who owned it a few years back. It was family owned. There was a bar straight ahead when you first walked in (greeted by a welcoming chime of bells) The theme of the diner was sure enough, 1960's rock n' roll.

"Macy, hey!" The head waitress, Joanne, called out. She was a old family friend with signature ruby red lips.

The diner wasn't packed. It was snowing and cold outside, people probably just wanted to cuddle by a fire and drink cocoa. I would do the same too, if it weren't for Jack.

I looked back to the left and saw Jack in the back, reading a menu. My heart took a leap.

"Need a seat, sweetie?" Joanne came up to me, holding a greasy menu in her hands.

I shook my head. "My friends over there."

She gave a tight smile. I started walking over to him. My hands were shaking.

Stop it, I told myself.

I sat down across from him.

He looked up and smiled. "Hey there. How's it going, high schooler?"

I swallowed the gum I was chewing. I slightly rose the corner of my mouth into a smirk. "And how old are you exactly?"

He looked amused. "21."

I wanted the gum back. I needed to do something with my mouth so I wouldn't grimace. But I did.

"What's the frown for? Sad I'm too old for you?" He taunted with playful eyes. I saw his eyebrows rise swiftly.

I rolled mine. "How'd you know?"

"If you weren't sixteen I'd-," He stopped himself mid-sentence and looked down. "So what are you ordering?"

I looked at him oddly.

"What?" He looked back. Dead in the eyes. "Oh, you don't have a menu."

"It's fine," I said. "I memorized the menu."

He rose an eyebrow. "In here a lot?"

I nodded, tucking a loose hair behind my ear. "Everyday after school. Molly and I usually do homework in here."

"So you and her are close?"

"More than close, actually. Best friends."

He grinned. "I know the best friend part. That's how Alex and I are. Only we aren't brothers."

I knitted my eyebrows together. "Alex...?"

He narrowed his eyes, smirking. "You honestly don't know who we are, do you?"

"Not a clue. Molly would know. You were her freshman obsession," He looked at me as if a gesture to continue. "Especially you. I never got into you guys though. No offense and all. I'm just not into punk."

"You like pop?"

"Pop and rock aren't the only two genres, Barakat."

"You know my last name." He nodded, approvingly.

"As soon as you said your bands name last night, unwanted memories flooded back." I said.

"Oh, like what?" He laughed.

"There's this one guy that I thought was pretty cute in the band. I forgot his name."

Before he could say anything, Joanne came back over. "May I take your orders?"

"The usual." I told her.

She took Jack's order and left.

"So you're a junior?" He asked me.

"I'm graduating early. This year." I nodded.

He opened his mouth. "So you're one of those kids?"

I cocked my head to the side. "What kids?"

"Extremely smart?" He questioned.

I rested my elbows against the table. "About right. I got enough credits throughout freshman and sophomore year. That's why I'm basically working my ass off. I've already been accepted into 2 universities."

"I didn't go to college. I'd be in it right now, actually. The band sort of took over my life. Which ones did you get accepted into?"

"Penn State and some Baltimore school."

His eyes suddenly lit up. "Baltimore is amazing. Choose it."

"Favorite city to tour in?" I took a wild guess. I sipped on my coke. Jack had bought it for before I came in.

"No, it's my home."

"Then why are you in Ohio?"

He shrugged, "An old friend of ours is over here. His mom died and we wanted to go to the funeral."

I frowned. "That's really shitty. When are you going back?"

"Right after the funeral. It's Christmas in a week." He explained.

"When's the funeral?"

"Tomorrow."

~

I got a call from Sierra needing help with babysitting. I got my stuff together.
"Sorry," I told Jack. "Friend-emergency."

"It's alright, I understand. I'll call you soon, okay?"

"Is this going to be the last time I'll see you?" I asked, already knowing it'd be a yes. My voice was sad.

He shook his head abruptly. "Of course not."

I wanted to trust him. I really did. I just couldn't bring myself into doing so. I turned to walk away. But I stopped. "Oh, Jack. The cutest in the band from all those years ago, his name, it just popped into my head."

He looked genuinely amused. "Oh yeah? Let me hear it."

"You." I walked away.

Notes

sorry about the length but heeeeyy !!