The Boy Next Door

It is in the middle of a math quiz when Alex decides to have a so important chat with Rian who is sitting beside him. The questions aren't hard, but the numbers are a bit confusing. One little miscalculation and it can ruin the whole answer, and silence is all I need. Silence would be nice.
"So, Rian. I got some ideas for our new song. Figured some lines out last night. Dunno the melody yet, though. My house after school?"
"Cool! You should tell Zack to see if he can make it. And Jack, of course. Have you told him?"
"Nah, not yet. But I don't think he has his shift today. He'll manage."
"Great, can't wait to hear it."
"Just some random thoughts, I'll leave the rest to you guys."
"By the way, about that party? Zack's party? Are we still up for it?"
"Zack's friend? Yeah, Zack said-"
I turn around before he can even finish his sentence and give him a look. Alex and his friend, Rian, immediately stop talking and glare at me in reply
"What?" Alex says as if nothing's wrong
"We're having a quiz!" I whisper
"So?"
"Keep your mouth shut for a while, will you?"
"Done mine already." He raises his paper
"That doesn't mean you can go ahead and - Hell, did you even read the questions?" I ask as I see his answers
"Cheating is bad, new girl." He winks
"I'm not cheating! I was just asking you to shut up!" I deny. God, he's so annoying!
"By the way, ever heard of makeup? Foundation, concealer, lipstick whatever you girls call it. Might do good for you, you're pale as fuck." He adds while laughing casually
That's it. I can't take it anymore.
"You know what? Fuck you and your stupid little band! You think you're on top of the world just because you-"
"Is anything wrong, Mr Gaskarth, Miss Olson?" Mrs Lindsey calls
"I- It's Alex! I was just asking him to quite down!" I say in defend
Alex rolls his eyes and falls back to his seat, "Yeah right, it's always been me."
"Whatever it is, I do not tolerate any kind of communication during tests. I assume that you've finished your quiz." She takes mine and Alex's paper
"But I still haven't filled-"
"Next time, try keeping your mouth shut. And don't get into other people's business." Alex snorts
I curse under my breath and ignore him. He's really getting on my nerve, he always finds a way to annoy me. I put my heads down and rest it on the table, trying to calm myself at least until the last period ends. And when the bell finally rings, I am the first one to get out. I run straight to the bathroom and lock myself in one of the stalls.
My cheeks start to wet. I'm crying because of freaking Alex Gaskarth. Goddamit, I feel so weak! At first only a few tears come out, but then it turns into a sob. I feel sorry for whoever's gonna marry him cause she'd be marrying a jerk. I rarely cry, not even when I broke my arm when I was 10. The thought of that only makes me even worse. What's happened to me?
"Gail? It's me."
It's Jaz. I quickly wipe the tears off my face and steady my breathing. I don't wanna be seen crying, not even in front of Jaz. I take a deep breath before unlocking the door, Jaz is waiting for me outside with a confused look.
"I saw you running when I got out of class, but Travis tried to catch you up but he couldn't get in the girls' room. He asked me to check if you're okay, what happened?" She says worriedly, then pulls me into a hug
I hug her back, which surprisingly makes me feel a lot better, "It's okay, I just had a little argument with Alex, he started it first... Well he does that everyday, always trying to find my mistakes and making insults. I guess I was just being too emotional, but he then went too far with it causing both our quiz paper taken before I was even finished. I'm just worried about my grades."
"Little argument?" She raises her eyebrow, unsure
"Well.. maybe not so little. It's just there's something he said that really got me thinking." I admit
"You know what? We'll take out some snacks and pizza after school. You and me, my house. I won't let you go home before I put a smile on your sad face." She grabs me by the arm. Despite her small figure, I am actually surprised by her strength, because she's practically dragging me all the way down the hallway.
So that's how I end up here in Jaz's room. Her room is all princess-y for a high school student, all I can see is pink wherever my sight lands. No surprises, I've prepared myself for more pink than the interior of her car.
She has a wall filled with photos dedicated to their friendship. A picture of her and Steve kissing is pinned in the middle. There's a photo of Jaz and Holly holding hands, at the bottom it says 'First day of high school'.
It makes me kinda miss my friends back in Oakland.
I check at my reflection in the mirror next to it. I am indeed pale, I didn't need to be reminded. But the way he said it makes me feel.. Insecure about my look
"Jaz?"
"Uh-uh?" Jaz nods to me, her mouth still full with pizza
"Do you think.. Maybe you know.. Guys don't dig pale skinned girls? Like do you think that I need to start using more makeup?" I ask shyly
"Did Alex really say that to you? What a jerk! Rule number one, never call a girl fat or comment about her look! First of all, your skin is flawless. You're beautiful, every girl is. I'd kill to have hair as soft as yours! Don't even bother thinking about his sayings, bullshit! Damn, I'm so pissed!" She hisses
I sigh, "Well.. I do wear make up when I go out, including school. But maybe he's right. I mean, It wouldn't hurt to try a new look. Help me with it?"
"Of course, I'd love to. But please don't do it only because of him, only you can change yourself." She makes sure
"I swear it's not him, I just feel like trying out a new look. Besides, isn't homecoming around the corner?" I say half lying. But true, I need to think about homecoming too
She nods, "Is in 2 weeks, speaking of which, have you got your dress yet? Me and the girls are going dress shopping on Sunday, I was gonna ask you to come with us."
"Sounds cool to me." I agree
"Now, let's get going with the makeup, shall we?"
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Jaz drives me home a couple hours later because she needs to pick her sister up from her friend's house. She's insisted me to take one of her lipsticks, the one she'd tried on me. It suits me better than her, she says. I tell her that I'm gonna go get the lipstick right after this, and she gives up eventually. But still, she's snucked it inside my purse without me acknowledging it. I find out about it when I'm about to search for my keys, when Jaz's Audi is already getting further in sight. I promise myself to return it tomorrow.
I smile at the ground, feeling so grateful for a friend like Jaz. But then suddenly there comes a screeching sound so loud it hurts my ear drums, I put my hands to cover my ears in reflect.
"What the hell were you thinking?" I look up to see Alex and his friends laughing at me.
They're in the garage, all 4 of them. Jack is sitting with a guitar on his lap, Rian has his drumsticks ready to bang the drums and another guy I've never seen before is leaning on the hood of Alex's car, he also got a guitar strapped around his shoulder. Wait, not guitar, bass, it only has 4 strings. Whoever he is, he probably doesn't go to Dulaney High.
Alex raises his hands up, "Oh you know, just hanging around with my stupid little band, you know, practicing our new song for that we might be putting into our next album. And did I mention about getting signed to a label? Our stupid little band? I guess we're not that stupid after all." He makes quotation marks with his hands on the stupid little band part
I ignore him and head to my house instead. I've had enough of him in one day, I know better not to start another argument. That doesn't mean that I'm scared, because I make sure to slam my door loud enough for him to hear it, to let him know how pissed I am at him.
My life is almost perfect, except for him. The boy next door.
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Ps: the loud screeching sound is from the amplifier, it sometimes make that loud screeching noise when you first plug it in and set up the volume:) Andd the song for this chapter is A Day To Remember's The Plot to Bomb The Panhandle! Thank you for reading!

Notes