Alex slept through the whole of Monday, only waking up twice to go to the toilet, oblivious to the calls and texts from Rian and Tay that he’d missed. He hadn’t woken up due to hunger, so when his mom came and prodded him awake at 6am on Tuesday morning, he was ravenous.

His mom had made him pancakes which he scoffed down in 5 minutes before having a shower. He pulled on a Batman t-shirt and his skinny jeans, did his hair and was ready to go, just as he heard Rian pull up outside. He raced downstairs, pulled on his shoes, grabbed his bag and left. It was only when he got to the car that he remembered about guitar with Mr Barakat after school again. How could he forget? He produced a “Fuck, hang on” before running back to the house, up the stairs to his room and grabbed the acoustic’s case and a hoodie because the autumn chill was really starting to take hold outside, and left again. He hopped into the back and said a proper hello to Rian and Zack (who was sat in the back again).

“Er, good morning, Flash! What’s with all the running?” Laughed Rian and he pulled away from the curb.

“I’m sorry, I forgot my guitar.” Puffed out a breathless Alex as he buckled himself in.

“I thought you were ill, where’s all this energy come from?” asked a sleepy looking Zack from beside Alex.

“I dunno, I guess I just needed to recharge. I slept all of yesterday, but I’m fine now.”

“Impressive! Well, at least that explains why you didn’t reply to any of my texts or calls.” called Rian from the driver’s seat.

“Oh shit! I forgot me phone... Oh well. Anyway,” said Alex, remembering texting Rian on Saturday, “how did things go with Cassadee the other day?”

Alex could almost see Rian start glowing in the front seat. Things obviously went well then.

“It was great! We went to the cinema to see some old generic horror film, you know the kind. Then after, things got a bit ‘fun’ in the back seat, if you know what I mean.” Alex could hear the grin in his voice.

At that thought, both Zack and Alex nearly jumped out of their seats. They both raised their arms in the air, careful not to touch anything and both exclaimed ‘Ew’s and ‘Oh my god’s and ‘Ri that’s disgusting’s while Rian just laughed, all the way through the school gates and into the parking lot. Before Rian even turned the engine off, Alex and Zack practically threw themselves out of the car, Alex grabbing his guitar as quickly and carefully as possible. Rian just continued laughing at him, until a purple blur appeared out of nowhere and attached itself to Rian's face.

“Morning, Cass,” Alex said as he picked himself up off the ground, “we heard about how you defiled the back seat the other day.”

Cassadee detached herself and looked at Alex in shock, before playfully hitting Rian in the chest as he wrapped his arms around her, smiling. “Can’t believe you told them! Ugh, I hate you...” she got up on tiptoes and pecked Rian softly on the lips.

“Don’t worry babe, I didn’t give any details away.”

“By the sounds of things we really don’t want any details either.” said Zack as he started backing away from the old Trans Am as though it might explode.

Alex ran off to join him, slinging his guitar across his back, shouting at Rian over his shoulder, “Good thing I’m walking home later! See ya!”

Zack had his back to Alex, so his took his chance. He stopped, backed up a few steps, and did a running jump, landing perfectly on Zack's back. Zack made a small surprised noise, but reacted instantly by grabbing the backs of Alex's knees and hitching him up so he could wrap his legs around Zack's waist.
They walked all the way to their lockers like this, where they found Mr Barakat and his bags sat on the floor, leaning against his classroom door. They walked over and looked down at the man, who hadn’t seen them approach. Zack cleared this throat loudly to get his attention.

“Oh, morning boys!”

“Erm, what are you doing on the floor, Mr Barakat?” Alex said from over Zack's shoulder.

“Oh I, er, put my house key in the lock by accident, and it snapped. I’m waiting for Site Team to come sort it out.”

“Haha, well done sir!” laughed Zack as Alex slid off his back.

Alex hit him in the arm “It’s not funny, Zee. He’s not only locked out of the classroom, but now he can’t get in his house either.”

“Oh yeah... Sorry sir.”

Mr Barakat just smiled up and laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a spare key hidden on my porch so it’s fine. I can’t believe how stupid I sometimes!”

“You’re not stupid, probably just tired.” Alex smiled softly.

Mr Barakat looked back up at him, his eyes practically glowing. They were especially caramel shaded today, Alex noted, they’re always a different shade of brown from day to day. “Thanks Alex. And yeah, I probably am tired. I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”

His eyes didn’t flicker from Alex's for a second, causing Alex to feel light headed. He had to look away or else he would faint. He ducked his head and looked at his shoes, but his gaze soon travelled to the big black case leading against the wall.

“Oh cool, you remembered!” Alex smiled, gently stroking the hard, worn case like the guitar perv that was.

Mr Barakat snapped his head round to look at the case, then back up at Alex. His face split into a smile as he spoke, “Of course! How could I forget? I’ve been looking forward to our session all weekend!”

Alex felt light-headed again, so he tried to nonchalantly lean against the lockers to stop himself from falling over. Zack however, pulled himself up to his full height. “What do you mean, ‘session’?” he said assertively, glaring at Mr Barakat.

The teacher obviously saw Zack trying to be threatening, so stood up himself. He towered over him slightly and he looked pretty intimidating. “Yes, I’m helping Alex with his guitar after school. Nothing big just a bit of a jam session, that’s all.” Mr Barakat sounded very serious about it all, trying to remind Zack that he was a teacher and not someone that Zack could threaten.

Zack obviously got the hint and slouched down to his normal stature, and Mr Barakat did his signature casual lean against the door, satisfied that he’d put Zack in his place. Alex went to put his guitar in his locker and hid his head in there too. Mr Barakat was too much already. The way he’d looked at Alex when he said he’d had a lot on his mind, had it been Alex on his mind? How happy he’d been when he’d mentioned the session after school. The way he reacted to Zack being defensive. It was all too much.
He stood with his blushing face hidden in the locker taking deep breaths, trying to firstly, not faint, and secondly, to ‘calm himself down’. A few moments later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t look up, knowing it was Zack.

“Dude, are you alright?” a soft voice spoke.

That was not Zack. Alex looked straight down and spotted a pair of black Converse. He slowly raised his head and looked across, straight into the light brown, and very concerned looking, eyes of Mr Barakat. He had to not gasp at the contact and the proximity to his teacher. He could feel the heat radiating off Mr Barakat, his very being right next to Alex's body. Then he remembered he’d been asked a question.

“Er... yeah, I’m fine. I, um, was ill at the weekend. I guess it, er, hasn’t quite passed yet.” Alex said quietly, not breaking eye contact.

Mr Barakat just looked even more worried at that. “Yeah, I noticed you were missing in class yesterday. Do you want me to go get the nurse?”

“No, it’s... I’m fine, really. Just... I just need a second, that’s all.”

“Okay, well if you need me I’m just over here, okay?” Mr Barakat took a step backwards and gave Alex's shoulder a gentle squeeze, sending hot pulses through his body.

Almost as soon as Mr Barakat was gone, the space was replaced by Zack. “What did he say?” Zack asked in a low near-growl

“He was just checking I was okay.” Alex said quietly, not wanting to give away his current state of mind to Zack.

“That’s all?”

“Yeah... Zee, are you jealous?” Alex smirked sideways at the boy.

Zack turned red and looked down. “No.”

“Yes you are! Oh Zee you big softy, come here...” Alex turned around and looped his arms around Zack's neck, pulling him down to kiss him on the cheek.

Zack laughed and picked Alex up around the middle, making the taller boy squeal and giggle over Alex's shoulder.

“Gha! Zee, put me down!” He practically screeched as Zack swung him about. Alex then accidentally made eye contact with Mr Barakat, who did not look happy. He didn’t look angry, or sad, but whatever emotion his face was showing, it wasn’t good. Alex's smile slipped a little as he watched Mr Barakat. “Ha, Zee, come on, put me down now. You don’t want me to throw up on you do you?”

With that, Zack quickly put him back on the floor, both boys still smiling. Just then the bell went, so Alex and Zack said goodbye to Mr Barakat, who had re-seated himself on the floor, and headed off to their lessons.
Alex still felt light headed, and more or less drifted through the day, even while talking to Tay about his weekend in Art, even during Dramatic Arts where they were just reading bit of script, half his mind was elsewhere: the guitar session with Mr Barakat.
When the final bell rang out, Alex picked up his stuff and walked lazily down towards room 15. The door was shut, and as Alex reached for the handle, he could see scratch marks around the lock from where the Site Team had un-jammed Mr Barakat's key.

As he opened the door, the sounds of strings being tuned met his ears, and he was roused from his daydream state. He walked in quietly and found Mr Barakat sat cross-legged on his desk with a polished black acoustic sat on his lap. The man looked up from tuning the instrument and smiled warmly when he saw Alex. He gently laid the guitar down next to him and swung his legs over the side.

“Heya Alex! You feeling better now?”

Alex gulped. God, Mr Barakat looked good today. He was wearing the red shirt again, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair fell across his left eye, the right side looking like he’d run his hands through it several times.

“Yeah, thanks. So... uh, nice guitar.” He said, pointing at the acoustic on the desk.

Mr Barakat glanced over his shoulder and smiled back at Alex. “Thanks! I’ve had it for a while now, but it hasn’t been played in months. Well, not until last week.”

“Uh... cool.”

“So, Alex, do you want to carry on with the chords from last week, or do you want to try something else?”

Alex shuffled his feet about for a second, before answering, “Erm, maybe we could just, you know, play a few songs?”

“’Course, ‘course... What do you have in mind?”

“Er...” Alex was starting to feel awkward and slightly light headed again, “You choose, sir.”

“Hmm, let me think... ‘Monkey Wrench’ by the Foo Fighters?”

“Yeah, sure..”

So they sat for a while, play their guitars and singing together, until, mid song, Alex messed up spectacularly. He played completely the wrong chord, and another string snapped. He just stopped and looked at Mr Barakat, who had also stopped and was watching with a kind of pity in his eyes. He sat down the jet acoustic and walked over to where Alex was sat on one of the desks, looking down at his guitar is distress.

“Why does this keep happening to me?” Alex said quietly, looking at the broken string. “I’m so stupid.”

Mr Barakat picked up the guitar from his lap and set it down next to Alex. He crouched down and looked up into the boys eyes and smiled softly. “You’re not stupid, probably just tired.” He put a reassuring hand on Alex's knee.

Alex couldn’t take it anymore. As he looked into Mr Barakat's bright shining eyes, he felt everything go hazy, then dark as he fell sideways onto the floor.

---

“Alex... Alex, come on... Wake up, Alex.... Alex?”

Alex groaned and tried to roll over, wondering why he was so uncomfortable. And why his head hurt.

“Whoa there, don’t move Alex, okay?”

Alex's eye flickered open when he recognised the voice. Mr Barakat. What was Mr Barakat doing here? Where was ‘here’ anyway? He looked around for the source of the voice and found the man crouched next to him, eyes filled with worry. But as soon as Alex's eyes focused themselves, Mr Barakat smiled.

“Hello, sleepy! You scared me for a second there!”

“Wha.. What happened?”

“You fainted and hit your head on the desk... Bit like I did the other day, actually!” he said with a giggle. God he was cute when he giggled. “Okay Alex, how many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three.” Alex grumbled from the floor, putting a hand to his head and feeling a small lump just past his hair line.

“Okay, good. Can you get up?” Mr Barakat sighed, standing up and holding out a hand to Alex.

He took it and was gently pulled to his feet, where he nearly fell over again. He let out a low hiss as his leg twinged.

“Are you okay Alex?” Mr Barakat asked concerned, not letting go of Alex's hand.

“Yeah, but my leg... I dunno, it hurts.” He looked down, trying to see if there was any bloody seeping through his jeans. All clear.

“You probably knocked it when you fainted. Hang on..” Mr Barakat let go on Alex's hand, letting the boy perch on the edge of a desk. He went and picked up his bag, Alex's bag, and zipped Alex's guitar into its case and slung it over his shoulder. He walked back to Alex and looked his straight in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Alex said without any hesitation.

“Okay, I’m going to help you to my car and I’m going to drive you home. Is that alright?”

“Yes.” Alex said, slightly dazed.

Mr Barakat was going to drive him home. He was going to be in Mr Barakat's car. Suddenly, he felt a hand snake around his waist and grip tightly around the side of his stomach. They got out of the classroom door and briefly paused as Mr Barakat fumbled with his keys in the classroom door before a triumphant cry of “Yes, I got the right key this time!” before they slowly made their way the hallway and out into the parking lot.
Alex could have sworn he felt Mr Barakat's fingers slowly stroking back and forth along the fabric of his t-shirt whenever they paused for breath. It was nice, reassuring. They reached Mr Barakat's car, and as Mr Barakat searched in his pocket for his keys, Alex somewhat forgot himself and rested his head against his teachers shoulder.

“Hey, don’t you faint again!”

“Sorry, I’m just tired.”

“Meh, don’t worry about it... Come on, hop in!” Mr Barakat helped Alex get into the grubby black vehicle, and then put their bags into the back seat.

Alex had a quick glance around him; there were CD cases all over the dashboard and a few old Starbucks cups at his feet. There was a little ashtray which was close to spilling ash everywhere between the seats and a small blue mouse head keychain hanging from the mirror. The smell inside was a faint mix of ash and coffee, which relaxed Alex and made him feel a little more comfortable in his teacher-slash-crush’s car. Mr Barakat hopped in and smiled over at Alex.

“Okay, where to Lex?”

“Did you just call me ‘Lex’?”

“Did I?”

“Yeah...”

“Oops! Sorry!”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Alex blushed, “Don’t worry.”

Alex gave his address and they set off on the short journey. Meanwhile, curiosity got the better of him and Alex started looking through the CD’s that were scattered about the car. There was some pretty good stuff there: Blink, Jimmy Eat World, New Found Glory, Good Charlotte. Alex was snapped out of his browsing by a small cough from Mr Barakat.

“See anything you like?” He smirked sideways at Alex.

“Ha, yeah, only everything! You’ve got great taste, Mr Barakat!”

“Hey, what can I say? I like good music.”

They pulled up outside Alex's house, and quick as a flash Mr Barakat had gotten out, grabbed Alex's bag and guitar and was opening the passenger side door.

“You need some help?” he asked again, holding out a hand that Alex gratefully took. Mr Barakat put a hand around Alex's middle again, sending electricity through Alex's body, along his spine and straight to his head. This only made it more difficult to get to Alex's door, but thankfully it was a short distance. To save time rummaging for keys again, Alex just rang the doorbell.

“Can- Alexander! What happened?”

Alex limped over the threshold and propped himself up against the wall.

“Don’t worry, Mrs Gaskarth, he just fainted is all.”

“Oh Alex, sweety, are you alright?” Alex's mom held him by the shoulders, looking over him for any signs of damage. “What happened to your leg?”

“I landed on it when I fainted... I’m fine, really.”

“Okay, well if you say so... I’m sorry,” she said, turning to Mr Barakat, “I don’t think we’ve met before, I’m Isobel.” She held out a hand for Mr Barakat to shake.

“Nice to meet you, Isobel. I’m Jay. I’m a, er... friend of Alex's from school.”

Alex looked up suddenly at Mr Barakat. A friend from school? What? Why had he introduced himself like that?

“Oh, thank you, Jay. Alex tends to be a bit accident prone. Thank you for bringing him home.” Alex's mom smiled sweetly at the man, none the wiser to who he really was.

“Not a problem, Mrs Gaskarth, anytime. Anyway... best be off. See you, Lex!” Mr Barakat threw Alex a friendly wink and sauntered back to his car.

“See you... Jay.” Alex called back, slightly dazed.

What had just happened?

Alex's mom helped him into the living room and settled him down on the sofa. “I’ll go get you something cold for your leg, okay sweety?” she pecked Alex on the forehead and stroked his fringe out of his face.

“Thanks, mom.” He smiled up at her innocently, while his mind was still trying to fathom out what just happened, his thoughts whizzing around his skull at a hundred miles an hour.

So Mr Barakat's first name was Jay, or something that began with a J. Why had he said he was a friend rather than a teacher? Maybe it was illegal to give lifts to students? Why had he winked. What was going on?

His mum went off into the kitchen and called out to Alex, “So, that Jay boy seems nice.”

Oh no, Alex could tell what was coming next. “Mom...”

she walked back into the living room with a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel. “Is he a good friend of yours then?”

“Mom, don’t... Please, not this again!”

“Okay, I’m sorry! I just assumed from the way he looked at you...”

“What way?” Alex sat up, alert and interested.

“Oh, so there is something there! I knew it!”

“No! There’s nothing... He’s just a friend.”

“Yes of course Alex,” she laughed and she placed the frozen peas onto Alex's knee, “Whatever you say.”

“Mom...” Alex whined as his mom went back into the kitchen.

“No, Alex. Say whatever you want, I know that there’s something you’re hiding!”

Notes